Category Archives: prithak

Bhagavad Gita Verse 14, Chapter 18

02 Sunday Jun 2013

Posted by in 18.14, adhishthaanam, atra, chapter 18 verse 14, cheshtaa, daivam, karanam, kartaa, panchamam, prithagvidham, prithak, tathaa, vividhaahaa

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adhishthaanam tathaa kartaa karanam cha prithagvidham |
vividhaashcha prithakcheshtaa daivam chaivaatra panchamam || 14 ||
 
The foundation, the doer and several instruments, and the various movements of several types, as well as the divinity, the fifth in these.
 
adhishthaanam : foundation
tathaa : and also
kartaa : doer
karanam : instruments
cha : and
prithagvidham : several
vividhaahaa : types
cha : and
prithak : various
cheshtaa : movements
daivam : divinity
cha : and
eva : also
atra : in these
panchamam : fifth
 
Nowadays robots are quite common, and are being used for cleaning home floors as well. For a robot to perform any action, there are at least three factors at work. First is the body of the robot, which will determine things like how fast or how powerful actions can be performed. Second is the instruments of the robot, such as its sensors, its hands, its wheels and so on. Third is the power system of the robot, which typically is electricity but could also be diesel or steam.
 
Shri Krishna says that whenever a human being performs an action, the same three factors come into play. The size of our body, the state of our instruments (organs of action and organs of sense) and our power system (our praana, our energy and health), each factor is responsible for the fate of our action. But there has to be something that differentiates us from robots, and therefore, two additional factors are mentioned: the kartaa or the doer, and the daivam or divinity.
 
The fourth component known as the kartaa, the doer, also known as the sense of agency, is nothing but the notion of finitude within us, what we normally term as the “I”. When our intellect plans an action, we say, “I am thinking” instead of saying “the intellect is thinking”. When our hand is performing the action, we say “I am sweeping the floor” instead of “the hand is sweeping the floor”. When our eyes perceive an obstacle, we say “I see a wall” instead of “the eyes see a wall”. Seen in this manner, the sense of “I” is quite illusory. For now, we can say that it is the motive behind performance of action that identifies with a certain aspect of the mind or body, a certain upaadhi.
 
The fifth component of any action is the daivam, the divinity. Unless Ishvara supports an action, it will not result in success. Or we can say that the world, or the universe as a whole, also has a part in determining the outcome of an action. Despite everything executed perfectly at the individual level, it still has to align with the action at the universal level.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 1, Chapter 18

20 Monday May 2013

Posted by in 18.1, chapter 18 verse 1, hrisheekesha, ichhaami, keshinishudana, mahaabaaho, prithak, sannyaasasya, tattvam, tyaagasya, veditum

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Arjuna uvaacha:
sannyaasasya mahaabaaho tattvamichhaami veditum |
tyaagasya cha hrisheekesha prithakkeshinishudana || 1 ||
 
Arjuna said:
O mighty armed, O Hrisheekesha, O slayer of Keshin, I wish to know the difference between sanyaasa and tyaaga.
 
sannyaasasya: sannyaasa
mahaabaaho : O mighty armed
tattvam : essence
ichhaami : I wish
veditum : know
tyaagasya : tyaaga
cha : and
hrisheekesha : O Hrisheekesha
prithak : difference
keshinishudana : slayer of Keshi
 
We now commence the eighteenth chapter, which is the final chapter of the Gita. It is the longest chapter, coming in at 78 shlokas. It is a summary of the entire Gita teaching condensed into one chapter. It addresses many topics and themes covered in the entire Gita, and ties up many loose ends as well. It is the most practical among all of the chapters, containing lessons applicable every aspect of our life. Arjuna begins this chapter with a question to Shri Krishna. He wants to know what is the difference between two terms – sannyaasa and tyaaga.
 
At a superficial level, both the terms have a common meaning which is renunciation. Arjuna probably had come across these terms being used in scriptures or chants, and wanted to know whether there was a difference. But this question is similar to his query in regards to the difference between karma yoga and jnyaana yoga in the third chapter, and the difference between karma yoga and karma sanyaasa in the fifth chapter. Broadly, he wants to know when to act and when not to act. It is a good question because the topic of karma contains many nuances that require clarification and elaboration, which are found in this chapter.
 
It is interesting to look at the three titles used by Arjuna to address Shri Krishna. Hrisheekesha is one who has conquered the senses. Mahabaaho is one who is mighty armed, one who has tremendous power and energy. Keshinisudana is one who has killed the demon Keshi, who is an enemy. Therefore, only one who has conquered the senses can gain power to destroy one’s internal and external enemies.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 4, Chapter 13

04 Friday Jan 2013

Posted by in 13.4, bahudhaa, brahmasootrapadaihi, cha, chandobhihi, chapter 13 verse 4, eva, geetam, hetumadbhihi, prithak, rishibhihi, vinishchitaihi, vividhaihi

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rishibhirbahudhaa geetam chandobhirvividhaihi prithak |
brahmasootrapadaishchaiva hetumadbhirvinishchitaihi || 4 ||
 
Sages have sung (about the field and its knower) in many ways, it has been stated in various Vedic chants and also in the logical and conclusive texts of the Brahma Sootras.
 
rishibhihi : by sages
bahudhaa : many ways
geetam : sung
chandobhihi : Vedic chants
vividhaihi : various
prithak : distinctly
brahmasootrapadaihi : Brahma Sootra texts
cha : and
eva : also
hetumadbhihi : logical
vinishchitaihi : conclusive
 
Shri Krishna glorifies the knowledge of the field and its knower in this shloka. He affirms that this very same knowledge was first revealed to the rishis or sages, and is not something that has been invented in the Gita. It was then documented in the four Vedas: the Rik, Saama, Yajur and Atharva. It is to be found in all three sections of each of these Vedas: the Samhitaa (hymns), Braahmanaa (theology) and Upanishads (discourses on divine knowledge). It is important to note that this knowledge was revealed to the sages in their meditations, and not authored as an original composition by anybody. Since this knowledge is beyond the realm of the senses and the mind, it could not have come from any one person’s mind. It had to come from direct experience arrived at through meditation.
 
Now, even if we are able to access this divine knowledge by studying the Vedas, we cannot assimilate this knowledge without the help of logic. We need something that can explain, step-by-step, what is revealed in the four Vedas. We also need logic to reconcile apparent contradictions that we as students come across while studying the Vedas. The Brahma Sootras, authored by Vyaasa, use logic and reason to present the knowledge of the Vedas in a precise, formula-like method. Each sootra in that text is hardly two or three words long, but is packed with so much information that commentators like Shankaraachaarya write pages and pages to explain just one sootra.
 
The Bhagavad Gita, the Upanishads and the Brahma Sootras are known as the “Prasthaana Traya”, and together provide a comprehensive compendium of knowledge about the field and its knower, as well as practical training on how to go about it. Of the three, the Bhagavad Gita is closest to the understanding of a common man. Shri Krishna instructs us to learn about the field and the knower in brief such that we can progress in our spiritual journey. But if we want to delve deeper into the details for academic reasons, we are more than welcome to read the Vedas and the Brahma Sootras. He now proceeds to talk about the field, the kshetra, in detail.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 4, Chapter 5

08 Thursday Mar 2012

Posted by in 5.4, aasthitaha, api, baalaaha, chapter 5 verse 4, ekam, na, panditaahaa, phalam, pravadanti, prithak, saankhya, samyak, ubhayoha, vindate, yogau

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saankhyayogau prithagbaalaaha pravadanti na panditaahaa |
ekamapyaasthitaha samyagubhayorvindate phalam || 4 ||

Only children say that the yoga of knowledge and the yoga of action are different, wise people do not. One who is perfectly established in one, obtains the result of both.

saankhya : yoga of knowledge
yogau : yoga of action
prithak : different
baalaaha : children
pravadanti : say
na : not
panditaahaa : wise people
ekam : one
api : also
aasthitaha : established
samyak : perfectly
ubhayoha : both
vindate : obtain
phalam : result

Shri Krishna reiterates his message from third chapter in this shloka. He says that the path to attain self-realization is one, but it has two stages. In the first stage, the seeker performs actions per his svadharma, but focuses on checking and sublimating the ego while performing his actions. This stage is called karma yoga. When the seeker has exhausted the majority of his desires, he becomes ready for the next stage.

In the second stage, the seeker minimizes actions other than those performed for gaining knowledge through the guidance of a teacher. The second stage is possible only after the ego has been sublimated through renunciation. This stage is called karma sannyaasa.

Shri Krishna then goes on to say that only people who are ignorant of the connection between these two stages say that karma-sannyaasa and karmayoga are different paths. They also think that it is possible to bypass stage one and go straight to stage two. This ability to bypass stage one is only possible for a handful of advanced seekers in this world, seekers who have already sublimated their desires.

Therefore, having known this, he urges us to become wise people and to not think of the path to self-realization as two different paths. If we become established in one stage, we will automatically get the result of self-realization that one gets from pursuing the other stage. In other words, we should follow the one path that we are qualified for, and follow it properly.

How should a wise person look at these two stages? We will see in the next shloka.