Category Archives: bhaktaahaa

Bhagavad Gita Verse 1, Chapter 12

10 Monday Dec 2012

Posted by in 12.1, avyaktam, bhaktaahaa, chapter 12 verse 1, evam, ke, paryupaasate, satatayuktaa, teshaam, tvaam, ye.aksharam, yogavittamaahaa

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Arjuna uvaacha:
evam satatayuktaa ye bhaktaastvaam paryupaasate |
ye chaapyaksharamavyaktam teshaam ke yogavittamaahaa || 1 ||
 
Arjuna said:
Those devotees, constantly united in you, worship you, and those devotees who worship the imperishable, the unmanifest, between them, who is the superior knower of yoga?
 
evam : in this manner
satatayuktaa : constantly united
ye : those who
bhaktaahaa : devotees
tvaam : you
paryupaasate : worship you
ye : those who
cha : and
api : also
aksharam : imperishable
avyaktam : unmanifest
teshaam : between them
ke : who is
yogavittamaahaa : superior knower of yoga
 
The first chapter of the Gita addressed the confusion of Arjuna arising out of his lack of identity, and of not knowing his duty on the battlefield. Chapters two to five explained what is the true nature of the individual, and using karma yoga to purify oneself. Chapter six explained how to remain constantly in one’s true nature through the yoga of meditation. Chapters seven to ten gave us an elaborate description of Ishvara, culminating with the vision of the cosmic form in the eleventh chapter.
 
The theme of this chapter is bhakti yoga, the yoga of devotion to Ishvara. Throughout the Gita, Shri Krishna has said, “perform actions for me”, “become devoted to me”, “make me your supreme goal”. But we have to first know, who is this “me” that is to be worshipped? There are some places in the Gita where Shri Krishna has described himself as imperishable, unmanifest, not visible to our senses. Conversely, he has shown his visible cosmic form to Arjuna in the previous chapter. In India, most devotees worship images of their chosen deities in their homes and temples.
 
So then, Arjuna wants to know, who is the superior devotee? Is it the one who worships the unmanifest, or is it one who worships the manifest? There is a well-known Marathi bhajan (devotional song) that asks the very same question : do I call you saguna or nirguna? Saguna means one with attributes, one that can be seen and felt. Nirguna means one that has no attributes. It is a tough choice for Shri Krishna. He answers the question in the next shloka.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 33, Chapter 9

28 Tuesday Aug 2012

Posted by in 9.33, anityam, asukham, bhajasva, bhaktaahaa, braamhanaahaa, chapter 9 verse 33, imam, kim, lokam, maam, praapya, punaha, punyaahaa, raajarshayaha, tathaa

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kim punarbraamhanaahaa punyaa bhaktaa raajarshayastathaa |
anityamasukham lokamimam praapya bhajasva maam || 33 ||
 
What (to speak) again of pious brahmins and royal sages? Having obtained this impermanent world which is devoid of happiness, you should worship me.
 
kim : what
punaha : again
braamhanaahaa : brahmins
punyaahaa : pious
bhaktaahaa : devotees
raajarshayaha : king sages
tathaa : and
anityam : impermanent
asukham : devoid of happiness
lokam : world
imam : this
praapya : having obtained
bhajasva : worship
maam : me
 
Shri Krishna concludes the topic of the glory of devotion by asserting that everyone, including brahmins or sages who have renounced the world, as well as “raajarshis” or sages who have become kings. Having described the glory of devotion, he then instructs Arjuna to worship Ishvara.
 
In describing the glory of devotion, Shri Krishna highlighted three types of people. The worst kind of person is a sinner, who has such a high level of attachment to the material world that he is ready to harm others. A better type of person is a sinner who has a lower level of attachment to the material world such as a businessperson. Better than that person is someone like a sage who has the lowest level of attachment, which means that highest level of detachment or vairagya. It does not matter which kind of person wants to become a devotee. Everyone is eligible.
 
Shri Krishna also explains the reason for seeking the path of devotion. He says that the world in which we live in has two main defects. It is anityam or impermanent, and it is asukham or devoid of joy. We usually rush into worldly pursuits such as money, positions, wealth, fame, titles and so on. None of those are permanent or will give long-lasting happiness. We sometimes think that others who possess these things are happier than we are, but that is not true. Impermanence and sorrow is the nature of this world.
 
Therefore, Shri Krishna urges us to follow a single pursuit. How do we do it? He explains this in the next and concluding shloka in this chapter.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 23, Chapter 9

18 Saturday Aug 2012

Posted by in 9.23, anvitaahaa, anyadevataahaa, api, avidhipoorvakam, bhaktaahaa, chapter 9 verse 23, eva, kaunteya, maam, shraddhyaa, te, yajante, yajanti, ye

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yepyanyadevataa bhaktaa yajante shraddhyaanvitaahaa |
tepi maameva kaunteya yajantyavidhipoorvakam || 23 ||
 
Even those devotees who worship other deities, filled with faith, they also worship me only, O Kaunteya, (but) incorrectly.
 
ye : those
api : even
anyadevataahaa : other deities
bhaktaahaa : devotees
yajante : worship
shraddhyaa : faith
anvitaahaa : filled with
te : they
api : also
maam : me
eva : only
kaunteya : O Kaunterya
yajanti : worship
avidhipoorvakam : incorrectly
 
The recurring theme of this chapter is the removing misconceptions about the worship of Ishvara. Shri Krishna again invokes that theme in this shloka. He says that those devotees who worship deities other than the infinite Ishvara ultimately worship him, but do so in a wrong manner.
 
Many of us have been brought up in a tradition in which we worship a specific deity. As children, we are taught to invoke that deity during auspicious occasions, during periods of prosperity as well as periods of difficulty. We should be grateful to our parents for inculcalting these good sanskaaraas or habits in us at an early age. However, Shri Krishna says that as we grow older, it is important to have the correct knowledge of what we are worshipping, because in most cases, our knowledge is limited and incorrect.
 
What is this incorrect knowledge? Thinking that what we are worshipping is a finite deity in a certain form is incorrect knowledge. When we see a small government office, we do not make the mistake of thinking that a small office contains the government of an entire nation. Or when we look at a wave, we never imagine that the entire ocean is just that small wave.
 
Similarly, even though we worship a finite deity in our home or in a temple, we should never think that we are worshipping just that finite deity. If we think in that way, our worship will be incorrect, it will have a flaw.
 
So then, what is the right knowledge? It is knowing that we are worshipping Ishvara in his infinite nature. Just like we contact the entire Internet when we surf the web on our phone, we contact the infinite Ishvara when we worship a finite deity. Ishvara is the foundation of everything, therefore ultimately all prayers reach Ishvara.
 
Why do most devotees commit this error? This is explained next.