Category Archives: sarvaan

Bhagavad Gita Verse 15, Chapter 11

29 Monday Oct 2012

Posted by in 11.15, asanastham, bhoota, brahmaanam, chapter 11 verse 15, dehe, deva, devaam, divyaan, kamala, pashyaam, risheen, sanghaan, sarvaan, tava, uragaan, vishesha

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Arjuna uvaacha:
pashyaami devaamstava deva dehe sarvaanstathaa bhootavisheshasanghaan |
brahmaanameesham kamalaasanasthamrisheenshcha sarvaanuragaanshcha divyaan || 15 ||
 
Arjuna said:
O Lord, I see deities as well as special classes of beings in your body. Brahma, the lord, seated upon a lotus, and all the sages and divine serpents.
 
pashyaami : I see
devaam : deities
tava : your
deva : O Lord
dehe : in your body
sarvaan : all
tathaa : as well as
bhoota : beings
vishesha : special
sanghaan : classes
brahmaanam : Brahma
eesham : the lord
kamala : lotus
asanastham : seated upon
risheen : sages
cha : and
sarvaan : all
uragaan : serpents
cha : and
divyaan : divine
 
Whenever our emotions are running high, we either keep quiet or speak non-stop. Arjuna now comes out of his silence and speaks at a fast pace to describe what he sees in front of him. The meter of this shloka has changed to indicate the change in pace. Traditionally, these shlokas are also chanted at a slightly faster speed to get their full flavour. So what does Arjuna see?
 
Arjuna says that he sees all kinds of deities and other kinds of beings, which include Lord Brahma seated upon a lotus, as well as the divine sages and divine serpents. The sages include the sapta-rishis such as Vashishtha and the serpents include Vasuki. We had come across these and other beings in the prior chapter when Ishvara himself described his divine manifestations. But Arjuna does not see all of these in different places. He sees them all situated on Ishvara’s cosmic form.
 
What does this indicate? The sages live on earth, the deities live in a higher plane, and serpents live in yet another plane. Arjuna realizes that he is seeing worlds that beyond the earth and beyond the human capacity of vision. He also saw Lord Brahma who, according to Srimad Bhagavatam, arose out the navel of Lord Vishnu and created all the worlds.
 
So Arjuna, in the cosmic form, saw the creator and his creation. More importantly, he realized that Ishvara was beyond the process creation, which he had learned in the eighth chapter.
 
Footnotes
1. “Eesham” could also mean Lord Shiva. This indicates that Arjuna saw both creation and dissolution in the cosmic form.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 24, Chapter 6

26 Thursday Apr 2012

Posted by in asheshataha, chapter 6 verse 24, indriyagraamam, kaamaan, manasaa, prabhavaan, samantataha, sankalpa, sarvaan, tyaktvaa, viniyamya

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sankalpaprabhavaankaamaanstyaktvaa sarvaanasheshataha |
manasaivendriyagraamam viniyamya samantataha || 24 ||
 
Totally discarding all desires born out of thought projections, withdrawing the mind from sense objects everywhere.
 
sankalpa : thought projections
prabhavaan : born from
kaamaan : desires
tyaktvaa : discarding
sarvaan : all
asheshataha : totally
manasaa : mind
indriyagraamam : sense objects
viniyamya : withdrawing
samantataha : everywhere
 
In this and the next shloka, Shri Krishna gives us a method for dealing with one of the biggest challenges in meditation : uncontrolled desires. He says that in order to fulfill the goal of keeping the mind established in the self, we have to completely withdraw the mind from all sense objects and tackle desires at their root.
 
As we have seen in the “ladder of fall” in the second chapter, a thought is born as soon as we begin brooding or daydreaming over an object, person or situation towards which we have raaga (attraction) or dvesha (hatred). The more time we spend brooding on the object, the more force is gathered by the thought, just like a snowball gathering momentum.
 
It is this brooding over objects that we like or hate that has to be checked. Only this restraint will stop desires in their tracks. But to pull this off, we have to follow a multi-pronged approach. First, we have to be aware of our thinking process so that we can stop the brooding the instant it starts. It is just like stopping any phone calls or outside interference when we are in an important meeting. Next, we have to apply this technique to all types of brooding or daydreaming, not just to objects we hate. Finally, we have to constantly examine our likes and dislikes so that we can develop dispassion towards them.
 
Foremost around “desire-generators” are sense objects. Our sense organs are programmed to rush towards objects that they like, and rush away from things that they dislike. While they rush, they drag our mind along, causing distraction and agitation. That is why it is advised to meditate in a clean and quiet place so that the sense organs cannot come into contact with anything and distract us. Gradually, as we get more proficient in meditation, we should ensure that the sense organs do not take in strong impressions that can pop up later in meditation. For example, if we love oranges, then we should be careful not to eat an orange just before meditation, otherwise the mind will keep thinking about the orange.
 
Now, once the mind has been withdrawn from the senses, it will seek an outlet for the outward force that used to rush out towards sense objects. If this force is not provided with a suitable outlet, we will get into trouble. So what should we do with all the latent energy that is stored up? Shri Krishna discusses this point in the next shloka.
 

Bhagavad Gita Verse 32, Chapter 4

22 Wednesday Feb 2012

Posted by in 4.32, bahividhaa, brahmanaaha, chapter 4 verse 32, evam, jnyaatvaa, karmajaan, mukhe, sarvaan, taan, viddhi, vimokshyase, vitataaaha, yajnyaa

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evam bahuvidhaa yajnyaa vitato brahmano mukhe |
karmajaan viddhi taan sarvaanevam jnyaatvaa vimokshyase || 32 ||

In this manner, various types of sacrifices have been explained in the Vedas. Understand that all those are born of action; having known this, (you will) be liberated.

evam : in this manner
bahuvidhaa : various types
yajnyaa : sacrifice
vitataaha : have been explained
brahmanaaha : Vedas
mukhe : mouth
karmajaan : born of action
viddhi : understand
taan : those
sarvaan : all
evam : in this manner
jnyaatvaa : having known this
vimokshyase : (you will) be liberated

With this shloka, Shri Krishna concludes the section on practical yajnyas. In this section, we came across many varieties of yajnya. There are several more types of yajnyas in the scriptures such as pilgrimages, how to perform poojas during certain festivals, chanting of japas and so on. With the guidance of a teacher, we can choose the one that works best for us and follow it diligently.

Having concluded this section, Shri Krishna now makes a very important point. He says that while performing these yajnyas, we should never forget that any yajnya is ultimately an action. We saw earlier that actions are performed by the gunaas of prakriti. And anything that is related to gunaas is distinct from the eternal essence. So, how can yajynas move us closer to liberation if they are in the realm of gunaas?

Another way of looking at this issue is as follows. Anything that is a result of action will always be finite by definition. We are looking for realization of the eternal essence which is infinite. How will yajnyaas, born out of finite action, make us obtain the infinite eternal essence?

The key point to understand here is that action does not yield realization, only knowledge can do so. Performance of yajnya is a preparatory step towards realization, just like we prepare for sleep in the night. We can lie down on the bed, we can drink a cup of hot milk, we can turn off the light and so on. But the onset of sleep happens on its own. Similarly, even if we perform yajnyaas, realization will happen when we gain the knowledge when we are not the doer or enjoyer of any actions.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 71 Chapter 2

06 Tuesday Dec 2011

Posted by in 2.71, abhiriksitam, adhigachchati, chapter 2 verse 71, charati, kaaman, nihspruha, nirahankarah, nirmamah, pumaan, sah, sarvaan, shaantim, vihaaya

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vihaaya kaamanyah sarvaanpumaanshcharati nihspruha |
nirmamo nirahankaarah sa shaantimadhigachchati || 71 ||

That individual who walks having abandoned all desires, cravings, mine-ness and ego, he attains peace.

vihaaya : abandon
kaaman : desires
yah : who
sarvaan : all
pumaan : individual
charati : walks
nihspruha : without cravings
nirmamah : without mine-ness
nirahankaarah : without ego
sah : he
shaantim : peace
adhigachchati: attains

Earlier in the chapter, Arjuna asked Shri Krishna to point out the signs of a person of steady wisdom. To that end, he asked Shri Krishna to answer the following questions: how does he sit, speak and walk. In this shloka, hence the use of the word “charati” meaning “walks”.

Shri Krishna summarizes the entire topic of the signs of a wise person in four points. He first asks us to give up selfish desires using the technique of karma yoga. Next, he asks us to give up cravings for things we already possess, which is the second point here. And to eliminate even the slightest trace of selfishness, he finally asks us to give up the sense of “I-ness” and “mine-ness” which we had seen in the first chapter, also known as “ahankaara”‘ and “mamataa”. The goal attained by giving up these four things is also repeated here for emphasis: it is everlasting peace.

As a point of clarification, let us remember that for most of us, abandoning these four things will not happen overnight. We have to follow a disciplined technique to do so, and only after having applied this technique for a period of time will be begin to see the desires, cravings, ego and mine-ness slowly lose their grip.

With this shloka, Shri Krishna concludes the final topic of the second chapter, that of the signs of a wise person. The next shloka will be the last shloka in the second chapter, a wonderful milestone in our journey.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 55, Chapter 2

22 Tuesday Nov 2011

Posted by in 2.55, aatmanaa, chapter 2 verse 55, eva, kaaman, manogataan, paartha, prajahaati, sarvaan, sthitaprajnya, tada, tushtah, ucchyate, yadaa

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Shri Bhagavaan uvaacha:
prajahaati yadaa kaamaansarvaanpaartha manogataan |
aatmanyevaatmanaa tushthah sthitaprajnastadocchyate || 55 ||

Shri Bhagavaan said:
When an individual gives up all desires that enter the mind, O Paartha, and is self-satisfied in his own self, that individual is called a person of steady wisdom.

prajahaati : gives up
yadaa : when
kaamaan : desires
sarvaan : all
paartha : O Paartha
manogataan : that enter the mind
aatmanaaa : self
eva : only
aatmani : by his own self
tushthah : self-satisfied
sthitaprajna : person of steady wisdom
tada : then
ucchyate : called

Just before entering a forest when hiking, there usually are signs posted at the entrance that say “beware of these poisonous plants”. Similarly, from this shloka onwards, Shri Krishna lists all the factors that can destabilize our state of equanimity. If we keep track of these factors, and remain alert and aware when we encounter them, then we will never lose our mental balance and equanimity. This portion of the chapter is a very practical summary of the entire teaching of the Gita.

In this shloka, Shri Krishna advises us to monitor our material desires, i.e. track how many are arising, how many we have fulfilled, and so on. As we saw earlier, continual harbouring of material desires has the effect of destablizing our mental balance, and takes us further away from state of equanimity. Therefore, a man of steady wisdom is one who has learned to give up all such desires.

Now this is especially true when we have predisposition to some object, situation or person. This predisposition is also known as “vaasana”. Predispositions are the seeds of thought and desire. For instance, let’s say we have a sweet tooth. Then, anytime we see a piece of chocolate, that desire will enter the mind, and we will begin thinking of how we can acquire that chocolate. If we are performing some work, the constant thinking of the chocolate will destabilize our mind and prevent us from focusing on the task at hand. So this shloka asks us to closely examine our predispositions as well as our desires.

Since this person of steady wisdom has extinguished all his desires, he is always content and does not need to rush out into the world of material objects. This is because he has realized his association with the eternal essence, which pervades the entire universe and therefore is always complete and content. Therefore, he will be “self-satisfied in his own self”, as this shloka points out.