Divine Friendship and the Secret of Eternal Yoga
Bhagavad Gita Ch. 4 v. 1-4
Discover the eternal yoga revealed through divine friendship and the guru-disciple path. Learn how imperishable truth is remembered and lived today.
Contents
Eternal truth is never lost—it is only forgotten, and through the Guru, through divine friendship, it is revealed to us again and again.
As we enter Chapter Four of the Bhagavad Gita, the timeless dialogue between Krishna and Arjuna opens into mystical insight. The eternal yoga has been transmitted through ages, not as something new or foreign, but as the imperishable truth of our being. In this exchange, we are invited to remember what cannot be lost, to receive divine friendship as the key to awakening, and to live the eternal way here and now.
Lessons from Bhagavad Gita Chapters 1–3
The Bhagavad Gita Chapter 4 introduces us to the yoga of renunciation, action, and knowledge. Lord Krishna continues teaching Arjuna, his disciple, about the way of knowledge and the way of karma yoga—skillful action. In this chapter, these teachings are brought together and integrated with sannyasa yoga, the path of renunciation.
The chapter begins with Lord Krishna’s attempts to open his disciple Arjuna’s mind to mystical insight. And that is accompanied by Arjuna’s familiar confusion, which is lovely. It is just lovely the way the teachings are presented in the Gita, because very often Arjuna’s confusion is a reflection of the questions that are raised in our own minds.
Before we delve into the opening verses of this new chapter, let us take a moment to reflect on what we have encountered and what we have personally learned in Chapters 1 through 3.
- In Chapter 1, we encounter Arjuna’s dilemma, his despondency about how to face the great challenge, the great battle of life. His conflict with his own relatives mirrors our own inner relatives—our drives, tendencies, and attachments.
- In Chapter 2, Lord Krishna offers a mountaintop view: a philosophical introduction to the nature of reality. He encourages Arjuna to rise up and face the challenge before him, armed with enlightened insight: Yes, you can do it because this is who you are.
- In Chapter 3, the teaching turns practical. Karma Yoga, the yoga of action, shows how to engage in the world in a way that brings freedom rather than bondage, clarity rather than confusion.
The Bhagavad Gita is a manual for living a spiritually conscious life. It is not like a novel that we read and forget—it is something we engage with, grapple with, and apply. This is the spirit of svadhyaya, study and contemplation that brings transformation.
"The I Am of the highest truth is the I Am that we are. It is Supreme Consciousness itself that gives rise to creation. That thou art."
—Yogacharya Ellen Grace O'Brian
The Eternal Transmission of Yoga
Krishna’s Declaration of Imperishable Yoga
In the Bhagavad Gita verse 4.1, the Blessed Lord said:
“I proclaimed this imperishable yoga to Vivasvat. Vivasvat communicated it to Manu, and Manu imparted it to Ikshvaku.” (Bhagavad Gita 4.1)
In this verse, Lord Krishna proclaims that He has imparted this teaching throughout the ages. But who is this “I” that speaks? Krishna here is not speaking merely as a cousin or warrior, but as the eternal illumined Self—the timeless I Am beyond time and space.
It is the same illumined consciousness that Jesus spoke from when he declared, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I Am” (John 8:58). In both traditions, the divine “I” is not a person bound in time but the timeless consciousness itself. Mystics know there is one truth. There is one “I Am.” There is one reality, called by many names, that proclaims through the ages the imperishable yoga of eternal existence.
The names given in this verse—Vivasvat, Manu, and Ikshvaku—reveal a mystical code:
- Vivasvat, the Sun God, represents the divine light of Supreme Consciousness, the first manifestation from the transcendental field of pure being.
- Manu signifies manas, the cosmic and individual mind illumined by that light.
- Ikshvaku, the legendary king, represents illumined perception, the intuitive faculty within that makes wisdom possible.
This verse shows the descent of Supreme Consciousness through the mind into intuition, making perception and action possible. It reveals that the highest knowledge of what we are is innate to our being. We come from the Source and are never separate from it. The “I Am” of the highest truth is the “I Am” that we are.
Yoga science enables us to understand and realize this cosmic manifestation process—the journey from consciousness into matter. How did I get here? Who am I? Then we can understand that our journey of awakening follows the same way back home. We understand how we got here through the process of manifestation, and through the royal science of yoga, we discover the path of return. Meditation gives us the direct experience of what we are, and ethical living keeps us in harmony with this one reality.
How the Eternal Teaching Appears Lost
In the Bhagavad Gita, verse 4.2, the Lord Krishna continued:
“In this way, Arjuna, the supreme knowledge of yoga was passed down from one generation to the next by human beings who were both leaders and seers of Vedic knowledge. But over a long period of time, these yogic teachings were lost.” (Bhagavad Gita 4.2)
If yoga is imperishable, how can it be lost?
Yoga itself is not lost because Truth is eternal. What is lost is our ability to remember, as well as our receptivity to it. We forget who we are, and in forgetting, we fall into sorrow. This forgetting and remembering happens on both individual and global levels—seen in the rise and fall of civilizations, the waxing and waning of organizations, and the shifting consciousness of humanity.
As I wrote in the Living the Eternal Way book, the trajectory of forgetfulness can be summed up in sutra form:
- It is. There is one eternal reality.
- We are it. We are not separate from that one reality.
- We forget. Through body, mind, and circumstances, we lose touch with our true nature.
- We remember. Through yoga, we awaken to the truth of our being once again.
This is the cycle of spiritual life. Forgetfulness always brings suffering, but even suffering brings us back to the possibility of remembrance, because it stirs the longing for freedom and grace responds.
So the eternal yoga is never truly lost. It remains imperishable. What is lost is our capacity to receive it. And that capacity can be renewed through practice, devotion, and the transmission of wisdom from guru to disciple, as well as through the awakening guidance of the inner guru—the Supreme Self, revealing truth to the receptive mind.
The Role of the Guru and the Inner Teacher
The Secret Teaching and Divine Friendship
In the Bhagavad Gita, verse 4.3, Lord Krishna further said:
“That same ancient yoga has this day been taught to you by me, for you are my devotee and my friend, and also because this is a supreme secret.” (Bhagavad Gita 4.3, Baba Hari Dass translation)
Another interpretation says:
“Therefore, today I am again transmitting that ancient body of yogic knowledge to you because you have chosen to hear from me in the mood of bhakti, devotion, and because you are my very dear friend. This rahasya, secret teaching, is also uttama, supreme—beyond the realms of matter.” (Bhagavad Gita 4.3, Armstrong & Rishi translation)
This verse touches my heart deeply. It reveals the intimacy of divine friendship. At the beginning of the journey, God may seem far away, something wholly other. But here the Gita affirms the closeness of the Divine, the Friend who whispers truth to the heart of the devotee.
The intimacy between Krishna and Arjuna is the intimacy between the Self and the soul, between the eternal Friend and the receptive heart. It is not only about the outer teacher and disciple, but also the inner teacher, the indwelling Guru guiding the receptive mind. Illumination flows from the Source into the listening heart of the devotee. The “Friend” speaks directly to the “friend” who listens with devotion.
This is the way divine knowledge is transmitted—through love, faith, grace, and direct experience. It cannot be attained by intellect alone. It is beyond the reach of logic, beyond the grasp of the senses. Subtle, hidden from perception, it is revealed to the heart through devotion and surrender.
The teaching is supreme because it is beyond matter. It is not information to be studied and stored. It is a living transmission, the Supreme Truth that can only be known through experience. The intellect may serve as an on-ramp, but at some point, there must be a leap into love, into trust, into surrender. That leap carries us into the direct experience of the eternal Self.
The Guru Within and the Outer Teacher
This dialogue between Lord Krishna and Arjuna also points us inward. It is not only about the outer relationship between teacher and disciple. It is also the inner dialogue between the Supreme Self—the Guru within—and the receptive mind, the disciple.
When the mind is purified through practice, discipline, and devotion, it becomes the receptive student. The Self then reveals the teaching directly. This is why svadhyaya—study and contemplation—is so important. Not study merely as an accumulation of knowledge, but study that transforms, that opens the heart to the whisper of the inner Guru.
This is why Lord Krishna addresses Arjuna as “my devotee and my friend.” Devotion makes the mind receptive. Friendship makes the relationship intimate and personal. Together, they create the atmosphere in which the secret teaching—the supreme truth of the Self—can be heard, received, and realized.
Arjuna’s Question and the Mystery of the Eternal Teacher
In the Bhagavad Gita, verse 4.4, Arjuna said:
“Later was your birth, and earlier the birth of Vivasvat, the Sun God. How then am I to understand that you taught this yoga in the beginning?” (Bhagavad Gita 4.4, Baba Hari Dass translation)
Arjuna, like us, struggles with the paradox. He knows Krishna as his cousin, his charioteer, a man born into time. How then could Krishna have taught the Sun God at the dawn of creation?
This question is essential. It is our own question: How can the eternal be present here and now? How can the Divine be both beyond time and yet right beside us?
The answer is mystical: Krishna is not speaking as a human being in time. He is speaking as the eternal Self, the timeless “I Am” that was before the Sun, before creation itself. This is the mystery of the eternal teacher.
So Arjuna’s confusion is our confusion, and his prayer is our prayer: Help me see clearly. Help me understand the way things truly are.
Voices of Truth Across Traditions
The eternal truth of yoga is not confined to one place, one age, or one scripture. It has been revealed again and again, in all lands, through the lives of sages, prophets, and mystics. The Bhagavad Gita reminds us that the eternal yoga is imperishable—it cannot be destroyed, though it may be forgotten for a time. And so, across the ages, awakened ones have arisen to proclaim it once more.
Mahatma Gandhi beautifully expressed this universal testimony. He wrote:
“I do dimly perceive that while everything around me is ever-changing, ever-dying, there is underlying all that change a living power that is changeless, that holds all together, that creates, dissolves, and recreates. That informing power or spirit is God… In the midst of death, life persists. In the midst of untruth, truth persists.
…In the midst of darkness, light persists. Hence, I gather that God is life, truth, light. God is love. God is the supreme good.”
(Truth is God, compiled by R. K. Prabu)
This insight from Gandhi echoes what the Gita proclaims: the eternal truth is unchanging and benevolent. God is not merely an idea to be held by the intellect, but a living presence that transforms the heart. Gandhi reminds us that the reality of God must be more real to us than even the five senses. When we realize this, our very conduct and character are transformed.
This testimony is found not only in India, but in every spiritual tradition. Mystics in all lands have affirmed that there is one truth, one eternal reality. It is called by many names, but its essence is the same. To reject this universal testimony is, as Gandhi said, “to deny oneself.”
Living the Eternal Way
The imperishable truth of yoga is always available to us. It has been transmitted through the ages from teacher to student, from guru to disciple, and revealed within the receptive heart of the devotee. The invitation now is to let these teachings transform the way we live.
The eternal yoga is not something far away—it is here, in every breath, in every moment of awareness. To live the eternal way is to remember the truth of our being and to let that remembrance shape how we act, how we serve, and how we love.
Our spiritual practice or sadhana gives us the foundation. Through meditation, study, devotion, and selfless service, we prepare our minds and hearts to be receptive. When the senses pull us outward, we remember the Self within. When forgetfulness clouds our mind, we return again to remembrance. When doubts arise, we lean into faith, devotion, and the grace of God.
The relationship between guru and disciple is both outer and inner. Outwardly, the teacher gives guidance and encouragement. Inwardly, the divine teacher—the Self—illumines our mind with insight and whispers truth to the listening heart. When we lean in, with the intimacy of a friend reclining close to the Beloved, we hear what cannot be heard with the ears, we know what cannot be known by the mind.
Living the eternal way is to let our lives become an offering. It is to embody the truth that has been revealed to us, so that others, too, may glimpse the light. As we remember and live from our true nature, we contribute to the renewal of this imperishable yoga in the world today.
Let us take these teachings into our hearts and let them transform our being. May our study not remain only in the intellect but awaken our intuition and illumine our lives. May we live as witnesses of the eternal truth: That which cannot be lost, because it is what we are.
Listen to the full podcast episode below.
Bhagavad Gita, pt 33: The Heart of Revelation - Discovering the 'I Am' Within
Chapter 3, v. 33-35
Dive into a journey of discovery with this inspiring episode, as it explores the profound conversations at the heart of yoga's age-old wisdom. As we ponder Krishna's mystical teachings, we are invited to confront the universal struggle of spiritual forgetfulness, delve into the concept of the 'I Am,' and pierce through the veils of time to understand our true essence—a journey not just of learning but of remembering our intrinsic, divine nature. Explore how these sacred teachings, seemingly lost, are ever-present, awaiting our remembrance and realization.
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