Category Archives: cha

Bhagavad Gita Verse 19, Chapter 2

16 Sunday Oct 2011

Posted by in 2.19, ayam, cha, chapter 2 verse 19, enam, hantaaram, hanti, hanyate, hatam, manyate, tau, ubhau, vetti, vijaanitaha, yaha

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ya enam vetti hantaaram yachshainam manyate hatam |
ubhau tau na vijaanito naayam hanti na hanyate || 19 ||

A person who believes that it (the eternal essence) slays, and another who believes that it is slain, neither of these understands. It does not slay, nor is it slain.

yaha : that person who
enam : this (body dweller)
vetti : believes
hantaaram : slayer
yaha : that
cha : and
enam : this
manyate : believes
hatam: slain
ubhau : both
tau : those
na : do not
vijaanitaha : know
na ayam : this does not
hanti : slay
na hanyate : nor is slain

The “It” in this shloka and the following shlokas refers to the body-dweller. Here Shri Krishna addresses another concern that Arjuna had raised. Arjuna thought that that he will be held responsible for killing his kinsmen, which was something that was abhorrent to him. But Shri Krishna through this shloka advised him to use the logic or the perspective of the eternal essence. The eternal essence does not kill, nor does it die from someone else trying to kill it.

But how does this apply to us? We are not warriors, and it is rare that we will be put in the position of killing somebody. So there must be another interpretation.This shloka equates the act of slaying to performance of any action, and being slain to any change or modification. In other words, the eternal essence never performs any action, nor does it undergo any change or modification.

As an example, let’s consider at the sun. Without the sun there will be no activity or life on this planet. There would be no plant life because plants use the sun’s energy. There would be no animal or human life because both cannot survive without plants. But, does the sun perform any action pertaining to growing a plant or an animal? Does it get affected by all the changes happening on earth? It does not that that “I caused this forest to grow” or “I was impacted by this eclipse”. It remains actionless and changeless.

The shloka goes on to say that one who thinks that the eternal essence acts or kills is not using viveka or discrimination, and that person does not have the correct understanding. The person is still thinking at the level of the material object, or in other words, the level of the un-real, and has still not learnt to discriminate between the two.

Footnotes
1. Verses 19 and 20 are almost verbatim taken from the Katha Upanishad.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 14, Chapter 1

27 Saturday Aug 2011

Posted by in cha, chapter 1 verse 14, divyau, eva, hayaiha, maadhavaha, mahati, paandavaha, pradadhmatuha, saha, shankhau, shvetaiha, sthitau, syandane, tataha, yukte

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tataha shvetair hayair yukte mahati syandane sthitau |
maadhavaha paandavaschaiva divyau shankau pradadhmatau || 14 ||
 
And then, seated on a magnificent chariot harnessed to white horses, Shri Krishna and Arjuna blew their divine conches.
 
tataha : thereafter
cha eva: both
maadhavaha : Shri Krishna
paandavaha : Arjun
sthitau : situated
mahati syandane: on a magnificent chariot
yukte: harnessed
shvetaiha : by white
hayaiha: horses
pradadhmatuha: resounded
saha: their
divyau: divine
shankhau: conches
 
With this verse, we are introduced to the key figures in the Bhagavad Gita, as we leave behind Duryodhana and the Kaurava army. Lord Krishna was a divine incarnation or an avatar, and Arjuna was one of the five Pandava princes. Arjuna was considered the most skillful archer and warrior of his time. Shri Krishna was a close friend of Arjuna, and offered to be his charioteer for the Mahabharata  war.
 
The prior verses served to paint a picture of the Kaurava army, that was ready to engage in conflict with the Pandavas. As we move further into the text, the perspective shifts from Duryodhana’s viewpoint to Arjuna’s.
 
Footnotes
1. Many commentaries offer a lot of background from the Mahabharata in order to describe the grandeur of Arjuna’s chariot. It was a robust chariot, endowed with several divine powers. A key feature of the chariot was a flag in which Lord Hanumaan had entered in the form of an emblem. Therefore it is said that Lord Hanumaan was one of the few individuals to hear the Gita firsthand. 

Bhagavad Gita Verse 9, Chapter 1

22 Monday Aug 2011

Posted by in anye, arthe, bahavaha, cha, chapter 1 verse 9, jeevitaaha, mad, naanaa, prahaaranaaha, sarve, shastra, shooraha, tyakta, vishaaradaaha, yuddha

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anye cha bahavaha shoora madarthe tyaktkajeevitaaha |
naanaashastrapraharanaaha sarve yuddhavishaaradaaha || 9 ||

In addition to our commanders, we also have several other brave warriors who have vowed to give up their life for me. These warriors are well versed in deploying weapons, and are proficient in the art of battle.

anye: besides these
bahavaha: several
shooraha: brave warriors (who have)
mad-arthe: for me
tyakta-jeevitaaha: giving up their desire to live
cha: and
naanaa-shastra-prahaaranaaha: versed in the deployment of many weapons
sarve: (also) all of them
yuddha-vishaaradaaha: proficient in the art of war

Duryodhana naively tried to impress Drona by glorifying his army. In doing so, his ego resurfaced again, which is evidenced by his self-aggrandizing statements like “they will give up their life for me”. He probably was trying to convince (or delude) himself that his army is poised to win the battle.

The tendency of the ego to consider something “mine” is called mamataa in Sanskrit. Mamataa literally means “mine-making” or “mine-ness”. This is yet another means for the ego to strengthen itself through possessions.

Here’s an interesting exercise. Take something that you know for sure is “yours”. Now deeply examine it. Is it really yours? For example, say you own a house. On what basis do you consider it yours? Most probably, it’s a legal document that the government issues to you. Well, what happens if that government no longer exists? Or, more likely, what happens if the government grabs that land from you because it possesses some precious natural resources? Is the relationship between you and the house “real”?

Footnotes
1. Astra denotes weapons that are thrown, and shastra denotes weapons that are hand-held

Bhagavad Gita Verse 8, Chapter 1

21 Sunday Aug 2011

Posted by in bhavaan, cha, chapter 1 verse 8, eva, samitinjayaha, tathaa

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bhavaanibheeshmashcha karnashcha kripashcha samitinjayaha |
ashvaththaama vikarnashcha soumaduttistathaiva cha || 8 ||

We have victorious warriors such as yourself, Bheeshma, Kripaachaarya and Karna on our side. Similarly, we also have Ashvaththaama, Vikarna and Bhoorishrava.

bhavaan: yourself
cha: and
bheeshmaha: Bheeshma
karna: Karna
samitinjayaha: victorious
kripaha: Kripaachaarya
tathaa eva: and similarly
ashvaththaama: Ashvaththaama
vikarnaha: Vikarna
soumaduttihi: son of Somadutta, Bhoorishrava

Having conducted an assessment of the warriors on the Pandava’s side, Duryodhana began to conduct a similar assessment of his side.

Throughout the last few verses we were observing Duryodhana’s emotional state. After having lobbed an insult at Drona, and not having heard a response back, Duryodhana now became scared that he had angered his army’s main commander and his teacher. So he wanted to say something to appease Drona. Hence he began his assessment of powerful warriors by putting Drona first in this verse.

What does this tell us about Duryodhana’s personality? Sometimes we tend to view people as either good or evil, and by that logic Duryodhana would be considered evil. But this temporary outpouring of reverence for his teacher shows that Duryodhana had some good qualities in him, although in lower proportion to his bad qualities.

Later the Gita will provide a detailed explanation of types of qualities that all individuals have. At this point, let us consider that all individuals have a mix of three qualities or tendencies: a tendency that draws us towards inertia, another that draws us to action, and another that draws us to equanimity or harmony. Usually, one or two tendencies tend to dominate the other in us.

You may know some people who have a tendency to be lazy and sleep all the time. Or there may be someone who cannot rest and has to keep doing something or the other. Or, there are some who do what’s needed to run their lives and are not lazy, and also deal with severe setbacks and challgenges while managing to stay calm, collected and even-keel.

What do we think is our most dominant tendency? Are there external factors that change it temporarily? For example, if you find that your most dominant tendency is towards action, are there factors that make you stable and peaceful?