Category Archives: api

Bhagavad Gita Verse 30 Chapter 7

26 Tuesday Jun 2012

Posted by in 7.30, adhibhoota, adhidaivam, adhiyagnyam, api, cha, chapter 7 verse 30, maam, prayanaakaale, sa, te, viduhu, ye, yuktachetasaha

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saadhibhootaadhidaivam maam saadhiyagnyam cha ye viduhu |
prayanaakaalepi cha maam te viduryuktachetasaha || 30 ||
 
Those who know me with “adhibhoota”, “adhidaiva” and “adhiyagnya” with a focused mind during the time of departure, they realize only me.
 
sa : with
adhibhoota : “adhibhoota”
adhidaivam : “adhidaiva”
maam : me
sa : with
adhiyagnyam : “adhiyagnya”
cha : and
ye : those who
viduhu : know
prayanaakaale : during the time of departure
api : also
cha : and
maam : me
te : they
viduhu : realize
yuktachetasaha : focused mind
 
Studying the Gita is akin to taking off in an airplane. Each chapter takes us to a higher and higher level of understanding. In this, the final shloka of the seventh chapter, we are taken from the level of the individual to the level of the cosmic. Shri Krishna introduces a topic that all of us have to confront: how should we prepare ourselves for death ?
 
We cannot begin to answer this question unless we gain an understanding of the cosmos, where did it come from, how is it sustained, where is it going and so on. Therefore, Shri Krishna in the eighth chapter shifts gears to address these questions.
 
Here, he introduces three additional terms: “adhibhoota”, “adhidaiva” and “adhiyagnya”. These terms along with the 3 terms from the previous shloka will be explained in the beginning of the next chapter. He also says that the wise devotee who has his mind focused on Ishvara realizes or attains Ishvara.
 
Let’s say we only think of chocolate ice cream for an entire day, non-stop. We do not let any other thought come into our mind. When we wake up the next day, what would be our first thought? Chocolate ice cream, of course. Similarly, Shri Krishna says that whatever we think just before we die shapes our destiny after we die. If we think of something worldly during the time of death, our destiny will be worldly. But if we think of Ishvara during our time of dying, we will attain Ishvara.
 
Now, although we like to plan our lives to the nth degree, none of us knows when we will die. If that is the case, the thought that is top priority in our minds will become our final thought. If we are worried about our job all the time, that will be our last thought. If we are worried about our family all the time, that will be our last thought. If we are worried about our the state of the world all the time, that will be our last thought.
 
Therefore, the practical lesson here is that we should learn to direct our attention towards Ishvara while we are performing our duties on this world. How exactly we should do this, as well as how the cosmos came into existence, is the topic of the eighth chapter.
 
om tatsatiti shrimadbhagavadgitasu upanishadsu brahmavidyayaam yogashastre shrikrishnaarjunasamvade jnyaanavignyaanayogonaamo saptamodhyaahaha || 7 ||

Bhagavad Gita Verse 23, Chapter 7

19 Tuesday Jun 2012

Posted by in 7.23, alpamedhasaam, antavat, api, bhavati, chapter 7 verse 23, devaan, devayajaha, maam, madbhaktaaha, phalam, tat, teshaam, tu, yaanti

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antavattu phalam teshaam tadbhavatyalpamedhasaam |
devaandevayajo yaanti madbhaktaa yaanti maamapi || 23 ||
 
But, those with finite intellect obtain a perishable result. Worshippers of deities obtain those deities, (and) my devotees obtain me alone.
 
antavat : perishable
tu : but
phalam : result
teshaam : of those
tat : that
bhavati : obtain
alpamedhasaam : people of finite intellect
devaan : deities
devayajaha : those who worship
yaanti : obtain
madbhaktaaha : my devotee
yaanti : obtain
maam : me
api : alone
 
We saw that there were two kinds of devotees – those who pursue finite goals and those who pursue the infinite. Earlier, Shri Krishna said that there was nothing wrong with pursuing finite goals as long as such devotees eventually involve towards pursuing the infinite.
 
Why do most devotees contact a deity, someone or something that is higher than them? It is to acquire or obtain a goal that will relieve them of their finitude. Let’s say they worship a deity and manage to obtain the object that they desire. Shri Krishna says that no matter what object is acquired, it will perish at some point. In other words, that object will be time-bound or space-bound. It will make the person happy for a short amount of time, after which he will begin to feel finite and consequently unhappy. The cycle of seeking another finite goal will start all over again.
 
Devotees who do not see the folly of repeatedly acquiring finite things are termed “alpa-medhasaa” or finite-minded by Shri Krishna. They will never be free of sorrow but will manage to suppress it temporarily. They are deprived of the knowledge which indicates the true nature of Ishvara. That is why we should never stop enquiring into the reality of things, and try to look beyond the material world for the real answers to our problems.
 
Shri Krishna goes on to say that those who worship deities may eventually obtain the favour of the deity, who will shower them with his grace. Though commendable, this outcome will still be futile, because the deity is still a finite entity. Only those who seek the infinite Ishvara will gain infinitude by which their sense of finitude or incompleteness will be taken care of once and for all.
 
So then, there has to be reason why most people do not seek infinitude. This is taken up next.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 3, Chapter 7

28 Monday May 2012

Posted by in api, chapter 7 verse 3, http://schemas.google.com/blogger/2008/kind#post, kaschit, kashchit, maam, manushyaanaam, sahastreshu, sidhhaye, tattvataha, yatataam, yatati

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manushyaanaam sahastreshu kashchidyatati sidhhaye |
yatataamapi siddhaanaam kaschinmaam vetti tattvataha || 3 ||
 
Among thousands of people, perhaps one strives for success. Among those successful strivers, perhaps only one knows me in essence.
 
manushyaanaam : among people
sahastreshu : thousands
kashchit : perhaps one
yatati : strives
sidhhaye : success
yatataam : among those strivers
api : only
siddhaanaam : successful
kaschit : perhaps one
maam : me
vetti : knows
tattvataha : in essence
 
Shri Krishna introduced this chapter by saying that he will reveal his true nature to Arjuna, which comprises both knowledge and wisdom. He also said that by knowing this, nothing else will remain to be known. Given the powerful nature of this knowledge, one would hope that everyone would seek this knowledge rather than running after new sources of knowledge everyday. But this is not the case. Here, he says that those who seek this knowledge are extremely rare in this world.
 
Let us look at the language used in the shloka. The word “sahasra” literally means thousands, but used in this context, it means innumerable or an extremely large quantity. So the shloka then reads: out of innumerable people, only one strives for success in liberation. Out of those few strivers, only one knows Shri Krishna in his essence.
 
Here, we can raise a doubt and say: what about the millions of people who go the the temple everyday? They worship Ishvara in his numerous forms. Many people observe fasts. Many people have a little temple in their homes. Many people conduct religious ceremonies where they donate food and other items. So how can it be said that only few people know Ishvara?
 
This doubt can be answered by looking at the last part of the shloka where Shri Krishna says that he has to be known in his essential nature. Most of the people mentioned earlier worship Ishvara, but they tend to have a partial understanding of what Ishvara really is. That is why Shri Krishna devoted almost a third of the Gita in describing his essential nature.
 
Having introduced the topic of Ishvara, Shri Krishna begins the main portion in the next shloka.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 47, Chapter 6

24 Thursday May 2012

Posted by in antaraatmanaa, api, bhajate, chapter 6 verse 47, maam, madgatena, mataha, me, saha, sarveshaam, shraddhaavaan, yaha, yoginaam, yuktatamaha

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yoginaamapi sarveshaam madgatenaantaraatmanaa |
shraddhaavaanbhajate yo maam sa me yuktatamo mataha || 47 ||
 
Even among the yogis, endowed with faith, one who worships me with his mind fully absorbed in me, he is the most fit in my opinion.
 
yoginaam : among the yogis
api : even
sarveshaam : among all
madgatena : one absorbed in me
antaraatmanaa : with mind
shraddhaavaan : endowed with faith
bhajate : worships
yaha : one who
maam : my
saha : he
me : my
yuktatamaha : most fit
mataha : opinion
 
As the chapter on meditation comes to a conclusion, we are left with an intriguing question. Like Arjuna, most of us have worldly duties and responsibilities. Even if we follow Shri Krishna’s advice and take up meditation, we still have to perform actions in the material world. Till we reach a stage in life when meditation becomes our whole and soul, what do we do when we are not meditating to ensure that we continue our spiritual journey? In other words, how do we stay connected to the eternal essence when we are not meditating?
 
Shri Krishna says that we should develop the highest possible ideal to whom can dedicate all our worldly actions. But this ideal should not just be an intellectual ideal. Unless our hearts are filled with devotion towards this ideal, our attempts will be lacking. But we need to strike a balance. Emotion without intellect results in superstition. Intellect without emotion results in fanaticism. Both are ill-advised. We need a combination of the two. We also need the ideal to be tangible and real, not something that is extremely difficult for our mind to grasp.
 
Devotion is not exclusive to the spiritual path. Any worldly endeavour requires a combination of action, emotion and intellect. An entrepreneur not just knows what steps he has to take to build a company, but also gets a thrill doing it. A freedom fighter not just knows that freedom is right for their country, but also has reverence for the motherland. A mother loves her children more then she loves herself, but knows when it is time to scold them.
 
To that end, Shri Krishna urges us worship to the eternal essence in its universal form, which is nothing but Ishvara. We need to begin to develop reverence, and ultimately, whole-hearted devotion to Ishvara. One who develops such devotion to Ishvara that his entire life becomes service and worship of Ishvara, is considered as the foremost yogi or meditator by Shri Krishna.
 
Therefore, the concluding message of this chapter to Arjuna, and to us, is to develop devotion. Devotion will ensure that we remain connected to Ishvara. In order to do so, we first need to understand who is Ishvara, where is he located, what are his accomplishments, how can we access him and so on. Only then can we truly develop devotion. This shloka is the seed for the topic of the next six chapters, which is bhakti or devotion.
 
om tatsatiti shrimadbhagavadgitasu upanishadsu brahmavidyayaam yogashastre shrikrishnaarjunasamvade dhyaanayogonaamo shatodhyaahaha || 6 ||

Bhagavad Gita Verse 46, Chapter 6

23 Wednesday May 2012

Posted by in adhikaha, api, arjuna, bhava, cha, chapter 6 verse 46, jnyaanibhyaha, karmibhyaha, mataha, tapasvibhyaha, tasmaat, yogi

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tapasvibhyodhiko yogi jnyaanibhyopi matodhikaha |
karmibhyashchaadhiko yogi tasmaadyogi bhavaarjuna || 46 ||
 
The yogi is greater than men of austerity, even greater than men of knowledge, and greater than men of action. Therefore, become a yogi, O Arjuna.
 
tapasvibhyaha : men of austerity
adhikaha : greater
yogi : yogi
jnyaanibhyaha : men of knowledge
api : even
mataha : opinion
adhikaha : greater
karmibhyaha : men of action
cha : and
adhikaha : greater
yogi : yogi
tasmaat : therefore
yogi : yogo
bhava : become
arjuna : O Arjuna
 
Shri Krishna begins to conclude the topic of meditation with this shloka. Having described the need for meditation, the definition of meditation, the process of meditation and the fate of a meditator, he now positions meditation as the ultimate means of attaining liberation. He says that the yogi, or the meditator, is superior to people who practice austerities, work selflessly or study the scriptures. And regardless of how much spiritual progress has been made in prior births, meditation is the only means of liberation. That is why he urges Arjuna to follow the path of meditation.
 
Here, Shri Krishna first lists three types of spiritual strivers: the taspasvi who practices austerities, the karmayogi who works selflessly, and the jnyaani who studies scriptures. We have come across the term karma yogi earlier, so let us look at the other two. The tapasvi is one who practicies austerities in the form of minimizing exposure to the material world, such as fasting, donating wealth, keeping a vow of silence and so on. The jnyaani is one who is well versed in spiritual knowledge and continues to increase and disseminate this knowledge through books, satsangs or company of holy people, and discourses.
 
Although each of these practices has their place and moves the seeker forward in his spiritual path, they are will not lead the seeker to his ultimate goal of liberation. Moreover, any of these practices will result in worldy gains as well. Shri Krishna advises Arjuna to not get “stuck” in any of these practices, but to gradually move towards meditation as the conclusion of his spiritual practice. Otherwise, there is a danger of the tapasvi harming himself through extreme austerity, the karmayogi not being able to detach himself from his actions, and the jnyaani gaining a ton of theoretical knowledge but not resulting in anything tangible.
 
So therefore, Shri Krishna urges Arjuna to follow the path of meditation as prescribed in this chapter. Specifically, this means developing the vision of equanimity or “samyak darshana”, where one sees oneself in all, and all in one’s self. Shri Krishna concludes this chapter in the next shloka.
 

Bhagavad Gita Verse 44, Chapter 6

21 Monday May 2012

Posted by in api, ativartate, avashaha, chapter 6 verse 44, eva, hi, hriyate, jigyaasuhu, poorvabhyaasena, saha, shabdabrahma, tena, yogasya

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poorvabhyaasena tenaiva hriyate hyaavashoopi saha |
jigyaasurapi yogasya shabdabrahmaativartate || 44 ||
 
Though helpless, he is pushed due to his prior effort, because even the seeker of yoga transcends the words of brahman.
 
poorvabhyaasena : due to prior effort
tena : that
eva : only
hriyate : pushed
hi : because
avashaha : helplessly
api : though
saha : he
jigyaasuhu : seeker
api : even
yogasya : yoga
shabdabrahma : words of brahman
ativartate : transcends
 
Previously, Shri Krishna described the fate of the unfulfilled meditator who is born into a family of yogis. Here, he describes the fate of the other type of unfulfilled meditator who is born into a prosperous family. Shri Krishna says that even though such a person will indulge in sense pleasures, his previous efforts will push him towards rekindling his spiritual journey. This attraction or push towards spirituality will give him the potential of transcending his material pleasures.
 
Karma yoga teaches us how to conduct our life without gathering impressions or samskaaraas that give rise to further selfish desires. These impressions, if not destroyed, are carried over from one life into the next, and result in activation of further selfish desires. The unfulfilled meditator who is born into a prosperous family is compelled to fulfill all of his desires because this family has enough wealth for him to do so. He is “avashaha” or helpless in this regard ,due to his propensity for desires.
 
However, in addition to his propensities being carried forward into his new life, his spiritual efforts are also carried forward. At some point in his life, these propensities will manifest in the form of an involuntary push or attraction towards spirituality. Just like the seeker born into a yogic family is pulled, this seeker will also find himself pulled, as it were, towards satsangs, discourses and gurus. But unlike the other type of seeker who knows exactly what to do in this situation, this seeker may not know what or why this attraction happens.
 
Shri Krishna further says that this pull towards spiritual has the potential to take him out of his current state of indulgence in material pleasures. We have seen that engaging selfishly in the material world further ensnares us in the cycle of karma or action and reaction, which is given in the Vedas, referred here as “shabda-brahman” or the words of brahman. But it is only through determination and effort that this seeker can transcend the cycle of karma. However, if he indulges in selfish desires, he will stray from the spiritual path.
 
So therefore, it is incumbent upon all spiritual seekers to continuously strive towards attaining their spiritual goals, no matter what their history is. Shri Krishna speaks more about this determination and effort in the next shloka.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 25, Chapter 6

27 Friday Apr 2012

Posted by in aatmasamstham, api, budhhyaa, chantayet, chapter 6 verse 25, dhritigrheetayaa, kinchit, kritvaa, manah, na, shanaih, uparamet

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shanaihi shanairooparamedbuddhyaa dhritigrheetayaa |
aatmasamstham manah kritvaa na kinchidapi chintayet || 25 ||
 
With firm resolve and regularity, slowly but surely, withdraw (the mind) through the intellect. Having established the mind in the self, do not think even a little bit about anything else.
 
shanaih : slowly
shanaih : slowly
uparamet : withdraw
buddhyaa : through the intellect
dhritigrheetayaa : with firm resolve and regularity
aatmasamstham : established in the self
manah : mind
kritvaa : do
na : not
kinchit : even a little bit about
api : anything else
chintayet : think
 
In the prior shloka, Shri Krishna advised the meditator to detach the mind from sense objects, and to control desires by checking unwanted thoughts. In this shloka, Shri Krishna goes deeper into the topic of focusing attention on one thought. He says that the meditator should use his intellect to withdraw the mind from all material thoughts in order to focus the mind on the one thought : “I am the self”.
 
In the third chapter, we had encountered the hierarchy of our personality where we saw that the mind is higher than the senses, and the intellect is higher than the mind. What does it mean for the meditator? It means that even though the mind is hard to control, our intellect has the power to rein it in. In other words, the meditator should use the intellect to control the mind.
 
The mind likes to be busy. It hops from one thought to another at lightning fast speeds. Once we withdraw the mind from the senses, the mind gets restless because it cannot run after sense objects. In order to keep busy, it starts thinking about the past and the future. So therefore, Shri Krishna asks us to use our intellect to rein in the mind. This withdrawal is called “buddhi uparamet” in the shloka.
 
How does one do that? Let’s take dieting as an example. Imagine that our doctor has asked us to go on strict diet for 2 weeks. Our first step is to control the senses by not keeping any undesirable food in the house. When this happens, the mind will continuously think about food, and tempt the body to do undesirable things, e.g. go out of the house to get fatty food and so on. The mind becomes agitated and restless, which is a recipe for disaster.
 
At this point, we use our intellect that has received the doctor’s instructions to check the mind. We think : “I respect the doctor. Therefore, mind, stop contemplating undesirable food since it will have negative consequences for me”. When we think this thought, we can control the mind’s rush into food-related thoughts.
 
Similarly during meditation, we can withdraw the mind using the intellect. We need to have an intellect that has read and heard about the eternal essence. It understands that any thought other than “I am the self” does not have a place in meditation. Each time an unwanted thought comes, we should use the intellect to gently but firmly shift focus from that thought and put the mind back into the main thought of “I am the self”.
 
Shri Krishna says that this method could take weeks, months or years. Therefore, he asks us to do it “shanaih shanaih” or slowly slowly, with great fortitude and patience. We should constantly meditate over the thought : “ I am the self”. Other than this thought, there should be no other thought. Each time the mind strays, we should not think that we have failed and get dejected. We should again bring the mind back slowly to the one main thought.
 
When done correctly, we generate a lot of energy will radiate from our personality. This “tapas” or energy was always within us, but used to leak out through our mind and sense organs.
 
Now, the mind has another issue. It moves from thought to thought with great speed. This is taken up in the next shloka.
 
Footnotes
1. Meditation on the thought that “I am the self” is called “sajaatiya vritti”
2. Any thought other than “I am the self” is called “vijaatiya vritti” or thought about an object 3. These undesirable thoughts create the notion that “I am not the self, I am the experiencer”
4. We have to negate these undesirable thoughts during meditation

Bhagavad Gita Verse 22, Chapter 6

24 Tuesday Apr 2012

Posted by in adhikam, aparam, api, aysmin, cha, chapter 6 verse 22, gurunaa, laabham, labdhvaa, manyate, na, na duhkhena, sthitaha, tataha, vichaalyate, yam

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yam labdhvaa chaaparam laabham manyate naadhikam tataha |
yasminsthitho na duhkhena gurunaapi vichaalyate || 22 ||
 
Having obtained this gain, he does consider anything superior than that, established in which he cannot be agitated by the heaviest of sorrows.
 
yam : that
labdhvaa : having obtained
cha : and
aparam : no other
laabham : gain
manyate : consider
na : does not
adhikam : superior
tataha : than that
yasmin : in which
sthithaha : established
na : cannot be
duhkhena : from sorrow
gurunaa : heaviest
api : even
vichaalyate : agitated by
 
Elaborating further on the joy attained by the perfected meditator, Shri Krishna says that once the meditator gets this joy, he does not ascribe any importance to any other joy in the world. The joy of meditation becomes paramount. Also, this joy protects the meditator from the shocks of worldly life. Having gained the joy of meditation, he does not get agitated by any sorrow whatsoever.
 
As we saw earlier, any joy obtained in the material world is temporary. If someone becomes a manager, he aspires to become a senior manager. Once he becomes a senior manager, he experiences joy for some time, but then he aims for a so-called larger joy: he wants to become a director. And so the cycle continues.
 
We continually aim for greater and greater joys. In other words, we are always planning for future enjoyment. There will never come a point in life when we can say “yes, now my life is fulfilled”. Shri Krishna says that only meditation will give sense of true fulfillment and everlasting joy, incomparable to any worldly joy that we have experienced. Any worldly joy will pale in comparison to this joy. When one wins a lottery that pays millions, one does not go seeking pennies.
 
Next, Shri Krishna says that the person who becomes established in this joy of meditation is shielded from the impact of the most troublesome sorrows. Now, attainment of the joy in meditation does not mean that magically, all our sorrows will vanish. Till our human body exists, joy and sorrow will exist as well. But meditation will give us an armour that will protect us from all worldly sorrows. The inner strength provided by meditation will make us “shock proof”.
 
Let us imagine that we hear extremely disturbing news. What is our reaction typically? Our mind generates thoughts at a breakneck speed. If the sorrow is about a loss of a person, the storehouse of the mind (chitta) generates anxiety-ridded thoughts about the future (what will I do now, how will I survive, how will I adapt etc), memories of the past (it was so nice back in the day when I knew this person), and regrets (I should have done this). These are just a sample of the thousands of thoughts that the mind generates when learning of a disturbing event. For most of us, these thoughts destabilize us. But the meditator’s mind has become “set” in the eternal essence, it never loses its stability.
 
However, wee have to be careful before we give so much credit to the practice of meditation. Plain meditation without understanding, in other words, meditation without learning the content of the Gita thus far, does not give us this result. But if our intellect has diligently studied about the eternal essence – that it is beyond birth and death, that it is changeless, that it cannot be destroyed and so on – and our mind has become established in the eternal essence through meditation, the multitude of thoughts that hit our mind fail to destabilize us. We become like a rock that remains steady in a storm, not the tree that gets uprooted.
 
So therefore, meditation gives us the best of both worlds. It gives us joy independent of any future sorrow, and also protects us from the impact of heavy sorrows. In the next shloka, Shri Krishna concludes the sub-topic of the joy of meditation
 

Bhagavad Gita Verse 9, Chapter 6

11 Wednesday Apr 2012

Posted by in 6.9, api, ari, bandhushu, cha, chapter 6 verse 9, dveshya, madhyastha, mitra, paapeshu, saadhushu, samabuddhihi, suhrida, udaaseena, vishishyate

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suhrinmitraaryudaaseenamadhyasthadveshyabandhushu |
saadhushvapi cha paapeshu samabuddhirvishishyate || 9 ||

Well-wishers, friends, enemies, the unbiased, mediators, irritators, relatives, and also saints and sinners; one who views these as same is superior.

suhrida : well-wisher
mitra : friend
ari : enemy
udaaseena : unbiased
madhyastha : mediator
dveshya : irritators
bandhushu : relative
saadhushu : saint
api : also
cha : and
paapeshu : sinner
samabuddhihi : same vision
vishishyate : superior

In this shloka, the last shloka within the series of shlokas about the realized meditator’s vision, Shri Krishna speaks about how such a person views people. He says that regardless of how other people are connected to this person – they could be friends, enemies and so on – he views them as alike. Now, having this kind of attitude towards people is far difficult than maintaining such an attitude with objects and situations. So for that reason, Shri Krishna calls such a person “superior”.

There is diversity of individuals in this world, most of whom we do not deal with, but some of whom we do. By themselves, they are perfectly fine. But when we transact with them, we tend to categorize them through the lens of roles. A wide variety of such roles are provided here by Shri Krishna.

A “suhrida” is well wisher who does not expect anything in return from us, but is intent on doing actions that benefit us. Such people are rare. They do not keep a mental account of the good deeds that they have done, so that we can one day pay them back.

A “mitra” is friend, someone who cares for us. If we call him at midnight and ask for help, he will be there to help us. There is no doubt in our minds about whether or not he will help us. Consequently, we have raaga or desire towards that person.

An “ari” is our enemy. For reasons that are justified or even unjustified, we think that such a person wants to trouble us without any reason. We have dvesha or hatred towards this person. This becomes especially troublesome in meditation, because what we hate will come out as thoughts that disturb us in our meditation, not what we love.

“Udaaseena” literally means one who has lifted himself higher. He is indifferent and unbiased towards us and others. We have a neutral attitude towards such a person.

A “madhyastha” is a mediator. If there are two sets of people, he cares for both parties that could either have something in common, or are even opposed to each other. Such people are known to arrange weddings between two families, or even resolve disputes.

A “dveshya” is a person who we cannot stand. It is not necessary that such a person is our enemy or wishes ill of us. It is someone who irritates us for no reason. Either we wants to pick a fight with us, or we want to pick a fight with them.

A “bandhu” is a relative. It is someone who, whether we like it or not, has a relationship with us due to a familial tie. In fact this word is derived from the word “bandhan” which means tie or knot.

A saadhu is a totally pious and noble person whom we have utmost respect for. The opposite of such a person is a “paapi” or a sinner, one who has committed great crime.

So therefore, Shri Krishna says that the person whose mental state remains same whenever he thinks of or encounters any of these types of people, he is superior. But to get to this stage first requires a more basic level of sameness when we perform actions. That can only be achieved through karma yoga. Unless the mind is steady while performing actions, we cannot rise to the level of sameness mentioned in this shloka. Our thinking has to change from the ground up.

How does our thinking have to change? Our outlook towards people is usually in terms of gains and losses. We tend to evaluate people by the notion “what can they do for me?”. But one who has truly understood law of karma will know that whatever is happening in their life is nothing but a product of their actions. Another way of looking at people is “why does not he or she behave like I want?” But that is like asking “why is fire hot” or “why is salt salty”. People have in-built behaviour that is hard to change.

So, when someone upgrades himself to the karmayoga vision and submits all actions to Ishvara, he leaves all results to Ishvara also. He then begins to view the workings of world as Ishvara’s plan. Regardless of whether he encounters a good or bad situation, person or object, he will say “this is Ishvara’s plan” or “this is nature working through its laws”.

Once he has taken himself out of the picture, there no need to hold grudge against any one person, no room for complaint. It makes us become unperturbed and gradually, free of any worries caused by the world. This is how we develop the vision of sameness towards people.

So here, Shri Krishna concludes the topic of the realized meditator’s vision of the world. Next, he introduces the main topic of meditation.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 11, Chapter 5

14 Wednesday Mar 2012

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kaayena manasaa buddhyaa kevalairindriyairapi |
yoginaha karma kurvanti sangam tyakvaatmashuddhaye || 11 ||

Solely with body, mind, intellect and senses does the seeker perform actions, casting off all attachment, for the purification of the self.

kaayena : with body
manasaa : mind
buddhyaa : intellect
kevalaih : solely (without a sense of mine)
indriyaihi : senses
api : only
yoginaha : seeker
karma : actions
kurvanti : perform
sangam : attachment
tyakvaa : cast off
aatmashuddhaye : purification of self

In the previous shloka, Shri Krishna explained how a karma yogi offers his actions to Ishvara. But how exactly does he do that? Shri Krishna in this shloka says that the karma yogi continuously keeps the thought that the body, mind, intellect and senses – all these are the property of Ishvara, given by Ishvara. Therefore, all the work done is for the benefit for Ishvara, and not for the ego.

The Gita teaches that the body, mind, intellect and senses are not really “ours”. But due to our conditioning, we come to think that they are ours. We then begin to do things for their benefit. For example, the tongue likes sweet food, so we undertake actions to satisfy it by eating things that may not be healthy from a long term perspective. When actions are done for the satisfaction of body, mind, intellect and senses, the sense of “mine-ness” develops and the ego gets strengthened. We then begin to serve the ego.

In this regard, let us recall example of the CFO we had encountered a while ago. As long as the CFO thinks that she is working for company, things will go smoothly. But if she begins to think that working for herself, starts misusing the company’s funds as her own funds, she gets into trouble. Similarly, a karma yogi treats his body, mind, intellect and senses as instruments of Ishvara. When that attitude comes, all actions and their results also get offered to Ishvara. In this manner, the seeker detaches himself from the body, mind, intellect and senses from the ego,  and attaches them to Ishvara. This is what is meant by “casting off all attachment”.

Now, let’s examine the second part of shloka where Shri Krishna talks about purification of self. What happens when karma yogi continues to dedicate actions to Ishvara? His mind gets cleared of all selfish desire, and his ego begins to lose its power. The end result is that the mind is purified of all vaasanaas – which is what is meant by “self” in the shloka. Purification of mind brings the karmayogi closer to self-realization.