Category Archives: adya

Bhagavad Gita Verse 13, Chapter 16

08 Monday Apr 2013

Posted by in 16.13, adya, bhavishyati, chapter 16 verse 13, dhanam, http://schemas.google.com/blogger/2008/kind#post, imam, labdham, manoratham, maya, praapsye, punaha

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idamadya maya labdhamimam praapsye manoratham |
idamasteedamapi me bhavishyati punardhanam || 13 ||
 
This has been gained by me now, these wishes I shall fulfill. This is mine, and this wealth shall be mine later.
 
idam : this
adya : now
maya : I
labdham : gained
imam : these
praapsye : fulfill
manoratham : wishes
idam : this
asti : is
idam : this
api : also
me : mine
bhavishyati : will be
punaha : later
dhanam : wealth
 
In India, when a young boy gets the news that he has gained admission in the engineering college of his choice, a desire automatically pops up in his mind. Once I get through my gruelling 4 year engineering course, I will be happy. As the 4 years come to a close, another desire comes in. I need to get into a good masters program in the US. When that happens, he feels that he will he happy when he gets a US visa. Once he arrives in the US, he wants a green card. Then he wants a wife, a big house, car and so on. Each time he thinks he will be happy, another desire is waiting in line to be fulfilled.
 
Shri Krishna wants us to examine our own outlook and find out the level of materialism in it. So in this shloka and the following two shlokas, he uses the first person to drive this point home. Here, he wants us to inquire into what we think is our ultimate goal, our destination, our objective in life. Most of us will come to a similar conclusion that it is accumulation of wealth so that we can take care of our material desires as well as those of our family.
 
But this line of thinking has a flaw in it. Desires are bahushaakha, they multiply infinitely, as we have seen in earlier chapters. Each desire contains the seed of several other desires. If any of those desires is unfulfilled, we invite stress, tension and anxiety into our lives. Now it does not mean that we should not harbour any desires. It just means that we need to apply some system, some framework to ensure that desires are managed and do not get out of hand.
 
The four stage aashrama system (brahmachaari, grihastha, vaanaprastha and sanyaasi) prescribes the duties of an individual based on their stage in life. When duties are given importance, desires automatically manage themselves. For instance, if one is a householder, then one focuses on what is the essential set of desires for fulfilling one’s duties, rather than deriving joy out of adding more and more desires. And even if some desires are unfulfilled, they do not agitate the mind because the goal is the duty, not the desire.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 7, Chapter 11

22 Monday Oct 2012

Posted by in 11.7, adya, anyat, cha, chapter 11 verse 7, dehe, drishtum, gudaakesha, icchasi, iha : this ekastham, jagat, kritsnam, mama, pashya, sacharaacharam, yat

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ihaikastham jagatkritsnam pashyaadya sacharaacharam |
mama dehe gudaakesha yachchaanyaddrishtumicchasi || 7 ||
 
Behold this entire universe now, with moving and non-moving (entities), in one place. Also, besides this, O Gudaakesha, see whatever else you desire in my form.
 
iha : this
ekastham : in one place
jagat : universe
kritsnam : entire
pashya : behold
adya : now
sacharaacharam : with moving and non-moving
mama : my
dehe : form
gudaakesha : O Gudaakesha
yat : whatever else
cha : also
anyat : besides
drishtum : see
icchasi : you desire
 
Nowadays, it is common for families to capture a wedding with a video as well as with photographs. So when a guest drops by a family that has just concluded a wedding, he is hit with a barrage of photos and a DVD of the wedding that could last three to four hours. The guest cannot refuse this demand because the family wants him to experience the entire wedding “right here, right now”.
 
So by using the words “now” and “in one place”, Shri Krishna is pointing out the power of the Vishwa roopa or cosmic form. Arjuna is able to view the entire universe in one place, without leaving his chariot. Moreover, he is also able to view events that take millions of years in a split second. And what is he able to view? Everything including entities that move, and entities that are stable.
 
Now, if someone were to offer us the outcome of all the events that were to take place tomorrow, and if our favourite team was contesting a match tomorrow, we would be most interested in learning the outcome of the match. Knowing that Arjuna was most interested in the outcome of the Mahaabhaarata war, Shri Krishna suggested that even that would be visible in his cosmic form. He refers to Arjuna as “Gudaakesha”, one who has conquered sleep, so that Arjuna would remain alert while watching the cosmic form.
 
However, with all this going on, there seemed to be no response from Arjuna. What could be the reason? We shall see next.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 3, Chapter 4

24 Tuesday Jan 2012

Posted by in 4.3, aam, adya, asi, bhaktah, cha, chapter 4 verse 3, etat, eva, hi, iti, mayaa, me, proktah, puraatanaha, sah, sakhaa, tahasyam, te, uttamam, yogah

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sa evaayam mayaa te dya yogah proktah puraatanaha |
bhaktosi me sakhaa cheti rahasyam hyetaduttamam || 3 ||

That same ancient yoga I have taught you now, for you are my devotee and my friend. This (yoga) is the ultimate secret.

sah : that
eva : same
ayam : this
mayaa : I have
te : to you
adya : now
yogah : yoga
proktah : taught
puraatanaha : ancient
bhaktah : devotee
asi : you are
me : my
sakhaa : friend
cha: and
iti : that is why
rahasyam : secret
hi : because
etat : this
uttamam : ultimate

Shri Krishna very affectionately tells Arjuna that he regards him as a devotee and a friend, and finds him fit and capable to receive this supreme knowledge. Arjuna was of course quite happy to receive it, but why was he chosen? Let us investigate this point further.

Whoever received this knowledge needed to be capable of communicating it to others. It was not enough that this person was wise. Shri Krishna also needed a capable evangelist, one who had a mix of sattva and rajas, in order to both understand and spread this knowledge. A brahmana is predominantly saattvic by nature, and may not have been able to communicate and establish this knowledge in the world. Therefore Shri Krishna revealed this knowledge to Arjuna, the ultimate kshatriya warrior.

Moreover, Arjuna was Shri Krishna’s devotee and friend. He had the best rapport with Shri Krishna, as well as profound reverence for him. So much so that Arjuna confided his fears to him in the first chapter, something that a kshatriya would hesitate to do. Arjuna also had the courage to ask any doubts without any fear of reprimand, and in doing so get a clear understanding of the teaching.

Many commentators believe that the 108 shlokas starting from shloka 11 of chapter 2 to this shloka comprise the entire message of the Gita. They say that Shri Krishna essentially completed the entire teaching and stopped speaking, having provided the paramparaa as the conclusion. The remainder of the Gita is an exposition of the teachings packed into these 108 shlokas. And it is Arjuna who helps us dig deeper into these teachings with his well-timed and thoughtful questions, like the one we will see in the next shloka.