Category Archives: devaah

Bhagavad Gita Verse 12, Chapter 2

20 Tuesday Dec 2011

Posted by in 3.12, apradaaya, bhaavitaah, bhogaan, bhumgte, chapter 3 verse 12, daasyante, dattaan, devaah, ebhyah, eva, hi, ishtaan, sah, stenah, taih, vah, yah, yajna

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ishtaanbhogaanhi vo devaa daasyante yajnabhaavitaah |
tairdattaanapradaayaibhyo yo bhumgte stena eva sah || 12 ||

The deities, nourished by yajna, will also provide you the objects you desire. One who consumes these objects without offering them to others, he is a thief.

ishtaan : desired
bhogaan : objects
hi : also
vah : your
devaah : deities
daasyante : give you
yajna-bhaavitaah : nourished by yajna
taih : they
dattaan : objects
apradaaya : without offering to them
ebhyah : to others
yah : one who
bhumgte : consumes
stenah : thief
eva : is
sah : he

So far, Shri Krishna spoke about the need for karmayoga, the actions to perform under karmayoga, and the attitude with which those actions should be performed. He also emphasized the notion of yajna or selfless dedication. Now Shri Krishna gives three levels of action that a person can operate under.

In this shloka, Shri Krishna points out the lowest level of action. This is when an individual consumes objects without making any contribution whatsoever. Shri Krishna uses a strong word to describe such an individual : a “thief”. Such a selfish person does not care about anyone but himself due to his large ego.

An obvious example is someone who is part of a project team. He does not do any work in team but claims all the credit. In today’s language we would call such a person a freeloader. Such people are never held in good standing by anyone.

In traditions all over the world, we see evidence that we are encouraged to give back something each time we take something. In Indian culture, it is customary that before one eats a meal, one offers it to the less fortunate, the wise and learned, and to animals. In most cultures, when you cut down a tree, you are encouraged to plant few more. Even in the corporate world, when a company earns profits, it invests a portion back into the business before handing out the dividends.

Therefore, taking without giving back is the lowest level of action. The next shloka illustrates the two higher levels of action. We need to gauge which level we belong to, so that we can start moving to the highest level of selflessness.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 11, Chapter 2

20 Tuesday Dec 2011

Posted by in 3.11, anena, avaapsyatha, bhaavanyantah, bhaavayantu, bhaavayata, chapter 3 verse 11, devaah, devaan, param, parasparam, shreyah, te, vaha

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devaanbhaavayataanena te devaa bhaavayantu vaha |
parasparam bhaavayantah shreyah paramavaapsyatha || 11 ||

You will make the deities prosper through this (yajna), and the deities will make you prosper. By mutually making each other prosperous, you will attain the highest good.

devaan : deities
bhaavayata : make them prosper
anena: through this
te devaah : those deities
bhaavayantu : prosper
vaha : you
parasparam : mutual
bhaavayantah : making them prosper
shreyah : good
param : highest
avaapsyatha : attain

In this shloka, Shri Krishna emphasizes that the definition yajna includes all beings, not just the one individual who is following this technique.

Modern management practices agree that when two parties negotiate, the best outcome is one where both parties benefit, rather than one gaining and one losing. This outcome is known as a “win-win” situation. Shri Krishna reinforces this very same principle. He urges us to act in a spirit of harmony and cooperation with others whenever we undertake any action.

An interesting word is used here : “devataa” or deity. What does it represent? It represents each and every factor that is responsible for our action. In a narrow sense, it represents other individuals who collectively represent the higher ideal that we are working for, e.g. members in our family, colleagues in our company, citizens in our nation and so on.

But in a broad sense, it includes all humans, animals, plants and all of nature that we share this earth with. It is a recognition that there is a higher ideal operating at all times when we perform even a trivial action like eating our lunch. Shri Krishna urges us to not forget this point.

In essence, if we serve a higher ideal, that higher ideal will serve us. This is the message.

Conversely, Shri Krishna reminds us to not treat any individual, plant or animal with disrespect, since they are collectively serving us in some way or another.