Gita 6.44

Sadhak: "'Helplessly carried forward'—this sounds like loss of free will. If I'm just being pushed by past practice, where is my choice?"

Guru: "Consider: is the accomplished musician 'helplessly' drawn to make music? The word 'avaśa' here indicates not loss of freedom but alignment so complete that resistance becomes unthinkable. The pull toward liberation is not compulsion from outside but the deepest desire from within."

Sadhak: "The verse says even one who merely 'inquires' about yoga surpasses the Vedas. That seems exaggerated."

Guru: "Consider what it takes to inquire. Out of millions who follow external religion mechanically, how many pause to ask: 'What is yoga? What is real liberation?' The very question indicates a development that most humans never reach. The inquirer has transcended mere obedience to ritual."

Sadhak: "What exactly is 'śabda-brahma' that the inquirer transcends?"

Guru: "Śabda-brahma literally means 'word-Brahman'—specifically, the Vedic mantras and their promised results. The Vedas describe elaborate rituals for obtaining wealth, children, heaven. But these results are temporary. The yoga-inquirer seeks permanent liberation."

Sadhak: "If past practice carries me forward automatically, why should I practice now?"

Guru: "The momentum carries you forward into opportunities for practice, into conducive circumstances. It doesn't practice for you. Think of it as compound interest: past practice earns 'interest' in favorable conditions, but you must invest the present for it to continue compounding."

Sadhak: "I've been inquiring about yoga for years but don't feel I've transcended anything."

Guru: "Transcendence is not always felt; it's a structural change in orientation. Have you lost interest in merely following religious rules without understanding? Do you seek direct experience rather than promised future rewards? Then you've transcended śabda-brahma."

Sadhak: "Some people seem drawn to spirituality without any visible previous practice in this life. How does that work?"

Guru: "That's precisely the verse's point—'pūrvābhyāsena,' by previous (life) practice. The child who at five asks about God, death, and meaning—these responses aren't explained by this life's conditioning alone. Something from before is activating."

Sadhak: "How can I strengthen this pull? I want the momentum to become irresistible."

Guru: "Three things increase spiritual momentum. First: intensity over duration. Second: consistency over intensity. Third: integration—when your daily life becomes practice, every moment adds to the pull. You're discovering that it already is irresistible, once you stop resisting."