Author Archives: skr_2011

Bhagavad Gita Verse 8, Chapter 2

03 Monday Oct 2011

Posted by in 2.8, aadhipatyam, apanudyaat, asapatnam, avaapya, chapter 2 verse 8, prapashyaamo, raajyam, ridham, shokam, suraanaam, uchchoshanam

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na hi prapashyaami mamaapanudyaad 
yachchokamuchchoshanamindriyaanaam |
avaapya bhoomaavasapatnamridham 
raajyam suraanaamapi chaadhipatyam || 8 ||

Even if I should obtain prosperity and unrivalled kingship on earth, or even supremacy over the gods, I do not see that it will drive away this sorrow that withers my senses.

na hi: do not
prapashyaami : I seemama : my
apanudyaat : drive away
yat : that which
shokam : sorrow
uchchoshanam : wither
indriyaanaam: senses
avaapya : obtain
bhoomau : on earth
asapatnam : unrivalled
ridham : prosperous
raajyam : kingdom
suraanaam : gods
api : even if
cha : and
aadhipatyam : supremacy

Arjuna realized that the sorrow caused as a result of his attachment to his kinsmen was not ordinary. It burrowed deep into his personality and lodged itself in it. This deep rooted sorrow had the effect of totally throwing his senses off track. He was not able to see or hear clearly. This sorrow was not going to be easy to remove.

In this verse, Arjuna also came to the conclusion that what he was looking for could not be found in the material world. If this were the case, he would have been happy with wealth, riches and thrones. But here we see that even supremacy over the gods was something that would not satisfy him.

Arjuna reached a point where the only thing that mattered for him was the ultimate cure for sorrow, a cure that was permanent, and not some material thing like wealth that would diminish sorrow temporarily. And this ultimate cure that he was seeking was a higher level of discrimination or viveka that would lead him to liberation.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 7, Chapter 2

02 Sunday Oct 2011

Posted by in 2.7, broohi, chapter 2 verse 7, dosho, kaarpanya, nischitam, prapannam, pricchaami, sammoodha, shaadhi, svabhaava, syaat, upahata, yat

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kaarpanyadoshopahatasvabhaavaha pricchaami
tvaam dharmasammoodhachetaaha |
yachchreyaha syaannishchitam broohi tanme 
shishyasteham shaadhi maam tvaam prapannam || 7 ||

This error of cowardice has damaged my personality, and my deluded intellect cannot decide what is right or wrong. Tell me what is definitely appropriate. Guide me, I am your disciple and take refuge in you.

kaarpanya : cowardly
dosho : error
upahata : damaged
svabhaavaha : inherent nature
pricchaami : I ask
tvaam : you
dharma : right and wrong
sammoodha : deluded
cheta : intellect
yat : what
shreyaha : appropriate
syaat : may be
nishchitam : definitely
broohi : tell me
tat : that
me : for me
shishyaha : disciple
te aham : I’m your
shaadhi : guide
maam : me
tvaam : your
prapannam : refuge

This verse is a milestone in the Gita, because it reflects a change in Arjuna’s thinking.

Arjuna finally gained enough of his reasoning capacity back to realize that his mind had been thrown off balance by cowardice, which he rightly labelled as an error. In the first chapter, he could never have come to this conclusion because he was experiencing an extremely negative emotional state. He was able to put a degree of objectivity towards his thinking, some space between his thoughts and himself. And in doing so, he realized that his intellect was totally deluded.

In addition, he also realized that because of this cowardice, he was in no position to make a decision about whether to fight or not. This was a high-stakes decision, a decision that could impact the course of history. He quickly needed to find some other way of coming to a decision. The only way he could do so is to give up any pretense of knowing what was the correct thing to do, and give that decision to a trusted friend and guide, Shri Krishna.

For many of us, especially in youth, we never feel the need to look beyond the material world. All our goals and aspirations are material, and once we achieve a certain goal, we strive for a higher goal. And as long as everything goes our way, we are fine. But sooner or later, something happens in our lives that shakes things up and makes us think whether we are missing something. We all have to pass through a earth-shattering stage in life that makes us question things, and makes us revisit our assumptions and beliefs. That stage was indicated in chapter 1 of the Gita, when Arjuna saw his entire world and belief system collapse.

When this shattering happens, we have two choices. We can continue operating in the material world in the same way as we did before. We can also use this collapse to search for something higher. The choice made by a seeker is indicated by the words “Tell me what is definitely appropriate. Guide me, I am your disciple and take refuge in you” uttered by Arjuna.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 6, Chapter 2

30 Friday Sep 2011

Posted by in 2.6, chapter 2 verse 6. vidmaha, gareeyaha, jayem, jayeyhu, jijeevishaa, katarat, naha, pramukhe

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na chaitvidmaha kataranno gareeyo 
yadvaa jayeema yadi vaa no jayeyuhu |
yaaneva hatvaa na jijeevishaamstevasthitaaha 
pramukhe dhaartaraashtraaha || 6 ||

To conquer them, or to be conquered by them, I do not know which is the better of the two. Dhritraashtra’s kinsmen, after killing whom we certainly don’t wish to live, stand here before us.

na cha : do not
vidmaha : know
naha : for us
katarat : of two which is
gareeyaha : better
te yat-vaa : whether
jayem : conquer them
yadi-vaa : or
naha : we
jayeyuhu: they conquer us
yaan : whom
eva : certainly
hatvaa : by killing
na jijeevishaa-maha : we don’t wish to live
eva : certainly
asthitaaha : standing here
pramukhe : opposite us
dhaartaraashtraaha : Dhritaraashtra’s kinsmen

Here we see Arjuna move away from the all-or-nothing position of “I will not fight”. His hardline position morphed into a dilemma. And the dilemma was as follows: “Should I or should I not fight? I do not know which is correct.” This question is the fundamental question that provoked the message of the Gita that we shall see very shortly.

We face questions like this all the time – this was alluded to in an earlier post. A boss may like an employee, but the business will tank if he does not fire the employee. Should he fire him or not? Questions like this arise all the time. Life is nothing but a series of actions driven by the day-to-day decisions we take.

Here’s another important point. Arjuna’s teachers and elders were revered and respected by him, they gave him pleasure, but here they were in front of him, ready to kill him. Similarly, behind every pleasure-filled person, experience or object we encounter in life lies its negative aspect. This is an interesting insight about life. It is rare to find people, experiences or objects that give us pleasure all of the time.  Here’s an example that resonates with us: a new house that was a source of joy in the beginning, will cause grief when one has to pay for its maintenance.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 5, Chapter 2

29 Thursday Sep 2011

Posted by in 2.5, artha, bhaikshyam, bhogaan, bhoktum, bhunjeeya, chapter 2 verse 5, guroon, kaama, mahaanubhaava, pradigdhaan, rudhira

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guroonahatvaa hi mahaanubhaavaan shreyo bhoktum bhaikshyamapeeha loke |
hatvaarthakaamaamstu guroonohaiva bhunjeeya bhoogaanrudhirapradigdhaan || 5 ||

I will not kill my revered teachers, because in this world, I would prefer to partake of food received through alms, rather than enjoy the blood-stained worldy pleasures derived from killing my teachers.

guroon : teacher
ahatvaa : not kill
hi : because
mahaanubhaava : respected, revered
shreyaha : better
bhoktum : partake
bhaikshyam : donated food
api : even
iha : this
loke : world

hatvaa: kill
artha-kaamaan : worldly pleasures
tu : then
eva : only
bhunjeeya : partake
bhoogaan : enjoyments
rudhira-pradigdhaan : blood-stained

This verse and the next few verses may seem similar to the ones we saw in the last chapter, but upon closer inspection, there are subtle differences. Arjuna’s panic attack has ended, and his emotional state has become somewhat normal. The change in Arjuna’s attitude is also indicated by the change in meter – we notice that this shloka, and some of the forthcoming shlokas, have a longer meter.

What remains, though, is a tinge of the victim attitude, indicated in the statement that he would prefer begging to hurting his teachers. But what is positive here is that Arjuna is slowly opening up to logical reasoning, since he is no longer under the influence of the panic attack, and his agitations have subsided.

The lesson here is that we cannot have a sane conversation with someone in a charged emotional state, their mind has to calm down somewhat in order to create room for logic.

In this shloka, Arjuna is still holding on to the position that he will definitely not kill his kinsmen. But as his emotional state calms down, we shall see him begin to question that position.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 4, Chapter 2

28 Wednesday Sep 2011

Posted by in 2.4, arisoodana, chapter 2 verse 4, ishubhihi, poojahow, prati, sankhye, yotsyami

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Arjuna uvaacha
katham bheeshmamaham sankhye dronam cha madhusoodana |
ishubhihi prati yotsyami poojaarhaavarisoodana || 4 ||

How can I, O Madhusoodana, fight against Bheeshma and Drona with arrows? Both of them are worthy of worship, O Arisoodhana!

katham : how
bheeshmam : Bheeshma
aham : I
sankhye : in battle
dronam : Drona
cha : and
madhusoodana : O Madhusoodana
ishubhihi : with arrows
prati : with
yotsyami : fight
poojaahow : worthy of worship
ari-soodana : O Arisoodana

Shri Krishna’s words jolted Arjuna out of his panic attack and brought him to a state where he was ready to have a conversation. Since Arjuna’s arguments from the previous chapter remained unanswered, hence he continued to insist on relinquishing the war.

Arjuna uses the words “slayer of the demon Madhu” and “slayer of foes” to address Shri Krishna, hinting that it is easy to slay evil individuals but difficult to slay one’s kinsmen. The fundamental problem still remained unsolved, which is that Arjuna was still holding on to the familial and teacher-student relationships in the context of a battlefield. But on the Kaurava side, Bheeshma and Drona viewed Arjuna as an enemy and not as a student or a family member. They were not under any delusion like Arjuna was.

Can we relate this to an example from our lives? Think of a father and mother who have brought up their children, and like any responsible parents, guided them as to what was right and what was wrong. When the children grow into adults, they now possess the ability to think for themselves, and on occasion will consult their parents on decisions that they need help with.

But, similar to Arjuna’s attachment to his elders, if the parents still hold on to the relationship that existed when their children were young, the children would not consider that to be appropriate behaviour and then this could impact the relationship with their parents.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 3, Chapter 2

27 Tuesday Sep 2011

Posted by in 2.3, chapter 2 verse 3, daurbalyam, gamah, hridaya, klaibyam, kshudram, maa, parantapa, sma, tvavi, upapadyate, uttishtha

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klaibyam maa sma gamah paartha naitattvayyupapadyate |
kshudram hridayadaurbalyam tyaktvotishtha parantapa || 3 ||


Don’t yield to this effeminate behaviour, O Paartha, it is not worthy of you. Cast off this petty weakness of heart and arise, O scorcher of foes!

klaibyam : effeminate
maa sma gamah : do not yield
paartha : O son of Prithaa
etat: this
tvavi : in you
na : not
upapadyate : not worthy
kshudram : petty
hridaya: heart
daurbalyam : weakness
tyaktva : cast off
uttishtha : arise
paran-tapa : O scorcher of foes

Shri Krishna, an expert motivational speaker, used a “carrot and stick” approach towards Arjuna here. Let’s first look at the stick or negative aspect, followed by the carrot or positive aspect.

One of the worst things you can call a warrior is effeminate. Even young boys playing sports will get upset when someone says ‘Hey! You throw the ball like a girl!”. So imagine how Arjuna felt when Shri Krishna called him effeminate. Moreover, using the adjective weak-hearted to describe Arjuna was another jolt to the usually courageous and lion-hearted warrior.

But Shri Krishna also appealed to Arjuna’s better qualities. By addressing him as “Paartha”, he reminded Arjuna of his esteemed and respected mother Prithaa (Kunti), and how she would feel if Arjuna shirked away from war. Shri Krishna also reminded Arjuna of his battle prowess, that he was called a “scorcher of foes”.

The final point in this shloka is the powerful Sanskrit word “utthishta”, meaning arise, which evokes Swami Vivekananda’s famous statement “Arise! Awake! and stop not till the goal is reached!’. Arjuna is instructed not just to arise physically, but also to lift his mind from the depths of delusion to a higher plane of intelligence.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 2, Chapter 2

26 Monday Sep 2011

Posted by in 2.2, akeertikaram, anaarya, asvargyam, chapter 2 verse 2, justham, kashmalam, kutaha, samupasthitam, tvaa, vishame

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Shri Bhagavaan uvaacha
kutastvaa kashmalamidam vishame samupasthitam |
anaaryajusthamasvargyamakeertikaramarjuna || 2 ||

Shri Bhagavaan said:
From where has this weakness arisen, at this inconvenient time? It is not noble, nor will it get you to heaven, not will it earn you valour, O Arjuna.

kutaha : from where
tvaa : you
kashmalam : weakness, impurity
idam : this
vishame : inconvenient time
samupasthitam: arisen
anaarya : non-noble
justham : accept
asvargyam : non-heavenly
akeertikaram : non-valourous
arjuna : Arjuna

So finally we get to hear Shri Krishna speak in the Gita. But what he said was not what Arjuna expected at all.

Let’s look at the kind of words Shri Krishna used.  They were not words of kindness. They were not words of sympathy or support. They were tough, provocative words meant to shake Arjuna out of his deluded state of mind. They were intended to inform Arjuna that his assessment of this situation, and his plan of exiting from the situation, were totally incorrect and invalid.

Moreover, rule number one in communication skills training is “tailor the message to the audience”. We see that here. Arjuna is a tough warrior, and tough talk is the only language he understands. An analogy would be a coach providing directions to a player in the middle of a football game. He would use tough talk, not sympathetic talk.

Shri Krishna also highlights another point here, that the timing of Arjuna’s fall into sorrow is not appropriate. If he did want to express any emotion towards his kinsmen, he had a lot of time to do so prior to the battle. Once in battle, this behaviour was unwarranted.

Footnotes
1. In the rest of the Gita, Shri Krishna is addressed as “Bhagavaan”. Bhagavaan means the one who is endowed with “bhagas” or divine attributes: wealth, virtue, glory, might, knowledge and dispassion.
2. The second verse is one long word composed of several shorter words. In Sanskrit, words are joined together using a system of rules called “sandhi”. It is not necessary to learn the sandhi rules since most commentaries dissect long words into their components. We are fortunate to leverage their efforts here.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 1, Chapter 2

25 Sunday Sep 2011

Posted by in 2.1, aakula, aavistham, ashru, chapter 2 verse 1, ikshanam, kripayaa, madhusoodanaha, poorna, tam, tathaa, uvaacha, vaakyam, vishidantam

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Sanjaya uvaacha
tam tathaa kripayaavishtamashrupoornaakulekshanam |
vishidantamidam vaakyamuvaacha madhusoodanaha || 1 ||

To him who was possessed with grief and pity, and having tear-filled, confused eyes, Madhusoodana spoke these words.

tam : Towards him(Arjuna)
tathaa : that
kripayaa : pity
aavishtam : possessed
ashru-poorna : tear-filled
aakula : confused
ikshanam : eyes
vishidantam : grief-stricken
vaakyam : words
uvaacha : spoke
madhusoodanaha : Madhusoodana

Sanjaya opens this chapter painting a vivid portrait of Arjuna’s state: the world’s mightiest warrior struck by grief and actually crying. The poetic phrase “confused eyes” probably alludes to Arjuna not being able to see right from wrong i.e. his viveka was suppressed.

Moreover, this state has affected Arjuna’s entire personality – physically because he had tears, emotionally because he was struck with grief and pity, and intellectually because he was confused about what to do and what not to do.

Shri Krishna is referred again here as Madhusoodana. This name can be interpreted a couple of ways. In the Puraanas, Lord Vishnu assumed the form of Hayagriva to kill the demon Madhu, hence he is known as Madhusoodana. This means that Sanjaya, through his divine vision, knew that Shri Krishna was connected to Lord Vishnu. Another interpretation of the name Madhusoodana is one who slays honey. Honey is a metaphor for the ego, which can be extremely sweet for someone who does not know all the nefarious things that it is capable of.

Introduction to Chapter 2

25 Sunday Sep 2011

Posted by in Uncategorized

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We are about to begin our journey into the second chapter of the Gita. Let us take this opportunity to orient ourselves, so that we can get the most out of our journey.
 
The second chapter is an extremely important chapter, perhaps the most important chapter of the Gita. It is long and contains most of the oft-quotes verses of the Gita. It also introduces most of the key themes of the Gita at a high level. The rest of the Gita picks up these themes and elaborates on them. Therefore there is a variety of topics that we shall get to see in the second chapter.
 
Looking back at the first chapter, we can see that it covered topics that any person could easily identify with. The second chapter will be different in this respect. It will tackle a mix of the practical as well as the spiritual, because the Gita treats both aspects as integral to living life correctly.
 
The second chapter will also introduce abstract concepts that may initially seem unfamiliar and hard to understand. The attitude here should be like the person who is visiting a prominent art gallery for the first time. You will see landscapes as well as modern art. The first time you come across modern art you may not understand it, but slowly through exposure and repetition, you begin to appreciate its nuances.
 
We will begin chapter 2 where chapter 1 left us, in the battlefield, where Arjuna had discarded his weapons.

Summary Of Bhagavad Gita Chapter 1

25 Sunday Sep 2011

Posted by in chapter 1 summary, Uncategorized

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The message of the first chapter of the Gita is this: The root cause of all sorrow and suffering in this world is our inability to deal with conflict.

That is why the Gita was taught to Arjuna in the middle of a gruesome battlefield, with swords clanging, trumpets roaring and soldiers screaming. Conflict is everywhere, and we have to learn to handle it. The sooner we recognize this universal truth about conflict and its impact, the sooner we can progress in our personal, professional, and ultimately, spiritual journeys.

We experience conflict at three levels – material, mental and spiritual. At the material level, conflict is everywhere. Atoms collide against atoms. Weeds take over carefully manicured flowers. Packs of wolves fight for control of territory. And we humans have disagreements with children, siblings, spouses, bosses, co-workers, states and countries. To deal with conflict at the material level, we need to learn how to act, and what to say, in any situation.

Now, here’s the second kind of conflict. How we conduct ourselves in material conflict is largely dependent on the state of our minds. Our minds are always in conflict, primarily between our rational side and our ego. Our primal urges constitute the ego, the part of our mind that oversimplifies and exaggerates situations, and responds to every situation with a “fight or flight” reaction, and shuts off the rational part of our mind that can think logically and clearly.

And even when our rational mind is active, we are unable to make the right decision because we cannot resolve conflicting arguments. We are always talking to ourselves in our head. “I should buy this shirt”. “No wait, that shirt looks better”. “But this one is on sale”.

Back to Arjuna’s dilemma. When confronting the material conflict of battle, Arjuna’s rational mind was clear – he was a warrior, and he had entered the battlefield to fight a war against the enemy for a just cause. But, upon seeing his family on the enemy side, his rational mind became conflicted. Should I kill my family? Or should I perform my duty?

Eventually his ego – the primitive side of his mind – took control away from his rational mind.  It went into “flight” mode. It made him say, it is better to run away and become a monk, than to perform my duty. The inability to reconcile this conflict in his mind led to his mental breakdown in the middle of the battlefield. He could not commit to fighting, and being unable to decide, he wanted to quit.

So then, conflict at the material level, and at the mental level, is pervasive. It is an integral part of life. We cannot escape it. But so what? Shouldn’t we just accept this state of affairs?

What’s unique about the Gita is its perspective on how we should deal these two levels of conflict. The clue lies in verses 21 and 22, where Shri Krishna positions Arjuna literally in the middle of the two armies, a point from which Arjuna can see his dearest teachers and relatives stationed on the other side of the battlefield. This immediately triggers the third type of conflict – not material, not mental, but that of identity.

Arjuna now thinks: Who am I? Am I the warrior fighting for a just cause? Or am I the beloved student of my teacher? If I am that warrior, I should be in the Pandava army. If I am that beloved student and relative, I should be in the Kaurava army. But I am both. I am all of these roles, and many more. So what should I do? Since I don’t know how to reconcile my identity, let me quit – it is the easiest option I have.

Quitting is the default response of the ego. In his speech to Shri Krishna, Arjuna used logic to justify his quitting the battle. This is what many of us to – we run away from our conflicts, and use logic, or even God or religion – a whole host of rationalizations – to justify our quitting to ourselves, and to others. (Here, we use the word “God” to refer to the invisible random forces that drive the world, including chance, luck, destiny, fate, evolution and so on.)

This confusion of identity is the third type of conflict, the spiritual conflict. Unless we know who we are, what God is, and what our connection to that God is, we will never be able to completely resolve all of our material and mental conflicts. This is the central theme of the first chapter.

The second chapter contains Shri Krishna’s response to Arjuna’s misguided speech, and a summary of the entire Gita. It addresses how to deal with all three types of conflicts, so that we can put an end to sorrow and anxiety at their root.