Category Archives: shreyaha

Bhagavad Gita Verse 22, Chapter 16

17 Wednesday Apr 2013

Posted by in 16.22, aacharati, aatmanaha, chapter 16 verse 22, etaihi, gatim, kaunteya, naraha, paraam, shreyaha, tamodvaaraihi, tataha, tribhihi, vimuktaha, yaati

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etairvimuktaha kaunteya tamodvaaraistribhirnaraha |
aacharatyaatmanaha shreyastato yaati paraam gatim || 22 ||
 
One who is free from these, the three gates of darkness, does good to himself, O Kaunteya, and with that, attains the supreme goal.
 
etaihi : these
vimuktaha : free
kaunteya : O Kaunteya
tamodvaaraihi : gates of darkness
tribhihi : three
naraha : one who
aacharati : does
aatmanaha : himself
shreyaha : good
tataha : with that
yaati : attains
paraam : supreme
gatim : goal
 
Shri Krishna describes the fate of one who has successfully conquered desire, anger and greed, the three gates of tamas or darkness. He says that such a person, from a practical standpoint, puts his life on the right track, he does good to himself. From an absolute standpoint, such a person attains the supreme goal of self realization, of oneness with Ishvara, instead of entrapment in the never ending cycle of birth and death.
 
With this shloka, the message of the entire sixteenth chapter is summarized and concluded. Most of us, given the materialistic nature of the world, are on the path of preyas, the pleasant, the path of continuous satisfaction of selfish desires. Shri Krishna urges us to slowly tune down the three devilish qualities of desire, anger and greed, so that we can start walking on the path of shreyas or the auspicious, the path of the divine qualities. Only then do we become qualified to attain the supreme goal of self realization.
 
Having heard this, we probably have a question that arises in our minds. Every second of our lives, we are bombarded with a ton of desires. If our awareness level is high, we can regulate them some of the time, but not all of the time. Furthermore, anger can erupt and take over our mind within a microsecond. How can we, on our own, control desire, anger and greed? It is not easy. Anticipating this question, Shri Krishna answers it in the next shloka.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 12, Chapter 12

21 Friday Dec 2012

Posted by in 12.12, abhyaasaat, anantaram, chapter 12 verse 12, dhyaanaat, dhyaanam, hi, jnyaanaat, jnyaanam, karmaphalatyaagaha, shantihi, shreyaha, tyaagaat, vishishyate

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shreyo hi jnyaanamabhyaasaanjnyaanaaddhyaanam vishishyate |
dhyaanaatkarmaphalatyaagastyaagaacchaantiranantaram || 12 ||
 
Knowledge is superior to practice, meditation is superior to knowledge, and renunciation of fruits of actions is superior to meditation, for peace immediately follows renunciation.
 
shreyaha : superior
hi : for
jnyaanam : knowledge
abhyaasaat : practice
jnyaanaat : knowledge
dhyaanam : meditation
vishishyate : superior
dhyaanaat : meditation
karmaphalatyaagaha : renunciation of fruits of action
tyaagaat : renunciation
shantihi : peace
anantaram : immeditately follows
 
The last four shlokas laid out a series of stages that enable us to access Ishvara based on our qualifications. They were laid out in descending order, addressing the most qualified to the least qualified. Jnyaana yoga was prescribed for those who have given up attachment to the body, abhyaasa yoga for those who can sit for meditation, bhakti yoga for those who can perform every action for Ishvara, and karma yoga for those who can dedicate the results of their actions to Ishvara.
 
Here, Shri Krishna provides a recap of those four shlokas as well as providing some additional insights into the nuances of each stage. He first says that knowledge is superior to practice. Here, practice refers to mere mechanical chanting of japas without the involvement of the mind or the intellect. Such inert practice will not lead us anywhere. Shri Krishna cautions us against jumping into meditative practice without the knowledge of what we are doing, how to do it, what is the goal and so on.
 
Next, he says that meditation is superior to knowledge. Here, the word meditation is used in the sense of a higher kind of knowledge, one that does not create a distinction between the knower and the known, one that is a direct, intuitive understanding of Ishvara. This higher kind of knowledge is superior than dry, academic knowledge gained through a cursory reading of the scriptures without the guidance of a guru, and without the perfect internalization of that knowledge through a pure mind and intellect. In this sense, meditation or higher knowledge is superior to purely academic knowledge.
 
Now to get to these two stages, we have to take stock of our qualifications. Shri Krishna knew that the majority of people would have a great sense of attachment to the body, as well as a large stock of selfish desires that prompt them to selfish actions. They need a technique that is appropriate for their qualifications, and that will bring them to a stage where they can eventually practice meditation. For such individuals, renunciation of the fruits of actions, or karma yoga, is superior than meditation. Only renunciation will bring short term peace through reduction of worry for the future, and long term peace by making us qualified for meditation.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 35, Chapter 3

12 Thursday Jan 2012

Posted by in 3.36, bhyaavahaha, chapter 3 verse 35, nidhanam, paradharmaat, paradharmo, shreyaan, shreyaha, svadharmah, svadharme, svanushthitaat, vigunaha

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shreyaansvadharmo vigunaha paradharmaatsvanushthitaat |
svadharme nidhanam shreyaha paradharmo bhayaavahaha || 35 ||

Following one’s own nature, though imperfect, is still better than following another’s nature that is perfect. Even dying in one’s nature is better, and the nature of another leads to danger.

shreyaan : is better
svadharmah : following one’s nature
vigunaha : imperfect
paradharmaat : compared to other’s nature
svanushthitaat : perfect
svadharme : in one’s nature
nidhanam : dying
shreyaha : it is better
paradharmo : other’s nature
bhayaavahaha : cause of fear and danger

On the surface, this shloka seems to contradict the previous shloka where Shri Krishna advocated that we should not let our likes and dislikes, i.e. our nature, take us away from our goal. Here, he seems to say that we should follow our nature instead. Let us try to analyze this paradox.

Earlier, we came across the notion of svadharma, which is work that one enjoys doing, has the aptitude and training for doing, and is not illegal or unethical. Svadharma is nothing but our strongest likes and desires, and only we can judge what they are.

Upon self-examination, we may find that we gravitate towards a career in art, or music, or science and so on. Let’s say we determine that science is our strongest like. That now becomes our svadharma. We use the enormous pressure of our interest in science in the service of a higher goal, by becoming a researcher, for instance.

Another implication of this message is that the force generated by our svadharma should be used in evolution of our personality. A person with a strong desire to fight can become a soldier if he uses his svadharma in the service of his country. But he can also become a gangster if his svadharma is not dedicated to a higher ideal.

Therefore, what this shloka says is that once we have selected a strong desire as our svadharma, we should not let weaker likes or dislikes distract us from the svadharma. For example, let’s say we are pursuing a PhD in science. We may come across someone following a different profession and who earns significantly more money. We should not cause our liking for more money to change our path. Not only will it help us reach our spiritual goal, we will have peace of mind too.

What is unique about this approach is that it emphasizes introspection over blind faith. The beauty of the Gita’s teaching is that takes care of every person. There is no fixed rigid path – each one arrives at their own path through self-analysis. It is like a kitchen where each spice is unique, but has a distinct role to play in making a meal.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 31, Chapter 2

30 Sunday Oct 2011

Posted by in 2.31, anyat, api, arhasi, avekhsya, cha, chapter 2 verse 31, dharmyaat, kshatiyasya, na, shreyaha, svadharmam, vidyate, vikampitum, yuddhaat

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svadharmamapi chaavekshya na vikampitumarhasi |
dharmyaaddhi yuddhaacchreyonyatkshatriyasya na vidyate || 31 ||

Furthermore, you should not be disturbed when you consider your duty, because there is no other glory for a warrior that a righteous war.

svadharmam : your duty
api : furthermore
cha : and
avekshya : consider
na : not
vikampitum : disturbed
arhasi : should
dharmyaat : righteous
hi : because
yuddhaat : than war
shreyaha : glory
anyat : any other
kshatriyasya : for a warrior
na vidyate : there is not

Shri Krishna now begins a fresh topic in these next few shlokas. He deals with the issue of svadharma, or one’s own duty. It is important to remember that although Shri Krishna has addressed these shlokas to a mighty warrior, each of us has to interpret what they mean for us.

So, what exactly is one’s duty? In this context, it is not something we have to do because someone else is forcing us, or because the so-called caste system says so.

Duty is work that one enjoys doing, has the aptitude and training for doing, and is not illegal or unethical. The practice of medicine becomes a svadharma for a doctor when he or she finds joy in the work, has completed medical training, and uses it for the betterment of society. Education becomes svadharma for students when they find joy in attending classes and studying for exams.

Note that the same person could have more than one svadharma. For example, a woman could be a mother at home, and executive at work.

One may ask, “I have the training and aptitude for my profession. I certainly do not perform any  illegal activities. But I don’t find joy in my work. It is a drudgery for me, I only do it so that I can earn a living. How do I find joy in my work?”. Shri Krishna has anticipated this question and will give us the trick for addressing this question very soon.

Let’s also understand why Shri Krishna chose to introduce the topic of svadharma right after concluding the topic of the eternal essence. As we saw earlier, most of us are not at the advanced stage of spirituality where we have the ability to perceive the eternal essence in all beings, even though we may have an abstract or theoretical understanding of it by now. We are people with professions, jobs, careers and responsibilities. We are not in a position to retire to a monastery. Most of our day is spent in work.

Knowing this, Shri Krishna is gently introducing us to a more practical method of accessing the eternal essence. In this method, we can continue to lead our daily lives and still orient ourselves to accessing that eternal essence. As a side effect of this, we will also find joy and fulfillment in our work.