Category Archives: artha

Bhagavad Gita Verse 11, Chapter 13

12 Saturday Jan 2013

Posted by in 13.11, adhyaatmajnyaanam, ajnyaanam, anyathaa, artha, ataha, chapter 13 verse 11, darshanam, etat, iti, jnyaanam, nityatvam, proktam, tattvajnyaana, yat

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adhyaatmajnyaanamnityatvam tattvajnyaanaarthadarshanam |
etajjnyaanamiti proktamajnyaanam yadatonyathaa || 11 ||
 
Steadfastness in the knowledge of the self, contemplation on the goal of the knowledge of reality. This has been spoken of as knowledge. That which is other than this is ignorance.
 
adhyaatmajnyaanam : knowledge of the self
nityatvam : steadfastness
tattvajnyaana : knowledge of reality
artha : goal
darshanam : contemplation
etat : all this
jnyaanam : is knowledge
iti : this
proktam : has been spoken
ajnyaanam : ignorance
yat : that which
ataha : of this
anyathaa : other than
 
Shri Krishna adds two final entries to the list of twenty attributes that help us reduce the importance we give to the kshetra or the field. “Adhyaatma” refers to the self, the “I” in us. “Jnyaanam” is knowledge, and “nityatvam” is constant dwelling in that knowledge. For instance, once we know that the sun is a star and that the earth revolves around it, we never forget it, even when we appreciate the beauty of a sunrise or a sunset. Similarly, we can mourn the loss of a loved one, without letting that incident obscure our knowledge that the human body is ephemeral.
 
“Tattva jnyaana artha” is the goal or the culmination of the knowledge of reality, which is moksha or liberation. We will constantly contemplate on the self only if we feel that liberation is worthwhile, that it is valuable. On the other hand, if we value material goals more than liberation, we will waver in our commitment to inquiring about the self. Therefore, if we are able to make liberation our end goal, we will easily practice all the other attributes that we have studied in the previous few shlokas.
 
Shri Krishna concludes this topic by asserting that what has been spoken of so far is the means of knowledge, it is jnyaanam. Anything that does not provide this means of knowledge is ignorance, it is ajnyaanam, it will only serve to further entangle us in the material world. For instance, if we practice arrogance instead of humility, that is out of ignorance. It will lead us away from the path of liberation. We are urged to lead an intelligent, ignorance-free life in the Gita, right from the beginning when Shri Krishna glorified buddhi yoga in the second chapter.
 
So then, if all this was the means of knowledge, what knowledge does it reveal to us? This topic is taken up next.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 27, Chapter 2

25 Tuesday Oct 2011

Posted by in 2.27, aprihaarya, arhasi, artha, chapter 2 verse 27, dhruvaha, hi, jaatasya, janma, mrityuha, shochitum, tasmaad, tvam

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jaatasya hi dhruvoo mrityudhruvam janma mritasya cha |
tasmaadaparihaaryerthe na tvam shoochitumarhasi || 27 ||

Since one who is born certainly dies, and one who dies certainly is born. Therefore you should not grieve over this inevitable fact.

jaatasya : one who is born
hi : since
dhruvaha : certainly
mrityuha : die
janma : born
mritasya : who is dead
cha : and
tasmaad : therefore
aparihaarye:  inevitable
arthe : fact
na : not
tvam : you
shoochitum : grieve
arhasi : should

In the last shloka, Shri Krishna told Arjuna: Even if you think that the eternal essence undergoes birth and death, you should still not grieve. He continues the argument in this shloka.

The notion that birth eventually results in death, and death eventually results in birth is sometimes difficult for us to accept emotionally, but at the intellectual level, most of us acknowledge and accept it. I remember watching a TV show that showed a time lapse (high speed) video of a rodent’s corpse decaying into the soil, and small plants and flowers emerging from the soil shortly thereafter. I thought that it very vividly and visually illustrated the cyclical nature of birth and death.

If we look at this example closely, we conclude that the physical body of the animal transformed into the raw material for the body of the flowers and plants. And although we could not see it, we can guess that the eternal essence of the animal “died” and is now “born” as the life force that sustains the plants and flowers.

Therefore we would not grieve for death the animal’s body, nor for the death of the life force in it, because both were born again after they died. Similarly, Shri Krishna wanted Arjuna not to grieve for the imminent death of his kinsmen.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 5, Chapter 2

29 Thursday Sep 2011

Posted by in 2.5, artha, bhaikshyam, bhogaan, bhoktum, bhunjeeya, chapter 2 verse 5, guroon, kaama, mahaanubhaava, pradigdhaan, rudhira

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guroonahatvaa hi mahaanubhaavaan shreyo bhoktum bhaikshyamapeeha loke |
hatvaarthakaamaamstu guroonohaiva bhunjeeya bhoogaanrudhirapradigdhaan || 5 ||

I will not kill my revered teachers, because in this world, I would prefer to partake of food received through alms, rather than enjoy the blood-stained worldy pleasures derived from killing my teachers.

guroon : teacher
ahatvaa : not kill
hi : because
mahaanubhaava : respected, revered
shreyaha : better
bhoktum : partake
bhaikshyam : donated food
api : even
iha : this
loke : world

hatvaa: kill
artha-kaamaan : worldly pleasures
tu : then
eva : only
bhunjeeya : partake
bhoogaan : enjoyments
rudhira-pradigdhaan : blood-stained

This verse and the next few verses may seem similar to the ones we saw in the last chapter, but upon closer inspection, there are subtle differences. Arjuna’s panic attack has ended, and his emotional state has become somewhat normal. The change in Arjuna’s attitude is also indicated by the change in meter – we notice that this shloka, and some of the forthcoming shlokas, have a longer meter.

What remains, though, is a tinge of the victim attitude, indicated in the statement that he would prefer begging to hurting his teachers. But what is positive here is that Arjuna is slowly opening up to logical reasoning, since he is no longer under the influence of the panic attack, and his agitations have subsided.

The lesson here is that we cannot have a sane conversation with someone in a charged emotional state, their mind has to calm down somewhat in order to create room for logic.

In this shloka, Arjuna is still holding on to the position that he will definitely not kill his kinsmen. But as his emotional state calms down, we shall see him begin to question that position.