Category Archives: aapnoti

Bhagavad Gita Verse 50, Chapter 18

08 Monday Jul 2013

Posted by in 18.50, aapnoti, brahma, chapter 18 verse 50, jnyaanasya, kaunteya, nibodha, nishthaa, paraa, praaptaha, samaasena, siddhi, tathaa, yathaa

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siddhim praapto yathaa brahma tathaapnoti nibodha me |
samaasenaiva kaunteya nishthaa jnyaanasya yaa paraa || 50 ||
 
How one who has attained perfection also undoubtedly achieves the eternal essence, learn from me in brief, O Kaunteya, that supreme devotion to knowledge.
 
siddhi : perfection
praaptaha : one attained
yathaa : how
brahma : eternal essence
tathaa : also
aapnoti : achieves
nibodha : learn
me : from me
samaasena : in brief
eva : undoubtedly
kaunteya : O Kaunteya
nishthaa : devotion
jnyaanasya : of knowledge
yaha : which
paraa : supreme
 
Shri Krishna now starts to recap the content from chapters five and six. Chapter three and four covered the topic of karma yoga, and how karma yoga gradually evolves into jnyaana yoga. Once the seeker has reduced his stock of desires, has purified his mind, and has gained knowledge about the aatmaa, the self, from a competent teacher, he then enters into the stage of sanyaasa, complete renunciation of action. Chapters five and six explain the process of entering into, and maturing of, the state of renunciation.
 
Siddhi here refers to the purification of mind obtained as a result of karma yoga. Jnyaana nishthaa, devotion to knowledge, also known as nidhidhyaasana or meditation, is the culmination of sanyaasa. If we ever wonder how monks spend most of their time, this is it. Besides doing the bare minimum needed to maintain the body, the monk is engaged in one and only one thing – constant contemplation, constant abidance upon the self.
 
For most of us, just contemplating on the self may seem a bit odd. How can such a seemingly mundane engagement result in liberation? So we need to remember that the self is already attained, there is no work that is needed to attain it. The only work that we have to do is to get rid of what is the no-self, in other words, purify our mind through karma and bhakti. Shri Krishna emphasizes this point by using the word nibodha, which means to know. There is nothing else that needs to be done in sanyaasa since it is the last stage of yoga.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 47, Chapter 18

05 Friday Jul 2013

Posted by in 18.47, aapnoti, chapter 18 verse 47, http://schemas.google.com/blogger/2008/kind#post, karma, kilbisham, kurvann, paradharmaat, svabhaavaniyatam, svadharmaha, svanushthataat, vigunaha

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shreyansvadharmo vigunaha paradharmaatsvanushthataat |
svabhaavaniyatam karma kurvannaapnoti kilbisham || 47 ||
 
One’s duty, though devoid of merits, is superior to another’s duty well performed. Doing the duty prescribed for one’s nature, one does not incur sin.
 
shreyan : superior
svadharmaha : one’s duty
vigunaha : devoid of merits
paradharmaat : than another’s duty
svanushthataat : well performed
svabhaavaniyatam : prescribed for per one’s nature
karma : duty
kurvann : doing
na : does not
aapnoti : incur
kilbisham : sin
 
We now focus on the subject of svadharma, which is the set of actions termed as duty. As we saw earlier, our duty can only be understood by conducting self analysis to understand what our mental makeup, what our varna is. Some of us may be well suited for starting businesses, whereas some of us may be better suited for the service sector. But it is quite common to get enchanted by another person’s occupation since it generates more money, since it has glamour and fame, and so on. How should we deal with this situation?
 
Shri Krishna says that we should stick to performing our svadharma, no matter how profitable or how glamourous other occupations seem like. In the short term, if we pick up another occupation, it may seem like we are doing a great job. But in the long run, we will fall into trouble. We will run into some problem or the other on account of not being suitable for someone else’s occupation. We also will deprive society from giving it the level of service possible if we had stuck with what we are good at.
 
Harbouring likes and dislikes towards actions, preferring someone else’s occupation to ours, has the effect of strengthening the ego, and hence should be avoided. Furthermore, in karma yoga, we are only expected to perform our best actions, and to not worry about the result. By performing our svadharma, by doing the best we can, we automatically the fear of the consequence of our action, whether or not it will be a merit or a sin. To perform actions fearlessly is a blessing in itself.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 12, Chapter 5

15 Thursday Mar 2012

Posted by in 5.12, aapnoti, ayuktaha, chapter 5 verse 12, kaamakaarena, karmaphalam, naishtikeem, nibadhyate, phale, saktaha, shaatim, tyaktvaa, yuktaha

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yuktaha karmaphalam tyaktvaa shaantimaapnoti naishtikeem |
ayuktaha kaamakaarena phale sakto nibadhyate || 12 ||

One who is established in yoga, who has given up the result of action, attains everlasting peace. One who is not established in yoga, who has attachment to results due to desire, gets bound.

yuktaha : one established in yoga
karmaphalam : result of action
tyaktvaa : who has given up
shaantim : peace
aapnoti : attains
naishtikeem : everlasting
ayuktaha : one who is not established in yoga
kaamakaarena : due to desires
phale : results
saktaha : attachment
nibadhyate : gets bound

In this shloka, Shri Krishna compares and contrasts a karma yogi and a materialistic person. While both perform the very same action, and could very well get the same result, their attitude towards the work is different. One who follows karma yoga maintains the attitude that “I am not attached to the results”, whereas the materialistic person does not maintain this attitude.

The ignorant person does action for sake of the result. He does not find joy in work itself. If the result is favourable, he gets extremely elated. But this happiness, and in some instances, peace of mind, is temporary. The minute a result of actions becomes favourable, he gets extremely dejected and disappointed. But the karma yogi does not wait for the result of the action to give joy. He finds joy in the work. The peace that he attains is driven from within, rather than from without.

It is this mental attitude that differentiates the karma yogi from the materialistic person. The easiest way to gauge our progress towards karma yoga is to constantly monitor our state of mind. If we get agitated for long periods of time when we receive the result of our action, it is an indication that we have generated an attachment to the result, which in turn indicates that the ego is strong.

The words used to describe both types of seekers bear closer scrutiny. “Yuktaha” literally means yoked or established. In this context, yuktaha means one whose mind is yoked to the intellect. In other words, the mind is under the guidance of the intellect. In contrast, “ayuktaha” is one whose mind is not yoked to the intellect. It follows the direction of the mind and the senses. This difference in the orientation of the mind determines the fate of the seeker.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 21, Chapter 4

11 Saturday Feb 2012

Posted by in 4.21, aapnoti, chapter 4 verse 21, karma, kevalam, kilbisham, kurvan, naa, niraasheehi, shaareeram, tyaktasarvaparigraha, yatachittaatmaa

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niraasheeryatachittaatmaa tyaktasarvaparigraha |
shaareeram kevalam karma kurvannaapnoti kilbisham || 21 ||

Without expectation, with a subdued body and mind, giving up all possessions, performing actions only for (maintaining) the body, he does not incur sin.

niraasheehi : without expectation
yatachittaatmaa : subdued body and mind
tyaktasarvaparigraha : given up all possessions
shaareeram : body-related
kevalam : only
karma : actions
kurvan : performing
na aapnoti : does not incur
kilbisham : sin

As we proceed with our project, our mind is racing with thoughts and anxieties about the future – will this happen, will that happen, what will go wrong and so on. But when we enter a peaceful place like a temple or a library, we notice that our thoughts tend to quiet down. This is because the sights, smells and sounds of such places put a fence around our mind and senses, as it were, and cause them to brood over a higher ideal. So Shri Krishna urges us to contemplate upon a higher ideal as much as possible. When that happens, our mind and our body automatically become quiet and subdued.

Now, in the course of the project, we may end up creating certain objects – a huge report, an excel file, a powerpoint presentation, a cutting-edge invention and so on. The wealth generated from the project will enable us to buy a new house, car, TV etc. We may notice that we develop a strong attachment, a strong sense of possessiveness towards these objects. Our ego may get inflated because we think that we created them, or own them. But that attitude makes us slaves of those objects. The reality is that nature produced the raw materials, as well as the knowledge to convert those into these objects. We did not “do” anything.

It has to be noted that there is no need to give up possessions. That is not the meaning here. Our attitude towards our possessions should be like a renter versus an owner. We should take care of possessions but not be bound to them. Slowly, as our possessive thinking diminishes, our actions also reduce. We then care only about our svadharma, and on keeping our mind and body fit for service.

The attitude created by observing this teaching has the effect of reducing the ego notion, which is nothing but the false identification of the eternal essence with the body, mind, intellect and objects.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 19, Chapter 3

28 Wednesday Dec 2011

Posted by in 3.19, aacharan, aapnoti, asakthah, Chapter 3 Verse 19, hi, http://schemas.google.com/blogger/2008/kind#post, kaaryam, karma, param, purushaha, satatam, tasmaat

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tasmaadasaktah satatam kaaryam karma samaachara |
asakto hyaacharan karma paramaapnoti purushaha || 19 ||

Therefore, always perform prescribed actions diligently without attachment; for, by performing action without attachment, an individual attains the supreme.

tasmaat : therefore
asaktah : without attachment
satatam : always
kaaryam : prescribed
karma : actions
samaachara : diligently
asaktah : without attachment
hi : because
aacharan : perform
karma : action
param : highest
aapnoti : attain
purushaha : an individual

In this shloka, Shri Krishna concludes his answer to Arjuna’s question from the first verse in this chapter. Arjuna had asked Shri Krishna as to why he should commit the act of war, which in his opinion was a ghastly act. Let us recap Shri Krishna’s answer.

Shri Krishna replied by explaining that no one can flee from action, that one should perform selfless rather than selfish actions, that selfless actions in the service of a higher ideal do not create bondage, and that performance of selfless action or yajna is the key to participating in the evolution of oneself and of the universe.

Another point emphasized in this shloka is that karmayoga should not be something that is restricted to only a few aspects of life. The karmayoga mindset should eventually become second nature, in other words, it should be embedded in each and every action that we perform. So therefore, in each and every action that we perform, from writing an email to eating our meals, we should remember to derive joy from the action itself rather than in the result. Only then will we begin to drop attachment to the action and to the result.

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.