Category Archives: achetasaha

Bhagavad Gita Verse 6, Chapter 17

26 Friday Apr 2013

Posted by in 17.6, aasuranishchayaan, achetasaha, antahashareerastham, bhootagraamam, chapter 17 verse 6, karshayantaha, shareerastham, viddhi

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karshayantaha shareerastham bhootagraamamachetasaha |
maam chaivaantahashareerastham taanviddhyaasuranishchayaan || 6 ||
 
The collection of elements situated in the body, as well as me who dwells in the body, are weakened by ignorant people. Know them to be of devilish resolves.
 
karshayantaha : weakened
shareerastham : situated in body
bhootagraamam : collection of elements
achetasaha : ignorant people
maam : me
cha : and
eva : also
antahashareerastham : dwells in the body
taan : them
viddhi : know
aasuranishchayaan : devilish resolves
 
Let’s say it is the first day of the new year, and we make a resolution to lose some weight. The very next day, we join a gym for the very first time, and spend one hour running on the treadmill. This will not be a good idea. Instead of helping our body, we may harm it. Weight loss, like any other system, requires a combination of knowledge and action. Unless we understand the techniques involved in weight loss, we should avoid starting an exercise regimen.
 
A similar state is found in some people who practice terrible austerities in the name of worship. Shri Krishna explains their fate here. He says that those who torture the body and mind in the name of austerity are doing nothing but weakening the elements, meaning the organs, in their body. Nowhere in the scriptures does it ask us to harm our body. He goes one step further by asserting that such people are also hurting Ishvara himself. As we saw in the ninth chapter, Ishvara dwells in all of us as the saakshi, the witness of our thoughts and actions.
 
Shri Krishna calls such people achetesaaha which means ignorant, or even unconscious. They chose to ignore Ishvara’s teaching in the form of scriptures. They do not have faith in any ideal except their own preservation. They are driven only by egoism and desire. It is no wonder that their plans, their resolves, will be aasuric or devilish, as explained in the prior chapter. So the warning to us is clear. As we are conducting the analysis of our faith, we should in no way emulate these people. We should stay away from them.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 11, Chapter 15

16 Saturday Mar 2013

Posted by in 15.11, aatmani, achetasaha, akritaatmaanaha, avasthitam, chapter 15 verse 11, pashyanti, yatantaha, yoginaha

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yatanto yoginashchainam pashyantyaatmanyavasthitam |
yatantopyakritaatmaano nainam pashyantyachetasaha || 11 ||
 
Those striving yogis realize this as residing within the self. But those with an unprepared mind, though striving, do not see this, devoid of knowledge.
 
yatantaha : those who are striving
yoginaha : yogis
cha : and
enam : this
pashyanti : realize
aatmani : within the self
avasthitam : residing
yatantaha : striving
api : though
akritaatmaanaha : unprepared mind
na : not
enam : this
pashyanti : see
achetasaha : devoid of knowledge
 
In any difficult endeavour, there are three kinds of people. There are the vast majority who are not interested the least bit in striving for the goal, and blissfully accept their state as a given. There are a small number of people who are putting in great effort or dedication, but not obtaining the desired outcome. A select few, however, are able to channelize their efforts in the right direction and get what they want.
 
Shri Krishna called the vast majority of people, the first category, stuck in the cycle of Prakriti “deluded” in the last shloka. Here, he says that it is the preparation of mind that determines whether or not the efforts taken by yogis – those who are striving for liberation – have a chance of success. One without a prepared mind is termed as “akritaatmaanaha” in this shloka. So then, those of us who are aiming for liberation would not like our striving to be in vain. What should we do?
 
We need to understand what Shri Krishna means by purifying our mind. There are two aspects to this. The first aspect is the degree of selfish desires. Unless we have followed the path of karma yoga and bhakti yoga as laid out in the earlier portions of the Gita, our mind will not be able to properly absorb any scriptural teaching whatsoever. The second aspect is the type of knowledge we are trying to absorb and the method of doing so. A systematic understanding of the scriptures under the guidance of a teacher is the only way. One who does not follow a systematic process of imbibing knowledge is termed “achetasaha”, devoid of wisdom.
 
The topic of the jeeva is concluded in this shloka. with the message that only those with a pure mind and systematic study will truly understand the nature of the jeeva as the eternal essence as though limited by its upaadhis or conditionings.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 32, Chapter 3

09 Monday Jan 2012

Posted by in 3.32, abhyasooyantah, achetasaha, anutishtanti, chapter 3 verse 32, etad, matam, me, na, nashtaan, sarvajnyaana, taan, tu, viddhi, vimoodhaan, ye

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ye tvetadabhyasooyanto naanutishthanti me matam |
sarvajnyaanavimoodhaamstaanviddhi nashtaanachetasaha || 32 ||

But those who object to this teaching and do not follow it, they are confused in all of their knowledge. Know those people who are devoid of discrimination to be ruined.

ye : those
tu : but
etad : this
abhyasooyantah : with objection
na : do not
anutishthanti : follow
me : my
matam : teaching
sarvajnyaana : in all knowledge
vimoodhaan : confused
taan : those
viddhi : know
nashtaan : to be ruined
achetasaha : devoid of discrimination

Shri Krishna urged us to resolve all our objections to the teaching so that we may be able to incorporate it into our lives. But even if we overcome our philosophical objections, most of us will still find it difficult to follow the practice of karmayoga. Shri Krishna therefore begins to explain what prevents us from adopting karmayoga, and consequently, how should we tackle those obstacles.

The primary obstacle to karmayoga are our vaasanaas. Once a person is under the influence of vaasanaas, their actions will be prompted by selfish motives. These motives are expressed as negative emotions such as jealousy: “I will do things to make others jealous”, or out of anger: “I will destroy this person”, or greed: “I will earn so much even if it means I compromise on ethics”. Some people even pass on negative motives to their children, e.g. “I was not able to destroy this family, so you go ahead and do it, my son”.

Now, when we dwell in negative emotions such as jealousy, anger, greed etc., our intellect knows that what we are doing is wrong. But since our vaasanaas have overpowered the intellect, it does not function and so we follow a wrong path. We are then ruined because we are going against the laws of nature. What would happen if we disregarded the law of gravity? We would perish. A similar fate exists if we do not pursue karmayoga.

So the question is : how exactly do vaasanaas cause us not follow karmayoga? Shri Krishna covers this topic next.