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Category Archives: pashyati

Bhagavad Gita Verse 16, Chapter 18

04 Tuesday Jun 2013

Posted by in 18.16, aatmaanam, akritabuddhitvaat, chapter 18 verse 16, durmatihi, kartaaram, kevalam, pashyati, saha, tatra evam sati

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tatraivam sati kartaaramaatmaanam kevalam tu yaha |
pashyatyakritabuddhitvaanna sa pashyati durmatihi || 16 ||
 
This being the case, the one who has an untrained intellect, sees the pure self as the doer. Indeed, that person of perverted understanding sees not.
 
tatra evam sati : this being the case
kartaaram : doer
aatmaanam : self
kevalam : pure
tu : indeed
yaha : one who
pashyati : sees
akritabuddhitvaat : one with untrained intellect
na : not
saha : that person
pashyati : sees
durmatihi : perverted understanding
 
We look at the clouds moving in the sky, and we imagine that the moon is moving, though it is stationary. We see other vehicles moving and think that our vehicle, which is stationary, to be moving. The actions of one object can be superimposed on another object due to optical illusion. Shri Shankaraachaarya provides these examples in this commentary of this shloka to drive home the point that what we see or experience may not really be the truth.
 
Shri Krishna says that our entire life is steeped in the incorrect notion that we perform actions. With regards to the analogies taken up, the self is stationary, and Prakriti is moving. But we do not see this because our intellect is untrained. It is akrita buddhi. We have not imbibed the knowledge that action is performed by the five factors mentioned in the prior shlokas. The scriptures, and Shri Krishna, are repeatedly informing us that ultimately Ishvara’s Prakriti is performing all the actions, not our self, not the aatmaa, not the eternal essence. But we fail to see this. We are durmati, we have a perverted understanding.
 
Unless someone hears this statement from a teacher well versed in the scriptures, this ancient misunderstanding never comes up for questioning. The most common understanding is that the body is the self, the aatmaa. Some other people think that the jeeva, the individualized soul, is the aatmaa. But both these schools of thought attribute action to the aatmaa, which is incorrect. Furthermore, even the results of the actions go to the Prakriti. They do not go to the self, the aatmaa. The aatmaa is kevala, it is untainted, pure, and incapable of any change, modification or action. So then, what is the correct understanding? This is taken up next.

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Bhagavad Gita Verse 29, Chapter 13

30 Wednesday Jan 2013

Posted by in 13.29, aatmaanam, chapter 13 verse 29, http://schemas.google.com/blogger/2008/kind#post, karmaani, kriyamaanaani, pashyati, prakityaa, saha, sarvashaha, tathaa, yaha

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prakityaiva cha karmaani kriyamaanaani sarvashaha |
yaha pashyati tathaatmaanamakartaaram sa pashyati || 29 ||
 
One who sees all actions as performed by Prakriti alone, and the self as actionless, he sees (clearly).
 
prakityaa : by Prakriti
eva : alone
cha : and
karmaani : actions
kriyamaanaani : performed
sarvashaha : all
yaha : one who
pashyati : sees
tathaa : and
aatmaanam : self
akartaaram : actionless
saha : he
pashyati : sees
 
Imagine that a toddler sees a phone for the first time. He is fascinated each time it rings, and
mistakenly thinks that by raising his hand, he makes the phone ring. But, if an adult has a never-ending fascination with a phone ringing, or has a mistaken notion about why it rings, we will think that there is something wrong with him. If an adult is overly fascinated by machines, it is because he lets the three gunaas of Prakriti still entice him, attract him. In general, once we know how a machine works, we are not overly fascinated or concerned with it.
 
Shri Krishna says that one who has truly assimilated the teaching of the Gita knows that actions, reactions, emotions, thought, logic, all these happen in the realm of Prakriti. Just like we lose fascination for machines once we know how they work, we should gradually stop being fascinated by Prakriti which is nothing but a machine that belongs to Ishvara. If this understanding seeps in, the shocks of world that we face daily will slowly lose their ability to shake us. We will perform our duties with our full attention and dedication so that we can exhaust our selfish desires, but leave the reactions and results to Ishvara because it is all happening in his Prakriti, his machine.
 
How do we go about doing this? The path to reduce our fascination with Prakriti is to increase our fascination with Ishvara. We do this by hearing stories of Ishvara, by attending satsanga, by associating with people who are devotees of Ishvara. The Gita itself contains chapters on the glory of Ishvara’s vibhootis, which can be read as daily meditations. Eventually, we begin to see the entire universe as part of Ishvara’s vishvaroopa, his universal form.
 
Now, even if we develop detachment towards the actions of Prakriti, our senses still get fascinated by variety, colour, form, diversity created by it. How do we deal with this aspect of Prakriti? Shri Krishna covers this next.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 27, Chapter 13

28 Monday Jan 2013

Posted by in 13.27, avinashyantam, bhooteshu, chapter 13 verse 27, parameshvaram, pashyati, saha, samam, sarveshu, tishthantam, vinashyatsu, yaha

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samam sarveshu bhooteshu tishthantam parameshvaram |
vinashyatsvavinashyantam yaha pashyati sa pashyati || 27 ||
 
He who sees the supreme lord established equally in all beings, as the imperishable within the perishable, he sees (correctly).
 
samam : equally
sarveshu : all
bhooteshu : beings
tishthantam : established
parameshvaram : supreme lord
vinashyatsu : perishable
avinashyantam : imperishable
yaha : who
pashyati : sees
saha : he
pashyati : sees
 
When a nation is fighting for its independence from an invader, freedom fighters always urge the citizens to emphasize that which is common among them and de-emphasize that which is different. In India, freedom fighters had to urge its citizens to overcome their differences of region and religion, and emphasize the idea of a united Indian nation. Unless the citizens stopped identifying themselves with a certain region/religion and started identifying themselves as Indians, there was no chance of India gaining independence.
 
Similarly, all of us tend to focus on each others physical appearances, words, ideas, thoughts, all of which are fundamentally perishable and transient. Shri Krishna urges us to develop and attitude where we shift our focus from the perishable to the imperishable. In other words, we learn to see the imperishable Ishvara in everybody and everything, including ourselves. We saw earlier that everything and every being is a combination of the kshetra and the kshetrajnya. We now stop identifying with the imperishable kshetra and start identifying with the imperishable kshetrajnya, which is Ishvara himself.
 
So then, this is the correct attitude, the correct vision, that we should develop. We are a product of Ishvara and Prakriti, therefore we should identify with the Ishvara aspect as our self, our “I”. In parallel, everything and everyone is also a product of Ishvara and Prakriti, therefore we should emphasize the Ishvara aspect which is present in everyone equally. We will come to the conclusion that the Ishvara aspect in us is the same as the Ishvara aspect in everyone else. Shri Krishna says that one who develops such a vision, one who sees the imperishable in the perishable, he truly sees, not anyone else.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 32, Chapter 6

05 Saturday May 2012

Posted by in aatmaopamyena, arjuna, chapter 6 verse 32, dukham, mathaha, paramo, pashyati, saha, samam, sarvatra, sukham, vaa, yadi, yaha, yogi

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aatmaopamyena sarvatra samam pashyati yorjuna |
sukham vaayadivaa dukham sa yogi paramo mathaha || 32 ||
 
By comparing himself to everything, one who sees the same, O Arjuna, whether in joy or in sorrow, such a yogi is considered supreme.
 
aatmaopamyena : by comparing himself to
sarvatra : everything
samam : same
pashyati : see
yaha : one who
arjuna : O Arjuna
sukham : joy
vaa : in
yadi : whether
vaa : or in
dukham : sorrow
saha : such a
yogi : yogi
parami : supreme
mathaha : is considered
 
In this shloka, Shri Krishna concludes his discourse on the topic of meditation. He also summarizes the entire topic of meditation. He says that one who sees himself in others, and thus experiences their joys and sorrows, becomes a yogi or meditator of the highest caliber.
 
This is a simple, straightforward and practical teaching that is central tenet of most religions: “do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” Shri Krishna echoes that golden rule in this shloka. He says that the perfected meditator sees no difference between himself and other beings, just like we do not see differences between our left and right hand, or other parts of the body.
 
If the meditator sees no difference between himself and other beings, then any negative emotions such as jealousy, hatred, greed and anger go away. When one cannot get angry at one’s right hand or left leg, how one get angry with anyone or anything if all are part of the same “being”? In other words, the meditator “puts himself in the other person’s shoes”. He experiences joy when others are happy. He experiences sorrow when others feel sad.
 
Moreover, one who obtains such a vision will never hurt anyone else physically, mentally or verbally. Such an attitude of non-violence or ahimsa comes naturally to a meditator, since meditation is next to impossible for a person that harbours any kind of hatred or negative emotion towards anyone.
 
With this shloka, Shri Krishna concludes the topic of meditation. But the chapter is not over yet. In the next shloka, Arjuna raises a doubt that many of us would agree with.

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.
 

Bhagavad Gita Verse 5, Chapter 5

09 Friday Mar 2012

Posted by in 5.5, api, cha, chapter 5 verse 5, ekam, gamyate, pashyati, praapyate, saankhyaih, saankhyam, sah, sthaanam, tat, yah, yat, yogaih, yogam

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yatsaankhyaih praapyate sthaanam tadyogairapi gamyate |
ekam saankhyam cha yogam cha yah pashyati sah pashyati || 5 ||

One who obtains the state of bliss through knowledge, also reaches that same state through yoga. He who sees knowledge and yoga as one, that person sees (correctly).

yat : one who
saankhyaih : through knowledge
praapyate : obtains
sthaanam : state of bliss
tat : that
yogaih : through yoga
api : also
gamyate : reaches
ekam : as one
saankhyam : knowledge
cha : and
yogam : yoga
cha : also
yah : the person who
pashyati : sees
sah : that person
pashyati : sees

In this shloka, the words yoga and knowledge need further elaboration to get at the underlying meaning. In the context of this chapter, they mean yoga of action (karmayoga) and yoga of knowledge through renunciation (karma sannyaasa yoga) respectively. Having added this context, the shloka now reads as follows: one who obtains the state of bliss through the yoga of knowledge, also reaches that same state through the yoga of action. In the wise person’s view, both of these are one. It is like two passengers boarding a train from different stations. Both reach the same destination.

Let us dig deeper to understand what is common between renunciation and action. Imagine that two people are striving for self-realization. One person performs karma yoga, but does not think carefully about how he performs his actions. Without proper thought and discrimination, his actions become selfish and his vaasanaas increase. Ultimately, he does not attain his goal.

The other person decides that he prefers renunciation. He goes to an ashram to lead the life of a monk. But even thought he has renounced the material world, he keeps thinking about his life in the material world. He too, does not attain his goal, because his desires prevent him from properly absorbing his teacher’s teachings.

In both cases, renunciation and action do not work because they are missing the key ingredient – knowledge. Unless one uses discrimination while performing action, or maintains the knowledge that I am not the doer prior to renunciation, the goal is not attained by either person. Therefore, Shri Krishna urges wise people to keep discrimination in the picture while considering either stage of the path.

Having reassured Arjuna that both stages yield the same outcome, Shri Krishna next addresses why karma yoga is more appropriate for Arjuna.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 29, Chapter 2

27 Thursday Oct 2011

Posted by in 2.29, aashcharyavat, anyaha, api, cha, chapter 2 verse 29, enam, eva, kashchit, na, pashyati, shrunooti, shrutva, tathaa, vadati, veda

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aashcharyavatpashyati kashchidenamaashcharyavadvadati tathaiva chaanyaha |
aashcharyavachchainamanyaha shrunooti shrutvaapyenam veda na chaiva kashchit || 29 ||

Some perceive this (eternal essence) as a wonder, and similarly indeed, others speak of it as a wonder; it is a wonder that some hear about this, and after hearing about it, some understand this and some do not.

aashcharyavat : as a wonder
pashyati : perceive
kashchit : some
enam : this
vadati : speak
tathaa : similarly
eva : thus
cha : and
anyaha : others
shrunooti : listen
shrutva : hearing
api : also
enam : this
veda : know
na : don’t

Shri Krishna was getting ready to conclude the topic of the eternal essence. Therefore, he wanted to remind Arjuna about it, and also instill a sense of deep curiosity and interest in him. In this shloka, Shri Krishna did both of those things.

Four types of spiritual seekers are pointed out here. Firstly, there are seekers who have heard about the eternal essence through the Gita or through other means. Usually, most of them will hear about it and forget about it. But there will be some that will become interested in it, and will want to hear more – this is the second category. Of those seekers, some will try to gain an intellectual understanding about it and having done so, will be so enthralled with it that they will keep speaking about it to other people. This is the third category.

But the most devoted and advanced seekers will ultimately perceive the eternal essence directly, and the perception would have occurred without any sense organs. When this happens, there would be no words to describe it. The closest one could come to describing it is when we see something so wonderful that it renders us speechless, like a breathtaking painting or a waterfall.

Note that the meter has changed in this verse to indicate its importance.