Category Archives: iti

Bhagavad Gita Verse 41, Chapter 11

24 Saturday Nov 2012

Posted by in 11.41, api, chapter 11 verse 41, he, idam, iti, krishna, mahimaanam, matvaa, mayaa, pramaadaat, pranayena, prasabham, sakhaa, tava, uktam, vaa, yaadava ajaanataa, yat

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sakheti matvaa prasabham yaduktam he krishna he yaadava he sakheti |
ajaanataa mahimaanam tavedam mayaa praamadaatpranayena vaapi || 41 ||
 
Thinking of you as a friend, I addressed you rashly as O Krishna, O Yaadava, O friend. Not knowing your greatness, I said it in this manner out of carelessness or also out of affection.
 
sakhaa : friend
iti : in this manner
matvaa : thinking
prasabham : rashly
yat : whatever
uktam : said
he : O
krishna : Krishna
yaadava : Yaadava
ajaanataa : not knowing
mahimaanam : greatness
tava : your
idam : this
mayaa : I
pramaadaat : in carelessness
pranayena : in affection
vaa : or
api : also
 
Arjuna and Shri Krishna were childhood friends. Growing up together, Arjuna never realized the divine nature of Shri Krishna’s birth. He had treated him as he would treat any other friend of his. Now, having understood his divine nature having viewed the cosmic form, he wanted to acknowledge his ill-treatment of Shri Krishna, and beg for forgiveness for all the times he had acted imprudently. After all he was Arjuna, whose name meant “one who is extremely straight-forward”.
 
In Arjuna’s time, just like in the present time, insults with respect to people’s skin colour or caste were quite popular. Arjuna recounts his insults to Shri Krishna where he used to call him dark-skinned, refer to his caste, or call him a friend instead of a more respectable title. And like any of us, his intellect knew that insulting anyone was not the right thing to do, but he did it anyway. Knowing this well, Arjuna owned up to his ignorance, carelessness and rash behaviour.
 
But Arjuna also gave another side of the story. Although he did insult Shri Krishna out of carelessness in some instances, there were other instances when he did it out of sheer affection for his friend. When there is affection from both sides between friends, it is totally acceptable to insult each other. Arjuna was going to ask for forgiveness very soon, and hoped that Shri Krishna would keep this side of the story in his mind.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 4, Chapter 11

18 Thursday Oct 2012

Posted by in 11.4, aatmaanam, avyayam, chapter 11 verse 4, darshaya, drishtum, iti, manyase, mayaa, me, prabho, shakayam, tat, tataha, tvam, yadi, yogeshvara

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manyase yadi tachchakayam mayaa drishtumiti prabho |
yogeshvara tato me tvam darshayaatmaanamavyayam || 4 ||
 
O Lord, if you think that it is possible for this to be seen by me, then O Yogeshvara, you show me your undivided form.
 
manyase : you think
yadi : if
tat : that
shakayam : possible
mayaa : by me
drishtum : seen
iti : this
prabho : O Lord
yogeshvara : O Yogeshvara
tataha : then
me : me
tvam : you
darshaya : show
aatmaanam : your
avyayam : undivided form
 
We come across another aspect of Arjuna’s request in this shloka. Imagine the plight of an movie actor who is absolutely devoted to his craft. He has worked day and nights for a whole year in a movie as a supporting actor. After the shooting ends, he is filled with a burning desire to see the entire movie. Why so? It is because he has only seen the bits and pieces of the movie that he was involved with, and he is not satisfied unless he sees it as a single story, end to end.
 
Likewise, Arjuna is no longer content with seeing bits and pieces of Ishvara’s expressions. He wants to see how it all comes together as one undivided entity. This is indicated by Arjuna’s use of the word “avyayam” which means undivided, without any discontinuity. And like the only person who can reveal the whole movie is the director, the only person that can reveal the undivided nature of the universe is the “prabhu”, the governor, master and controller.
 
Now, Arjuna knows that he has to approach Shri Krishna with humility. That’s why he politely says: “show me that form only if you think that I am qualified to see it”. Morever, Arjuna does not want to imagine it or dream it up, he wants to see it with his eyes, with his “drishti”. He also refers to Shri Krishna as “yogeshwara”, the teacher of several yogas in the Gita such as karma yoga, dhyana yoga, jnyana yoga and bhakti yoga. The yoga in “Vibhooti yoga” is the power that creates variety in the one undivided Ishvara.
 
So, does Shri Krishna agree to this request? We shall see next.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 8, Chapter 10

07 Friday Sep 2012

Posted by in 10.8, aham, bhaavasamanvitaahaa, bhajante, budhaahaa, chapter 10 verse 8, iti, maam, mattaha, matvaa, prabhavaha, pravartate, sarvam, sarvasya

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aham sarvasya prabhavo mattaha sarvam pravartate |
iti matvaa bhajante maam budhaa bhaavasamanvitaahaa || 8 ||
 
I am the cause of everything, everything originates from me. Realizing this, wise individuals filled with this attitude worship me.
 
aham : I
sarvasya : everything
prabhavaha : cause
mattaha : from me
sarvam : everything
pravartate : originates
iti : this
matvaa : realizing
bhajante : worship
maam : me
budhaahaa : wise individuals
bhaavasamanvitaahaa : filled with this attitude
 
“Avikampena yoga”, the unwavering, unshakeable yoga, is defined by Shri Krishna as knowing that Ishvara is the cause of everything, and that everything originates from Ishvara. Those who have established themselves in this yoga are “budhaa”, they are wise. They only worship or contemplate upon Ishvara, remaining unaffected by the ups and downs in life.
 
Imagine an adult and a child walking inside a haunted house within an amusement park. Though both of them see and hear the same things, they have different reactions. The child thinks that the ghosts and the eerie noises are real and becomes afraid. The adult knows that everything inside is fake, it is unreal. So enjoys the thrill of the haunted house without being afraid.
 
The difference between the adult and the child is that the adult has knowledge about the cause of the ghosts and the noises. Similarly, Shri Krishna says that one who knows Ishvara as the cause of everything will develop an extremely positive attitude towards life. He will take failures as learning opportunities, not as triggers for depression. He will never question why something bad happened to him, knowing that it is a result of his prior actions.
 
One who has developed such an outlook towards life will worship Ishvara at all times. This is indicated by the worlds “maam bhajante”. He will experience sorrow only if he forgets that Ishvara is the cause of everything. When one has understood that Ishvara, as the cause of everything, also is the ultimate goal, then they become totally immersed in Ishvara, as described in the next shloka.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 6, Chapter 9

01 Wednesday Aug 2012

Posted by in 9.6, aakaashasthitaha, bhootaani, chapter 9 verse 6, iti, mahaan, matsthaani, nityam, sarvaani, sarvatragaha, tathaa, upadhaaraya, vaayuhu, yathaa

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yathaakaashasthito nityam vaayuhu sarvatrago mahaan |
tathaa sarvaani bhootaani matsthaaneetyupadhaaraya || 6 ||
 
Just like the mighty wind travels everywhere, established in space, so too, all beings reside in me, understand this.
 
yathaa : just like
aakaashasthitaha : established in space
nityam : eternally
vaayuhu : wind
sarvatragaha : travels everywhere
mahaan : mighty
tathaa : so do
sarvaani : all
bhootaani : beings
matsthaani : reside in me
iti : in this manner
upadhaaraya : understand this
 
The key teaching of the chapter is that Ishvara pervades everything, that all beings are sustained by Ishvara but Ishvara is not contained in any of them. To illustrate these statements, Shri Krishna compares Ishvara to space. He says that space enables everything to exist within it, like wind, for example. In the same way, all living and non-living entities dwell in Ishvara.
 
First, let us understand the nature of space. It is indivisible, which means that even if we try to divide it by building walls, we cannot do so. It does not get affected by what it contains. A flower generates fragrance when fresh and odour when it decays. But both those qualities do not get transferred to space, since space has no qualities. It also pervades everything. Over 99% of an atom is empty space. And it is infinite. No object can ever contain space.
 
Similarly, Shri Krishna says that Ishvara is infinite, indivisible, pervades everything, and remains unaffected by what he sustains. How does this help us? Knowing that Ishvara is everywhere reduces our sorrow, delusion, fear, likes and dislikes. If everything is Ishvara, and if we also know that we are in Ishvara, there is nothing to fear or like or dislike. That is how we get liberated.
 
There is a story in the Ishvaavaasya Upanishad. The gods tried to have a race with Ishvara. But wherever they ended up, Ishvara was already there. Another interpretation of this story is that the senses also tried to outrun Ishvara, but could not. It is like trying to race with space. It is a futile effort, because space is all-pervading. So is Ishvara.
 
Now, just like we see the blue sky with our eyes, we also see things and people on this earth being created and destroyed. We know that the blue colour is an illusion, but do we really understand that creation and dissolution is an illusion as well? This is taken up next.

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.
 

Bhagavad Gita Verse 13, Chapter 8

10 Tuesday Jul 2012

Posted by in 8.13, anusmaran, brahma, chapter 8 verse 13, deham, ekaaksharam, gatim, iti, maam, om, paramaam, prayaati, saha, tyajan, vyaaharan, yaati, yaha

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omityekaaksharam brahma vyaaharanmaamnusmaran |
yaha prayaati tyajandeham sa yaati paramaam gatim || 13 ||
 
He who departs the body while chanting Om, which is the one-syllable (name of) brahman, and also remembers me, he attains the supreme state.
 
om : Om
iti : this
ekaaksharam : one-syllable
brahma : brahman
vyaaharan : chanting
maam : my
anusmaran : rememberance
yaha : he who
prayaati : departs
tyajan : leaving
deham : body
saha : he
yaati : attains
paramaam : supreme
gatim : state
 
The sound “Om” has been praised in the scriptures as an indicator of brahman, the eternal essence. Shri Krishna concludes the second technique of meditation, meditation on the name of Ishvara, by saying that one who performs meditation on the sound of Om attains Ishvara during the time of departure.
 
Like we saw in the previous instance, the symbolic meaning of this shloka also uses death as a metaphor to indicate death of the ego. Therefore, meditation on the sound of Om helps the seeker sever his connection to the finite ego and take him towards the infinite eternal essence.
 
The key thing, however, is to associate the sound “Om” to our understanding of Ishvara. In other words, meditation on the sound of Om without associating it to our favourite deity will not yield any result. In fact, Adi Shankaraachaarya in his commentary says that meditation on Om should only be performed by one who has diligently heard (“shravana”) and analyzed (“mananam”) the knowledge of the eternal essence. This is why Shri Krishna adds “remember me as Ishvara” to the instruction that we chant Om.
 
To recap, the first technique was meditation upon the grand cosmic form of Ishvara, and the second technique was meditation upon Om. However, both techniques require us to develop control of our praanaas. Recognizing this, Shri Krishna provides an easier third technique in the next shloka.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 6, Chapter 8

03 Tuesday Jul 2012

Posted by in 8.6, ante, bhaavam, bhaavitaha, chapter 8 verse 6, eva, iti, kalevaram, kaunteya, sadaa, smaran, tadbhaava, tam, tyajati, vaa api, yam

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yam yam vaapi smaranbhaavam tyajante kalevaram |
tam tamevaiti kaunteya sadaa tadbhaavabhaavitaha || 6 ||
 
When (one) thinks of whatever state, while leaving the body at the end, O Kaunteya, (one) always having been absorbed in that, attains only that.
 
yam : whichever
vaa api : any
smaran : thinking
bhaavam : state
tyajati : leave
ante : at the end
kalevaram : body
tam : that
eva : only
iti : that
kaunteya : O Kaunteya
sadaa : always
tadbhaava : having thought of it
bhaavitaha : attains
 
The Srimad Bhagavatam contains the story of the great king Bharata. He was an accomplished king. He ran his kingdom well during his lifetime, and later retired into the forest to lead a life of austerity. But he developed a soft corner for a baby deer and became so attached to it that he would only think of the deer instead of focusing on his austerities. It is said that in his next life, he was born as a deer.
 
In this shloka, Shri Krishna asserts that whatever we think about at the time of death will determine our fate. But more importantly, he also states that the thought at the time of death is not really something that we can control. It is in fact, an outcome of our pattern of thinking throughout our lives.
 
If we examine our thoughts over the course of our day, we will notice a great variety of thinking. For most of us it will be a mix of mostly family-related and work-related thoughts, mixed with some thoughts about spirituality. But in the background, we will always have a thought that is going on all the time. It will come to the forefront when we are alone, or when we have opened our eyes after sleeping, but not fully woken up. For King Bharata, that persistent background thought was that of the deer.
 
So then, our deepest love, our deepest interest and our deepest longing will bear fruit in our next life. Having known this, what should we now do? This is taken up next.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 19, Chapter 7

15 Friday Jun 2012

Posted by in 7.19, ante, bahoonaam, chapter 7 verse 19, iti, janmanaam, jnyaanavaan, maam, mahaatmaa, prapadyate, saha, sarvam, sudurlabhaha, vaasudevaha

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bahoonaam janmanaamante jnyaanavaanmaam prapadyate |
vaasudevaha sarvamiti sa mahaatmaa sudurlabhaha || 19 ||
 
At the end of several births, the wise one seeks my refuge knowing that Vaasudev is everything. Such an individual is supreme and extremely rare.
 
bahoonaam : several
janmanaam : births
ante : end of
jnyaanavaan : the wise one
maam : my
prapadyate : seeks refuge
vaasudevaha : Vaasudev
sarvam : everything is
iti : in this manner
saha : he
mahaatmaa : supreme individual
sudurlabhaha : extremely rare
 
Shri Krishna previously pointed out that the wise devotee is special because he does not use Ishvara to gain anything else but Ishvara. He treats Ishvara no different than his own self. Here, Shri Krishna emphasizes the fact that such people, who know that the ultimate cause of everything is Ishvara, are extremely rare and exalted. In fact, it has taken them several lives worth of effort to get to this stage.
 
Let us examine the nature of this effort that has led to this vision of the wise devotee. This effort is of two types – the dawning of knowledge that there is a single cause behind everything, and the surrender of one’s ego to that single cause or Ishvara. There is no specific order in which these can happen first, but both are necessary. The individual who has gone through so much effort to get to this stage is most certainly rare and privileged.
 
Now, we need to be careful in how we interpret the second half of this shloka. “Vaasudev” means one who resides in all, as well as one in whom everything and everyone resides. In other words, the phrase “Vaasudev is everything” denotes “Ishvara is everything”. If we get stuck with the image of “Vaasudev”, if we forget that Vaasudev is an indicator for the one Ishvara, we will begin to develop a fanatic attitude towards people who worship other deities.
 
Next, Shri Krishna elaborates on the topic of worship for finite gain.

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 6, Chapter 7

31 Thursday May 2012

Posted by in 7.6, aham, bhootaani, chapter 7 verse 6, etat, iti, jagataha, kritsnasya, prabhavaha, pralayaha, sarvaani, tathaa, upadhaaraya, yoneeni

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etadyoneeni bhootaani sarvaaneetyupadhaaraya |
aham kritsnasya jagataha prabhavaha pralayastathaa || 6 ||
 
Both these are the wombs of all beings, understand this. I am the source as well as the dissolution of the entire universe.
 
etat : both these
yoneeni : wombs
bhootaani : beings
sarvaani : all
iti : this
upadhaaraya : understand
aham : I
kritsnasya : entire
jagataha : universe
prabhavaha : source
pralayaha : dissolution
tathaa : as well as
 
Having described both his lower and higher nature, Shri Krishna says both those natures combine to create everything in this universe. This creation is described poetically as the “womb” from which everything originates. The lower nature and higher nature are both needed to create this universe. Furthermore, everything that is created is also sustained and ultimately dissolved into Ishvara. In other words, Ishvara creates, maintains and dissolves the entire universe.
 
Let us now understand the deeper meaning of this shloka. But before we proceed, let us first understand what is meant by cause and effect. When we hold a piece of cloth, what do we see? We see its color, its texture, its shape and so on. But if were to go back in time, we would see that cloth come from cotton threads, which came from a cotton plant, which came from a cotton seed, which at some point came from the earth. So the cause of the cloth was the earth, and the effect is the cloth.
 
Unfortunately, our minds have been conditioned to focus on the effect, and not on the cause. We see the cloth and its attributes, but do not even think about the cause, because that requires our intellect to come into the picture. Most economic, social and political movements tend to fail because they only focus on the symptoms and not the cause. For example, imprisoning small-time drug dealers does not stop the drug trade, because the demand for drugs will push some other person into dealing drugs.
 
Now let us look at this shloka from the standpoint of cause and effect. If we were to trace the ultimate cause of anything in this universe, it eventually comes back to Ishvara’s lower and higher natures. Therefore, Shri Krishna is asserting the fact that Ishvara is everywhere. Even though our eyes cannot see the form of a deity in front of us, our intellect will tell us that the ultimate cause is Ishvara. Our eyes give us jnyaanam or knowledge of the effect, our intellect provides us with vijnyaanam, which is the vision of the cause.
 
In mythology, this intellectual vision is depicted as the “third eye” of Lord Shiva that turns everything into ashes. This eye is a metaphor for developing equanimity of vision. If we learn to behold Ishvara as the cause of every object that we see, we will automatically begin to see Ishvara everywhere. So therefore, this shloka urges us to exercise our intellect so that we can see Ishvara everywhere.
 
Seeing Ishvara in everything is a huge milestone in the spiritual path. What is the next milestone?