Category Archives: antaram

Bhagavad Gita Verse 34, Chapter 13

04 Monday Feb 2013

Posted by in 13.34, antaram, bhootaprakriti, chapter 13 verse 34, evam, jnyaanachakshushaa, kshetrakshetrajnyayoho, moksham, param, viduhu .yanti, ye

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kshetrakshetrajnyayorevamantaram jnyaanachakshushaa |
bhootaprakritimoksham cha ye viduryanti te param || 34 ||
 
Those who, by the eye of wisdom, perceive the distinction between the field and its knower in this manner, and relinquishment from the cause of all beings, they attain the supreme.
 
kshetrakshetrajnyayoho : field and its knower
evam : in this manner
antaram : distinction
jnyaanachakshushaa : eye of wisdom
bhootaprakriti : cause of all beings
moksham : relinquishment
cha : and
ye : those who
viduhu : perceive
yanti : attain
te : they
param : supreme
 
After having understood the true nature of the self, the nature of the ignorance we are in, and also having understood the method of how to remove this ignorance, what is the result? Shri Krishna concludes this chapter by asserting that the one who has removed his ignorance through knowledge attain the supreme, which is moksha or liberation from the cycle of Prakriti’s creation and dissolution. The key to understanding this chapter is “viveka”, or discrimination, which was hinted at the beginning of this chapter by the words “idam shareera” or “this body”.
 
Take the case of a forensic investigator who is hired to detect counterfeit currency notes. On the first day of his job, he will not be able to spot the difference between a fake note and a genuine note. After learning about the visual differences between what’s fake and what’s genuine, and after practising to spot those differences over a period of time, his eye will begin to see minute details that the average eye cannot see. This ability to separate the real from the unreal is discrimination, which is the “eye of wisdom” mentioned in the shloka.
 
So then, the one who knows how to conduct his life in a manner such that he can distinguish between the unreal aspects and the real aspects, between the field and its knower, between Purusha and Prakriti, and learn to see the imperishable in the perishable as Ishvara, such a person is freed of the mechanisms of Prakriti, the cause of all beings. This is the goal of jnyaana yoga, which is summarized in the thirteenth chapter of the Gita. We will be able to attain this goal if we bring this teaching into our lives through constant reflection and meditation.
 
om tatsatiti shreematbhagavatgitasupanishadsu brahmavidyaayaam yogashaastre shreekrishnaarjunsamvade kshetrakshetrajnyavibhaagayogo naama trayodashodhyaayaha || 13 ||

Bhagavad Gita Verse 20, Chapter 11

03 Saturday Nov 2012

Posted by in 11.20, adbhutam, agram, antaram, chapter 11 verse 20, dishashcha, drashtvaa, dyaavaaprathivyoho, ekena, hi, idam, lokatrayam, mahaatman, pravyathitam, roopam, sarvaahaa, tava, tvayaa, vyaaptam

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dyaavaaprathivyoridamantaram hi vyaaptam tvayaikena dishashcha sarvaahaa |
drashtvaadbhutam roopamagram tavedam lokatrayam pravyathitam mahaatman || 20 ||
 
This distance between heaven, earth is and all directions is pervaded only by you alone. Having seen this, your fascinating and terrible form, the three worlds are afraid, O great one.
 
dyaavaaprathivyoho : heaven and earth
idam : this
antaram : distance
hi : only
vyaaptam : pervaded
tvayaa : by you
ekena : one
dishashcha : directions
sarvaahaa : all
drashtvaa : having seen
adbhutam : fascinating
roopam : form
agram : terrible
tava : your
idam : this
lokatrayam : three worlds
pravyathitam : afraid
mahaatman : O great one
 
Nowadays, computers can be trained to recognize objects and faces. They do this by first taking a snapshot of a scene, and then differentiating between what is space is what is not. If they can do this differentiation correctly, they can compare the outlines of the “not-space” with outlines of familiar objects to arrive at a conclusion such as “this is a box” and so on.
 
Our eyes work in pretty much the same way. Whenever they see space, they do three things. First, they separate whatever they see as not-space and call those things “objects”. Next, they send those objects to the mind which uses its memory to say “this is a box and a key”. But in addition to recognizing objects, the mind also automatically adds another thought. Since the box and key are separated by space, they are far away from me and therefore not a part of me.
 
Our minds are conditioned to believe that Ishvara is sitting somewhere far away. He is separated from us by space, by distance. But when Arjuna saw the cosmic form, he realized that space is not different from Ishvara. In fact, Shri Krishna himself said that space is part of his nature in the seventh chapter. Ishvara is not separate and far away from us, he is with us all the time. In fact, he only exists, “ekena”, all alone, by himself. We are not different from him. This is the main point of this shloka. Only by constantly remembering the cosmic form will we truly understand this message.
 
Now, Ishvara’s ugra roopa, his terrible form, slowly replaces his saumya roopa, his pleasant for. For every pleasant experience in the world, there has to be a corresponding unpleasant experience as well. Once you label something as “good”, there will be something “bad” by default. Seeing this frightful form of Ishvara, with fire coming out of all his mouths, all the three worlds were beginning to worry.