Category Archives: bhava

Bhagavad Gita Verse 65, Chapter 18

23 Tuesday Jul 2013

Posted by in 18.64, bhava, chapter 64, ishyasi, madbhaktaha, maddyaajee, manmanaahaa, namaskuru, pratijaane, priyaha, satyam

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manmanaa bhava madbhakto maddyaajee maam namaskuru |
maamevaishyasi satyam te pratijaane priyosi me || 65 ||
 
Fix your mind on me, become devoted to me, worship me, bow to me. You will reach me. This truth I declare to you, for you are dear to me.
 
manmanaahaa : fix your mind on me
bhava : become
madbhaktaha : devoted to me
maddyaajee : worship me
maam : me
namaskuru : bow
maam : me
eva : only
ishyasi : reach
satyam : truth
te : you
pratijaane : declare
priyaha : dear
asi : are
me : me
 
Shri Krishna now reveals the supreme statement, the essence of the Gita, in this shloka. The whole of the Gita comprises a comprehensive curriculum of spirituality. It is applicable for all kinds of seekers at all stages in their spiritual pursuit. A detailed study of the Gita requires several lifetimes. But, from a practical standpoint, is that aspect of the Gita that will benefit the majority of seekers who are stuck in the trappings of material world, not knowing how to take the first step. With this in mind, Shri Krishna provides a four point summary of the Gita.
 
The first point, and the main point, is that the seeker should fix their mind on Ishvara. How can this happen? The second point states that the seeker should become devoted to Ishvara. Devotion here means that the seeker’s actions and speech should support the mind in its attempt to fix itself on Ishvara. This will only happen when the entire day is filled with worship of Ishvara through one’s actions, which is the third point. If no actions are being performed, then the seeker can simply bow to Ishvara in reverence, which is the fourth point.
 
In the Srimad Bhaagavatam, when the great devotee Prahlad was asked by his father, the demon Hiranyakashipu, to reveal what he had learned in his school, Prahlad listed the nine fold aspects of bhakti, which is in line with this shloka. The nine forms of bhakti are hearing the name of Ishvara, repeating the name of Ishvara, remembering Ishvara, serving the feet of Isvhara, worshipping Ishvara, praising Ishvara, looking upon Ishvara as a master, treating Ishvara as a friend, and surrendering to Ishvara wholeheartedly.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 57, Chapter 18

15 Monday Jul 2013

Posted by in 18.57, bhava, buddhiyogam, chapter 18 verse 57, chetasaa, macchitaha, matparaha, mayi, sanyasya, sarvakarmaani, satatam, upaashritya

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chetasaa sarvakarmaani mayi sanyasya matparaha |
buddhiyogaamupaashritya macchitaha satatam bhava || 57 ||
 
Mentally surrender all actions to me, designate me as the supreme goal, fix your mind on me by depending upon the yoga of intellect.
 
chetasaa : mentally
sarvakarmaani : all actions
mayi : to me
sanyasya : surrender
matparaha : me as supreme goal
buddhiyogam : yoga of intellect
upaashritya : depending upon
macchitaha : mind fixed on me
satatam : always
bhava : make
 
Shri Krishna summarizes karma yoga and bhakti yoga in this shloka. As we saw in the previous shloka, we need to continue performing our duty, and not to worry too much if we inadvertently perform a prohibited action, and to consider Ishvara as the one and only one aashraya, the ultimate refuge. How does this actually work in practice? A step by step approach towards karma yoga and bhakti yoga is enumerated in this shloka for the convenience of the seeker.
 
First, the seeker should fix Ishvara as his ultimate goal. This is mat paraha, one who is completely oriented towards Ishvara. Next, such a seeker should surrender all his actions to Ishvara. In the ninth chapter, Shri Krishna had said – whatever you do, whatever you consume, whatever you offer or donate, and whatever penance you perform, submit it to me. This is sarvakarmaani sanyasya. Nothing is done for selfish ends such as wealth, power, position, vanity and so on. All is done for Ishvara only.
 
Now, when the seeker faces challenges in life, he needs to have a method to deal with them. Equanimity is the answer. All actions are performed with full awareness and knowledge, as an offering to Ishvara. No action is perform haphazardly. Once the action is complete, the seeker should neither be attached to success, nor to failure. Such an attitude will only develop as a result of accepting every object, person or situation encountered in life as a gift or a praasada from Ishvara. This is buddhi yoga, as described in the second chapter.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 10, Chapter 12

19 Wednesday Dec 2012

Posted by in 12.10, abhyaase, api, asamarthaha, asi, avaapsyasi, bhava, chapter 12 verse 10, karmaani, kurvan, madartham, matkarmaparamaha, siddhim

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abhyaasepyasamarthosi matkarmo paramo bhava |
madarthamapi karmaani kurvansiddhimavaapsyasi || 10 ||
 
If you are incapable even to perform repeated practice, then perform actions for me. Even by doing actions for me, you shall attain success.
 
abhyaase : repeated practice
api : even
asamarthaha : incapable
asi : are
matkarmaparamaha : perform actions for me
bhava : become
madartham : for me
api : also
karmaani : actions
kurvan : doing
siddhim : success
avaapsyasi : attain
 
So far, Shri Krishna recommended jnyaana yoga, followed by abhyaasa yoga, both of which are difficult for us to follow. Our stock of desires prevents us from pursuing even a few hours of daily meditation. We cannot sit still in one place. If we do so, we get distracted every so often. And even if we are able meditate, we still need to remain attuned to Ishvara for the majority of the day when we are not meditating. How do we achieve this? It is through the yoga of devotion, bhakti yoga.
 
Prahlaada, son of the king of demons and one of the greatest devotees of Lord Vishnu, was asked by his father Hiranyakashipu about what he had learned in school. He replied that one should serve Ishvara by making every act into an act of worship. Shravana refers to the constant listening of Ishvara’s glories; kirtanam is the singing the names of Ishvara; smaranam refers to constant remembering of Ishvara; paadasevanam is adoring Ishvara’s feet; archanam is worshipping Ishvara in temples or in our own homes; vandanam is the offering prayers; daasyam is to consider ourselves as servants of Ishvara; sakhyam: considering ourselves as friends of Ishvara; and finally, aatmanivedana where we completely offer ourselves to Ishvara.
 
What happens when we lead our life this way? When every action including our work in the office, our chores at home, our studies in school and our dealings with friends and family becomes an act of worship, we slowly erode our sense of doership or agentship. Instead of acting with the notion “I am doing this”, we begin to act with the notion “Ishvara is doing everything”. We submit our ego into the altar of Ishvara. As our sense of ego dissolves, we become qualified to practice abhyaasa yoga, and ultimately, jnyaana yoga. So therefore, incorporating Ishvara into eevry aspect of our lives is bhakti yoga.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 46, Chapter 11

29 Thursday Nov 2012

Posted by in 11.46, aham, bhava, chakrahastam, chapter 11 verse 46, chaturbhujena, drishtum, gadinam, icchhaami, kireetinam, roopena, sahastrabaaho, tathaiva, tenaiva, tvaam, vishvamoorte

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kireetinam gadinam chakrahastamicchhaami tvaam drishtumaham tathaiva |
tenaiva roopena chaturbhujena sahastrabaaho bhava vishvamoorte || 46 ||
 
Wearing a crown, holding a mace, disc in hand, in that four-armed form do I wish to see you. O one with infinite arms, be that very form, O universal form.
 
kireetinam : wearing a crown
gadinam : holding a mace
chakrahastam : disc in hand
icchhaami : I wish
tvaam : you
drishtum : see
aham : I
tathaiva : like that
tenaiva : that very
roopena : form
chaturbhujena : with four arms
sahastrabaaho : O one with infinite arms
bhava : be
vishvamoorte : O universal form
 
Fearing Shri Krishna’s terrible form, Arjuna begged Shri Krishna to transform back into his normal form. Terming a four-armed figure as a normal form may seem strange. We need to dig deeper into the symbolic aspect of the number four to understand this request properly. The number four has a deep significance in the scriptures, since it represents the four Vedas, the four Varnas or classes, the four aashramas or stages, and the four purushaarthaas or aims of life. As an example, let us explore the four aashramas.
 
A person is supposed to pass through four aashramas or stages during their life. They begin life under the instruction of a guru or teacher, with the sole aim of seeking knowledge. This stage is called brahmacharya. After graduating from their school, they then lead the life of a householder in the grihastha stage. When that is fulfilled, they enter into a stage where they begin to gradually renounce all material attachments. This is known as vaanaprastha. After complete renunciation, a person’s life culminates in the sanyaasa stage where there sole aim is spiritual pursuits.
 
In this manner, we can uncover the significance behind several aspects of the number four. But what Arjuna really meant to convey to Shri Krishna was a request to assume the form that his admirers and devotees loved the most, the form that was the object of their meditation. This was Shri Krishna’s form as Lord Naaraayana, which was the embodiment of peace and serenity, and a polar opposite of his rudra or terrible form that Arjuna wanted to go away.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 33, Chapter 11

16 Friday Nov 2012

Posted by in 11.33, bhava, bhungakshva, chapter 11 verse 33, ete, eva, jitvaa, labhasva, mayaa, nihataaha, nimttamaatram, pooravam, raajyam, samriddham, savyasaachin, shatroon, tasmaat, tvam, uttishtha : arise yashaha

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tasmaattvamuttishtha yasho labhasva jitvaa shatroonbhungakshva raajyam samriddham |
mayaivaite nihataaha pooravameva nimttamaatram bhava savyasaachin || 33 ||
 
Therefore, you arise, obtain valour by conquering your enemies, and enjoy the prosperity of your kingdom. All these (warriors) have been previously killed by me, so you become just an instrument, O Savyasaachin.
 
tasmaat : therefore
tvam : you
uttishtha : arise
yashaha : valour
labhasva : obtain
jitvaa : by conquering
shatroon : enemies
bhungakshva : enjoy
raajyam : kingdom
samriddham : prosperous
mayaa : by me
eva : only
ete : these
nihataaha : killed
pooravam : previously
nimttamaatram : just an instrument
bhava : become
savyasaachin : O Savyasaachin
 
When we buy a ticket to any Bollywood blockbuster, we know that no matter what happens, the hero will save the heroine from the clutches of the villain. But even though the ending is no surprise to anyone, we still want to sit for over two hours in a movie theatre. Why is that? We enjoy the drama, the emotional ups and downs, the fight sequences, the songs and so on. We want the movie to entertain us. Just because we know the ending, we don’t stop watching movies.
 
Ishvara’s grand spectacle, his “leela”, works in similar ways. Shri Krishna had pre-planned the ending of the war, and had orchestrated the events in such a manner that it would result in the destruction of the Kauravaas. Knowing this, Arjuna would have liked very much to flee the war. Addressing Arjuna as Savyasaachin, one who could use both his hands in archery, Shri Krishna encouraged him to fight with all his might, defeat his enemies and enjoy the result of his actions. This is because Arjuna, like all of us, had a role to play in Ishvara’s grand play of the universe, his “leela”.
 
Here is the crux of karma yoga. If we fulfill our duties with a spirit of detachment, we align ourselves with Ishvara’s vision. We become a “nimitta” or an instrument of Ishvara. But if we assert our selfish desires and our will, we only entrap ourselves in the material world and set ourselves up for a painful existence. Furthermore, Shri Krishna, in his generosity, was more than happy to let Arjuna take credit for his work. In fact, he encouraged him to do so. And in the midst of all this, there is no favouritism. The Kauravaas were annihilated as a result of their actions, not because of Shri Krishna’s partiality towards the Pandavaas.
 
So now, who are the people who would be killed in the war? We shall see in the next shloka.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 34, Chapter 9

29 Wednesday Aug 2012

Posted by in 9.34, aatmaanam, bhava, chapter 9 verse 34, eshyasi, eva, evam, maam, maama, madbhaktaha, madyaajee, manmanaahaa, matparaayanaha, namaskuru, yuktvaa

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manmanaa bhava madbhakto madyaajee maama namaskuru |
maamevaishyasi yuktvaivamaatmaanam matparaayanaha || 34 ||
 
Keep your mind in me, become my devotee, perform actions for me, surrender to me. In this manner, engage yourself in me. By making me your goal, you will attain only me.
 
manmanaahaa : keep your mind in me
bhava : do
madbhaktaha : become my devotee
madyaajee : perform actions for me
maam : me
namaskuru : surrender to
maama : me
eva : only
eshyasi : attain
yuktvaa : engaged in
evam : in this manner
aatmaanam : yourself
matparaayanaha : make me your goal
 
Shri Krishna concludes the ninth chapter with a “take home message”. He gives us specific, tangible and practical instructions to bring the teachings of this chapter into our life. Having declared that this world is impermanent and devoid of joy, he wants us to follow a new way of life that orients us towards Ishvara and away from the world.
 
Let’s look at the most important instruction first. Shri Krishna wants us to make Ishvara as our sole goal in life. How does this work in practice? If for instance, we are ready to go to college, it should be in line with our svadharma so that we get skilled in performing our work. If we want to get married, it should be with the intention of serving our family and our parents. Any time we serve someone else, we are serving Ishvara.
 
Now once this goal is set, everything else falls into place. Shri Krishna wants us to keep on contemplating Ishvara and perform all our actions for Ishvara. The more we do this, the more will our ego get subdued, and this is how we will convert ourselves into a true devotee. We may encounter people and situations that are unpleasant, disagreeable and not to our liking. Even in the midst of this we should bow down and surrender to Ishvara, knowing that it is our past actions that are manifesting as unpleasant but temporary situations.
 
What is the end result? If we are ever engaged with Ishvara throughout our lives, if we make Ishvara our goal and refuge, we will certainly attain him. This attainment is explained in the sixth chapter as “Yo maam pashyati sarvatra sarvam cha mayi pashyati”. We will not view the world as different from us. We will see Ishvara in all, and all in Ishavara.
 
om tatsatiti shreematbhagavatgitasupanishadsu brahmavidyaayaam yogashaastre shreekrishnaarjunsamvade raajavidyaaraajaguhyayogo naama navamodhyaayaha || 9 ||

Bhagavad Gita Verse 27, Chapter 8

24 Tuesday Jul 2012

Posted by in 8.27, arjuna, bhava, chapter 8 verse 27, ete, jaanan, kaaleshu, kashchana, muhyati, na, paartha, sarveshu, srutee, tasmaat, yogayuktaha, yogee

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naite srutee paartha jaananyogee muhyati kashchana |
tasmaatsarveshu kaaleshu yogayukto bhavaarjuna || 27 ||
 
Knowing both these paths, any yogi is not deluded, O Paartha. Therefore, remain engaged in yoga at all times, O Arjuna.
 
na : not
ete : both
srutee : paths
paartha : O Paartha
jaanan : knower
yogee : yogi
muhyati : deluded
kashchana : any
tasmaat : therefore
sarveshu : at all
kaaleshu : times
yogayuktaha : engaged in yoga
bhava : remain
arjuna : O Arjuna
 
Shri Krishna starts to conclude the topic of the jeeva’s journey after death. He says that those who have knowledge of the fate of the jeeva after death is not deluded or misinformed. With this knowledge, we can change his behavior on earth in order to qualify for the right path after our death.
 
Of the two paths mentioned in this chapter, there was one that led to liberation. Shri Krishna advises us to follow the path of selfless action combined with single pointed devotion, in other words, karma yoga and bhakti yoga. This is indicated by the phrase “remain engaged in yoga” in this shloka.
 
All of this knowledge has already been explained to us. Karma yoga was the theme of the first six chapters, and bhakti yoga is the theme of chapters six through twelve. We have a choice. We can either read those chapters with an intellectual bent, or we can actually put the teachings to practice in our lives by remaining engaged in yoga “at all times”. The choice is up to us.
 
Shri Krishna summarizes and concludes this chapter in the next shloka.

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 45, Chapter 2

10 Thursday Nov 2011

Posted by in 2.45, aatmavaan, arjuna, bhava, bityasatvasthaha, chapter 2 verse 45, nirdvandvaha, niryogakshemam, nistraigunyaha, traigunyavishayaaha, vedaaha

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traigunyavishayaa vedaa nistraigunyo bhavaarjuna |
nirdvandvo nityasatvastho niryogakshemam aatmavaan || 45 ||

The Vedas describe the three gunas. Transcend those gunas, O Arjuna. Free yourself from dualities, remain always in sattva, give up thinking about acquisition and preservation, and be established in the eternal essence.

traigunyavishayaaha : describe the three gunas
vedaaha : Vedas
nistraigunyaha : free from the 3 gunas
bhava : become
arjuna : O Arjuna
nirdvandvaha : free from dualities
nityasatvasthaha : steeped in sattva
niryogakshemam : free from acquisition and preservation
aatmavaan : established in the eternal essence

The first technique in our toolkit was the art of maintaining focus to reduce the quantity of unnecessary thoughts. Shri Krishna now provides us with the second technique in our toolkit: slowly improving the quality of our thoughts. This shloka is jam-packed with practical tips to improve our thought quality, so let’s tackle this shloka part by part.

Firstly, an absolute prerequisite to improving thought quality is to be mindful of what we are thinking. Most of us tend to perform actions daily almost on autopilot. If we are not aware of what we are thinking while performing an action, we will not be able to improve the quality of our thoughts. Therefore, the shloka advises us to think deeply about whether any action we perform is selfish, or is in service of our svadharma. Doing so repeatedly will reveal the true nature of our thoughts.

Secondly, the shloka advises us to go beyond obsessive thinking about the interplay of the 3 gunas. In a nutshell, there are 3 types of gunas or tendencies that are responsible for creating everything in this material world. Therefore, the shloka advises us to start contemplating spiritual knowledge daily, which will automatically reduce material thoughts.

Thirdly, the shloka speaks about dualities. Dualities are the positive and negative mental labels associated with thoughts – love/hate, joyful/sorrowful, pleasurable/painful etc. So practically speaking, any thought that demonstrates extreme attachment or hatred towards an object, person or situation is a poor quality thought because it strengthens the ego. Whenever we catch ourselves saying something like “I cannot live without watching TV everyday”, we should be on guard. It is better to substitute that thought with something like “I enjoy watching TV, but I can live without it if I want to”. Similarly, if we have a thought like “I want to kill my boss” we can start to think “My boss is difficult to work with sometimes, but he is a human being just like anyone else”.

Finally, the shloka advises us to stop worrying about acquisition and preservation. Most of us are worried about two things – acquiring something, and preserving something once it is acquired. A corporate executive will keep thinking about the promotion. And once he has it, he will do all he can to make sure he holds on to his new post. But the shloka informs us that as long as we are diligently performing our svadharma, we will automatically get what we need to live a good life. Therefore,we should stop obsessing over acquisition and preservation, which is an impediment to maintaining equanimity.

Let’s summarize the techniques learned so far as follows. The first technique helped us reduce the quantity of unnecessary thoughts. The second technique helps us improve the quality of our thoughts by substituting poor quality thoughts with good quality thoughts. It is helpful to maintain a diary to track the quantity and quality of our thoughts, so that we can gauge our progress. It is no different than following a disciplined approach to losing weight or quitting smoking.

A question may arise here : “How can I stop thinking about the material world after I perform my svadharma? After I come home from work I need to watch TV, surf the web, watch movies, sports etc. in order to be entertained. Won’t life become boring?” The answer is provided in the next shloka.