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Category Archives: sarvatra

Bhagavad Gita Verse 49, Chapter 18

07 Sunday Jul 2013

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asaktabuddhihi sarvatra jitaatmaa vigatasprihaa |
naishkarmyasiddhim paramaam sanyaasenaadhigachhati || 49 ||
 
One whose mind is unattached from all aspects, who is self controlled, from whom desires have departed, attains the supreme state of freedom from action by sanyaasa.
 
asaktabuddhihi : one with unattached mind
sarvatra : from all aspects
jitaatmaa : who is self controlled
vigatasprihaa : from whom desires have departed
naishkarmyasiddhim : state of freedom from action
paramaam : supreme
sanyaasena : by sanyaasa
adhigachhati : attains
 
Most government jobs, and even private sector jobs, come with a built in end date known as the retirement date, which signifies the culmination of career-related actions. Similarly, when we perform our duty observing the tenets of karma yoga, we will eventually reach a point where we are ready to move onto the next stage in the spiritual journey known as sanyaasa. The aashrama system in Indian culture appoints sanyaasa as the last aashrama, the last stage in life, where the individual should renounce all their duties and life a lifestle of a sanyaasi, a monk.
 
Shri Krishna lists three characteristics of a person who has reached the stage of sanyaasa or monkhood. His intellect is asakta, it is unattached from all objects, people and situations. It no longer entertains the notions that this object is mine, or this person is my daughter and so on. He is able to do so because he is jitaatmaa, he has fully conquered his mind, it does not get agitated or excited by external stimuli. And even without external stimuli, it does not feel the need to act in the world, because it is devoid of sprihaa or desires.
 
Arjuna wanted to know the difference between tyaaga and sanyaasa at the beginning of this chapter. We can glean the primary difference from the teaching so far. The end goal of tyaaga or karma yoga is purity of mind, also known as sattva shuddhi. The end goal of sanyaasa is the attainment of brahman or the eternal essence. It is also known as naishkarmya siddhi, the state, the accomplishment where one becomes actionless, or all actions become totally spontaneous, like a river entering the ocean. There are no more internal cravings or external goals since one has completely transcended the effect of the three gunaas.

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Bhagavad Gita Verse 32, Chapter 13

02 Saturday Feb 2013

Posted by in 13.32, aakaasham, aatmaa, chapter 13 verse 32, dehe, http://schemas.google.com/blogger/2008/kind#post, sarvagatam, sarvatra, saukshmyaat, tathaa, upalipyate, yathaa

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yathaa sarvagatam saukshmyaadaakaasham nopalipyate |
sarvatraavasthito dehe tathaatmaa nopalipyate || 32 ||
 
Just as all-pervading space, being subtle, is not tainted, so is the self, situated everywhere in any body, not tainted.
 
yathaa : just as
sarvagatam : all pervading
saukshmyaat : being subtle
aakaasham : space
na : not
upalipyate : tainted
sarvatra : everywhere
avasthitaha : situated
dehe : body
tathaa : so
aatmaa : self
na : not
upalipyate : tainted
 
Many scriptures, including the Srimad Bhagavatam, describe the creation of the five great elements. Space was created first, followed by air, fire, water and then earth, each more tangible and visible than the one preceding it. Space, therefore, is the subtlest of elements. Its main property is indivisibility. We may put up walls and differentiate “my room” from “your room”, but the wall does not actually divide space at all. The wall is an upaadhi, something that mentally limits space, but cannot ever limit space in reality.
 
Another property of space that it is unaffected by whatever it contains. You can throw dust, water, glue, perfume, odour, anything at all into space, yet it remains unaffected. The air in a room may get affected by perfume or odour, not space. But more fundamentally, space provides existence to everything. Without space, no object can ever exist.
 
Shri Krishna says that the self is similar to space in these aspects. Like space is as though divided into rooms, the self is one but appears as though residing differently in different bodies. Like space never gets tainted by whatever is thrown at it, the self never gets impacted by the results, reactions, experiences and consequences of any action. All actions and reactions stay in the realm of Prakriti. And when we say statements like “this pot is round”, we should note that we cannot use the word “is” without realizing that the “is” is the “sat” or existence aspect of the self.
 
How should we bring this teaching into our life? Ultimately, all of us are craving for independence of one form or the other. For instance, the incessant drive to earn more wealth is towards gaining financial independence. Shri Krishna says that once we know that the self in us, the “I” in us is totally unaffected by any reaction or experience of the world, we will gain the highest and utmost level of independence, which is moksha or liberation. We just have to work at removing the ignorance of our true nature, which can only happen if we disassociate from Prakriti and associate with Ishvara.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 28, Chapter 13

29 Tuesday Jan 2013

Posted by in 13.28, aatmaanam, aatmanaa, chapter 13 verse 28, eeshvaram, gatim, hi, hinasti, na, paraam, pashyan, samam, samavasthitam, sarvatra, tataha, yaati

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samam pashyanhi sarvatra samavasthitameeshvaram |
na hinastyaatmanaatmaanam tato yaati paraam gatim || 28 ||
 
For, he who sees Ishvara established equally everywhere, does not kill his self by his own self. That is why he attains the supreme state.
 
samam : equal
pashyan : he who sees
hi :for
sarvatra : everywhere
samavasthitam : established equally
eeshvaram : Ishvara
na : not
hinasti : kill
aatmanaa : his self
aatmaanam : by his own self
tataha : that is why
yaati : attains
paraam : supreme
gatim : state
 
Shri Krishna explains the result of developing an equanimous vision in this shloka. He says that one who sees Ishvara residing equally in everything and everyone, including himself, does not harm or kill his self by his own self. He says that we commit a kind of suicide whenever we do not focus on the imperishable and give too much importance to the perishable. We would very rarely get the urge to commit suicide. So how does this happen?
 
Whenever our body’s weight increases or decreases, we say “I am fat, I am thin”. Whenever our body falls ill and recovers, we say “I am sick, I am healthy”. Whenever our body is injured and healed, we say “I am injured, I am healed”. We taken on changes that happen to a mass of flesh and bones as our own changes. By repeatedly taking on this identification to the body due to ignorance of our true nature, we get stuck in an endless cycle of desire, action, birth and death. This entry into the cycle of birth and death is referred to as “killing of one’s self by one’s own self”.
 
Shri Krishna says that we need to develop samadarshanam, the vision of seeing the imperishable Ishvara in the perishable world. We need to stop identifying with the body, which is not ours to begin with. It belongs to the five elements that make up the universe, and will go back to them when it has run its course. We should identify with Ishvara who exists equally in us and in other beings. When we recognize that the Ishvara in us is the same Ishvara in everyone, we will attain the most supreme, the most pure state of Ishvara which is the state of brahman, the eternal essence. The instant we realize our identity with brahman, we attain liberation or moksha.
 
We have seen how to attach ourselves to Ishvara, how to identify ourselves with Ishvara in these shlokas. We also need to detach ourselves from Prakriti. We shall see how to do this in the next two shlokas.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 4, Chapter 12

13 Thursday Dec 2012

Posted by in chapter 12 verse 4, eva, http://schemas.google.com/blogger/2008/kind#post, indriyagraamam, maam, praapnuvanti, rataahaa, samabuddhayaha, sanniyamya, sarvabhootahite, sarvatra, te

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sanniyamyendriyagraamam sarvatra samabuddhayaha |
te praapnuvanti maameva sarvabhootahite rataahaa || 4 ||
 
Having restrained all the senses, keeping a balanced intellect everywhere, revelling in the welfare of all beings, they attain me alone.
 
sanniyamya : having restrained
indriyagraamam : all the senses
sarvatra : everywhere
samabuddhayaha : balanced intellect
te : they
praapnuvanti: attain
maam : me
eva : alone
sarvabhootahite : welfare of all beings
rataahaa : revel
 
Imagine that our parents have asked us to come to their house. They are hosting an event and need our help. What will our attitude towards our assignment be? We will not hesitate to play the role of a cook, a waiter, a driver, a handyman, a dishwasher and so on. We will do whatever it takes to make that event a success. The well-being of all the guests will become our primary goal. We will set aside any personal differences with any guests because we are representing our parents at that event. We do all of this because we have a sense of oneness with our parents.
 
The devotee who worships the imperishable and unmanifest Ishvara has the same attitude. Just like we do not consider our parents as somebody distinct from us, the devotee does not consider Ishvara as separate from him. When there is no separation, there is no expectation of asking for anything or receiving anything. You only ask and receive when you consider someone different from you. We would never think of asking permission for every little thing from parents at that event, because it would be silly to do so.
 
Furthermore, such a devotee loses all sense of selfishness. He revels in the welfare of everyone in this world, “sarva bhoota hite rataahaa”. Nothing ever destabilizes his mind or his intellect, because he sees himself as one with everything. His senses have stopped harbouring likes and dislikes, because they no longer cut up the world into “good” or “bad”. He has very naturally “merged” into Ishvara, which is the final goal of devotion or bhakti. Shri Krishna echoes this point by saying “te praapnuvanti maam eva”, they attain me alone.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 32, Chapter 6

05 Saturday May 2012

Posted by in aatmaopamyena, arjuna, chapter 6 verse 32, dukham, mathaha, paramo, pashyati, saha, samam, sarvatra, sukham, vaa, yadi, yaha, yogi

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aatmaopamyena sarvatra samam pashyati yorjuna |
sukham vaayadivaa dukham sa yogi paramo mathaha || 32 ||
 
By comparing himself to everything, one who sees the same, O Arjuna, whether in joy or in sorrow, such a yogi is considered supreme.
 
aatmaopamyena : by comparing himself to
sarvatra : everything
samam : same
pashyati : see
yaha : one who
arjuna : O Arjuna
sukham : joy
vaa : in
yadi : whether
vaa : or in
dukham : sorrow
saha : such a
yogi : yogi
parami : supreme
mathaha : is considered
 
In this shloka, Shri Krishna concludes his discourse on the topic of meditation. He also summarizes the entire topic of meditation. He says that one who sees himself in others, and thus experiences their joys and sorrows, becomes a yogi or meditator of the highest caliber.
 
This is a simple, straightforward and practical teaching that is central tenet of most religions: “do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” Shri Krishna echoes that golden rule in this shloka. He says that the perfected meditator sees no difference between himself and other beings, just like we do not see differences between our left and right hand, or other parts of the body.
 
If the meditator sees no difference between himself and other beings, then any negative emotions such as jealousy, hatred, greed and anger go away. When one cannot get angry at one’s right hand or left leg, how one get angry with anyone or anything if all are part of the same “being”? In other words, the meditator “puts himself in the other person’s shoes”. He experiences joy when others are happy. He experiences sorrow when others feel sad.
 
Moreover, one who obtains such a vision will never hurt anyone else physically, mentally or verbally. Such an attitude of non-violence or ahimsa comes naturally to a meditator, since meditation is next to impossible for a person that harbours any kind of hatred or negative emotion towards anyone.
 
With this shloka, Shri Krishna concludes the topic of meditation. But the chapter is not over yet. In the next shloka, Arjuna raises a doubt that many of us would agree with.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 30, Chapter 6

02 Wednesday May 2012

Posted by in aham, cha, chapter 6 verse 30, maam, mayi, me, na, naa, pashyati, pranashyaami, pranashyati, saha, sarvam, sarvatra, tasya, yaha

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yo maam pashyati sarvatra sarvam cha mayi pashyati |
tasyaaham na pranashyaami sa cha me naa pranashyati || 30 ||
 
One who sees me in all, and sees all in me, to him I am not lost, and he is not lost to me.
 
yaha : one who
maam : me
pashyati : sees
sarvatra : in all
sarvam : all
cha : and
mayi : in me
pashyati : sees
tasya : to him
aham : I
na : am not
pranashyaami : lost
saha : he
cha : and
me : me
naa : is not
pranashyati : lost
 
Shri Krishna now speaks to us directly as Ishvara. He says that the devotee who sees him in everything, and also sees everything in him, will have a permanent connection to him. In other words, Shri Krishna will never appear as distant or invisible to that devotee. It may seem a little confusing to hear this statement right after the previous shloka that said that one should see everything in the eternal essence. How does Ishvara fit into the picture?
 
Let us refer to our running example of the wave and the ocean. Imagine that a young child sees the ocean for the first time. Her intellect can only grasp visual, grosser objects. So her attention will immediately go towards the ocean, its colour, its size, the sounds it makes, the waves and so on. It will not be obvious to her that everything is water, because she has not reached that intellectual level yet.
 
Shri Krishna fully knows that most of us are children, even babies, on the spiritual journey. It will take a long time for our intellects to see the eternal essence everywhere. So until our perception stops operating on the level of names and forms, we have to find an easier way to see the eternal essence everywhere.
 
Therefore, Shri Krishna says that first, we should try to see everything in Ishvara and Ishvara in everything. Ishvara could be the form of Shri Krishna. It could be any other deity that we feel an affinity towards. It could also be our guru. No matter what form we choose, we should be able to view the form of Ishvara as the highest.
 
Now, most of us have the notion that Ishvara or God is a mysterious figure or force that is sitting far away in Kailash or Vaikuntha or somewhere us. But Shri Krishna, in the Gita, is telling us in this shloka that he is everywhere. It requires a radical shift in order to think this way. That is why in Indian culture, everything can become an object of worship, from a tree to a stone to a book, because Ishvara is present in everything. What is required is the understanding that comes through contemplation.
 
So therefore, if we truly begin to think that the whole world comprises Ishvara in our chosen form, there will never be a single moment where we are far from Ishvara.
 

Bhagavad Gita Verse 29, Chapter 6

01 Tuesday May 2012

Posted by in aatmaanam, aatmani, cha, chapter 6 verse 29, eekshate, samadarshanaha, sarvabhootani, sarvabhootastham, sarvatra, yogayuktaatmaa

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sarvabhootasthamaatmaanam sarvabhootani chaatmani |
eekshate yogayuktaatmaa sarvatra samadarshanaha || 29 ||
 
One who is established in yoga, one with equanimous vision everywhere, sees his self in all beings, and all beings in his own self.
 
sarvabhootastham : present in all beings
aatmaanam : his self
sarvabhootani : all beings
cha : and
aatmani : in his own self
eekshate : sees
yogayuktaatmaa : one established in yoga
sarvatra : everywhere
samadarshanaha : equanimous vision
 
So far, Shri Krishna was talking about the process of meditation, what should be the meditator’s approach, how should he sit and so on. But having come out of meditation, what is the vision of the perfected meditator?
 
Shri Krishna says that the perfected meditator sees his self in all beings, and all beings in his self. It is difficult to comprehend what this means without actually practising meditation. We can do our best to understand it through an example.
 
We will use the illustration of the wave and the ocean as our running example. As an individual, we have a name and a form. In the same way, we can assume that each wave in the ocean has a (fictitious) name and form. If we go with this analogy, then we can consider ourself as one of those waves.
 
Meditation enables us to expand the notion of what a wave is. So first, we begin to see that although there are different kinds of waves in the ocean, in essence, they are nothing but name and form. Some waves are big, some are small. Some last for a few seconds, some last for much longer than that. Now I could be a small wave and you could be a big wave, but both of us are waves nevertheless. It is akin to realizing that we are all in the same family, company, nation and so on.
 
This stage of the perfected meditator’s vision is indicated by the words “he sees his self in all beings”.
 
As we further expand our vision, we begin to unravel the base of all these waves. We think: yes, all of us are waves, but what holds us together? We then realize that all waves no matter how big or small are contained in the ocean. The ocean is infinitely larger than all of the waves put together. None of the waves can exist without the ocean.
 
The final stage of this vision is reached when we as the wave realize that the ocean also is a name and form, even though it is infinitely larger than all of the waves put together. At its essence, it is nothing but water. I am the wave is water, other waves are water, the ocean is also water.
 
This state is indicated by the words “he sees all beings in his own self”, and such a person is called “sarvatra samadarshanaha”, one with equal vision.
 
Another point made in this shloka is that this “seeing” does not happen just with one’s eyes. This vision comes out of wisdom. Such vision is sometimes referred to as the “third eye”. This is the vision of a “sthitaprajnya” that was briefly discussed in the second chapter.
 
This topic is further elaborated upon in the next few shlokas.
 

Bhagavad Gita Verse 57, Chapter 2

24 Thursday Nov 2011

Posted by in 2.57, abhinandanti, anabhisneha, ashubham, chapter 2 verse 57, dveshti, na, praapya, prajna, pratishthitaa, sarvatra, shubha, tasya, tat, yah

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yah sarvatraanabhisnehastattatpraapya shubhaashubham |
naabhinandanti na dveshti tasya prajna pratishthitaa || 57 ||

He who remains without affection everywhere, is not elated in gain, and is not dejected in loss, his wisdom is steady.

yah : he who
sarvatra : everywhere
anabhisneha : without affection
tat tat : those
praapya : receive
shubha : gain
ashubham : loss
na : not
abhinandanti : elated
dveshti : dejected
tasya : his
prajna : wisdom
pratishthitaa : steady

In the prior shloka, we saw how a person of steady wisdom responds to joyful and sorrowful situations that he encounters in life. In this shloka, Shri Krishna points out how that person responds to beneficial and adverse outcomes of his expectations.

This shloka uses an interesting word “anabhisneha”, which means without affection. The root of this word is “sniha” which means “to stick”. Most of us tend to get stuck to objects, people and situations that we encounter in our lives. And it is that stickiness which gets us into trouble.

An example from the corporate world would be a consultant who is hired for a 3 month assignment verses a full time employee who is given a similar assignment. The consultant comes in, does what she is supposed to do, submits her report and moves on to the next assignment, without getting entangled in office politics. Whereas the employee gets “stuck” to the job and gets entangled in all kinds of office politics, who he should align himself with, etc.

So therefore, if one remains unattached and works towards a goal, he gains the objectivity to remain the same whether he succeeds or fails in accomplishing that goal. He knows that he was there before that success or failure happened, he was there during it, and he will be there after it as well. Therefore whatever happened can be easily dealt with. In no way does he let any adverse outcome demotivate him.

How can we apply this practically? For example, if we worked hard for a project and someone criticizes us, internally we should remain steady and evaluate whether the criticism is valid or mean-spirited. If it is valid, we take the feedback positively. If it is mean-spirited, we ignore it. But if we are too attached to the work, we will lose our equanimity each time someone criticizes us.