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Category Archives: chet

Bhagavad Gita Verse 30, Chapter 9

26 Sunday Aug 2012

Posted by in 9.30, ananyabhaak, api, bhajate, chapter 9 verse 30, chet, hi, maam, mantavyaha, saadhuhu, saha, suduraachaaraha, vyavasitaha

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api chetsuduraachaaro bhajate maamananyabhaak |
saadhureva sa mantavyaha samyagvyavasito hi saha || 30 ||
 
Also, even if someone of extremely poor conduct worships me with wholehearted devotion, consider him a saint, for he has resolved very well.
 
api : also
chet : even if
suduraachaaraha : someone of extreme poor conduct
bhajate : worships
maam : me
ananyabhaak : wholehearted devotion
saadhuhu : saint
saha : him
mantavyaha : consider
samyak : very well
vyavasitaha : resolved
hi : for
saha : he has
 
Shri Krishna begins to explain the glory of bhakti or devotion with this shloka. He says that devotion is the easiest means of obtaining access to Ishvara. It is so easy that even a criminal, a sinner in the world can be considered a saint if he worships Ishvara with wholehearted devotion.
 
Why is bhakti so great as a means of accessing Ishvara? Bhakti has no prerequisites. It can be practiced by anyone at any stage in their life. There is financial, ancestral or intellectual requirement. Moreover, it is not alien to most of us. Many of us who grew up in the Indian tradition are already used to performing worship, even if it is for a minute in front of the deity in our living room. All we have to do is to expand this notion of worship to include everything we do.
 
Here, Shri Krishna says that if there is an individual that has extremely bad conduct, if he is the worst among sinners, if he starts worshipping Ishvara with single pointed devotion, this resolve is enough to uplift him to the status of a saint. The word “ananyabhaak” is very important in this shloka. It means that this person has shifted his attention from all worldly pursuits including name, fame, money and power. His only goal is Ishvara.
 
So this person may not look like a saint outwardly, but he should be considered a saint, just like one who has checked into a flight is considered to have already reached the destination, even if it will take some more time. Such a saint has begun to shift his identification or sense of “I-ness” from his body to the infinite Ishvara. But his resolve or his commitment to this path is most important. He should be “samyak vyavasitaha” which means well determined, and be able to absolutely understand as to what is the right thing for him.
 
If this resolve is so important, how does one go about it? How long does it take? We shall see this next.

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Bhagavad Gita Verse 36, Chapter 4

26 Sunday Feb 2012

Posted by in 4.36, api, asi, chapter 4 verse 36, chet, eva, jnaaya, paapakrittamaha, paapebhyaha, plavena, santarishyasi, sarvam, sarvebhyaha, vrajinam

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api chedasi paapebhyaha sarvebhyaha paapakrittamaha |
sarvam jnyaanaplavenaiva vrajinam santarishyasi || 36 ||

Even if you are the most sinful among all sinners, you will certainly cross over all sins with the boat of knowledge.

api : even
chet : if
asi : you are
paape-bhyaha : sinners
sarve-bhyaha : among all
paapa-krittamaha: most sinful
sarvam : all
jnyaana-plavena : boat of knowledge
eva : definitely
vrajinam : sins
santarishyasi : cross over

Shri Krishna continues speaking about the greatness of knowledge in this shloka. He says that this knowledge has the power of destroying all of our sins completely, regardless of how many sins we committed in the past.

Let’s re-examine what is meant by sin here using an example. Two most common sins are stealing and harming someone. In both these cases, the physical act itself is not the sin. It is the ego, the assertion of individuality and superiority behind each act, that is the real sin.  This sense of separation created by the ego causes us to commit these acts, and experience joy and sorrow as a result. Over the course of our living, we have accumulated a large number of karmas.

Shri Krishna says here that the knowledge gained through sacrifice will destroy all sins. How will this happen? This will happen because the sinner himself will be annihilated through this knowledge. The sinner is nothing but the ego, the notion of individuality created by the false sense of identification with the finite body, mind and intellect.

This annihilation of the ego is comparable to deletion of an email account. An email account is nothing but a persona created in the virtual world. It can receive regular emails as well as spam emails. But when the email account itself is deleted, it will no longer be the recipient of any kind of email, regular or junk.

So therefore, Shri Krishna paints a beautiful picture to deliver this message. He says that we can cross over the river of all our sins with the boat of knowledge.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 24, Chapter 3

01 Sunday Jan 2012

Posted by in 3.24, aham, cha, chapter 3 verse 24, chet, imaah, ime, karma, kartaa, kuryaam, lokaah, na, prajaaha, samkaryasya, syaam, upahanyaam, utseedeyuh

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utseedeyurime lokaa na kuryaam karma chedaham |
samkaryasya cha kartaa syaamupahanyaamimaah prajaaha || 24 ||

These people would be ruined if I stopped performing action. I would become the creator of confusion and destroy these beings.

utseedeyuh : ruined
ime : these
lokaah : people
na : not
kuryaam : perform
karma : action
chet : if
aham : I
samkaryasya : confusion
cha : and
kartaa : creator
syaam : I become
upahanyaam : destroy
imaah : these
prajaaha : beings

Shri Krishna further elaborates on the argument put forth in the last shloka. As someone who is has realized the eternal essence, he does not have any obligations towards the world. But even then, he continues to act towards the welfare of society. Here, he says that if he stopped acting, all people who look up to him would be ruined and destroyed. We saw the example of a great social activist like Baba Amte, who although having performed such selfless service, continued to act till his last day. Society would take a huge hit if someone like him abruptly stopped working.

In addition, there is a subtler meaning here. Shri Krishna’s statements have a cosmic significance. So therefore, the word “I” also refers to every law or principle that works every second of our lives and never ever takes a vacation.

For instance, we all know what happens to a society when there is a breakdown of law and order. There will be chaos, confusion and destruction all around. But civil and criminal laws are just man-made laws. Consider what would happen if the law of gravity, a universal law, stopped working. People, buildings, and every free standing object on this earth would start flying out into space to its eventual destruction. And finally, what if our breathing or pumping of the heart stopped working?

Therefore the message to Arjuna is clear. Any task, no matter how insignificant or unpleasant, should be performed selflessly and with dexterity, if it is in the service of the higher good.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 1, Chapter 3

09 Friday Dec 2011

Posted by in 3.1, buddhih, chapter 3 verse 1, chet, ghore, janaardana, jyaayasee, karmanaha, karmani, keshava, kim, maam, mataa, niyojayasi, tat, te

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jyaayasee chetkarmanaste mataa buddhirjanaardana |
tatkim karmani ghore maam niyojayasi keshava || 1 ||

If knowledge is superior to action in your opinion, O Janaardana, why do you want me to perform this horrible action, O Keshava?

jyaayasee : superior
chet : if
karmanaha : action
te : you
mataa : opinion
buddhih : knowledge
janaardana : O Janaardana
tat : then
kim : why
karmani : action
ghore : horrible
maam : me
niyojayasi : perform
keshava : O Keshava

We begin the third chapter with a question from Arjuna. It is wonderful to see the give-and-take between a student and a disciple come up several times in the Gita, making it more accessible and human. Let us dig deeper into Arjuna’s question.

In the last chapter, Shri Krishna introduced the topic of karma yoga, where one performs selfless action. But later, he spoke about the knowledge of the eternal essence. Arjuna interpreted this as a statement that knowledge is superior to wisdom, and wanted to clarify whether it was so.

As an analogy, I remember the experience of learning music. In most cases, new students of music gave more importance to performing a popular song on stage, than to endure the rigour and discipline of daily finger drills that could get repetitive and boring. Similarly, Arjuna thought that knowledge was superior in action.

Arjuna also referred to his fighting in the war as a “horrible” action. This word speaks a lot about his mental state. Shri Krishna had taught him that one should maintain equanimity in pleasant and unpleasant situations. But Arjuna had not internalized and assimilated the teaching.

This is not uncommon. Our experience will usually indicate that a one-time hearing or “shravana” of any teaching will not be enough. We also need to reflect on the teaching, which is also known as “manana”. And finally, we have to internalize it so that it becomes part of our personality – “nidhidhyaasana”.

In the next shloka, Arjuna completes his question to Shri Krishna.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 33, Chapter 2

02 Wednesday Nov 2011

Posted by in 2.33, atha, avaapyasi, chapter 2 verse 33, chet, dharmyam, hitvaa, imam, karshyasi, keertim, paapam, samgraamam, svadharmam, tataha, tvam

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atha chetvamimam dharmyam samgraamam na karshyasi |
tataha svadharmam keertim cha hitvaa paapamavaapsyasi || 33 ||

On the other hand, if you do not undertake this righteous war, then by forsaking your duty and valour, you will incur sin.

atha : on the other hand
chet : if
tvam : you
imam : this
dharmyam : righteous
samgraamam : war
na : don’t
karshyasi : undertake
tataha : then
svadharmam : your duty
keertim : valour
cha : and
hitvaa : forsaking
paapam : sin
avaapsyasi : incur

The word “sin” could mean several things to several people. Let us understand the meaning used here. If you live in society anywhere, in a city, town, village etc. you are always bound by certain laws. If you conduct an act that goes against the law, then it is called a crime. Stealing a car, for example, is a crime.

Similarly, if someone does not perform their svadharma or duty, or does something counter to their svadharma, it is equivalent to a crime under a cosmic or universal law. That crime is termed as a sin.

Therefore, Shri Krishna urges Arjuna and us to consider the repercussions of not conducting our svadharma. Like a good teacher, he had explained the benefits of the teaching earlier, and now he elaborates on the downside of not following the teaching in this and the next shloka.