Category Archives: sat

Bhagavad Gita Verse 27, Chapter 17

17 Friday May 2013

Posted by in 17.27, abhidheeyate, chapter 17 verse 27, daane, karma, sat, sthitihi, tadartheeyam, tapasi, uchyate, yajnye

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yajnye tapasi daane cha sthitihi saditi chochyate |
karma chaiva tadartheeyam sadityevaabhidheeyate || 27 ||
 
Steadfastness in sacrifice, austerity and charity is called Sat, and also, action relation to these is called Sat.
 
yajnye : sacrifice
tapasi : penance
daane : in charity
cha : and
sthitihi : steadfastness
sat : Sat
iti : in this manner
cha : and
uchyate : is called
karma : action
cha : and
eva : also
tadartheeyam : related to these
sat : Sat
iti : in this manner
eva : also
abhidheeyate : is called
 
In the concluding shlokas of this chapter, Shri Krishna described the purifying chant Om Tat Sat. Any sattvic action will be freed of defects, attachment to the action and its reward will be weakened, all notions of duality will be muted when we use this purifying chant. Now we may say that in this day and age, we may not have the time to follow the guidelines given in this chapter to make our actions and our intake sattvic. Following the guidelines in the scriptures is beyond our scope anyway.
 
As usual, Shri Krishna makes things easy for us. He says our stithi, our steadfastness is towards Ishvara, is the most important thing to pay attention to. If we take care of our steadfastness, and chant Om Tat Sat with that steadfastness, every action that we perform will become sattvic and a means towards liberation. What does sthithi or steadfastness mean? It is that which our mind is occupied the most. If we keep a notebook next to our bed, and write down the first thought that comes to mind when we wake up, we will know what our stithi is within a few days.
 
Many people say that a sport such as cricket or tennis is their life. Others say that it is their career, others say it is their family, others say it is their family and so on. It is the first thought that they wake up with in the morning. When our first thought, and also, the constant background thought throughout the day is that of Ishvara, all our actions will automatically become sattvic. We will not have to take any additional precaution or follow any other guideline. For instance, if we are in constant thought of Ishvara, we will never think of donating anything with a view to get something back in return. Action follows thought, and with the constant thought of Ishvara, actions take care of themselves.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 26, Chapter 17

16 Thursday May 2013

Posted by in 17.26, chapter 17 verse 26, karmaani, paartha, prashashte, prayujyate, saadhubhaave, sadbhaave, sat, shabdaha, tathaa, yujyate

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sadbhaave saadhubhaave cha sadityetatprayujyate |
prashashte karmaani tathaa sacchabdaha paartha yujyate || 26 ||
 
The word Sat is used in the sense of existence and goodness, and also, O Paartha, the word Sat is added in the sense of an auspicious act.
 
sadbhaave : Sat as existence
saadhubhaave : Sat as goodness
cha : and
sat : Sat
iti : in this manner
etat : this
prayujyate : used
prashashte : auspicious
karmaani : act
tathaa : also
sat : Sat
shabdaha : word
paartha : O Paartha
yujyate : added
 
The utterance of Om is used to focus our attention on the action, and the utterance of Tat is used to dedicate the actions and their reward to Ishvara. Even if we do all this, there could be a defect in the way the action is performed. We may have not followed some guidelines, or some external entity may have caused some problem which we may be unaware of. For most of us who are not well versed in the scriptures, is there an easy solution to this problem?
 
Shri Krishna says that the chanting of the word Sat during the performance of a saattvic action has the effect of removing all the errors and defects of that action. This is why words such as satkarma (good actions) and sadaachaar (good conduct) use sat as a synonym for good. But just purifying an action is not enough. The emotions, the feelings behind the action are equally important. Chanting of the word Sat has the effect of purifying our emotions as well. Words such as sadbhaava (good emotion) and sadguna (good values) illustrate this point.
 
The real meaning of the word Sat, however,is existence. It is a pointer to brahman, the eternal essence, the one reality. “Naabhaavo vidyate sataha” found in the second chapter of the Gita denotes that Sat, the eternal essence, always exists. It is always complete, without any duality. Therefore, the ultimate goal of uttering Sat is to mentally remove any notions of duality, mentally remove all the upaadhis or limitations, and merge oneself into the one reality, the one eternal essence.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 23, Chapter 17

13 Monday May 2013

Posted by in 17.23, braahmanaaha, brahmanaaha, chapter 17 verse 23, nirdeshaha, om, puraa, sat, smritaha, tat, tena, trividhaha, vedaaha, vihitaahaa, yajnyaahaa

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om tatsaditi nirdesho brahmanastrividhaha smritaha |
braahmanaastena vedaashcha yajnyaashcha vihitaahaa puraa || 23 ||
 
Om, Tat, Sat, this has been declared as the triple indicator of the eternal essence. By that were created the braahmanaas, the Vedas and the sacrifices, long ago.
 
om : om
tat : tat
sat : sat
iti : in this manner
nirdeshaha : indicator
brahmanaha : eternal essence
trividhaha : triple
smritaha : declared
braahmanaaha : braahmanaas
tena : by that
vedaaha : Vedas
cha : and
yajnyaahaa : sacrifices
cha : and
vihitaahaa : created
puraa : long ago
 
Arjuna began this chapter with a question to Shri Krishna: How can we determine the texture of our faith, as to whether it is saattvic, raajasic or taamasic? Shri Krishna replied that we need to infer this from our actions and the attitude behind our actions. He then showed us the three types of food, sacrifice, penance and charity. The takeaway for us is that we should slowly stop performing raajasic and saatvic actions, and increase our saattvic actions. But even if we manage to perform only sattvic actions, there will always be the chance of some error creeping in.
 
Here, Shri Krishna gives us a formula, a technique to remove errors and defects in saattvic actions. This purifier is the combination of three words – Om, Tat and Sat. All three words are indicators of the eternal essence, of brahman. In fact, each of these words has been used in the Vedas to refer to the eternal essence. Om comes up in the Rig Veda. Tat and Sat come up in the Chhaandogya Upanishad. The word Sat is also used in the second chapter of the Gita to refer to the eternal essence. Note that the eternal essence is beyond name and form. These words are only pointers.
 
Next, Shri Krishna gives us the heritage of this purifier. Prajaapati, Lord Brahma, created the universe along with the sacrifice and the Vedas, as we have seen in the third chapter. He also created braahmanaas, who performed rituals and sacrifices with faith in the Vedas. These braahmanaas would always use Om Tat Sat to purify their sacrifices, to remove any defects in the rituals. Now, per the teaching of karma yoga, whenever we perform saattvic actions, they automatically become a sacrifice. Therefore, even we can use Om Tat Sat to purify our saattvic actions.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 12, Chapter 13

13 Sunday Jan 2013

Posted by in 13.12, amritam, anaadimat, asat, ashnute, brahma, chapter 13 verse 12, jneyam, jnyaatvaa, param, pravakshyaami, sat, tat, uchyate, yat

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jneyam yattatpravakshyaami yajjnyaatvaamritamashnute |
anaadimatparam brahma na sattannaasaduchyate || 12 ||
 
I will describe that which is to be known, by realizing which, immortality is attained. The supreme brahman is without beginning, said to be neither manifest nor unmanifest.
 
jneyam : known
yat : which
tat : that
pravakshyaami : I will describe
yat : which
jnyaatvaa : having realized
amritam : immortality
ashnute : attain
anaadimat : without beginning
param : supreme
brahma : brahman
na : not
sat : manifest
tat : that
na : not
asat : unmanifest
uchyate : said
 
In the beginning of this chapter, Shri Krishna set out to explain what is kshetra or the field, and what is kshetrajnya or the knower of the field. He then set to list out various aspects of the field, which are also known as upaadhis or conditionings. This list included upaadhis such as the intellect, the mind, the five elements and so on. Shri Krishna also asserted there is only one knower of the field that is limited or conditioned by all of these upaadhis. He then gave us twenty attributes that we should cultivate in order to reduce the importance we give to these upaadhis, so that we can slowly uncover and get to the kshetrajnya, the knower of the field.
 
After assuming that we have cultivated these twenty qualities, and consequently learned how to reduce the importance of the field in our lives, Shri Krishna now gets to the main topic of this chapter. He says that he will now reveal what is the real knowledge, what all of us should know in this world as the culmination of all of our knowledge, what is “jneyam”. We learn so many things in our life through schools, colleges, professional training, street smarts and so on. But none of them can give us immortality. None of them can give us a permanent solution from the sorrows that we experience day in and day out. Each time we leave our self and go through our senses into the world to fulfill a desire, we generate sorrow, we create “death” in each such departure.
 
So then, what is this immortality-giving knowledge? Shri Krishna says that it is brahman, which is the very same eternal essence that is within us, and within everything else in the universe. It is “param” or supreme, beyond which nothing else needs to be known. It is “anadimat”, eternal, without any beginning, beyond all notions of time. It is not manifest, which means it is not accessible to the senses or the mind as an object of perception or a thought. But it is also not unmanifest. For instance, our unfulfilled desires lie dormant in our unconscious mind, but do not manifest as thoughts in our mind. The eternal essence is beyond our unconscious as well.
 
We now see why it is so difficult to understand the eternal essence. It is not like any object or form that can be described in words. It is also not an abstract concept that can be explained through logic, or by comparing it to something else or by combining one concept with another. In earlier chapters we saw how such situations can be handled with negation. If we want to instruct someone on how to select a maroon shirt, we tell them ignore all of the other colours of shirts. The one that is left will be the maroon shirt. Similarly, the eternal essence cannot be comprehended by our mind and senses because it is beyond the mind and senses. It can only be attained through negating everything that is not the eternal essence – by negating the upaadhis or fields.
 
Now, in the upcoming shlokas, Shri Krishna proceeds step by step to negate the upaadhis of the eternal essence, starting with the most visible ones.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 19, Chapter 9

14 Tuesday Aug 2012

Posted by in 9.19, aham, amritam, arjuna, asat, cha, chapter 9 verse 19, eva, mrityuhi, nigruhnaami, sat, tapaami, utsrijaami, varsham

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tapaamyahamaham varsham nigruhnaamyutsrijaami cha |
amritam chaiva mrityushcha sadasachchaahamarjuna || 19 ||
 
I provide heat, I hold back and send forth the rain. I am immortality and also death, I am real and also unreal, O Arjuna.
 
tapaami : provide heat
aham : I
varsham : rain
nigruhnaami : hold back
utsrijaami : send forth
cha : and
amritam : immortality
cha : and
eva : also
mrityuhi : death
sat : real
asat : unreal
aham : I am
arjuna : O Arjuna
 
A recurring theme of this chapter is that we should see Ishvara everywhere, instead of looking only in things and places that our senses find pleasurable. In that regard, since we deal with the weather everyday, it can become a great pointer to access Ishvara. However, anytime the climate becomes too hot, or there is excessive rain or drought, our body feels uncomfortable, and therefore we do not even think of Ishvara when those things happen.
 
Shri Krishna says in the shloka that it is Ishvara that is providing the heat as the sun. So when it gets extremely hot, we should recognize that it is Ishvara that is providing the energy for the sun. And even though we may feel uncomfortable, we should realize that Ishvara has the welfare of the entire earth in mind. When it gets hot, the water on earth rises to form clouds, and is eventually sent back as rain. If the sun were never to give enough heat, we would never get any rain on earth.
 
Shri Krishna also says that Ishvara is found in immortality as well as in death. Symbolically, what is meant here is that knowing Ishvara as an infinite entity is real immortality, and knowing Ishvara as finite is death. When we see only waves and foam in the ocean, we will eventually see them “die”. But when we only see the ocean, there is no death whatsoever.
 
How do we develop such a vision? By knowing what is “sat” or real and what is “asat” or not real. Just because something is perceived by our senses, it does not automatically become real. Optical illusions are a great example. This echoes the lessons of the second chapter where Shri Krishna encourages us to develop “tattva drishti” or the vision of the essence, not of names and forms.
 
With this shloka, Shri Krishna concludes the topic on pointers of Ishvara. A new topic, forms of devotion, is taken up next.