Category Archives: aaveshya

Bhagavad Gita Verse 2, Chapter 12

11 Tuesday Dec 2012

Posted by in 12.2, aaveshya, chapter 12 verse 2, maam, manaha, mataahaa, mayi, me, nityayuktaa, parayaa, shraddhayaa, te, upaasate, upetaahaa, ye, yuktatamaahaa

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Shree Bhagavaan uvaacha:
mayyaveshya mano ye maam nityayuktaa upaasate |
shraddhayaa parayopetaaste me yuktatamaa mataahaa || 2 ||
 
Shree Bhagavaan said:
Those who, fixing their mind in me, are constantly engaged in my worship, endowed with supreme faith, those are superior in yoga, in my opinion.
 
mayi : in me
aaveshya : fixing
manaha : mind
ye : those who
maam : my
nityayuktaa : constantly engaged
upaasate : worship
shraddhayaa : with faith
parayaa : supreme
upetaahaa : endowed
te : those
me : my
yuktatamaahaa : superior in yoga
mataahaa: opinion
 
Previously, Arjuna had asked Shri Krishna to select which type of devotees were better between those who worship Ishvara as the formless unmanifest, and those who worship him as an entity endowed with form. Shri Krishna begins by describing those devotees who worship Ishvara endowed with form. He says that such devotees are the most superior yogis because they are constantly engaged in worship of Ishvara, full of supreme faith.
 
Three qualities of a superior yoga are highlighted here. Firstly, we as devotees should be able to fix our mind on Ishvara, using all the instruction given in chapter six and other places as well. In the initial stages of meditation, keeping our mind on Ishvara even for ten minutes is quite an achievement. Secondly, we have to be “nitya yuktaa”, the ability to remain constantly engaged in worship, without letting the mind divert itself to other pursuits. Thirdly, we need to be endowed with supreme and unwavering faith.
 
Even though these qualities may seem easy to attain on the surface, they are not so. Shri Krishna chooses words that indicate that he is looking for the highest kind of concentration and faith. For example, he uses the word “aaveshya” to describe concentration, but what it really means is using our thoughts to enter, to penetrate into the object of concentration. This kind of concentration requires a highly purified mind, free from selfish likes and dislikes and from attachment to material concerns. Our degree of faith further reinforces the ability to remain focused on our object of concentration.
 
So then, what is Shri Krishna’s opinion on those devotees who worship Ishvara as the unmanifest? This comes next.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 10, Chapter 8

07 Saturday Jul 2012

Posted by in 8.10, aaveshya, achalena, bhaktyaa, bhruvoho, chapter 8 verse 10, divyam, madhye, manasa, param, praanam, prayaanakaale, purusham, samyak, upaiti, yogabalena, yuktaha

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prayaanakaale manasaachalena bhaktyaa yukto yogabalena chaiva |
bhruvormadhye praanamaaveshya samyak sa tam param purushamupaiti divyam || 10 ||
 
At the time of departure, endowed with devotion, an unwavering mind, as well as the power of yoga, fully establishing the praanaas in the centre of the eyebrows, he attains that supreme divine person.
 
prayaanakaale : at the time of departure
manasa : with mind
achalena : unwavering
bhaktyaa : with devotion
yuktaha : endowed with
yogabalena : power of yoga
cha : and
iva : also
bhruvoho : eyebrows
madhye : centre
praanam : praanaas
aaveshya : establishing
samyak : fully
saha : he
tam : that
param : supreme
purusham : person
upaiti : attains
divyam : divine
 
The puraanaas contain several stories describing how people endowed with yogic powers could control their life force or their praana and force it out of the body. At the end of the Mahabharata, many people including Yudhishthira and Draupadi left their bodies using yogic powers. If we interpret this shloka literally, it describes how one can remember Ishvara’s form while voluntarily starting the process of departing the body.
 
We, of course, do not know anything about such techniques, nor do we wish to pursue it. So therefore, let us examine the symbolic meaning of this shloka. “Prayaana kale” literally means the time of departure or death. Symbolically, it signifies the death of the ego, or the end of our notion of finitude. Therefore, when we rid ourselves of selfish desires, likes and dislikes, and in doing so slay the ego, we automatically develop firm devotion or bhakti towards Ishvara.
 
As our devotion increases, our mind’s tendency to jump from one thought to the other slows down, settling into the one thought of Ishvara. We can then meditate on the form of Ishvara as the supreme, divine person or parama purusha. All the energy that would normally have been wasted in selfish thinking and action is available to us now. We can channel this reservoir of energy towards meditation.
 
So therefore, if we use these instructions to develop the daily habit of meditating upon Ishvara, we will naturally and easily remember Ishvara when it is time for us to leave this world. The key thing, of course, is not to forcibly practice meditation, but to gradually ease into it as our level of devotion to Ishvara increases.
 
With this shloka, Shri Krishna concludes the topic of meditation on Ishvara’s form. The topic of meditation on Ishvara’s name is taken up next.