Category Archives: paandava

Bhagavad Gita Verse 5, Chapter 16

31 Sunday Mar 2013

Posted by in 16.5, aasuri, abhijaataha, asi, chapter 16 verse 5, daivee, daiveem, maa, mataa, nibandhaaya, paandava, sampadam, sampat, shuchaha, vimokshaaya

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daivee sampadvimokshaaya nibandhaayaasuri mataa |
maa shuchaha sampadam daiveemabhijaatosi paandava || 5 ||
 
Divine qualities are considered conducive to liberation, devilish qualities to bondage. Do not grieve, O Paandava. You have obtained divine qualities.
 
daivee : divine
sampat : qualities
vimokshaaya : to liberation
nibandhaaya : to bondage
aasuri : devilish
mataa : considered
maa : do not
shuchaha : grieve
sampadam : qualities
daiveem : divine
abhijaataha : obtained
asi : you have
paandava : O Paandava
 
The aim of any spiritual text including the Gita is to lead the seeker onto the path of liberation. Shri Krishna now connects this chapter with the aim of the Gita. He says that we can increase the chances of our success in the spiritual path if we cultivate the divine qualities listed in this chapter, while toning down our devilish qualities. In today’s day and age, it is easy to misunderstand some of these devilish qualities as essential for our survival, that without these qualities we will not get ahead in life. but it is not so.
 
For instance, take the quality of krodha or anger. Whenever we are in a state of anger, our intellect, our power of reasoning shuts down, as described in the second chapter. Our emotional mind takes over, and makes us perform actions that may harm us in the long run. Therefore, each time we get angry, we weaken our intellect, which is the one faculty that differentiates us from animals, and can take us closer to liberation. Akrodha, the divine quality of keeping our anger in check, prevents this from happening. We have to also keep in mind that we have to conduct self analysis and not apply this teaching to judge some other person.
 
Shri Krishna also anticipates a question arising in Arjuna’s mind. Arjuna would have thought, am I in the divine qualities camp or in the other one. To this end, Shri Krishna consoles Arjuna. He asserts that Arjuna was always endowed with divine qualities, and that those qualities will most definitely lead him towards liberation. He addresses him as Paandava, to remind him that he comes from a lineage that has always demonstrated these divine qualities.

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.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 55, Chapter 11

08 Saturday Dec 2012

Posted by in 11.55, chapter 11 verse 55, eti, maam, madbhaktaha, matkarmakrit, matparamaha, nirvairaha, paandava, saha, sangavarjitaha, sarvabhooteshu, yaha

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matkarmakrinmatparamo madbhaktaha sangavarjitaha |
nirvairaha sarvabhooteshu yaha sa maameti paandava || 55 ||
 
One who performs actions for me, considers me as supreme, is devoted to me, is free from attachment and without enmity towards all beings, that person attains me, O Paandava.
 
matkarmakrit : performs actions for me
matparamaha : considers me as supreme
madbhaktaha : devoted to me
sangavarjitaha : free from attachment
nirvairaha : without enmity
sarvabhooteshu : towards all beings
yaha : one who
saha : that person
maam : me
eti : attains
paandava : O Paandava
 
What do we get as a reward for studying one of the longest chapters of the Gita? It is this concluding shloka of the eleventh chapter which Shankaraachaarya considers the essence of the entire Bhagavad Gita. Shri Krishna says that Isvara can be attained by following five guidelines : perform actions for the sake of Ishvara, fix Ishvara as the ultimate goal, observe single-pointed devotion to Ishvara, remain free from worldly attachments, do not harbour likes or dislikes.
 
We have come across these themes throughout the Gita, but this is the first time that Shri Krishna reveals how they come together as a logical whole. First, he advises us to follow karma yoga, to perform selfless actions by dedicating them to Ishvara. He then advises us to fix Ishvara as the ultimate goal. This is the yoga of knowledge or jnyaana yoga. But we need something that propels us from karma yoga to jnyaana yoga. That is revealed as the third step, the yoga of devotion or bhakti yoga. None of these steps can be accomplished with a mind filled with the impurities of likes and dislikes that generate material attachment. These are addressed in fourth and fifth steps which are freedom from worldly attachments as well as from likes and dislikes.
 
Furthermore, all five steps are interconnected and strengthen each other. The mind cannot fully detach itself from everything. Like a child that drops attachment to toys and is attached to higher ideals as an adult, Shri Krishna advises us to drop attachments to material things and develop attachment for Ishvara. When we begin to see everything as Ishvara, and see ourselves as part of Ishvara, we will not generate feelings of dislike towards anyone or anything, just like we do not have enmity towards any part of our own body. This is the theme of this chapter, where the individual essence sees itself as part of the universal eternal essence.
 
om tatsatiti shreematbhagavatgitasupanishadsu brahmavidyaayaam yogashaastre shreekrishnaarjunsamvade vishwaroopadarshanayogo naama ekadashodhyaayaha || 11 ||

Bhagavad Gita Verse 2, Chapter 6

04 Wednesday Apr 2012

Posted by in 6.2, asannyasta, bhavati, chapter 6 verse 2, hi, iti, kashchana, na, paandava, praahuhu, sanyaasam, tam, viddhi, yam, yogam, yogi

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yam sannyaasamiti praahuryogam tam viddhi paandava |
na hyasannyastasankalpo yogi bhavati kashchana | |2||

In this manner, that which is called renunciation, know that to be the same as yoga, O Paandava. For without renunciation of desires, one cannot become a yogi.

yam : that which
sannyaasam : renunciation
iti : in this manner
praahuhu : call
yogam : yoga
tam : that same thing
viddhi : know that
paandava : O Paandava
na : not
hi : for
asannyasta : without renouncing
sankalpo : desires
yogi : yogi
bhavati : become
kashchana : cannot|

Shri Krishna further elaborates on the definition of a sannyaasi or a monk in this shlokla. He says that the karmayogi and sannyaasi are, at their core, one and the same. One need not renounce the world in order to become a dhyaana yogi or a meditator. All one needs to do is to follow the path of karmayoga diligently. Only when the tendency to create new desires or sankalpa goes away can one become a meditator.

How can the action-oriented karmayogi and the actionless-oriented monk be the same? Let us investigate. It is only when the mind of the seeker is free of sankalpa does he become ready for meditation. Meditation can occur only when the mind is tranquil. Tranquility only occurs when the mind is rid of all desires. Now the question arises that how do we know whether such tranquility exists? Have we experienced it? Yes we have. Once we finally get an object that we were craving for a long time, our mind experiences tranquility for a fraction of a second. This is caused due to a temporary cessation of desires, and ends when new desires start agitating the mind again.

If one has reached an advanced stage in the spiritual journey where desires have gone down to a minimum, one becomes actionless automatically. We saw this in the fifth chapter. But if one still harbours desires, karmayoga is the means to slowly diminish desires through renouncing the results of action. So what needs to be renounced is attachment to results of action, not action itself. This recurring message drives home the point that action-orientation and actionless-orientation are the same, as long as the attachment to results is renounced. They both have the same effect: tranquility of mind.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 35, Chapter 4

25 Saturday Feb 2012

Posted by in 4.35, aatmani, asheshena, atho, bhootaani, chapter 4 verse 35, drakshasi, evam, jnyaatvaa, mayi, moham, na, paandava, punar, yaasyasi, yat, yena

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yajnyaatvaa na punarmohamevam yaasyasi paandava |
yena bhootaanyasheshena drakshasyaatmanyatho mayi || 35 ||

Having realized that knowledge, never again will you be subjected to delusion in this manner, O Paandava. By that (knowledge), you will view all beings completely in you, and likewise, in me.

yat : that
jnyaatvaa : having realized
na : not
punar : again
moham : delusion
evam : in this manner
yaasyasi : subjected
paandava : O Paandava
yena : by that
bhootaani : all beings
asheshena : completely
drakshasi : view
aatmani : in you
atho : and likewise
mayi : in me

Having explained the method of acquiring knowledge from a teacher, Shri Krishna praises this knowledge in the following shlokas. In this shloka, he provides a test by which we know whether we have truly gained this knowledge or not. He says that this knowledge totally transforms our vision. It gives us whole new way to view the world.

Imagine we are at a social gathering. We are introduced to a new person, someone whom we have never met before. At that point, we try to size up that person and are not quite sure how the conversation will go. But when we find out that both of us went to the same school for 8 years, we instantly connect with that person. The sense of separation between us and that person diminishes just a little.

Now, take this destruction of separation to its logical extreme where we see all things – plants, rocks, animals, humans – as a part of our own self. Everything is connected to each other. Furthermore, we realize that in essence, distinct entities such as plants and animals are not really distinct. There is only one Ishvaraa but appearing as many forms. This is the grand vision after having obtained this knowledge.

So therefore, having gained this knowledge, our moha or delusion with regards to who we are, what is our correct relationship with the world, what are our duties, what is good and bad – all these questions are answered with this vision of the world. After having this vision, our actions in the wold continue, but they do not accumulate any further karmaas because we are in tune with the world.