Category Archives: kaha

Bhagavad Gita Verse 15, Chapter 16

10 Wednesday Apr 2013

Posted by in 16.15, aadhaha, abhijanavaan, ajnyaanavimohitaahaa, anya, asmi, chapter 15 verse 16, daasyaami, kaha, mayaa, modishya, sadrishaha, yakshye

≈ Comments Off on Bhagavad Gita Verse 15, Chapter 16

aadhyobhijanavaanasmi konyosti sadrisho mayaa |
yakshye daasyaami modishya ityajnyaanavimohitaahaa || 15 ||
 
I am wealthy, I am from a good family, who else is equal to me? I will conduct sacrifice, I will enjoy. In this manner, (he is) deluded by ignorance.
 
aadhaha : I am wealthy
abhijanavaan : good family
asmi : I am
kaha : who
anya : else
asti : is
sadrishaha : equal to
mayaa : me
yakshye : I will conduct sacrifice
daasyaami : I will conduct charity
modishya : I will enjoy
iti : in this manner
ajnyaanavimohitaahaa : deluded by ignorance
 
In the last shloka, we saw the mindset of those who derive pride from their power. Here Shri Krishna describes the mindset of people who derive pride from other things such as wealth and family. An excess of wealth, especially for those who did not come from wealthy families, is the most common source of pride. Such people boast about their latest expensive toy, their net worth, their membership in elite clubs and so on. They are only interested in consumption and enjoyment.
 
Others derive pride from their ancestry and their lineage. For some, this pride comes from the fact that their ancestors were kings or landowners. For some, this pride comes from the fact that everyone in their family has always been a doctor or a lawyer. Some others even boast about the number of sacrifices they have conducted and amount of charity they have donated. Instead of charity and sacrifice leading to purification of one’s mind, such grandiose spectacles have gaining publicity and favours as their goal.
 
If we were to summarize the attitude in these three shlokas, it is this – no one is equal to me. I am superior to everyone else. So the net result is the strengthening, the hardening of the I notion, the ego, the aham. Each step taken towards the ego is one step taken away from self realization. There is no scope for detachment or renunciation. Attachment grows by leaps and bounds in such people. The root cause of all this is ignorance of one’s true nature.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 31, Chapter 11

14 Wednesday Nov 2012

Posted by in 11.31, aadyam, aakhyaahi, bhavaan, bhavantam, chapter 11 verse 31, devavara, hi, ichhaami, kaha, me, na, namaha astu, prajaanaami, praseeda, pravruttim, tava, te, ugraroopaha, vijnyaatum

≈ Comments Off on Bhagavad Gita Verse 31, Chapter 11

aakhyaa hi me ko bhavaanugraroopo namostute devavara praseeda |
vijnyaatumichhaami bhavantamaadyam na hi prajaanaami tava pravruttim || 31 ||
 
Please reveal who you are, with such a fierce form. I bow to you, O best among deities, be gracious. I wish to know you, O ancient being, for I do not understand your purpose.
 
aakhyaahi : please reveal
me : to me
kaha : who
bhavaan : you
ugraroopaha : fierce form
namaha astu : I bow
te : to you
devavara : O best among deities
praseeda : be gracious
vijnyaatum : to know
ichhaami : I wish
bhavantam : you
aadyam : ancient being
na : not
hi : for
prajaanaami : do I understand
tava : your
pravruttim : purpose
 
In the seventh book or canto of the Srimad Bhaagavatam, Lord Vishnu incarnates as the Lion Man Narasimha to slay Hiranyakashipu, the king of the demons. He then proceeds to destroy Hiranyakashipu’s army. But his anger is not appeased even after doing so. Extremely scared and worried, the heavenly deities send Prahalaada, Lord Vishnu’s devotee, to talk to Narasimha. He first praises Lord Vishnu, after which he asks him several questions. Appeasement, followed by humble questioning, is the best way to pacify an angry person, which is what Arjuna did to the fearful cosmic form of Ishvara in this shloka.
 
In the course of just a few moments, Shri Krishna transformed from his human form, to a gigantic cosmic form that was pleasing, then to another cosmic form that was extremely scary. Arjuna requested him to reveal who he was at this moment, and what was his mission and purpose for destroying everything. Even in his request there was humility and surrender, because Arjuna asked for the Lord’s grace, knowing fully well that he was the “Aadyam”, the original primal being of this universe.
 
The word “Aadyam” is used by Sant Jnyaneshwar in the first stanza of his commentary on the Gita known as the Jnyaaneshwari : “Om Namoji Aadya”, meaning “my salutations to that primal being”. This word is extremely significant in the context of this shloka. For someone or something to take on the responsibility of destruction, it has to be present before and after creation. It also has to be beyond all names and forms, because it is names and forms that are created and destroyed. So when the entire universe is dissolved, the same original being creates, sustains and destroys the universe again.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 2, Chapter 8

29 Friday Jun 2012

Posted by in 8.2, adhiyagnaha, asi, asmin, atra, cha, chapter 8 verse 2, dehe, jneyaha, kaha, katham, madhusoodana, niyataatmabhihi, prayaanakaale

≈ Comments Off on Bhagavad Gita Verse 2, Chapter 8

adhiyagnaha katham kotra dehesminmadhusoodana |
prayaanakaale cha katham jneyosi niyataatmabhihi || 2 ||
 
Who is “adhiyagna” and how is he (established) in this body, O Madhosoodana? How are (you) known by a self-controlled person, at the time of departure?
 
adhiyagnaha : “adhiyagna”
katham : how
kaha : who
atra : here
dehe : in a body
asmin : this
madhusoodana : O Madhusoodana
prayaanakaale : at the time of departure
cha : and
katham : how
jneyaha asi : is known
niyataatmabhihi : by a self-controlled person
 
Arjuna concludes his round of questions to Shri Krishna in this shloka. His two questions are as follows. First, he wants to know what is “adhiyagna” and where can it be found. Second, he wants to know how can a yogi or a self-controlled person remember Ishvara at the time of departure. Shri Krishna treats the second question as the most important question. After answering the first six questions in the next two shlokas, Shri Krishna devotes the remainder of the chapter to answering this question only.
 
Let us continue to develop the illustration of the animated movie so that we can use it in the next shloka when Shri Krishna starts answering Arjuna’s questions. We learned about the animated character “Tom”, which is just a series of images on film. The light that illuminated Tom began to think that it has an identity that is different than the rest of the film strip.
 
As a consequence, the light creates an identity for itself. That light becomes Tom. “He” is bound by his “body”, which is nothing but an outline on the strip of film. He also begins to think that he is the “doer” of an action, and is the “enjoyer” of the result of an action. He thinks that he is walking, talking, interacting with people. He also gets happy or upset over the result of his actions.
 
So in summary, we have a strip of film that contains a series of images. Each image contains several lines that make up the character Tom that has suddenly begun to think that he is alive. Let us keep this in mind as we begin to hear Shri Krishna’s answers.