Category Archives: maam

Bhagavad Gita Verse 16, Chapter 7

12 Tuesday Jun 2012

Posted by in 7.16, aartaha, arjuna, arthaarthee, bhajante, bharatarshabha, cha, chapter 7 verse 16, chaturvidhaaha, janaaha, jignyaasuhi, jnyaanee, maam, sukritinaha

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chaturvidhaa bhajante maam janaaha sukritinorjuna |
aarto jignyaasurarthaarthee jnyaanee cha bharatarshabha || 16 ||
 
Four types of people who perform good actions worship me, O Arjuna – the distressed, the inquisitive, the profit-minded and the wise, O scion of the Bharataas.
 
chaturvidhaaha : four types
bhajante : worship
maam : me
janaaha : people
sukritinaha : who perform good actions
arjuna : O Arjuna
aartaha : those who are in distress
jignyaasuhi : the inquisitive
arthaarthee : profit-minded
jnyaanee : wise
cha : and
bharatarshabha : O scion of the Bharataas
 
Shri Krishna is a methodical teacher. He loves to categorize and classify knowledge. In the previous shloka, he defined people who are blinded by maaya as “dushkritinaha” – those who commit wrong or evil actions. Such people cannot contact Ishvara. In this shloka, he adds the second category of people – those who perform good actions, “sukritinaha”. He then further classifies these devotees of Ishvara into four types.
 
The first type of devotee is the “aarta” or the distressed. When such devotees are in trouble, when they have a health condition, when they have a monetary problem, when they are anxious about the result of the final exam, when there is nowhere else to go, they approach Ishvara for help. Usually, such devotees would not have remembered Ishvara if they were well off, if they had no source of affliction. Regardless, Ishvara accepts them as his devotees.
 
The second type of devotee is the “jignyaasu” or the inquisitive. Such people are seeking knowledge in all of its various aspects: economic knowledge, scientific knowledge, artistic knowledge and even spiritual knowledge. They worship Saraswati as the goddess of knowledge.
 
The third type of devotee is the “arthaarthee”. Many commentators interpret this word as one who is desirous of “artha”, which is profit or material gains. However, if we assume that the four types of devotees are arranged in order of importance, then “artha” could mean “purushaartha” which comprises dharma, artha, kaama (desire) and moksha (liberation). In other words, such a devotee has realized that he needs to use all his time and resources on this world to attain liberation.
 
Finally, the fourth type of devotee is the “jnyaani” or the wise one. He is the one who realized that there is nothing other than god. He sees god in everything. Therefore, he does not want god for some other purpose. He wants god and nothing else. There are no other desires or ulterior motives in such a devotee.
 
Are all four devotees alike? Or is there one in particular that Shri Krishna prefers?

Bhagavad Gita Verse 15, Chapter 7

12 Tuesday Jun 2012

Posted by in 7.15, aashritaahaa, aasuram, apahyatajnyaanaa, bhaavam, chapter 7 verse 15, dushkritinaha, maam, maayayaa, moodhaahaa, na, naraadhamaahaa, prapadyante

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na maam dushkritino moodhaahaa prapadyante naraadhamaahaa |
maayayaapahyatajnyaanaa aasuram bhaavamaashritaahaa || 15 ||
 
Wretched and deluded evildoers do not seek my refuge. Those whose wisdom has been abducted by maaya take support of devilish tendencies.
 
na : do not
maam : my
dushkritinaha : evildoers
moodhaahaa : deluded
prapadyante : seek refuge
naraadhamaahaa : wretched
maayayaa : through maayaa
apahyatajnyaanaa : those whose wisdom has been abducted
aasuram : devilish
bhaavam : tendencies
aashritaahaa : take support
 
Previously, Shri Krishna said that only those who take the refuge of Ishvara can cross over maaya. But, many people fail to follow this instruction. Instead, their wisdom is usurped by maaya. Maaya veils Ishvara, causing people to think that they don’t have to associate with Ishvara. Shri Krishna says that these people are not just deluded or ignorant, they are wretched, they are evil doers and are the lowest among human beings.
 
First of all, there are people who are somewhat deluded by maaya. They spend their lives running after material objects and possessions because they find joy in doing so. But they do so without causing any harm to anybody. Next, there are people who are even more deluded, who don’t hesitate to break the law in their pursuit of material objects. Finally, there are the worst kind of people who will resort to taking another’s life for their material fulfillment.
 
Having thus categorized people who are deluded by maaya, Shri Krishna calls their nature “aasuri” or devilish. Our goal should not to show up in this category. So then, what kind of people seek out Ishvara? This is taken up next.
 

Bhagavad Gita Verse 14, Chapter 7

10 Sunday Jun 2012

Posted by in 7.14, chapter 7 verse 14, daivee, duratyayaa, eshaa, etaam, eva, gunamayee, hi, maam, maayaa, maayaam, mama, prapadyante, taranti, te, ye

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daivee hyeshaa gunamayee mama maayaa duratyayaa |
maameva ye prapadyante maayaametaam taranti te || 14 ||

For this, my divine maaya, comprised of the gunaas, is hard to cross. Only they who seek my refuge, cross over my maaya.

daivee : divine
hi : for
eshaa : this
gunamayee : of the gunaas
mama : my
maayaa : maayaa
duratyayaa : hard to cross
maam : my
eva : only
ye : those
prapadyante : seeks my refuge
maayaam : maaya
etaam : this
taranti : crosses over
te : they

At this point in the seventh chapter, Shri Krishna has framed an interesting problem for us. If our mind with its senses is attracted to sense objects because of the play of the three gunaas, and if Ishvara is beyond the three gunaas, we need to somehow pierce through gunaas to contact Ishvara. If we cannot do it with our mind with its sense organs, how do we do it? We need some additional help. Shri Krishna says that the only solution is to surrender to Ishvara.

First, let us understand what exactly is preventing us from contacting Ishvara. Shri Krishna says that there is something called maaya is the barrier between us and Ishvara. What exactly is this maaya? It is nothing special, it is the 3 gunaas that saw in the previous shloka. Where is this maaya located? Not too far away. It is in our mind, and we can see its effect daily. Just when we think we are studying Gita and are immune to its effect, we suddenly get an angry thought about a friend or a co-worker. That is maaya. Now if maaya is the moat that blocks access to Ishvara, how do we cross it?

Shri Krishna says that in order to cross over maaya, we have to surrender to Ishvara completely. This type of complete surrender is indicated by the word “prapadyante” in the shloka. It literally means falling down at someone’s feet. To visualize it, imagine that the devotee is holding onto Ishvara’s feet, and also keeping one hand under Ishvara’s feet. With this arrangement, the devotee will not run away from Ishvara, and Ishvara will also not run away from the devotee.

Now, what does surrender mean in practice? As long as we assert ourselves physically, emotionally and intellectually, as long as we emphasize our individuality and assert our ego, we will strengthen maaya. So therefore, we need to de-emphasize our individuality and strengthen our devotion to Ishvara. When we surrender ourselves to Ishvara, we give up the notion that “I do everything” or “I own everything”. It is all Ishvara’s maaya. By distancing ourselves from maaya, we get closer to Ishvara.

Moreover, Shri Krishna says that maaya is divine, which means that it is supported by Ishvara but it has reality on its own. In our lives, however, we still rely on maaya for support. We rely on our savings, friends, family, job, education and so on as our refuge if times get tough. But all this is still the product of maaya. Once we shift our thinking that maaya cannot be a support, we will rely on the cause of maaya for support instead of maaya. And that cause is Ishvara. We can only enjoy bungee jumping when we have a strong rope and support. Similarly, we can enjoy the play of maaya if we have tethered ourselves to Ishvara.

How should we practice this daily? We should continue performing our duties as we saw in the previous chapters. What we should change, however, is our attitude. Whenever we start giving importance worldly things including people, objects and situations, we should train ourselves to shift our attention to Ishvara who is behind everything. But we should not use this to justify all our wrongdoings. As we saw in a previous chapter, prakriti or nature is a self-regulating system. If we do something that is against the laws of nature, it will come back to us as a punishment.

So then, having understood this, why do people not seek Ishvara?

Bhagavad Gita Verse 13, Chapter 7

09 Saturday Jun 2012

Posted by in 7.13, abhijaanaati, avyayam, bhaavaihi, chapter 7 verse 13, ebhihi, ebhyaha, gunamaiyaihai, idam, jagat, maam, mohitam, na, param, sarvam, tribhihi

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tribhirgunamayairbhaavairebhihi sarvamidam jagat |
mohitam naabhijaanaati maamebhyaha paramavyayam || 13 ||
 
This entire universe, deluded by these three modes in the form of gunaas, does not know me to be beyond these (gunaas) and imperishable.
 
tribhihi : three
gunamaiyaihai : in the form of gunaas
bhaavaihi : modes
ebhihi : these
sarvam : entire
idam : this
jagat : universe
mohitam : deluded by
na : do not
abhijaanaati : know me
maam : me
ebhyaha : these (gunaas)
param : beyond
avyayam : imperishable
 
So far in this chapter, Shri Krishna indicated that Ishvara is the ultimate cause, that he pervades everything, the entire universe is a play of the three gunaas, and that he supports all the three gunaas but they do not impact him. In theory, if we know this, then we should be a hundred percent clear about the true nature of Ishvara, which is the objective of this chapter. But there is still more to come. Why is that? It is because there is something in these three gunaas or aspects of nature that prevents us from accessing Ishvara.
 
Shri Krishna says that most people are deluded or confused about the true nature of Ishvara due to the overpowering effect of the three gunaas. This overpowering effect is our tendency to get carried away by name and form. It is our tendency to judge a book by its cover. We are so dazzled by the diversity of various forms of gold jewellery (the effect) that we fail to recognize that everything is ultimately gold (the cause).
 
Each gunaa or mode of nature has the ability to overpower us. Imagine a vendor at a vegetable market that has to haggle with his customers in order to turn a profit. A taamasic vendor can resort to any tactic including fraud to dupe unsuspecting customers, and potentially get caught doing so. A raajasic vendor can use fair, but aggressive negotiating tactics with even the shrewdest of his customers, eventually shrinking his customer base to zero. Now, we typically think that a saatvic vendor would follow the correct strategy, but this is not the case. Even saatva can overpower the vendor if he always gives in to the customer’s negotiations and goes into a loss.
 
Now, let us see what exactly happened with each of the vendors. The taamasic vendor could only see the most tangible thing in front of him – the crisp note that he can keep in his pocket as soon as the sale is made. He did not have the ability to think one step beyond the note, that he would get caught for fraud.
 
The raajasic vendor thought one step ahead and knew that he should not resort to anything illegal. But by always focusing on his personal gain, he missed the big picture in that he would eventually lose all his customers.
 
The saatvic vendor understood the big picture to some extent. But he forgot that he had to support a family at home, and therefore had to strike the right balance of maximizing his profit and making the customer happy.
 
So what does all this have to do with Ishvara? All three vendors were deluded or overpowered by gunaas. This is because our mind and senses is made up of the very “stuff” of the gunaas, as we saw in a previous shloka in chapter 3. They run after prakriti or nature which is also made up of the gunaas. We are helpless because our senses and our mind is wired to focus on names and forms, and not the underlying essence or cause. We get so carried away by names and forms that we cannot comprehend that Ishvara who is beyond any name and form, any attribute or modification.
 
So then, how do we develop this ability to pierce through the three gunaas and understand the real nature of Ishvara? Shri Krishna tackles this topic next.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 10, Chapter 7

06 Wednesday Jun 2012

Posted by in 7.10, aham, asmi, beejam, buddhihi, buddhimataam, chapter 10 verse 7, maam, paartha, sanaatanam, sarvabhootaanaam, tejas, tejasvinaam, viddhi

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beejam maam sarvabhootaanaam viddhi paartha sanaatanam |
buddhirbuddhimataamasmi tejastejasvinaamaham || 10 ||
 
Know me as the eternal seed of all beings, O Paartha. I am the intellect of the intelligent, the radiance of the illustrious.
 
beejam : seed
maam : me
sarvabhootaanaam : of all beings
viddhi : know
paartha : O Paartha
sanaatanam : eternal
buddhihi : intellect
buddhimataam : of the intelligent
asmi : I am
tejas : radiance
tejasvinaam: of the illustrious
aham : I am
 
Previously, Shri Krishna spoke about seeing Ishvara as earthly fragrance, brilliance in fire, life in beings and austerity in the austere. He continues to give a list of his glories in this shloka, beginning with the statement that he is the eternal seed of all beings. He also addresses Arjuna as Paartha, descendent of King Prithu.
 
Earlier, Shri Krishna asserted that Ishvara is the cause of everything in the universe. So then, why is he seemingly repeating himself by the statement “I am the eternal seed”? It is to ensure that we gain the correct understanding.
 
Normally, when any tree grows out of a seed, the seed ceases to exist. In the case of Ishvara, however, the seed is eternal. In other words, the seed is changeless, but the entire content of the universe lies in an unmanifest form in this seed. It manifests itself at various points in the universe’s life span, not just at the beginning. So therefore, we need to learn to recognize the eternal seed and not get carried away or stuck in the level of names and forms.
 
Next, Shri Krishna urges us to recognize Ishvara in intelligence. We admire intelligent people for their ability to think clearly about complex issues without getting swayed by noise. How is their way of thinking different? A glass of clear water lets through more light than a glass of water that is agitated or clouded by dirt. Similarly, an intelligent person‘s mind is less dominated by the sway of emotion, and therefore enables the brilliance of Ishvara to shine through the intellect unhindered. In this manner, Ishvara becomes the intelligence of the intelligent.
 
Finally, Shri Krishna adds tejas or radiance to his list of vibhootis. This radiance manifests in us when when we are in good physical and mental health, when we have slept well, when we are fit. Also, when someone had earned a lot of wealth through self effort, or has performed selfless service, they also have a certain kind of glow. Shri Krishna says that it is Ishvara manifesting in these illustrious individuals in the form of tejas or radiance.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 3, Chapter 7

28 Monday May 2012

Posted by in api, chapter 7 verse 3, http://schemas.google.com/blogger/2008/kind#post, kaschit, kashchit, maam, manushyaanaam, sahastreshu, sidhhaye, tattvataha, yatataam, yatati

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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 1, Chapter 7

26 Saturday May 2012

Posted by in aasaktamanaaha, asamshayam, chapter 7 verse 1, jnyaasyasi, maam, madaashrayaha, mayi, paartha, samagram, shrunu, tat, yathaa, yogam, yunjan

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Shri Bhagavaan uvaacha:
mayyasaktamanaaha paartha yogam yunjanmadaashrayaha |
asamshayam samagram maam yathaa jnyaasyasi tachchrunu || 1 ||
 
Shri Bhagavaan said:
With mind attached to me, O Paartha, striving in yoga, taking refuge in me, without doubt, by which you will know me completely, listen to that.
 
mayi : to me
aasaktamanaaha : mind attached
paartha : O Paartha
yogam : yoga
yunjan : striving
madaashrayaha : taking refuge in me
asamshayam : without doubt
samagram : completely
maam : my
yathaa : by which
jnyaasyasi : knows
tat : that
shrunu : listen
 
Before we proceed to the seventh chapter, let’s recap what we have seen so far. Arjuna, overcome with sorrow in the battlefield, pleaded to Shri Krishna to give him proper guidance. Shri Krishna proceeded to give him the teaching of the eternal essence, which was the primary topic of the second chapter.
 
The first step in gaining this supreme knowledge is to purify the mind of selfish desires through karmayoga, which was the topic of the third and fourth chapters. As our desires slowly get purified, karmayoga morphs into karma sanyaasa, where our activities reduce to the bare minimum. The final step is the culmination of karmayoga into dhyaana yoga or meditation. In this manner, the first six chapters of the Gita focus on the individual and self effort.
 
We saw in the last chapter that Shri Krishna wanted us to meditate upon him as Ishvara. But for the most part, we do not know what Ishvara is, what is his role in the world, how do we access him and so on. Furthermore, if Ishvara truly represents the infinite eternal essence, how can the finite mind meditate on him? Chapters seven through twelve explain this technique. They reveal to us the nature of Ishvara as creator and controller of this universe. And just like we had to put forth effort to purify our mind in the prior six chapter, we need to apply a more demanding approach to understand Ishvara. It is the effort of surrender to Ishvara with bhakti or devotion.
 
Now, Shri Krishna introduces the seventh chapter with a powerful message. He says that he will reveal that by which we can come to know of Ishvara’s true nature completely and without any doubts. This will require us to develop attachment towards him, and to seek refuge in him.
 
Firstly, Shri Krishna wants us to understand his true nature “samagram” or completely, and without any doubts. For many of us, our image of Ishvara is based upon pictures we have seen in books or on television of Lord Narayana sleeping on the serpent, or of Shri Krishna playing in Vrindaavan. Shri Krishna says that there is nothing wrong with these images, but that is not the full story. He wants to reveal himself in such a manner to us that we will get a complete and comprehensive understanding of his real nature.
 
In the process of understanding Ishvara’s true nature, we will begin to develop a strong attachment towards him and become intent on him, indicated by the words “mai aasakta”. When we begin to develop an attachment to a higher ideal, the lower attachments to material things will automatically drop. There is no need for anything else as a source of joy when one develops an affinity for Ishvara.
 
Furthermore, we will seek his “aashraya”, which means support. Usually, when we are in distress, we take the support of our job, our wealth, our body, our friends and so on. But, none of these can guarantee their support. They could pull out any any minute, they are unreliable. As we begin to develop devotion towards Ishvara, we will realize that he is the only permanent support available. We will begin to rely on him solely, rather than on any other source of support.
 
So therefore, Shri Krishna asks Arjuna to pay attention to this message, as it is not going to be easy for everyone to develop such a connection to Ishvara. But this is the only way by which we can know Ishvara in his entirety. Shri Krishna speaks more about the nature of this knowledge in the next shloka.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 47, Chapter 6

24 Thursday May 2012

Posted by in antaraatmanaa, api, bhajate, chapter 6 verse 47, maam, madgatena, mataha, me, saha, sarveshaam, shraddhaavaan, yaha, yoginaam, yuktatamaha

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yoginaamapi sarveshaam madgatenaantaraatmanaa |
shraddhaavaanbhajate yo maam sa me yuktatamo mataha || 47 ||
 
Even among the yogis, endowed with faith, one who worships me with his mind fully absorbed in me, he is the most fit in my opinion.
 
yoginaam : among the yogis
api : even
sarveshaam : among all
madgatena : one absorbed in me
antaraatmanaa : with mind
shraddhaavaan : endowed with faith
bhajate : worships
yaha : one who
maam : my
saha : he
me : my
yuktatamaha : most fit
mataha : opinion
 
As the chapter on meditation comes to a conclusion, we are left with an intriguing question. Like Arjuna, most of us have worldly duties and responsibilities. Even if we follow Shri Krishna’s advice and take up meditation, we still have to perform actions in the material world. Till we reach a stage in life when meditation becomes our whole and soul, what do we do when we are not meditating to ensure that we continue our spiritual journey? In other words, how do we stay connected to the eternal essence when we are not meditating?
 
Shri Krishna says that we should develop the highest possible ideal to whom can dedicate all our worldly actions. But this ideal should not just be an intellectual ideal. Unless our hearts are filled with devotion towards this ideal, our attempts will be lacking. But we need to strike a balance. Emotion without intellect results in superstition. Intellect without emotion results in fanaticism. Both are ill-advised. We need a combination of the two. We also need the ideal to be tangible and real, not something that is extremely difficult for our mind to grasp.
 
Devotion is not exclusive to the spiritual path. Any worldly endeavour requires a combination of action, emotion and intellect. An entrepreneur not just knows what steps he has to take to build a company, but also gets a thrill doing it. A freedom fighter not just knows that freedom is right for their country, but also has reverence for the motherland. A mother loves her children more then she loves herself, but knows when it is time to scold them.
 
To that end, Shri Krishna urges us worship to the eternal essence in its universal form, which is nothing but Ishvara. We need to begin to develop reverence, and ultimately, whole-hearted devotion to Ishvara. One who develops such devotion to Ishvara that his entire life becomes service and worship of Ishvara, is considered as the foremost yogi or meditator by Shri Krishna.
 
Therefore, the concluding message of this chapter to Arjuna, and to us, is to develop devotion. Devotion will ensure that we remain connected to Ishvara. In order to do so, we first need to understand who is Ishvara, where is he located, what are his accomplishments, how can we access him and so on. Only then can we truly develop devotion. This shloka is the seed for the topic of the next six chapters, which is bhakti or devotion.
 
om tatsatiti shrimadbhagavadgitasu upanishadsu brahmavidyayaam yogashastre shrikrishnaarjunasamvade dhyaanayogonaamo shatodhyaahaha || 6 ||

Bhagavad Gita Verse 31, Chapter 6

03 Thursday May 2012

Posted by in aastitaha, bhajati, chapter 6 verse 31, ekatvam, maam, maiyi, sa, sarvabhootasthitam, sarvathaa, vartamaanaha, vartate, yaha, yogi

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sarvabhootasthitam yo maam bhajatyekatvamaastitaha |
sarvathaa vartamaanopi sa yogi mayi vartate || 31 ||
 
Established in oneness with me, one who beholds me as present in all beings, that yogi resides within me, in all circumstances.
 
sarvabhootasthitam : present in all beings
yaha : one who
maam : me
bhajati : beholds
ekatvam : oneness
aastitaha : established
sarvathaa : all
vartamaanaha : circumstances
sa : that
yogi : yogi
maiyi : within me
vartate : resides
 
In order to emphasize the oneness of the individual with the absolute, Shri Krishna says that the yogi who sees him present in all beings is always residing in him, no matter what circumstance the yogi finds himself in. In other words, the devotee does not lose his connection with Ishvara in any and all worldly and spiritual pursuits.
 
First, let us refer back to our wave and ocean example to understand what is meant by “ekatvam” or oneness. If the wave sees himself as part of the ocean, and also sees the other waves as part of the ocean, it ultimately realizes that everything is the ocean. It realizes that there is no separation of wave and ocean, and in doing so, attains oneness with the ocean. Similarly, Shri Krishna says that the yogi who sees all beings in Ishvara, discards any thought of separation from Ishvara. He thus attains oneness with Ishvara.
 
Here is another example. Let us say that we attend a cricket match where India is playing against some other team. If we sit alongside the Indian team fans, there is no way we can ever forget the India team. Why? Someone will have the Indian team logo on their shirt or on their cap. Someone will be chanting the player’s names. Someone will be holding up cardboard signs. No matter where we look or what we hear, it will be something about the India team. We will see the India team spirit in everyone. There will be no thought of separation from the India team.
 
Furthermore, Shri Krishna says that the yogi never loses this oneness, it stays with him no matter what transaction he conducts in this world. Many of us have a hands-free headset that lets us stay connected on a phone call regardless of whether we are walking, climbing stairs, shopping and so on. The yogi thus maintains an “always-on” connection with Ishvara. The yogi does not need to go on a pilgrimage or visit any specific temple, because he is always connected to Ishvara.
 
Now, this does not mean that going to temples or pilgrimages is not encouraged. These places create a conducive environment for the seeker to focus his thoughts on Ishvara, which definitely accelerates the spiritual progress. But the notion that “Ishvara is in this object, and nowhere else” is incorrect, it should be discarded.
 
In his commentary, Shri Shankaraachaaryaji says that for such a yogi, there is nothing that can obstruct his liberation or moksha. He is ever-liberated or nitya-mukta, because he knows that he was never bound in the first place.
 

Bhagavad Gita Verse 30, Chapter 6

02 Wednesday May 2012

Posted by in aham, cha, chapter 6 verse 30, maam, mayi, me, na, naa, pashyati, pranashyaami, pranashyati, saha, sarvam, sarvatra, tasya, yaha

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yo maam pashyati sarvatra sarvam cha mayi pashyati |
tasyaaham na pranashyaami sa cha me naa pranashyati || 30 ||
 
One who sees me in all, and sees all in me, to him I am not lost, and he is not lost to me.
 
yaha : one who
maam : me
pashyati : sees
sarvatra : in all
sarvam : all
cha : and
mayi : in me
pashyati : sees
tasya : to him
aham : I
na : am not
pranashyaami : lost
saha : he
cha : and
me : me
naa : is not
pranashyati : lost
 
Shri Krishna now speaks to us directly as Ishvara. He says that the devotee who sees him in everything, and also sees everything in him, will have a permanent connection to him. In other words, Shri Krishna will never appear as distant or invisible to that devotee. It may seem a little confusing to hear this statement right after the previous shloka that said that one should see everything in the eternal essence. How does Ishvara fit into the picture?
 
Let us refer to our running example of the wave and the ocean. Imagine that a young child sees the ocean for the first time. Her intellect can only grasp visual, grosser objects. So her attention will immediately go towards the ocean, its colour, its size, the sounds it makes, the waves and so on. It will not be obvious to her that everything is water, because she has not reached that intellectual level yet.
 
Shri Krishna fully knows that most of us are children, even babies, on the spiritual journey. It will take a long time for our intellects to see the eternal essence everywhere. So until our perception stops operating on the level of names and forms, we have to find an easier way to see the eternal essence everywhere.
 
Therefore, Shri Krishna says that first, we should try to see everything in Ishvara and Ishvara in everything. Ishvara could be the form of Shri Krishna. It could be any other deity that we feel an affinity towards. It could also be our guru. No matter what form we choose, we should be able to view the form of Ishvara as the highest.
 
Now, most of us have the notion that Ishvara or God is a mysterious figure or force that is sitting far away in Kailash or Vaikuntha or somewhere us. But Shri Krishna, in the Gita, is telling us in this shloka that he is everywhere. It requires a radical shift in order to think this way. That is why in Indian culture, everything can become an object of worship, from a tree to a stone to a book, because Ishvara is present in everything. What is required is the understanding that comes through contemplation.
 
So therefore, if we truly begin to think that the whole world comprises Ishvara in our chosen form, there will never be a single moment where we are far from Ishvara.