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Category Archives: dhaama

Bhagavad Gita Verse 38, Chapter 11

21 Wednesday Nov 2012

Posted by in 11.28, aadidevaha, anantaroopam, asi, asya, chapter 11 verse 38, dhaama, nidhaanam, param, puraanaaha, purushaha, tatam, tvam, tvayaa, vedyam, vettaa, vishvam, vishvasya

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tvam aadidevaha purushaha puraanastvamasya vishvasya param nidhaanam |
vettaasi vedyam cha param cha dhaama tvayaa tatam vishvamanantaroopam || 38 ||
 
You are the primal lord, the ancient person. This universe is your supreme abode. You are the knower, the knowable and the supreme abode. By you is this universe pervaded, O one with infinite forms.
 
tvam : you
aadidevaha : primal lord
purushaha : person
puraanaaha : ancient
tvam : you
asya : this
vishvasya : universe
param : supreme
nidhaanam : abode
vettaa : knower
asi : are
vedyam : knowable
cha : and
param : supreme
cha : and
dhaama : abode
tvayaa : by you
tatam : pervaded
vishvam : universe
anantaroopam : having infinite forms
 
Arjuna’s understanding of Ishvara becomes clearer and clearer as this chapter unfolds. He acknowledges Ishvara’s creative power by addressing him as “aadideva”, the primal or first lord, the one who created Brahmaa, the creator. He also acknowledges that Ishvara has the power to create “anantaroopam”, an infinite number of forms, which is what we experience as “vishwam”, this magnificent universe. The first name of Ishvara in the Vishnu Sahasranaama, the thousand names of Vishnu, is vishwam.
 
Ishvara has not created the universe and stepped aside from it. He dwells in it as the ancient “purusha” or person, just like we dwell as the person in our body, the “city of nine gates” from the fifth chapter. Also, Ishvara is not located in just one specific area or corner of this universe. He is present everywhere. He is the “tatam” in the phrase “yenam sarvam idam tatam” from the second chapter. He pervades this entire creation, just like water pervades all ocean waves.
 
We know that even an inert object like a TV screen can conjure up an infinite number of names and forms. But Ishvara is far from inert. He is of the nature of awareness, of knowledge. He is the knower of everything that is to be known, all the forms that he has created. And when all these forms are dissolved, they end up in him, the final resting place, the “parama dhaama” or supreme abode.

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Bhagavad Gita Verse 12, Chapter 10

12 Wednesday Sep 2012

Posted by in 10, 12, ajam. vibhum, bhavaan, brahma, chapter 10 verse 12, dhaama, divyam. aadidevam, param, pavitram, purusham, shaashvatam

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Arjuna uvaacha:
param brahma param dhaama pavitram paramam bhavaan |
purusham shaashvatam divyamaadidevamajam vibhum || 12 ||
 
Arjuna said:
You are the supreme absolute, the supreme abode, supremely pure. You are the divine eternal person, the original deity who is beyond birth, all-pervading.
 
param : supreme
brahma : absolute
dhaama : abode
pavitram : pure
bhavaan : you are
purusham : person
shaashvatam : eternal
divyam : divine
aadidevam : original deity
ajam : beyond birth
vibhum : all-pervading
 
Over the course of the previous chapters, Arjuna gained an understanding of the real nature of Ishvara, and of Shri Krishna as an avatara, a divine manifestation of Ishvara. This understanding prompted him to praise Ishvara, and that is what we will see in the next few shlokas.
 
Arjuna spoke of Ishvara as “parama brahman” which is the absolute reality, the eternal essence that was spoken of in the second chapter. He understood that Ishvara’s real nature is beyond time and space, it is that which is the support of time and space. Ishvara is”parama dhaaman”, the supreme goal, the ultimate abode of all beings. Ishvara is also the supreme purifier, as he destroys all traces of impurities in the form of ignorance.
 
The word “purusha” literally means, one who fills the body. Ishvara is the “divyam shaashvatam purusha”, the divine eternal person the comprises the entire universe, just like all of the cells in our body are termed as “body” in aggregate. Ishvara is divine because he is beyond the realm of impermanence caused by maaya. He is “ajam”, beyond birth, but is the cause of everyone else’s birth. He is “vibhum” which is all-pervading, he alone appears as everything.
 
Like the Vishnu Sahasranaam that enumerates a thousand names of Ishvara, this shloka can be used as a prayer to meditate upon Ishvara’s glories. Now, did only Arjuna think that this was the real nature of Ishvara or did others as well? Arjuna takes this up in the next shloka.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 21, Chapter 8

18 Wednesday Jul 2012

Posted by in 8.21, aahuhu, aksharaha, avyaktaha, chapter 8 verse 21, dhaama, gatim, iti, mama, na, nivartante, paramaam, paramam, praapya, tam, tat, uktaha, yam

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avyaktokshara ityuktastamaahuhu paramaam gatim |
yam praapya na nivartante taddhaama paramam mama || 21 ||
 
He who is called unmanifest and imperishable, he who has been spoken of as the supreme goal; having attained him (beings) do not return, that is my supreme abode.
 
avyaktaha : unmanifest
aksharaha : imperishable
iti : in this manner
uktaha : has been called
tam : he
aahuhu : spoken
paramaam : supreme
gatim : goal
yam : he who
praapya : having attained
na : do not
nivartante : return
tat : that
dhaama : abode
paramam : supreme
mama : my
 
Earlier in this chapter, Shri Krishna had mentioned that those who attain Ishvara are not subject to further rebirth. In this shloka, he says that the “another unmanifest” that remains unaffected by the day and night of Lord Brahma is nothing but Ishvara. He also mentions the nature of Ishvara as imperishable, unmanifest and supreme.
 
With this shloka, we come back to the main theme that began in chapter seven – Ishvara. After having explained that this universe is subject to cycles of creation and dissolution, and that unless we take effort, we are stuck in this infinite cycle, Shri Krishna reiterates the need for the pursuit of Ishvara as the means of liberation.
 
So therefore, for the seeker who performs karma yoga and upaasanaa or devotion towards Ishvara attains Ishvara after he has completed his time on earth and in the abode of Lord Brahma. Shri Krishna summarizes the means of attaining Ishvara in the next shloka, which also concludes the topic of liberation from rebirth.