April 16, 2018
a hi jñānena sadṛśaṁ pavitram iha vidyate
tat
svayaṁ yogasaṁsiddhaḥ kālenā ’tmani vindati (IV-38)
śraddhāvāṁl labhate jñānaṁ tatparaḥ saṁyatendriyaḥ
jñānaṁ labdhvā parāṁ śāntim acireṇā ’dhigacchati (IV-39)
IV/38. Verily, there is no purifier in this world like knowledge.
He who is perfected in yoga finds it in the self in time.
IV/39. The man who is full of faith, who is devoted to it, and
who has subdued the senses obtains knowledge. And, having
obtained the knowledge, he goes at once to the supreme peace.
Swamiji's Commentary
No one is barred from knowledge of God or self-realization. No one is eternally damned here. All beings will gradually evolve into perfection. In due time, every living being (even a worm which you may tread on!) will attain perfection in yoga and find knowledge in the self. That is the purpose of creation; the world exists to provide schooling for the individual so that it may attain perfection. Perfection is the direct experience that imperfection (self-limitation, sin and sorrow) is but a dream. Self-realization is the truth: self is ever real!
There are some who say: “We shall get it in due time – why bother?” They fail to see that only when the time has come does one bother. The pregnant woman bides her time. It is only when the time arrives that she bothers! Not that she bothers because she wants to. The seeker cannot help it; his time has come. For the others, too, the time will come, for all are evolving towards perfection.
How can we recognize whose time has arrived? By faith. The seeker who is at the threshold of knowledge is full of faith. This faith is totally different from the faith (blind, biased belief) that breeds conflict. This faith is born of a veiled vision of truth. In the ignorant the truth is veiled; in the faithful truth shines through the veil. This faith compels him to be devoted to that, the self or God, with his body, mind, heart and whole being. This whole-souled devotion is accompanied by its natural corollary – he is self- controlled and his mind and senses do not run riot. All this burns the veil and reveals knowledge.
This knowledge quickly leads the seeker to the supreme peace or Brahman.