Category Archives: mahaabaaho

Bhagavad Gita Verse 43, Chapter 3

20 Friday Jan 2012

Posted by in 3.43, aatmaanaam, aatmanaa, buddeh, buddhvaa, chapter 3 verse 43, duraasadam, evam, jahi, kaamaroopam, mahaabaaho, param, sanstabhyaha, shatrum

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evam buddheh param buddhvaa sanstabhyaatmaanamaatmanaa |
jahi shatrum mahaabaaho kaamaroopam duraasadam || 43 ||

In this way, having known the eternal essence to be superior than the intellect, and having strengthened oneself by oneself, O mighty-armed, slay the insurmountable enemy in the form of desire.

evam : in this way
buddheh : with intellect
param : superior (the eternal essence)
buddhvaa : having known
sanstabhyaha : strengthened
aatmaanam : oneself
aatmanaa : by oneself
jahi : slay
shatrum : enemy
mahaabaaho : O mighty-armed
kaamaroopam : in the form of desire
duraasadam : insurmountable

The prior shloka and this shloka comprise the concluding shlokas of the third chapter. In these 2 shlokas, Shri Krishna gives Arjuna the seed of an entire lifetime’s worth of spiritual practice. But this technique needs further elaboration, which will be provided in the forthcoming chapters of the Gita. Karmayoga is just the preparatory stage. The real journey of spiritual practice or saadhanaa commences only when we learn to control and channel our vaasanaas through karmayoga, which culminates in the practice of meditation.

One of the major points made in this shloka is that we have tackle our problems from the standpoint of the eternal essence, not from the standpoint of our prakriti, which is not our real identity. We have been conditioned to identify with our prakriti since our birth, which is what makes it difficult. Therefore, to the extent possible, we should always try to identify with the eternal essence.

For instance, we come across a thought that says “I can smoke one cigarette today, it will cause me no harm”, we have to be alert and ask ourselves, who is this I that has generated this thought? If we are truly identified with the eternal essence, we will recognize that our prakriti – our inbuilt tendency – is saying it. This is not easy to do. Typically, when such a thought arises, it “short-circuits” our intellect and turns into action immediately. That is why Shri Krishna urges us to start on the path of karmayoga so that we slowly lose attachment with material objects first, then with our body/mind/intellect.

This inner conflict between our lower nature and our higher nature is the central theme of the Gita. Therefore, Shri Krishna concludes the chapter on karmayoga with a profound message: strengthen oneself by oneself. It means that by practicing karmayoga, we strengthen our higher nature, and that enables us to control our lower nature.

om tatsatiti shreematbhagavatgitasupanishadsu brahmavidyaayaam yogashaastre shreekrishnaarjunsamvade karmayogo naama tritiyodhyaayaha || 3 ||

Bhagavad Gita Verse 28, Chapter 3

05 Thursday Jan 2012

Posted by in 3.28, chapter 3 verse 28, guna, gunesh, iti, karma, mahaabaaho, matvaa, na, sajjate, tattvavit, tu, vartanta, vibhagayoh

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tattvavittu mahaabaaho gunakarmavibhaagayoh |
gunaa guneshu vartanta iti matvaa na sajjate || 28 ||

But he who knows the truth, O mighty-armed, about the divisions of gunaas as well as their functions, recognizes the interplay of gunaas (everywhere). Having known this, he does not get attached.

tattvavit : knower of truth
tu : but
mahaabaaho : O mighty-armed
gunaa : gunas
karma : functions
vibhaagayoh : distinction
gunaa : gunas
guneshu : in gunas
vartanta : act
iti : this
matvaa : having known
na : does not
sajjate : get attached

Previously, we learned about the ignorant individual who is deluded by the notion that he is the doer. But then, what does the wise person know that the ignorant one does not? Shri Krishna explains that point here.

The wise person is termed a “tattva-vit” – one who knows the truth – by Shri Krishna. The truth, as we saw earlier, is that all actions in this world are performed by prakiriti. And prakriti is comprised of the three gunaas and their respective functions, termed in this shloka as “guna-karma-vibhaaga”. But how exactly do we know that prakriti causes the actions, not the “I”?

Our sense organs are like agents that send messages to the mind when they perceive an object. For instance, if you hold a rose in your hand, the eyes, skin and nose send different signals to the mind. The mind creates a holistic picture from all those signals – “this is a red rose” – and sends it to the intellect. The intellect analyzes that information and makes a decision – “buy this rose”, having consulted its memory of past experiences with roses.

This means that perception, thinking, decision-making – all these functions are part of prakriti, operating based on laws set by prakriti. The “I” is the eternal essence, different from prakriti.

So therefore, if one knows that he is not the doer, and that things are happening of their own accord, he does not get attached to anything in this world. He becomes a witness or a “saakshi”, just like someone watching a play does not get attached to one actor or another. Another example is the process of digestion. We are not attached to it because we know that we are not the doer in that instance. The notion that everything is an interplay of gunaas may seem abstract and theoretical. One can only gain a first-hand experience of this truth in deep stages of meditation.

This teaching is beneficial in our day-to-day lives as well. If we contemplate on this teaching, it has the effect of thinning our ego. Once that happens, it makes us very humble and reduces several negative emotions like fear, anger, stress and so on. Now, we may fear that this teaching makes us lackadaisical. On the contrary, it makes thinking clear and actions more efficient by getting rid of negative emotions that drain our mental energy.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 68, Chapter 2

03 Saturday Dec 2011

Posted by in 2.68, chapter 2 verse 68, indriyaani, mahaabaaho, nigriheetaani, prajna, pratishthitaa, sarvashaha, tasmaad, tasya, yasya

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tasmaadyasya mahaabaaho nigriheetaani sarvashaha |
indriyaaneendriyaarthebhyastasya prajnya pratishthitaa || 68 ||

Therefore, O mighty armed warrior, one who always restrains his senses from objects, his wisdom his steady.

tasmaad : therefore
yasya : that individual
mahaabaaho : O mighty armed warrior
nigriheetaani : under control
sarvashaha : everywhere

indriyaani : senses
indriyaarthebhyaha : objects
tasya : that individual
prajya : wisdom
pratishthitaa : steady

With this shloka, Shri Krishna concludes the topic of sense restraint. Let us summarize the main points of this topic.

The senses have the power to destabilize the mind, and consequently, destroy the intellect’s capability to make proper judgements. The best way to control the senses is to practice one’s svadharma with devotion to a higher ideal. If we don’t, then even a stray thought about a material object will escalate into a chain of events that will bring about our downfall.

Changing the quality and direction of thoughts towards a higher ideal will result in a tranquil psyche, enabling us to move in the world of material objects without attachment or revulsion. And ultimately, this will result in peace and happiness.

A pictorial description of this topic was provided in the form of a rudderless ship at sea, that is blown here and there by wind. The wind represents the senses, the ship our mind, and the direction, our wisdom.

In the next shloka, Shri Krishna begins to conclude the second chapter of the Gita.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 26, Chapter 2

24 Monday Oct 2011

Posted by in 2.26, arhasi, atha, cha, chapter 2 verse 26, enam, evam, mahaabaaho, manyase, mirtam, nityajaatam, nityam, shochitum, tathaapi, tvam, vaa

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atha chainam nityajaatam nityam vaa manyase mritam |
tathaapi tvam mahaabaaho naivam shochitumarhasi || 26 ||

But on the other hand, if you believe that this (eternal essence) constantly takes birth and dies, then also you should not grieve, O mighty armed.

atha cha : but if
enam : this (eternal essence)
nityajaatam : constantly being born
nityam : constantly
vaa : or
manyase : believe
mritam: die
tathaapi : then also
tvam : you
mahaabaaho : O mighty-armed
na : not
evam : this
shochitum : grieve
arhasi : should

Shri Krishna imparted the teaching of the eternal essence to Arjuna in the shlokas we’ve been seeing. Now, the teaching becomes slightly less abstract and a little more “down-to-earth” as it were. Shri Krishna understands that people like us may find it hard to comprehend the notion of imperishability. Our mind will find a hard time comprehending that something was never born/created, and something will never die/get destroyed.

For example, we may think of the Earth as relatively imperishable, but even then we know from our school geology class that it was formed billions of years ago out of cooling of gases.

Therefore, Shri Krishna says : “O Arjuna, even if you cannot comprehend that the eternal essence is imperishable, it is ok, you can also believe that the eternal essence, which is present in human bodies, undergoes birth and death with the body”. In the next few shlokas, Sri Krishna will convince Arjuna that his grief is unfounded even if he accepts that the eternal essence undergoes birth and death.

We may have a question here: Why did Shri Krishna begin his teaching of the Gita by describing the eternal essence? Isn’t it a complex, abstract topic that all of us, including Arjuna, would have a hard time understanding? Couldn’t he have started with something simpler?

Here’s a possible answer. What is described as the eternal essence is the goal, the final result of the Gita teaching. Like a good teacher, Shri Krishna described the end goal to his students before describing the means to attain that goal. Any good teacher will always describe, elaborate upon, and glorify the end goal in the first lecture of a course. This will generate interest, curiosity, focus and dedication from the student. The student may not necessarily understand everything about that goal, but that is ok.