Author Archives: skr_2011

Bhagavad Gita Verse 13, Chapter 17

03 Friday May 2013

Posted by in 17.13, adakshinam, asrishtaannam, chapter 17 verse 13, mantraheenam, parichakshate, shraddhaavirahitam, taamasam, vidhiheenam, yajnyam

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vidhiheenamasrishtaannam mantraheenamadakshinam |
shraddhaavirahitam yajnyam taamasam parichakshate || 13 ||
 
They call that sacrifice to be taamasic which is contrary to scripture, in which no food is distributed, without chanting of hymns or donations to priests, and performed without faith.
 
vidhiheenam : contrary to scripture
asrishtaannam : without distribution of food
mantraheenam : without chanting of hymns
adakshinam : without donation to priests
shraddhaavirahitam : performed without faith
yajnyam : sacrifice
taamasam : taamasic
parichakshate : they call
 
Here, Shri Krishna describes the attitude of taamasic individuals towards action, using the symbolism of a sacrificial ritual once again. He says that taamasic attitude towards action totally disregards shaastra or scripture. Scripture refers to a higher law, any notion of ethics or morality. There is no thought as to the consequence of the action to oneself and to other individuals whatsoever. Any task done without proper planning or performed haphazardly falls into this category.
 
Next, Shri Krishna says that there is no distribution of food in the sacrifice. In the taamasic attitude, the person not only claims the results of the action as their own, but goes to great lengths to ensure that no one else gains the benefit of the action, even if it is their due. For instance, if a business has a good year, the owner may hoard the profits instead of giving employees a bonus. Furthermore, the taamasic attitude does give respect or listen to advice of senior people, referred to as “priests” in this shloka.
 
The main problem with the taamasic attitude is that all actions are performed with lack of faith. In other words, actions are performed for all the wrong reasons – someone else told us to perform the action, we are just doing it for the sake of doing it, we are doing it grudgingly, we are not putting our heart into it, we are not involved in it and so on. The performance of actions is as if it is being done by a lifeless entity, a corpse.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 12, Chapter 17

02 Thursday May 2013

Posted by in 17.12, abhisandhaaya, bharatashreshtha, chapter 17 verse 12, dambhaartham, ijyate, phalam, raajasam, tam, viddhi, yajnyam

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abhisandhaaya tu phalam dambhaarthamapi chaiva yat |
ijyate bharatashreshtha tam yajnyam viddhi raajasam || 12 ||
 
That which is performed with the intent of reward and for ostentation alone, know that such a sacrifice is raajasic.
 
abhisandhaaya : intent
tu : but
phalam : reward
dambhaartham : ostentation
api : also
cha : and
eva : alone
yat : that which
ijyate : performed
bharatashreshtha : O foremost among Bharataas
tam : such
yajnyam : sacrifice
viddhi : know
raajasam : raajasic
 
Our attitude towards our actions determines the texture of our faith. Continuing with this theme, Shri Krishna describes the attitude with which a raajasic person performs his actions. He says that such a person constantly thinks “what is in it for me” in each and every action he performs. Personal gain is paramount, anyone else’s gain is secondary or even overlooked. Such a person is also constantly interested in the impression created by his action in the minds of others, and how will it benefit him. In other words, his actions are only performed for name and fame, for show and display. There is always an ulterior motive.
 
So far we have heard about the attitudes of saattvic and raajasic people towards action. This may raise several questions with respect to our life. We may say, I am a businessman, how can I not think what is in it for me? To answer this, we need to go back to the notion of our svadharma, our chosen career path. As long as ethics and laws are observed, a businessman should absolutely be focused on maximizing profits, otherwise he is not performing his duty. However, the businessman’s profit motive should only be restricted to business deals. A transaction mindset creeps into interactions with friends and family, it ends up causing trouble.
 
Now, we may be tempted to point our fingers at those who spend a lot of time and energy in maintaining their appearance. We may also say, when others make negative comments about our appearance, we do not get stressed. All this is well and good. However, we may get insulted or stressed when someone comments upon our intellect or our competency in our job. This means that we harbour a strong sense of aham, a strong sense of the “I” notion with our intellect. This stress is also an indicator that somewhere within us, the texture of our faith is tinged with rajas.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 11, Chapter 17

01 Wednesday May 2013

Posted by in 17.11, aphalakaankshibhihi, chapter 17 verse 11, ijyate, manaha, saattvikaha, saha, samaadhaaya, vidhidrishtaha, yaajnaha, yaha, yashtavyam

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aphalakaankshibhiryaajnau vidhidrishto ya ijyate |
yashtavyameveti manaha samaadhaaya sa saattvikaha || 11 ||
 
That which is performed by one without expectation of result, according to scripture, with a mental resolve of duty alone, such sacrifice is saattvic.
 
aphalakaankshibhihi : one without expectation of result
yaajnaha : sacrifice
vidhidrishtaha : according to scripture
yaha : that which
ijyate : performed
yashtavyam : duty
eva : alone
iti : in this manner
manaha : mind
samaadhaaya : resolve
saha : that
saattvikaha : is saattvic
 
So far, Shri Krishna revealed that the type of food we can reveal texture of our faith. He now lists the types of yajnya, the types of sacrificial rituals for worship, so that we can analyze the texture of our faith through them. Yajnyas are extremely elaborate rituals, but can be reduced to three basic components – the offering, the flame and the result. The person conducting the ritual uses items such as oil or butter as an offering to the deity. The deity is represented by the flame that consumes the offering. A yajnya is typically performed with a specific goal or result in mind, such as a longer life, marriage, children, prosperity and so on.
 
How does this matter to us in today’s day and age? Symbolically, yajnya refers to all of our interactions with any entity or object in this world, and comprises of the very same components. First, the offering is the effort we put in to perform an action. This action could be something we perform at our job, for example. Second, the flame represents the recipient of our action. Lastly, the recipient responds to our action in the form of a result, which could e something tangible such as money, or intangible, such as goodwill towards us.
 
As we saw earlier, three people can perform the same action with three different attitudes of sattva, rajas and tamas. Here, Shri Krishna describes the attitude of a saatvic person. Such a person performs his action driven by a sense of duty to a higher ideal, without any selfish desire. The higher ideal could be service of one’s country, for instance. There is no expectation of any result from the recipient of the action. Furthermore, the action is performed in line with a set of selfless laws, such as the law of a country, humanitarian laws, or laws that have come from scripture.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 10, Chapter 17

30 Tuesday Apr 2013

Posted by in 17.10, amedhyam, bhoojanam, chapter 17 verse 10, gatarasam, paryushitam, pooti, taamasapriyam, ucchishtam, yaatayaamam, yat

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yaatayaamam gatarasam pooti paryushitam cha yat |
ucchishtamapi chaamedhyam bhoojanam taamasapriyam || 10 ||
 
That which is stale, without essence, putrid and is left over, also that which is pre-tasted and impure, such food is dear to the taamasic.
 
yaatayaamam : stale
gatarasam : without essence
pooti : putrid
paryushitam : leftover
cha : and
yat : that which
ucchishtam : pre-tasted
api : also
cha : and
amedhyam : impure
bhoojanam : food
taamasapriyam : dear to taamasic
 
Having covered the characteristics of food dear to saatvic and raajasic people, Shri Krishna now describes the nature of food dear to taamasic people. The first quality he describes is “yaata yaamam”. A “yaama” is equal to three hours. So any food that was cooked more than three hours ago is considered “yaata yaamam” or stale. “Gata rasam” refers to food that has lost its essence, its nutritional value, its “rasa”. Any junk food or processed food comes under this classification, as does food that has not been fully cooked.
 
It may surprise us to see Shri Krishna explicitly mention putrid or rotten food in this shloka, since we may think no one would ever eat such food. But there are people in this world who prefer eating food that has an odour to it. He also adds to the list leftover food and food that has already been tasted by someone else. The last item in the list is “amedhyam”, which is food that cannot be offered to the deity for worship. He expects us to have the understanding to know what we can offer to the deity and what we should not.
 
So, having gone through the various characteristics of food in these three shlokas, what is the practical implication for us? The first step towards making our antaha karana saatvic, our intellect, our mind our thoughts saatvic, is to watch what we eat. If we are habituated to eating extremely spicy food, we will not have the stability of mind needed to make other parts of of life saatvic. By slowly adopting food that is predominantly saatvic, we lay the foundation for improving the texture of our entire personality.
 

Bhagavad Gita Verse 9, Chapter 17

29 Monday Apr 2013

Posted by in 17.9, aahaaraahaa, amla, ati, chapter 17 verse 9, duhkhashokaamayapradaahaa, ishtaahaa, katu, lavana, raajasasya, ruksha, teekshna, ushna, vidaahinaha

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katvamlalavanaatyushnateekshnarukshavidaahinaha |
aahaaraa raajasasyeshtaa duhkhashokaamayapradaahaa || 9 ||
 
Food that is bitter, sour, salty, excessively hot, pungent, dry and burning, are dear to the raajasic person, causing pain, sorrow and disease.
 
katu : bitter
amla : sour
lavana : salty
ati : excessively
ushna : hot
teekshna : pungent
ruksha : dry
vidaahinaha : burning
aahaaraahaa : food
raajasasya : raajasic person
ishtaahaa : dear
duhkhashokaamayapradaahaa : causing pain, sorrow and disease
 
We now examine the characteristics of food that is loved by one whose faith is raajasic. Shri Krishna says that food which has sharp flavours, any food that is excessively bitter, sour, salty, spicy, pungent, dry or causes a burning sensation in the tongue and stomach, all this comes under the category of raajasic food. Now this does not mean all such food is to be avoided. We need to exercise caution when the proportion of these characteristics is “ati” or excessive.
 
It is quite easy to assess the impact of such food in our system. Consumption of such food causes duhkha or pain, which begins with the mouth and hurts the entire digestive system for a long time. Such food can also have a long term impact on the body in the form of “aamaya” or disease. Since the person has raajasic faith, he will have a strong preference for such type of food, and will feel sorrow if he is unable to obtain such food. In today’s age, food that is high in sodium, sugar and oil also comes in this category.
 
Food, in its broader sense, also refers to the intake of information through the eyes and ears as well. Watching a lot of violent movies and TV, for instance, inflicts pain upon the mind. Many people get addicted to the internet and television, and experience sorrow if they are unable to log on or watch TV, even for a short while. It is no different than a bodily disease. In other words, the kind of television or internet content we consume can also reveal a lot about the texture of our faith.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 8, Chapter 17

28 Sunday Apr 2013

Posted by in 17.8, aahaaraaha, aarogyaha, aayuhu, balaha, chapter 17 verse 8, hridyaa, preetihi, rasyaaha, saattvikapriyaahaa, sattva, snigdhaaha, sthiraaha, sukhaha, vivirdhanaahaa

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aayuhsattvabalaarogyasukhapreetivivirdhanaahaa |
rasyaaha snigdhaaha sthiraa hridyaa aahaaraaha saattvikapriyaahaa || 8 ||
 
Food that enhances longevity, mind, strength, health, happiness and joy, that which is juicy, oily, stable and pleasant, is dear to one who is saatvic.
 
aayuhu : longevity
sattva : mind
balaha : strength
aarogyaha : health
sukhaha : happiness
preetihi : joy
vivirdhanaahaa : enhances
rasyaaha : juicy
snigdhaaha : oily
sthiraaha: stable
hridyaa : pleasant
aahaaraaha : food
saattvikapriyaahaa : dear to one who is saatvic
 
The Chhandogya Upanishad describes the impact of food on our personality. It says that the food we eat is divided into three parts. Majority of what we eat is rejected by the body. The second part is used to build the bones, muscles, skin, organs and so on. The third part, the most subtle part goes into the antaha karana, comprising of the emotional mind, the intellectual mind, memory and senses. In other words, the food we eat impacts our personality in a multitude of ways.
 
Shri Krishna says that the type of food we eat can point to the texture of our faith. He lists the characteristics of food that is consumed by a saatvic person. Saatvic food promotes aayu or longevity. It improves the quality of thoughts in our mind. It improves our strength and our health, since it provides essential nutrition to the body. We have happiness while we are eating it, and joy after we have eaten it. It does not cause any regrets while eating it, or after eating it.
 
What does such saatvic food taste like? It is juicy, like a succulent fruit. It is not dry, it has just the right amount of fat and oil, like almonds. It is stable, it provides long term benefits to the body, long after having consumed it. It is hridyaa which means pleasant. One does not have to cultivate a special taste for it since it is agreeable to all. Another meaning of hridyaa is medicinal. Such food can be digested easily when our power of digestion is low, and can also help in the healing process.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 7, Chapter 17

27 Saturday Apr 2013

Posted by in 17, 7, aahaaraha, bhavati, bhedam, chapter 17 verse 7, daanam, imam, priyaha, sarvasya, shrunu, tapaha, tathaa, teshaam, trividhaha, yajnyaha

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aahaararastvapi sarvasya trividho bhavati priyaha |
yajnyastapastathaa daanam teshaam bhedamimam shrunu || 7 ||
 
Food, also, which is dear to all, is of three types, and similarly, sacrifice, penance and charity. Hear this, their distinction.
 
aahaaraha : food
tu : and
api : also
sarvasya : all
trividhaha : three types
bhavati : is
priyaha : dear
yajnyaha : sacrifice
tapaha : penance
tathaa : similarly
daanam : charity
teshaam : these
bhedam : distinction
imam : this
shrunu : hear
 
Shri Krishna now begins to explain the method by which we can analyze the texture or the nature of our faith. The principle here is to assess the attitude with which we perform actions. The type of attitude maintained while performing an action will reveal whether our faith is saatvic, raajasic or taamasic. Shri Krishna covers the entire spectrum of actions performed by us with just four categories: our intake of food, sacrifice, penance and charity. To better understand these categories, we need to understand the underlying symbolic meaning.
 
We have come across broader meaning of the term yajnya or sacrifice in karma yoga. It refers to any action or transaction with another person or object while adhering to our duty. If we are an accountant by profession, then earning a livelihood as an accountant becomes a yajyna or sacrifice. Next, tapas or penance is the means by which we conserve energy needed to perform our duties. A scientist will give up innumerable opportunities to party because he is performing an experiment in his lab in the night. This is penance. Daanam or charity refers to the donation of excess wealth accumulated while performing our duties. The act of charity helps reduce our level of lobha or greed.
 
The intake of food or aahaara is given its own category. It different than sacrifice, penance or austerity for a couple of reasons. Any action performed towards feeding the body gives its phala, its result, immediately. But any other type of action gives its result much later. Furthermore, the result of feeding our body is restricted to the body, not to anything or anyone else. That is why people who are very diligent in their duties can become lax in their dietary habits. Food is analyzed in great detail in the next three shlokas.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 6, Chapter 17

26 Friday Apr 2013

Posted by in 17.6, aasuranishchayaan, achetasaha, antahashareerastham, bhootagraamam, chapter 17 verse 6, karshayantaha, shareerastham, viddhi

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karshayantaha shareerastham bhootagraamamachetasaha |
maam chaivaantahashareerastham taanviddhyaasuranishchayaan || 6 ||
 
The collection of elements situated in the body, as well as me who dwells in the body, are weakened by ignorant people. Know them to be of devilish resolves.
 
karshayantaha : weakened
shareerastham : situated in body
bhootagraamam : collection of elements
achetasaha : ignorant people
maam : me
cha : and
eva : also
antahashareerastham : dwells in the body
taan : them
viddhi : know
aasuranishchayaan : devilish resolves
 
Let’s say it is the first day of the new year, and we make a resolution to lose some weight. The very next day, we join a gym for the very first time, and spend one hour running on the treadmill. This will not be a good idea. Instead of helping our body, we may harm it. Weight loss, like any other system, requires a combination of knowledge and action. Unless we understand the techniques involved in weight loss, we should avoid starting an exercise regimen.
 
A similar state is found in some people who practice terrible austerities in the name of worship. Shri Krishna explains their fate here. He says that those who torture the body and mind in the name of austerity are doing nothing but weakening the elements, meaning the organs, in their body. Nowhere in the scriptures does it ask us to harm our body. He goes one step further by asserting that such people are also hurting Ishvara himself. As we saw in the ninth chapter, Ishvara dwells in all of us as the saakshi, the witness of our thoughts and actions.
 
Shri Krishna calls such people achetesaaha which means ignorant, or even unconscious. They chose to ignore Ishvara’s teaching in the form of scriptures. They do not have faith in any ideal except their own preservation. They are driven only by egoism and desire. It is no wonder that their plans, their resolves, will be aasuric or devilish, as explained in the prior chapter. So the warning to us is clear. As we are conducting the analysis of our faith, we should in no way emulate these people. We should stay away from them.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 5, Chapter 17

25 Thursday Apr 2013

Posted by in 17.5, ahankaaraha, ashaastravihitam, balaanvitaahaa, chapter 17 verse 5, dambhaha, ghoram, janaahaa, kaamaha, raagaha, samyuktaahaa, tapaha, tapyante

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ashaastravihitam ghoram tapyante ye tapo janaahaa |
dambhaahankaarasamyuktaahaa kaamaraagabalaanvitaahaa || 5 ||
 
Those people who perform horrible austerities that are shunned by laws of scripture, entrenched in ostentation and pride, possessed with the force of desire and attachment.
 
ashaastravihitam : shunned by laws of scripture
ghoram : horrible
tapyante : perform
ye : those who
tapaha : austerities
janaahaa : people
dambhaha : ostentation
ahankaaraha : pride
samyuktaahaa : entrenched
kaamaha : desire
raagaha : attachment
balaanvitaahaa : possessed with force
 
Let us imagine that you are attending a class on basic electronic circuits. It is your first day in the electronics lab. If you have a good teacher, chances are that they will not start day one of the class with the topic of electronics itself. They will probably talk about the dos and donts of handling electronics equipment. This is because they have your safety and the safety of other students in mind. Shri Krishna, teacher extraordinaire, uses this shloka and next to give us a warning before delving into the topic of analyzing the texture of our faith.
 
This warning is very simple. Any time we see people abuse and torture themselves or others in the name of devotion, physically or mentally, we need to stay away from such people. Or, in the rare chance that we have been misguided by someone to do such things, we should immediately stop. Such torture could be something as basic as denying oneself food and water to the detriment of one’s health, or could be as terrible as poking and prodding oneself with pins and needles. None of this is sanctioned by any scripture.
 
So why would someone perform such painful austerities? Shri Krishna says many of these people have some misguided pride about some body-oriented feat such as walking on hot charcoals. They want to put on a show so that they can satisfy the urge of ostentation, to show off their feats. Some others become so attached a worldly goal that they take on vows of incessant fasting without taking their health into consideration. Broadly speaking, such people do not gain their result, and end up harming themselves and others around them.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 4, Chapter 17

24 Wednesday Apr 2013

Posted by in 17.4, bhootaganaam, chapter 17 verse 4, devaan, http://schemas.google.com/blogger/2008/kind#post, janaahaa, pretaan, raajasaahaa, saattvikaa, taamasaa, yajante, yaksharakshaamsi

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yajante saattvikaa devaanyaksharakshaamsi raajasaahaa |
pretaanbhootaganaamshchaanye yajante taamasaa janaahaa || 4 ||
 
Saatvic individuals worship deities, raajasic individuals worship the yakshas and the raakshasas, others, taamasic individuals, the pretas and band of bhootas.
 
yajante : worship
saattvikaa : saatvic individuals
devaan : deities
yaksharakshaamsi : yakshas and raakshasas
raajasaahaa : raajasic individuals
pretaan : pretas
bhootaganaam : band of bhootas
cha : and
anye : others
yajante : worship
taamasaa : taamasic
janaahaa : individuals
 
Shri Krishna says that people who have faith can be placed in three categories. Those that worship deities such as Lord Ganesha, Lord Shiva and so on are saatvic. Those that worship materialistic spirits or yakshas such as Kubera the lord of wealth are raajasic. Those that worship ghosts and demons are taamasic. Hearing this, we may say that we only worship deities. We never worship anything else. Therefore, we may conclude that we are highly saatvic individuals.
 
But as we have seen in karma yoga, the attitude with which we perform an action is equally important as the action itself. Imagine that three people visit the same temple at the same time and pray to the same deity. One person may pray because he wants his daughter to get married. One may pray to knock off his business competitor. Another may pray so that he attains liberation in this life. Outwardly, they may seem to be doing the same action, but there is a world of difference in their attitude. This difference in attitude is symbolically conveyed in the shloka using terms such as ghosts and demons.
 
So, analyzing our actions is not as easy as observing what we do. We also need to note our attitude behind our actions. As we saw earlier, our nature or svabhaava determines our attitude and our actions. To uncover the texture of our faith, we first need to uncover our attitudes and motivations, which requires a high degree of awareness. To get better and doing so, Shri Krishna covers a gamut of actions in this chapter so that we can practice observing our attitude as well as our actions, observe what we do and why we do it.