Category Archives: etaan

Bhagavad Gita Verse 26, Chapter 14

03 Sunday Mar 2013

Posted by in 14.26, avyabhichaarena :, bhakti, brahmabhooyaaya, chapter 14 verse 26, etaan, gunaan, kalpate, maam, saha, samateetya, sevate, yaha, yogena

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maam cha yovyabhichaarena bhaktiyogena sevate |
sa gunaansamateetyaitaanbrahmabhooyaaya kalpate || 26 ||
 
And he who worships me with the unwavering yoga of devotion, having gone beyond these gunas, becomes fit for attaining brahman.
 
maam : my
cha : and
yaha : he who
avyabhichaarena : unwavering
bhakti : devotion
yogena : with yoga
sevate : worship
saha : he
gunaan : gunas
samateetya : gone beyond
etaan : these
brahmabhooyaaya : attaining Brahman
kalpate : fit
 
Since this chapter is coming to an end, let us do a quick recap. We learned that this entire universe, including our mind and body, is nothing but the play of the three gunas of Prakriti – sattva, rajas and tamas. Only when we learn to stand apart from the gunas, when we separate ourselves from the gunas, can we attain liberation from the endless cycle of sorrow known as samsaara. For most of us, such a high degree of discrimination is extremely difficult. Moreover, such discrimination needs to be combined with dispassion as well as total control of the mind and the sense organs.
 
Knowing the impediments of fulfilling all these requirements, Arjuna wanted to know whether there was a straightforward way of releasing oneself from the influence of the gunas. Shri Krishna says that yes, it is possible. The answer is the yoga of unwavering devotion, which was the topic of chapters seven to twelve. In a nutshell, we detach ourselves from the gunas by attaching ourselves to something higher, which is Ishvara. It is like the child who gives up his toys because he loves poetry now that he is a teenager.
 
This yoga of devotion is not completely without effort, however. Shri Krishna adds an adjective that we need to bear in mind – avyabhichaarena or unwavering. We cannot keep Ishvara as our goal from 7 am to 8 am and then start thinking about how to demolish our competitors from 8 am to 11 am. The one and only goal should be Ishvara. If all our goals are within the scope of our svadharma, our prescribed role in this world, they very naturally are part and parcel of our devotion towards Ishvara.
 
Having made Ishvara our only goal, and having maintained such an awareness throughout our life, we become fit to attain brahman. How does that happen? The next and last shloka of this chapter addresses this topic.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 21, Chapter 14

26 Tuesday Feb 2013

Posted by in 14.21, ateetaha, ativartate, bhavati, chapter 14 verse 21, etaan, gunaan, kaihi, katham, kimaachaaraha, lingaihi, prabho, treen

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Arjuna uvaacha:
kairlingaistreengunaanetaanateeto bhavati prabho |
kimaachaaraha katham chaitaanstreengunaantivartate || 21 ||
 
Arjuna said:
By which signs is the one who has gone beyond the three gunas known, O Lord? What is his behaviour, and how does he transcend these three gunas?
 
kaihi : which
lingaihi : signs
treen : three
gunaan : gunas
etaan : these
ateetaha : one who has gone beyond
bhavati : is
prabho : O Lord
kimaachaaraha : what is his behaviour
katham : how
cha : and
etaan : these
treen : three
gunaan : gunas
ativartate : transcend
 
We hear Arjuna speak after a long time in this shloka. Arjuna usually speaks when he needs to clarify a doubt, or when he thinks that he needs a more practical version of what he has just heard. We have seen this happen several times. In the second chapter, Arjuna wanted to know the marks of the person who is established in knowledge, sthitha prajnya. Arjuna also asked the signs of a perfected devotee in the chapter on bhakti yoga. Every time he has asked a question, we as listeners have benefitted tremendously.
 
Having heard a detailed explanation around the three gunas, but only a couple of shlokas on the person who transcends those gunas and attains immortality, Arjuna found it appropriate to ask a question at this juncture. He wanted to know three things. First, how does one know that a person has transcended the three gunas. Second, how does such a person behave in the world. Third, how does he actually transcend the three gunas.
 
We have to constantly remind ourselves that everything we learn from this chapter is purely for self-analysis, not for judging or evaluating someone else. The only person that can accurately determine whether our mental state is sattvic, rajasic or tamasic is none other than ourselves. There is another aspect to learning about the signs of one who has gone beyond the influence of the gunas. Until we reach the state of liberation, these signs are attributes that we should aspire to cultivate in our lives.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 20, Chapter 14

26 Tuesday Feb 2013

Posted by in 14.20, amritam, ashnute, ateetya, chapter 14 verse 20, dehasamudbhavaan, dehee, etaan, gunaan, janmamrityujaraaduhkhaihi, treen, vimuktaha

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gunaanetaanateetya treendehee dehasamudbhavaan |
janmamrityujaraaduhkhaurvimuktomritamashnute || 20 ||
 
Having gone beyond these three gunaas, the creators of the body, the body dweller is freed from sorrow of birth, death and old age, and attains immortality.
 
gunaan : of the gunaas
etaan : these
ateetya : gone beyond
treen : three
dehee : body dweller
dehasamudbhavaan : creators of the body
janmamrityujaraaduhkhaihi : sorrows of birth, death and old age
vimuktaha : freed
amritam : immortality
ashnute : attains
 
Shri Krishna now conveys the gist of the fourteenth chapter in this shloka. He says that Prakriti, which is comprised of the three gunaas, creates this entire universe, including our body. As long as the individual soul, the jeeva, the body dweller identifies with this body and gives reality to it, he experiences sorrows throughout his life. Once the jeeva stops identifying with the body which is the product of the three gunaas, he attains liberation and becomes immortal.
 
This shloka also connects the main theme of the prior chapter to this chapter. In the thirteenth chapter, we learnt that ignorance of our true nature creates an entity called the Purusha, which in essence is nothing but a bundle of unfulfilled desires. Now here, we learn that these unfulfilled desires, also known as avidyaa, ignorance or maaya, attract a combination of sattva, rajas and tamas that becomes the physical body. Only when the Purusha severs his connection with this body by rising above the three gunaas, he realizes his true nature as the eternal essence.
 
Immortality in this context does not mean physical immortality. The body follows the laws of nature. Everything in nature has to perish, including our physical body. From the perspective of Prakriti, the body will die. But the dehi, the body dweller, having gone beyond the three gunas, having stopped identifying with the three gunas, knows that he is untouched and unaffected by the laws of Prakriti. For him, the modifications of the body such as old age and disease are as if they are happening to some third party. This ultimate freedom from the influence of the Prakriti is what makes him immortal.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 21-22, Chapter 1

02 Friday Sep 2011

Posted by in achyuta, asmin, avasthitaan, chapter 1 verse 21-22, etaan, kaamaan, kaiha, mayaa, nireeksheham, rama, ratham, saha, samudyame, sthaapaya, yaavat, yoddhu, yodhdhavyam

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Arjuna uvaacha
senyorubhyormadhye ratham sthaapaya mechyuta | 21 |

yaavadetaannireeksheham yoddhukaamaanvasthitaan |
kairmayaa saha yodhdhavyamasminranasamudyame || 22 || 

Arjuna said: O infallible one, in preparation for combat, position my chariot between the two armies till I have surveyed those battle-hungry warriors with whom I have to fight.
 
senyor-ubhyor-madhye : between both armies
ratham : chariot
sthaapaya : place
achyuta : infallible
yaavat:  till I
etaan : those warriors
nireeksheham : I can observe/survey
yoddhu-kaamaan-avasthitaan : organized for battle
kaiha-mayaa : whom I have to
saha : with
yodhdhavyam : fight
asmin rana-samudyame : in preparation for combat
 
And so begins the conversation between Arjuna and Shri Krishna. At this point, Arjuna was firmly in control of the situation, and like any determined warrior, he commanded his charioteer to carry out his instructions.
 
Similar to the analysis of Duryodhana’s emotional state from the previous verses, let us analyze Arjuna’s state. Here, it is clear that he was charged up for war, his warrior instincts had kicked into high gear, and he was bursting with self-confidence.
 
Another point to consider here is how much, like Arjuna, we rely on our sense organs to deliver the right information to our brain so that we can take the right decision and carry out the necessary action that a situation demands. Our sense organs comprise our eyes, ears, nose, tongue and skin. Any information that we process must necessarily come from one of these organs. Arjuna was located at some distance from the opposing army, so he knew that he needed to get a better look at the opposing army, and therefore have all the information he needs to make his battle plans.
 
Sense organs and understanding how they function is a topic that will be discussed at great length in the rest of the Gita.