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Bhagavad Gita Verse 27, Chapter 10

27 Thursday Sep 2012

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ucchaihshravasamashvaanaam viddhi maamamritodbhavam |
airaavatam gajendraanaam naraanaam cha naraadhipam || 27 ||
 
Among the horses, know me as Ucchaihshrava born of nectar. Among the elephants I am Airaavata, and among the humans I am the leader.
 
ucchaihshravasam : Ucchaihshrava
ashvaanaam : among the horses
viddhi : know
maam : me
amritodbhavam : born of nectar
airaavatam : Airaavata
gajendraanaam : among the elephants
naraanaam : among the humans
cha : and
naraadhipam : the leader
 
We continue to learn about Ishvara’s expressions in this shloka. The Puranaas describe the story of deities and demons churning the ocean for gaining the nectar of immortality. Before the nectar came out, several other divine entities emerged and Ucchaihshrava, the divine horse, was one of them. “Uchhai” means great and shravas means prosperity. Symbolically, Ucchaihshrava stands for the prosperity we attain when we put in focused effort and renounce our material desires. Shri Krishna says that among all the horses, the divine Ucchaihshrava is Ishvara’s expression.
 
Airaavata is a four-tusked white elephant who is the mount of Indra, king of the deities. He is credited with showering rain. His mother is Iravati, grand daughter of sage Kashyapa. Given his status, Shri Krishna says that among all the elephants, Airaavata is Ishvara’s expression.
 
Next, Shri Krishna turns to more familiar grounds by referencing humans. Among human beings, he says that Ishvara expresses in the leader. But this is not just any ordinary leader. Ishvara expresses himself in leaders whose accomplishments are a product of their hard work and effort, and whose leadership is in line with dharma or righteousness. It is easy to get name and fame by virtue of association or by performing unrighteous acts. This is not the leader that is referenced here.
 
So whenever we see the result of hard work, a humanitarian leader, or the cooling rain that parches a dry land, we should remember that all these are Ishvara’s expressions.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 26, Chapter 10

26 Wednesday Sep 2012

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ashvattaha sarvavrikshaanaam devarsheenaam cha naaradaha |
gandharvaanaam chitrarathaha siddhaanaam kapilo munihi || 26 ||
 
Among the trees I am Ashvattha, among the divine sages I am Naarada. Among the Gandharvas I am Chitraratha and among the Siddhas I am sage Kapila.
 
ashvattaha : Ashvattha
sarvavrikshaanaam : among the trees
devarsheenaam : among the divine sages
cha : and
naaradaha : Naarada
gandharvaanaam : among the Gandharvas
chitrarathaha : Chitraratha
siddhaanaam : among the Siddhas
kapilaha : Kapila
munihi : sage
 
Elaborating upon Ishvara’s expressions, Shri Krishna says that the Aswattha tree is Ishvara’s expression, as it is the foremost among trees. The Peepul tree, as it is more commonly known, is used to symbolically describe the human condition in the 15th chapter of the Gita. In India, women traditionally worship this tree for obtaining a good husband. In general, trees are given the status of saints in India. Like saints, trees always give back more to the world than they take.
 
We had already encountered Sage Naarada earlier in this chapter. Shri Krishna references Gandharvas next. Gandharvas are celestial beings who are accomplished singers, musicians and dancers. Among these, he considers Chitraratha foremost, and a manifestation of Ishvara. The word Chitraratha means one who has a wonderful chariot. In the Mahabhaarata, Chitraratha taught the fine arts to Arjuna, and advised the Paandavas to appoint a sage to guide them.
 
We now come to the notion of “siddhis”. A siddhi is a superhuman power. Most people are drawn to sages who demonstrate superhuman powers. But just because someone has superhuman powers does not necessarily mean that he has achieved liberation. Sage Kapila was one of those rare individuals who not only had superhuman powers but also had achieved liberation. He is credited as the originator of the Saankhya school of philosophy. he also delivered a sermon to his mother which is known as the Kapila Gita.

Bhagavat Gita Verse 9, Chapter 10

08 Saturday Sep 2012

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macchittaa madgatapraanaa bodhayantaha parasparam |
kathayantashcha maam nityam tushyanti cha ramanti cha || 9 ||
 
Their mind absorbed in me, their life force absorbed in me, educating each other and conversing with each other about me daily, they find contentment and delight.
 
macchittaa : their mind absorbed in me
madgatapraanaa : their life force absorbed in me
bodhayantaha : educating
parasparam : each other
kathayantaha : conversing
cha : and
maam : my
nityam : daily
tushyanti : contentment
ramanti : delight
 
Having described the state of avikampa yoga or the yoga of unwavering devotion, Shri Krishna now describes the state of the unwavering devotee. He says that their minds are always absorbed in contemplating Ishvara and their entire lives are submitted in extolling the virtues of Ishvara. This gives them an eternal source of joy and contentment.
 
The Swiss are known for running their trains with near-perfect precision. If the train has to leave the platform at 9:30 am, it will leave the station not one second earlier or later. So whenever we have to board a train in Switzerland, there will never be a doubt in our mind as to whether the train will be on time or not. Our faith in the precision of their train system is unshakeable.
 
Similarly, when we our faith in Ishvara becomes firm, we do not go running towards other sources of joy in the world. We recognize that the universe operates under Ishvara’s laws, and that any pleasant or unpleasant situations that we encounter are a result of our prior actions. They are not random or arbitrary. Our likes and dislikes will slowly thin down. We will take every situation as a learning experience and keep our focus on Ishvara.
 
Shri Krishna says that when devotees gain such a strong faith and conviction in Ishvara, they do not think about anything else. Like cricket fans who eat, sleep, breathe and talk about cricket, the devotees converse about Ishvara, educate each other about Ishvara and dedicate their mind and senses to Ishvara.
 
Why do they do this? They only find contentment and joy in Ishvara since they do not need to run towards material objects for happiness. They revel in Ishvara. This is the difference between an ordinary seeker and a serious seeker. An ordinary seeker is interested in Ishvara “also”, whereas a serious seeker is interested in Ishvara “only”.
 
When such tremendous devotion is poured into Ishvara, the result should be something extraordinary. What is it? This is taken up next.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 28, Chapter 9

23 Thursday Aug 2012

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shubhaashubhaphalairevam mokshyase karmabandhanaihi |
sannyaasayogayuktaatmaa vimukto maamupaishyasi || 28 ||
 
In this manner, you will be free from the bonds of action and their auspicious and inauspicious results. Having engaged in this yoga of renunciation, you will be liberated and attain me.
 
shubhaashubha : auspicious and inauspicious
phalaihi : results
evam : in this manner
mokshyase : will be free
karmabandhanaihi : from bonds of action
sannyaasayoga : yoga of renunciation
yuktaatmaa : engaged in
vimuktaha : becoming liberated
maam : me
upaishyasi : you will attain
 
What happens when we incorporate worship into our life? Shri Krishna says that we shall be free of the results of action. Our actions give us results in the form of joy, sorrow, profit, loss, win, loss. Freedom from results leads to liberation and attainment of Ishvara. This is the ultimate result of living a worshipful life.
 
This shloka takes us back to the topic of renunciation. In an earlier portion of the Gita, Shri Krishna had redefined “sannyaasa” or renunciation as giving up of the attitude of doership, not the giving up of action and retiring to a hermitage. By submitting our actions and their results in Ishvara hands, we automatically attain renunciation because we have come to know that it is Ishvara who is doing and enjoying everything.
 
As an illustration, let’s consider our boss at work. If we do not have confidence in our boss’s authority and his ability to lead us, our job becomes complicated, heavy and burdensome. Before we begin a task, we are worried whether we are doing the right things, and also fear the consequences of making a mistake. But if we trust our boss’s authority and his ability to give us right direction, we work effortlessly and fearlessly knowing that we are carrying out the boss’s command, and that he will take care of us if something goes wrong.
 
Similarly, once we realize that it is the infinite Ishvara that is directing everything, our actions automatically become effortless and fearless. It is like working for the most powerful CEO or the most powerful President, it gives us that kind of a confidence and peace of mind. We know that Ishvara is making us do the right things, and that he will take responsibility for the results and the consequences.
 
Now, if Ishvara is running everything, does that mean that he is partial to those who surrender to him and those who do not? This is taken up next.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 3, Chapter 7

28 Monday May 2012

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manushyaanaam sahastreshu kashchidyatati sidhhaye |
yatataamapi siddhaanaam kaschinmaam vetti tattvataha || 3 ||
 
Among thousands of people, perhaps one strives for success. Among those successful strivers, perhaps only one knows me in essence.
 
manushyaanaam : among people
sahastreshu : thousands
kashchit : perhaps one
yatati : strives
sidhhaye : success
yatataam : among those strivers
api : only
siddhaanaam : successful
kaschit : perhaps one
maam : me
vetti : knows
tattvataha : in essence
 
Shri Krishna introduced this chapter by saying that he will reveal his true nature to Arjuna, which comprises both knowledge and wisdom. He also said that by knowing this, nothing else will remain to be known. Given the powerful nature of this knowledge, one would hope that everyone would seek this knowledge rather than running after new sources of knowledge everyday. But this is not the case. Here, he says that those who seek this knowledge are extremely rare in this world.
 
Let us look at the language used in the shloka. The word “sahasra” literally means thousands, but used in this context, it means innumerable or an extremely large quantity. So the shloka then reads: out of innumerable people, only one strives for success in liberation. Out of those few strivers, only one knows Shri Krishna in his essence.
 
Here, we can raise a doubt and say: what about the millions of people who go the the temple everyday? They worship Ishvara in his numerous forms. Many people observe fasts. Many people have a little temple in their homes. Many people conduct religious ceremonies where they donate food and other items. So how can it be said that only few people know Ishvara?
 
This doubt can be answered by looking at the last part of the shloka where Shri Krishna says that he has to be known in his essential nature. Most of the people mentioned earlier worship Ishvara, but they tend to have a partial understanding of what Ishvara really is. That is why Shri Krishna devoted almost a third of the Gita in describing his essential nature.
 
Having introduced the topic of Ishvara, Shri Krishna begins the main portion in the next shloka.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 38, Chapter 6

15 Tuesday May 2012

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kashchinnobhayavibhrashtashchinnabhramiva nashyati |
apratishtha mahaabaaho vimoodhaa brahmanam pathi || 38 ||
 
Unsuccessful in both ways, with no worldly glory, distracted in the spiritual path, doesn’t the seeker get destroyed like a scattered cloud, O mighty armed?
 
kashchit : doesn’t
ubhaya : both
vibhrashtaha : unsuccessful (seeker)
chinnabhram : scattered cloud
iva : like
nashyati : destroyed
apratishtha : without any worldly glory
mahaabaaho : O mighty armed
vimoodhaha : distracted
brahmana : spiritual
pathi : path
 
Arjuna further elaborates upon his question to Shri Krishna with regards to the promise of meditation. To understand this better, let’s examine a saying in Hindi : “dhobi ka kutta, na ghar kaa na ghaat kaa”. Loosely translated, it refers to a situation where someone has two jobs but because he cannot do either job properly, he loses from both sides in the end.
 
Arjuna wanted Shri Krishna to tell him whether someone who follows the spiritual path, but is not able to attain fulfillment, ends up in a similar situation. Arjuna uses the analogy of a cloud that neither provides rain, nor does it vanish. This in-between situation makes it an easy target for winds to scatter the cloud from one place to another.
 
If we were to frame this as an economic problem, Arjuna is speaking about opportunity cost, which is the loss incurred in one activity by spending time in another activity. If the seeker devotes a large amount of his time and effort towards meditation, but fails to attain the desired outcome, is it worth it? He could have very easily have devoted this time to worldly pursuits and obtained wealth, status and thereby secured his worldly position.
 
Instead, the seeker is “ubhaya-vibhrashta” or unsuccessful from both sides. One side is “apratishtha” or lack of worldly glory, and the other is “vimoodha brahmana pathi” or distracted in progress on the spiritual path. Arjuna, the pragmatic soldier, does not want to get into such a compromising position. He adds one more element to this question in the next shloka, after which he lets Shri Krishna answer.
 

Bhagavad Gita Verse 37, Chapter 6

14 Monday May 2012

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Arjuna uvaacha:
ayatihi shraddhayopeto yogaachchalitamaanasaha |
apraapya yogasamsiddhim kaam gatim krishna gachchati || 37 ||
 
Arjuna said:
The unsuccessful seeker, endowed with faith, whose mind deviates from yoga, and has not attained perfection in yoga, what is his situation, O Krishna?
 
ayatihi : unsuccessful seeker
shraddhaa : faith
upetaha : endowed with
yogaat : yoga
chalitamaanasaha : deviates mind
apraapya : not obtained
yogasamsiddhim : perfection in yoga
kaam : what
gatim : situation
krishna : O Krishna
gachchati : attain
 
Arjuna’s first question around the difficulty of controlling the mind was resolved by Shri Krishna. Now Arjuna asked another question: what happens when a seeker is striving to meditate faithfully and diligently, but is unable to reach the state of the perfected meditator in his lifetime?
 
Attaining perfection in meditation is a long and arduous journey. Most seekers start on the spiritual path only after they have established themselves in their careers, which is a late start. Once they have begin, purification of the mind through karma yoga takes time. Hearing and reflection on the scriptures takes still more time. All in all, even if a seeker is sincere, it is going to take a long time to attain the goal of meditation.
 
Taking this into account, Arjuna formulates his question to Shri Krishna. He gives an example of a seeker who has managed to purify his mind to a great extent, but still has a small amount of desire left. This seeker may have comprehended that his true nature is the eternal essence, but is not able to remain established in that state. So the question is : what happens to such an “almost perfect” seeker?
 
The honest nature of this question shows to us the candid and open relationship between Arjuna and Shri Krishna. In effect, he is asking his teacher whether or not it is worth pursuing the spiritual path. It is a pragmatic question that many of us fear or fail to ask before pursuing undertakings in the material world, let alone in the spiritual path.
 
Arjuna further expands upon this question in the next shloka.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 20, Chapter 5

23 Friday Mar 2012

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na prahrishyetapriyam praapya nodvijetpraapya chaapriyam |
sthirabuddhirasammoodho brahmavid brahmani sthitaa || 20 ||

Having obtained a desirable situation, he does not get elated; nor does he get perturbed if it is undesirable. The person of steady intellect is never deluded; the knower of the eternal essence is established in the eternal essence.

na : does not
prahrishyet : get elated
priyam : desirable
praapya : obtains
na : does not
udvijet : get perturbed
praapya : obtains
cha : and
apriyam : undesirable
sthirabuddhih : with steady intellect
asammoodhaha : without delusion
brahmavid : the knower of the eternal essence
brahmani : in the eternal essence
sthitaa : is established

In this shloka, Shri Krishna emphasizes the realized seeker’s outlook towards situations in the material world. Like any other person, the realized seeker encounters pleasant and unpleasant situations. He cannot avoid them. But the difference is that these situations do not destabilize the realized seeker. In other words, they do not cause elation or depression.

Usually, when something undesirable happens to someone that we do not know, it does not affect us. But if it happens to us – say we fall sick – it affects us deeply. But the wise person has transcended the ego. He recognizes that every situation is part of nature. In nature, elements are interacting with the elements in multiple configurations. Once he has this vision, happenings of the world do not impact the realized seeker.

It is important to note that situations, both good and bad, have their place in our lives. Unpleasant experiences are useful from relative world perspective because they usually have a lesson embedded within them. With each unpleasant situation the emotion of sadness will arise. But in a realized seeker there will be a space between the emotion and the self. For example, if we are on a boat, the ups and downs of the sea will impact us. But if we are standing on a rock on the shore, the ups and downs of sea do not affect us.

Why do realized seekers remain unperturbed? Their understanding of the eternal essence has become stable and firm. They have become “sthitha prajnya”. They are free from the delusion of doership and enjoyership. Initially, when this knowledge is first gained, it stays on the surface. We experience the eternal essence sporadically, for a brief instance, then immediately go back into identification with the body/mind/intellect.

So therefore, the one who constantly maintains the identification of the eternal essence becomes one with the eternal essence. He remains a pure witness of the ups and downs of the material world.

Footnotes

1. Tulsidas has said that the ocean remains same in rain or drought, but a small lake overflows and dries up. It is a simple yet powerful example of the different between a realized seeker’s vision and an ordinary person’s vision.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 6, Chapter 5

09 Friday Mar 2012

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sannyaasastu mahaabaaho duhkhamaaptumayogataha |
yogayukto munirbrahma nachirenaadhigachchati || 6 ||

For renunciation, O mighty-armed, is difficult to attain without yoga. The contemplative person established in yoga swiftly attains the eternal essence.

sannyaasaha : renunciation
tu : for
mahaabaaho : O mighty-armed
duhkham : difficult
aaptum : to obtain
ayogataha : without yoga
yogayuktaha : established in yoga
munih : contemplative person
brahma : eternal essence
nachirena : swiftly
adhigachchati : attains

In this shloka, Shri Krishna says that for a seeker that has not fully exhausted his desires, bypassing the first stage of karmayoga will make attainment of the eternal essence difficult. The best option is to start with karmayoga, because like the yoga of knowledge, it too will yield the same result of self-realization.

To understand this, let us examine a different question: Why are there so few PhDs in the world? It takes a certain kind of person to obtain a PhD. One has to be ready to spend most of their life in a lab. One has to do what it takes to get their experiment right. They have to survive on their petty stipend for several years. And all this is for the sole objective of discovering something that benefits mankind.

Similarly, not many people can minimize their worldly activities so much that they retire to an ashram to gain knowledge from a teacher. For most of us, the pull of our desires is so strong that we will continue to work in this world. Therefore, liberation has to come from our actions, not through renunciation.

Furthermore, Shri Krishna also mentions a caveat about action. One should not perform actions just like that. Karmayoga advocates thoughtful action, where one thinks before one acts. The biggest obstacle in moving forward spiritually is our ego. It creates selfish desires that move us towards the material world. So when we performs actions thoughtfully, in other words, when we ensure that our actions are performed without attachment towards the result, our selfish desires automatically get slowly eliminated.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 41, Chapter 4

02 Friday Mar 2012

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yogasannyastakarmaanam jnyaanasanchinnasanshayam |
aatmavantam na karmaani nibhandanti dhananjaya || 41 ||

One who has renounced actions through yoga, one who has severed all doubts through knowledge, such a self-poised person is not bound by actions, O conqueror of wealth.

yoga : yoga
sannyasta: one who has renounced
karmaanam : actions
jnyaana : knowledge
sanchinna : severed
sanshayam : all doubts
aatmavantam : self-poised
na : do not
karmaani : actions
nibhandanti : bind
dhananjaya : O conqueror of wealth

Shri Krishna now begins to conclude the fourth chapter with this shloka. He re-emphasizes that one who follows the path of karma-sanyaasa, or renunciation of action, is liberated from all bondage. He refers to Arjuna as Dhananjaya, which means conqueror of wealth, because Arjuna had accumulated massive wealth from conquests of kingdoms. Also, he had gained wealth in the form of knowledge from Shri Krishna.

One who has attained the knowledge of self-realization acts without a sense of doership and enjoyership of action. It is important to note that renunciation of action refers to renunciation of doership and enjoyership, not renunciation of the action itself. Actions continue to happen. Furthermore, this yoga or prescribed methodology needs to be learned from a teacher, it is difficult to learn on one’s own.

Shri Krishna also reiterates the knowledge of self realization dispels all doubts in the seeker’s mind. Till this knowledge is attained, doubts such as who is the doer of action, who is the enjoyer of results, what is the relation of the self to action will remain. One who has gained this knowledge and dispelled all such doubts is called “aatmavant” or one who has gained knowledge of our own self.

A classic example here is that the space in a pot thinks that it is the pot. Once it knows that it is space, it immediately realizes that it is not subject to modifications like big or small, brown or white, moving or stationary and so on. From that point on, any change to the pot will not affect the space in the pot. Similarly, once our doubts vanish, our actions will not bind us.