Category Archives: eva

Bhagavad Gita Verse 5, Chapter 8

02 Monday Jul 2012

Posted by in 8.5, antakaale, asti, atra, cha, chapter 8 verse 5, eva, kalevaram, maam, madbhaavam, muktvaa, na, prayaati, saha, samshayaha, smaran, yaati, yaha

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antakaale cha maameva smaranmuktvaa kalevaram |
yaha prayaati sa madbhaavam yaati naastyatra samshayaha || 5 ||
 
One who, even during the time of departure, abandons his body while remembering me, he achieves my true nature, in this matter there is no doubt.
 
antakaale : during the time of departure
cha : and
maam : me
eva : even
smaran : remembering
muktvaa : abandons
kalevaram : body
yaha : one who
prayaati : goes
saha : he
madbhaavam : my nature
yaati : achieves
na : no
asti : is
atra : in this matter
samshayaha : doubt
 
The remainder of this chapter is the answer to the fundamental questions raised by Arjuna : “How does one attain Ishvara at the time of death?” Having addressed all the other questions, Shri Krishna begins to answer that most important question in this shloka. He says that only the one who remembers Ishvara at the time of death will attain Ishvara.
 
We now have a definite “action item” from Shri Krishna. He asserts that our final goal in life should be this: to remember Ishvara at the time of death. Shri Krishna assures it is so, because he says “in this matter there is no doubt”. It is clearly spelled out for us.
 
At first glance, it may seem straightforward. All we have to do is to remember Ishvara at the time of death. But it is not so. In most cases, we may not know when we die. We could die in an accident. We could have lost our mental faculties. Our attachment towards our family will occupy our minds. There are so many factors that will prevent us from remembering Ishvara only at the time of death.
 
So then, how do we get around this problem? Shri Krishna addresses it shortly. First, he explains why our thought at the time of death is so important.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 4, Chapter 8

01 Sunday Jul 2012

Posted by in 8.4, adhibhootam, adhidaivatam, adhiyagna, aham, atra, bhaavaha, cha, chapter 8 verse 4, dehabhritaam, dehe, eva, ksharo, purusha, vara

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adhibhootam ksharo bhaavaha purushashchaadhidaivatam |
adhiyagnohamevaatra dehe dehabhritaam vara || 4 ||
 
“Adhibhootam” is perishable existence. “Adhidaiva” is the person. And, I only am “adhiyagnya” in this body, O eminent among the embodied.
 
adhibhootam : “adhibhootam”
ksharo : perishable
bhaavaha : existence
purusha : the person
cha : and
adhidaivatam : “adhidaiva”
adhiyagna : “adhiyagna”
aham : I am
eva : only
atra : this
dehe : body
dehabhritaam : among the embodied
vara : eminent
 
Three out of Arjuna’s seven questions were answered by Shri Krishna in the previous shloka. Here, three more questions are answered : what is adhibhootam, what is adhidaiva and what is adhiyagnya. Again, we shall use the running illustration of the projector and the animated movie to better understand the answers.
 
Let us start with the definition of adhibhootam, which the shloka terms as perishable existence. It refers to everything in the universe that is visible. With regards to our example, it refers to everything in the movie that is visible except Tom. So, for example, if a scene in the movie comprises Tom sitting in a classroom, then everything in the classroom is adhibhoota: his classmates, his teacher, the benches, the windows, the walls and so on.
 
The one common quality that they share is that they are perishable, they have a beginning and an end. When the movie starts, we come to know that the classroom exists. When the movie ends, the classroom is no more.
 
Next, let us look at the definition of adhidaiva. Literally, it is defined as “purusha” or person in the shloka. But what it really means is the creative or intelligent principle that resides within every living and non-living object in universe. It determines the fate of the universe and holds the universe together.
 
From the perspective of our example, adhidaiva is the movie script. The character Tom may not know why he gets into an accident, or wins an unexpected lottery, but the script knows exactly why it happens, and how it fits into the entire movie. The script determines the fate of the movie. It also ensures that what we see is harmonious and logical, not a random disjointed series of images.
 
Now, let’s examine what is meant by adhiyagnya. So far we have defined the light that illuminates Tom (adhyaatma), the light that illuminates everything else (adhibhoota), the creative intelligence of the movie (adhidaiva), the mechanism of projection (karma), and the light itself (brahman). But there is one more aspect that is missing in this scheme.
 
From the minute Tom wakes up in the morning to when he goes to bed at night, he is not idle. He is active in this world. He transacts with his family, his friends, his teachers, even strangers. There is a give-and-take happening throughout the day that compels him to act. Shri Krishna says that this world of activity and relationships is termed as adhiyagnya.
 
Now we come to the key point. Addressing Arjuna fondly as “eminent among the embodied”, Shri Krishna asserts that adhyaatma, adhidaiva, adhibhoota, karma and adhidaiva are nothing but Ishvara. Ishvara and brahman are the same, it is just that one is with form and one is formless. Similarly, everything that we see on the screen is nothing but a modification of the light of the projector. Whatever Tom does or experiences in the movie is just an illusion. When the film strip stops moving, we see the formless white light on the screen.
 
Next, Shri Krishna starts answering the seventh question, which makes up the bulk of this chapter.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 22, Chapter 7

18 Monday Jun 2012

Posted by in 7.22, araadhanam, cha, chapter 7 verse 22, eehate, eva, hi, kaamaan, labhate, mayaa, saha, shraddhayaa, taan, tasya, tataha, tayaa, vihitaan, yuktaha

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sa tayaa shraddhayaa yuktastasyaaraadhanameehate |
labhate cha tataha kaamaanmayaiva vihitaanhi taan || 22 ||
 
Engaged with faith, that person worships that (deity) and his desire is fulfilled, but that (desire fulfillment) is delivered only through me.
 
saha : that person
tayaa : that
shraddhayaa : with faith
yuktaha : engaged
tasya : that (deity)
araadhanam : worship
eehate : performs
labhate : fulfilled
cha : and
tataha : his
kaamaan : desire
mayaa : through me
eva : only
vihitaan : delivered
hi : but
taan : that (desire fulfillment)
 
When someone chooses to pursue a finite or a worldly goal, they run towards a finite deity instead of going towards Ishvara. We saw this in the previous shlokas. Shri Krishna continues that point here by saying that Ishvara does not object when devotee seeks a finite goal from a finite deity. In fact, he strengthens that devotee’s faith by delivering what the devotee asks of the deity.
 
Faith is a process that most of us do not fully comprehend. But it is a reality. Even in the medical profession, placebos or pills made of inactive ingredients such as sugar are known to cure patients by sheer power of faith.
 
So Shri Krishna says that even if a devotee approaches a deity with a finite goal, Ishvara is ready to deliver that goal as long as the devotee’s faith in the deity is strong. By fulfilling finite desires through the lower deities, Ishvara hopes that the devotee will learn to further subdue his ego. One cannot have an increase in faith without a decrease in ego.
 
As desires are sought with greater and greater faith, and the corresponding desires are fulfilled, the devotee’s faith increases. This process has the potential to result in the spiritual evolution of that devotee. He will evolve from seeking finite goals to seeking the infinite – Ishvara himself.
 
This is the ideal state, but it is totally up to the devotee to make that transition. Unfortunately, most devotees get stuck in the pursuit of finite goals, as we shall see in the next shloka.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 21, Chapter 7

17 Sunday Jun 2012

Posted by in 7.21, achalaam, aham, architum, bhaktaha, chapter 7 verse 21, eva, icchati, shraddhaam, shraddhaya, taam, tanum, tasya, vidadhaami, yaam, yaha

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yo yo yaam yaam tanum bhaktaha shraddhayaarchitumicchati |
tasya tasyaachalaam shraddhaam taameva vidadhaamyaham || 21 ||
 
Whichever devotee desires to faithfully worship a particular form, I fortify his faith in exactly that (form).
 
yaha, yaha : whosoever
yaam, yaam : whichever
tanum : form
bhaktaha : devotee
shraddhaya : faithfully
architum : worship
icchati : desires
tasya,tasya : that
achalaam : firm
shraddhaam : faith
taam : in that
eva : exactly
vidadhaami : make
aham : I
 
The chapter so far dealt with the notion of the infinite Ishvara’s ability to bless us with infinitude. But Shri Krishna recognized that not all devotees have the vision of pursuing that infinite Ishvara. That is why they worship finite, localized forms of Ishvara in the form of deities such as Ganesha, Saraswati and so on.
 
So in this shloka, Shri Krishna offers a ray of hope for such devotees. Even if we worship a finite deity with a finite goal, Ishvara will ensure that our finite goals are awarded to us. In doing so, Ishvara will strengthen our faith in that deity.
 
There is nothing wrong in asking for something finite. All notions of spirituality, no matter how finite the goal, are equally valid. They have the power to lift us from our egoic centre towards the universal.
 
For example, if we ask Saraswati for success in our exams, it is Ishvara who delivers that success through Saraswati. Saraswati becomes the channel through which Ishvara works. He is the running the whole show, as it were. But more important than the delivery of our desire is faith. Ishvara ensures that our faith in Saraswati is strengthened. It is because there will come a when that faith will be eventually turned towards Ishvara. More about this faith is mentioned next.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 18, Chapter 7

14 Thursday Jun 2012

Posted by in 7.17, aasthitaha, aatmaa, anuttamaam, chapter 7 verse 18, eva, gatim, hi, ite, jnyaanee, maam, matam, me, saha, sarva, tu, udaaraaha, yuktaatmaa

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udaaraaha sarva evaite jnyaanee tvaatmaiva me matam |
aasthitaha sa hi yuktaatmaa maamevaanuttamaam gatim || 18 ||
 
All those are certainly sincere, but only the wise one is my own self, in my opinion. For, he engages to become established in me only as the ultimate goal.
 
udaaraaha : sincere
sarva : all
eva : certainly
ite : those
jnyaanee : the wise one
tu : but
aatmaa : self
eva : only
me : my
matam : opinion
aasthitaha : established
saha : he
hi : for
yuktaatmaa : he engages
maam : me
eva : only
anuttamaam : ultimate
gatim : goal
 
So far, Shri Krishna enumerated four types of devotees and singled out one of them, the wise one, as the most special type of devotee. This is because the wise devotee does not approach Ishvara for something else. He approaches Ishvara to gain only Ishvara and nothing else. Here, Shri Krishna adds another reason for singling out the wise devotee as special. The wise devotee considers Ishvara as his own self and not as another object.
 
First, let us look at the sense of oneness aspect. What is different between a good friend and an acquaintance? There is always a sense of “otherness” between ourselves and the acquaintance, but there is a sense of oneness with the good friend. We see this in a lot of proverbs: “a friend in need is a friend indeed”, “my house is your house” on so on. The ultimate closeness with a friend is when we do not see any difference between doing something for ourselves, and doing something for our friend. In other words, we see our friend as our own self.
 
Similarly, whenever we expect something from God, we are by definition treating him as someone different from our own self. Shri Krishna says that he prefers if we treat him as our own self. Such kind of devotion, where the seeker plants himself in Ishvara day in and day out, and melts his existence into Ishvara’s cosmic existence, is the greatest kind of devotion. This is also known as ekabhakti or advaita, where there is no duality between devotee and Ishvara.
 
However, the reality is different. Most of us consider Ishvara as different than ourselves. One colourful illustration of this is found in the Hindi phrase “bhee aur hee siddhanta” which means “also philosophy” vs “only philosophy”. In other words, we love material objects and Ishvara “also”. Shri Krishna says that we should love Ishvara “only” and not “also”.
 
Now, this does not mean that Ishvara gives second class treatment to the other three types of devotees. Shri Krishna says that those other devotees are “udaaraha” or sincere. Ishvara is affectionate towards all of them.
 
Having pointed out the unique aspects of the wise devotee, Shri Krishna highlights the scarcity of wise devotees in the next shloka.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 14, Chapter 7

10 Sunday Jun 2012

Posted by in 7.14, chapter 7 verse 14, daivee, duratyayaa, eshaa, etaam, eva, gunamayee, hi, maam, maayaa, maayaam, mama, prapadyante, taranti, te, ye

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daivee hyeshaa gunamayee mama maayaa duratyayaa |
maameva ye prapadyante maayaametaam taranti te || 14 ||

For this, my divine maaya, comprised of the gunaas, is hard to cross. Only they who seek my refuge, cross over my maaya.

daivee : divine
hi : for
eshaa : this
gunamayee : of the gunaas
mama : my
maayaa : maayaa
duratyayaa : hard to cross
maam : my
eva : only
ye : those
prapadyante : seeks my refuge
maayaam : maaya
etaam : this
taranti : crosses over
te : they

At this point in the seventh chapter, Shri Krishna has framed an interesting problem for us. If our mind with its senses is attracted to sense objects because of the play of the three gunaas, and if Ishvara is beyond the three gunaas, we need to somehow pierce through gunaas to contact Ishvara. If we cannot do it with our mind with its sense organs, how do we do it? We need some additional help. Shri Krishna says that the only solution is to surrender to Ishvara.

First, let us understand what exactly is preventing us from contacting Ishvara. Shri Krishna says that there is something called maaya is the barrier between us and Ishvara. What exactly is this maaya? It is nothing special, it is the 3 gunaas that saw in the previous shloka. Where is this maaya located? Not too far away. It is in our mind, and we can see its effect daily. Just when we think we are studying Gita and are immune to its effect, we suddenly get an angry thought about a friend or a co-worker. That is maaya. Now if maaya is the moat that blocks access to Ishvara, how do we cross it?

Shri Krishna says that in order to cross over maaya, we have to surrender to Ishvara completely. This type of complete surrender is indicated by the word “prapadyante” in the shloka. It literally means falling down at someone’s feet. To visualize it, imagine that the devotee is holding onto Ishvara’s feet, and also keeping one hand under Ishvara’s feet. With this arrangement, the devotee will not run away from Ishvara, and Ishvara will also not run away from the devotee.

Now, what does surrender mean in practice? As long as we assert ourselves physically, emotionally and intellectually, as long as we emphasize our individuality and assert our ego, we will strengthen maaya. So therefore, we need to de-emphasize our individuality and strengthen our devotion to Ishvara. When we surrender ourselves to Ishvara, we give up the notion that “I do everything” or “I own everything”. It is all Ishvara’s maaya. By distancing ourselves from maaya, we get closer to Ishvara.

Moreover, Shri Krishna says that maaya is divine, which means that it is supported by Ishvara but it has reality on its own. In our lives, however, we still rely on maaya for support. We rely on our savings, friends, family, job, education and so on as our refuge if times get tough. But all this is still the product of maaya. Once we shift our thinking that maaya cannot be a support, we will rely on the cause of maaya for support instead of maaya. And that cause is Ishvara. We can only enjoy bungee jumping when we have a strong rope and support. Similarly, we can enjoy the play of maaya if we have tethered ourselves to Ishvara.

How should we practice this daily? We should continue performing our duties as we saw in the previous chapters. What we should change, however, is our attitude. Whenever we start giving importance worldly things including people, objects and situations, we should train ourselves to shift our attention to Ishvara who is behind everything. But we should not use this to justify all our wrongdoings. As we saw in a previous chapter, prakriti or nature is a self-regulating system. If we do something that is against the laws of nature, it will come back to us as a punishment.

So then, having understood this, why do people not seek Ishvara?

Bhagavad Gita Verse 12, Chapter 7

08 Friday Jun 2012

Posted by in 7.12, aham, bhaavaaha, cha, chapter 7 verse 12, eva, iti, mattaha, na, rajasaaha, saatvikaaha, taamasaaha, taan, te, teshu, tu, viddhi, ye

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ye chaiva saatvikaa bhaavaa rajasaastaamasaashcha ye |
matta evati taanviddhi na tvaham teshu te mayi || 12 ||
 
And indeed, all saatvik qualities, and all raajasic and taamsic qualities, know those to be only from me. Know that I am not in them, but they are in me.
 
ye : all
cha : and
eva : indeed
saatvikaaha : saatvik
bhaavaaha : qualities
rajasaaha : raajasic
taamasaaha : taamasic
cha : and
ye : all
mattaha : from me
eva: only
iti : this
taan : those
viddhi : know
na : not
tu : but
aham : I am
teshu : in them
te : they
mayi : are in me
 
Shri Krishna began this chapter by indicating that Ishvara is the essence of everything. He also provided a short list containing tangible examples of his glories, which he concluded in the previous shloka. In this shloka, he summarizes this point by saying that the three fundamental aspects of prakriti or nature arise from Ishvara, but are subservient to Ishvara.
 
Sattva, rajas and tamas are the three aspects of prakriti or nature. A more detailed explanation of these three gunaas or aspects is provided in the 18th chapter. At the internal level, these aspects are the moods of our mind. A taamasic mind is dull, a raajasic mind is active and a saatvic mind is serene. Moreover, a saatvic object or thought is tied to knowledge, a raajasic object or thought is tied to activity and a taamasic thought or object is tied to ignorance, sloth or procrastination.
 
We see all these three aspects in our personality. The body is taamasic. It likes to be in stasis, it does not like to move. A lot of energy is required to move our bodies. Our limbs and our praanas or physiological processes are raajasic because they embody action and movement. Our mind and intellect are saatvic because they embody knowledge. Later in the Gita, Shri Krishna will classify everything, including desire and faith, into these three classications.
 
Now, all three aspects of prakriti cannot exist by themselves. Nothing can exist without a base or a support. Shri Krishna says that it is Ishvara who provides existence to these three aspects of prakriti. However, he qualifies that statement by pointing out that they are in Ishvara, but Ishvara is not in them. In other words, Ishvara can exist without the gunaas, but the gunaas cannot exist without Ishvara because they need his support.
 
What is the implication of this statement? Every object, person or situation that we encounter in this universe is comprised of a permutation of the three gunaas. All three gunaas are supported by Ishvara. Therefore, Ishvara is everywhere, behind every object, person and situation in this universe.
 
So then, what prevents us from knowing Ishvara? Shri Krishna covers this topic next.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 4, Chapter 7

29 Tuesday May 2012

Posted by in 7.4, aapaha, ahankaaraha, analaha, ashtadhaa, bhinnaa, bhoomihi, buddhihi, cha, chapter 7 verse 4, eva, iti, iyam, kham, manaha, me, prakritihi, vayuhu

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bhoomiraaponalo vayuhu kham mano buddhireva cha |
ahankaara iteeyam me bhinnaa prakritirashtadhaa || 4 ||
 
Earth, water, fire, wind and space, along with mind, ego and intellect, in this manner, this is my eight-fold differentiated nature.
 
bhoomihi : earth
aapaha : water
analaha : fire
vayuhu : wind
kham : space
manaha : mind
buddhihi : intellect
eva : along with
cha : and
ahankaaraha : ego
iti : in this manner
iyam : this
me : my
bhinnaa : differentiated
prakritihi : nature
ashtadhaa : eight-fold
 
Shri Krishna, having promised Arjuna that he will reveal his true essence, begins to do so in this shloka. He says that five primordial elements, as well as mind, ego and intellect, comprise his prakriti or nature.
 
Earth, water, fire, wind and space here do not mean tangible physical elements that we can perceive through our senses. They refer to the qualities of the physical elements. For example, water here refers to the quality of liquids that enable them to flow. Fire refers to the quality of a flame to generate light and heat. When these elements combine with each other, they have the potential to create every object in this universe. In other words, Shri Krishna says that the building blocks of the universe are nothing but his manifestation.
 
What is the implication here? For many of us that have a set image of Ishvara as a certain deity, this is a whole new way of understanding. It means that Ishvara is within our grasp 24 hours a day, seven days a week. All of the objects, situations and people that we interact with are made up of these elements.
 
This means that if we realize that everything comes from Ishvara, then we should not have room for any negative emotions such as jealousy, anger etc. Why? When we know that everything is created and owned by Ishvara, we do not get agitated if our neighbour buys a bigger car or gets a better job. We see everything as ultimately belonging to Ishvara, so it does not matter who temporarily claims it as his or hers.
 
Now, having discussed the five elements, let us take up the other three through an illustration. In the morning, just before we are about to wake up, our mind is in an unmanifest state. We are not aware of anything. As we begin to get up, the first thought that comes to mind is subject awareness, i.e. “I am so-and-so”. Soon after, we begin thinking that “I am so-and-so in this bedroom and it is 7 am now”. The mind goes from unmanifest, to the ego (I am), to awareness of objects.
 
The creation of the universe per the Saamkhya school of philosphy follows these three stages as well. The universe originally lies in an unmanifest state. The first manifestation or transformation in this state is the ego-principle, which is also known as self-assertion or the “I-principle”. It creates the notion of the subject and object, or of the experiencer and experienced. Finally, this ego-principle learns how to manifest itself in terms of objects, which is known as the cosmic mind. These three states – unmanifest, ego-principle and cosmic mind are denoted in the shloka as mind, ego and intellect.
 
The cosmic mind then begins to manifest itself from the most intangible elements to the most tangible ones, step by step. The first element produced is space, which is invisible. Next is air, which we cannot see but can infer from its effects. Next is fire, which we can see but not touch. This is followed by water, which we can see and touch. Finally, earth is produced which is the most tangible element of all. If you reverse the order of elements given in this shloka, it exactly follows the doctrine of creation in Saamkhya.
 
So, if we take all of these 8 factors into account, we realize that all the material aspects of the universe is Ishvara. Ishvara has not created this world like a sculptor creates statues out of clay. He has created the world out of himself. It is like the spider that creates the web out of himself, like the Mundaka Upanishad says.
 
The entire world of experience is Ishvara. But what about the experiencer himself? This is taken up in the next shloka.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 44, Chapter 6

21 Monday May 2012

Posted by in api, ativartate, avashaha, chapter 6 verse 44, eva, hi, hriyate, jigyaasuhu, poorvabhyaasena, saha, shabdabrahma, tena, yogasya

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poorvabhyaasena tenaiva hriyate hyaavashoopi saha |
jigyaasurapi yogasya shabdabrahmaativartate || 44 ||
 
Though helpless, he is pushed due to his prior effort, because even the seeker of yoga transcends the words of brahman.
 
poorvabhyaasena : due to prior effort
tena : that
eva : only
hriyate : pushed
hi : because
avashaha : helplessly
api : though
saha : he
jigyaasuhu : seeker
api : even
yogasya : yoga
shabdabrahma : words of brahman
ativartate : transcends
 
Previously, Shri Krishna described the fate of the unfulfilled meditator who is born into a family of yogis. Here, he describes the fate of the other type of unfulfilled meditator who is born into a prosperous family. Shri Krishna says that even though such a person will indulge in sense pleasures, his previous efforts will push him towards rekindling his spiritual journey. This attraction or push towards spirituality will give him the potential of transcending his material pleasures.
 
Karma yoga teaches us how to conduct our life without gathering impressions or samskaaraas that give rise to further selfish desires. These impressions, if not destroyed, are carried over from one life into the next, and result in activation of further selfish desires. The unfulfilled meditator who is born into a prosperous family is compelled to fulfill all of his desires because this family has enough wealth for him to do so. He is “avashaha” or helpless in this regard ,due to his propensity for desires.
 
However, in addition to his propensities being carried forward into his new life, his spiritual efforts are also carried forward. At some point in his life, these propensities will manifest in the form of an involuntary push or attraction towards spirituality. Just like the seeker born into a yogic family is pulled, this seeker will also find himself pulled, as it were, towards satsangs, discourses and gurus. But unlike the other type of seeker who knows exactly what to do in this situation, this seeker may not know what or why this attraction happens.
 
Shri Krishna further says that this pull towards spiritual has the potential to take him out of his current state of indulgence in material pleasures. We have seen that engaging selfishly in the material world further ensnares us in the cycle of karma or action and reaction, which is given in the Vedas, referred here as “shabda-brahman” or the words of brahman. But it is only through determination and effort that this seeker can transcend the cycle of karma. However, if he indulges in selfish desires, he will stray from the spiritual path.
 
So therefore, it is incumbent upon all spiritual seekers to continuously strive towards attaining their spiritual goals, no matter what their history is. Shri Krishna speaks more about this determination and effort in the next shloka.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 42, Chapter 6

19 Saturday May 2012

Posted by in athavaa, bhavati, chapter 6 verse 42, dheemataam, durlabhataram, eedrisham, etat, eva, hi, janma, kule, loke, yat, yoginaam

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athavaa yoginaameva kule bhavati dheemataam |
etaddhi durlabhataram loke janma yadeedrisham || 42 ||
 
Alternatively, he will go only to a family of learned yogis. One whose birth is of this type is exceedingly rare in this world.
 
athavaa : alternatively
yoginaam : in yogis
eva : only
kule : family
bhavati : will go
dheemataam : learned
etat : this
hi : definitely
durlabhataram : exceedingly rare
loke : world
janma : birth
yat : one whose
eedrisham : of this type
 
Earlier, Shri Krishna spoke about the fate of the unfulfilled meditator who goes to an illustrious family after having attained heaven. In this shloka, Shri Krishna talks about another type of unfilled meditators who is born not into a wealthy family but into a family of learned yogis. He also says that such a birth is exceedingly rare.
 
So far, Shri Krishna has spoken about two types of serious seekers who had a clear understanding of meditation but were unable to attain liberation. The difference between the two types of seekers is the presence or absence of desires. The meditator who still harbours desires is born into a wealthy family.
 
Desires are the biggest obstacles in meditation. Only when desires are extinguished can serious meditation begin. That is why this category of meditators is given the chance to fulfill his desires in a wealthy family.
 
The other rarer category of meditator had managed to extinguish his desires, but could not attain liberation because he ran out of time. Since he is not interested in fulfilling any desire, regardless of whether it is heavenly or earthly, he goes straight into a family of yogis after he dies. These yogis are not just accomplished meditators, they also possess “dheemata” or a keen understanding of the scriptures.
 
Such a family provides a conducive environment for this kind of meditator to continue his progress in meditation. He has enough dispassion in him and therefore does not get affected by the the absence of wealth in this new family. In fact he appreciates it because wealth can become a distraction in the path of meditation.
 
Now, do both these types of newly-born seekers have to start their journey from scratch? This is taken up by Shri Krishna in the next shloka.