Category Archives: brahma

Bhagavad Gita Verse 50, Chapter 18

08 Monday Jul 2013

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siddhim praapto yathaa brahma tathaapnoti nibodha me |
samaasenaiva kaunteya nishthaa jnyaanasya yaa paraa || 50 ||
 
How one who has attained perfection also undoubtedly achieves the eternal essence, learn from me in brief, O Kaunteya, that supreme devotion to knowledge.
 
siddhi : perfection
praaptaha : one attained
yathaa : how
brahma : eternal essence
tathaa : also
aapnoti : achieves
nibodha : learn
me : from me
samaasena : in brief
eva : undoubtedly
kaunteya : O Kaunteya
nishthaa : devotion
jnyaanasya : of knowledge
yaha : which
paraa : supreme
 
Shri Krishna now starts to recap the content from chapters five and six. Chapter three and four covered the topic of karma yoga, and how karma yoga gradually evolves into jnyaana yoga. Once the seeker has reduced his stock of desires, has purified his mind, and has gained knowledge about the aatmaa, the self, from a competent teacher, he then enters into the stage of sanyaasa, complete renunciation of action. Chapters five and six explain the process of entering into, and maturing of, the state of renunciation.
 
Siddhi here refers to the purification of mind obtained as a result of karma yoga. Jnyaana nishthaa, devotion to knowledge, also known as nidhidhyaasana or meditation, is the culmination of sanyaasa. If we ever wonder how monks spend most of their time, this is it. Besides doing the bare minimum needed to maintain the body, the monk is engaged in one and only one thing – constant contemplation, constant abidance upon the self.
 
For most of us, just contemplating on the self may seem a bit odd. How can such a seemingly mundane engagement result in liberation? So we need to remember that the self is already attained, there is no work that is needed to attain it. The only work that we have to do is to get rid of what is the no-self, in other words, purify our mind through karma and bhakti. Shri Krishna emphasizes this point by using the word nibodha, which means to know. There is nothing else that needs to be done in sanyaasa since it is the last stage of yoga.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 4, Chapter 14

09 Saturday Feb 2013

Posted by in 14.4, aham, beejapradaha, brahma, chapter 14 verse 4, kaunteya, mahat, moortayaha, pitaa, sambhavanti, sarvayonishu, taasaam, yaahaa, yonihi

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sarvayonishu kaunteya moortayaha sambhavantiyaahaa |
taasaam brahma mahadyoniraham beejapradaha pitaa || 4 ||
 
Of the many forms that are born from all wombs, O Kaunteya, the great brahman is their womb, I their seed-giving father.
 
sarvayonishu : all wombs
kaunteya : O Kaunteya
moortayaha : forms
sambhavanti : born
yaahaa : many
taasaam : of those
brahma : brahman
mahat : great
yonihi : womb
aham : I am
beejapradaha : seed giving
pitaa : father
 
We may be wondering, how does Ishvara split himself into his two aspects of awareness and matter or Prakriti? Doesn’t it sound far fetched? Something quite similar happens to us every night. When we dream, our minds splits, as it were, into two. One aspect becomes the watcher, and the other aspect projects our dreams. In other words, the mind watches its own show. The Mandukya upanishad provides a detailed comparison of our waking, dreaming and deep sleep states.
 
Shri Krishna says that Ishvara, having divided himself into his two aspects, is both the mother and father of every thing and every living being in the universe. After he deposits the seeds or the jeevas into Prakriti, he creates the state of Hiranyagarbha. This state contains the potential to generate an entire sequence of creation, sustenance and dissolution of several universes. It is comparable to a DVD that contains within it the potential to create an entire two hour movie with several characters and locations.
 
Also, the ultimate womb, the ultimate source of the birth of all beings is the great brahman or Prakriti, which is nothing but the three gunaas. If we have to remove the impact and influence that the three gunaas exert upon us, we need to study what they are, how they impact us, how we fall under their sway, and how does one remain unaffected by them. Shri Krishna, having summarized the relevance of the three gunaas, proceeds to analyze the three gunaas in significant detail from the next shloka.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 30, Chapter 13

31 Thursday Jan 2013

Posted by in 13.30, anupashyati, bhootaprithagbhaavam, brahma, chapter 13 verse 30, ekastham, eva, sampadyate, tadaa, tataha, vistaaram, yadaa

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yadaa bhootaprithagbhaavamekasthamanupashyati |
tata eva cha vistaaram brahma sampadyate tadaa || 30 ||
 
When he realizes that the variety of beings is established in the one, and it is only an evolution of that (one), he then attains brahman.
 
yadaa : when
bhootaprithagbhaavam : variety of beings
ekastham : established in the one
anupashyati : realizes
tataha : from that
eva : only
cha : and
vistaaram : evolution
brahma : brahman
sampadyate : attains
tadaa : then
 
We came across the toddler who was fascinated by the phone ringing in the previous shloka’s discussion. Imagine that the same toddler sees a traffic signal for the first time. The signal turns bright red, then green, then orange. Sometimes, the orange light flashes for a few seconds. Sometimes it shows a left arrow, sometimes a right arrow. While the toddler is bewildered by the diversity of colours and lights generated by the traffic signal, we as adults are no longer fascinated by it. We know that the basis of the diversity is 3 bulbs, and some electronic circuit that switches these bulbs on and off.
 
Similarly, one who knows the workings of Prakriti knows that the whole universe is nothing but a play of the three gunaas or qualities of Prakriti. Inert substances have tamasic predominance. Movement is caused by rajasic predominance. Intelligence is caused by saatvic predominance. These three gunaas are the building blocks of the variety we see in the universe, and it is these three gunaas that have been evolving, changing, combining with each other throughout the timeline of the universe. This Prakriti, the three gunaas, is nothing but a power of Ishvara himself.
 
So then, how do we reduce our fascination for the three gunaas? Our attitude should be as follows. The variety of the universe, everything that I see, is a product of the three gunaas of Prakriti. This Prakriti is a machine, a mechanism that has been set in motion by Ishvara. But I also know that Ishvara in his purest form is infinite and all-pervading, and that he resides in everyone as the “I”, the self. Therefore, all of this variety and diversity is just an upaadhi, a conditioning of the self. When I see diversity, I am only seeing Ishvara, the self of all.
 
If we are able to develop this kind of attitude, this kind of knowledge, and stay rooted in it, we will shift our focus to Ishvara who is constant, and not the diversity of Prakriti that is ever changing. We will then attain unity with the eternal essence, with brahman, and achieve liberation.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 12, Chapter 13

13 Sunday Jan 2013

Posted by in 13.12, amritam, anaadimat, asat, ashnute, brahma, chapter 13 verse 12, jneyam, jnyaatvaa, param, pravakshyaami, sat, tat, uchyate, yat

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jneyam yattatpravakshyaami yajjnyaatvaamritamashnute |
anaadimatparam brahma na sattannaasaduchyate || 12 ||
 
I will describe that which is to be known, by realizing which, immortality is attained. The supreme brahman is without beginning, said to be neither manifest nor unmanifest.
 
jneyam : known
yat : which
tat : that
pravakshyaami : I will describe
yat : which
jnyaatvaa : having realized
amritam : immortality
ashnute : attain
anaadimat : without beginning
param : supreme
brahma : brahman
na : not
sat : manifest
tat : that
na : not
asat : unmanifest
uchyate : said
 
In the beginning of this chapter, Shri Krishna set out to explain what is kshetra or the field, and what is kshetrajnya or the knower of the field. He then set to list out various aspects of the field, which are also known as upaadhis or conditionings. This list included upaadhis such as the intellect, the mind, the five elements and so on. Shri Krishna also asserted there is only one knower of the field that is limited or conditioned by all of these upaadhis. He then gave us twenty attributes that we should cultivate in order to reduce the importance we give to these upaadhis, so that we can slowly uncover and get to the kshetrajnya, the knower of the field.
 
After assuming that we have cultivated these twenty qualities, and consequently learned how to reduce the importance of the field in our lives, Shri Krishna now gets to the main topic of this chapter. He says that he will now reveal what is the real knowledge, what all of us should know in this world as the culmination of all of our knowledge, what is “jneyam”. We learn so many things in our life through schools, colleges, professional training, street smarts and so on. But none of them can give us immortality. None of them can give us a permanent solution from the sorrows that we experience day in and day out. Each time we leave our self and go through our senses into the world to fulfill a desire, we generate sorrow, we create “death” in each such departure.
 
So then, what is this immortality-giving knowledge? Shri Krishna says that it is brahman, which is the very same eternal essence that is within us, and within everything else in the universe. It is “param” or supreme, beyond which nothing else needs to be known. It is “anadimat”, eternal, without any beginning, beyond all notions of time. It is not manifest, which means it is not accessible to the senses or the mind as an object of perception or a thought. But it is also not unmanifest. For instance, our unfulfilled desires lie dormant in our unconscious mind, but do not manifest as thoughts in our mind. The eternal essence is beyond our unconscious as well.
 
We now see why it is so difficult to understand the eternal essence. It is not like any object or form that can be described in words. It is also not an abstract concept that can be explained through logic, or by comparing it to something else or by combining one concept with another. In earlier chapters we saw how such situations can be handled with negation. If we want to instruct someone on how to select a maroon shirt, we tell them ignore all of the other colours of shirts. The one that is left will be the maroon shirt. Similarly, the eternal essence cannot be comprehended by our mind and senses because it is beyond the mind and senses. It can only be attained through negating everything that is not the eternal essence – by negating the upaadhis or fields.
 
Now, in the upcoming shlokas, Shri Krishna proceeds step by step to negate the upaadhis of the eternal essence, starting with the most visible ones.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 12, Chapter 10

12 Wednesday Sep 2012

Posted by in 10, 12, ajam. vibhum, bhavaan, brahma, chapter 10 verse 12, dhaama, divyam. aadidevam, param, pavitram, purusham, shaashvatam

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Arjuna uvaacha:
param brahma param dhaama pavitram paramam bhavaan |
purusham shaashvatam divyamaadidevamajam vibhum || 12 ||
 
Arjuna said:
You are the supreme absolute, the supreme abode, supremely pure. You are the divine eternal person, the original deity who is beyond birth, all-pervading.
 
param : supreme
brahma : absolute
dhaama : abode
pavitram : pure
bhavaan : you are
purusham : person
shaashvatam : eternal
divyam : divine
aadidevam : original deity
ajam : beyond birth
vibhum : all-pervading
 
Over the course of the previous chapters, Arjuna gained an understanding of the real nature of Ishvara, and of Shri Krishna as an avatara, a divine manifestation of Ishvara. This understanding prompted him to praise Ishvara, and that is what we will see in the next few shlokas.
 
Arjuna spoke of Ishvara as “parama brahman” which is the absolute reality, the eternal essence that was spoken of in the second chapter. He understood that Ishvara’s real nature is beyond time and space, it is that which is the support of time and space. Ishvara is”parama dhaaman”, the supreme goal, the ultimate abode of all beings. Ishvara is also the supreme purifier, as he destroys all traces of impurities in the form of ignorance.
 
The word “purusha” literally means, one who fills the body. Ishvara is the “divyam shaashvatam purusha”, the divine eternal person the comprises the entire universe, just like all of the cells in our body are termed as “body” in aggregate. Ishvara is divine because he is beyond the realm of impermanence caused by maaya. He is “ajam”, beyond birth, but is the cause of everyone else’s birth. He is “vibhum” which is all-pervading, he alone appears as everything.
 
Like the Vishnu Sahasranaam that enumerates a thousand names of Ishvara, this shloka can be used as a prayer to meditate upon Ishvara’s glories. Now, did only Arjuna think that this was the real nature of Ishvara or did others as well? Arjuna takes this up in the next shloka.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 24, Chapter 8

21 Saturday Jul 2012

Posted by in 8.24, agnihi, ahaha, brahma, brahmavidaha, chapter 8 verse 24, gachhanti, janaahaa, jyotihi, prayaataa, shanmaasaa, shuklaha, tatra, uttaraayanam

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agnijyotiraha shuklaha shanmaasaa uttaraayanam |
tatra prayaataa gachhanti brahma brahma vido janaahaa || 24 ||
 
Fire, light, day, the bright (fortnight of the month), the northern movement comprising six months; those people who have departed through that path, knowers of brahman attain brahman.
 
agnihi : fire
jyotihi : light
ahaha : day
shuklaha : bright
shanmaasaa : comprising six months
uttaraayanam : northern movement
tatra : through that path
prayaataa : one who has departed the body
gachhanti : attain
brahma : brahman
brahmavidaha : knowers of brahman
janaahaa : people
 
Shri Krishna describes the journey that the individual soul or jeeva takes after death in this and the next shloka. Each jeeva is allocated one of two paths based on its actions while on this earth. Here, he speaks about the path taken by those who have practiced single-pointed devotion to Ishvara, indicated by the phrase “knowers of brahman”.
 
It is said that Ishvara has appointed special deities to guide the jeeva to the abode of Lord Brahma after its body has ceased to function. Agni, jyoti, shukla and uttaraayan are symbols that indicate the deities who preside over fire, light, the lunar fortnight and the six month period between winter and summer. The jeeva resides in Lord Brahma’s abode until dissolution, after which it is liberated. In other words, it “attains brahman”.
 
In India, Uttaraayana is considered highly auspicious. Its beginning is celebrated with the Makar Sankraanti festival. The lunar fortnight of each month is also the time in which most Indian festivals are celebrated including Navaratri and Guru Purnima.
 
Next, Shri Krishna described the second path that jeevas take after death.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 13, Chapter 8

10 Tuesday Jul 2012

Posted by in 8.13, anusmaran, brahma, chapter 8 verse 13, deham, ekaaksharam, gatim, iti, maam, om, paramaam, prayaati, saha, tyajan, vyaaharan, yaati, yaha

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omityekaaksharam brahma vyaaharanmaamnusmaran |
yaha prayaati tyajandeham sa yaati paramaam gatim || 13 ||
 
He who departs the body while chanting Om, which is the one-syllable (name of) brahman, and also remembers me, he attains the supreme state.
 
om : Om
iti : this
ekaaksharam : one-syllable
brahma : brahman
vyaaharan : chanting
maam : my
anusmaran : rememberance
yaha : he who
prayaati : departs
tyajan : leaving
deham : body
saha : he
yaati : attains
paramaam : supreme
gatim : state
 
The sound “Om” has been praised in the scriptures as an indicator of brahman, the eternal essence. Shri Krishna concludes the second technique of meditation, meditation on the name of Ishvara, by saying that one who performs meditation on the sound of Om attains Ishvara during the time of departure.
 
Like we saw in the previous instance, the symbolic meaning of this shloka also uses death as a metaphor to indicate death of the ego. Therefore, meditation on the sound of Om helps the seeker sever his connection to the finite ego and take him towards the infinite eternal essence.
 
The key thing, however, is to associate the sound “Om” to our understanding of Ishvara. In other words, meditation on the sound of Om without associating it to our favourite deity will not yield any result. In fact, Adi Shankaraachaarya in his commentary says that meditation on Om should only be performed by one who has diligently heard (“shravana”) and analyzed (“mananam”) the knowledge of the eternal essence. This is why Shri Krishna adds “remember me as Ishvara” to the instruction that we chant Om.
 
To recap, the first technique was meditation upon the grand cosmic form of Ishvara, and the second technique was meditation upon Om. However, both techniques require us to develop control of our praanaas. Recognizing this, Shri Krishna provides an easier third technique in the next shloka.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 3, Chapter 8

30 Saturday Jun 2012

Posted by in 8.3, adhyaatmam, aksharam, bhaavaha, bhavakaraha, bhoota, brahma, chapter 8 verse 3, karma, paramam, samjnyitam, svabhaavaha, uchyate, visargaha

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Shree Bhagavan uvaacha:
aksharam brahma paramam svabhaavodhyaatmamuchyate |
bhootabhaavodbhavakaro visargaha karmasamjnyitam || 3 ||
 
Shree Bhagavan said:
“Brahman” is the imperishable supreme. “Adhyaatma” is individual nature. “Karma” is defined as the force that produces the existence of beings.
 
aksharam : imperishable
brahma : “brahman”
paramam : supreme
svabhaavaha : individual nature
adhyaatmam : “adhyaatma”
uchyate : is called
bhoota : beings
bhaavaha : existence
bhavakaraha : produce
visargaha : force
karma : “karma”
samjnyitam : defined
 
As we saw earlier, Arjuna asked seven questions to Shri Krishna. In this shloka, three questions are answered. We shall use the illustration of the animated character Tom to get an additional perspective on the answers given by Shri Krishna.
 
First, Shri Krishna answers the question “What is that brahman”. He says that brahman is the imperishable, supreme eternal essence that we encountered in the second chapter. In terms of our illustration, brahman is the light in the movie projector that illuminates the film strip. It has no specific shape, qualities or attributes. It is just light. It stands as a witness and is not affected by whatever is happening in the movie. It can exist without the movie, but the movie cannot exist without it.
 
“What is adhyaatma” is answered next. Shri Krishna says that it is svabhaava, or the set of qualities of an individual. Each person in this world has a unique combination of attributes, a unique permutation of sattva, rajas and tamas that is their own. When the universal eternal essence is conditioned or covered by an individual’s attributes, it is known as adhyaatma or aatma.
 
In the example of the movie projector, karma refers to the portion of light that illuminates the character of Tom. Suppose Tom is wearing a blue outfit and is walking on a green lawn. A portion of the movie projector’s light shines blue on the movie screen. The other portion shines blue. The portion of light that shines blue and thinks that it has its own identity – that is adhyaatma.
 
Lastly, Shri Krishna answers the question “What is karma”. He says that it is the force that brings about the creation of every entity in this universe. At one level, it is the mechanism in the projector that brings to life the story that lies hidden in the film strip. At another level, it is the animator’s act of drawing the characters in the movie. Essentially, it is the force that converts an unmanifested object into a manifested object.
 
Similarly, we can say that Ishvara set into motion this entire universe with the one original action that has resulted into the millions and millions of actions that occur in the universe every second. It was the seed of all future actions in the universe. But our ego, our false sense of individuality, comes under the delusion that it is the doer of all actions. Each such individualistic action causes us to further identify with our body, and go further from liberation. Ultimately, like the movie that eventually ends in two hours, everything that is unmanifested will be manifested and will be dissolved, only to start all over again.
 
Shri Krishna continues with his explanations in the next shloka.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 1, Chapter 8

29 Friday Jun 2012

Posted by in 8.1, adhibhootam, adhidaivam, adhyaatma, brahma, cha, chapter 8 verse 1, karma, kim, proktam, purushottama, tat, uchyate

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Arjuna uvaacha:
kim tadbrahma kimadhyaatmam kim karma purushottama |
adhibhootam cha kim proktamadhidaivam kimuchyate || 1 ||
 
Arjuna said:
What is that “brahman”? What is “adhyaatma”? What is “karma”? O supreme person. What is termed as “adhibhoota” and “adhidaiva”?
 
kim : what is
tat : that
brahma : “brahman”
adhyaatma : “adhyaatma”
karma : “karma”
purushottama : O supreme person
adhibhootam : “adhibhoota”
cha : and
proktam : what is termed as
adhidaivam : “adhidaivam”
uchyate : what is termed as
 
Shri Krishna ended the previous chapter by referencing some technical terms, and stressed the need for Arjuna to understand these terms completely so that he could realize Ishvara. Here, Arjuna does a favour to all future students of the Gita by asking Shri Krishna to clearly define these terms. In that regard, Arjuna asks the definition of four terms in this shloka: adhyaatma, karma, adhibhoota and adhidaiva.
 
This chapter is perhaps one of the more philosophical and esoteric chapters of the Gita. It deals with the theme of life after death, something that has not been addressed so far in the Gita. Furthermore, The definition of the aforementioned technical terms is provided, but has been interpreted differently by various commentators, so we need to chose the most clear and straightforward explanation. We will also get a sweeping glimpse of the Gita’s view on the origin of the cosmos.
 
To better understand these technical terms, let us set up an illustration. First, let us quickly look at how a movie projector works. A projector consists of a bright light that shines onto a strip of film. This film strip contains a series of images that are shot by a movie camera, or drawn by an animator in case of an animated movie. When the film strip is run through the projector, the images are projected onto the movie screen. The fast speed of the moving images creates the illusion of movement on the screen.
 
Let us further say that there is an animated movie called “Tom” that shows a day in the life of Tom who is a teenager. Tom wakes up, eats breakfast, goes to school, comes back home, plays with his friends and goes to sleep. It is a very simple movie. Like any other animated movie it follows a script written by a scriptwriter, and is in fact a sequence of images drawn by an animator.
 
Now, here’s where we have to stretch our thinking. Imagine that by some inexplicable magic, the light that shines on Tom on the film strip begins to think that it is different than the light that shines on the other part of the film strip. It develops an identity of its own. It even begins to think that it is actually waking up, going to school and so on.
 
The light of the projector has identified itself with Tom. What happens next? We will continue to develop this illustration further in the explanation of the next shloka.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 29, Chapter 7

25 Monday Jun 2012

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jaraamaranamokshaaya maamashritya yatanti ye |
te brahma tadviduhu kritsnamadhyaatmam karma chaakhilam || 29 ||
 
Those who strive for liberation from old age and death seeking my refuge, they know “brahman” as well as “adhyaatma” and “karma” completely.
 
jaraa : old age
marana : death
mokshaaya : for liberation from
maam : my
ashritya : taken refuge
yatanti : strive
ye : those who
te : they
brahma : brahman
tat : that
viduhu : know
kritsnam : completely
adhyaatmam : adhyaatma
karma : karma
cha : and
akhilam : entire
 
As a prelude to the eighth chapter, Shri Krishna introduces a series of technical terms that a devotee needs to know the meaning of in order to gain access to Ishvara. The terms are listed in this shloka and the next shloka, whereas the meaning of the terms is explained in the beginning of the eighth chapter.
 
Who exactly is this devotee? Shri Krishna says that it is that devotee who is striving. In other words, he is performing karma yoga for purification of his mind and intellect, and has become ready for meditation. But this devotee is not driven by blind faith. He is a jnyaani or wise devotee.
 
So now, what should the wise devotee have knowledge of? Three technical terms are mentioned in this shloka : brahman, adhyaatma and karma. Some more terms will be added in the next and last shloka of the seventh chapter.