Category Archives: kaankshati

Bhagavad Gita Verse 54, Chapter 18

12 Friday Jul 2013

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brahmabhootaha prasannaatmaa nashochati na kaankshati |
samaha sarveshu bhooteshu madbhaktim labhate paraam || 54 ||
 
One who has become the eternal essence, who has attained the joyful self, does not grieve nor desire. Equanimous towards all beings, he attains supreme devotion to me.
 
brahmabhootaha : one who has become the eternal essence
prasannaatmaa : attained the joyful self
na : not
shochati : grieve
na : not
kaankshati : desire
samaha : equanimous
sarveshu : towards all
bhooteshu : beings
madbhaktim : devotion to me
labhate : attains
paraam : supreme
 
Having described the duties of a monk or a sanyaasi in the previous three shlokas, Shri Krishna explains the result of assiduously following those duties. The monk develops supreme devotion, paraa bhakti, towards Ishvara. As the monk decreases his involvement in the material world, makes his mind pure, his devotion towards Ishvara starts to increase. The culmination of this devotion is complete equanimity towards everyone and everything. He sees everyone’s joy as his joy, and everyone’s sorrow as his sorrow. He feels fulfilled in himself, therefore he has no desire for anything new, or no grief for anything that he does not have. Only joy remains.
 
From the standpoint of Vedanta, the first six chapters of the Gita covered the analysis of “tvam”, the individual. Starting with karma yoga, then the purification of mind, then the study of scriptures, followed by taking up renunciation of all actions or monkhood, the seeker comes to know himself as the pure self, as distinct from his body and mind, which are products of maaya. But so long as he sees even a tinge of difference between his self and the world, that tinge of difference will eventually bring back raaga and dvesha, like and dislike. Therefore, he also needs to conduct analysis on the “tat”, which is Ishvara.
 
Analysis of Ishvara, knowing Ishvara in essence, was the topic of the chapters seven to twelve in the Gita. The seeker realizes that Ishvara creates, supports and destroys the world, through his power known as maaya. Maaya has the power to cover the true nature of Ishvara, and project a world of dazzling name and form. But, by listing Ishvara’s vibhootis, and by eventually describing his universal form, Shri Krishna informs the seeker that Ishvara also, like the self, is distinct from the universal body and the universal mind. All that the seeker needs to do is to see the oneness between his pure self and Ishvara’s pure self, distinct from all effects of maaya.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 22, Chapter 14

27 Wednesday Feb 2013

Posted by in 14.22, chapter 14 verse 22, dveshti, kaankshati, moham, nivrittaani, paandava, prakaasham, pravrittim, sampravrittaani

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Shree Bhagavaan uvaacha:
prakaasham cha pravrittim cha mohameva cha paandava |
na dveshti sampravrittaani na nivrittaani kaankshati || 22 ||
 
Shree Bhagavaan said:
When light, activity and delusion are present, O Paandava, he does not hate them, nor does he yearn for them when they are absent.
 
prakaasham : light
cha : and
pravrittim : activity
cha : and
moham : delusion
eva : even
cha : and
paandava : O Paandava
na : not
dveshti : hate
sampravrittaani : present
na : not
nivrittaani : absent
kaankshati : yearn
 
Shri Krishna answers Arjuna’s question – what are the marks of one who has transcended the gunas – in this shloka. Light, activity and delusion refer to sattva, rajas and tamas respectively. One who is indifferent to the rise and fall of each guna, one who has a high degree of detachment and discrimination, one who lets the gunas come and go with ease, such a person has transcended the gunas. It is the difference between one who observes suitcases on an airport conveyor belt versus one who holds on to a suitcase and doesn’t let go. The one who insists on holding on gets pulled away.
 
When we are on vacation, our mind feels peaceful and relaxed. But when we come back from vacation, our mind becomes agitated since it has to get back to the nine to five routine of life. We want to hold on to that state of mind we had experienced when we were on vacation. In other words, we have an insistence, also known as aagraha, to hold on to a sattvic state when rajas comes in. Or when the alarm bell rings in the morning, we want to hold on to that sleepy tamasic state as long as possible, and not leave the bed. This aagraha, this insistence on holding on to one guna and not accepting the arrival of another guna, enables the gunas to control us. One who has transcended the gunas has given up this insistence through extreme vairagya or detachment.
 
Let’s look at it in another way. When we read comics, we can see what the characters are thinking through thought bubbles. For example, if Veronica insulted Archie, Archie would have a thought bubble that says “I feel so bad”. We temporarily feel sorry for Archie, and move on to the next frame in the comic. But if someone insults us in real life, we don’t usually move on that quickly. We hold on to that thought, as well as the tamasic or rajasic state of mind created by that thought, for weeks, months, or years to come. And that is not all. We bring up that mental state each time we meet the person who insulted us.
 
When we are able to treat our thoughts with the same detachment that we do when we are reading other people’s thoughts in comic books, we will know that we have gone beyond the gunas.