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Category Archives: tu

Bhagavad Gita Verse 16, Chapter 14

22 Friday Feb 2013

Posted by in 14.16, aahuhu, ajnyaanam, chapter 14 verse 16, duhkham, karmanaha, nirmalam, phalam, rajasaha, saattvikam, sukritasya, tamasaha, tu

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karmanaha sukritasyaahuhu saattvikam nirmalam phalam |
rajasastu phalam duhkhamajnyaanam tamasaha phalam || 16 ||
 
The result of good action is sattvik and pure, it is said, while the result of rajas is sorrow, and the result of tamas is ignorance.
 
karmanaha : action
sukritasya : good
aahuhu : is said
saattvikam : sattvik
nirmalam : pure
phalam : result
rajasaha : rajas
tu : while
phalam : result
duhkham : sorrow
ajnyaanam : ignorance
tamasaha : tamas
phalam : result
 
When new year comes around, many people make new year resolutions to lose weight. Many take a gym membership, but most end up using it only for a few days. The ones that consciously develop a habit of going to the gym everyday are the most likely to lose weight. Even if they go to the gym for ten minutes every day, they will lose weight. This is because habits are self reinforcing. A behaviour creates a habit, which pushes us to repeat the behaviour, which strengthens the habit, and so on.
 
Similarly, we can shape our mental states by choosing our actions consciously. Shri Krishna says that sattvic or selfless actions generate a sattvic state, rajasic or selfish actions generate a rajasic state, and tamasic or ignorant actions generate a tamasic state. If we are predominantly rajasic by nature, we can improve our state by emphasizing the performance of sattvic actions. If we are predominantly tamasic by nature, we can change it by emphasizing the performance of rajasic actions.
 
The law of karma holds true in every situation, including this one. If we perform rajasic actions, we will attain temporary joy, which will eventually generate sorrow. It does not take a large amount of raaga dvesha, likes or dislikes, to make us act selfishly. And if we perform tamasic actions, we will continue to live our lives in inertness and ignorance. Only through sattvic actions will we create a state of purity and serenity in our mind.

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Bhagavad Gita Verse 14, Chapter 14

19 Tuesday Feb 2013

Posted by in 14.14, amalaan, chapter 14 verse 14, dehabhrita, lokaan, pralayam, pratipadyate, pravriddhe, sattve, tadaa, tu, uttamavidaan, yaati, yada

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yada sattve pravriddhe tu pralayam yaati dehabhrita |
tadottamavidaan lokaanamalaanpratipadyate || 14 ||
 
When sattva is predominant, and the body dweller reaches his end, then he attains the immaculate worlds of the knowers of the highest.
 
yada : when
sattve : sattva
pravriddhe : predominant
tu : and
pralayam : end
yaati : reaches
dehabhrita : body dweller
tadaa : then
uttamavidaan : knowers of the highest
lokaan : worlds
amalaan : immaculate
pratipadyate : attains
 
Now, Shri Krishna explains the effects of each gunaa from the perspective of reincarnation. He says that one whose mind is in a sattvic state during the time of death travels to realms that are subtler than the human world. These realms are termed as “Brahmaloka”, the abode of Lord Brahma. It is said that there is no room for any desire, sorrow or disease in such realms, given the complete absence of rajas or tamas. Such people, however, are still subject to the bondages caused by sattva, as discussed previously.
 
Let us revisit the example of the young child who has developed a strong identification with a television character played by the actor “ABC”. ABC’s run as an action hero in a popular TV show has ended. He has decided to play the role of a serious professor in his new TV series. The young child now has a choice. He can either continue to identify with ABC in his new role as a professor, or find another TV show with an action hero to identify with. The choice depends on the young child’s mental state. If it is heavily rajasic, he will find another action hero. If it has some sattva, he will follow ABC as a professor.
 
Similarly, our desires and thoughts, which are driven by the gunaas that influence us, will determine our fate after this physical body drops. The subtle body, which is nothing but our desires and thoughts, will attract another physical body that enables it to carry out those desires. It is almost similar to DNA shaping a body based on the programming it contains. Therefore, if our subtle body harbours sattvic thoughts, it will gain entry into a highly sattvic body after death. But if it continues to harbour rajasic or tamasic thoughts, it will obtain a different destination. This is explained in the next shloka.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 8, Chapter 14

13 Wednesday Feb 2013

Posted by in 14.8, aalasya, ajnyaanajam, bhaarata, chapter 14 verse 8, mohanam, nibadhnaati, nidraabhihi, pramaada, sarvadehinaam, tamaha, tat, tu, viddhi

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tamastvajnyaanajam viddhi mohanam sarvadehinaam |
pramaadaalasyanidraabhistannibadhnaati bhaarata || 8 ||
 
And, know tamas to be born of ignorance, deluding all the body dwellers. It binds them through heedlessness, laziness and sloth, O Bhaarata.
 
tamaha : tamas
tu : and
ajnyaanajam : born of ignorance
viddhi : know
mohanam : delude
sarvadehinaam : all body dwellers
pramaada : heedlessness
aalasya : laziness
nidraabhihi : through sloth
tat : it
nibadhnaati : binds
bhaarata : O Bhaarata
 
Tamas is our state of mind when it is dull and inert. Like a glass of dirty water cannot let light shine through, tamas prevents our mind from thinking clearly. Our mind starts to operate in moha, which means confusion or error, mistaking one thing for another. Tamas can be triggered by an overpowering emotional situation like Arjuna seeing his family members and loved ones on the opposite side of the battlefield. A tamasic state can also be triggered by abusing our sense organs through excessive drinking, smoking, watching TV and so on.
 
After a long and tiring day, when we want to rush to get a good night’s sleep, we get a call from a friend who wants to catch up. Try as we might, we will not be able to understand what he is saying because the mind has switched to a tamasic state due to exhaustion. Our memory does not work properly and our intellect’s logic is flawed. All we want to do is to rest our head on the pillow. When tamas reaches the height of its potency, we fall asleep.
 
Shri Krishna says that tamas is born out of ignorance. At its core, tamas keeps the Purusha, the jeeva, body dweller under the delusion that he is the body and not the self. When we forget our true nature as the self, the eternal essence, we assume that our body is who we are. This erroneous notion, this ignorance enables tamas to bind us, to trap us.
 
Tamas binds us in three ways, through heedlessness, laziness and sloth. Heedlessness is the performance of actions without intellectual focus or awareness. We either perform actions carelessly, such as dialing the wrong phone number, or perform actions that are futile, such as gambling or excessive alcohol consumption. Laziness is postponing or abstaining from our duties. Sloth is lying around in a state of stupor or sleep. Now, there is a place for resting and sleeping in our life, which is at the end of every day. But some of us derive joy from futile actions, from procrastination, from lazing around and so on. It is this joy through which tamas binds us.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 20, Chapter 12

30 Sunday Dec 2012

Posted by in 12.20, ateeva, bhaktaaha, chapter 12 verse 20, dharmyaamritam, idam, mat, me, paramaahaa, paryupaasate, priyaha, shradyadhaanaa, te, tu, uktam, yatha, ye

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ye tu dharmyaamritamidam yathoktam paryupaasate |
shradyadhaanaa matparamaa bhaktosteteeva me priyaha || 20 ||
 
Therefore, those who partake of this nectar of law described here, endowed with faith, keeping me as the goal, those devotees are extremely dear to me.
 
ye : those who
tu : therefore
dharmyaamritam : nectar of law
idam : this
yatha : here
uktam : described
paryupaasate : partake
shradyadhaanaa : endowed with faith
mat : me
paramaahaa : goal
bhaktaaha : devotees
te : those
ateeva : extremely
me : me
priyaha : dear
 
Shri Krishna began listing the attributes of perfected devotees starting from the thirteenth chapter. In this shloka, he concludes this topic by highlighting two key attributes of such devotees: shraddha or faith, and making Ishvara as their ultimate goal, “matparamaahaa”. He terms the teaching of this chapter as the nectar of dharma. We can interpret the word dharma to mean the universal law of nature from the ninth chapter, or also as the nine fold bhaagvat dharma of Prahlaada that was explained earlier in this chapter.
 
Why are faith and goal-setting given such importance in bhakti or the path of devotion? Consider a child who eventually wants to study at one of the top universities in the world. Until he reaches a stage where he can qualify to attend that university, get selected for admission and begin his coursework, he needs to have faith in the notion that graduating from that university will significantly improve his life. That faith will propel him to set the single-pointed goal of academic success, work hard, to keep aside all distractions and to not give up. Only when he actually graduates will he not need faith anymore, because he has achieved what he set out to achieve. But until them, it is only faith in the goal that keeps him going.
 
Therefore, Shri Krishna says that those devotees who have fixed Ishvara as the goal, and that who have unwavering faith in that goal, are extremely dear to him. Devotees who love Ishvara without having known him first are devotees of the highest caliber, since it is more difficult to love something without having first known it. Such devotees, who do not need to become monks but just diligently worship Ishvara with form, are assured of liberation by Ishvara himself. This is the concluding message of the twelfth chapter.
 
om tatsatiti shreematbhagavatgitasupanishadsu brahmavidyaayaam yogashaastre shreekrishnaarjunsamvade bhaktiyogo naama dvaadashodhyaayaha || 12 ||

Bhagavad Gita Verse 6, Chapter 12

15 Saturday Dec 2012

Posted by in 12.6, ananyena, chapter 12 verse 6, dhyaayanta, eva, karmaani, maam, matparaahaa, mayi, sanyasya, sarvaani, tu, upaasate, ye, yogena

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ye tu sarvaani karmaani mayi sanyasya matparaahaa |
ananyenaiva yogena maam dhyaayanta upaasate || 6 ||
 
But, those renounce all actions in me, intent upon me only, meditate upon me through the single-pointed yoga of worship..
 
ye : those
tu : but
sarvaani : all
karmaani : actions
mayi : me
sanyasya : renounce
matparaahaa : intent upon me
ananyena : single-pointed
eva : only
yogena : through yoga
maam : me
dhyaayanta : meditating
upaasate : worship
 
Previously, Shri Krishna compared seekers who worship the formless Ishvara to those who worship Ishvara with form, and concluded that the worshippers of the formless Ishvara have more difficulty. We used the example of a child helping his parents to understand the attitude of the formless worshipper and the example of the worker helping his CEO exemplifying the worshipper of Ishvara with form. Now Shri Krishna re-emphasizes the qualifications of the worshipper of Ishvara with form, which is the route that most of us will take.
 
First, we have to renounce all our actions to Ishvara, in other words, practice karma yoga. Typically, when we perform any actions, we are looking for a tangible material result (monetary profit), emotional result (happiness) or an intellectual result (satisfaction). If our actions don’t turn out as we anticipated, we may get opposite results in the form of loss, sorrow or dissatisfaction. When we perform actions for the sake of renunciation to Ishvara, we leave the outcome to Ishvara, whether it is favourable or not.
 
When we do this, our mind and intellect do not constantly get destabilized by life’s ups and downs, leaving them free to contemplate the higher goal of Ishvara. But this can only happen through the practice of single-pointed worship, “ananya yoga”, the yoga where there is no other goal but Ishvara. In this manner, when we constantly worship Ishvara through our body, mind and intellect, he takes care of us. How does he do that? Shri Krishna completes this thought in the next shloka.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 54, Chapter 11

07 Friday Dec 2012

Posted by in 11.54, aham, ananyayaa, arjuna, bhaktyaa, chapter 11 verse 54, drishtum, evam, jnyaatum, parantapa, praveshtum, shakyaha, tattvena, tu, vidhihi

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bhaktyaa tvananyayaa shakya ahamevamvidhorjuna |
jnyaatum drishtum cha tattvena praveshtum cha parantapa || 54 ||
 
But, by single-pointed devotion, I am accessible, O Arjuna. In this manner, as my essence, I can be known, seen, and merged into, O scorcher of foes.
 
bhaktyaa : devotion
tu : but
ananyayaa : single-pointed
shakyaha : accessible
aham : I
evam : this
vidhihi : manner
arjuna : O Arjuna
jnyaatum : known
drishtum : seen
cha : and
tattvena : essence
praveshtum : merged
cha : and
parantapa : O scorcher of foes
 
So finally, Shri Krishna reveals the means by which we can access Ishvara’s cosmic form. It cannot be through any action such as rituals, study of the Vedas and so on since all of these methods are in the realm of space and time. “Ananya bhakti”, or single-pointed devotion is the only means to access Ishvara. We have come across the term “ananya” in prior chapters. It means that in which there is no “anya”, no other. We should not be devoted to Ishvara so that we can get something else. The devotion should be for obtaining Ishvara and nothing else.
 
We see this principle in our daily life as well. You have two friends, one who always comes to you when he needs something from you, not otherwise. Another friend comes to you just to know how you are doing, without any ulterior motive or hidden agenda. We would always prefer to deal with the second friend, and say to him “my house is your house, don’t behave like a stranger, take what you want”. Similarly, when we ask something materialistic from Ishvara, we treat him as different from us. Ishvara does not like this. When we want only Ishvara, we do not treat him as different from us. This is the crux of single-pointed devotion.
 
In the second half of the shloka, Shri Krishna outlines the process of attaining Ishvara. First, we have to know what Ishvara is, discarding all our prior notions. We have to know him as “tattvena”, in his essence, as pervading the entire world, not as someone hiding up in the sky somewhere. When we gain this knowledge and reflect upon it constantly, we begin to see Ishvara in everything, and everything as Ishvara. But the last step, of not seeing Ishvara from the outside, but of totally merging into Ishvara, can only happen through single-pointed devotion. Arjuna came to know Ishvara through Shri Krishna’s teaching, and he also saw Ishvara’s cosmic form. But he did not fully merge into it, he was standing out of it.
 
In this manner, Shri Krishna slowly brings up the topic of the next chapter, which is the yoga of bhakti or devotion. He summarizes this chapter in the next and last shloka.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 8, Chapter 11

22 Monday Oct 2012

Posted by in 11.8, anena, chakshuhu, chapter 11 verse 8, dadaami, divyam, drishtum, eva, ishvaram, maam, me, na, pashya, shakyase, svachakshushaa, te, tu, yoga

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na tu maam shakyase drishtumanenaiva svachakshushaa |
divyam dadaami te chakshuhu pashya me yogaishvaram || 8 ||
 
But, even this you cannot see with your own eye. I give you a divine eye, (so that you can) see the majesty of my yoga.
 
na : not
tu : but
maam : my
shakyase : can
drishtum : you see
anena : this
eva : even
svachakshushaa : with your own eye
divyam : divine
dadaami : I give
te : you
chakshuhu : eye
pashya : see
me : my
yoga : yoga
ishvaram : majesty
 
Even after Shri Krishna had begun displaying his Vishwa roopa, his cosmic form, there seemed to be no response from Arjuna at all. He realized that Arjuna’s mortal eyes did not have the capability needed to view the cosmic form. So he blessed Arjuna with the “divya drishti”, the divine vision with which the yoga, the power of creating this diversity in the universe, could be seen in all its majesty.
 
Before we proceed with the rest of this chapter, let us pause to dig a little deeper into this shloka. Each chapter in the Gita is a “yoga”, a technique for lifting us higher from the material to the divine. Arjuna was bestowed this vision by Shri Krishna, and we will hear a description of that vision from Sanjaya and Arjuna later in the chapter. But if this chapter is meant to give us a practical technique, what are we supposed to do? What does “divine vision” mean for us?
 
Let us consider a person from India who is deeply attached to his state or territory. As we have seen repeatedly in the Gita, any sort of deep attachment is a recipe for creating never-ending sorrow. What technique, what yoga could be prescribed for someone in this situation? One could ask that person to get a map of India, look at his state’s border, then mentally erase that border as well as all the other state borders, and see what’s left.
 
What will he see? He will only see the border of India. There would be no other divisions or distinctions. All conflicts regarding one state versus another would seem meaningless. It does not mean that the sense of attachment has gone away. That is very difficult to achieve. It simply means that the sense of attachment has been raised one step from the relative to the absolute.
 
Similarly, Shri Krishna asks all of us to view the world with the vision that everything is in Ishvara. Our eyes, limited as they are, will always report divisions and distinctions. That is their nature. But we can always use our intelligence to look through those divisions and see that ultimately, Ishvara is in everything and everything is in Ishvara. If we learn to do this, our attachment to worldly concerns will drop, and shift towards Ishvara.
 
As we move to the next verse, we will find that the original narrator, Sanjaya, has taken over.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 40, Chapter 10

11 Thursday Oct 2012

Posted by in 10.40, antaha, asti, chapter 10 verse 40, divyaanaam, eshaha, mama, mayaa, na, parantapa, proktaha, tu, udyeshataha, vibhooteenaam, vibhootehe, vistaraha

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aantosti mama divyaanaam vibhooteenaam parantapa |
esha toodyeshataha prokto vibhootervistaro mayaa || 40 ||
 
There is no end to my divine expressions, O scorcher of foes. For, what has been spoken of my expressions is (just) an indicator.
 
na : no
antaha : end
asti : there is
mama : my
divyaanaam : of divine
vibhooteenaam : expressions
parantapa : O scorcher of foes
eshaha : this
tu : for
udyeshataha : indicator
proktaha : has been spoken
vibhootehe : of the expressions
vistaraha : explanations
mayaa : my
 
Shri Krishna, speaking as Ishvara, began enumerating his divine expressions in the beginning of this chapter. As we have seen so far, he has highlighted the most glorious, powerful and awe-inspiring aspects of his creation. In this shloka, he admits that it is next to impossible to list every single aspect of creation. But he also asserts that every single aspect of creation is divine, since it has sprung out of Ishvara himself.
 
So if everything is divine, why should we seek only a subset of Ishvara’s creations? It is to help us move towards liberation. We tend to be drawn towards people or objects in that universe that naturally attract our senses. If we look at them as mere people or objects, we get bound to them through attachment, which will eventually result in sorrow when we get separated from them. But if we look at them as manifestations of Ishvara, we are automatically protected from further entangling ourselves in samsaara, in the desire-oriented world.
 
Let us go back to the example of Mr. X and his shiny new car. The seed of sorrow was planted the minute he started considering that “the car is mine”. Instead, if Mr. X thinks that the car is Ishvara’s creation, he will immediately drop his sense of “mine-ness” from it. Furthermore, he realizes that the car is a temporary object and will eventually cease to exist. He also comes to know that the sense of joy he derives from buying a new car is not from the car, but it is from the presence of Ishvara inside it. So if something happens to the car, he remains unaffected and unperturbed.
 
Now having gone through the list, we find that a 21st century person like us has difficulty identifying with Puraanic glories that would have been familiar to Arjuna. How should we deal with this issue? Shri Krishna gives the answer in the next shloka.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 29, Chapter 9

24 Friday Aug 2012

Posted by in 9.29, aham, api, bhajanti, bhaktyaa, cha, chapter 9 verse 29, dveshyaha, maam, mayi, me, na, priyaha, samaha, sarvabhooteshu, te, teshu, tu, ye

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samoham sarvabhooteshu na me dveshyati na priyaha |
ye bhajanti tu maam bhaktyaa mayi te teshu chaapyaham || 29 ||
 
I am the same to all beings, I do not hate nor favour any one. But, those who worship me faithfully, they are in me and I am in them.
 
samaha : same
aham : I am
sarvabhooteshu : to all beings
na : no one
me : my
dveshyaha : hate
na : nor
priyaha : favour
ye : one who
bhajanti : worships
tu : but
maam : me
bhaktyaa : faithfully
mayi : in me
te : those
teshu : in them
cha : and
api : also
 
Following the argument so far, one may have a doubt that Ishvara is somewhat partial to his devotees since he offers them liberation, not to others. Shri Krishna addresses this doubt by saying that he is absolutely impartial and that he does not hate or favour anyone. The difference in the result obtained is entirely up to the effort and qualification of the seeker.
 
Consider a mother who has to feed two sons. One is a wrestler, and one is an invalid. She will give a lot of heavy food to the wrestler, and easy to digest food to the invalid. She cannot be accused of favouring the wrestler because she is giving food based on his efforts and his constitution. Or consider the sun who provides the same heat and light to everyone. If you build a solar power plant, you can generate electricity. If you don’t, you will not be able to do so.
 
Similarly, Ishvara is same and equal to everyone. In the Mahabharata, Shri Krishna gave Arjuna and Duryodhana. They could either use him or his powerful army for the war. Arjuna chose Shri Krishna and Duryodhana chose the army. It is the person who makes the right or wrong choice. We can either put a plug in the electrical socket or our finger. Electricity does not care, but the results will be different.
 
Now, if we truly devoted to our family for example, we do not see any barrier, difference, separation between our family and ourselves. Whatever do for them, it is as if we do it for us. Whatever they do for us, they do it as if they were doing it for themselves. Similarly, if we are truly devoted to Ishvara, we see him in us, and he sees us in him.
 
Here, the topic of sakaama and nishkaama is concluded (desire-oriented and desireless devotion). The topic of the glory of devotion is taken up next.
 
Footnotes
1. Earlier Shri Krishna had said that Ishvara is not in anyone. This contradiction is resolved if we consider that each statement is made based on one’s perspective. If we are a devotee, Ishvara is in us and we are in Ishvara. If we a materialistic, Ishvara is not in us.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 24, Chapter 9

19 Sunday Aug 2012

Posted by in 9.24, abhijaananti, aham, ataha, bhoktaa, cha, chapter 9 verse 24, chyavanti, eva, hi, maam, na, prabhuhu, sarvayajnyaanaam, tattvena, te, tu

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aham hi sarvayajnyaanaam bhoktaa cha prabhureva cha |
na tu maamabhijaananti tattvenaatashchyavanti te || 24 ||
 
For I am the recipient and also the lord of all sacrificial rituals, but they do not know me in essence. That is why they fall.
 
aham : I
hi : for
sarvayajnyaanaam : all sacrificial rituals
bhoktaa : recipient
cha : and
prabhuhu : lord
eva : also
cha : and
na : not
tu : but
maam : me
abhijaananti : know
tattvena : in essence
ataha : that is why
chyavanti : fall
te : they
 
Earlier, Shri Krishna asserted that most people worship finite deities with the expectation of finite rewards, but ultimately, all their prayers reach the infinite Ishvara. This type of worship in itself is ok, but the result obtained through this worship can only be finite. Shri Krishna says that the reason most devotees commit this error because they do not recognize Ishvara in essence, they do not comprehend the real nature of Ishvara.
 
Imagine that people from a remote village visit a city. They may mistake a minister’s office for the nation’s government. They may mistake a computer for the Internet. They may mistake a power outlet for the electric grid. Just like such people will commit grave errors unless they understand the presence of the larger in the small, we also will commit errors in our worship unless we understand the real infinite nature of Ishvara.
 
So therefore, when we act in this world, we should always bear in mind that the recipient of any action is Ishvara. When we feed someone, care for someone, help someone in need, we should know that ultimately we are feeding, caring for and helping Ishvara. This will reduce our sense of ego or I-ness.
 
Furthermore, emotions such as pride, greed and jealousy are caused because we think we own something, or we covet something that others own. If we know that the ultimate owner of everything is Ishvara, it reduces our sense of attachment and “mine-ness”. Ego and attachment are great obstacles in the path of liberation, and this knowledge cuts them down.
 
What is the fate of such faulty worship? This is taken up next.