Category Archives: anaamayam

Bhagavad Gita Verse 6, Chapter 14

11 Monday Feb 2013

Posted by in 14.6, anaamayam, anagha, badhnaati, chapter 14 verse 6, jnyaanasangena, nirmalatvaat, prakaasham, sattvam, sukhasangena, tatra

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tatra sattvam nirmalatvaatprakaashamanaamayam |
sukhasangena badhnaati jnyaanasangena chaanagha || 6 ||
 
Of these, sattva is pure, bright and healthy. It binds through attachment to joy and attachment to knowledge, O sinless one.
 
tatra : of these
sattvam : satvva
nirmalatvaat : pure
prakaasham : bright
anaamayam : healthy
sukhasangena : attachment to joy
badhnaati : binds
jnyaanasangena : attachment to knowledge
cha : and
anagha : O sinless one
 
In simple terms, our mind is in a state of sattva whenever we experience joy, peace and calmness. We are alert, our mind is able to think very logically, we are able to grasp the most complex statements that we read or hear, and we don’t feel the need to rush out into the world.
 
Shri Krishna says that sattva refers to purity, brightness and health. Our mind can be compared to the water in a glass cup. When the pond is free from agitation, and all the dirt has settled down, it is crystal clear and is able to reflect light beautifully. Similarly, when our mind is in a state of sattva, there is absence of dirt in the form of selfish desires. There is brightness because it is able to reflect the light of the self, the awareness of the self, without any hinderance. There is health because it enables us to get as close to our natural state of joy as is possible in the human body.
 
Now, no matter how enjoyable or pleasant this state is, Shri Krishna reminds us that sattva has the ability to bind us, to trap us, because anyone will like to remain in a state of joy and calmness. Furthermore, if we foresee that this state will go away, we would like to hold on to this state of joy tightly and not let it go. Sattva can also bind us through attachment to knowledge. Since sattva enables our mind to accumulate more and more worldly knowledge, read more books, attain more academic qualifications, and ultimately pump up our ego, we get attached to it even more.
 
Why is sattva able to bind us to joy and knowledge? We mistake the joy provided by sattva because we have not experienced what real joy is. That can only happen in meditation when we are able to access the joy that is inherent in the “I”, in the self. All other joys are in the realm of Prakriti – temporary, perishable, and illusory. True joy is in the subject, the “I”, not in the object. Sattva, though preferable to rajas and tamas, is to be used for getting us closer to the goal of liberation, and has to be ultimately discarded, just like the fire is turned off after we cook our meal.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 51, Chapter 2

17 Thursday Nov 2011

Posted by in 2.51, anaamayam, buddhiyuktaha, chapter 2 verse 51, gacchanti, hi, janmabandhavinirmuktaahaa, karmajam, maneeshinaha, padam, phalam, tyaktvaa

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karmajam buddhiyukta hi phalam tyaktvaa maneeshinaha |
janmabandhavinirmuktaahaa padam gacchantyanaamayam || 51 ||

Thus, the wise individual who performs actions with equanimity is liberated from the entanglements of birth, and attains the immaculate state.

karmajam : of action
buddhiyuktaha : with equanimity
hi : thus
phalam : result
tyaktvaa : give up
maneeshinaha : wise individual
janmabandhavinirmuktaahaa : liberated from entanglements of birth
padam : state
gacchanti : attains
anaamayam : immaculate

With this shloka, Shri Krishna concludes the introduction to Karmayoga in this chapter. Here, he tells us that one who continually practices Karmayoga frees himself from the entanglements of birth. Let’s look at this in more detail.

Our experience tells us that desires are never ending. Most material desires, once fulfilled, give rise to new ones. For instance, most immigrants to a country such as the US usually arrive with modest means. They rent a flat till they know where they plan to settle long term. And then the desires begin to manifest.

In a few years they take out a loan to buy a house. A house usually has a lawn. So you need a lawnmover, a leafblower, fertilizer, sprinkler system and so on to take care of the lawn. In addition, you need a car to get around. In time, one car is not enough – you need two. And since the neighbour has a Mercedes, you need to get one as well. Similarly with a TV – you start with 32 inch, then 60 inch, then 3D capability, home theatre system etc. Each desire, once fulfilled, gives birth to a new one.

So the shloka here says that this endless cycle of desire after desire entangles us in the material world. And therefore, one uses the discipline of Karmayoga to break out of it so that you reach that state where there are no desires or blemishes in one’s personality – what is termed here as the immaculate state.

Let’s summarize the key points of Karmayoga that we have seen in this chapter. Karmayoga is the performance of actions with equanimity of mind. We also looked at a 3-step toolkit to implement Karmayoga in our lives:
1. Reduce unnecessary thoughts of material objects that do not pertain to our svadharma
2. Improve quality of necessary thoughts by removing extreme attachment and hatred
3. Perform actions focusing on the present moment, without attachment to the result of action