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A simple, modern translation and explanation of the Bhagavad Gita with shloka (verse) meaning

~ Gita Journey is a straightforward, modern, contemporary, basic explanation and commentary of the Bhagawat Gita, with Sanskrit to English word meanings. Each shloka (verse) is explained in detail. An introduction to the Bhagavad Gita along with study resources can also be found here. A summary of each chapter of the Bhagavad Gita is also included. It does not matter whether you are a student, a retiree, a professional, a mom, a dad or a housewife – no prior knowledge is needed.

A simple, modern translation and explanation of the Bhagavad Gita with shloka (verse) meaning

Category Archives: vaayuhu

Bhagavad Gita Verse 8, Chapter 15

13 Wednesday Mar 2013

Posted by skr_2011 in 15.8, aashayaat, avaapnoti, chapter 15 verse 8, eeshvaraha, gandhaan, griheetvaitaani, samyaati, shareeram, utkraamti, vaayuhu, yat

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shareeram yadvaapnoti yachchaapyutkraamteeshvaraha |
griheetvaitaani samyaati vaayurgandhaanivaashayaat || 8 ||

 
When the lord acquires a body, and when he leaves it, he takes them and departs, like the wind takes odours from their seats.
 
shareeram : body
yat : when
avaapnoti : acquires
yat : when
cha : again
api : also
utkraamti : leaves
eeshvaraha : lord
griheetvaitaani : takes them
samyaati : departs
vaayuhu : wind
gandhaan : odours
iva : like
aashayaat : seats
 
Earlier, we saw how the individual soul, the jeeva, wants to interact with Prakriti in order to exhaust its desires. In preparation to do so, it surrounds itself with the mind (which contains the desires) and the five senses. This collection of the jeeva, the mind and the senses is also known as the subtle body, because it is invisible. We can think of the subtle body as a computer file. Just as a computer file needs a computer to express itself, a subtle body needs a physical body to express itself. Whenever the timespan of one human body ends, the subtle body has to find another physical body to continue exhausting its desires.
 
Shri Krishna says that in such a situation, the subtle body, the jeeva with the mind and senses, ejects itself from the physical body and finds another body to settle in. It is similar to a international diplomat who goes from one assignment to another, taking his staff with him wherever he goes. Since the mind and senses follow the jeeva, it is referred to as Ishvara or the lord here, not to be confused with the meaning of Ishvara that has been used throughout the Gita. Once the jeeva finds a new home, it slowly starts unpacking its belongings, the mind and senses, in sequence. It is fascinating to see time-lapse videos of an embryo growing inside a mother’s womb. This is the jeeva slowly gaining its faculties, which are nothing but accumulations of additional upaadhis.
 
Imagine that a small wooden box contains a strong perfume. If the box – the seat of the perfume – is opened, the fragrance will slowly start leaving the box and fill the room. Shri Krishna uses this analogy to explain the transfer of the jeeva from one physical body to another. If we bring in the analogy of the eternal essence as space, and combine it with this analogy, we will find that they fit together perfectly. Walls, fragrance, wind, boxes – all these limitations of space are apparent, not real. They are upaadhis, apparent limitations. Space does not care whether we build 2 walls or 2 million walls. No one or nothing can limit space. There is no coming and going of the perfume in space. It is only from a worldly standpoint that the fragrance is moving from the box to the room.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 6, Chapter 9

01 Wednesday Aug 2012

Posted by skr_2011 in 9.6, aakaashasthitaha, bhootaani, chapter 9 verse 6, iti, mahaan, matsthaani, nityam, sarvaani, sarvatragaha, tathaa, upadhaaraya, vaayuhu, yathaa

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yathaakaashasthito nityam vaayuhu sarvatrago mahaan |
tathaa sarvaani bhootaani matsthaaneetyupadhaaraya || 6 ||

 
Just like the mighty wind travels everywhere, established in space, so too, all beings reside in me, understand this.
 
yathaa : just like
aakaashasthitaha : established in space
nityam : eternally
vaayuhu : wind
sarvatragaha : travels everywhere
mahaan : mighty
tathaa : so do
sarvaani : all
bhootaani : beings
matsthaani : reside in me
iti : in this manner
upadhaaraya : understand this
 
The key teaching of the chapter is that Ishvara pervades everything, that all beings are sustained by Ishvara but Ishvara is not contained in any of them. To illustrate these statements, Shri Krishna compares Ishvara to space. He says that space enables everything to exist within it, like wind, for example. In the same way, all living and non-living entities dwell in Ishvara.
 
First, let us understand the nature of space. It is indivisible, which means that even if we try to divide it by building walls, we cannot do so. It does not get affected by what it contains. A flower generates fragrance when fresh and odour when it decays. But both those qualities do not get transferred to space, since space has no qualities. It also pervades everything. Over 99% of an atom is empty space. And it is infinite. No object can ever contain space.
 
Similarly, Shri Krishna says that Ishvara is infinite, indivisible, pervades everything, and remains unaffected by what he sustains. How does this help us? Knowing that Ishvara is everywhere reduces our sorrow, delusion, fear, likes and dislikes. If everything is Ishvara, and if we also know that we are in Ishvara, there is nothing to fear or like or dislike. That is how we get liberated.
 
There is a story in the Ishvaavaasya Upanishad. The gods tried to have a race with Ishvara. But wherever they ended up, Ishvara was already there. Another interpretation of this story is that the senses also tried to outrun Ishvara, but could not. It is like trying to race with space. It is a futile effort, because space is all-pervading. So is Ishvara.
 
Now, just like we see the blue sky with our eyes, we also see things and people on this earth being created and destroyed. We know that the blue colour is an illusion, but do we really understand that creation and dissolution is an illusion as well? This is taken up next.

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