Author Archives: skr_2011

Bhagavad Gita Verse 1, Chapter 3

09 Friday Dec 2011

Posted by in 3.1, buddhih, chapter 3 verse 1, chet, ghore, janaardana, jyaayasee, karmanaha, karmani, keshava, kim, maam, mataa, niyojayasi, tat, te

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jyaayasee chetkarmanaste mataa buddhirjanaardana |
tatkim karmani ghore maam niyojayasi keshava || 1 ||

If knowledge is superior to action in your opinion, O Janaardana, why do you want me to perform this horrible action, O Keshava?

jyaayasee : superior
chet : if
karmanaha : action
te : you
mataa : opinion
buddhih : knowledge
janaardana : O Janaardana
tat : then
kim : why
karmani : action
ghore : horrible
maam : me
niyojayasi : perform
keshava : O Keshava

We begin the third chapter with a question from Arjuna. It is wonderful to see the give-and-take between a student and a disciple come up several times in the Gita, making it more accessible and human. Let us dig deeper into Arjuna’s question.

In the last chapter, Shri Krishna introduced the topic of karma yoga, where one performs selfless action. But later, he spoke about the knowledge of the eternal essence. Arjuna interpreted this as a statement that knowledge is superior to wisdom, and wanted to clarify whether it was so.

As an analogy, I remember the experience of learning music. In most cases, new students of music gave more importance to performing a popular song on stage, than to endure the rigour and discipline of daily finger drills that could get repetitive and boring. Similarly, Arjuna thought that knowledge was superior in action.

Arjuna also referred to his fighting in the war as a “horrible” action. This word speaks a lot about his mental state. Shri Krishna had taught him that one should maintain equanimity in pleasant and unpleasant situations. But Arjuna had not internalized and assimilated the teaching.

This is not uncommon. Our experience will usually indicate that a one-time hearing or “shravana” of any teaching will not be enough. We also need to reflect on the teaching, which is also known as “manana”. And finally, we have to internalize it so that it becomes part of our personality – “nidhidhyaasana”.

In the next shloka, Arjuna completes his question to Shri Krishna.

Summary Of Chapter 2

08 Thursday Dec 2011

Posted by in Uncategorized

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Since the second chapter is said to contain the essence of the entire Gita, let’s try to recap the main points before we move to the third chapter:
 
1. Shri Krishna points out the error in Arjuna’s thinking, in that Arjuna’s personality was shaken by grief and delusion towards his kinsmen
2. He advises Arjuna to correct the error by learning the knowledge of the eternal essence
3. He describes the means to attain the eternal essence
4. He also describes the characteristics of the individual who has realized the eternal essence.
 
We can summarize the technique to attain the eternal essence into 3 stages:
1. Attain steadfastness in selfless action by pursuing one’s svadharma
2. Attain steadfastness in devotion to a higher ideal
3. Attain steadfastness in the knowledge of the eternal essence or tattva-jnyana
 

Footnotes
1. Most commentators agree that the chapters of the Gita map to the Upanishadic statement “Tat tvam asi” or “You are that”. The first 6 chapters cover the “tvam” or the “you” aspect, the next 6 cover the “tat” or the “That” aspect”, and the final 6 chapters cover the “asi” or the “are” aspect.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 72, Chapter 2

07 Wednesday Dec 2011

Posted by in 2.72, antakaale, api, asyaam, braahmee, brahmanirvaanam, chapter 2 verse 72, enam, eshaa, na, paartha, praapya, richchati, sthitih, sthitvaa, vimuhyati

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eshaa braahmee sthitih paartha nainaam praapya vimuhyati |
sthitvaasyaamantakaalepi brahmanirvaanamrichchati || 72 ||

Having attained this state of brahman, O Paartha, one never gets deluded. If one gets established in this state even at the time of death, he attains oneness with brahman.

eshaa : this
braahmee :brahman
sthitih : state
paartha : O Paartha
enam : this
praapya : having obtained
vimuhyati : deluded
na : not
sthitvaa : established
asyaam : in this
antakaale : at the time of death
api : even
brahmanirvaanam : oneness with brahman
richchati : attains

We encounter the word “brahman” in this shloka, which is the concluding shloka in the second chapter of the Gita. As a side note, this word is pronounced as “bruh-mun” and not “brah-mun”.

So what exactly is this brahman? It is nothing but the eternal essence that Shri Krishna described in the earlier shlokas of this chapter. It is eternal, timeless, changeless, and pervades the entire universe. And when this abstract notion of the eternal essence takes a name and a form, it is known as Ishvara or God.

Therefore, if one follows the technique of karma yoga and attains the state of a person of steady wisdom or “stithaprajnya”, that person attains oneness with brahman, or in other words, attains God. Also, even if we only attain this state at the time of death, we will still achieve oneness with brahman.

Shri Krishna concludes the second chapter of the Gita with this shloka. As we saw before, the second chapter contains the essence of the entire Gita. So, why should we read the next 16 chapters? Let us take up this question.

Shri Krishna has packed several lifetimes worth of instruction into the second chapter. Most of us will never get it just by reading the second chapter. So Shri Krishna has taken up each point in the second chapter and elaborated it further in the remainder of the Gita. He clarifies key points in the teaching, resolves seemingly conflicting statements, and makes everything practical and accessible to all kinds of readers.

Now, some of us would have approached the Gita to further our spiritual quest, and some of us with a very practical bent. We should not assume that the remainder of the Gita will only go deeper into the spiritual aspects. There are tons of practical lessons that will improve our daily lives and make us better human beings, even if we choose to disregard the spiritual aspects of the Gita.

Having concluded the second chapter in our journey, we will summarize the main points of the second chapter and get a sense of what’s coming ahead next.

om tatsatiti shreematbhagavatgitasupanishadsu brahmavidyaayaam yogashaastre shreekrishnaarjunsamvade saankhyayogo naama dvitiyodhyaayaha || 2 ||

Bhagavad Gita Verse 71 Chapter 2

06 Tuesday Dec 2011

Posted by in 2.71, abhiriksitam, adhigachchati, chapter 2 verse 71, charati, kaaman, nihspruha, nirahankarah, nirmamah, pumaan, sah, sarvaan, shaantim, vihaaya

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vihaaya kaamanyah sarvaanpumaanshcharati nihspruha |
nirmamo nirahankaarah sa shaantimadhigachchati || 71 ||

That individual who walks having abandoned all desires, cravings, mine-ness and ego, he attains peace.

vihaaya : abandon
kaaman : desires
yah : who
sarvaan : all
pumaan : individual
charati : walks
nihspruha : without cravings
nirmamah : without mine-ness
nirahankaarah : without ego
sah : he
shaantim : peace
adhigachchati: attains

Earlier in the chapter, Arjuna asked Shri Krishna to point out the signs of a person of steady wisdom. To that end, he asked Shri Krishna to answer the following questions: how does he sit, speak and walk. In this shloka, hence the use of the word “charati” meaning “walks”.

Shri Krishna summarizes the entire topic of the signs of a wise person in four points. He first asks us to give up selfish desires using the technique of karma yoga. Next, he asks us to give up cravings for things we already possess, which is the second point here. And to eliminate even the slightest trace of selfishness, he finally asks us to give up the sense of “I-ness” and “mine-ness” which we had seen in the first chapter, also known as “ahankaara”‘ and “mamataa”. The goal attained by giving up these four things is also repeated here for emphasis: it is everlasting peace.

As a point of clarification, let us remember that for most of us, abandoning these four things will not happen overnight. We have to follow a disciplined technique to do so, and only after having applied this technique for a period of time will be begin to see the desires, cravings, ego and mine-ness slowly lose their grip.

With this shloka, Shri Krishna concludes the final topic of the second chapter, that of the signs of a wise person. The next shloka will be the last shloka in the second chapter, a wonderful milestone in our journey.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 70, Chapter 2

05 Monday Dec 2011

Posted by in 2.70, aapah, aapnoti, aapuryamaanam, chala, chapter 2 verse 70, kaamaah, kaamakaamee, na, pratishtham, pravishanti, sah, samudram, shaantih, tadvat, yadvat, yam

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aapuryamaanamachalapratishtham 
samudraamaapah pravishanti yadvat |
tadvatkaamaa yam pravishanti sarve 
sa shaantimaapnoti na kaamakaamee || 70 ||

Just like the ocean remains unmoved though water enters it from all sides, so does that (tranquil) individual attain peace in whom all desires enter, but not the “desirer of desires”.

aapuryamaanam : filled with water from all sides
achalapratishtham : unmoved
samudram : ocean
aapah : water
pravishanti : enters
yadvat : just like
tadvat : so does
kaamaah : desires
yam : in that individual
pravishanti: enter
sah : that individual
shaantim : peace
aapnoti : attains
na : not
kaamakaamee : desirer of desires

Here Shri Krishna provides another pictorial description of the individual of steady wisdom : a deep, large ocean that has many streams of water entering it. No matter how many streams enter the ocean, regardless of how gently or how forcefully they enter it, the ocean always remains calm and undisturbed.

In the same way, an individual of steady wisdom does not get impacted by any number of material objects or desires that he experiences. They fail to disturb his state of equanimity. Furthermore, even if the individual has to get angry in order to perform his svadharma in the material world, he is rooted in tranquility. And that is just like the ocean surface could experience stormy weather, but remain tranquil underneath the surface.

On the other hand, the person who is steeped in ignorance and does not possess wisdom will never attain peace. Here he is called the “desirer of desires”. In other words, this person still thinks that harbouring and fulfilling desires will lead to peace and happiness. The fundamental shift from selfish desire oriented work to svadharma prompted work has not happened for him.

Note the change in meter to emphasize the point made in this shloka.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 69, Chapter 2

04 Sunday Dec 2011

Posted by in 2.69, bhootaani, chapter 2 verse 69, jaagrati, jaarti, muneh, nishaa, padhyato, saa, samyami, sarvabhootaanaam, tasyaam, yaa, yasyaam

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yaa nishaa sarvabhootaanaam tasyaam jaagarti samyami |
yasyaam jaagrati bhootaani saa nishaa pashyato muneh || 69 ||

That which is night for all beings, the balanced individual is awake in that. And that in which all beings are awake, the person of contemplation views as night.

yaa : that
nishaa : night
sarvabhootaanaam : for all beings
tasyaam : in that
jaagarti : is awake
samyami : balanced individual
yasyaam : and that
jaagrati : are awake
bhootaani : all beings
saa : that
nishaa : night
pashyato : views
muneh : person of contemplation

Here we encounter one of the most poetic shlokas in the second chapter, again, having several layers of meaning. Let us try to understand it to the best of our ability. First, let’s consider an example that will make the understanding of this shloka easier.

When a lay person and a professional artist enter a museum, both of them find joy in appreciating the works of art. The lay person may get excited about seeing how accurately an artist has painted a portrait. But the professional artist may find joy in more subtler aspects of the very same painting, e.g. what brush strokes were used, which time period was the painting commissioned in, what were the influences and so on – aspects that the lay person is probably totally oblivious to.

So therefore, in this shloka, Shri Krishna is speaking about two groups of individuals: ones who maintain the state of equanimity and ones who don’t. Both groups have to live in this world of material objects, and both of them have to face ups and downs in life. The key difference in both groups is their vision.

For most individuals, the world of material objects is their end goal, they are “awake” to it, and the eternal essence is like night to them. But for the individuals of equanimity, the world of material objects loses importance – that world is like night to them. They are awake to the timeless, changeless eternal essence.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 68, Chapter 2

03 Saturday Dec 2011

Posted by in 2.68, chapter 2 verse 68, indriyaani, mahaabaaho, nigriheetaani, prajna, pratishthitaa, sarvashaha, tasmaad, tasya, yasya

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tasmaadyasya mahaabaaho nigriheetaani sarvashaha |
indriyaaneendriyaarthebhyastasya prajnya pratishthitaa || 68 ||

Therefore, O mighty armed warrior, one who always restrains his senses from objects, his wisdom his steady.

tasmaad : therefore
yasya : that individual
mahaabaaho : O mighty armed warrior
nigriheetaani : under control
sarvashaha : everywhere

indriyaani : senses
indriyaarthebhyaha : objects
tasya : that individual
prajya : wisdom
pratishthitaa : steady

With this shloka, Shri Krishna concludes the topic of sense restraint. Let us summarize the main points of this topic.

The senses have the power to destabilize the mind, and consequently, destroy the intellect’s capability to make proper judgements. The best way to control the senses is to practice one’s svadharma with devotion to a higher ideal. If we don’t, then even a stray thought about a material object will escalate into a chain of events that will bring about our downfall.

Changing the quality and direction of thoughts towards a higher ideal will result in a tranquil psyche, enabling us to move in the world of material objects without attachment or revulsion. And ultimately, this will result in peace and happiness.

A pictorial description of this topic was provided in the form of a rudderless ship at sea, that is blown here and there by wind. The wind represents the senses, the ship our mind, and the direction, our wisdom.

In the next shloka, Shri Krishna begins to conclude the second chapter of the Gita.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 67, Chapter 2

02 Friday Dec 2011

Posted by in 2.67, anuvidheeyate, asya, charataam, harati, hi, indriyaanaam, ivam ambhasi, manah, naavam, prajnyaaam, tat, vaayuh, verse 2 chapter 67, yat

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indriyaanaam hi charataam yanmanuvidheeyate |
tadasya harati prajnyaam vaayurnaavamivaambhasi || 67 ||

For, even one of the wandering senses overpowers the mind and steals away wisdom, like wind affects a ship in water.

indriyaanaam : among the senses
hi : for
charataam : wandering
yat : the one that
manah : mind
anuvidheeyate : submitted
tat : that
asya : this
harati : steals
prajnyaam : wisdom
vaayuh : wind
naavam : ship
iva : like
ambhasi : water

A picture is worth a thousand words. So here, just like Shri Krishna painted a picture of the tortoise earlier, he uses another picture to portay an important point – that just one sense organ has the ability to destroy us. He gives us the example of a rudderless ship at sea. It will go wherever the wind takes it, and in time, eventually be destroyed.

In the same way, just one sense organ – the eye seeing something tempting, the ear hearing some gossip, the tongue tasting alcohol –  one sense organ can bring the mind under submission. In doing so, it can take away the intellect’s capacity to function. And worse still, this whole chain of events can happen in a fraction of a second, and we won’t even know it has happened unless we are eternally aware and alert.

We are nearing the end of the section on the signs of the individual of steady wisdom, and are a few shlokas away from concluding the second chapter.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 66, Chapter 2

01 Thursday Dec 2011

Posted by in 2.66, abhaavayataha, ashaantasya, asti, ayuktasya, ayuktaya, bhaavana, buddhih, cha, chapter 2 verse 66, kutaha, na, shaantih, sukham

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naasti buddhiryuktasya na chaayuktasya bhaavana |
na chaabhaavayataha shaantirashaantasya kutaha sukham || 66 ||

The individual whose mind and senses are not controlled cannot have a focused intellect, without a focused intellect he cannot meditate, and without meditation there is no peace. How can there be happiness without peace?

na : not
asti : happen
buddhih : focused intellect
ayuktasya : one whose mind and senses are not controlled
na : not
cha : and
ayuktasya : that individual
bhaavana : meditation
na : not
cha : and
abhaavayataha : without meditation
shaantih : peace
ashaantasya : individual without peace
kutaha : where
sukham : happy

Shri Krishna so far extolled the virtues of controlling the senses and the mind. In this shloka, he echoes the same point, but uses negative inference to drive it home.

Here, he says that if the mind and senses constantly wander, our psyche is agitated. An agitated psyche will never allow an intellect to focus. And we have already seen in earlier shlokas the disadvantages of not having focused intellect or “vyavasaayaatmika buddhi”.  One cannot hold on to a single thought, in other words – meditate, if the mind is turbulent.

We may feel that there is some repetition here – why is he asking us to control the mind and senses over and over again? But consider this: reading about it and putting it into practice are two different things. If we check the daily list of thoughts that we maintain in our diary, we realize that even if we read the Gita backwards and forwards, it takes lot of time and effort to change the quality and quantity of our thoughts. This message needs to be seared into our brain for us to take it seriously, hence the refrain of this point.

Very simply put: there is no happiness without control of mind and senses.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 64-65, Chapter 2

30 Wednesday Nov 2011

Posted by in 2.64, 2.65, aatmavhashyaih, adigachati, chapter 2 verse 64-65, charan, dvesha, indrayaih, prasaadam, raaga, tu, vidheyaatma, vishayaan, viyuktaih

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raagadveshaviyuktaistu vishayaanindrayaishcharan |
aatmavashyairvidheyaatmaa prasaadamadhigachati || 64 ||

prasaade sarvaduhkhaanaam haanirasyopajaayate |
prasannachetaso hyaashu buddhih paryavatishthate || 65 ||

But, the one whose mind and senses are under control, is devoid of attraction or revulsion. He moves around objects and gains the state of tranquility. 

Having gained tranquility, all of his sorrows are destroyed. His mind is joyful and his intellect soon becomes steady.

raagadvesha-viyuktaih : devoid of attraction or revulsion
tu : but
vishayaan : objects
indrayaih : through senses
charan : moves around
aatmavashyaih : subdued
vidheyaatmaa : one with a controlled mind
prasaadam : tranquility
adhigachati : gains

prasaade : gaining tranquility
sarva-duhkhaanaam : all sorrows
haanih : destroy
asya : of this individual
upajaayate : become
prasanna-chetasah : joyful mind
hi : surely
aashu : soon
buddhih : intellect
pari-avatishthate : steady

In the last shloka, Shri Krishna explained the “ladder of fall”, or how constant thinking about material objects leads to a fall from equanimity. In this set of shlokas, he explains the exact opposite scenario, where bringing the senses and the mind under control brings us to a state of happiness. Here’s the sequence of events:

Bring senses and mind under control -> one becomes devoid of attraction and revulsion -> he can experience the material world without any problem -> his mind becomes tranquil -> his intellect becomes steady -> he has no more sorrow -> he attains the state of happiness.

So, if one continues to pursue one’s svadharma, and stay devoted to a higher ideal, one gets to a stage of equanimity. We have learned this in earlier shlokas. But then, what next? This set of shlokas tells us that performance of svadharma has a purifying effect – it is like a flame that burns away our vasanaas. As the vasanaas burn away, our minds remain situated in equanimity – and that’s when our sorrows diminish.

We are always looking at quick fixes to be happy – new job, new friends, read a new book, move to a new place etc. But what comes across in these shlokas is that a long-term state of happiness cannot be found in a quick fix solution. All we can do is follow our svadharma, fix a higher goal, and keep at it.