Category Archives: bhaavam

Bhagavad Gita Verse 20, Chapter 18

08 Saturday Jun 2013

Posted by in 18.20, avibhaktam, bhaavam, chapter 18 verse 20, eekshate, ekam, http://schemas.google.com/blogger/2008/kind#post, jnyaanam, saattvikam, sarvabhooteshu, vibhakteshu, viddhi

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sarvabhooteshu yenaikam bhaavamavyayameekshate |
avibhaktam vibhakteshu tajjnyaanam viddhi saattvikam || 20 ||
 
By which one sees a single, imperishable, indivisible entity in all diverse beings, know that knowledge to be sattvic.
 
sarvabhooteshu : in all beings
yena : by which
ekam : single
bhaavam : entity
avyayam : imperishable
eekshate : one sees
avibhaktam : indivisible
vibhakteshu : diverse
tat : that
jnyaanam :knowledge
viddhi : know
saattvikam : saattvic
 
Knowledge, the doer and action were introduced in the prior shloka. Shri Krishna now begins the analysis of knowledge. To recap, jnyaanam or knowledge here refers to the meaning given by an individual to information conveyed by the senses and the mind. The view of a large garden, for instance, could be interpreted differently by different people. A nature lover would rush towards it. A city dweller may think of it is a waste of living space. A real estate developer would imagine a resort being built on it, and all the consequent profits that follow from it.
 
Knowledge can be saattvic, raajasic or taamasic, since it is a product of Prakriti or nature. Sattvic knowledge is taken up here. The mind and the senses, by their very nature, report a diverse world. Shri Krishna says that the vision that can see unity within this diversity is called saattvic vision or knowledge. Few people have such a vision, since it is hard to fight against the normal tendency of the mind to chop up the world into fragments. Only someone with a saattvic vision like Mahatma Gandhi, for instance, could rally diverse and antagonistic states towards the idea of a united Indian nation.
 
Ultimately, a sattvic vision of seeing unity in diversity paves the way to understanding that the entire universe is pervaded by one single, imperishable, undivided entity. Initially, this entity is the eternal essence with attributes, the saguna brahman, also known as Ishvara. At the conclusion of the spiritual journey, the understanding evolves to recognize this entity as the nirguna brahman, the pure eternal essence, which is our own self. We can develop such a unified vision, this samyak darshana, through karma yoga. Instead of serving ourselves, we serve our family, then our community, our company, our state, our nation and eventually, Ishvara.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 11, Chapter 9

06 Monday Aug 2012

Posted by in 9.11, aashritam, ajaanantaha, avajaanantaha, bhaavam, bhootamaheshwaram, chapter 9 verse 11, maam, maanusheem, mama, moodhaahaa, param, tanum

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avajaananti maam moodhaa maanusheem tanumaashritam |
param bhaavamajaananto mama bhootamaheshwaram || 11 ||
 
Resorting to a human form, foolish people insult me, not knowing my supreme nature as the overlord of all beings.
 
avajaanantaha : insult
maam : me
moodhaahaa : foolish people
maanusheem : human
tanum : form
aashritam : resorting to
param : supreme
bhaavam : nature
ajaanantaha : not knowing
mama : my
bhootamaheshwaram : overlord of all beings
 
Removal of all misconceptions of Ishvara is one of the recurring themes of this chapter. Even though Shri Krishna has repeatedly defined Ishvara as infinite, many people still get stuck with one form of Ishvara or the other. In this shloka, Shri Krishna terms such people foolish, and their behaviour insulting.
 
Now, many of us were conditioned by our cultures to believe that Ishvara is something that is far away, and will take years and years of devotion to achieve. But Shri Krishna, through the Gita, has revealed to us the true nature of Ishvara as infinite, all-pervading and available right here and now. To ensure that we do not revert back to our old ways of thinking, Shri Krishna uses a strong term to refer to such people: foolish.
 
Even before we go to the level of Ishvara, we commit the error of thinking that our eternal essence, our self, is our human body only. Removing this erroneous notion was the message of the second chapter. In the same way, we are likely to think of Ishvara as a finite form, and in doing so, treat everything else in the world with disregard.
 
Shri Krishna says that such an attitude is personally insulting to Ishvara, who is the supreme controller of the universe. It is like introducing a Nobel peace prize winner as an ordinary citizen, or to think that a junior police officer is the be-all and end-all of a country’s government. People with such erroneous notions can cause a great deal of harm to themselves, as is pointed out in the next shloka.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 6, Chapter 8

03 Tuesday Jul 2012

Posted by in 8.6, ante, bhaavam, bhaavitaha, chapter 8 verse 6, eva, iti, kalevaram, kaunteya, sadaa, smaran, tadbhaava, tam, tyajati, vaa api, yam

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yam yam vaapi smaranbhaavam tyajante kalevaram |
tam tamevaiti kaunteya sadaa tadbhaavabhaavitaha || 6 ||
 
When (one) thinks of whatever state, while leaving the body at the end, O Kaunteya, (one) always having been absorbed in that, attains only that.
 
yam : whichever
vaa api : any
smaran : thinking
bhaavam : state
tyajati : leave
ante : at the end
kalevaram : body
tam : that
eva : only
iti : that
kaunteya : O Kaunteya
sadaa : always
tadbhaava : having thought of it
bhaavitaha : attains
 
The Srimad Bhagavatam contains the story of the great king Bharata. He was an accomplished king. He ran his kingdom well during his lifetime, and later retired into the forest to lead a life of austerity. But he developed a soft corner for a baby deer and became so attached to it that he would only think of the deer instead of focusing on his austerities. It is said that in his next life, he was born as a deer.
 
In this shloka, Shri Krishna asserts that whatever we think about at the time of death will determine our fate. But more importantly, he also states that the thought at the time of death is not really something that we can control. It is in fact, an outcome of our pattern of thinking throughout our lives.
 
If we examine our thoughts over the course of our day, we will notice a great variety of thinking. For most of us it will be a mix of mostly family-related and work-related thoughts, mixed with some thoughts about spirituality. But in the background, we will always have a thought that is going on all the time. It will come to the forefront when we are alone, or when we have opened our eyes after sleeping, but not fully woken up. For King Bharata, that persistent background thought was that of the deer.
 
So then, our deepest love, our deepest interest and our deepest longing will bear fruit in our next life. Having known this, what should we now do? This is taken up next.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 24, Chapter 7

21 Thursday Jun 2012

Posted by in 7.24, aapannam, abuddhayaha, ajaanantaha, anuttamam, avyaktam, avyayam, bhaavam, chapter 7 verse 25, maama, mama, manyante, param, vyaktim

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avyaktam vyaktimaapannam manyante maamabuddhayaha |
param bhaavamajaananto mamaavyayamanuttamam || 24 ||
 
The unintelligent, not knowing my unmanifest, supreme, incomparable and imperishable nature, believe that I assume a human form.
 
avyaktam : unmanifest
vyaktim : human form
aapannam : assume
manyante : believe
maama : me
abuddhayaha : unintelligent
param : supreme
bhaavam : nature
ajaanantaha : not knowing
mama : my
avyayam : imperishable
anuttamam : incomparable
 
“To one that holds a hammer, everything looks like a nail”. When we get used to a certain mode of thinking or behaving, it becomes a disadvantage because that mode of thinking begins to limit our perspective. We spend all of our waking life taking in information from the sense organs – the eyes, ears, nose, tongue and skin. Due to this constant exposure, we tend to perceive everything in terms of these 5 senses. Ultimately, these senses limit what we can perceive.
 
Shri Krishna, having described the finite goal-seeking mindset of most people, now clearly articulates the problem that they face. Limited by their finite intellect, limited by the prison of the 5 senses, people tend to view Ishvara as a finite entity. As if this is not unfortunate enough, they get so attached to their favourite deity that they sometimes begin to develop a fanatic attitude – “my god is better than your god” and so on. The true Ishvara is beyond all senses. Neither the mind nor our speech can reach it. Ishvara is beyond all names and forms.
 
But, many of us go to temples to worship deities. Even spiritual masters worship deities. How should we understand this? It is because deities in a temple are indicators or pointers to the infinite. An idol in the shape of a deity helps us focus our attention on the form of the deity. But this focusing of attention on the finite deity is a stepping stone to contemplating the true nature of Ishvara which is infinite, imperishable and supreme.
 
What is the real reason for the problem pointed out here? Why do most people think of Ishvara in finite terms? This is examined next.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 15, Chapter 7

12 Tuesday Jun 2012

Posted by in 7.15, aashritaahaa, aasuram, apahyatajnyaanaa, bhaavam, chapter 7 verse 15, dushkritinaha, maam, maayayaa, moodhaahaa, na, naraadhamaahaa, prapadyante

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na maam dushkritino moodhaahaa prapadyante naraadhamaahaa |
maayayaapahyatajnyaanaa aasuram bhaavamaashritaahaa || 15 ||
 
Wretched and deluded evildoers do not seek my refuge. Those whose wisdom has been abducted by maaya take support of devilish tendencies.
 
na : do not
maam : my
dushkritinaha : evildoers
moodhaahaa : deluded
prapadyante : seek refuge
naraadhamaahaa : wretched
maayayaa : through maayaa
apahyatajnyaanaa : those whose wisdom has been abducted
aasuram : devilish
bhaavam : tendencies
aashritaahaa : take support
 
Previously, Shri Krishna said that only those who take the refuge of Ishvara can cross over maaya. But, many people fail to follow this instruction. Instead, their wisdom is usurped by maaya. Maaya veils Ishvara, causing people to think that they don’t have to associate with Ishvara. Shri Krishna says that these people are not just deluded or ignorant, they are wretched, they are evil doers and are the lowest among human beings.
 
First of all, there are people who are somewhat deluded by maaya. They spend their lives running after material objects and possessions because they find joy in doing so. But they do so without causing any harm to anybody. Next, there are people who are even more deluded, who don’t hesitate to break the law in their pursuit of material objects. Finally, there are the worst kind of people who will resort to taking another’s life for their material fulfillment.
 
Having thus categorized people who are deluded by maaya, Shri Krishna calls their nature “aasuri” or devilish. Our goal should not to show up in this category. So then, what kind of people seek out Ishvara? This is taken up next.