Author Archives: skr_2011

Bhagavad Gita Verse 33, Chapter 1

11 Sunday Sep 2011

Posted by in arthe, avasthitaa, ime, kaankshitam, yeshaam

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yeshaamarthe kaankshitam no raajyam bhoogaha sukhani cha |
te imevasthitaa yudhde praanaamstyaktvaa dhanaani cha || 33 ||
 
Those, for whose sake we seek kingdom, enjoyment and happiness, are present here in war, ready to give up their desire for life and wealth. 
 
yeshaam : those
arthe : for whose sake
kaankshitam : desire
naha : our
raajyam : kingdom
bhogaaha: enjoyment
sukhaani : happiness
cha : and
te : those
ime : their
avasthitaa : present here
yudhdhe : in the war
praanaam : their lives
tyaktvaa : given up
dhanaani : desire for wealth
 
Here Arjuna continues his fall into delusion by justifying why there is no point in living, or in carrying out the mission that he had committed to carry out. In his confused state, his mind mixed up his personal relationships with his mission-wise relationships.
 
In work, we are often asked to “not take things personally”. Here we see an example of what happens when someone in war inserts personal aspects of his life into his work, resulting in complete confusion and breakdown of the mission.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 32, Chapter 1

09 Friday Sep 2011

Posted by in bhogau, jeervitena, kangshe, vaa

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na kangshe vijayam krishna na cha rajyam sukhani cha |
kim no rajyena govinda kim bhogaujeervitena vaa || 32 || 

O Krishna, neither do I desire victory, nor pleasures, nor the kingdom. Of what value is the kingdom, pleasure, or in life itself, O Govinda?
 
na : neither
kangshe : I desire
vijayam : victory
krishna : Krishna
na cha : nor
rajyam : kingdom
sukhani : pleasures
kim : what
no : for us
rajyena : in the kingdom
govinda : Govinda
kim : what
bhogau : pleasure
jeervitena : living
vaa : and
 
A search for “common symptoms of depression” on the web turns up the following information:
1) Feelings of helplessness and hopelessness. A bleak outlook—nothing will ever get better and there’s nothing you can do to improve your situation.
2) Loss of interest in daily activities. No interest in former hobbies, pastimes or social activities. You’ve lost your ability to feel joy and pleasure.
3) Appetite or weight changes. Significant weight loss or weight gain—a change of more than 5% of body weight in a month.
4) Sleep changes. Either insomnia, especially waking in the early hours of the morning, or oversleeping (also known as hypersomnia).
5) Anger or irritability. Feeling agitated, restless, or even violent. Your tolerance level is low, your temper short, and everything and everyone gets on your nerves.
6) Loss of energy. Feeling fatigued, sluggish, and physically drained. Your whole body may feel heavy, and even small tasks are exhausting or take longer to complete.
7) Self-loathing. Strong feelings of worthlessness or guilt. You harshly criticize yourself for perceived faults and mistakes.
8) Reckless behavior. You engage in escapist behavior such as substance abuse, compulsive gambling, reckless driving, or dangerous sports.
9) Concentration problems. Trouble focusing, making decisions, or remembering things.
10)Unexplained aches and pains. An increase in physical complaints such as headaches, back pain, aching muscles, and stomach pain.
 
Arjuna was suffering from most of the symptoms from this list. He now was mired in deep, almost suicidal depression, especially because he was questioning the value of life itself.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 31, Chapter 1

08 Thursday Sep 2011

Posted by in aahave, anupasyaami, hatva, nimittaani, svajanam, vipareetani

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nimittaani cha pashyaami vipareetani keshava |
na cha shreyanepashyaami hatva svajanamaahave || 31 ||
 
O Keshava, I see omens that are inauspicious. I also do not see the good in killing my kinsmen in battle.
 
nimittaani : omens
cha : also
pashyaami  : see
vipareetani : negative
keshava : Krishna
na cha  : also not
shreya: good
anupashyaami : I see
hatva : kill
svajanam : kinsmen
aahave : in battle
 
When one’s emotions are running unchecked, rationality goes out the window. That’s when one starts talking or thinking about irrational things like superstition, which is what Arjuna was alluding to in this verse. 
 
On the surface, one would attribute Arjuna’s second statement in this verse to an outpouring of compassion towards his kinsmen. But, would an outpouring of compassion cause a panic attack? The true underlying emotion that caused the panic attack was fear. And what was Arjuna afraid of? Arjuna was accustomed to winning every war that he fought. When he saw the caliber of warriors in the Kaurava army, his ego felt extremely threatened that maybe this time it won’t win. Here we see that Arjuna’s ego was trying to deflect this fear by substituting compassion for the true emotion of fear. 

Bhagavad Gita Verse 28-30, Chapter 1

08 Thursday Sep 2011

Posted by in avasthaatuma, bhramateeva, gaatrani, paridahyate, parishushyati, seedanti, shaknomya, stransate, tvak, vepathuscha

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arjuna uvacha
dhrishtvemaam svajanam krishna yuyutsam samupasthitam || 28 ||
 
seedanti mama gaatrani mukham cha parishushyati
vepathuscha shareere me romaharshascha jaayate || 29 ||
 
gaandeevam stransate hastatvakchaiva paridahyate
na cha shaknomyavasthaatuma bhramateeva cha me manaha  || 30 ||
 
O Krishna, I see my kinsmen gathered here to fight. My limbs are weakening, and my mouth has completely dried up, my body is quivering and my hair is standing on end. My Gaandeeva bow is slipping from my hands, my skin is burning, I am unable to stand and cannot think clearly.
 
dhrishtva-mama : seeing my
svajanam : kinsmen
krishna : O Krishna
yuyutsam : wanting to fight
samupasthitam : gathered here
seedanti : weakening
mama : my
gaatrani : limbs
mukham cha : and mouth
parishushyati : completely dry
 
vepathuscha : quivering
shareere : body
me : my
romaharshascha : hair standing on end
jaayate : happening
gaandeevam : bow
stransate : slipping
hastak : from my hands
tvak cha paridahyate : skin is burning
 
na cha shaknomy : unable to
avasthaatuma : stand
bhramateeva : deluded
cha me manaha : my mind
 
After his mind was thrown off balance, Arjuna experienced a full-scale panic attack. In these verses, Arjuna described his symptoms to Shri Krishna, beginning first with his physical symptoms and in later verses, his mental and emotional symptoms.
 
It is rare that one gets to see a blow-by-blow account of a nervous breakdown in a spiritual text. But as we have seen, the Gita is not just a spiritual text but also an extremely practical text.
 
The rest of the chapter will look at what statements Arjuna or any individual will make when undergoing a highly disturbed emotional state. Many commentaries do not give importance to these verses. However, I think they are instructive for a variety of reasons, the primary one being that when we undergo such disturbed emotional states, we lose the objectivity to see clearly what is happening to us and perhaps stay alert for such symptoms.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 27, Chapter 1

06 Tuesday Sep 2011

Posted by in avasthitaan, avishto, chapter 1 verse 26, kripayaa, parayaa, sameekshya, sarvaanbandhuna, vishidan

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taansameekshya sa kaunteyaha sarvaanbandhunavasthitaan |
kripayaa parayaavishto vishidannidamabraveet || 27 ||
 
Seeing his kinsmen standing near him, Arjuna, son of Kunti, became overwhelmed with pity, and struck by despair, spoke this.
 
taan : those
sameekshya sa : seeing
kaunteyaha : son of Kunti, Arjuna
sarvaanbandhuna : kinsmen
avasthitaan : standing
kripayaa : pity
parayaa :  extreme
avishto : filed with
vishidan : despair
idam : this
abraveet: spoke
 
Strong egos are mired in duality. Like bipolar person, a strong ego can go from one emotion to its exact opposite almost instantly. When Arjuna saw the caliber of warriors in the opposing army, his demeanour switched from courage to cowardice in a matter of seconds.
 
Why did this happen? When one is under the control of the ego rather than the rational intellect, one’s emotional balance is extremely vulnerable. All it took to destabilize his balance was for Shri Krishna to highlight Arjuna’s kinsmen in the army.
 
This verse also shows that no one is immune from the workings of the ego. Arjuna was a well-educated, committed warrior, in fact one of the best warriors on the planet. Even someone as tough as him lost his emotional balance so quickly.
 
Footnotes
1. An interesting simile is provided in the Jnyaneshwari for this verse. Just like a man forgets his old girlfriend after being infatuated with a new girl, Arjuna’s warrior instincts were replaced with pity for his kinsmen, and cowardice for the war.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 26, Chapter 1

05 Monday Sep 2011

Posted by in apashyat, chapter 1 verse 26, maatulaan, sthitaan, suhradashcha, tatra

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tatraapashyatsthitaanpaarthaha pitrinaatha pitaamahaan |
aachaaryaanmaatulaan bhraatrin putraan poutraan sakhimstathaa ||26 ||
shvasuraan suhradashchaiva senyorubhayorapi | 

There, Arjuna saw his fatherly and grandfatherly elders, teachers, uncles, brothers, sons, grandsons, as well as friends, in-laws and well-wishers, present in both armies.
 
tatra : there
apashyat : could observe
sthitaan : situated
paarthaha : Arjuna
pitrin atha : fatherly elders and
pitaamahaan : grandfatherly elders
aachaaryaan : teachers
maatulaan : maternal uncles
bhraatrin : brothers
putraan : sons
poutraan : grandsons
sakhims tathaa : friends too
shvasuraan : fathers-in-law
suhradashcha-eva : and well-wishers
senyor-ubhayor-api : in both armies
 
Before Shri Krishna had spoken, the Kaurava army seemed like one big sea of evil to Arjuna, ready to be destroyed. But after Arjuna heard those words, he began to spot some known faces in the Kaurava army. He saw Drona, Bheeshma, and all the other people he knew. Soon, he began to see familiar faces in both the Kaurava and Paandava armies.
 
This experience is not so far away from the real world. In fact, a similar situation could have been faced by soldiers in the India Pakistan war, where many soldiers may have had to fight their friends and relatives. Even if we never have to wage war, we may have faced a similar situation.
 
Imagine you are a student who is about to graduate from college. You have been shortlisted for a prestigious job that is also highly selective – there is just one student that will get recruited from your college. You prepare for this interview for several weeks. On the day of the interview, you are almost 100% sure that you will pass through the interview with flying colours. As you step into the waiting hall for the interview, you conduct a quick survey of the candidates that you will compete against. You find out that Miss X, someone who’s always on top of the dean’s list, and someone who you thought had already accepted another offer, is also waiting in the interview hall, looking sharp and confident.
 
What goes through your mind?

Bhagavad Gita Verse 24-25, Chapter 1

04 Sunday Sep 2011

Posted by in chapter 1 verse 24-25, evamukto, gudaakeshena, maheekshita, pramukhataha, rathottamam, sarveshaa, senyorubhayormadhye, sthaapayitvaa

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Sanjaya uvaacha
evamukto hrishikesho gudaakeshena bhaarata |
senyorubhayormadhye sthaapayitvaa rathottamam || 24 ||
 
bheeshmadronapramukhataha sarveshaam cha maheekshitaam |
uvaacha paartha pashyaitaansamavetankuruniti || 25 ||
 
Sanjay said:
O descendant of Bharat, having heard Gudaakesha address him, Hrisheekesha positioned his magnificent chariot between the two armies.
 
In front of Bheeshma, Drona and the other kings, he said “O Paartha, behold all the Kuru warriors gathered here”.
 
evam-ukto : thus addressed
hrishikesho : conquerer of the senses – Shri Krishna
gudaakeshena : conquerer of sleep – Arjuna
bhaarata : descendant of Bharata – Dhritraashtra
senyorubhayormadhye : between the two armies
sthaapayitvaa : position
rath-uttamam: magnificent chariot
 
bheeshma-drona: Bheeshma and Drona
pramukhataha : in front of
sarveshaam : everyone
cha : and
maheekshitaam : kings
uvaacha : said
paartha : Arjuna, son of Prithaa
pashya : behold
etaan : all
samavetaan: assembled members
kurun : Kuru dynasty
iti : thus
 
Shri Krishna obeyed Arjuna’s instructions, like any devoted charioteer should, and positioned their chariot in the middle of the Kaurava and Paandava armies. But he chose an interesting location, he positioned it right where Arjuna could see his fondest relatives, friends and well wishers on the Kaurava side. So now, Arjuna was face to face with the people he had love and respect for, including Bheeshma and Drona.
 
This verse contains the first words spoked by Shri Krishna in the Gita, and reflect his wise and clever personality. Instead of referring to the Kauravas as “sons of Dhritraashtra” as Arjuna and Sanjaya did, he refers to them as “Kurus”. This was an interesting choice, because both Kauravas and Paandavas are part of the Kuru dynasty. So Shri Krishna was pointing out the similarity between the two armies rather than their differences.
 
In addition, Shri Krishna wanted to use this opportunity to create the conditions in which he would deliver the teaching of the Gita. He knew that Arjuna’s puffed up ego and battle spirit would be challenged by bringing him face to face with warriors like Bheeshma and Drona, who were not just mighty and powerful, but were also people he cared a lot about.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 23, Chapter 1

03 Saturday Sep 2011

Posted by in avekshe, chapter 1 verse 23, dhaartraashtrasya, durbudhyer, priyachikeershavaha, samaagataahaa, yotsyamaanaan, yuddhe

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yotsyamaanaanaveksheaham ya etetra samaagataahaa |
dhaartraashtrasya durbudhyeryuddhe priyachikeershavaha || 23 ||
 
Let me see those battle-hungry warriors, those who wish to adore that evil-minded Dhritraashtra’s son, who have gathered here to fight this war.
 
yotsyamaanaan: battle-hungry warriors
avekshe : let me see
aham : I
ye ete atra : those who have
samaagataahaa : gathered
dhaartraashtrasya : Dhritrashtra’s son Duryodhana
durbudhyer: evil-minded
yuddhe : war
priyachikeershavaha : wanting to adore
 
Arjuna’s self-confidence and bravado rose to fever pitch. His words indicated disgust for Duryodhana, and everyone associated with him, including Dhritraashtra, who was Arjuna’s uncle and a senior figure in the family.  Arjuna seemed to say “my victory is guaranteed, my prowess is superior, so let me look at the people that I am going to kill in battle today”. He probably also wanted his opponents to take a closer look at him, so that the sight of Arjuna in full warrior mode would further weaken their spirits. Like Duryodhana’s comment from a few verses ago “our army is unlimited and theirs is not”, this comment indicated that Arjuna’s ego was as puffed up as Duryodhana’s.
 
Little did Arjuna know that Shri Krishna was going to totally change his state of mind very, very soon.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 21-22, Chapter 1

02 Friday Sep 2011

Posted by in achyuta, asmin, avasthitaan, chapter 1 verse 21-22, etaan, kaamaan, kaiha, mayaa, nireeksheham, rama, ratham, saha, samudyame, sthaapaya, yaavat, yoddhu, yodhdhavyam

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Arjuna uvaacha
senyorubhyormadhye ratham sthaapaya mechyuta | 21 |

yaavadetaannireeksheham yoddhukaamaanvasthitaan |
kairmayaa saha yodhdhavyamasminranasamudyame || 22 || 

Arjuna said: O infallible one, in preparation for combat, position my chariot between the two armies till I have surveyed those battle-hungry warriors with whom I have to fight.
 
senyor-ubhyor-madhye : between both armies
ratham : chariot
sthaapaya : place
achyuta : infallible
yaavat:  till I
etaan : those warriors
nireeksheham : I can observe/survey
yoddhu-kaamaan-avasthitaan : organized for battle
kaiha-mayaa : whom I have to
saha : with
yodhdhavyam : fight
asmin rana-samudyame : in preparation for combat
 
And so begins the conversation between Arjuna and Shri Krishna. At this point, Arjuna was firmly in control of the situation, and like any determined warrior, he commanded his charioteer to carry out his instructions.
 
Similar to the analysis of Duryodhana’s emotional state from the previous verses, let us analyze Arjuna’s state. Here, it is clear that he was charged up for war, his warrior instincts had kicked into high gear, and he was bursting with self-confidence.
 
Another point to consider here is how much, like Arjuna, we rely on our sense organs to deliver the right information to our brain so that we can take the right decision and carry out the necessary action that a situation demands. Our sense organs comprise our eyes, ears, nose, tongue and skin. Any information that we process must necessarily come from one of these organs. Arjuna was located at some distance from the opposing army, so he knew that he needed to get a better look at the opposing army, and therefore have all the information he needs to make his battle plans.
 
Sense organs and understanding how they function is a topic that will be discussed at great length in the rest of the Gita.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 20, Chapter 1

01 Thursday Sep 2011

Posted by in chapter 1 verse 20, hrishikesham, kapi-dhvajaha, pravrutte, shastra-sampatte, vyavasthitaan

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atha vyavasthitaandhristhva dhaartaraashtraan kapidhvajaha |
pravrutte shastrasampatte dhanurudyamya paandavaha |
hrishikesham tada vaakyamidamaaha mahipate || 20 ||
 

Now, as he was about to take up arms against the battle-ready sons of Dhritrashtra, Arjuna – whose chariot displayed the emblem of an ape – spoke these words to Hrishikesha, O King.
 
atha :  thereafter
vyavasthitaan-dhristhva : observed that they were getting ready for war
dhaartaraashtraan : sons of Dhritraashtra
kapi-dhvajaha : flag with the emblem of an ape
pravrutte : while about to engage
shastra-sampatte : releasing of weapons
dhanur-udyamya : taking up his bow
paandavaha : Arjuna
hrishikesham : Hrishikesha
tada : then
vaakyam-idama-aha  : spoke these words
mahi-pate : O king
 
Did you observe something different here? By now if you have attempted to read aloud any of the shlokas, you realize that they usually follow the same pattern – 2 lines per shloka, 2 quarters per line, 8 syllables per quarter. But in this shloka, we see for the first time that there are 3 lines instead of 2.
 
This pattern or “meter” is changed every so often to indicate that the listener should play close attention to a particular shloka, or the shlokas that follow.
 
Let’s also look at another aspect that this shloka highlights. The core of the Gita is a dialogue between Shri Krishna and Arjuna. In ancient Indian literature, there exists a tradition of beginning important teachings or messages with the word “atha” which means now. The shlokas so far covered introduction and background, but now, Arjuna starts the dialogue in the next verse, hence the word “atha” is used here.
 
 Footnotes
1. The meter followed in the Gita is called “Anushtup Chhanda”
2. Each chapter of the Gita concludes with a sentence that acts as a marker signifying the end of the chapter. These traditions were followed as a means to make memorization easier, among other things. Every end-of-chapter market contains the phrase “Shri-Krishna-Arjuna-Samvade” which means “a dialogue between Shri Krishna and Arjuna”