Category Archives: prabhuh

Bhagavad Gita Verse 18, Chapter 9

13 Monday Aug 2012

Posted by in 9.18, avyayam, beejam, chapter 9 verse 18 bhartaa, gatihi, nidhaanam, nivaasaha, prabhavah, prabhuh, pralayah, saakshi, sharanam, sthaanam, suhrita

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gatirbhartaa prabhuh saakshi nivaasaha sharanam suhrita |
prabhavah pralayah sthaanam nidhaanam beejamavyayam || 18 ||
 
I am the outcome, nourisher, master, witness, abode, refuge and well-wisher. I am the origin, dissolution, sustenance, repository and the imperishable seed.
 
gatihi : outcome
bhartaa : nourisher
prabhuh : master
saakshi : witness
nivaasaha : abode
sharanam : refuge
suhrita : well-wisher
prabhavah : origin
pralayah : dissolution
sthaanam : sustenance
nidhaanam : repository
beejam : seed
avyayam : imperishable
 
Shri Krishna gives 12 single-word pointers or indicators of Ishvara. These are considered the foundation of many bhakti traditions. A more exhaustive list is provided in the Vishnu Sahasranaama, the thousand names of Ishvara as Lord Vishnu.
 
“Gatihi” means goal, destination or outcome. The karmaphaa, the fruit of our action, leads us to our destination or goal. The actions are the means, and the fruit of the actions is the goal. Shri Krishna says that Ishvara is the highest goal that we can aspire to. “Bhartaa” is the controller and supporter of the entire universe. It literally means someone who provides for his family. Ishvara nourishes and takes care of all beings in this universe, hence he is the provider of the universe. Since he is also the ultimate controller and master, he is known as “Prabhuhu”.
 
When we are kids, we aspire to become like our parents. They provide for us and also control our activities. They are our gatihi, bhartaa and prabhuhu. But if they get too attached to us, they will continue planning our life even when we become adults. That is why Ishvara remains an unattached witness, or “saakshi”.
 
Furthermore, Ishvara is the “nivaasaha” or container of the universe. He is “sharanam”, the ultimate refuge when there is no one else left for us to turn to. He is a well wisher or “suhrita”, someone who does not expect anything in return. Ishvara creates, dissolves and maintains the universe therefore he is “prabhavaha”, “pralaya” and “sthaanam”. He is also “nidhaanam”, the repository where all beings become unmanifest at the end of creation.
 
Finally, Ishvara is the seed that has created the universe. Unlike most seeds that can only generate one plant, Ishvara continues to create the universe infinitely, without modification. Hence he is called the imperishable seed “avyayam beejam”.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 14, Chapter 5

18 Sunday Mar 2012

Posted by in 5.14, chapter 5 verse 14, karmaani, karmaphala, kartritvam, lokasya, na, prabhuh, pravartate, saiyogam, srijati, svabhaavaha, tu

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na kartritvam na karmaani lokasya srijati prabhuh |
na karmaphalasaiyogam svabhaavastu pravartate || 14 ||

Neither agency nor actions, in this world, are created by the eternal essence, and neither does it connect actions to results; for nature organizes (all this).

na : not
kartritvam : agency, doership
na : not
karmaani : actions
lokasya : in this world
srijati : create
prabhuh : eternal essence
na : not
karmaphala : results and actions
saiyogam : connect
svabhaavaha : nature
tu : for
pravartate : organizes (all this)

Earlier, Shri Krishna provided the example of the dweller in the city to illustrate the distinction between the eternal essence and the body, mind and intellect. In this shloka, he takes us one step further by saying that the eternal essence is beyond the realm of action. Furthermore, since action implies doership, results and their enjoyership, action and everything that comes with it is in the realm of prakriti or nature. The eternal essence is separate and distinct from action.

Any self-contained system has inherent rules which govern its operations. For example, let us consider the Pac-Man video game. The game is played in a computer that has four buttons which are used to move Pac-Man up, down, left or right. The rules of the game are programmed into the system. If the player manages to get the fruit while evading the monsters, he wins the game. All this happens automatically. It does not require external intervention by any divine or human entity.

But if we take a step back, the Pac-Man character does not really “move” anywhere. It is an illusion created by the computer by projecting the Pac-Man image to different parts of the screen. One who is watching the game very objectively knows that there is no movement of left, right etc.

Similarly, one who sees the world from the absolute standpoint of the eternal essence knows that in reality, there is no action. Action only exists from the standpoint of nature or prakriti. And if action only exists in nature, so does doership, enjoyership, and connection of actions to their results. It is a self-governing automatic system.