Gita 7.1

Sadhak: "Krishna promises knowledge 'without doubt.' But doubt seems inherent to the spiritual path. How can it truly be eliminated?"

Guru: "There are two kinds of doubt: intellectual questioning, which is healthy, and existential uncertainty about reality itself. The first helps you grow; the second paralyzes. Krishna promises elimination of the second kind—not through blind belief but through direct experience. When you've tasted honey, you don't doubt its sweetness."

Sadhak: "'Mayy āsakta-manāḥ'—mind attached to Me. Isn't attachment the very thing we're supposed to overcome?"

Guru: "Brilliant question! The mind will attach to something—that's its nature. The teaching isn't to make it attachment-free, which is impossible, but to redirect attachment from fleeting objects to the eternal source. A river will flow; the question is whether it reaches the ocean or loses itself in marshes. Attach to Krishna, and attachment itself becomes liberation."

Sadhak: "What's the difference between 'yogaṁ yuñjan' and 'mad-āśrayaḥ'? Aren't both about spiritual practice?"

Guru: "Yoga is the discipline—the techniques, the effort, the methodical practice. Āśraya is the shelter—the surrender, the trust, the letting go. A child learning to swim needs technique (yoga) but also must trust the water to hold them (āśraya). Many practitioners have technique without surrender, ending in dry intellectualism. Others have emotional surrender without discipline, ending in sentimentalism. Krishna asks for both."

Sadhak: "'Samagram'—completely. Can any human mind really know God completely?"

Guru: "The finite mind cannot contain the infinite as an object of thought. But 'samagram' points to something different: knowing God not as object but as subject, not as concept but as identity. You cannot hold the ocean in a cup, but the wave can know itself as ocean. Complete knowledge is not intellectual cataloguing but awakening to what you already are."

Sadhak: "This verse seems to promise a lot. What if I do all three—attach my mind, practice yoga, take refuge—and still don't achieve this doubt-free knowledge?"

Guru: "Then examine more carefully. Is your mind truly attached, or occasionally visiting? Is your yoga genuine practice or mechanical routine? Is your refuge complete or partial? Krishna's promise is not metaphorical—it's precise. The conditions are demanding. Most of us are still preparing to fulfill them, not failing after fulfilling them."

Sadhak: "Why does Krishna say 'hear' (śṛṇu) rather than 'understand' or 'realize'?"

Guru: "Because hearing is the beginning. In the Vedic tradition, śravaṇa (hearing) precedes manana (reflection) and nididhyāsana (meditation). You cannot reflect on what you haven't heard. Also, 'hearing' implies receptivity—you're not creating this knowledge but receiving it. The Divine speaks; our role first is to listen, truly listen, with attached mind and surrendered heart."

Sadhak: "I notice Krishna doesn't mention karma yoga or jñāna yoga specifically here. Is He abandoning those paths?"

Guru: "No—He's integrating them. 'Yoga' here is comprehensive, including all its forms. But the emphasis shifts: whatever yoga you practice, let its essence be attachment to Me and refuge in Me. A karma yogi offers actions to Krishna—that's attachment and refuge. A jñāna yogi seeks to know the Self, which reveals itself as Krishna—that's attachment and refuge. All paths, when mature, become this."

Sadhak: "What changes in my practice if I take this verse seriously?"

Guru: "Everything and nothing. The external practice may look similar—meditation, service, study. But the internal orientation transforms. Instead of 'I am practicing yoga to achieve enlightenment,' it becomes 'I am attaching myself to the Divine and taking shelter there.' The first is ego-driven achievement; the second is love-driven surrender. The first accumulates; the second offers. Begin each practice by consciously attaching your mind to the Divine and taking refuge. That shifts everything."