Author Archives: skr_2011

Bhagavad Gita Verse 18, Chapter 16

13 Saturday Apr 2013

Posted by in 16.18, aatmaparadeheshu, abhyasooyakaahaa, ahankaaram, balam, chapter 16 verse 18, darpam, kaamam, krodham, maam, pradvishantaha, samshritaahaa

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ahankaaram balam darpam kaamam krodham cha samshritaahaa |
maamaatmaparadeheshu pradvishantobhyasooyakaahaa || 18 ||
 
Taking refuge in egotism, power, arrogance, desire and anger, these resentful people hate me, who dwells in one’s own and in other’s bodies.
 
ahankaaram : egotism
balam : power
darpam : arrogance
kaamam : desire
krodham : anger
cha : and
samshritaahaa : taking refuge
maam : me
aatmaparadeheshu : dwelling in own and other’s bodies
pradvishantaha : hate
abhyasooyakaahaa : resentful people
 
Shri Krishna starts to summarize the list of aasuri sampatti or devilish qualities by highlighting the primary ones. The foremost devilish quality is egotism. Considering anything other than the eternal essence as the I is egotism. For most of us, the I is our body and mind. This incorrect understanding comes from avidyaa or ignorance of our true nature. In the Mahabhaarata, ignorance is symbolically represented by the blind king Dhritarashtra, and egotism by his first child Duryodhana, the cause of the Mahabhaarata war.
 
When egotism or the I notion is strong, one tends to impose one’s will on others. This is balam or power. One tends to disregard one’s duties, rules and norms, lose all sense of right and wrong, due to the strength of egotism. This is darpam or arrogance. Their primary aim of life becomes kaama or selfish desire, resulting in krodha or anger when these desires are not fulfilled. Other devilish tendencies such as hypocrisy, pride and ostentation are variations of these primary qualities. We should always be on the lookout for the rise of such qualities in us.
 
Shri Krishna goes on to say that such people hate Ishvara who dwells in everyone, including the very people who are harbouring these devilish qualities. They never listen to Ishvara who, as the voice of conscience, pleads them to not fall prey to these qualities. They do not follow the instructions of Ishvara as laid down in the scriptures. Instead, they resent him and hate him, as well as those who follow his path by cultivating divine qualities.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 17, Chapter 16

12 Friday Apr 2013

Posted by in 16.17, aatmasambhaavitaahaa, avidhipoorvakam, chapter 16 verse 17, dambhena, dhanamaanamadaanvitaahaa, naamayajnaihi, stabdhaa, te, yajante

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aatmasambhaavitaahaa stabdhaa dhanamaanamadaanvitaahaa |
yajante naamayajnaiste dambhenaavidhipoorvakam || 17 ||
 
Self praising, stubborn, filled with intoxication of wealth and fame, they, arrogantly and unsystematically, conduct sacrifices for name only.
 
aatmasambhaavitaahaa : self praising
stabdhaa : stubborn
dhanamaanamadaanvitaahaa : filled with intoxication of wealth and fame
yajante : conduct
naamayajnaihi : sacrifices for name only
te : they
dambhena : arrogantly
avidhipoorvakam : unsystematically
 
When one is overly materialistic, one is always engaged in a constant game of one-upmanship with one’s rivals. Such people put in a lot of effort to create the impression that they are always one step ahead with regards to wealth, power and achievements as compared to their rivals. Shri Krishna paints a picture of this game of one upmanship in this shloka. He examines how such people perform sacrificial rituals. Let us look at the broader meaning of the term sacrifice, which means any activity undertaken for the greater good of society, commonly termed social service.
 
For instance, imagine that an extremely materialistic individual, one who has devilish qualities, announces that he will build a school in an impoverished village. First of all, whether the individual is qualified to build a school or not does not matter. He will praise himself and claim that he is qualified. He will probably not take advice from others, given his stubborn nature. He will make a big announcement in the media, but the emphasis will be on the charitable qualities of the founder than of the school he is building.
 
When in year or so, the hype of the media has died down, and students start attending the school, all kinds of irregularities are discovered. The building construction is faulty. There is no proper budget for hiring good teachers. The money raised for this effort has been funnelled into questionable channels. In a nutshell, the entire effort has been conducted unsystematically, only for the temporary image enhancement of the founder in the media. As with the other scenarios we have seen in this chapter, the root of all this is the intoxication of wealth and fame.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 16, Chapter 16

11 Thursday Apr 2013

Posted by in 16.16, anekaha, ashuchau, chapter 16 verse 16, chitta, http://schemas.google.com/blogger/2008/kind#post, kaamabhogeshu, mohajaala, narake, prasaktaahaa, samaavritaahaa, vibhraantaaha

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anekachittavibhraantaa mohajaalasamaavritaahaa |
prasaktaahaa kaamabhogeshu patanti narakeshuchau || 16 ||
 
Bewildered by innumerable fancies, trapped in the web of delusion, addicted to desires and enjoyments, they descend into a foul hell.
 
anekaha : innumerable
vibhraantaaha : bewildered
chitta : fancies
mohajaala : web of delusion
samaavritaahaa : trapped
prasaktaahaa : addicted
kaamabhogeshu : desires and enjoyments
patanti : they descend
narake : into hell
ashuchau : foul
 
Over 9 percent of the population in western countries is addicted to drugs. Drug addiction begins when a person has some problem, discomfort or sorrow, such as a teenager finding it difficult to fit it or an adult losing his job. Using drugs or alcohol appears to solve the problem, so he uses them repeatedly. At this point, his body gets habituated to the drugs or alcohol and consequently shuts down all logic and reason. The person has become an addict. His sole aim in life is to do whatever it takes to satisfy his cravings.
 
Shri Krishna summarizes the lifecycle of a person with devilish tendencies, which looks worryingly similar to that of a drug addict. The person in question has an underlying sense of incompleteness or sorrow. Fulfilling a selfish desire, no matter how insignificant, gives him a temporary burst of joy. He wants to repeat this sensation, he wants more of it, and thus becomes addicted to desires and enjoyments. The more he does so, the more power he gives to his emotional mind, and takes power from his reasoning and intellect. He is trapped in the web of delusion. All he can think about now is more and more desires to fulfill, and the means to fulfill them.
 
Whether or not a drug addict or a highly materialistic person literally falls into hell is a different story. But a life of addiction, a life where inert substances make us dance to their tune, a life where there is no higher aim or goal, and most importantly, a life where the intellect has taken a backseat, is no different than any hell with fire and brimstone in it.

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.