Category Archives: aatmaanam

Bhagavad Gita Verse 28, Chapter 6

30 Monday Apr 2012

Posted by in aatmaanam, ashrute, brahma, chapter 6 verse 28, evam, sadaa, samparsham, sukham, sukhena, vigatakalmashaha, yogi, yunjan

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yunjannevam sadaatmaanam yogee vigatakalmashaha |
sukhena brahmasamsparshamatyantam sukhamashrute || 28 ||
 
In this manner, the sinless yogi, always engaged in the self, joyfully contacts the eternal essence, experiencing infinite bliss.
 
yunjan : engaged
evam : in this manner
sadaa : always
aatmaanam : in the self
yogi : yogi
vigatakalmashaha : sinless
sukhena : joyfully
brahma : eternal essence
samsparsham : contacts
atyantam : infinite
sukham : bliss
ashrute : experiences
 
With this shloka, Shri Krishna concludes the topic of the meditation process. He says that one who follows the step by step approach towards meditation obtains infinite joy and happiness because he comes into contact with the eternal essence.
 
The word ”evam” here refers to the step-by-step approach to meditation that has been prescribed here. Shri Krishna says that only by following this approach can the eternal essence be realized. There are several methods to meditation, but it is important to follow a disciplined approach in order to obtain the result mentioned in this shloka. It is like the purification of gold. Only a certain process will ensure that the mined gold will shine.
 
Next, Shri Krishna highlights that the yogi needs to have continually kept focus on the method of meditation with the word “vigata kalmashah” which means without any defects or sins. Meditation cannot yield results if the mind still harbours impurities in the form of vaasanaas and desires. A purified mind is a prerequisite to meditation.
 
Finally, what does is the end result of meditation? It is ultimate happiness or sukha, obtained by contact with brahman, the eternal essence. The literal translation is : “the yogi touches brahman”. Brahman is of the nature of infinite joy and bliss. Anyone who identifies with it also gains such infinite joy – “atyanta sukham”.
 
With this shloka, the explanation of the process of meditation is concluded. We can go much deeper into the process of meditation, discuss further obstacles and so on. Other texts cover those obstacles in greater detail. Next, Shri Krishna illustrates the change in the vision of the meditator, which is the final topic in this chapter on meditation.
 

Bhagavad Gita Verse 20, Chapter 6

22 Sunday Apr 2012

Posted by in aatmaanam, aatmanaa, aatmani, cha, chapter 6 verse 20, chittam, eva, niruddham, pashyan, tushyati, uparamate, yatra, yogasevayaa

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yatroparamate chittam niruddham yogasevayaa |
yatra chaivaatmanaatmaanam pashyannaatmani tushyati || 20 ||
 
When the mind is quietened through restraint by engaging in yoga, and when, beholding the self in the self, the self is content.
 
yatra : when
uparamate : quietened
chittam : mind
niruddham : removal
yogasevayaa : by engaging in yoga
yatra : when
cha : and
eva : only
aatmanaa : in the self
aatmaanam : the self
pashyan : beholds
aatmani : in the self
tushyati : content
 
Shri Krishna further elaborates on the state of the perfected meditator in this shloka. He says that the perfected meditator severs all connections of his mind with material objects, and established a connection to the self or aatmaa during meditation. When the connections with the material objects are severed, he achieves a level of satisfaction never achieved with material objects. The big difference here is that the satisfaction is from within, not from without.
 
Imagine a 100 watt bulb that is connected to a generator. The generator cannot produce more than 10 watts. Moreover, the generator is defective so even the 10 watts that it produces is intermittent. The bulb will be temporarily satisfied, but will never achieve complete satisfaction. Now, imagine that the bulb finds out that it was inside a power plant all along. When it disconnects itself from the faulty generator, and connects itself to the power plant, it will immediately experience unlimited power. Moreover, this power will be consistent and long-lasting.
 
Similarly, Shri Krishna says that the satisfaction that our mind achieves from the material world is limited and temporary. The only way to gain unlimited and permanent happiness is to connect our mind to the self or aatmaa. But this happens only when we first disconnect the mind from material objects. The state of the mind when it has disconnected from material objects, and is ready to settle into the self, is called uparamate in the shloka.
 
Withdrawal from the material world is not easy. It is the outcome of following a disciplined spiritual curriculum. First, we have to develop discrimination or viveka by strengthening our intellect through reading and listening about the eternal essence through scriptures. This enables us to develop dispassion or vairagya towards the material world. Dispassion starts turning the mind away from material objects, leading to withdrawal from the material world. It is like our attitude towards toys versus a child’s attitude – we have dispassion, the child does not.
 
So therefore, when the mind has fully turned inward, and has settled into the aatmaa or the self, we experience a deep and lasting level of satisfaction and bliss. But what exactly is meant by the mind settling into the self? It is when the only thought that remains is that “I am the aatmaa” or “I am the eternal essence”. All other thoughts about the world, people, objects, situations and so on have gone away.
 
Having gained this everlasting bliss and satisfaction, what does the meditator do? Shri Krishna explains this next.
 

Bhagavad Gita Verse 15, Chapter 6

17 Tuesday Apr 2012

Posted by in aatmaanam, adhigacchati, chapter 6 verse 15, evam, matsamsthaam, nirvaanaparamam, niyatamaanasaha, sadaa, shaantim, yogi, yunjan

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yunjannevam sadaatmaanam yogi niyatamaanasaha |
shaantim nirvaanaparamaam matsamsthaamadhigacchati || 15 ||
 
In this manner, the yogi who has subdued his mind, who always engages his self in me, attains ultimate liberation-bearing peace, established in me.
 
yunjan : engaged
evam : in this manner
sadaa : always
aatmaanam : self
yogi : yogi
niyatamaanasaha : one who has controlled his mind
shaantim : peace that leads to
nirvaanaparamaam : ultimate liberation-bearing
matsamsthaam : established in me
adhigacchati : attains
 
Previously, Shri Krishna explained the prerequisites and the method of meditation. Now, he speaks about the result or the fruit of meditation. He says that meditation, if followed as the technique prescribed here, brings us that peace that yields self-realization.
 
The journey towards this end goal obviously will take a long time. But there are intermediate results along the way. One who begins to drop attachment and fascination for material objects attains a state of ever-increasing peace. However, this peace does not lead to liberation. It is not “nirvaana paramam”.
 
Only peace gained by meditating upon the self leads to liberation. Initially, the sense of peace is only present while meditating, but slowly remains with the seeker for longer periods of time. Till the final stage is reached, the person may falter in his journey. Once the final stage is reached, he will never turn back.
 
Now, what is the source or this peace? Shri Krishna says that it is he who is the source of this peace. One of the fundamental lessons of the Gita is that only the eternal essence can give everlasting bliss and peace. Everything else gives temporary peace. Therefore, Shri Krishna urges the seeker to comprehend this fact and stop going after objects in the material world for happiness and peace.
 

Bhagavad Gita Verse 10, Chapter 6

12 Thursday Apr 2012

Posted by in 6.10, aatmaanam, aparigraha, chapter 6 verse 10, ekaakee, niraasheehi, rahasi, satatam, sthitaha, yatachittaatmaa, yogi. yunjeeta

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yogi yunjeeta satatamaatmaanam rahasi sthitaha |
ekaakee yatachittaatmaa niraasheeraparigraha || 10 ||

The yogi should constantly engage in his self, establish himself alone in a solitary place, having subdued his mind and body, without expectations, giving up all possessions.

yogi : yogi
yunjeeta : should engage
satatam : constantly
aatmaanam : in his self
rahasi : in a solitary place
sthitaha : established
ekaakee : alone
yatachittaatmaa : subdued his mind and body
niraasheehi : without expectations
aparigraha : giving up all possessions

Shri Krishna gives us an introduction to the topic of meditation in this shloka. He says that the main goal of meditation is to absorb our mind into our self or aatmaa. It is not something that we “do”, but it is a state that we aspire for, just like we do not “do” sleep. We achieve this state by gaining control over the mind and the body and by dropping off all worldly identifications and expectations. One who practices meditation in such a manner is called a dhyaana yogi.

First, Shri Krishna speaks about the preparation for meditation. He says that that we should sit in a solitary place and should constantly tried to quieten the mind. Why the need for solitary place? Meditation is not a group activity, but ultimately it is an individual activity that is for the yogi alone. It has nothing to do with what other person is doing. Also, it means that we should not depend on anything or anyone for meditation. Some people think that meditation needs a special mat, furniture, tea etc. No external aids are needed.

Furthermore, the solitary place chosen for meditation has to be free from all distraction. It should not occur in a place where there is too much noise. Just like we choose a quiet place when we want to sleep, so too should be the place for meditation. The time we choose for meditation has to be conducive as well. It should not create inconvenience to anyone. If other family members are dependent on you at some time, that is not the right time for meditation.

The notion of “ekaaki” or solitude has another aspect. When we sit for meditation, we should drop all other roles and relationships that we identify with such as father, daughter, wife, boss, employee and so on. Otherwise thoughts of family, employees, meetings and so on will pop up during meditation. At least for that period of meditation, we should assume the role of a renunciate or sannyaasi. Usually, meditation is one of the few times in the day when we are not “doing” anything. If we are not careful, we will worry about things that we normally do not have time to worry about during meditation. So Shri Krishna asks us to be mindful of this.

“Yatachittaatmaa” means that the yogi thoroughly has controlled his mind and body through continuous practice of karma yoga. As we saw earlier, Shri Krishna stresses sense control in almost every chapter in the Gita so far. It is probably the biggest qualification for meditation.

Another preparation for the meditator is the quality of “niraasheehi”. It means that the meditator does have any expectations from anything or anyone. Through his own direct observation and analysis of the material world, he has concluded that external things are not going to give him what he is looking for. He has developed the quality of “vairagya” or dispassion.

“Aparigraha” is the last quality mentioned in this shloka. Parigraha is storing or hoarding things, so therefore aparigraha means giving up all notions of “mine-ness”, this is mine and so on. The meditator should drop all baggage, in other words he should be free of all thoughts of past and future. It also means that one must give up expectations of any gifts from other people.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 5, Chapter 6

07 Saturday Apr 2012

Posted by in 6.5, aatmaanam, aatmanaa, avasaadayet, bandhuhu, chapter 6 verse 5, eva, hi, na, ripuhu, uddharet

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uddharedaatmanaatmaanam naatmaanamavasaadayet |
aatmaiva hyaatmano bandhuraatmaiva ripuraatmanaha || 6 ||

Uplift yourself by yourself, do not deprecate yourself. For only you are your friend, and only you are your enemy.

uddharet : uplift
aatmanaa : by yourself
aatmaanam : yourself
na : do not let
aatmaanam : yourself
avasaadayet : deprecate
aatmaa : you
eva : only
hi : for
aatmanaha : your
bandhuhu : friend
aatmaa : you
eva : only
ripuhu : enemy
aatmanaha : your

Shri Krishna gives us a powerful message in this shloka. He says that in order to progress in the spiritual path, in fact, any undertaking, we have to lift ourselves by our own efforts. We are our own friend if we do so, and if we don’t, we become our own enemy. In other words, our success and failure is entirely in our hands. No other person can help or hurt us.

In previous chapters we encountered the hierarchy of our personality. At the lowest level exist the body and the sense organs. They have the tendency to go out into the world and seek the objects they desire. The eyes desire pleasant images, the tongue desires pleasant tastes and so on. This is our “lower self”. Higher than the body and the senses lies the mind. It is the seat of our thoughts and desires. Higher than the mind is the intellect that can make rational decisions. The eternal essence, our higher self, is at the very highest level.

Now, the sense organs are very powerful. Usually, for most of us, the senses forcefully drag the mind out into the world in order to encounter one sense pleasure after another. This is what Shri Krishna calls “deprecation” in the shloka. It means the tendency of the mind to go lower. But in the intellect that has cultivated discrimination through study of right knowledge, the mind encounters a struggle. It has to choose between being dragged forcefully into the senses, or uplifting itself towards the intellect, and then ultimately towards the eternal essence.

So Shri Krishna asks us to to forcibly uplift our mind by the intellect. How do we do this? Whenever we have the urge to indulge in a sense pleasure, we give focus to our intellect. The intellect will then guide us in the right direction. We have to do this repeatedly and train the mind to go in the right direction.

However, we have to train our mind in the right manner. If we treat it forcefully it will rebel. The mind has got its own tricks, so we should control it by becoming friends with it. All of our saadhanaas, our efforts, should be done intelligently, slowly and steadily. Only then does the journey become easy.

Furthermore, we also have to ensure that we do not fall any further, even if we are not able to raise the level of our mind. When climbing a mountain, mountaineers hammer nails into the rock and secure themselves with rope. This protects the mountaineers against falling down in case they slip. Similarly, when we look back at this stage a few years from now, we should see spiritual progress, not further degradation in our life.

Now, this is a tough task. Who will help us? Shri Krishna says that you yourself are your friend, you only can help yourself. When we are hungry, it does not help us if someone else eats our food. Similarly, our upliftment is in our own hands. If we can prevent ourselves from falling prey to the lower self, our higher self becomes our best friend. For instance, if we are reading the Gita and the mind gets distracted, we should bring our higher self into the picture. But if our minds continually succumb to the lower self, it becomes our worst enemy.

Therefore, Shri Krishna urges us to gently but firmly bring our mind into control, and orient it towards the intellect and our higher self.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 7, Chapter 4

28 Saturday Jan 2012

Posted by in 4.7, aatmaanam, abyutthaanam, adharmasya, aham, bhaarata, bhavati, chapter 4 verse 7, dharmasya, glaanih, hi, srijaami, tadaa, yadaa

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yadaa yadaa hi dharmasya glaanirbhavati bhaarata |
abhyutthaanamadharmasya tadaatmaanam srijaamyaham || 7 || 

Whenever there is a decline in righteousness, and a rise in unrighteousness prevails, then do I manifest myself, O Bhaarata.

yadaa yadaa hi: whenever
dharmasya : righteousness
glaanih : decline
bhavati : prevails
bhaarata: O Bhaarata
abhyutthaanam : rise
adharmasya : unrighteousness
tadaa : then
aatmaanam : myself
srijaami : manifest
aham : I

Shri Krishna described the process of Ishvara’s descent or avataara in the previous shloka. Here he speaks about the reason for manifesting as an avataara. He says that whenever there is a decay in dharma, and a rise in adharma, during that time he manifests himself in a particular form in this world. Now dharma means righteousness, but it also means universal harmony. Adharma then becomes disharmony.

Again, let us take the example of our body. Every cell and organ is working for the totality of the human being. It is the spirit of “one for all and all for one”, which is nothing but the spirit of yajna that we saw earlier. Our heart keeps beating and doesn’t ask for any reward or recognition. It just works for the sake of totality.

But sometimes, a part of the body, or the whole body, undergoes a situation when something goes wrong. Then, the intelligence of the body manifests itself to take care of the situation. If the problem is in one part of the body then special enzymes are secreted to remedy the situation, and white blood cells fight off the invaders. If the problem is in the whole body then it becomes warm under fever in order to get rid of intruders.

Similarly Ishvara comes either for short time like the Narasimha avataara, or for a long time like Shri Krishna avataar. Sometimes we find that the entire population thinks the same thought – e.g. an independence struggle or a social movement. That is also an avataara. If we go on polluting the environment with chemicals and so on, there could be a natural disaster in response. That is also an avataara .