Category Archives: shraddhayaa

Bhagavad Gita Verse 17, Chapter 17

07 Tuesday May 2013

Posted by in 17.17, aphalakaanshibhihi, chapter 17 verse 17, naraihi, parayaa, parichakshate, saattvikam, shraddhayaa, tapaha, taptam, trividham, yuktaihi

≈ Comments Off on Bhagavad Gita Verse 17, Chapter 17

shraddhayaa parayaa taptam tapastattrividham naraihi |
aphalakaanshibhiryuktaihi saattvikam parichakshate || 17 ||
 
This three fold penance, performed by balanced people with supreme faith, without expectation of reward, is called sattvic.
 
shraddhayaa : with faith
parayaa : supreme
taptam : is performed
tapaha : penance
tat : this
trividham : three fold
naraihi : by people
aphalakaanshibhihi : without expectation of reward
yuktaihi : balanced
saattvikam : sattvic
parichakshate : is called
 
So far, we saw that tapas or penance comprises three aspects. Bodily or shaaririka tapas, speech or vaangmaya tapas, and mental or maanasika tapas. Tapas is used to conserve and channel our energy in the pursuit of a goal or objective, whether it be material or spiritual. Shri Krishna now describes three types of tapas, and how they can be used to assess the texture of our faith. He first describes the conditions under which penance is revealed to be sattvic.
 
The unique nature of sattvic tapas is that it is performed in the pursuit of the highest possible goal, which is self realization. It is not performed for any material gain, or the pursuit of physical or mental powers. Furthermore, it is performed with the utmost faith in the statements of the scriptures. Shri Krishna uses the word naraha or human in this shloka, and not in the shlokas that described the other two types of penance. He implies that only humans have the ability to perform penance without expectation of material gain.
 
Who has the ability to perform this highest level of penance, this sattvic penance? It is one who is yukta, one who has integrated his mind with his intellect, one who can remain balanced in success and failure. Only such a person is able to incorporate all the three aspects of penance, physical, mental and speech, referred in the shloka as three fold. Even if one of these is missing, the tapas loses its sattvic aspects. Mental penance is the toughest of all the three, since it is hardest to conquer the mind.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 1, Chapter 17

21 Sunday Apr 2013

Posted by in 17.1, aaho, anvitaahaa, chapter 17 verse 1, kaa, krishna, nishthaa, rajas, sattvam, shaastravidhim, shraddhayaa, tamaha, teshaam, utrisrijya, yajante

≈ Comments Off on Bhagavad Gita Verse 1, Chapter 17

Arjuna uvaacha:
ye shaastravidhimutrisrijya yajante shraddhayaanvitaahaa |
teshaam nishthaa tu kaa krishna sattvamoho rajastamaha || 1 ||
 
Arjuna said:
Those who, setting aside laws of scripture, perform worship endowed with faith, O Krishna, what is their position? Is it of sattva, rajas or tamas?
 
ye : those who
shaastravidhim : laws of scripture
utrisrijya : setting aside
yajante : perform worship
shraddhayaa : faith
anvitaahaa : endowed with
teshaam : their
nishthaa : position
tu : then
kaa : what
krishna : O Krishna
sattvam : sattva
aaho : or
rajas : rajas
tamaha : tamas
 
In order to prevent the prompting of actions by selfish desire, we should use the scriptures as a guide to decide what to do or what not to do. This was the concluding message of the previous chapter. Hearing this, the word “shaastra” or scripture stuck in Arjuna’s mind. Perhaps he foresaw that over the course of time, most people will not have access to scriptures. They will not be able to receive the guidance of a real guru who truly cares about their spiritual growth versus extracting money from them. He wanted to know, like all of us do, how to use our judgement without access to scriptural laws.
 
Let us now investigate what category of people Arjuna is speaking about. There are those who may have access to the scriptures, may even understand the scriptures, but have no inclination of following them. Such people were covered in the last chapter under the category of devilish qualities. Conversely, there are people who understand the scriptures and also conduct their life according to scriptures. These people were covered under the category of divine qualities. This chapter covers those people who do not have access to the scriptures, but yet try to lead their lives through faith, sincerity and honesty.
 
So then, Arjuna asks this extremely practical question on behalf of common people who have faith in some higher principle. Some may be devotees of Shri Krishna, some of Lord Shiva, some of Lord Ganesha. Some may not have faith in a deity but may have faith in a spiritual text such as the Gita. Some may have not have faith in any of these but may have faith in a friend, spouse or relative who has faith in a deity or a spiritual text. Some may have faith in their nation or in a higher cause such as improving the state of the nation’s education system.
 
Regardless of what their faith is, such people would like to set themselves on a path that gains them happiness in the material world, and also enables them to pursue the supreme goal of self realization or liberation. In the absence of scripture as the authority, faith determines the course of action for such people. How can they determine whether their faith is saattvic, rajasic or tamasic? How can they ensure that their faith is leading them in the right direction?

Bhagavad Gita Verse 2, Chapter 12

11 Tuesday Dec 2012

Posted by in 12.2, aaveshya, chapter 12 verse 2, maam, manaha, mataahaa, mayi, me, nityayuktaa, parayaa, shraddhayaa, te, upaasate, upetaahaa, ye, yuktatamaahaa

≈ Comments Off on Bhagavad Gita Verse 2, Chapter 12

Shree Bhagavaan uvaacha:
mayyaveshya mano ye maam nityayuktaa upaasate |
shraddhayaa parayopetaaste me yuktatamaa mataahaa || 2 ||
 
Shree Bhagavaan said:
Those who, fixing their mind in me, are constantly engaged in my worship, endowed with supreme faith, those are superior in yoga, in my opinion.
 
mayi : in me
aaveshya : fixing
manaha : mind
ye : those who
maam : my
nityayuktaa : constantly engaged
upaasate : worship
shraddhayaa : with faith
parayaa : supreme
upetaahaa : endowed
te : those
me : my
yuktatamaahaa : superior in yoga
mataahaa: opinion
 
Previously, Arjuna had asked Shri Krishna to select which type of devotees were better between those who worship Ishvara as the formless unmanifest, and those who worship him as an entity endowed with form. Shri Krishna begins by describing those devotees who worship Ishvara endowed with form. He says that such devotees are the most superior yogis because they are constantly engaged in worship of Ishvara, full of supreme faith.
 
Three qualities of a superior yoga are highlighted here. Firstly, we as devotees should be able to fix our mind on Ishvara, using all the instruction given in chapter six and other places as well. In the initial stages of meditation, keeping our mind on Ishvara even for ten minutes is quite an achievement. Secondly, we have to be “nitya yuktaa”, the ability to remain constantly engaged in worship, without letting the mind divert itself to other pursuits. Thirdly, we need to be endowed with supreme and unwavering faith.
 
Even though these qualities may seem easy to attain on the surface, they are not so. Shri Krishna chooses words that indicate that he is looking for the highest kind of concentration and faith. For example, he uses the word “aaveshya” to describe concentration, but what it really means is using our thoughts to enter, to penetrate into the object of concentration. This kind of concentration requires a highly purified mind, free from selfish likes and dislikes and from attachment to material concerns. Our degree of faith further reinforces the ability to remain focused on our object of concentration.
 
So then, what is Shri Krishna’s opinion on those devotees who worship Ishvara as the unmanifest? This comes next.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 22, Chapter 7

18 Monday Jun 2012

Posted by in 7.22, araadhanam, cha, chapter 7 verse 22, eehate, eva, hi, kaamaan, labhate, mayaa, saha, shraddhayaa, taan, tasya, tataha, tayaa, vihitaan, yuktaha

≈ Comments Off on Bhagavad Gita Verse 22, Chapter 7

sa tayaa shraddhayaa yuktastasyaaraadhanameehate |
labhate cha tataha kaamaanmayaiva vihitaanhi taan || 22 ||
 
Engaged with faith, that person worships that (deity) and his desire is fulfilled, but that (desire fulfillment) is delivered only through me.
 
saha : that person
tayaa : that
shraddhayaa : with faith
yuktaha : engaged
tasya : that (deity)
araadhanam : worship
eehate : performs
labhate : fulfilled
cha : and
tataha : his
kaamaan : desire
mayaa : through me
eva : only
vihitaan : delivered
hi : but
taan : that (desire fulfillment)
 
When someone chooses to pursue a finite or a worldly goal, they run towards a finite deity instead of going towards Ishvara. We saw this in the previous shlokas. Shri Krishna continues that point here by saying that Ishvara does not object when devotee seeks a finite goal from a finite deity. In fact, he strengthens that devotee’s faith by delivering what the devotee asks of the deity.
 
Faith is a process that most of us do not fully comprehend. But it is a reality. Even in the medical profession, placebos or pills made of inactive ingredients such as sugar are known to cure patients by sheer power of faith.
 
So Shri Krishna says that even if a devotee approaches a deity with a finite goal, Ishvara is ready to deliver that goal as long as the devotee’s faith in the deity is strong. By fulfilling finite desires through the lower deities, Ishvara hopes that the devotee will learn to further subdue his ego. One cannot have an increase in faith without a decrease in ego.
 
As desires are sought with greater and greater faith, and the corresponding desires are fulfilled, the devotee’s faith increases. This process has the potential to result in the spiritual evolution of that devotee. He will evolve from seeking finite goals to seeking the infinite – Ishvara himself.
 
This is the ideal state, but it is totally up to the devotee to make that transition. Unfortunately, most devotees get stuck in the pursuit of finite goals, as we shall see in the next shloka.