175. Virtues of Nimitta-matra

Krishna shows Arjun a glimpse of the future where the warriors are entering the mouth of death and says that Arjun is merely a nimitta maatra (an instrument in HIS hand). Krishna further clarifies that even without Arjun, none of them will survive and hence he should fight without stress. The journey from 'senses centered' ahankaar to 'Paramatma centered' nimitta maatra is a tough one. The natural questions are, how to achieve it and what are its indicators of progress. Nimitta maatra is an internal state, not a skill that can be mastered. One easy way to attain it is to have clear visuals of inevitable death, as Arjun had, which is called memento mori. Secondly, painful (helpless and miserable) situations can give us glimpses of nimitta maatra, but the pleasure (success or victorious) situations can give us a long lasting one especially when used with awareness.  Krishna earlier indicated that HE is the brilliance (10.41) and it is realising that the internal state of nimitta maatra manifests as brilliance in the outer world as the universe bestows nimitta maatra. This state allows us to see things clearly without biases, belief systems or judgements and perform without the burden of the past or expectations from the future or others. When we frequently, clearly and firmly get NO as the answer to the question, 'Will our absence make any difference to this mighty existence ?', then we are on a firm path towards nimitta maatra. It is not about what we do or what we choose irrespective of how noble it might appear, but rather it's about the amount of karma bandhan (bondage of action) that a karma (action) or choice generated in us, is what determines our progress in the journey towards nimitta maatra.