Category Archives: pravrittim

Bhagavad Gita Verse 30, Chapter 18

18 Tuesday Jun 2013

Posted by in 18.30, bandham, bhayaabhaye, buddhihi, http://schemas.google.com/blogger/2008/kind#post, kaaryaakaarye, moksham, nivrittim, paartha, pravrittim, saattvikee, vetti

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pravrittim cha nivrittim cha kaaryaakaarye bhayaabhaye |
bandham moksham cha yaa vetti buddhihi saa paartha saattvikee || 30 ||
 
That intellect which knows engagement and withdrawal, what is duty and what is not, fear and fearlessness, bondage and liberation, O Paartha, that is saattvic.
 
pravrittim : engagement
cha : and
nivrittim : withdrawal
cha : and
kaaryaakaarye : what is duty and what is not
bhayaabhaye : fear and fearlessness
bandham : bondage
moksham : liberation
cha : and
yaa : which
vetti : knows
buddhihi : intellect
saa : that
paartha : O Paartha
saattvikee : is saattvic
 
Our jnyaanam, our knowledge, gives us an object to pursue, person to approach, or situation to create. Now it is upto our buddhi, our intellect, to decide the course of action. Typically, for any objectve, we need to decide whether or not we want pursue the objective, and if we do, how should we go about doing it. Shri Krishna says that a saattvic intellect, a saattvic buddhi is one that is clear on those two factors. In fact, Shri Krishna breaks the two factors down into four assessments: assessing one’s stage in life and one’s svadharma first, then whether an action is one’s duty or not, then whether to be fearful or not, and lastly, whether to continue to act or not.
 
As we will see in a later topic in this chapter, the varna aashrama system, the system of aptitude and stage of life, helps us determine whether we should act at all, and if so, which actions should we perform and which we should not. A student should focus on studying, not in creating a family. A soldier should focus on protecting his country, not making money by selling his country out. The varna aashrama system helps address the first two assessments: engagement and withdrawal, and what is our duty and what is not. For example, if we get a new business proposal, we should assess whether we have the aptitude to execute it, but also, whether we are in the right stage of life. It is no use starting a new business when we are in our late sixties.
 
Once the varna aashrama system has approved the performance of an action, we need to test whether the action is motivated by personal reward, or whether it is motivated by selfless service. If we have fear in our mind while performing an action, chances are that a trace of egoism has crept into it. We may be doing the action out of the need for praise and honour. But if our mind is fearless, we can assume that our action is motivated out of selflessness. Lastly, as we perform one action after another, we should always examine whether these actions are taking us closer to liberation, or are further entrenching us in the material world. An intellect that guides us in such a manner is termed saattvic.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 7, Chapter 16

02 Tuesday Apr 2013

Posted by in 16.7, aasuraahaa, achaaraha, chapter 16 verse 7, janaahaa, nivrittim, pravrittim, satyam, shaucham, teshu, viduhu, vidyate

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pravrittim cha nivrittim cha janaa na viduraasuraahaa |
na shaucham naapi chaachaaro na satyam teshu vidyate || 7 ||
 
Whether to engage or to disengage from action, those people with devilish tendencies do not know. Neither purity nor proper conduct nor truth exists in them.
 
pravrittim : engaging in action
cha : and
nivrittim : disengaging from action
cha : and
janaahaa : people
na : not
viduhu : know
aasuraahaa : those with devilish tendencies
na : not
shaucham : purity
na : not
api : also
cha : and
achaaraha : proper conduct
na : not
satyam : truth
teshu : in them
vidyate : exists
 
Shri Krishna begins his explanation of the materialistic viewpoint by examining its value system. He says that those people who come from a purely materialistic viewpoint have a shaky value system. In other words, they do not know what to do and what not to do, when to engage in something and when not to. They focus only on artha or wealth and kaama or desire. They forget that there are two other goals in life, dharma or duty and moksha or liberation, and that each goal is to be picked up and left off at a certain stage in life.
 
Now, since such people are unclear about the pros and cons of everything, they are bound to do things in a haphazard and messy way. Shri Krishna says that such people do not have shaucha, they do not have purity. He refers not just to external purity but also internal. When someone does not have a systematic way of thinking through things, there is a strong chance that they will lead messy lives. Furthermore, their conduct towards others, their aacharana, will also be messy and haphazard. They will lack good manners, courtesy and politeness.
 
It also follows that when someone does not know the pros and cons of anything, they will not place a lot of importance on satyam, truth, doing things the right way. So if they do not get the result they want, they have no qualms in getting their results by lying, cheating and deceit. They do not want to wait for the result, because waiting takes time. If there is a shortcut, they will go for it. Such is the value system of the aasuri, the devilish, the materialistic viewpoint.

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.