• Get The Book
  • Home
  • About
  • Daily Prayer
  • Resources For Further Study

A simple, modern translation and explanation of the Bhagavad Gita with shloka (verse) meaning

~ Gita Journey is a straightforward, modern, contemporary, basic explanation and commentary of the Bhagawat Gita, with Sanskrit to English word meanings. Each shloka (verse) is explained in detail. An introduction to the Bhagavad Gita along with study resources can also be found here. A summary of each chapter of the Bhagavad Gita is also included. It does not matter whether you are a student, a retiree, a professional, a mom, a dad or a housewife – no prior knowledge is needed.

A simple, modern translation and explanation of the Bhagavad Gita with shloka (verse) meaning

Category Archives: prabhavaha

Bhagavad Gita Verse 8, Chapter 10

07 Friday Sep 2012

Posted by skr_2011 in 10.8, aham, bhaavasamanvitaahaa, bhajante, budhaahaa, chapter 10 verse 8, iti, maam, mattaha, matvaa, prabhavaha, pravartate, sarvam, sarvasya

≈ Comments Off on Bhagavad Gita Verse 8, Chapter 10

aham sarvasya prabhavo mattaha sarvam pravartate |
iti matvaa bhajante maam budhaa bhaavasamanvitaahaa || 8 ||

 
I am the cause of everything, everything originates from me. Realizing this, wise individuals filled with this attitude worship me.
 
aham : I
sarvasya : everything
prabhavaha : cause
mattaha : from me
sarvam : everything
pravartate : originates
iti : this
matvaa : realizing
bhajante : worship
maam : me
budhaahaa : wise individuals
bhaavasamanvitaahaa : filled with this attitude
 
“Avikampena yoga”, the unwavering, unshakeable yoga, is defined by Shri Krishna as knowing that Ishvara is the cause of everything, and that everything originates from Ishvara. Those who have established themselves in this yoga are “budhaa”, they are wise. They only worship or contemplate upon Ishvara, remaining unaffected by the ups and downs in life.
 
Imagine an adult and a child walking inside a haunted house within an amusement park. Though both of them see and hear the same things, they have different reactions. The child thinks that the ghosts and the eerie noises are real and becomes afraid. The adult knows that everything inside is fake, it is unreal. So enjoys the thrill of the haunted house without being afraid.
 
The difference between the adult and the child is that the adult has knowledge about the cause of the ghosts and the noises. Similarly, Shri Krishna says that one who knows Ishvara as the cause of everything will develop an extremely positive attitude towards life. He will take failures as learning opportunities, not as triggers for depression. He will never question why something bad happened to him, knowing that it is a result of his prior actions.
 
One who has developed such an outlook towards life will worship Ishvara at all times. This is indicated by the worlds “maam bhajante”. He will experience sorrow only if he forgets that Ishvara is the cause of everything. When one has understood that Ishvara, as the cause of everything, also is the ultimate goal, then they become totally immersed in Ishvara, as described in the next shloka.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 6, Chapter 7

31 Thursday May 2012

Posted by skr_2011 in 7.6, aham, bhootaani, chapter 7 verse 6, etat, iti, jagataha, kritsnasya, prabhavaha, pralayaha, sarvaani, tathaa, upadhaaraya, yoneeni

≈ Comments Off on Bhagavad Gita Verse 6, Chapter 7

etadyoneeni bhootaani sarvaaneetyupadhaaraya |
aham kritsnasya jagataha prabhavaha pralayastathaa || 6 ||

 
Both these are the wombs of all beings, understand this. I am the source as well as the dissolution of the entire universe.
 
etat : both these
yoneeni : wombs
bhootaani : beings
sarvaani : all
iti : this
upadhaaraya : understand
aham : I
kritsnasya : entire
jagataha : universe
prabhavaha : source
pralayaha : dissolution
tathaa : as well as
 
Having described both his lower and higher nature, Shri Krishna says both those natures combine to create everything in this universe. This creation is described poetically as the “womb” from which everything originates. The lower nature and higher nature are both needed to create this universe. Furthermore, everything that is created is also sustained and ultimately dissolved into Ishvara. In other words, Ishvara creates, maintains and dissolves the entire universe.
 
Let us now understand the deeper meaning of this shloka. But before we proceed, let us first understand what is meant by cause and effect. When we hold a piece of cloth, what do we see? We see its color, its texture, its shape and so on. But if were to go back in time, we would see that cloth come from cotton threads, which came from a cotton plant, which came from a cotton seed, which at some point came from the earth. So the cause of the cloth was the earth, and the effect is the cloth.
 
Unfortunately, our minds have been conditioned to focus on the effect, and not on the cause. We see the cloth and its attributes, but do not even think about the cause, because that requires our intellect to come into the picture. Most economic, social and political movements tend to fail because they only focus on the symptoms and not the cause. For example, imprisoning small-time drug dealers does not stop the drug trade, because the demand for drugs will push some other person into dealing drugs.
 
Now let us look at this shloka from the standpoint of cause and effect. If we were to trace the ultimate cause of anything in this universe, it eventually comes back to Ishvara’s lower and higher natures. Therefore, Shri Krishna is asserting the fact that Ishvara is everywhere. Even though our eyes cannot see the form of a deity in front of us, our intellect will tell us that the ultimate cause is Ishvara. Our eyes give us jnyaanam or knowledge of the effect, our intellect provides us with vijnyaanam, which is the vision of the cause.
 
In mythology, this intellectual vision is depicted as the “third eye” of Lord Shiva that turns everything into ashes. This eye is a metaphor for developing equanimity of vision. If we learn to behold Ishvara as the cause of every object that we see, we will automatically begin to see Ishvara everywhere. So therefore, this shloka urges us to exercise our intellect so that we can see Ishvara everywhere.
 
Seeing Ishvara in everything is a huge milestone in the spiritual path. What is the next milestone?

New! Youtube Channel

Watch our YouTube videos!

All shokas (verses) available here:

Most Visited Verses

  • Summary of Bhagavad Gita Chapter 15
  • Summary Of Bhagavad Gita Chapter 1
  • Summary of Bhagavad Gita Chapter 16
  • Bhagavad Gita Verse 2, Chapter 2
  • Bhagavad Gita Verse 32, Chapter 9
  • Bhagavad Gita Verse 1, Chapter 12
  • Bhagavad Gita Verse 47, Chapter 6
  • Summary of Bhagavad Gita Chapter 12
  • Resources For Further Study
  • Bhagavad Gita Verse 28-30, Chapter 1

Give Feedback

Email the author: gkmdisc at hotmail.com

Books By The Author

The entire Gita book written by the author of this blog, as well as shorter, easier to read versions of the Gita are available here.

Blog at WordPress.com.