Category Archives: tu

Bhagavad Gita Verse 32, Chapter 3

09 Monday Jan 2012

Posted by in 3.32, abhyasooyantah, achetasaha, anutishtanti, chapter 3 verse 32, etad, matam, me, na, nashtaan, sarvajnyaana, taan, tu, viddhi, vimoodhaan, ye

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ye tvetadabhyasooyanto naanutishthanti me matam |
sarvajnyaanavimoodhaamstaanviddhi nashtaanachetasaha || 32 ||

But those who object to this teaching and do not follow it, they are confused in all of their knowledge. Know those people who are devoid of discrimination to be ruined.

ye : those
tu : but
etad : this
abhyasooyantah : with objection
na : do not
anutishthanti : follow
me : my
matam : teaching
sarvajnyaana : in all knowledge
vimoodhaan : confused
taan : those
viddhi : know
nashtaan : to be ruined
achetasaha : devoid of discrimination

Shri Krishna urged us to resolve all our objections to the teaching so that we may be able to incorporate it into our lives. But even if we overcome our philosophical objections, most of us will still find it difficult to follow the practice of karmayoga. Shri Krishna therefore begins to explain what prevents us from adopting karmayoga, and consequently, how should we tackle those obstacles.

The primary obstacle to karmayoga are our vaasanaas. Once a person is under the influence of vaasanaas, their actions will be prompted by selfish motives. These motives are expressed as negative emotions such as jealousy: “I will do things to make others jealous”, or out of anger: “I will destroy this person”, or greed: “I will earn so much even if it means I compromise on ethics”. Some people even pass on negative motives to their children, e.g. “I was not able to destroy this family, so you go ahead and do it, my son”.

Now, when we dwell in negative emotions such as jealousy, anger, greed etc., our intellect knows that what we are doing is wrong. But since our vaasanaas have overpowered the intellect, it does not function and so we follow a wrong path. We are then ruined because we are going against the laws of nature. What would happen if we disregarded the law of gravity? We would perish. A similar fate exists if we do not pursue karmayoga.

So the question is : how exactly do vaasanaas cause us not follow karmayoga? Shri Krishna covers this topic next.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 28, Chapter 3

05 Thursday Jan 2012

Posted by in 3.28, chapter 3 verse 28, guna, gunesh, iti, karma, mahaabaaho, matvaa, na, sajjate, tattvavit, tu, vartanta, vibhagayoh

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tattvavittu mahaabaaho gunakarmavibhaagayoh |
gunaa guneshu vartanta iti matvaa na sajjate || 28 ||

But he who knows the truth, O mighty-armed, about the divisions of gunaas as well as their functions, recognizes the interplay of gunaas (everywhere). Having known this, he does not get attached.

tattvavit : knower of truth
tu : but
mahaabaaho : O mighty-armed
gunaa : gunas
karma : functions
vibhaagayoh : distinction
gunaa : gunas
guneshu : in gunas
vartanta : act
iti : this
matvaa : having known
na : does not
sajjate : get attached

Previously, we learned about the ignorant individual who is deluded by the notion that he is the doer. But then, what does the wise person know that the ignorant one does not? Shri Krishna explains that point here.

The wise person is termed a “tattva-vit” – one who knows the truth – by Shri Krishna. The truth, as we saw earlier, is that all actions in this world are performed by prakiriti. And prakriti is comprised of the three gunaas and their respective functions, termed in this shloka as “guna-karma-vibhaaga”. But how exactly do we know that prakriti causes the actions, not the “I”?

Our sense organs are like agents that send messages to the mind when they perceive an object. For instance, if you hold a rose in your hand, the eyes, skin and nose send different signals to the mind. The mind creates a holistic picture from all those signals – “this is a red rose” – and sends it to the intellect. The intellect analyzes that information and makes a decision – “buy this rose”, having consulted its memory of past experiences with roses.

This means that perception, thinking, decision-making – all these functions are part of prakriti, operating based on laws set by prakriti. The “I” is the eternal essence, different from prakriti.

So therefore, if one knows that he is not the doer, and that things are happening of their own accord, he does not get attached to anything in this world. He becomes a witness or a “saakshi”, just like someone watching a play does not get attached to one actor or another. Another example is the process of digestion. We are not attached to it because we know that we are not the doer in that instance. The notion that everything is an interplay of gunaas may seem abstract and theoretical. One can only gain a first-hand experience of this truth in deep stages of meditation.

This teaching is beneficial in our day-to-day lives as well. If we contemplate on this teaching, it has the effect of thinning our ego. Once that happens, it makes us very humble and reduces several negative emotions like fear, anger, stress and so on. Now, we may fear that this teaching makes us lackadaisical. On the contrary, it makes thinking clear and actions more efficient by getting rid of negative emotions that drain our mental energy.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 17, Chapter 3

26 Monday Dec 2011

Posted by in 3.17, aatma, aatmani, cha, chapter 3 verse 17, eva, kaaryam, maanavaha, na vidyate, ratih, santushtah, syaat, tasya, truptah, tu, yah

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yastvaatmaratireva syaadaatmatruptashcya maanavaha |
aatmanyeva cha santushtastasya kaaryam na vidyate || 17 ||

But, one who revels only in the eternal essence, and is content and satisfied in the eternal essence, no duty exists for him.

yah : one who
tu : but
aatma-ratih : revels in the eternal essence
eva : only
syaat : remains
aatma-truptah : content in the eternal essence
cha : and
maanavaha : individual
aatmani : in the eternal essence
eva cha : and
santushtah : satisfied
tasya : for him
kaaryam :duty
na vidyate : do not exist

While hearing Shri Krishna extol the need to act in this world, many of us – whether we admit it or not – may want to know whether there is an exception to this instruction. In other words, are there any circumstances where do not need to perform actions anymore? Shri Krishna gives the answer in this shloka and the next.

If we examine ourselves, we realize that we derive pleasure and satisfaction from external sources: material objects, people, relationships and so on. Pleasant memories, which can be considered internal to us, do give us joy but were generated from some external source in the past. But, in reality, the source of happiness is the absence of desires experienced when we finally attain a material object.

For instance, if we want to buy a new shirt, a desire is created in the mind. Till such time that we get the shirt, we will be unhappy because of that desire. But once the desire is fulfilled, we experience happiness for a brief period of time. Is that happiness caused by the shirt, or by the temporary absence of desires? The wise person knows that it is the latter.

So in this shloka Shri Krishna makes a bold statement. He says that till we derive pleasure and satisfaction from things external to us, we have to act in this world. Conversely, one who no longer derives pleasure and satisfaction from external sources does not need to act in this world. He “revels” in the eternal essence which he has learned to recognize within himself. He no longer has to look outside for happiness.

Is there a contradiction here? Earlier it was mentioned that if one is human, one has to act. But here, it is mentioned that the realized individual does not need to act? The answer is that once that individual has understood the true source of happiness, he loses the sense of doership. In other words, the notion that “I am doing this action” goes away, and all his actions become natural and spontaneous.

As an example, if you truly love painting, and have mastered all the skills, then your painting becomes effortless and spontaneous. You experience a feeling that some people call “being in the zone”. In fact, there may come a stage where you will feel that the hand is moving by itself, and the painting is happening on its own.

Similarly, all the actions of this wise individual become like that spontaneous painting.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 13, Chapter 3

21 Wednesday Dec 2011

Posted by in 3.13, aatmakaaranaat, agham, bhunjate, chapter 3 verse 13, kilbishaih, muchyante, paapah, pachanti, santah, sarva, te, tu, yajnashishtaashinah, ye

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yajnashishtaashinah santo muchyante sarvakilbishaih |
bhunjate te tvagham paapaa ye pachantyaatmakaaranaat || 13 ||

Those wise individuals who consume the remains of yajna, they are liberated from all sins. But those sinful ones who cook only for themselves, they consume only sin.

yajnashishtaashinah : remains of yajna
santah : wise individuals
muchyante : are liberated
sarva : from all
kilbishaih : sins
bhunjate : consume
te : they
tu : but
agham : sin
paapaah : sinful ones
ye : those
pachanti : cook
aatmakaaranaat : for themselves

In the previous shloka, Shri Krishna began the topic of the three levels of action. We saw that in the first level, the individual does not perform any action and only consumes. In this shloka, Shri Krishna explains the second and third levels of action.

Selfish action is the second level of action. In this level, the individual only thinks about himself. His vision is very narrow and limited. When this individual works in a team, his only thought is : how much of the result can be kept for myself? He also treats everyone he works with as his competitors. For him to win, they have to lose. Shri Krishna says that such individuals “cook only for themselves” and “consume only sin”.

The third level and highest level of action is that of selfless action. The individual who works selflessly seldom thinks about himself. His vision is broad : he is always thinking about how to act such that his family will benefit, his employer will benefit, his nation will benefit and so on. He always treats others with respect, and as partners in collectively achieving the highest possible goal. Shri Krishna says that by working in this highest level of action, such “wise individuals” are “liberated from all sins”.

Another mark of this individual that he treats everything that he possesses as materials to be used in a yajna. Which means that he does not consider anything as “mine” – everything belongs to the higher ideal (family, company, nation etc). So therefore, he is more than happy to partake in what’s left after everyone else has consumed their share of the fruits of the yagna. Our natural tendency is to make a grab for our share and then let others worry about theirs. But this individual, keeping sight of the higher ideal at all times, ensures that others are taken care of before taking care of himself.

So what does this mean for us? When we perform any action every day, let us make an attempt to gauge the level of the action being performed by us. Is it selfish? selfless? or are we so lazy that we are not acting at all?

Bhagavad Gita Verse 7, Chapter 3

15 Thursday Dec 2011

Posted by in 3.7, aarabhate, arjuna, asaktah, chapter 3 verse 7, indriyaani, karmayogam, karmendriyaih, manasaa, niyamya, sa, tu, vishishyate, yah

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yastvindriyaani manasaa niyamyaarabhaterjuna |
karmendriyaih karmayogamasaktah sa vishishyate || 7 ||

But one who controls his senses by his mind, O Arjuna, and performs karmayoga with his organs-of-action without attachment – that individual is superior.

yah : that
tu : but
indriyaani : senses
manasaa : by mind
niyamya : controls
aarabhate : follows
arjuna : O Arjuna
karmendriyaih : through organs-of-action
karmayogam : karma yoga
asaktah : without attachment
sa : that individual
vishishyate : is superior

In the previous shloka, we saw that repressing our urges and giving up actions does not work. A different approach is needed to clean our vasanaas and selfish desires. In this shloka, Shri Krishna says that we should not give up actions – instead, we should give up attachment.

Giving up attachment is a technique unto itself, and this chapter goes into a lot of detail on that topic. To begin with, this shloka informs us that we need to arm ourselves with two weapons: discrimination or “viveka”, and dispassion or “vairagya”.

Let first look at discrimination. If we have followed the teaching so far, we know that material objects are are temporary and are not the true sources of happiness. But it is extremely easy to forget this teaching, especially if we have strong vasanaas and desires.

Therefore, we have to constantly arm ourselves with the weapon of discrimination by being always aware and alert about our thoughts and emotions. And we have to be especially alert when we are around objects that we are attached to. For a simple example take food: it could be chocolates for the sweet tooth person, fried food for the obese person etc.

Next comes dispassion. If we constantly practice discrimination, dispassion will happen automatically. Objects, people and situations will begin to lose their hold on us. Dispassion will prevent our energy from rushing out into the world of material objects through our senses. This is what the shloka means by the phrase “one who controls his senses by his mind.”

Finally, once the mind has gained back control over the senses, then the energy that once rushed out through our senses can be channeled into performing karmayoga. The next shloka will go deeper into what Shri Krishna means by karmayoga.

Footnotes
1. Verse 375 of Shankarachaarya’s Vivekachoodamani speaks of dispassion and discrimination as “two wings of a bird” that lift the seeker into realization.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 64-65, Chapter 2

30 Wednesday Nov 2011

Posted by in 2.64, 2.65, aatmavhashyaih, adigachati, chapter 2 verse 64-65, charan, dvesha, indrayaih, prasaadam, raaga, tu, vidheyaatma, vishayaan, viyuktaih

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raagadveshaviyuktaistu vishayaanindrayaishcharan |
aatmavashyairvidheyaatmaa prasaadamadhigachati || 64 ||

prasaade sarvaduhkhaanaam haanirasyopajaayate |
prasannachetaso hyaashu buddhih paryavatishthate || 65 ||

But, the one whose mind and senses are under control, is devoid of attraction or revulsion. He moves around objects and gains the state of tranquility. 

Having gained tranquility, all of his sorrows are destroyed. His mind is joyful and his intellect soon becomes steady.

raagadvesha-viyuktaih : devoid of attraction or revulsion
tu : but
vishayaan : objects
indrayaih : through senses
charan : moves around
aatmavashyaih : subdued
vidheyaatmaa : one with a controlled mind
prasaadam : tranquility
adhigachati : gains

prasaade : gaining tranquility
sarva-duhkhaanaam : all sorrows
haanih : destroy
asya : of this individual
upajaayate : become
prasanna-chetasah : joyful mind
hi : surely
aashu : soon
buddhih : intellect
pari-avatishthate : steady

In the last shloka, Shri Krishna explained the “ladder of fall”, or how constant thinking about material objects leads to a fall from equanimity. In this set of shlokas, he explains the exact opposite scenario, where bringing the senses and the mind under control brings us to a state of happiness. Here’s the sequence of events:

Bring senses and mind under control -> one becomes devoid of attraction and revulsion -> he can experience the material world without any problem -> his mind becomes tranquil -> his intellect becomes steady -> he has no more sorrow -> he attains the state of happiness.

So, if one continues to pursue one’s svadharma, and stay devoted to a higher ideal, one gets to a stage of equanimity. We have learned this in earlier shlokas. But then, what next? This set of shlokas tells us that performance of svadharma has a purifying effect – it is like a flame that burns away our vasanaas. As the vasanaas burn away, our minds remain situated in equanimity – and that’s when our sorrows diminish.

We are always looking at quick fixes to be happy – new job, new friends, read a new book, move to a new place etc. But what comes across in these shlokas is that a long-term state of happiness cannot be found in a quick fix solution. All we can do is follow our svadharma, fix a higher goal, and keep at it.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 16, Chapter 2

12 Wednesday Oct 2011

Posted by in 2.16, abhaavaha, anayoha, antaha, api, asataha, bhaavaha, chapter 2 verse 16, datshibhihi, drishtaha, na vidyate, sataha, tattva, tu, ubhayoha

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naasato vidyate bhaavo naabhaavo vidyate sataha |
ubhayoropi drishtontastvanayostattvadarshibhihi || 16 ||

The unreal has no existence, and there is no non-existence of the real; the truth about both of these has been experienced by seers of the essence.

asataha : unreal
bhaavaha : existence
vidyate : situation
na : no
tu : and
sataha : real
abhaavaha : non-existence
tattva : truth
darshibhihi : seers of
anayoha : of these two
ubhayoha : both
api : also
antaha : essence
drishtontaha : experienced

Here we encounter one of the most profound shlokas of the Gita, with layers and layers of meaning. It begins to lead us into understanding this thing called the eternal essence, and how we can experience it. At present, we may not have the capability to go too deep into it, but we can try to get its gist.

The best example I heard in connection with this verse is the animal cookie example. We may have come across animal cookies. They are a brand of children’s cookies shaped like tigers, elephant etc. Now, some children will only want to eat the tiger shaped cookie and not the others, whereas other children may only want to eat the elephant shaped ones and not the others. But, most adults would not care about the shape of the cookie, they will eat any shape.

Why is this so? The adult has the wisdom to go straight to the essence of the cookie. He or she does not care about the name or the form taken by the cookie. And this wisdom has come by maturity, by knowing that the animals were “un-real” and they did not have “existence”. Only the cookie dough was “real”, just like this verse indicates.

Another example is about the newly married wife who has just received a beautiful gold bangle from her husband. Although she cares about the shape and ornamentation of the bangle, a pawn shop owner would not not really care about those things. He only cares about the weight of the bangle.

The prior verse indicated that a wise person is one who stays balanced in joy and sorrow. This verse explains that the balanced person will slowly achieve wisdom and reach a state where any object or situation will begin to lose its “real-ness”. Only the eternal essence will remain as the common element behind every object or situation. This vision is called “tattva-drishti” or “vision of the essence”.

Moreover, the word “bhaava” has another meaning: finitude. So it means that the real is infinite, and the unreal is finite. Therefore, the wise person does not go on chasing material objects that have a finite existence and give only finite happiness.

Footnotes
1. The Jnyaneshwari has several examples to illustrate this verse, for further reference.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 10, Chapter 1

23 Tuesday Aug 2011

Posted by in abhirikshitam, abhiriksitam, aparyaaptam, asmaakam, balam, chapter 1 verse 10, eteshaam, idam, paryaptam, tu

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aparyaaptam tadasmaakam balam bheeshmaabhirikshitam |
paryaaptam tvidameteshaam balam bheemaabhirikshitam || 10 ||

Whereas our army, defended by Bheeshma’s strength, is infinitely capable of victory, the Pandava army defended by Bheema’s strength, seems limited.

asmaakam tat: our army
aparyaaptam: infinitely capable (to win against the Pandavas)
balam bheeshma-abhirikshitam: defended by Bheeshma’s strength
tu: but
eteshaam: these Pandavas
idam: this
paryaptam: limited (to be victorious)
balam bheemaa-abhirikshitam: defended by Bheema’s strength

Duryodhana continued to boast about his army in this final comment to Drona. Note that Drona did not reply to any of Duryodhana’s statements at any point in the conversation. His silence indicated either anger, disappointment or knowing the inevitable that his army was doomed to failure.

If you measure Duryodhana’s comments, they tend to become increasingly arrogant and hyperbolic throughout the conversation. Anytime you have somebody making hyperbolic statements praising themselves, it usually indicates an underlying insecurity.

Footnote
1. In translating this verse I looked up several commentaries, and this is the first verse where I have encountered a difference in translation. Some commentators translate the Sanskrit word “aparyaptam” to mean “beyond sufficient” or “infinitely capable”. This is the meaning that I have used above. However, some commentators translate it as “less than sufficient” or “limited capability”. If that meaning is taken, that means Duryodhana’s fear has broken past the facade of arrogance and he has begun speaking what he really thinks.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 7, Chapter 1

20 Saturday Aug 2011

Posted by in artham, asmaakam, braveemi, chapter 1 verse 7, dvija-uttama, mama, naayakaaha, nibodhaa, sainyasya, sangya, taan, te, tu, vishishtaaha, ye

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asmaakam tu vishishtaa ye taannibodha dvijottama |
naayakaa mama sainsyasya sangnyartham taanbraveemi te || 7 ||

O twice-born Drona, now I would like to bring to your attention to our competent warriors. Let me point you to some of my army’s commanders.

dvija-uttama: O twice born
asmaakam: on our side
tu: also
ye: those
vishishtaaha: select (warriors)
taan: on them
nibodhaa: to draw your attention
te:for you
sangya-artham: indicate for your information
mama: my
sainyasya: army
naayakaaha: commanders
taan: about them
braveemi: I will speak

Duryodhana continued his conversation with Drona in this verse. As is apparent from the text of the verse, he wanted to now talk to Drona about his army, having assessed the capabilities of the Pandava army.

Notice how each verse gives an indication of Duryodhana’s state of mind. Initially, he saw the well-formed army of the Pandavas that was marching with a single vision, and began to worry that it may prove to be a formidable opponent. His worry prompted him to instigate Drona. Now in this verse Duryodhana’s worry unleashed a condescending, mean attitude by calling Drona a “twice born”.

Twice-born usually refers to individuals in the brahman, kshatriya and vaishya classes. However, in this verse, this was a veiled insult because although Drona was a accomplished warrior, he was a brahmin by birth. Duryodhana wanted to imply that Drona, being a brahmin, would be soft on his disciples the Pandavas. In addition, use of the phrase “my army” also indicates that Duryodhana’s ego was puffed up at this point.

Negative emotions like fear and worry, when allowed to simmer in the mind, tend to unleash the worst in us. Later, the Gita will go in great detail into how this happens.
Footnotes
1. In Swami Ramdas Samaratha’s Dasbodh, there is an entire chapter on signs exhibited by foolish people. According to him, anyone who insults his guru out of pride is considered a fool.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 2, Chapter 1

17 Wednesday Aug 2011

Posted by in aachaarya, abraveet, chapter 1 verse 2, dhrishtvaa, drona, duryodhan, duryodhana, paandavaanikam, raaja, tadaa, tu, upasangmaya, vachanam, vyoodham

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Sanjaya uvacha:
dhristvaa tu paandavaanikam vyoodham duryodhanstadaa |
aachaaryamupasangmaya raaja vachanambraveet || 2 ||

Sanjaya said:
Observing that the Pandava army was organized into a military formation, Duryodhana approached his teacher Drona and spoke these words.

tadaa: during that time
vyoodham: organized into a military formation
paandavaanikam: the Pandava army
dhrishtvaa: observing
tu: and
aachaaryam: Dronacharya – teacher Drona
upasangmaya: approached
raaja: king
duryodhan: Duryodhana
vachanam: words
abraveet: spoke

Let’s look at the character that is introduced in this verse – Duryodhana. Duryodhana was the son of Dhritrashtra, and leader of the Kaurava army in the Mahabharata war. He was a skilled and strong warrior, almost equal in prowess to Bhima, the strongest warrior in the Pandava army.

Since childhood, Duryodhana grew up with the idea that he was the rightful heir to the throne and not Yudhishtira, who was the eldest brother of the Pandavas. Going back to the theme of the previous verse which is that of attachment, he was extremely attached to the throne. But because he perceived the Pandavas as an obstacle to the throne, which was something that he was extremely attached to, he developed an aversion towards them.

Think of aversion or in other words, hatred, as the polar opposite of attachment. But interestingly enough, it is born out of attachment itself. For example, we saw that Mr. X from the last post was extremely attached to his car, and saw that someone had made a large dent in it. What feeling do you think Mr. X had for the person who caused that dent? That is aversion. Aversion is usually caused when we perceive a person, situation or object as an obstacle between us and the object of our attachment. And aversion, just like attachment, strengthens the ego. Examples are people (I hate my boss), objects (I hate my old TV), positions (I hate anyone who believes in communism) or situations (I hate my job).

Now, why did Duryodhana approach his teacher Drona? He saw the military formation of the Pandavas and began to get scared. As is the case, most people run to someone superior when they get scared, so he approached his teacher for counsel.

Drona was a teacher to both the Pandavas and Kauravas, and had equal affinity to both of them. And unlike some of the other senior warriors, Drona was not a blood relation to the Kauravas. Duryodhana also sensed that he needs to check in with Drona to understand his state of mind, because he needed Drona’s prowess to win this war.

There is an interesting leadership lesson here. If you are leading a team – in a business, political or any context – your success is not guaranteed unless everyone buys into a common vision that you as a leader have articulated.

Footnotes
1. There is a redundancy here in the phrase “vachanambraveet”. Usually if you write “say”, most people know that you mean “say words”. But here the word “abraveet” is used in addition to “vachana”. This could mean that the words that Duryodhana is going to speak in the next verse are not ordinary words, they could perhaps be very negative or hurtful.
2. Sanjay uses the word “raaja” or king when referring to Duryodhana. Perhaps he is hinting here that the root cause of this war is over the question of who the legitimate king is.