Category Archives: brahmani

Bhagavad Gita Verse 20, Chapter 5

23 Friday Mar 2012

Posted by in 5.20, apriyam, brahmani, cha, chapter 5 verse 20, http://schemas.google.com/blogger/2008/kind#post, na, praapya, prahrishyet, priyam, sthirabuddhih, sthitaa, udvijet

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na prahrishyetapriyam praapya nodvijetpraapya chaapriyam |
sthirabuddhirasammoodho brahmavid brahmani sthitaa || 20 ||

Having obtained a desirable situation, he does not get elated; nor does he get perturbed if it is undesirable. The person of steady intellect is never deluded; the knower of the eternal essence is established in the eternal essence.

na : does not
prahrishyet : get elated
priyam : desirable
praapya : obtains
na : does not
udvijet : get perturbed
praapya : obtains
cha : and
apriyam : undesirable
sthirabuddhih : with steady intellect
asammoodhaha : without delusion
brahmavid : the knower of the eternal essence
brahmani : in the eternal essence
sthitaa : is established

In this shloka, Shri Krishna emphasizes the realized seeker’s outlook towards situations in the material world. Like any other person, the realized seeker encounters pleasant and unpleasant situations. He cannot avoid them. But the difference is that these situations do not destabilize the realized seeker. In other words, they do not cause elation or depression.

Usually, when something undesirable happens to someone that we do not know, it does not affect us. But if it happens to us – say we fall sick – it affects us deeply. But the wise person has transcended the ego. He recognizes that every situation is part of nature. In nature, elements are interacting with the elements in multiple configurations. Once he has this vision, happenings of the world do not impact the realized seeker.

It is important to note that situations, both good and bad, have their place in our lives. Unpleasant experiences are useful from relative world perspective because they usually have a lesson embedded within them. With each unpleasant situation the emotion of sadness will arise. But in a realized seeker there will be a space between the emotion and the self. For example, if we are on a boat, the ups and downs of the sea will impact us. But if we are standing on a rock on the shore, the ups and downs of sea do not affect us.

Why do realized seekers remain unperturbed? Their understanding of the eternal essence has become stable and firm. They have become “sthitha prajnya”. They are free from the delusion of doership and enjoyership. Initially, when this knowledge is first gained, it stays on the surface. We experience the eternal essence sporadically, for a brief instance, then immediately go back into identification with the body/mind/intellect.

So therefore, the one who constantly maintains the identification of the eternal essence becomes one with the eternal essence. He remains a pure witness of the ups and downs of the material world.

Footnotes

1. Tulsidas has said that the ocean remains same in rain or drought, but a small lake overflows and dries up. It is a simple yet powerful example of the different between a realized seeker’s vision and an ordinary person’s vision.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 19, Chapter 5

22 Thursday Mar 2012

Posted by in 5.19, brahma, brahmani, chapter 5 verse 19, eva, hi, iha, jitaha, managa, nirdosham, saamye, samam, sargaha, sthitaa, sthitam, taiha, tasmaad, te, yeshaam

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ihaiva tairjitaha sargo yeshaam saamye sthitam manaha |
nirdosham hi samam brahma tasmaadbrahmani te sthitaaha || 19 ||

Here in this world itself, they have conquered creation, those who establish their intellect in equanimity. For, the eternal essence is defect-free and harmonious; therefore, they are established in the eternal essence.

iha : here in this world
eva : itself
taiha : they
jitaha : have won
sargaha : creation / duality
yeshaam : those who
saamye : equanimity
sthitam : established in
manaha : intellect
nirdosham : defect-free
hi : for
samam : harmonious
brahma : eternal essence
tasmaad : therefore
brahmani : in the eternal essence
te : they
sthitaaha : are established

In the last shloka, Shri Krishna spoke about the wise person who sees the same eternal essence in everyone. Here, he goer deeper into this point and addresses some questions that could come up when trying to understand that shloka.

Consider a hardened criminal. Most of us would classify his behaviour as defective. Now, given the context of the previous shloka where the wise person perceives a criminal and a saint with the same vision. How does it actually happen? To address this point, Shri Krishna mentions in this shloka that the personality of the criminal has the defect, not the eternal essence. The eternal essence is inherently defect-free.

Another question that may arise is this. When and where does one attain the eternal essence? How much time will it take and how far away is it? The answer is that notions such as near/far, and slow/fast are dualities. Any such duality belongs to nature, not the the eternal essence. Therefore, one whose intellect has transcended duality immediately attains the eternal essence. Notions such as near/far, and slow/fast cease to have meaning.

Finally, Shri Krishna explains that attaining the eternal essence is possible here and now. We do not have to wait for another birth. Following the technique of karma yoga, we have to purify our mind and make it steady and harmonious, so that it can meditate on the eternal essence.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 10, Chapter 5

13 Tuesday Mar 2012

Posted by in 5.10, aadhaaya, ambhasaa, brahmani, chapter 5 verse 10, iva, karmaani, karoti, lipyate, na, paapena, padma-patram, saga, sangam, tyaktvaa, yaha

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brahmanyaadhaaya karmaani sangam tvyaktvaa karoti yaha |
lipyate na sa paapena padmapatramivaambhasaa || 10 ||

Having offered all actions to the eternal essence, and having cast off attachments, he who performs actions does not get tainted by sins, just like water does not taint a lotus leaf.

brahmani : eternal essence
aadhaaya : offered
karmaani : all actions
sangam : attachment
tvyaktvaa : cast off
karoti : perform action
yaha : one who
lipyate : taint
na : do not
saha : him
paapena : sins
padma-patram : lotus leaf
iva : like
ambhasaa : water

Previously, we came across the vision of one who has realized the self. He knows that he is not the doer of all his actions. But what about the one who has not realized the self, and who is still working to sublimate his selfish desires? What is his vision?

In this shloka, Shri Krishna says that the person who has not realized the self (that includes most of us) offers all actions in a spirit of devotion to Ishvara. Shri Krishna reiterates that if one has selfish desires, karma yoga is the ideal path to follow. The karma yogi works for a higher ideal such as Ishvara, but one who does not follow karma yoga works for the ego.

Shri Krishna brings Arjuna back to karma yoga with this shloka. Arjuna harbours desires, therefore Shri Krishna does not want him to jump straight into the yoga of renunciation, which is a totally different level.

Now, let’s go a little deeper into the topic of attachment. Attachment can happen at four levels : attachment to the result of an action (I want a reward for singing this song), attachment to the action (I will sing a song only in my way), attachment to the sense of doership (I am singing this song) and attachment to the sense of non-doership (By not singing the song, I am the non-singer of this song). The first three are relatively easier to comprehend. The fourth one arises when one has not properly understood the notion of akarma or inaction from the fourth chapter.

So therefore, the karma yogi strives to transcend all four levels of attachment by offering results, actions, doership and non-doership to Ishvara. When he acts in the material world with such a vision, he does not accumulate any further desires, just like a lotus leaf does not get wet even though growing in water.