Monthly Archives: April 2013

Bhagavad Gita Verse 15, Chapter 16

10 Wednesday Apr 2013

Posted by in 16.15, aadhaha, abhijanavaan, ajnyaanavimohitaahaa, anya, asmi, chapter 15 verse 16, daasyaami, kaha, mayaa, modishya, sadrishaha, yakshye

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aadhyobhijanavaanasmi konyosti sadrisho mayaa |
yakshye daasyaami modishya ityajnyaanavimohitaahaa || 15 ||
 
I am wealthy, I am from a good family, who else is equal to me? I will conduct sacrifice, I will enjoy. In this manner, (he is) deluded by ignorance.
 
aadhaha : I am wealthy
abhijanavaan : good family
asmi : I am
kaha : who
anya : else
asti : is
sadrishaha : equal to
mayaa : me
yakshye : I will conduct sacrifice
daasyaami : I will conduct charity
modishya : I will enjoy
iti : in this manner
ajnyaanavimohitaahaa : deluded by ignorance
 
In the last shloka, we saw the mindset of those who derive pride from their power. Here Shri Krishna describes the mindset of people who derive pride from other things such as wealth and family. An excess of wealth, especially for those who did not come from wealthy families, is the most common source of pride. Such people boast about their latest expensive toy, their net worth, their membership in elite clubs and so on. They are only interested in consumption and enjoyment.
 
Others derive pride from their ancestry and their lineage. For some, this pride comes from the fact that their ancestors were kings or landowners. For some, this pride comes from the fact that everyone in their family has always been a doctor or a lawyer. Some others even boast about the number of sacrifices they have conducted and amount of charity they have donated. Instead of charity and sacrifice leading to purification of one’s mind, such grandiose spectacles have gaining publicity and favours as their goal.
 
If we were to summarize the attitude in these three shlokas, it is this – no one is equal to me. I am superior to everyone else. So the net result is the strengthening, the hardening of the I notion, the ego, the aham. Each step taken towards the ego is one step taken away from self realization. There is no scope for detachment or renunciation. Attachment grows by leaps and bounds in such people. The root cause of all this is ignorance of one’s true nature.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 14, Chapter 16

09 Tuesday Apr 2013

Posted by in 16.14, aparaan, asau, balavaan, bhogee, chapter 16 verse 14, eeshvaraha, hanishye, hataha, mayaa, shatruhu, siddhaha, sukhee

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asau mayaa hataha shatrurhanishye chaaparaanapi |
eeshvarohamaham bhogee siddhoham balavaansukhee || 14 ||
 
That enemy was destroyed by me, others will also be destroyed. I am the lord, I am the enjoyer, I have accomplished everything. I am mighty and happy.
 
asau : he
mayaa : by me
hataha : destroyed
shatruhu : enemy
hanishye : will destroy
cha : and
aparaan : others
api : also
eeshvaraha : lord
aham : I am
aham : I am
bhogee : enjoyer
siddhaha : accomplished one
aham : I am
balavaan : mighty
sukhee : happy
 
If someone harbours an endless list of desires, it is impossible for all of them to be fulfilled. So then, any person who becomes an obstacle to the fulfillment of a desire automatically becomes an enemy. For instance, if another business becomes a competitor to our business, we begin to treat them as enemies instead of improving our products. That leads to all kinds of unethical and illegal ways of getting rid of our competitors, all the way upto physical harm.
 
Now, many people rise to political power by knocking off their competitors. They begin to think they are above the law. And since they do not believe in god, they think that they themselves are gods, and that only they can control the fate of people. They can take the law into their own hands, because they believe they are the lawmakers. Pleasure and enjoyment is their only goal. Such is the thinking of gangsters, military dictators and criminals. In the Raamaayana, Ravaana began to think like this, leading to his downfall.
 
Other materialistic people may not necessarily become dictators, but try to project their power and arrogance wherever possible. They say things like they can pick up the phone and call the president of the country. They have accomplished everything there is to accomplish. There is no one mightier than them. They mistake this sense of power for happiness, because they have not experienced what real happiness is. Even a simple act of name dropping indicates a deeper obsession with materialism and power.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 13, Chapter 16

08 Monday Apr 2013

Posted by in 16.13, adya, bhavishyati, chapter 16 verse 13, dhanam, http://schemas.google.com/blogger/2008/kind#post, imam, labdham, manoratham, maya, praapsye, punaha

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idamadya maya labdhamimam praapsye manoratham |
idamasteedamapi me bhavishyati punardhanam || 13 ||
 
This has been gained by me now, these wishes I shall fulfill. This is mine, and this wealth shall be mine later.
 
idam : this
adya : now
maya : I
labdham : gained
imam : these
praapsye : fulfill
manoratham : wishes
idam : this
asti : is
idam : this
api : also
me : mine
bhavishyati : will be
punaha : later
dhanam : wealth
 
In India, when a young boy gets the news that he has gained admission in the engineering college of his choice, a desire automatically pops up in his mind. Once I get through my gruelling 4 year engineering course, I will be happy. As the 4 years come to a close, another desire comes in. I need to get into a good masters program in the US. When that happens, he feels that he will he happy when he gets a US visa. Once he arrives in the US, he wants a green card. Then he wants a wife, a big house, car and so on. Each time he thinks he will be happy, another desire is waiting in line to be fulfilled.
 
Shri Krishna wants us to examine our own outlook and find out the level of materialism in it. So in this shloka and the following two shlokas, he uses the first person to drive this point home. Here, he wants us to inquire into what we think is our ultimate goal, our destination, our objective in life. Most of us will come to a similar conclusion that it is accumulation of wealth so that we can take care of our material desires as well as those of our family.
 
But this line of thinking has a flaw in it. Desires are bahushaakha, they multiply infinitely, as we have seen in earlier chapters. Each desire contains the seed of several other desires. If any of those desires is unfulfilled, we invite stress, tension and anxiety into our lives. Now it does not mean that we should not harbour any desires. It just means that we need to apply some system, some framework to ensure that desires are managed and do not get out of hand.
 
The four stage aashrama system (brahmachaari, grihastha, vaanaprastha and sanyaasi) prescribes the duties of an individual based on their stage in life. When duties are given importance, desires automatically manage themselves. For instance, if one is a householder, then one focuses on what is the essential set of desires for fulfilling one’s duties, rather than deriving joy out of adding more and more desires. And even if some desires are unfulfilled, they do not agitate the mind because the goal is the duty, not the desire.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 12, Chapter 16

07 Sunday Apr 2013

Posted by in 16.12, aashaapaashaha, anyaayena, arthasanchayaan, baddhaahaa, chapter 16 verse 12, eehante, kaama, kaamabhogaartham, krodha, paraayanaahaa, shataihi

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aashaapaashashatairbaddhaahaa kaamakrodhaparaayanaahaa |
eehante kaamabhogaarthamanyaayenaarthasanchayaan || 12 ||
 
Bound by hundred ropes of desires, oriented towards desire and anger, they strive to accumulate wealth by unjust means for sensual consumption.
 
aashaapaashaha : ropes of desires
shataihi : hundreds
baddhaahaa : boumd
kaama : desire
krodha : anger
paraayanaahaa : oriented
eehante : strive
kaamabhogaartham : sensual consumption
anyaayena : unjust
arthasanchayaan : accumulation of wealth
 
Every selfish desire carries a seed of anxiety within it, as we have seen. Shri Krishna says that such desires harm us in another manner. We develop attachment towards the desire, we are bound. It is as if a paasha, a lasso, a rope is tied around us on one end, and the desire on the other. Just like a cowboy puts a lasso around a horse and makes it obey his instructions, each desire makes us into a slave, makes us dance to its tune.
 
If this is our plight, what to talk of highly materialistic individuals.They have not one but hundreds of such ropes to bind them. If one desire is fulfilled, they have several others waiting in line. If a desire does not get fulfilled, it generates anger and agitation, causing them to inflict harm and pain upon themselves and upon others. They fall into a vicious cycle of desire, anger and greed which, given that they subscribe only to a materialistic viewpoint, is almost impossible to get out of.
 
So if one is continually plagued by hundreds of desires, and has a narrow outlook towards the world, what is his solution? It is money, it is accumulation of wealth, artha sanchaayan. But, in order to fulfill the infinite desires that are pulling him in several directions, there arises a need to generate wealth beyond what is legally and ethically possible. Therefore, he resorts to making money using any means necessary, legal or illegal.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 11, Chapter 16

06 Saturday Apr 2013

Posted by in 16.11, aparimeyaam, chapter 16 verse 11, chintaam, etaavat, kaamopabhogaparamaahaa, nishchitaahaa, pralayaantaam, upaashritaahaa

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chintaamaparimeyaam cha pralayaantaamupaashritaahaa |
kaamopabhogaparamaa etaavaditi nishchitaahaa || 11 ||
 
Occupied with infinite worries that end only with death, they treat desire and consumption as the highest, assured that that is all.
 
chintaam : worries
aparimeyaam : infinite
cha : and
pralayaantaam : ending with death
upaashritaahaa : occupied
kaamopabhogaparamaahaa : those who treat desire and consumption as the highest
etaavat : that is all
iti : in this manner
nishchitaahaa : assured
 
So far we saw how highly materialistic people inflict harm upon society. Now, Shri Krishna shows how they cause harm to themselves as well. He says that those devilish individuals, those with aasuri sampatti do not have even a single moment of peace. Their mind is always agitated with an infinite number of anxieties and worries. This state of affairs, this constant state of tension never ends, it goes on all the way till the end of their life.
 
Every selfish desire comes pre-packaged with the seed of anxiety. Why is this so? In anyone’s life, there will always be one desire or another that remains unfulfilled. It is quite normal. But when we give the utmost importance to desire and consumption, when we make it the ultimate goal of life, our mind is in a constant state of agitation until each desire is fulfilled. And even if we have all the wealth and power in the world, there will always be something that we are missing, which will in turn generate anxiety.
 
But if our worldview incorporates something higher, if we seek a higher goal than goes beyond materialism, we expand our sense of self, our sense of I. Instead of only thinking about our own well being, we start caring about our family, our parents, our city, our nation and so on. Now it does not matter if we have to undergo any suffering, because we care about something that is higher than us. The culmination of this expansion of self happens when we begin to have faith in the highest self, Ishvara, the faith that he will ensure our well being. Consequently, our anxiety about our well being begins to diminish.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 10, Chapter 16

05 Friday Apr 2013

Posted by in 16.10, aashritya, asadgraahaan, ashuchihi, chapter 16 verse 10, dambhaha, dushpooram, griheetvaa, kaamam, maanaha, madaanvitaahaa, mohaad, pravartante, vrataahaa

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kaamamaashritya dushpooram dambhamaanamadaanvitaahaa |
mohaad griheetvaasadgraahaanpravartanteshuchivrataahaa || 10 ||
 
Filled with insatiable desires, with pretentiousness, pride and arrogance, holding untrue views in delusion, they work with impure resolve.
 
kaamam : desires
aashritya : filled
dushpooram : insatiable
dambhaha : pretentiousness
maanaha : pride
madaanvitaahaa : with arrogance
mohaad : in delusion
griheetvaa : holding
asadgraahaan : untrue views
pravartante : work
ashuchihi : impure
vrataahaa : resolve
 
A major aspect of the materialistic world view is greed. Shri Krishna refers to this greed using the phrase duspooram kaamam, meaning selfish desires that can never be satisfied or fulfilled. People who follow the materialistic world view believe that one who is without selfish desires is as good as dead. They do not believe that selfless action, work that benefits someone other than themselves, is worth anything.
 
This greed propels them to dambhaha or pretentiousness. They do not see the harm in putting on a show in order to gain favours or get what they want. As they accumulate more wealth and power, they feed their superiority complex, resulting in maanaha or excessive pride. When their pride reaches greater and greater heights, they become drunk with their ill-gotten accomplishments and possessions. This is mada, intoxication.
 
We keep coming back to the theme of ignorance and delusion, of moha, when we analyze the materialistic world view. When one cannot tell right from wrong, one begins to develop views that are not based on truth or rationality, termed in the shloka as moha-asat. It is no surprise that the activities or undertakings of such people are impure, lawless, without any consideration of duty or the big picture. Defrauding others or destroying others property are illegal in the eyes of the law, but perfectly legal from their standpoint.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 9, Chapter 16

04 Thursday Apr 2013

Posted by in 16.9, ahitaahaa, alpabuddhayaha, avashthaabya, chapter 16 verse 9, dristhim, etaam, jagataha, kshayaaya, nashtotmaanaha, prabhavanti, ugrakarmaanaha

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etaam dristhimavashthaabya nashtotmaanolpabuddhayaha |
prabhavantyugrakarmaanaha kshayaaya jagatohitaahaa || 9 ||
 
Holding this view, these narrow minded, lost souls who engage in acts of terror, rise as enemies of the world for its annihilation.
 
etaam : this
dristhim : view
avashthaabya : holding
nashtotmaanaha : lost souls
alpabuddhayaha : narrow minded
prabhavanti : rise
ugrakarmaanaha : those that engage in acts of terror
kshayaaya : annihilation
jagataha : world
ahitaahaa : enemies
 
If we examine the life of any tyrant, gangster, terrorist or despot, a common theme arises. There was one moment in their life where they realized that using physical force on another person gave them power and joy. In other words, they did not have any regard for the consequences of their actions, especially when it came to harming others. Such people are the embodiment of the aasuric or the devilish tendencies.
 
Shri Krishna now begins to describe such people in great detail. First, he says that such people hold a petty, narrow minded view of the world. If I win, someone has to lose, this is their outlook. They have no sense of connectedness, nothing in common with anyone else. They are nashthaatmaanaha, they are lost souls. They have no concept that there is something beyond the physical body, whether it is god, soul, humanity, nationality, nothing at all.
 
Now when such people don’t have any connection with other human beings, with the rest of the world, they have no qualms in engaging in acts of terror. We nowadays come across people who create and deploy computer viruses, bombs, chemical weapons and so on. It all begins with a seemingly simple notion – that the body is the only truth in this world, and that everything is justified in preserving one’s body at the expense of someone else’s.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 8, Chapter 16

03 Wednesday Apr 2013

Posted by in 16.8, aahuhu, aneeshvaram, anyat, aparasparasambhootam, apratishtham, asatyam, chapter 16 verse 8, jagat, kaamahaitukam, kim, te

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asatyamapratishtham te jagadaahuraneeshvaram |
aparasparasambhootam kimanyatkaamahaitukam || 8 ||
 
They say that this world is unreal, without a basis, without a god. It is born of mutual union, desire is its only cause, what else.
 
asatyam : unreal
apratishtham : without basis
te : they
jagat : world
aahuhu : say
aneeshvaram : without a god
aparasparasambhootam : born of mutual union
kim : what
anyat : else
kaamahaitukam : desire is the only cause
 
Any philosophy, any world view has to answer some fundamental questions – who am I, what is the nature of this world, where did it come from, is there a god, and what is the relationship between the I, the world and god. In the fifteenth chapter, Shri Krishna described his worldview by answering all these questions. Here, he proceeds to describe the materialistic worldview, the worldview of the asuras, those with devilish qualities.
 
At its core, the materialistic viewpoint views everything as comprised of the five elements, or in today’s times, atoms and molecules. So then, the answer to the questions, who am I, and what is the cause of this world, is the same. I am nothing but a combination of the five elements, and the world is also nothing but a combination of the five elements. Both are caused by the union of elements, either through chemical or biological reactions that happen due to forces of attraction, forces of desire.
 
Now, if the world is comprised of nothing but inert matter, one will concluded that there is no truth to it, no basis to it, nothing higher to it. A divide starts to arise between the I and the world. If the world is an inert, unreal entity, why should I treat it with care? Anything, including lying, cheating and murder, is then justified. Materialists go one step further and assert that there is no governing principle in this world, no god. So I can get away with whatever I want, because there is no law.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 7, Chapter 16

02 Tuesday Apr 2013

Posted by in 16.7, aasuraahaa, achaaraha, chapter 16 verse 7, janaahaa, nivrittim, pravrittim, satyam, shaucham, teshu, viduhu, vidyate

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pravrittim cha nivrittim cha janaa na viduraasuraahaa |
na shaucham naapi chaachaaro na satyam teshu vidyate || 7 ||
 
Whether to engage or to disengage from action, those people with devilish tendencies do not know. Neither purity nor proper conduct nor truth exists in them.
 
pravrittim : engaging in action
cha : and
nivrittim : disengaging from action
cha : and
janaahaa : people
na : not
viduhu : know
aasuraahaa : those with devilish tendencies
na : not
shaucham : purity
na : not
api : also
cha : and
achaaraha : proper conduct
na : not
satyam : truth
teshu : in them
vidyate : exists
 
Shri Krishna begins his explanation of the materialistic viewpoint by examining its value system. He says that those people who come from a purely materialistic viewpoint have a shaky value system. In other words, they do not know what to do and what not to do, when to engage in something and when not to. They focus only on artha or wealth and kaama or desire. They forget that there are two other goals in life, dharma or duty and moksha or liberation, and that each goal is to be picked up and left off at a certain stage in life.
 
Now, since such people are unclear about the pros and cons of everything, they are bound to do things in a haphazard and messy way. Shri Krishna says that such people do not have shaucha, they do not have purity. He refers not just to external purity but also internal. When someone does not have a systematic way of thinking through things, there is a strong chance that they will lead messy lives. Furthermore, their conduct towards others, their aacharana, will also be messy and haphazard. They will lack good manners, courtesy and politeness.
 
It also follows that when someone does not know the pros and cons of anything, they will not place a lot of importance on satyam, truth, doing things the right way. So if they do not get the result they want, they have no qualms in getting their results by lying, cheating and deceit. They do not want to wait for the result, because waiting takes time. If there is a shortcut, they will go for it. Such is the value system of the aasuri, the devilish, the materialistic viewpoint.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 6, Chapter 16

01 Monday Apr 2013

Posted by in 16.6, aasuraha, aasuram, asmin, bhootasargau, chapter 16 verse 6, daivaha, dvau, loke, me, paartha, proktaha, shrunu, vishtarashaha

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dvau bhootasargau lokesmindaiva aasura eva cha |
daivo vishtarashaha prokta aasuram paartha me shrunu || 6 ||
 
In this world, two types of beings have been created, the divine and the devilish. The divine has been described elaborately. The devilish, O Paartha, listen from me now.
 
dvau : two
bhootasargau : beings have been created
loke : in world
asmin : this
daivaha : divine
aasuraha : devilish
eva : also
cha : and
daivaha : divine
vishtarashaha : elaborately
proktaha : described
aasuram : devilish
paartha : O Paartha
me : from me
shrunu : listen now
 
Although Shri Krishna had reassured Arjuna in the previous shloka, he knew that all individuals had a mix of divine and devilish qualities in them, including Arjuna. It was not either or. The devilish qualities within Arjuna had erupted at the start of the war in the first chapter, so there was certainly room for improvement. Knowing this, Shri Krishna proceeded to describe the devilish qualities in detail in this chapter.
 
From our perspective, we are always struggling between progressing on the spiritual journey versus conforming to the prevalent way of life – materialism. While there is nothing inherently wrong with enjoying whatever life has to offer, society urges us sometimes to get carried away with the pursuit of materialism, without pointing out the downside of doing so. It is instructive to see how little has changed between the materialistic worldview of Shri Krishna’s time and the present day.
 
So, from the next shloka to the end of this chapter, Shri Krishna paints a detailed picture of the materialistic world view that many of us have taken for granted. He describes the way they think and feel, their attitude towards people and objects, and the consequences of their materialistic viewpoint.