Category Archives: dishaha

Bhagavad Gite Verse 36, Chapter 11

19 Monday Nov 2012

Posted by in 11.36, anurajyate, bheetaani, cha, chapter 11 verse 36, dishaha, dravanti, hrisheekesha, jagat, namasyanti, prahrashyati, prakreertyaa, rakshaamsi, sarve, sidhhasanghaahaa, sthaane, tava

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Arjuna uvaacha:
sthaane hrisheekesha tava prakreertyaa jagatprahrashyatyanurajyate cha |
rakshaamsi bheetaani disho dravanti sarve namasyanti cha sidhhasanghaahaa || 36 ||
 
Arjuna said:
Rightly, O Hrisheekesha, the universe is elated and enamoured by your glories. Demons run in all directions out of fear, and the hosts of siddhas bow to you.
 
sthaane : rightly
hrisheekesha : O Hrisheekesha
tava : your
prakreertyaa : glories
jagat : universe
prahrashyati : elated
anurajyate : enamoured
cha : and
rakshaamsi : demons
bheetaani : out of fear
dishaha : directions
dravanti : run
sarve : all
namasyanti : bow
cha : and
sidhhasanghaahaa : hosts of siddhas
 
Having understood the workings of Ishvara’s universe, Arjuna responds with the powerful word “sthaane”, which means everything that is going on is right, everything is in its place. As we saw earlier, we tend to question Ishvara every time there is a massive calamity, either at a personal level or at a global level. Or, we sometimes ask Ishvara to let things be a certain way. But when we understand that Ishvara is behind it all, and is orchestrating events for the benefit of the entire universe and not just a subset, we too, are compelled to say “sthaane”, it is all right.
 
With this knowledge, we now know why people in our world are happy and unhappy at the same time. Those who view the world through Ishvara, those who have the vision of Ishvara, take delight in everything and hence they are happy. But those who view the world through their ego-driven vision fear Ishvara’s destructive process, and then become unhappy. Rakshasaas or demons run in fear, while siddhas or perfected beings salute Ishvara.
 
Furthermore, Arjuna understands a wonderful technique by which we can gain immense dispassion towards the world. A child drops his attachment to his toys when he becomes an adult and gets attached to something higher than toys, like his career for instance. So when we develop a strong attachment to Ishvara, when we are enamoured, “anurajjyate”, by Ishvara, we automatically drop our worldly attachments. All we need to do is to direct our senses to Hrisheekesha, the master of the senses.
 
This shloka and the upcoming ten shlokas are one of the most beautiful prayers to Ishvara ever written.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 25, Chapter 11

08 Thursday Nov 2012

Posted by in 11.25, chapter 11 verse 25, damshtraa, devesha, dishaha, drishta, eva, jaane, jagannivaasa, kaalaanala, karaalaani, labhe, mukhaani, na, praseeda, sannibhaani, sharma

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damshtraakaraalaani cha te mukhaani drishtaiva kaalaanalasannibhaani |
disho na jaane na labhe cha sharma praseeda devesha jagannivaasa || 25 ||
 
Seeing you with dreadful tusks and your mouths blazing like fires of destruction, I neither know the directions nor do I have peace. Be pleased, O lord whose abode is the universe.
 
damshtraa : tusks
karaalaani : with dreadful
cha : and
te : your
mukhaani : mouths
drishta : seeing
eva : only
kaalaanala : fires of destruction
sannibhaani : blazing like
dishaha : directions
na : not
jaane : I know
na : not
labhe : have
cha : and
sharma : peace
praseeda : be pleased
devesha : O lord
jagannivaasa : whose abode is this universe
 
When we go beyond the imagery of this shloka and try to extract the meaning, we find that Arjuna comes face to face with a point of no return. He is unable to “know the directions”, unable to decide where to run away from here. All the plans he has made to do this or that thing are suddenly no more. Many people who come face to face with their mortality may have thoughts similar to what Arjuna is echoing here.
 
I came across a website of a terminal cancer patient who wrote his obituary just before he passed away. Here’s an excerpt from that website:
 
…It turns out that no one can imagine what’s really coming in our lives. We can plan, and do what we enjoy, but we can’t expect our plans to work out. Some of them might, while most probably won’t. Inventions and ideas will appear, and events will occur, that we could never foresee. That’s neither bad nor good, but it is real.
 
I think and hope that’s what my daughters can take from my disease and death. And that my wonderful, amazing wife _____ can see too. Not that they could die any day, but that they should pursue what they enjoy, and what stimulates their minds, as much as possible—so they can be ready for opportunities, as well as not disappointed when things go sideways, as they inevitably do…
 
So when we realize that ultimately, we are powerless in front of the grand scheme of the cosmos, our ego drops all its pretenses and surrenders itself in prayer to Ishvara. Prayer is only possible when there is utter surrender of individuality. So Arjuna prays to Shri Krishna, urging him to return to his pleasing form. But Shri Krishna is not done yet.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 13, Chapter 6

15 Sunday Apr 2012

Posted by in achalam, anavalokayan, cha, chapter 6 verse 13, dhaarayan, dishaha, greevam, kaaya, naasikaagram, samam, samprekshya, shiraha, sthiraha, svam

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samam kaayashirogreevam dhaarayannachalam sthiraha |
samprekshya naasikaagram svam dishashchaanavalokayan || 13 ||
 
Holding the trunk, head and neck firm and steady, observing the tip of one’s nose, and not looking around.
 
samam : straight
kaaya : trunk
shiraha : head
greevam : neck
dhaarayan : holding
achalam : firm
sthiraha : steady
samprekshya : observing
naasikaagram : point of the nose
svam : your
dishaha : all directions
cha : and
anavalokayan : not looking
 
Shri Krishna describes the method of achieving the perfect posture of meditation in this shloka. He says that the best posture for meditation is one where the trunk, head and neck are perfectly aligned. Then the focus of attention should be brought to one point in the body. The focus should not be allowed to wander.
 
Meditation is an inward journey into the self. The means to this journey is to slowly quieten and negate everything else but the self. The first component of the “not-self” that we have to quieten is our body. So therefore, Shri Krishna tells us to keep our body absolutely firm and steady. Good posture is the best way to achieve this firmness. In this regard, he advises us to align the head, neck and trunk of the body.
 
For most of us, sitting still in one place and in one posture for even 10-15 minutes is a challenge in itself. Our willpower gets tested. Therefore this is where we should begin. Once we can sit still for 10-15 minutes, we should gradually increase the time to at least 25-30 minutes. If we do nothing else but manage to sit still for 30 minutes, that in itself is a wonderful preparatory step to meditation. The mind will vehemently resist this, but just as we gently but firmly command a child to do their homework, so must we command the mind.
 
Having brought the body under control, we should then practice focusing our attention so that the mind can be made single-pointed. Shri Krishna says that we should observe the point of our nose and keep our attention there. What is meant here is that we should lock our eyes on a single point. When we sit in one place, our mind either rushes into past memories, or creates future scenarios. Consequently, our eyes follow the mind and start moving. So therefore, we should focus our eyes on one point so that our attention becomes focused as well.
 
Breath regulation is an important part of any meditative practice. Controlling the breath directly is an effective technique for focusing the mind, but it needs to be learned from a master otherwise it could prove dangerous. Shri Krishna suggests that we subdue our mind and thoughts instead. Since the mind and the breath are connected, the breath automatically will be regulated if the mind is controlled.
 
So far, Shri Krishna has covered the quietening of the body and breath. Next, he covers the object that is to be meditated upon.