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Category Archives: avyakta

Bhagavad Gita Verse 4, Chapter 9

30 Monday Jul 2012

Posted by in 9.4, aham, avasthitaha, avyakta, bhootaani, cha, chapter 9 verse 4, idam, jagat, matsthaani, mayaa, moortinaa, na, sarva, sarvam, tatam, teshu

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mayaa tatamidam sarvam jagadavyaktamoortinaa |
matsthaani sarva bhootaani na chaaham teshvavasthitaha || 4 ||
 
This entire universe is pervaded by my unmanifest state. All beings are based in me, I am not based in them.
 
mayaa : my
tatam : pervaded
idam : this
sarvam : entire
jagat : universe
avyakta : unmanifest
moortinaa : state
matsthaani : based in me
sarva : all
bhootaani : beings
na : not
cha : and
aham : I
teshu : in them
avasthitaha : based
 
This shloka and the next are the crux of the teaching in this chapter. Shri Krishna makes three core points: that the entire universe is pervaded by his unmanifest state, that all beings are based in him, and that he is not based in them. Let us first take a step back to understand the context of this teaching before we delve into these three points.
 
The eighth chapter described meditative techniques that we had to follow throughout our lives in order to attain Ishvara, so that we can be liberated from the cycle of creation and dissolution. Now, Shri Krishna reveals a secret that will enable us to immediately gain access to Ishvara 24/7. And unlike other techniques described so far, we do not have to do any action. We just have to know.
 
What is this secret knowledge? Let us start with the first point. Shri Krishna says that Ishvara is present in every living and non-living being within this universe. If that’s the case, then we do not need to put in any extra effort. Once we train ourselves to view Ishvara in everything, we will gain access to him 24/7. We will not need to do any extra physical or mental activity to make that happen. But if it were that simple, why cannot we put it into practice immediately? It is because we have been preconditioned since time immemorial to see everything but Ishvara. Removing this preconditioning is the topic of the Gita.
 
The second point made by Shri Krishna is that all beings are based in him. Let us bring up the example of the ocean and the waves to understand this point. A five year old girl sitting on the beach will look at the waves, the foam and the ripples and conclude that they are independent things. But her mother knows that all of those shapes are created because of the ocean. Also, the girl who has to inquire about where these shapes come from. The mother does not have to do anything. She just knows that everything is nothing but water in the ocean. So the mother will tell her, “that’s just the ocean”.
 
Now, let’s say the girl sees a ripple in a lake instead of the ocean. She points to it and says “that’s the ocean”. The mother will now enhance her statement slightly by saying “that is not the ocean, that is a ripple. It is just a shape taken by water, which is in the ocean and in the lake”. Water is an abstract concept which a child slowly learns by example.
 
Similarly, we may begin to think that Ishvara is resident in an idol, or a saint, or a holy place. Like the ripple, they are names and forms. Even Arjuna would have found it hard to believe that Shri Krishna, who is in front of him, can pervade the entire universe. So therefore, Shri Krishna says that no visible entity can ever contain Ishvara who is beyond name and form. The true nature of Ishvara is formless. This is the third point in this shloka.
 
Still, a question remains. Just like we still see waves in the ocean even after knowing that they are water, we still come across thousands of names and forms everyday. Many of those names and forms are people that we interact with, speak with, work with and so on. Aren’t those people “real”? How do we reconcile this? Shri Krishna addresses this confusion in the next shloka.

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Bhagavad Gita Verse 18, Chapter 8

15 Sunday Jul 2012

Posted by in 8.18, aagame, agame, ahaha, avyakta, avyaktaat, chapter 8 verse 18, eva, prabhavanti, praleeyante, raatrya, sangyake, sarvaahaa, tatra, vyaktayaha

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avyaktaadvyaktayaha sarvaahaa prabhavantyaharaagame |
raatryaagame praleeyante tatraivaavyaktasangyake || 18 ||
 
With the start of day, the entire manifest (universe) is produced from the unmanifest. With the start of night, it is dissolved into that which is called the unmanifest.
 
avyaktaat : from the unmanifest
vyaktayaha : manifest
sarvaahaa : entire
prabhavanti : produced
ahaha : day
aagame : start
raatrya : night
agame : start
praleeyante : dissolution
tatra : that
eva : only
avyakta : unmanifest
sangyake : called
 
Shri Krishna explains the process of cosmic creation in this shloka. When the day of Lord Brahma begins, the entire universe comprising all living and non-living entities wakes up and begins to act. This process continues until the end of his day. Then, the whole universe goes back into the same unmanifest state that it sprung from. Alternatively, the whole universe is born out of Lord Brahma (the unmanifest), and goes back into him.
 
We can understand this shloka using the analogy of the movie theatre from the beginning of this shloka. The entire animated movie lies unmanifest in the reel of film. When the movie begins, someone loads the film into the projector and turns the projector on. Then, the bright white movie screen comes alive with all the characters in the movie. When the reel of film ends, all the movie characters are “dissolved” from the white screen. This process is repeated next time, and so on and so forth.
 
Now let us examine the implications. The universe is never really destroyed. It goes into a state of suspended animation, only to be “un-frozen” when the next day of Lord Brahma begins. This is consistent with the law of conservation of energy and matter. Neither energy nor matter is created or destroyed. They just transform from one state to another.
 
If we know this, and if we also know that every action that we perform always yields a result sooner or later, we realize that the universe works on a set of well-defined laws. Nothing is random, everything is an effect of some earlier cause. Therefore, we can begin to develop the right set of expectations towards the world. Then, while performing actions in a spirit of karma yoga, we will know that only performance of actions is in our hand. The universe, with its set of in-built laws, will take care of the rest. There is no room for worry.
 
Now, do the living and non-living being have a choice in this process of creation and dissolution? We shall see in the next shloka.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 28, Chapter 2

26 Wednesday Oct 2011

Posted by in 2.28, aadeeni, avyakta, bhaarata, bhootani, chapter 2 verse 28, eva, kaa, madhyaani, nidhanaani, paridevanaa, tatra, vyakta

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avyaktaadeeni bhootani vyaktamadhyaani bhaarata |
avyaktanidhanaanyeva tatra kaa paridevanaa || 28 ||

All bodies are latent in the beginning, they manifest in the middle, O Bhaarata. In the end, they will become latent again, so why should you grieve about this.

avyakta : latent
aadeeni :  in the beginning, prior to birth
bhootani : all bodies
vyakta : manifest
madhyaani : in the middle
bhaarata : O Bhaarata
nidhanaani : after end
eva : only
tatra : this
kaa : why
paridevanaa : grieve

This is yet another important and profound shloka with layers and layers of meaning. Let’s try to understand it to the best of our ability. Let us look at some examples.

The first example, which is an oft-quoted one, is the seed example. We know that we can hold the seed of a tree, say a mango tree, in the palm of our hand – it is that small. We also know that if we provide the seed with the right climate, soil, water and fertilizer, it will grow into a tall mango tree. The blueprint of the tall tree is present in that small little seed. In other words, the mango tree is latent until the seed is planted. In time, when the seed transforms into a sapling, and then into a tree, we can say that the tree has manifested out of the seed. And in the due course of time, the tree will eventually transform into wood or paper for human consumption, or get burnt and become one with the soil, or something else.

Today is the festival of Diwali when I’m writing this, so I have to add the example of the flowerpot firecracker. For those unfamiliar with it, the flowerpot firecracker is a fist-sized conical shape with a wick on top. After the wick is lit, the firecracker shoots up a dazzling fireworks display in the shape of a fountain, sometimes up to 100 feet tall. This display lasts for about 30-60 seconds. Here we can say that the fireworks display was latent in the firecracker, it came into existence when the wick was lit, and it ended when the gunpowder was exhausted and eventually absorbed in the air. To make it even more relevant, sometimes a hundred or so of these flowerpots are lit in succession, so that as one ends, another one begins.

Finally, here’s a somewhat different example. I used to play Beatles songs in a band. We would rehearse most of the Beatles popular songs beforehand. When we began our performance in the club, we would ask the audience to request a song, which we would end up performing. Therefore, the song was latent in our memory, it would come into existence when we played it, and it would end soon thereafter, after having travelled into the listener’s ears, and hopefully into their minds. Also, each time we played it, it would sound just a little different.

What’s common in all the 3 examples? In each case there was a beginning where something was hidden or latent, then something happened that caused it to come into existence, and eventually there came a time when that thing no longer existed. In effect, the birth, existence and death of a tree is no different than the “birth”, “existence” and “death” of the fireworks display or the song. Birth, existence and death are modifications rather than standalone events, therefore one should not grieve when someone or something comes to an end. It just transforms into something else.