Category Archives: iva

Bhagavad Gita Verse 7, Chapter 7

03 Sunday Jun 2012

Posted by in 7.7, anyat, asti, chapter 7 verse 7, dhananjaya, idam, iva, kinchit, maniganaaha, mataha, mayi, na, parataram, protam, sarvam, sootre

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mataha parataram naanyatkinchidasti dhananjaya |
mayi sarvamidam protam sootre maniganaa iva || 7 ||
 
Beyond me there is none other, not even a little. Like beads are pervaded by string, all this is in me.
 
mataha : my
parataram : beyond
na : no
anyat : none other
kinchit : even a little
asti : is
dhananjaya : O Dhananjaya
mayi : in me
sarvam : all
idam : this
protam : pervaded
sootre : on a string
maniganaaha : beads
iva : like
 
In this chapter, Shri Krishna urges us to see Ishvara as the ultimate cause of everything in this universe. To illustrate this point, he poetically portrayed Ishvara as the womb or the seed of everything, enabling us to develop the vision by which we can see Ishvara in everything. In this shloka, he makes us leap to a whole new level of vision by which we can not just see Ishvara in everything, but see everything in Ishvara.
 
Shri Krishna addresses Arjuna as the dhananjaya, the conquerer of wealth, and makes a bold statement. He says that other than Ishvara, there is nothing in this universe. This means Ishvara alone exists in the universe. Other than him, there is nothing else. Through a process that will be taken up in the next topic, we see this universe of names and forms instead of Ishvara.
 
The shloka provides a necklace as an illustration. This necklace comprises a string and a series of knots in the string, which appear as beads. So, if we were to view this necklace, we would register it as a string and beads. But our intellect would tell us that it is nothing but the string with some modifications in the form of beads.
 
Similarly, Shri Krishna says that Ishvara pervades the entire universe just like this string pervades the entire necklace. When we apply our intellect, the necklace and the beads disappear, as it were, and only the string remains. Each bead contains the string, but the string contains all the beads. In other words, the string is all-pervading. With the knowledge that Shri Krishna imparts in this chapter, we should strive for piercing through the world of names and forms and only seeing Ishvara.
 
Is there a practical advantage to viewing the world in this manner? If we can begin to develop this vision, then all our so-called problems with objects, people and situations will disappear, because we will realize that the ultimate cause of everything is Ishvara. If everything is Ishvara, there is no concept of any duality, including joy or sorrow. It is all Ishvara.
 
Shri Krishna understands that such a vision is hard to develop. Our vision is used to seeing the tangible and not the intangible. So in order to help us in this path, he gives us some pointers that will help us see his glories or vibhootis.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 38, Chapter 6

15 Tuesday May 2012

Posted by in apratishtha, brahmana, chapter 6 verse 38, chinnabhram, http://schemas.google.com/blogger/2008/kind#post, iva, kashchit, mahaabaaho, nashyati, pathi, ubhaya, vibhrashtaha

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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 34, Chapter 6

08 Tuesday May 2012

Posted by in aham, balavat, chanchalam, chapter 6 verse 34, drudham, hi, iva, krishna, manaha, manye, nigraham, pramaathi, sudushkaram, tasya, vaayoho

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chanchalam hi manaha krishna pramaathi balavaddrudham |
tasyaaham nigraham manye vaayoriva sudushkaram || 34 ||
 
For, the mind is fickle, rebellious, strong and stubborn, O Krishna. To control it, I think, is as arduous as the wind.
 
chanchalam : fickle
hi : for
manaha : mind is
krishna : O Krishna
pramaathi : rebellious
balavat : strong
drudham : stubborn
tasya : it
aham : I
nigraham : control
manye : think
vaayoho : the wind
iva : like
sudushkaram : arduous
 
Arjuna further elaborates on the difficulty of controlling the mind for meditation to Shri Krishna. He says that it is as difficult as trying to harness the wind. Why is that so? The mind is fickle, rebellious, strong and stubborn. It will refuse any attempt to be controlled.
 
Shri Krishna had acknowledged the fickle nature of the mind in previous shlokas. We oursleves have directly experienced how fickle our mind is. Most of the time, our mind is jumping from one thought to another. Many analogies have been offered to illustrate this fickle nature of the mind. The most common one is a drunken monkey jumping from one branch to another. We can also tell how fickle someone’s mind is by observing their eyes. If they dart around too much, that means their mind is racing through thoughts.
 
Next, Arjuna says that the mind is “pramaathi”. It is difficult to exactly translate this world. The closest word is “rebellious”. It is like a wild horse that is being tamed for the first time. it will never let the rider stay on its back for more than a few seconds. Trying to control the mind becomes a wrestling match where the opponent does not let us get a good grip on him.
 
Furthermore, Arjuna refers to the mind as strong and stubborn. In other words, once the “mind is made up”, or the mind has decided that it wants a certain thing, it is very hard to change it. It is like a child throwing a tantrum – it will cry, yell and scream till it gets its way. The mind will resist all efforts to be controlled, and will start creating a list of desires which will throw us completely off track.
 
So therefore, Arjuna sums up the difficulty of controlling the mind by comparing this endeavour to taming the wind – something that is next to impossible. Coming from Arjuna, a mighty meditator who is said to have propitiated Lord Shiva through his meditation, makes it a valid question. Shri Krishna responds to Arjuna’s question in the next shloka.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 10, Chapter 5

13 Tuesday Mar 2012

Posted by in 5.10, aadhaaya, ambhasaa, brahmani, chapter 5 verse 10, iva, karmaani, karoti, lipyate, na, paapena, padma-patram, saga, sangam, tyaktvaa, yaha

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brahmanyaadhaaya karmaani sangam tvyaktvaa karoti yaha |
lipyate na sa paapena padmapatramivaambhasaa || 10 ||

Having offered all actions to the eternal essence, and having cast off attachments, he who performs actions does not get tainted by sins, just like water does not taint a lotus leaf.

brahmani : eternal essence
aadhaaya : offered
karmaani : all actions
sangam : attachment
tvyaktvaa : cast off
karoti : perform action
yaha : one who
lipyate : taint
na : do not
saha : him
paapena : sins
padma-patram : lotus leaf
iva : like
ambhasaa : water

Previously, we came across the vision of one who has realized the self. He knows that he is not the doer of all his actions. But what about the one who has not realized the self, and who is still working to sublimate his selfish desires? What is his vision?

In this shloka, Shri Krishna says that the person who has not realized the self (that includes most of us) offers all actions in a spirit of devotion to Ishvara. Shri Krishna reiterates that if one has selfish desires, karma yoga is the ideal path to follow. The karma yogi works for a higher ideal such as Ishvara, but one who does not follow karma yoga works for the ego.

Shri Krishna brings Arjuna back to karma yoga with this shloka. Arjuna harbours desires, therefore Shri Krishna does not want him to jump straight into the yoga of renunciation, which is a totally different level.

Now, let’s go a little deeper into the topic of attachment. Attachment can happen at four levels : attachment to the result of an action (I want a reward for singing this song), attachment to the action (I will sing a song only in my way), attachment to the sense of doership (I am singing this song) and attachment to the sense of non-doership (By not singing the song, I am the non-singer of this song). The first three are relatively easier to comprehend. The fourth one arises when one has not properly understood the notion of akarma or inaction from the fourth chapter.

So therefore, the karma yogi strives to transcend all four levels of attachment by offering results, actions, doership and non-doership to Ishvara. When he acts in the material world with such a vision, he does not accumulate any further desires, just like a lotus leaf does not get wet even though growing in water.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 36, Chapter 3

13 Friday Jan 2012

Posted by in 3.37, anicchan, api, atha, balaat, chapter 3 verse 36, charati, iva, kena, niyojitah, paapam, poorushah, prayutah, vaarshneya

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Arjuna uvaacha:
atha kena prayuktoyam paapam charati poorushah |
anicchannapi vaarshneya balaadiva niyojitaha || 36 ||

Then, what compels people to commit sin against their wishes, O Vaarshneya, as if commanded forcefully?

atha : then
kena : which
prayuktah : compels
paapam : sin
charati : commit
poorushah : people
anicchan : without one’s wish
api : also
vaarshneya : O Vaarshneya
balaat : forcefully
iva : as if
niyojitaha : commanded

In the last shloka, Shri Krishna completed his teaching of karmayoga. But Arjuna was not satisfied. He was listening attentively and wanted to know more details around the obstacles to karmayoga, how to spot them and how to get rid of them.

It is a wonderful question, because as we have seen earlier, obstacles to karmayoga pop up when we least expect them. Therefore, a deeper understanding of the obstacles is needed to fully overcome them. Note that Arjuna addresses Shri Krishna as “vaarshneya”, which means a member of the Vrishni dynasty.

Even in simple matters like our food intake, we face obstacles. Most of us are smart enough to know that foods containing a lot of oil and sugar are not good for us. But when we see our favourite dessert in front of us, we are propelled to eat it. All our intellect stops functioning. Well educated people, under the influence of greed, commit all kinds of scams today.

There is an interesting statement made by Duryodhana in the Mahaabhaarata. He says that even he knows that his actions are wrong, but there is something inside him that forces him to carry out those actions. This means that even a strong intellect is not necessarily able to check our behaviour.

In the final portion of the third chapter, Shri Krishna responds to Arjuna’s doubt to describe the obstacles in detail and the method to control their influence on us.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 2, Chapter 3

10 Saturday Dec 2011

Posted by in 3.2, aapnuyam, aham, buddhim, chapter 3 verse 2, ekam, iva, me, mohayasi, nishchitya, shreyah, tat, vaakyen, vada, vyaamishrena, yena

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vyaamishreneva vaakyen buddhim mohayaseeva me |
tadekam vada nishchitya yena shreyohamaapnuyaam || 2 ||

You are confusing my intellect with these mixed-up statements. Therefore, be certain and tell me that one statement by which I will attain the highest good. 

vyaamishrena : mixed-up
iva : these
vaakyen : statements
buddhim : intellect
mohayasi : confusing
me : my
tat : that
ekam : one
vada : tell
nishchitya : having ascertained
yena : which will
shreyah : highest good
aham : me
aapnuyaam : attain

Arjuna concludes his question to Shri Krishna in this shloka. As we saw last time, Arjuna did not fully comprehend the teaching from the second chapter. Being a military man, one who is trained in issuing and receiving terse orders in battlefield, he needed clear and simple instructions. Shri Krishna’s covered the entire essence of the Gita in the second chapter. So therefore, Arjuna asked Shri Krishna to reveal what was most appropriate for him at this point in time.

Let’s refer to the student of music from the prior example. A student who starts his formal training in classical music usually attends a “classical music 101” course which covers topics such as the types of classical music, renowned composers and their compositions, the evolution of music through several centuries and so on. But, the teaching that is most beneficial to the beginner student is simple concepts like how to locate a note on the piano and so on.

The second chapter of the Gita is just like the classical music 101 course that covers lot of topics and techniques. With his mind bewildered by all that was heard, Arjuna asked Shri Krishna to provide the one technique that was most appropriate for Arjuna at this stage in his spiritual journey.

Shri Krishna understood Arjuna’s situation and provided an answer in the next shloka.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 58, Chapter 2

25 Friday Nov 2011

Posted by in 2.58, angaani, ayam, cha, chapter 2 verse 58, indriyaani, indriyaarthabhyaha, iva, koormah, prajna, pratishthitaa, samharate, sarvashaha, tasya, yada

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yada samharate chaayam koormangaaneeva sarvashaha |
indriyaanindriyaarthabhyastasya prajna pratishtitaa || 58 ||

When, just like a tortoise withdraws its limbs from all sides, he withdraws his senses from objects, his intellect is steady.

yada : when
samharate : withdraws
cha : also
ayam : he
koormah : tortoise
angaani : limbs
iva : like
sarvashaha : all sides
indriyaani : senses
indriyaarthabhyaha : sense objects
tasya : his
prajna : intellect
pratishtitaa : steady

So far, Shri Krishna gave us a checklist of factors that could disturb our equanimity: joy, sorrow, gain and loss. Let’s say, we detect that one of these factors has presented itself to us. What should we do? He gives a beautiful example from the world of nature to address this point.

Whenever a tortoise senses danger, he withdraws his limbs into his shell. The shell is strong enough to withstand any adverse situation. And once that situation passes, he brings his limbs back into the world. Similarly, if we detect that an object, person or situation is about to disturb our equanimity, Shri Krishna advises us to bring our intellect into the picture, and completely withdraw our attention from that object, person or situation.

In one commentary on this topic, we learn that most animals have one sense organ as their weakness. The deer has sound, the elephant has touch, the moth has sight (fire), the fish has taste, and the bee has smell as its weakness. So for example, if a moth sees fire, it loses all control and flies straight into the fire. However, human beings have all five senses as their weakness, making this technique all the more important.

The most practical application of this technique is dieting. If we have a sweet tooth like we saw earlier, and we see a large slice of black forest chocolate cake in front of us, we have to apply the “tortoise technique” and move some steps away from that cake. It also means that we do not keep large stocks of chocolates, cakes etc. in our house because we may be tempted very easily.

Here’s another related point. In India, many aspects of spiritual practices are embedded in our customs, but sometimes we do not realize their significance. We may have noticed a sculpture of a tortoise outside many Indian temples, which is an instruction to withdraw our worldly matters and enter the temple with a devotional mindset. But instead of doing so, we tend to whisper about worldly matters into the tortoise’s ear, which is exactly the opposite of the original intent.

Footnotes
1. The example on 5 animals and their weaknesses is from Vivekachoodamani by Adi Shankarachaarya

Bhagavad Gita Verse 10, Chapter 2

05 Wednesday Oct 2011

Posted by in 2.10, chapter 2 verse 10, iva, prahasan, senyorubhayormadhye, vachaha

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tamuvaacha hrisheekeshaha prahasanniva bhaarata |
senayorubhayormadhye visheedantamidam vachaha || 10 ||

Hrishikeesha, as though smiling, spoke these words to the despondent Arjuna, in the middle of the two armies.

tam : to him
uvaacha : spoke
hrisheekeshaha : Hrisheekeshaha
prahasan iva : as though smiling
bhaarata : Arjuna
senayor-ubhayor-madhye : in the middle of the armies
visheedantam : despondent
idam : these
vachaha : spoke words

The most interesting aspect of this verse is the phrase “as though smiling”, and has been interpreted differently by several commentators. The commonly held notion is : Shri Krishna wanted to use Arjuna as a vehicle for delivering the sermon of the Gita, and he smiled because the time for delivering the sermon had come as soon as Arjuna requested him to become his disciple. Another interpretation is that on the one hand, Arjuna is surrendering to Shri Krishna and asking for guidance, but o the other hand he says that he will not fight. Therefore Shri Krishna is smiling on this qualified request from Arjuna.

Our journey so far was just the background of the Gita. Starting from the next verse, we are about to delve into the heart of the Gita. Like any good speaker, Shri Krishna has provided an overview of the Gita for us in Chapter 2. Later chapters will delve into these themes in significant detail.

We will try our best to understand some of the more abstract verses in this chapter, but let’s not worry if we don’t understand them completely in the first reading. These verses will reveal new nuances and facets in each reading.