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Category Archives: tyaktvaa

Bhagavad Gita Verse 51, Chapter 18

09 Tuesday Jul 2013

Posted by in 18.51, aatmaanam, buddhayaa, chapter 18 verse 51, dhrityaa, niyamya, raagadveshau, shabdaadeen, tyaktvaa, vishayaan, vishuddhayaa, vyudasya, yuktaha

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buddhayaa vishuddhayaa yukto dhrityaatmaanam niyamya cha |
shabdaadeenvishayaamstyaktvaa raagadveshau vyudasya cha || 51 ||
 
Endowed with a pure intellect, and regulating oneself with fortitude, giving up sense objects beginning with sound, and eliminating like and dislike.
 
buddhayaa : with intellect
vishuddhayaa : pure
yuktaha : endowed
dhrityaa : with fortitude
aatmaanam : oneself
niyamya : regulating
cha : and
shabdaadeen : beginning with sound
vishayaan : sense objects
tyaktvaa : give up
raagadveshau : like and dislike
vyudasya : eliminating
cha : and
 
In this and the next two shlokas, Shri Krishna illustrates the lifestyle the monk who has entered the stage of sanyaasa or renunciation. The urge to perform a lot of physical actions is low for such a person, otherwise it is impossible for him to even enter a monastic life. Now, the focus shifts towards regulating the mind. Since the monk has already eliminated his strongest material desires, he has to focus on the ones that are weaker, with a view of completely eradicating them as well.
 
Such a sanyaasi has a buddhi or intellect which is vishuddha, extremely pure, free from any doubts and misconceptions about the nature of the material world. There is not even a trace of doubt about the existence of joy in inert objects. His dhriti or fortitude is saattvic, as we have seen earlier in the section on fortitude. He has complete mastery over his mind. He is able regulate his mind by his intellect, and prevent it from wandering into materialistic thoughts. Even if that does happen, his vision prevents those thoughts from causing desire. How is he able to do that?
 
This world is nothing but names and forms, and forms are comprised of five elements – space, air, fire, water and earth. Shabda adeen in this verse refers to these five elements. The sanyaasi is able to look at any object or person, see through the name and form, and understand that it is nothing but the five elements combined together. Realizing that any combination of these elements is nothing but Prakriti or matter, he is able to eliminate any sense of raaga or dvesha, like or dislike, towards that object or person.

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Bhagavad Gita Verse 9, Chapter 18

28 Tuesday May 2013

Posted by in 18.9, arjuna, chapter 18 verse 9, kaaryam, karma, kriyate, mataha, niyatam, phalam, saattvikaha, sangam, tyaagaha, tyaktvaa

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kaaryamityeva yatkarma niyatam kriyaterjuna |
sangam tyaktvaa phalam chaiva sa tyaagaha saattviko mataha || 9 ||
 
Whatever action is done, should be performed only as an obligatory duty. In this manner, giving up attachment and also the reward, that giving up is saattvic, in my opinion.
 
kaaryam : action
iti : in this manner
eva : only
yat : whatever
karma : actions
niyatam : obligatory
kriyate : is performed
arjuna : O Arjuna
sangam : attachment
tyaktvaa : giving up
phalam : reward
cha : and
eva : also
saha : that
tyaagaha : giving up
saattvikaha : saattvic
mataha : opinion
 
Shri Krishna explains the correct way, the saattvic method, of performing actions. Let us look at this step by step. The first step is to only perform actions that are within the realm of our state in life, our aashrama, and our career, our varna. Actions that are prohibited or actions that are purely out of selfishness should not be performed. These actions are termed as niyatam karma in the shloka. A high degree of awareness is required to first ensure that we are not stepping into any prohibited actions.
 
The second step is to give up attachment to the reward, the phala, the fruit, of the action. Attachment to the reward need not be something tangible and physical. It could be subtle things like praise and adoration received from others on successful completion of the action. It could be a subtle thought such as “I have helped that person, so nice of me to do so”. The goal is to slowly wean the mind away from its natural tendency to expect rewards for every action. We can do so my substituting our personal motive with a motive for selfless service.
 
The third step is to give up attachment to the action itself. We saw the types of attachment to action in the previous shloka, including attachment to the completion of action and attachment to one particular way of performing the action. The key is to realize that at every moment, we are giving it the best of our ability and attention. The rest is upto Ishvara, since there are several other factors at play in the outcome of an action. But in no circumstance should our energy level go down. We have to combine energy in our work with indifference to the reward of the work.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 6, Chapter 18

25 Saturday May 2013

Posted by in 18.6, chapter 18 verse 6, etaani, karmaani, kartavyaani, matam, nishchintam, paartha, phalaani, sangam, tyaktvaa, uttamam

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etaanyapi tu karmaani sangam tyaktvaa phalaani cha |
kartavyaaneeti me paartha nishchintam matamuttamam || 6 ||
 
But, even those actions should be performed, giving up attachment and rewards. This, O Paartha, is my definite and foremost conclusion.
 
etaani : those
api : even
tu : but
karmaani : actions
sangam : attachment
tyaktvaa : giving up
phalaani : rewards
cha : and
kartavyaani : should be performed
iti : this
me : my
paartha : O Paartha
nishchintam : definite
matam : conclusion
uttamam : foremost
 
Shri Krishna says that the only way to convert selfish actions into selfless actions is to give up attachment to the action and to the rewards of the action. Consider an architect who spends months creating the plans for a building. If the architect designs the building keeping the bonus payment in mind, he is performing the action with an attitude of selfishness. If the architect designs the building with the sole motive of creating the best possible living space for people, he is performing the action with an attitude of selflessness.
 
Let us be clear about one thing. There is nothing wrong in the architect expecting a fair payment for the rendering of his services. But he does not keep a monetary expectation every second of his time while designing his buildings. He does it out of a sense of duty. His svadharma, which means his aptitude, his training and his passion, is to be an architect. Regardless of how his day goes, he derives joy in the performance of his svadharma, his duty to the world, as an architect.
 
In addition to giving up attachment to the reward of action, Shri Krishna also advises us to give up attachment to the action itself. Here, we have to keep two things in mind. First, it is not guaranteed that every action of ours will be successful, since there are external factors that may intervene. Second, even if we insist that an action should be performed in a certain way, there could be other ways that could sometimes work better. Insisting that every action ends successfully, and that every action has to be done our way, are the two ways in which we get attached to action. Giving up these attachments, along with the attachment to reward, is the only way that we get bring the purifying effect of karma yoga into every action we perform. This is Shri Krishna’s foremost conclusion on karma yoga.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 24, Chapter 6

26 Thursday Apr 2012

Posted by in asheshataha, chapter 6 verse 24, indriyagraamam, kaamaan, manasaa, prabhavaan, samantataha, sankalpa, sarvaan, tyaktvaa, viniyamya

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sankalpaprabhavaankaamaanstyaktvaa sarvaanasheshataha |
manasaivendriyagraamam viniyamya samantataha || 24 ||
 
Totally discarding all desires born out of thought projections, withdrawing the mind from sense objects everywhere.
 
sankalpa : thought projections
prabhavaan : born from
kaamaan : desires
tyaktvaa : discarding
sarvaan : all
asheshataha : totally
manasaa : mind
indriyagraamam : sense objects
viniyamya : withdrawing
samantataha : everywhere
 
In this and the next shloka, Shri Krishna gives us a method for dealing with one of the biggest challenges in meditation : uncontrolled desires. He says that in order to fulfill the goal of keeping the mind established in the self, we have to completely withdraw the mind from all sense objects and tackle desires at their root.
 
As we have seen in the “ladder of fall” in the second chapter, a thought is born as soon as we begin brooding or daydreaming over an object, person or situation towards which we have raaga (attraction) or dvesha (hatred). The more time we spend brooding on the object, the more force is gathered by the thought, just like a snowball gathering momentum.
 
It is this brooding over objects that we like or hate that has to be checked. Only this restraint will stop desires in their tracks. But to pull this off, we have to follow a multi-pronged approach. First, we have to be aware of our thinking process so that we can stop the brooding the instant it starts. It is just like stopping any phone calls or outside interference when we are in an important meeting. Next, we have to apply this technique to all types of brooding or daydreaming, not just to objects we hate. Finally, we have to constantly examine our likes and dislikes so that we can develop dispassion towards them.
 
Foremost around “desire-generators” are sense objects. Our sense organs are programmed to rush towards objects that they like, and rush away from things that they dislike. While they rush, they drag our mind along, causing distraction and agitation. That is why it is advised to meditate in a clean and quiet place so that the sense organs cannot come into contact with anything and distract us. Gradually, as we get more proficient in meditation, we should ensure that the sense organs do not take in strong impressions that can pop up later in meditation. For example, if we love oranges, then we should be careful not to eat an orange just before meditation, otherwise the mind will keep thinking about the orange.
 
Now, once the mind has been withdrawn from the senses, it will seek an outlet for the outward force that used to rush out towards sense objects. If this force is not provided with a suitable outlet, we will get into trouble. So what should we do with all the latent energy that is stored up? Shri Krishna discusses this point in the next shloka.
 

Bhagavad Gita Verse 12, Chapter 5

15 Thursday Mar 2012

Posted by in 5.12, aapnoti, ayuktaha, chapter 5 verse 12, kaamakaarena, karmaphalam, naishtikeem, nibadhyate, phale, saktaha, shaatim, tyaktvaa, yuktaha

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yuktaha karmaphalam tyaktvaa shaantimaapnoti naishtikeem |
ayuktaha kaamakaarena phale sakto nibadhyate || 12 ||

One who is established in yoga, who has given up the result of action, attains everlasting peace. One who is not established in yoga, who has attachment to results due to desire, gets bound.

yuktaha : one established in yoga
karmaphalam : result of action
tyaktvaa : who has given up
shaantim : peace
aapnoti : attains
naishtikeem : everlasting
ayuktaha : one who is not established in yoga
kaamakaarena : due to desires
phale : results
saktaha : attachment
nibadhyate : gets bound

In this shloka, Shri Krishna compares and contrasts a karma yogi and a materialistic person. While both perform the very same action, and could very well get the same result, their attitude towards the work is different. One who follows karma yoga maintains the attitude that “I am not attached to the results”, whereas the materialistic person does not maintain this attitude.

The ignorant person does action for sake of the result. He does not find joy in work itself. If the result is favourable, he gets extremely elated. But this happiness, and in some instances, peace of mind, is temporary. The minute a result of actions becomes favourable, he gets extremely dejected and disappointed. But the karma yogi does not wait for the result of the action to give joy. He finds joy in the work. The peace that he attains is driven from within, rather than from without.

It is this mental attitude that differentiates the karma yogi from the materialistic person. The easiest way to gauge our progress towards karma yoga is to constantly monitor our state of mind. If we get agitated for long periods of time when we receive the result of our action, it is an indication that we have generated an attachment to the result, which in turn indicates that the ego is strong.

The words used to describe both types of seekers bear closer scrutiny. “Yuktaha” literally means yoked or established. In this context, yuktaha means one whose mind is yoked to the intellect. In other words, the mind is under the guidance of the intellect. In contrast, “ayuktaha” is one whose mind is not yoked to the intellect. It follows the direction of the mind and the senses. This difference in the orientation of the mind determines the fate of the seeker.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 11, Chapter 5

14 Wednesday Mar 2012

Posted by in 5.11, aatmashuddhaye, api, buddhyaa, chapter 5 verse 11, indriyaihi, kaayena, karma, kavalaih, kurvanti, manasaa, sangam, tyaktvaa, yoginaha

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kaayena manasaa buddhyaa kevalairindriyairapi |
yoginaha karma kurvanti sangam tyakvaatmashuddhaye || 11 ||

Solely with body, mind, intellect and senses does the seeker perform actions, casting off all attachment, for the purification of the self.

kaayena : with body
manasaa : mind
buddhyaa : intellect
kevalaih : solely (without a sense of mine)
indriyaihi : senses
api : only
yoginaha : seeker
karma : actions
kurvanti : perform
sangam : attachment
tyakvaa : cast off
aatmashuddhaye : purification of self

In the previous shloka, Shri Krishna explained how a karma yogi offers his actions to Ishvara. But how exactly does he do that? Shri Krishna in this shloka says that the karma yogi continuously keeps the thought that the body, mind, intellect and senses – all these are the property of Ishvara, given by Ishvara. Therefore, all the work done is for the benefit for Ishvara, and not for the ego.

The Gita teaches that the body, mind, intellect and senses are not really “ours”. But due to our conditioning, we come to think that they are ours. We then begin to do things for their benefit. For example, the tongue likes sweet food, so we undertake actions to satisfy it by eating things that may not be healthy from a long term perspective. When actions are done for the satisfaction of body, mind, intellect and senses, the sense of “mine-ness” develops and the ego gets strengthened. We then begin to serve the ego.

In this regard, let us recall example of the CFO we had encountered a while ago. As long as the CFO thinks that she is working for company, things will go smoothly. But if she begins to think that working for herself, starts misusing the company’s funds as her own funds, she gets into trouble. Similarly, a karma yogi treats his body, mind, intellect and senses as instruments of Ishvara. When that attitude comes, all actions and their results also get offered to Ishvara. In this manner, the seeker detaches himself from the body, mind, intellect and senses from the ego,  and attaches them to Ishvara. This is what is meant by “casting off all attachment”.

Now, let’s examine the second part of shloka where Shri Krishna talks about purification of self. What happens when karma yogi continues to dedicate actions to Ishvara? His mind gets cleared of all selfish desire, and his ego begins to lose its power. The end result is that the mind is purified of all vaasanaas – which is what is meant by “self” in the shloka. Purification of mind brings the karmayogi closer to self-realization.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 10, Chapter 5

13 Tuesday Mar 2012

Posted by in 5.10, aadhaaya, ambhasaa, brahmani, chapter 5 verse 10, iva, karmaani, karoti, lipyate, na, paapena, padma-patram, saga, sangam, tyaktvaa, yaha

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brahmanyaadhaaya karmaani sangam tvyaktvaa karoti yaha |
lipyate na sa paapena padmapatramivaambhasaa || 10 ||

Having offered all actions to the eternal essence, and having cast off attachments, he who performs actions does not get tainted by sins, just like water does not taint a lotus leaf.

brahmani : eternal essence
aadhaaya : offered
karmaani : all actions
sangam : attachment
tvyaktvaa : cast off
karoti : perform action
yaha : one who
lipyate : taint
na : do not
saha : him
paapena : sins
padma-patram : lotus leaf
iva : like
ambhasaa : water

Previously, we came across the vision of one who has realized the self. He knows that he is not the doer of all his actions. But what about the one who has not realized the self, and who is still working to sublimate his selfish desires? What is his vision?

In this shloka, Shri Krishna says that the person who has not realized the self (that includes most of us) offers all actions in a spirit of devotion to Ishvara. Shri Krishna reiterates that if one has selfish desires, karma yoga is the ideal path to follow. The karma yogi works for a higher ideal such as Ishvara, but one who does not follow karma yoga works for the ego.

Shri Krishna brings Arjuna back to karma yoga with this shloka. Arjuna harbours desires, therefore Shri Krishna does not want him to jump straight into the yoga of renunciation, which is a totally different level.

Now, let’s go a little deeper into the topic of attachment. Attachment can happen at four levels : attachment to the result of an action (I want a reward for singing this song), attachment to the action (I will sing a song only in my way), attachment to the sense of doership (I am singing this song) and attachment to the sense of non-doership (By not singing the song, I am the non-singer of this song). The first three are relatively easier to comprehend. The fourth one arises when one has not properly understood the notion of akarma or inaction from the fourth chapter.

So therefore, the karma yogi strives to transcend all four levels of attachment by offering results, actions, doership and non-doership to Ishvara. When he acts in the material world with such a vision, he does not accumulate any further desires, just like a lotus leaf does not get wet even though growing in water.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 20, Chapter 4

10 Friday Feb 2012

Posted by in 4.20, abhipravrittaha, api, eva, karmani, karmaphalaasanga, karoti, kinchit, na, niraashrayaha, nityatriptah, saha, tyaktvaa, verse 20 chapter 3

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tyaktvaa karmaphalaasanga nityatripto niraashrayaha |
karmanyabhipravrittopi naiva kinchitkaroti saha || 20 ||

Having given up attachment to the result of action, always content and depending on nothing, he never does anything, though engaged in action.

tyaktvaa : having given up
karma-phala-asanga : attachment to result of action
nityatriptah : always content
niraashrayaha : depending on nothing
karmani : in action
abhipravrittaha : engaged in action
api : even when
na : not
eva : ever
kinchit : any
karoti : do
saha : he

“When this project ends, will it give me everlasting happiness?” is the question that we ask, explictly or implicitly, whenever we commence any new endevour. In this shloka, Shri Krishna says that everlasting happiness and contentment is a natural byproduct of karma yoga itself, not of any one particular project. Contentment becomes part of our personality. The word used to describe this state is “nityatriptah”.

As we grow up, we are programmed and conditioned by the world to believe that happiness is something that is outside of us. This conditioning goes deep inside our psyche and causes us to run after a better job, more money, a bigger house and so on. Now, it is absolutely alright to pursue growth while performing one’s svadharma. Wealth follows naturally if one follows svadharma sincerely. But constant seeking of happiness from external objects makes us slavishly dependent upon the world.

What is so wrong about this seemingly normal tendency to look outside oneself for happiness? Because any happiness gained from the world will be finite and temporary. But Shri Krishna says here that if one dependent on the eternal essence instead, he becomes ever content. As the second chapter says: “naabhaavo vidyate sataha”. The self is infinite and eternal.

Through karmayoga, we lose our attachment to the results of our actions. In doing so, we become less dependent on external world for happiness. Shri Krishna asks us to use our discrimination to examine the source of our happiness. We should train our mind to check daily whether we have gone outside ourselves to search for happiness, or is it coming from within.

Furthermore, if we are attached to the result of our action, we generate a expectation for the future. Which means that we identify ourselves with the process of time, which is also a part of prakriti. Identification with time accumulates karma or negative reaction from the universe.

So therefore, one who does not create expectation of a result in the future does not accumulate karma. This is what is meant by the phrase “never does anything” in the shloka.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 9, Chapter 4

30 Monday Jan 2012

Posted by in 4.9, arjuna, cha, chapter 4 verse 9, deham, divyam, eti, evam, janma, karma, me, na, punah, sah, tattvataha, tyaktvaa, vetti, yah

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janma karma cha me divyamevam yo vetti tattvataha |
tyaktvaa deham punarjanma naiti maameti sorjuna || 9 ||

My birth and action are divine. One who knows this in essence, having given up the body, is not born again; he obtains me, O Arjuna.

janma : birth
karma : action
cha : and
me : my
divyam : divine
evam : in this way
yah : one who
vetti : knows
tattvataha : in essence
tyaktvaa : give up
deham : body
punah, janma : rebirth
na : does not
eti : obtain
maam : me
eti : obtain
sah : he
arjuna : O Arjuna

In the last two shlokas, Shri Krishna gave the reason for his avataara. Now the question arises: how does this knowledge help the spiritual seeker? He says that once we understand the secret of Ishvaraa’s birth and action, we will understand the secret of our action as well.

What is the secret of Ishvaraa’s birth and action? It looks to us that Ishvaraa is born, and that Ishvaraa performs action. But that is not the case. Through the power of Ishvaraa’s Maaya, it only looks like Ishvaraa takes birth and performs action. It is just an illusion. As we have seen earlier, the eternal essence does not perform action, only prakriti – also called maaya – performs action.

Now, the jeeva within us is identified with the body, mind and intellect. Its birth is based on past karmaas. It performs karmaas with a sense of doership. In other words, it thinks that it is performing actions. But from the standpoint of the eternal essence, there is no doership or enjoyership. It is prakriti alone that acts. Just like Ishvaraa does not perform action, the jeeva also does not perform action. The jeeva is one with Ishvaraa.

So therefore, one who truly and completely understands this point will drop identification with his body, and begin identifying with the eternal essence. That is what is meant by the phrase “deham tvaktvaa”: the jeeva has stopped identification of the body.

Here, academic knowledge is not enough. We need a first-hand understanding that prakriti performs actions and not the eternal essence. That first-hand understanding can only be gained through meditation, which is explained later in the Gita.

A simple way to understand the teaching so far is as follows. The individual jeeva is like a wave in the ocean. Ishvaraa is like the ocean. The eternal essence or brahman is water. Once the wave realizes that it is the same water as Ishvaraa, it is free from the limitations of its tiny form.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 51, Chapter 2

17 Thursday Nov 2011

Posted by in 2.51, anaamayam, buddhiyuktaha, chapter 2 verse 51, gacchanti, hi, janmabandhavinirmuktaahaa, karmajam, maneeshinaha, padam, phalam, tyaktvaa

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karmajam buddhiyukta hi phalam tyaktvaa maneeshinaha |
janmabandhavinirmuktaahaa padam gacchantyanaamayam || 51 ||

Thus, the wise individual who performs actions with equanimity is liberated from the entanglements of birth, and attains the immaculate state.

karmajam : of action
buddhiyuktaha : with equanimity
hi : thus
phalam : result
tyaktvaa : give up
maneeshinaha : wise individual
janmabandhavinirmuktaahaa : liberated from entanglements of birth
padam : state
gacchanti : attains
anaamayam : immaculate

With this shloka, Shri Krishna concludes the introduction to Karmayoga in this chapter. Here, he tells us that one who continually practices Karmayoga frees himself from the entanglements of birth. Let’s look at this in more detail.

Our experience tells us that desires are never ending. Most material desires, once fulfilled, give rise to new ones. For instance, most immigrants to a country such as the US usually arrive with modest means. They rent a flat till they know where they plan to settle long term. And then the desires begin to manifest.

In a few years they take out a loan to buy a house. A house usually has a lawn. So you need a lawnmover, a leafblower, fertilizer, sprinkler system and so on to take care of the lawn. In addition, you need a car to get around. In time, one car is not enough – you need two. And since the neighbour has a Mercedes, you need to get one as well. Similarly with a TV – you start with 32 inch, then 60 inch, then 3D capability, home theatre system etc. Each desire, once fulfilled, gives birth to a new one.

So the shloka here says that this endless cycle of desire after desire entangles us in the material world. And therefore, one uses the discipline of Karmayoga to break out of it so that you reach that state where there are no desires or blemishes in one’s personality – what is termed here as the immaculate state.

Let’s summarize the key points of Karmayoga that we have seen in this chapter. Karmayoga is the performance of actions with equanimity of mind. We also looked at a 3-step toolkit to implement Karmayoga in our lives:
1. Reduce unnecessary thoughts of material objects that do not pertain to our svadharma
2. Improve quality of necessary thoughts by removing extreme attachment and hatred
3. Perform actions focusing on the present moment, without attachment to the result of action