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A simple, modern translation and explanation of the Bhagavad Gita with shloka (verse) meaning

~ Gita Journey is a straightforward, modern, contemporary, basic explanation and commentary of the Bhagawat Gita, with Sanskrit to English word meanings. Each shloka (verse) is explained in detail. An introduction to the Bhagavad Gita along with study resources can also be found here. A summary of each chapter of the Bhagavad Gita is also included. It does not matter whether you are a student, a retiree, a professional, a mom, a dad or a housewife – no prior knowledge is needed.

A simple, modern translation and explanation of the Bhagavad Gita with shloka (verse) meaning

Category Archives: darshaya

Bhagavad Gita Verse 45, Chapter 11

28 Wednesday Nov 2012

Posted by skr_2011 in 11.45, adrishtapoorvam, asmi, bhayena, chapter 11 verse 45, darshaya, devaroopam, devesha, drishtvaa, hrishitaha, jagannivaasa, manaha, praseeda, pravyathitam, tadeva

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adrishtapoorvam hrishitosmi drishtvaa bhayena cha pravyathitam mano me |
tadeva me darshaya devaroopam praseeda devesha jagannivaasa || 45 ||

 
Seeing you form that was never seen before, I am overjoyed and (yet) fearful, my mind is disturbed. Show me that divine form. Be pleased, O Lord of lords, O abode of the universe.
 
adrishtapoorvam : prior unseen
hrishitaha : overjoyed
asmi : I am
drishtvaa : seeing
bhayena : fearful
cha : and
pravyathitam : disturbed
manaha : mind
me : my
tadeva : that
me : to me
darshaya : show
devaroopam : divine form
praseeda : be pleased
devesha : O Lord of lords
jagannivaasa : O abode of the universe
 
Fear is one of our most primal emotions. At some point or the other in our lives, we have encountered fear of losing our job, losing a loved one, fear of an angry confrontation, stage fright and so on. But we can boil all kinds of fear down to three things. First, the fear of losing something that is “ours”. This is the fear of losing our life, our job, our loved ones and so on. Next is the fear of loss of knowledge, or being duped. Third is the fear of losing joy and happiness, fear of sorrow in other words. We can sum it up in this manner: we are afraid of losing our existence, knowledge and happiness.
 
However, if we recall the teaching of the Gita so far, especially from the second chapter, we know that our true nature is the aatmaa, the eternal essence which is infinite existence, knowledge and happiness. So then, the cause of fear is the ego, the delusion that we are not the eternal essence. There is no scope for fear when we know our true nature as the infinite eternal essence. But if we assume that “I am the body”, then all the problems and fears of the body such as disease, old age, death etc become our problems. The fear of death, which is actually the fear of losing the existence of the body, becomes our fear.
 
So then, why did Arjuna fear Shri Krishna’s cosmic form? For a brief moment, Arjuna’s ego had vanished when he considered himself part and parcel of the cosmic form. When his ego came back, it brought with it all the incorrect associations with the body, mind and so on. Arjuna then saw the cosmic form as something outside of himself, something that could destroy him. He acknowledged his fear to Shri Krishna, begging him to go back to his original form.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 4, Chapter 11

18 Thursday Oct 2012

Posted by skr_2011 in 11.4, aatmaanam, avyayam, chapter 11 verse 4, darshaya, drishtum, iti, manyase, mayaa, me, prabho, shakayam, tat, tataha, tvam, yadi, yogeshvara

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manyase yadi tachchakayam mayaa drishtumiti prabho |
yogeshvara tato me tvam darshayaatmaanamavyayam || 4 ||

 
O Lord, if you think that it is possible for this to be seen by me, then O Yogeshvara, you show me your undivided form.
 
manyase : you think
yadi : if
tat : that
shakayam : possible
mayaa : by me
drishtum : seen
iti : this
prabho : O Lord
yogeshvara : O Yogeshvara
tataha : then
me : me
tvam : you
darshaya : show
aatmaanam : your
avyayam : undivided form
 
We come across another aspect of Arjuna’s request in this shloka. Imagine the plight of an movie actor who is absolutely devoted to his craft. He has worked day and nights for a whole year in a movie as a supporting actor. After the shooting ends, he is filled with a burning desire to see the entire movie. Why so? It is because he has only seen the bits and pieces of the movie that he was involved with, and he is not satisfied unless he sees it as a single story, end to end.
 
Likewise, Arjuna is no longer content with seeing bits and pieces of Ishvara’s expressions. He wants to see how it all comes together as one undivided entity. This is indicated by Arjuna’s use of the word “avyayam” which means undivided, without any discontinuity. And like the only person who can reveal the whole movie is the director, the only person that can reveal the undivided nature of the universe is the “prabhu”, the governor, master and controller.
 
Now, Arjuna knows that he has to approach Shri Krishna with humility. That’s why he politely says: “show me that form only if you think that I am qualified to see it”. Morever, Arjuna does not want to imagine it or dream it up, he wants to see it with his eyes, with his “drishti”. He also refers to Shri Krishna as “yogeshwara”, the teacher of several yogas in the Gita such as karma yoga, dhyana yoga, jnyana yoga and bhakti yoga. The yoga in “Vibhooti yoga” is the power that creates variety in the one undivided Ishvara.
 
So, does Shri Krishna agree to this request? We shall see next.

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