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Category Archives: tvayaa

Bhagavad Gita Verse 38, Chapter 11

21 Wednesday Nov 2012

Posted by in 11.28, aadidevaha, anantaroopam, asi, asya, chapter 11 verse 38, dhaama, nidhaanam, param, puraanaaha, purushaha, tatam, tvam, tvayaa, vedyam, vettaa, vishvam, vishvasya

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tvam aadidevaha purushaha puraanastvamasya vishvasya param nidhaanam |
vettaasi vedyam cha param cha dhaama tvayaa tatam vishvamanantaroopam || 38 ||
 
You are the primal lord, the ancient person. This universe is your supreme abode. You are the knower, the knowable and the supreme abode. By you is this universe pervaded, O one with infinite forms.
 
tvam : you
aadidevaha : primal lord
purushaha : person
puraanaaha : ancient
tvam : you
asya : this
vishvasya : universe
param : supreme
nidhaanam : abode
vettaa : knower
asi : are
vedyam : knowable
cha : and
param : supreme
cha : and
dhaama : abode
tvayaa : by you
tatam : pervaded
vishvam : universe
anantaroopam : having infinite forms
 
Arjuna’s understanding of Ishvara becomes clearer and clearer as this chapter unfolds. He acknowledges Ishvara’s creative power by addressing him as “aadideva”, the primal or first lord, the one who created Brahmaa, the creator. He also acknowledges that Ishvara has the power to create “anantaroopam”, an infinite number of forms, which is what we experience as “vishwam”, this magnificent universe. The first name of Ishvara in the Vishnu Sahasranaama, the thousand names of Vishnu, is vishwam.
 
Ishvara has not created the universe and stepped aside from it. He dwells in it as the ancient “purusha” or person, just like we dwell as the person in our body, the “city of nine gates” from the fifth chapter. Also, Ishvara is not located in just one specific area or corner of this universe. He is present everywhere. He is the “tatam” in the phrase “yenam sarvam idam tatam” from the second chapter. He pervades this entire creation, just like water pervades all ocean waves.
 
We know that even an inert object like a TV screen can conjure up an infinite number of names and forms. But Ishvara is far from inert. He is of the nature of awareness, of knowledge. He is the knower of everything that is to be known, all the forms that he has created. And when all these forms are dissolved, they end up in him, the final resting place, the “parama dhaama” or supreme abode.

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Bhagavad Gita Verse 20, Chapter 11

03 Saturday Nov 2012

Posted by in 11.20, adbhutam, agram, antaram, chapter 11 verse 20, dishashcha, drashtvaa, dyaavaaprathivyoho, ekena, hi, idam, lokatrayam, mahaatman, pravyathitam, roopam, sarvaahaa, tava, tvayaa, vyaaptam

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dyaavaaprathivyoridamantaram hi vyaaptam tvayaikena dishashcha sarvaahaa |
drashtvaadbhutam roopamagram tavedam lokatrayam pravyathitam mahaatman || 20 ||
 
This distance between heaven, earth is and all directions is pervaded only by you alone. Having seen this, your fascinating and terrible form, the three worlds are afraid, O great one.
 
dyaavaaprathivyoho : heaven and earth
idam : this
antaram : distance
hi : only
vyaaptam : pervaded
tvayaa : by you
ekena : one
dishashcha : directions
sarvaahaa : all
drashtvaa : having seen
adbhutam : fascinating
roopam : form
agram : terrible
tava : your
idam : this
lokatrayam : three worlds
pravyathitam : afraid
mahaatman : O great one
 
Nowadays, computers can be trained to recognize objects and faces. They do this by first taking a snapshot of a scene, and then differentiating between what is space is what is not. If they can do this differentiation correctly, they can compare the outlines of the “not-space” with outlines of familiar objects to arrive at a conclusion such as “this is a box” and so on.
 
Our eyes work in pretty much the same way. Whenever they see space, they do three things. First, they separate whatever they see as not-space and call those things “objects”. Next, they send those objects to the mind which uses its memory to say “this is a box and a key”. But in addition to recognizing objects, the mind also automatically adds another thought. Since the box and key are separated by space, they are far away from me and therefore not a part of me.
 
Our minds are conditioned to believe that Ishvara is sitting somewhere far away. He is separated from us by space, by distance. But when Arjuna saw the cosmic form, he realized that space is not different from Ishvara. In fact, Shri Krishna himself said that space is part of his nature in the seventh chapter. Ishvara is not separate and far away from us, he is with us all the time. In fact, he only exists, “ekena”, all alone, by himself. We are not different from him. This is the main point of this shloka. Only by constantly remembering the cosmic form will we truly understand this message.
 
Now, Ishvara’s ugra roopa, his terrible form, slowly replaces his saumya roopa, his pleasant for. For every pleasant experience in the world, there has to be a corresponding unpleasant experience as well. Once you label something as “good”, there will be something “bad” by default. Seeing this frightful form of Ishvara, with fire coming out of all his mouths, all the three worlds were beginning to worry.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 1, Chapter 11

15 Monday Oct 2012

Posted by in 11.1, adhyaatma, ayam, chapter 11 verse 1, guhyam, madanugrhaaya, mama, mohaha, paramam, sangitam, tena, tvayaa, uktam, vachaha, vigataha, yat

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arjuna uvaacha:
madanugrhaaya paramam guhyamadhyaatmasangitam |
yattvayoktam vachastena mohoyam vigato mama || 1 ||
 
Arjuna said:
Out of compassion for me, you have spoken about the supreme secret known as the knowledge of the self. By those statements, my delusion has been destroyed.
 
madanugrhaaya : out of compassion for me
paramam : supreme
guhyam : secret
adhyaatma : knowledge of the self
sangitam : known as
yat : that
tvayaa : you have
uktam : spoken
vachaha : statements
tena : by those
mohaha : delusion
ayam : this
vigataha : destroyed
mama : my
 
We begin the eleventh chapter with Arjuna’s words. He recalls the root cause of his panic attack from the first chapter which is moha or delusion which caused confusion between his duty as a warrior and as a family member. He now says that his delusion has been dispelled. How did that happen? It is only because Shri Krishna revealed the knowledge of the self, Adhyaatma vidyaa, to Arjuna, the answer to the question “who am I?”
 
When Arjuna understood his true nature as the self, the aatmaa, the eternal essence, he came to know that the self does not kill or be killed, it is neither the doer of action or the enjoyer of the results. He then realized that even if his body died, or his body killed another body, nothing would happen to the eternal essence in each of those bodies. Given the power of this knowledge to destroy the biggest delusion about who he was, he terms it “paramam” or supreme. And since it requires a sincere student and a rare teacher, he terms it “guhyam” or secret.
 
Now, we may think that there was something special in Arjuna that qualified him to receive this supreme knowledge. Arjuna was humble enough to acknowledge that it was purely out of compassion that Shri Krishna showered his grace upon him and gave him this knowledge. Only through the grace and compassion of Ishvara and a qualified guru can one receive this knowledge.
 
Another aspect of the teaching was Ishvara’s involvement with the universe. Arjuna highlights it in the next shloka.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 33, Chapter 6

05 Saturday May 2012

Posted by in agam, ayam, chanchalatvaat, chapter 6 verse 33, etasya, madhusudhana, na, pashyaami, proktaha, saamyena, sthiraam, sthitim, tvayaa, yaha, yogaha

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Arjuna uvaacha:
yoyam yogastvayaa proktaha saamyena madhusudhana |
etasyaaham na pashyaami chanchalatvaatsthitim sthiraaam ||
 
Arjuna said:
Of this yoga of equanimity that you have spoken of, O slayer of Madhu, I do not envision stability in that state, due to the fickle nature (of the mind).
 
yaha : of
ayam : this
yogaha : yoga
tvayaa : you have
proktaha : spoken of
saamyena : equanimity
madhusudhana : O slayer of Madhu
etasya : in that
aham : I
na : do not
pashyaami : envision
chanchalatvaat : due to fickle nature (of the mind)
sthitim : state
sthiraaam : stability
 
Arjuna was listening attentively to Shri Krishna’s discourse on meditation. As the discourse concluded, he asked Krishna, the slayer of the demon Madhu, a series of clarifying questions. The first question that Arjuna raised was : how can we remain established in the meditative state, when the mind is so fickle? He then further elaborates on this question in the following shlokas.
 
Arjuna, being the perfect student, summarized the entire discourse of the sixth chapter in one word: “saamyena” or equanimity. The end goal of meditation is not some magic power or levitation or anything like that. It is the ability to see the eternal essence pervading everything, and thereby develop an attitude of equanimity or sameness towards everything and everyone. This vision reaches its peak when we do not perceive any difference between us and the world, giving us everlasting peace and joy.
 
But, as Arjuna states, it is difficult for someone to maintain such a vision because the untrained mind will not allow it. It may be possible to develop that vision for a few seconds, maybe for a few minutes, but not more than that. Moreover, it is difficult to see one’s own self in someone we hate or dislike. If we try to see our self in such a person, the mind quickly changes that thought from “I am the self of that person” to “he did a bad thing to me last year”.
 
Arjuna further elaborates on the fickleness of the mind in the next shloka.