Author Archives: skr_2011

Bhagavad Gita Verse 23, Chapter 17

13 Monday May 2013

Posted by in 17.23, braahmanaaha, brahmanaaha, chapter 17 verse 23, nirdeshaha, om, puraa, sat, smritaha, tat, tena, trividhaha, vedaaha, vihitaahaa, yajnyaahaa

≈ Comments Off on Bhagavad Gita Verse 23, Chapter 17

om tatsaditi nirdesho brahmanastrividhaha smritaha |
braahmanaastena vedaashcha yajnyaashcha vihitaahaa puraa || 23 ||
 
Om, Tat, Sat, this has been declared as the triple indicator of the eternal essence. By that were created the braahmanaas, the Vedas and the sacrifices, long ago.
 
om : om
tat : tat
sat : sat
iti : in this manner
nirdeshaha : indicator
brahmanaha : eternal essence
trividhaha : triple
smritaha : declared
braahmanaaha : braahmanaas
tena : by that
vedaaha : Vedas
cha : and
yajnyaahaa : sacrifices
cha : and
vihitaahaa : created
puraa : long ago
 
Arjuna began this chapter with a question to Shri Krishna: How can we determine the texture of our faith, as to whether it is saattvic, raajasic or taamasic? Shri Krishna replied that we need to infer this from our actions and the attitude behind our actions. He then showed us the three types of food, sacrifice, penance and charity. The takeaway for us is that we should slowly stop performing raajasic and saatvic actions, and increase our saattvic actions. But even if we manage to perform only sattvic actions, there will always be the chance of some error creeping in.
 
Here, Shri Krishna gives us a formula, a technique to remove errors and defects in saattvic actions. This purifier is the combination of three words – Om, Tat and Sat. All three words are indicators of the eternal essence, of brahman. In fact, each of these words has been used in the Vedas to refer to the eternal essence. Om comes up in the Rig Veda. Tat and Sat come up in the Chhaandogya Upanishad. The word Sat is also used in the second chapter of the Gita to refer to the eternal essence. Note that the eternal essence is beyond name and form. These words are only pointers.
 
Next, Shri Krishna gives us the heritage of this purifier. Prajaapati, Lord Brahma, created the universe along with the sacrifice and the Vedas, as we have seen in the third chapter. He also created braahmanaas, who performed rituals and sacrifices with faith in the Vedas. These braahmanaas would always use Om Tat Sat to purify their sacrifices, to remove any defects in the rituals. Now, per the teaching of karma yoga, whenever we perform saattvic actions, they automatically become a sacrifice. Therefore, even we can use Om Tat Sat to purify our saattvic actions.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 22, Chapter 17

12 Sunday May 2013

Posted by in 17.22, adeshakale, apaatrebhyaha, asatkritam, avajnyaatam, chapter 17 verse 22, daanam, deeyate, taamasam, udaahritam

≈ Comments Off on Bhagavad Gita Verse 22, Chapter 17

adeshakale yaddaanamapaatrebhyashcha deeyate |
asatkritamavajnyaatam tattaamasamudaahritam || 22 ||
 
That which is donated at an incorrect place or time, to wrong persons, without respect and out of ignorance, that charity is called taamasic.
 
adeshakale : incorrect place or time
yat : that which
daanam : charity
apaatrebhyaha : to wrong persons
cha : and
deeyate : donated
asatkritam : without respect
avajnyaatam : out of ignorance
tat : that
taamasam : taamasic
udaahritam : is called
 
Having covered the nature of saatvic and raajasic charity, Shri Krishna now describes taamasic charity. He says that charity performed without considering a proper time and place is considered taamasic. If we donate on a whim rather than doing so on an auspicious day, for instance, we introduce a tinge of our ego into the donation. Also, gifts that trouble the recipient, gifts given out of complete ignorance, are taamasic as well. Donating an expensive TV to a person who is struggling to eat does not make sense.
 
Many people nowadays take pleasure in insulting their priest or their teacher while giving them a gift, simply because they are drunk with power and money. Such charity in which an insult, a slur or a taunt is given along with the gift also becomes taamasic. If we disrespect the recipient of our charity, we are harming ourselves and the recipient instead of performing an auspicious act. A gift should always be given with politeness and humility. Furthermore, gifts should never be given to unworthy persons such as robbers and criminals.
 
We should be careful, however, to use our judgement and our discretion while performing charity, and not abstain for charity just because we are worried about going against the rules prescribed here. There are millions of people around the world that struggle to survive, that are in need of food, water, clothing and medicine. If we donate money to any institution that provides needy people with these amenities, we may not have control over the time and place of the donation, but that should not stop us. More broadly, there are instances where our acts of sacrifice, penance and charity may have a defect in them. Shri Krishna gives us a formula to deal with them next.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 21, Chapter 17

11 Saturday May 2013

Posted by in 17.21, chapter 17 verse 21, daanam, deeyate, pariklishtam, phalam, pratyupakaaraartham, punaha, raajasam, smritam, uddishya, vaa

≈ Comments Off on Bhagavad Gita Verse 21, Chapter 17

yattu pratyupakaaraartham phalamuddishya vaa punaha |
deeyate cha pariklishtam taddaanam raajasam smritam || 21 ||
 
And that which is donated for repaying an obligation, or with the intent of a reward, and also reluctantly, that charity is called raajasic.
 
yat : that which
tu : and
pratyupakaaraartham : for repaying an obligation
phalam : reward
uddishya : intent
vaa : or
punaha : also
deeyate : donated
cha : and
pariklishtam : reluctantly
tat : that
daanam : charity
raajasam : raajasic
smritam : is called
 
Let me give something to this politician’s charitable organization, so that at a later stage I will be able to use him to further my business. Let me give something to this doctor’s son on his birthday, so that I will be taken care of in a medical emergency. Let me give a new year gift to to my neighbour, so that he will come to my aid if I am in trouble and so on. In all these thoughts, a tinge of selfishness has crept in. Shri Krishna says that the giving of charity, and gifts in general, while expecting something in return, is raajasic charity.
 
Furthermore, charity is also performed to repay a favour or an obligation to someone else. This is referred to as “pratyupkaara” in the shloka. For instance, repaying a favour with cash sometimes is frowned upon socially. We may then think about repaying the favour through a charitable donation or a gift in kind. Such charity is also considered raajasic, because a business mindset, a transaction oriented mindset has come into the picture. We are not really performing charity, we are doing a business deal.
 
The most raajasic form of charity is when we donate something with the feeling of “pariklishtam”. It means doing something reluctantly, unwillingly, with a heavy heart, with a feeling of sadness. We are so attached to the money or goods being donated that we cannot bear to see them separated from us. We will think hundred times before donating anything. What will happen if I donate this? How will I replace it? Will I need it again? Our mamatva, our sense of mine-ness is quite strong, and needs to be examined.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 20, Chapter 17

10 Friday May 2013

Posted by in 17.20, anupakaarine, daanam, daatavyam, deeyate, deshe, http://schemas.google.com/blogger/2008/kind#post, kaale, paatre, saattvikam, smritam, tat

≈ Comments Off on Bhagavad Gita Verse 20, Chapter 17

daatavyamiti yaddaanam deeyatenupakaarine |
deshe kaale cha paatre cha taddaanam saattvikam smritam || 20 ||
 
That which is donated knowing that charity is duty, to whom one is not obliged, in the right place and time, to a worthy person, that charity is called saattvic.
 
daatavyam : charity is duty
iti : in this manner
yat : that
daanam : charity
deeyate : is donated
anupakaarine : to one without obligation
deshe : place
kaale : time
cha : and
paatre : person
cha : and
tat : that
daanam : charity
saattvikam : saattvic
smritam : is called
 
So far, Shri Krishna described the three types of food, sacrifice and penance. Food gives us energy to serve the world, to perform sacrifice. Penance enables us to conserve and channel that energy towards sacrifice. Sacrifice results in a result that is received by the recipient of the sacrifice as well as to us, the performers of the sacrifice. Accumulating results beyond what we need to support ourselves and our family can result in greed. To check this greed, we need to perform daanam or charity.
 
Now, even the attitude towards charity can reveal a lot about the texture of our faith. Shri Krishna described the characteristics or conditions of charity performed with a saattvic attitude. Conducting charity out of a sense of duty is the first condition. It should come naturally to us, and not because someone has asked us to do it. Charity should never be treated as a business deal. For instance, if someone has done us a favour, we should not give him something in the guise of charity. Furthermore, we should not donate something expecting something in return.
 
Charity is a sacred act, therefore it has to be performed thoughtfully. Tossing a coin to a beggar on the street may be a noble act, but it does not quality as an act of saattvic charity. It has to be done at the right place and during an auspicious occasion. It also has to be directed towards a worthy person. Shri Shankaraachaarya in his commentary gives the example of the occasion of Sankraanti, the beginning of the month, as an auspicious occasion. He also gives the example of a learned teacher as one who is worthy of receiving a charitable donation.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 19, Chapter 17

09 Thursday May 2013

Posted by in 17.19, aatmanaha, chapter 17 verse 19, kriyate, moodhagraahena, parasya, peedayaa, taamasam, tapaha, udaahritam, utsaadanaartham

≈ Comments Off on Bhagavad Gita Verse 19, Chapter 17

moodhagraahenaatmano yatpeedayaa kriyate tapaha |
parasyotsaadanaartham vaa tattaamasamudaahritam || 19 ||
 
That which is performed out of a foolish notion, causing pain to oneself, or for ruining others, that penance is called taamasic.
 
moodhagraahena : foolish notion
aatmanaha : self
yat : that which
peedayaa : causing pain
kriyate : perform
tapaha : penance
parasya : other
utsaadanaartham : for ruining others
vaa : or
tat : that
taamasam : taamasic
udaahritam : is called
 
The story of a any captured terrorist is all too familiar. At some point in their life, they start holding on to an idea or a notion which ends up becoming their mission in life. They then spend a long time, sometime years, learning all kinds of tactics and techniques that are usually reserved for the military. Eventually, they carry out their mission, in which a great deal of harm is caused to others, and to themselves as well. Either they get captured or they harm themselves in the process.
 
Shri Krishna describes taamasic penance in this shloka. He says that penance based on a foolish notion, a misconception or an infatuation comes out of the minds of taamasic individuals. The end goal of such penance is to cause great harm to others or to oneself. We can always refer to the Puraanas for the fate of individuals who conduct severe penance just to bring about the downfall of someone else. So called “black magic” is also conducted for harming someone.
 
We may look at this and dismiss it, since it sounds so extreme and not applicable to our daily lives. But many of us sometimes perform actions with a malicious intent. Politics sometimes becomes a venue for one party to perform actions simply for bringing the other party down, and not for the welfare of the country. Similarly, many people run businesses based on a personal vendetta. For instance, a person fired from a business may join a competitor just to get back. Any action performed for bringing someone else down usually backfires.
 

Bhagavad Gita Verse 18, Chapter 17

08 Wednesday May 2013

Posted by in 17.18, adhruvam, chalam, chapter 17 verse 18, dambhena, kriyate, maanaha, poojaartham, proktam, raajasam, satkaaraha, tapaha, yat

≈ Comments Off on Bhagavad Gita Verse 18, Chapter 17

satkaaramaanapoojaartham tapo dambhena chaiva yat |
kriyate tadiha proktam raajasam chalamadhruvam || 18 ||
 
That which is performed for praise, honour, worship and ostentation, that praise is called raajasic, is said to be of this world, and is unstable and temporary.
 
satkaaraha : praise
maanaha : honour
poojaartham : for worship
tapaha : penance
dambhena : for ostentation
cha : and
eva : also
yat : that which
kriyate : performed
tat : that
iha : this world
proktam : is said to be
raajasam : raajasic
chalam : unstable
adhruvam : temporary
 
The Puraanaas are filled with stories of all kinds of demons who performed extremely severe penance and austerities. It is said that Raavana chopped off each of his ten heads until Lord Shiva granted him a boon. Hiranyakashipu performed such severe penance that his entire flesh dropped off and only his bones remained. However, none of these demons desired self realization or liberation as the outcome of their penance. They wanted some boon, some power such that they could vanquish their enemies.
 
Shri Krishna says that whenever we conserve our energy and put in a lot of effort towards any material goal, any goal which is “of this world”, such type of penance will be called raajasic. This penance could be for boosting our ego, in other words, for praise, honour, worship or for showing off. People spend years working extremely hard so that they can buy a fancy house or a car that can be shown off. Dictators do everything they can to ensure that people fall at their feet and worship them.
 
Ultimately, any effort that is expended towards an earthly goal will be temporary. A simple illustration to explain this notion is that of a ball thrown by a person in the air. No matter how hard the throw is, the ball will eventually fall down and stop moving. Furthermore, any result that we see in the world is also unstable. Several people go on crash diets that, in addition to giving temporary results, may actually harm the body. Any result in the material world is subject to the laws of Prakriti, to the three gunaas themselves, which are inherently unstable.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 17, Chapter 17

07 Tuesday May 2013

Posted by in 17.17, aphalakaanshibhihi, chapter 17 verse 17, naraihi, parayaa, parichakshate, saattvikam, shraddhayaa, tapaha, taptam, trividham, yuktaihi

≈ Comments Off on Bhagavad Gita Verse 17, Chapter 17

shraddhayaa parayaa taptam tapastattrividham naraihi |
aphalakaanshibhiryuktaihi saattvikam parichakshate || 17 ||
 
This three fold penance, performed by balanced people with supreme faith, without expectation of reward, is called sattvic.
 
shraddhayaa : with faith
parayaa : supreme
taptam : is performed
tapaha : penance
tat : this
trividham : three fold
naraihi : by people
aphalakaanshibhihi : without expectation of reward
yuktaihi : balanced
saattvikam : sattvic
parichakshate : is called
 
So far, we saw that tapas or penance comprises three aspects. Bodily or shaaririka tapas, speech or vaangmaya tapas, and mental or maanasika tapas. Tapas is used to conserve and channel our energy in the pursuit of a goal or objective, whether it be material or spiritual. Shri Krishna now describes three types of tapas, and how they can be used to assess the texture of our faith. He first describes the conditions under which penance is revealed to be sattvic.
 
The unique nature of sattvic tapas is that it is performed in the pursuit of the highest possible goal, which is self realization. It is not performed for any material gain, or the pursuit of physical or mental powers. Furthermore, it is performed with the utmost faith in the statements of the scriptures. Shri Krishna uses the word naraha or human in this shloka, and not in the shlokas that described the other two types of penance. He implies that only humans have the ability to perform penance without expectation of material gain.
 
Who has the ability to perform this highest level of penance, this sattvic penance? It is one who is yukta, one who has integrated his mind with his intellect, one who can remain balanced in success and failure. Only such a person is able to incorporate all the three aspects of penance, physical, mental and speech, referred in the shloka as three fold. Even if one of these is missing, the tapas loses its sattvic aspects. Mental penance is the toughest of all the three, since it is hardest to conquer the mind.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 16, Chapter 17

06 Monday May 2013

Posted by in 17.16, aatmavinigraha, bhaavasamshuddhihi, chapter 17 verse 16, maanasam, manaha, maunam, prasaadaha, saumyatvam, tapaha, ucchyate

≈ Comments Off on Bhagavad Gita Verse 16, Chapter 17

manahaprasaadaha saumyatvam maunamaatmavinigraha |
bhaavasamshuddhirityetattapo maanasamucchyate || 16 ||
 
Mental cheerfulness, kindness, silence, self control, purity of intent, this is called penance of the mind.
 
manaha : of mind
prasaadaha : cheerfulness
saumyatvam : kindness
maunam : silence
aatmavinigraha : self control
bhaavasamshuddhihi : purity of intent
iti : in this manner
etat : this
tapaha : penance
maanasam : of the mind
ucchyate : is called
 
So far, we came across the qualities needed for penance of the body and speech. Shri Krishna now lists the qualities that indicate penance of mind, maanasika tapas. He begins with prasaadaha, a cheerful, joyful attitude towards situations in life. It comes from maintaining our balance and composure in troublesome as well as in happy situations. Saumyatvam refers to developing a gentleness and gracefulness when dealing with people. It requires us to remain free from negative attitudes towards people that manifest as jealousy, violence, cruelty and so on.
 
The next quality is maunam. Literally, maunam mean silence, but here it means silence that comes out of contemplation. Now, we cannot stop negative thoughts from arising in our mind, but we can always control how much time and attention we give to such thoughts. Whenever such negative thoughts arise, we have to be able to switch to a positive thought immediately. Doing so requires high levels of self control or aatma vinigrahaha, also known as shamaha. If we do not learn how to do this, the mind will hold onto a negative thought and get swept away in a mental whirlpool of negativity.
 
When we constantly maintain all the above mentioned qualities, our mind will automatically begin to harbour good intentions, even against so-called evil people and tough situations. The key to do this comes back to our outlook towards the world. We need to do one of two things. If we have faith in Ishvara, we need to surrender to him and reduce our dependence on the perishable material world. Alternatively, we treat the entire world as mithyaa, as an illusion, and negate everything in it. As long as we give absolute reality to the world, mental penance is next to impossible.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 15, Chapter 17

05 Sunday May 2013

Posted by in 17.15, abhyasanam, anudvekaram, chapter 17 verse 15, priyahitam, satyam, svaadhyaaya, tapaha, ucchyate, vaakyam, vaangmayam

≈ Comments Off on Bhagavad Gita Verse 15, Chapter 17

anudvekaram vaakyam satyam priyahitam cha yat |
svaadhyaayaabhyasanam chaiva vaangmayam tapa ucchyate || 15 ||
 
Those words that do not perturb others, that are true, pleasant and beneficial, and also the practice of recitation of scriptures, that is called the penance of speech.
 
anudvekaram : do not disturb others
vaakyam : words
satyam : true
priyahitam : pleasant and beneficial
cha : and
yat : those which
svaadhyaaya : recitation of scriptures
abhyasanam : practice
cha : and
eva : also
vaangmayam : speech
tapaha : penance
ucchyate : is called
 
Having described the penance of the body, Shri Krishna now describes penance of the mind, mental austerity or vaangmaya tapa. He mentions four conditions of speech : that it should be true, it should be pleasant to hear, it should benefit the other person, and it should not cause any disturbance in the other person’s mind. Whenever we speak statements that fulfill all these four conditions, we are practicing penance of the mind. Putting it differently, we are not wasting or dissipating the energy of our speech when we speak like this.
 
Initially, we may think that satisfying even two or three of these conditions is impractical. However, speaking tactfully is a skill needed in our daily lives. For instance, what is true may not always be the most pleasant thing to convey. In the office, we have to deliver all kinds of messages to people without them losing face. Even in the home, while talking to spouse, just conveying information factually does not always work best. Therefore, putting thought into choosing our words carefully has practical as well as spiritual benefits.
 
Now, many of us have an urge to say something when we are by ourselves. Here, Shri Krishna suggests that we recite scriptures daily, like chanting the second chapter of the Gita, for instance. Doing so satisfies our urge of speaking, and also forces the mind to contemplate the Gita teaching rather than stray here and there. In fact, it becomes a form of meditation as well. Once we memorize the shlokas, we can contemplate upon them whenever we want, without having to rely on a book.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 14, Chapter 17

04 Saturday May 2013

Posted by in 17.14, aarjavam, ahimsaa, brahmacharyam, chapter 17 verse 14, deva, dvija, guru, poojanam, praajnya, shaareeram .tapaha, shaucham, uchyate

≈ Comments Off on Bhagavad Gita Verse 14, Chapter 17

devadvijagurupraajnyapoojanam shauchamaarjavam |
brahmacharyamahimsaa cha shaareeram tapa uchyate || 14 ||
 
Worship of the deities, the twice born, teachers and the learned, purity, straightforwardness, chastity and non violence, these are called penance of the body.
 
deva : deities
dvija : twice born
guru : teacher
praajnya : learned
poojanam : worship
shaucham : purity
aarjavam : straightforwardness
brahmacharyam : chastity
ahimsaa : non violence
cha : and
shaareeram : of the body
tapaha : penance
uchyate : called
 
So far, Shri Krishna described the three types of food and worship so that we can use them to analyze the texture of our faith. He now begins the topic of tapas, which means penance or austerity. Through tapas we ensure that the energy that we derive from consuming food can be conserved and channeled into our actions. This tapas or penance is also of three types, saattvic, raajasic and taamasic. But penance itself needs to be broken down into its three main components first. Here, we examine the first component which is bodily or physical penance, shaaririka tapas.
 
Penance of the body begins with bowing down to, respecting, and serving our deities, our elders and our teachers. Deities also means the gods representing elemental forces such as Varun, lord of the seas. This means that we should worship and take care of all the natural resource this world has to offer. Offering service to something greater than us also has the effect of checking our aham, our ego, our illusory notion of who we are. It increases our humility and decreases our individuality.
 
Shaucham refers to purity of our body and our surroundings. If we keep our room unclean or cluttered, it is an indication that our mind is also unclean, or is cluttered with useless thoughts. Aarjavam or straightforwardness refers to our posture. We will not be able to meditate unless we are able to maintain an erect posture. This straightforwardness of the body is also a pointer to making our thinking straightforward, without any trace of deceit. Brahmacharyam refers to stopping our checking the excessive straying of our sense organs into their respective objects, like watching too much TV or consuming a lot of rich food. Ahimsa or non violence prevents us from harming anyone or anything using our body.