Category Archives: daivam

Bhagavad Gita Verse 14, Chapter 18

02 Sunday Jun 2013

Posted by in 18.14, adhishthaanam, atra, chapter 18 verse 14, cheshtaa, daivam, karanam, kartaa, panchamam, prithagvidham, prithak, tathaa, vividhaahaa

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adhishthaanam tathaa kartaa karanam cha prithagvidham |
vividhaashcha prithakcheshtaa daivam chaivaatra panchamam || 14 ||
 
The foundation, the doer and several instruments, and the various movements of several types, as well as the divinity, the fifth in these.
 
adhishthaanam : foundation
tathaa : and also
kartaa : doer
karanam : instruments
cha : and
prithagvidham : several
vividhaahaa : types
cha : and
prithak : various
cheshtaa : movements
daivam : divinity
cha : and
eva : also
atra : in these
panchamam : fifth
 
Nowadays robots are quite common, and are being used for cleaning home floors as well. For a robot to perform any action, there are at least three factors at work. First is the body of the robot, which will determine things like how fast or how powerful actions can be performed. Second is the instruments of the robot, such as its sensors, its hands, its wheels and so on. Third is the power system of the robot, which typically is electricity but could also be diesel or steam.
 
Shri Krishna says that whenever a human being performs an action, the same three factors come into play. The size of our body, the state of our instruments (organs of action and organs of sense) and our power system (our praana, our energy and health), each factor is responsible for the fate of our action. But there has to be something that differentiates us from robots, and therefore, two additional factors are mentioned: the kartaa or the doer, and the daivam or divinity.
 
The fourth component known as the kartaa, the doer, also known as the sense of agency, is nothing but the notion of finitude within us, what we normally term as the “I”. When our intellect plans an action, we say, “I am thinking” instead of saying “the intellect is thinking”. When our hand is performing the action, we say “I am sweeping the floor” instead of “the hand is sweeping the floor”. When our eyes perceive an obstacle, we say “I see a wall” instead of “the eyes see a wall”. Seen in this manner, the sense of “I” is quite illusory. For now, we can say that it is the motive behind performance of action that identifies with a certain aspect of the mind or body, a certain upaadhi.
 
The fifth component of any action is the daivam, the divinity. Unless Ishvara supports an action, it will not result in success. Or we can say that the world, or the universe as a whole, also has a part in determining the outcome of an action. Despite everything executed perfectly at the individual level, it still has to align with the action at the universal level.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 25, Chapter 4

15 Wednesday Feb 2012

Posted by in 4.25, apare, brahmaagnau, chapter 4 verse 25, daivam, paryupaasate, upajuhyati, yajnena, yajnyam, yoginaha

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daivamevaapare yajnyam yoginaha paryupaasate |
brahmaagnauvapare yajnyam yajnenaivopajuhyati || 25 ||

Some yogis also worship deities through devotion, other yogis engage in worship by offering the self into the sacrificial flame of the self.

daivam : deities
eva : also
apare : some
yajnyam : devotion
yoginaha : yogis
paryupaasate : worship
brahmaagnau : self in the form of sacrificial flame
apare : others
yajnyam : worship
yajnena : self
upajuhyati : engage

In the last shloka, Shri Krishna gave us the ultimate vision of a karma yogi. This person thinks of brahman in everything and every action that he performs; it is 24/7, every second. For seekers who have just begin their journey, such a grand vision is difficult to consistently maintain. So in the following shlokas, Shri Krishna gives us simpler forms of worship for practice, so that we can ultimately build ourselves up to this grand vision.

For most of us it is difficult to comprehend the formless brahman. Therefore, many yogis worship a deity, in other words they invoke Ishvaraa in a particular idol or photograph. This offering of services to Ishvaraa is called “pooja”. Now in pooja, imagination plays an important role. Just like children play the house house game – the better the imagination, better they enjoy it. The process of pooja helps us develop rapport with Ishvaraa.

Once we get into the habit of pooja, we then imagine Ishvaraa in every action that we perform. We can even imagine Ishvaraa in the form of our friend, brother, parents and so on. It helps us to purify our mind and reduce fear caused by our attachments. As our trust in Ishvaraa increases, our fear decreases and we become calmer.

In addition to seekers who worship Ishvaraa, there is another group of seekers that are more thought oriented and more contemplative. They strive to realize the formless brahman through inquiry, contemplation, meditation, and by understanding their oneness with brahman. This form of worship is called jnyaana saadhanaa or spiritual practice through knowledge. It is like the wave surrendering completely to the ocean to realize its oneness with the ocean.

As we study the different forms of yagnyas that we can practice, it is easy to get carried away by the variety and the details. But the key point to remember is this. Any action we perform as part of a yagnya must not ever have even a tinge of expectation of result. If that happens, the yagnya becomes an ordinary, selfish action. The goal is to get better at these practice yagnyas so that we can bring that yagnya spirit into all actions in our daily life.