Category Archives: purusham

Bhagavad Gita Verse 4, Chapter 15

09 Saturday Mar 2013

Posted by in 15.4, aadyam, bhooyaha, chapter 15 verse 4, gataaha, nivartanti, padam, parimaargatavyam, prapadye, prasritaa, pravrittihi, puraanee, purusham, tataha, yasmin, yataha

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tataha padam tatparimaargatavyam yasmingataa na nivartanti bhooyaha |
tameva chaadyam purusham prapadye yataha pravrittihi prasritaa puraanee || 4 ||
 
Then that goal should be sought, having attained which, none return again. I seek refuge in that original Purusha from which has sprung this ancient sprout.
 
tataha : then
padam : goal
tat : that
parimaargatavyam : sought
yasmin : by which
gataaha : having attained
na : not
nivartanti : return
bhooyaha : again
tam : that
eva : only
cha : and
aadyam : original
purusham : Purusha
prapadye : seek refuge
yataha : from whom
pravrittihi : sprung
prasritaa : sprout
puraanee : ancient
 
A family of tourists is driving around in a new city without the help of a map or a GPS device. A left turn here, a right turn there, and they are utterly lost. The wife asks the husband to stop the car and ask a shopkeeper for directions. The husband says no, and continues driving in circles for an hour. The wife yells at the husband who finally agrees to ask a shopkeeper for directions. This is an all too common occurrence. Unless the ego is surrendered, even material knowledge is far from reach.
 
Shri Krishna says : All of you are thoroughly lost in the cycle of action and reaction, the tree of samsaara. So take refuge in me. I am the original Purusha, the root from which this tree of samsaara has sprung up. I have created this universe like a magician creates his illusion. Don’t get lost in the branches of the tree which are fueled by the three gunas of Prakriti. Come straight to the source, which is me. I am giving you a hand to save you from drowning in samsaara. Hold it tightly and do not let it go. This is the meaning of the word prapatti, which had also come up in the seventh chapter.
 
This prapatti, this seeking of refuge in Ishvara will help us cultivate dispassion towards samsaara. But this dispassion will not come overnight, it will come gradually. First, karma yoga has to be practised as prescribed by Shri Krishna. We should reduce selfish actions, increase selfless actions, then drop our attitude of doership. We cannot have it both ways – we cannot love Ishvara and love the material world at the same time. If we cannot control our mind and senses, we have yet to cultivate real devotion for Ishvara. Devotion, coupled with dispassion towards the world, will result in our liberation, the goal from which we will not have to return back to the material world.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 23, Chapter 13

24 Thursday Jan 2013

Posted by in 13.23, abhijaayate, bhooyaha, chapter 13 verse 23, evam, gunaih, prakritim, purusham, saha, sarvathaa, vartamaanaha, vetti, yaha

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ya evam vetti purusham prakritim cha gunaih saha |
sarvathaa vartamaanopi na sa bhooyobhijaayate || 23 ||
 
He who thus knows Purusha and Prakriti, along with the gunaas, no matter what his conduct, is never born again.
 
yaha : he who
evam : thus
vetti : knows
purusham : Purusha
prakritim : Prakriti
cha : and
gunaih : gunaas
saha : along with
sarvathaa : whatever
vartamaanaha : conduct
api : no matter
na : not
saha : he
bhooyaha : again
abhijaayate : born
 
To better understand this shloka, let us quickly take a look at the theory of karma. It says that each of us comes with three types of karmas, which are unfulfilled desires that become seeds of future actions. Total karmas or “sanchita” karmas are the entire stock of our karmas. Present life karmas or “prarabdha” karmas are those karmas that are activated in our present life. Expected karmas or “agaami” karmas are those karmas that will be generated due to the results of actions in the present life. These karmas get added to our sanchita karmas, our stock of karmas.
 
As an illustration, consider this. The arrows in an archer’s quiver are sanchita karmas, the arrows that have left his bow are prarabdha karmas, and the arrows that are loaded on the bow are agaami karmas. The Vedas assert that so long as an individual maintains a stock of karmas, he has to take on a body to exhaust those karmas. In each birth, a portion of the stock of karmas is allocated to the individual so that he can exhaust them. By generating further selfish desires, the individual adds to his stock of karmas, and the cycle of birth goes on indefinitely.
 
Shri Krishna says that the one who has properly understood the relationship between Purusha and Prakriti, one who has understood the identification of the eternal essence with Prakriti due to ignorance and the consequent rushing after the gunaas, is never born again. This means that his stock of karmas is destroyed, just like a spark of fire destroys dry hay. He does not generate any further selfish desires, because he is no longer fascinated by the play of the three gunaas. Why does this happen? When one realizes that selfish desire is created by ignorance of one’s true nature, it wipes out any notion of selfishness completely. There is no longer an urge to come into contact with Prakriti.
 
Now, this person still has to deal with his prarabdha. His present life karmas continue to be active until his body drops off, after which he does not have to take any further births. The word “api” in the shloka indicates that the individual can continue to perform his duties even if he has realized his true nature as the eternal essence, just like king Janaka continued to rule his kingdom even though he had achieved liberation.
 
Shri Krishna concludes the topic of Purusha and Prakriti with this shloka.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 19, Chapter 13

20 Sunday Jan 2013

Posted by in 13.19, anaadi, chapter 13 verse 19, gunaan, prakritim, prakritisambhavaan, purusham, ubhau, viddhi, vikaaraan

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prakritim purusham chaiva viddhyanaadi ubhaavapi |
vikaaraanshcha gunaanshchaiva viddhi prakritisambhavaan | | 19 ||
 
Know that surely, both Prakriti and Purusha are without beginning. Also, know that in fact, all modifications and qualities are born of Prakriti.
 
prakritim : prakriti
purusham : purusha
cha : and
eva : surely
viddhi : know
anaadi : without beginning
ubhau : both
api : also
vikaaraan : modifications
cha : and
gunaan : qualities
cha : and
eva : in fact
viddhi : know
prakritisambhavaan : born of prakriti
 
Shri Krishna now describes how we fall into the trap of samsaara, the cycle of birth and death. In many respects, this topic is a continuation of the discussion of higher and lower prakriti from the seventh chapter. Let us quickly recap what we saw there. We learnt about two aspects of Ishvara, the lower and the higher. The lower nature comprises the five elements plus the mind, ego and intellect. The higher nature comprises the life-giving force which is also the experiencer, the subject. In this manner, Ishvara is established as the ultimate cause of the universe.
 
Here, the lower nature is termed “Prakriti” and the higher nature is termed “Purusha”. First, Shri Krishna says that both these aspects of Ishvara are without beginning, they are eternal. This is because Ishvara himself is eternal, so it logically follows that his aspects must also be eternal. But we also have to note that something which has no beginning can have an end. We will come back to this point later in the discussion.
 
The second statement here states that all modifications and qualities are born out of Prakriti. Maaya and prakriti refer to the same thing. Prakriti is a power wielded by Ishvara. It is beyond the comprehension of our intellect since our intellect itself is a product of Prakriti. The only way to understand Prakriti is to think of it as a magician’s illusion. This Prakriti gives rise to five elements that produce the entire visible universe. These combinations or modifications of Prakriti are termed as “vikaaraas”. Prakriti also comprises the three “gunaas” or qualities which are sattva, rajas and tamas. These qualities manifest as mental states such as happiness, sorrow and attachment.
 
In other words, if we go back in time, if we press the rewind button, we will see that everything merges back into Prakriti, everything has come from Prakriti. Now, let us get practical. Whenever we experience emotions such as sorrow, grief, anger and so on, it is Prakriti that creates it, not the self, not the “I”. This is what was explained in the shloka. But, when anger arises in our mind, for instance, we always say “I am angry”. How do we come to the conclusion that the “I” is angry when it is Prakriti that created the anger? This is taken up next.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 12, Chapter 10

12 Wednesday Sep 2012

Posted by in 10, 12, ajam. vibhum, bhavaan, brahma, chapter 10 verse 12, dhaama, divyam. aadidevam, param, pavitram, purusham, shaashvatam

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Arjuna uvaacha:
param brahma param dhaama pavitram paramam bhavaan |
purusham shaashvatam divyamaadidevamajam vibhum || 12 ||
 
Arjuna said:
You are the supreme absolute, the supreme abode, supremely pure. You are the divine eternal person, the original deity who is beyond birth, all-pervading.
 
param : supreme
brahma : absolute
dhaama : abode
pavitram : pure
bhavaan : you are
purusham : person
shaashvatam : eternal
divyam : divine
aadidevam : original deity
ajam : beyond birth
vibhum : all-pervading
 
Over the course of the previous chapters, Arjuna gained an understanding of the real nature of Ishvara, and of Shri Krishna as an avatara, a divine manifestation of Ishvara. This understanding prompted him to praise Ishvara, and that is what we will see in the next few shlokas.
 
Arjuna spoke of Ishvara as “parama brahman” which is the absolute reality, the eternal essence that was spoken of in the second chapter. He understood that Ishvara’s real nature is beyond time and space, it is that which is the support of time and space. Ishvara is”parama dhaaman”, the supreme goal, the ultimate abode of all beings. Ishvara is also the supreme purifier, as he destroys all traces of impurities in the form of ignorance.
 
The word “purusha” literally means, one who fills the body. Ishvara is the “divyam shaashvatam purusha”, the divine eternal person the comprises the entire universe, just like all of the cells in our body are termed as “body” in aggregate. Ishvara is divine because he is beyond the realm of impermanence caused by maaya. He is “ajam”, beyond birth, but is the cause of everyone else’s birth. He is “vibhum” which is all-pervading, he alone appears as everything.
 
Like the Vishnu Sahasranaam that enumerates a thousand names of Ishvara, this shloka can be used as a prayer to meditate upon Ishvara’s glories. Now, did only Arjuna think that this was the real nature of Ishvara or did others as well? Arjuna takes this up in the next shloka.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 10, Chapter 8

07 Saturday Jul 2012

Posted by in 8.10, aaveshya, achalena, bhaktyaa, bhruvoho, chapter 8 verse 10, divyam, madhye, manasa, param, praanam, prayaanakaale, purusham, samyak, upaiti, yogabalena, yuktaha

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prayaanakaale manasaachalena bhaktyaa yukto yogabalena chaiva |
bhruvormadhye praanamaaveshya samyak sa tam param purushamupaiti divyam || 10 ||
 
At the time of departure, endowed with devotion, an unwavering mind, as well as the power of yoga, fully establishing the praanaas in the centre of the eyebrows, he attains that supreme divine person.
 
prayaanakaale : at the time of departure
manasa : with mind
achalena : unwavering
bhaktyaa : with devotion
yuktaha : endowed with
yogabalena : power of yoga
cha : and
iva : also
bhruvoho : eyebrows
madhye : centre
praanam : praanaas
aaveshya : establishing
samyak : fully
saha : he
tam : that
param : supreme
purusham : person
upaiti : attains
divyam : divine
 
The puraanaas contain several stories describing how people endowed with yogic powers could control their life force or their praana and force it out of the body. At the end of the Mahabharata, many people including Yudhishthira and Draupadi left their bodies using yogic powers. If we interpret this shloka literally, it describes how one can remember Ishvara’s form while voluntarily starting the process of departing the body.
 
We, of course, do not know anything about such techniques, nor do we wish to pursue it. So therefore, let us examine the symbolic meaning of this shloka. “Prayaana kale” literally means the time of departure or death. Symbolically, it signifies the death of the ego, or the end of our notion of finitude. Therefore, when we rid ourselves of selfish desires, likes and dislikes, and in doing so slay the ego, we automatically develop firm devotion or bhakti towards Ishvara.
 
As our devotion increases, our mind’s tendency to jump from one thought to the other slows down, settling into the one thought of Ishvara. We can then meditate on the form of Ishvara as the supreme, divine person or parama purusha. All the energy that would normally have been wasted in selfish thinking and action is available to us now. We can channel this reservoir of energy towards meditation.
 
So therefore, if we use these instructions to develop the daily habit of meditating upon Ishvara, we will naturally and easily remember Ishvara when it is time for us to leave this world. The key thing, of course, is not to forcibly practice meditation, but to gradually ease into it as our level of devotion to Ishvara increases.
 
With this shloka, Shri Krishna concludes the topic of meditation on Ishvara’s form. The topic of meditation on Ishvara’s name is taken up next.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 8, Chapter 8

05 Thursday Jul 2012

Posted by in 8.8, abhyaasa, anuchintayan, anyagaaminaa, chapter 8 verse 8, chetasaa, divyam, na, paartha, paramam, purusham, yaati, yoga, yuktena

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abhyaasayogayuktena chetasaa naanyagaaminaa |
paramam purusham divyam yaati paarthaanuchintayan || 8 ||
 
With the mind engaged in constant practice of yoga, not diverting from it, contemplating the supreme divine person, (one) attains (him), O Paartha.
 
abhyaasa : constance practice
yoga : yoga
yuktena : engaged in
chetasaa : mind
na : not
anyagaaminaa : diverting from
paramam : supreme
purusham : person
divyam : divine
yaati : attains
paartha : O Paartha
anuchintayan : contemplating
 
Now that we know that the ultimate goal is upaasana, or constant meditation on Ishvara, how do we actually go about doing it? Shri Krishna described three kinds of meditation in the upcoming shlokas.
 
To perform upaasana, we need the support of either name or form, since it is extremely difficult to meditate upon something that is intangible. In the following three shlokas, Shri Krishna elaborates upon the technique of meditation on form. Here, he recalls the technique that was presented to us in the sixth chapter – abhyaasa yoga. In this technique, the mind is trained to focus exclusively on one thing. If it diverts to something else, then we bring it back to our object of meditation.
 
So then, what is the form that we meditate upon? We can meditate upon any form that we have a closeness to. It could be Lord Rama, Krishna, Hanuman or any deity. The deity should come to our mind effortlessly. There is no compulsion to chose one over the other. But as discussed earlier, we should be clear that the deity is an indicator or pointer to Ishvara, the supreme divine person being the words used in this shloka. We should not get stuck at the level of the deity we have chosen.
 
For those of us who are not so familiar with these deities, we can read scriptures like the Puraanaas that have wonderful stories describing the lives and exploits of these deities. Growing up in India, our generation was fortunate to read Amar Chitra Katha comics that presented these stories in a format that appealed to us as kids. They are available all over the world now.
 
As we increase our prowess in meditation, our notion of Ishvara also grows. To help us meditate upon Ishvara in all his grandeur, Shri Krishna gives us a pointer to this type of meditation in the next shloka that describes the form of the param purusha, the supreme being.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 15, Chapter 2

11 Tuesday Oct 2011

Posted by in 2.15, amrutatvaaya, chapter 2 verse 15, dheeram, hi, kalpate, purusham, purusharshabha, saha, samaduhkhasukham, vyathayanti, yam

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yam hi na vyathayantyete purusham purusharshabha |
samaduhkhasukham dheeram somrutatvaaya kalpate || 15 ||

Therefore, that person who is not agitated by these (contacts with material objects), O strongest of men, and can remain balanced in joy and sorrow; that wise person is fit for immortality.

yam : that
hi : therefore
na : not
vyathayanti : agitated
yete : these
purusham : person
purusharshabha : O strongest among men
samaduhkhasukham : balanced in joy and sorrow
dheeram : wise person
saha : that
amrutatvaaya : immortality
kalpate : fit for

Most people who read this verse immediately zero in on the last part and quickly ask the question “will this mean that if I follow the teaching in this verse, I will never die?”. Immortality here does not refer to a state where our body never perishes, or a state where we go to heaven and enjoy its delights forever.

What is meant here is that life is a series of experiences that arise, exist temporarily, and perish. The person who knows the “trick” of staying balanced through these experiences will attain a state where they will transcend the push and pull of these experiences, and will eventually get to touch that changeless, eternal essence that came up in the earlier verses. One who does not get affected by agitation is called “dheera”.

So how do we bring this down to our daily lives? Let’s first look at a simple question. Why do someone else’s agitations do not impact us? Because we do not associate our “I” with someone else’s agitations. Similarly, our “I” is also not associated with our body/mind/intellect related agitations and conditions. If there is a fragrance in the room, we do not say “I am fragrant”. Therefore, we should strive to keep the joyful or sorrowful condition from associating with the “I”. Instead of saying “I am sad”, we can say, “there is sadness”.

Furthermore, we have seen instances where people are ready to endure pain and sorrow when they attach themselves to a higher ideal. A parent will endure a lot of suffering so that he or she can educate the child. A freedom fighter will endure torture, or even die for the cause of the country’s freedom. This verse is asking us to become wise and aim for the highest possible ideal, that of the eternal essence.

We have been repeatedly hearing about the eternal essence in these verses. Can we get a deeper understanding?

Footnotes
1. The examples in this post are from Swami Chinmayananda’s commentary on the Gita
2. The word “sama” contains the word “maa” meaning mother. The mother’s loving attitude towards her child is same regardless of how the child behaves or misbehaves. Her attitude is “sama” or even-keel.