Category Archives: yah

Bhagavad Gita Verse 5, Chapter 5

09 Friday Mar 2012

Posted by in 5.5, api, cha, chapter 5 verse 5, ekam, gamyate, pashyati, praapyate, saankhyaih, saankhyam, sah, sthaanam, tat, yah, yat, yogaih, yogam

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yatsaankhyaih praapyate sthaanam tadyogairapi gamyate |
ekam saankhyam cha yogam cha yah pashyati sah pashyati || 5 ||

One who obtains the state of bliss through knowledge, also reaches that same state through yoga. He who sees knowledge and yoga as one, that person sees (correctly).

yat : one who
saankhyaih : through knowledge
praapyate : obtains
sthaanam : state of bliss
tat : that
yogaih : through yoga
api : also
gamyate : reaches
ekam : as one
saankhyam : knowledge
cha : and
yogam : yoga
cha : also
yah : the person who
pashyati : sees
sah : that person
pashyati : sees

In this shloka, the words yoga and knowledge need further elaboration to get at the underlying meaning. In the context of this chapter, they mean yoga of action (karmayoga) and yoga of knowledge through renunciation (karma sannyaasa yoga) respectively. Having added this context, the shloka now reads as follows: one who obtains the state of bliss through the yoga of knowledge, also reaches that same state through the yoga of action. In the wise person’s view, both of these are one. It is like two passengers boarding a train from different stations. Both reach the same destination.

Let us dig deeper to understand what is common between renunciation and action. Imagine that two people are striving for self-realization. One person performs karma yoga, but does not think carefully about how he performs his actions. Without proper thought and discrimination, his actions become selfish and his vaasanaas increase. Ultimately, he does not attain his goal.

The other person decides that he prefers renunciation. He goes to an ashram to lead the life of a monk. But even thought he has renounced the material world, he keeps thinking about his life in the material world. He too, does not attain his goal, because his desires prevent him from properly absorbing his teacher’s teachings.

In both cases, renunciation and action do not work because they are missing the key ingredient – knowledge. Unless one uses discrimination while performing action, or maintains the knowledge that I am not the doer prior to renunciation, the goal is not attained by either person. Therefore, Shri Krishna urges wise people to keep discrimination in the picture while considering either stage of the path.

Having reassured Arjuna that both stages yield the same outcome, Shri Krishna next addresses why karma yoga is more appropriate for Arjuna.

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 42, Chapter 3

19 Thursday Jan 2012

Posted by in aahuh, buddheh, buddhih, chapter 3 verse 42, indriyaani, indriyebhyaha, manaha, manasha, paraa, param, parani, parataha, saha, tu, yah

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indriyaani paranyaahurindriyebhyaha param manaha |
manasastu paraa buddhiryo buddheh paratastu saha || 42 ||

It is said that the senses are superior (than the body), the mind is superior than the senses, the intellect are superior than the mind, and that (the eternal essence) is superior than the intellect.

indriyaani : the senses
parani : superior
aahuh : is said
indriyebhyaha : than the senses
param : superior
manaha : mind
manasaha : than the mind
tu : also
paraa : superior
buddhih : intellect
yah : that which
buddheh : than intellect
parataha : superior
tu : also
saha : that

As we approach the conclusion of the third chapter, Shri Krishna delivers yet another profound shloka that has layers and layers of meaning. Let us examine its practical aspects.

This shloka provides us a hierarchy of our nature, or our prakriti. Earlier in the second chapter, Shri Krishna provided us with the ultimate goal of the Gita, which is to realize that we are the eternal essence, and are distinct from our prakriti, which comprises the body, mind and intellect. So in this shloka, he further informs us that these three components of our prakriti are not equally powerful – there is a hierarchy or an order to their power. The subtler a component is, the more power it wields.

The body is the most tangible, or the most gross, aspect of prakriti. Subtler than the body are the senses. Subtler than the senses is the mind, which generates reactions in the form of emotions and thoughts, but lacks decision making power. Subtler than the mind is the intellect, which can analyze and understand the thoughts generated by the mind, and has the power to control the mind, the senses and the body. And here is the key point: if we assert control of one aspect of prakriti, we automatically bring all the lower levels in our command.

For example, let’s say someone wants to quit smoking. If he convinces his intellect that smoking is harmful, and also remains alert at the time a desire to smoke arises, he has a good chance of quitting smoking. But if the intellect starts rationalizing this behaviour by saying “one cigarette is not a problem” then there is no chance.

Now, if we are operating on the level of our vaasanaas, the intellect is where the hierarchy would stop. Then desires would take hold of the senses, the mind and even the intellect, making us act selfishly. There would be no way out. But this shloka urges us to realize that there is something even superior to the intellect, which has the potential to root our desires that have penetrated the intellect. In the initial stages of our journey, that something is a higher ideal. But as we proceed in our journey, it is the highest possible ideal: the eternal essence itself. Unless we recognize this, we will be stuck at the level of the intellect. This paves the way for the technique of removing obstacles, which is covered in the next and final shloka of the third chapter.

Footnotes
1. Bringing one’s prakriti under control is one component of the “saadhana-chatushtaya”, or the four-fold qualifications of a seeker. Control of the senses is called “dama” and control of the mind is called “kshama”.

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 16, Chapter 3

24 Saturday Dec 2011

Posted by in 3.16, aghaayu, anuvartayati, chakram, chapter 3 verse 16, evam, iha, indriyaraahah, jeevati, mogham, na, paartha, pravartitam, sah, yah

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evam pravartitam chakram naanuvartayateeha yaha |
aghaayurindriyaaraamo mogham paartha sa jeevati || 16 ||

In this manner, one who does not follow this system of evolution, that malicious individual who dwells in sense pleasures, wastes his life.

evam : in this manner
pravartitam : evolution
chakram : system
na : does not
anuvartayati : follow
iha : this
yah : one who
aghaayu : malicious
indriyaaraamah : dwells in senses
mogham : waste
paartha : O Paartha
sah : that one
jeevati : lives

In the two preceding shlokas, Shri Krishna illustrated how several beings acting in the spirit of yajna brought forth the potential for serving each other. Now he takes the illustration one step further. He says that yajna is a “system of evolution”. Which means, it is a method to move from a lower plane of existence to a higher plane of existence.

Darwin’s theory of evolution describes how life evolved from simple single-celled organisms into plants, then into animals, then into primates, and culminated in our species, the humans. What comes next? Shri Krishna explains that humans, being the only species capable of rational analysis and thinking, have a choice: to remain at the current state and give in to their “lower nature”, or evolve into a higher state of existence.

What is the “lower nature”? When one continually harbours selfish desires, and lives for the sake of sense pleasure, that person generates guilt, fear, anger, hatred, pride and other such emotions that strengthen the ego. Such an individual is termed “malicious” by Shri Krishna. That individual is said to have lived in vain, because he did not use the wonderful opportunity of being born as a human to access the higher nature.

And so, who is the individual of “higher nature”? It is the individual who has begun identifying with a higher ideal, and in doing so, has slowly eroded his ego in the selfless service of that higher ideal. A detailed description of such an individual was provided by Shri Krishna in the latter part of the second chapter in the “sthita-prajna-lakshana” or the signs of a wise individual. Karmayoga is the first step to participate in this system of evolution.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 12, Chapter 2

20 Tuesday Dec 2011

Posted by in 3.12, apradaaya, bhaavitaah, bhogaan, bhumgte, chapter 3 verse 12, daasyante, dattaan, devaah, ebhyah, eva, hi, ishtaan, sah, stenah, taih, vah, yah, yajna

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ishtaanbhogaanhi vo devaa daasyante yajnabhaavitaah |
tairdattaanapradaayaibhyo yo bhumgte stena eva sah || 12 ||

The deities, nourished by yajna, will also provide you the objects you desire. One who consumes these objects without offering them to others, he is a thief.

ishtaan : desired
bhogaan : objects
hi : also
vah : your
devaah : deities
daasyante : give you
yajna-bhaavitaah : nourished by yajna
taih : they
dattaan : objects
apradaaya : without offering to them
ebhyah : to others
yah : one who
bhumgte : consumes
stenah : thief
eva : is
sah : he

So far, Shri Krishna spoke about the need for karmayoga, the actions to perform under karmayoga, and the attitude with which those actions should be performed. He also emphasized the notion of yajna or selfless dedication. Now Shri Krishna gives three levels of action that a person can operate under.

In this shloka, Shri Krishna points out the lowest level of action. This is when an individual consumes objects without making any contribution whatsoever. Shri Krishna uses a strong word to describe such an individual : a “thief”. Such a selfish person does not care about anyone but himself due to his large ego.

An obvious example is someone who is part of a project team. He does not do any work in team but claims all the credit. In today’s language we would call such a person a freeloader. Such people are never held in good standing by anyone.

In traditions all over the world, we see evidence that we are encouraged to give back something each time we take something. In Indian culture, it is customary that before one eats a meal, one offers it to the less fortunate, the wise and learned, and to animals. In most cultures, when you cut down a tree, you are encouraged to plant few more. Even in the corporate world, when a company earns profits, it invests a portion back into the business before handing out the dividends.

Therefore, taking without giving back is the lowest level of action. The next shloka illustrates the two higher levels of action. We need to gauge which level we belong to, so that we can start moving to the highest level of selflessness.

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 6, Chapter 3

14 Wednesday Dec 2011

Posted by in 3.6, aaste, chapter 3 verse 6, http://schemas.google.com/blogger/2008/kind#post, indriyaarthaan, manasaa, mithyaachaarah, sah, saiyamya, smaran, uchchyate, vimoodhaatmaa, yah

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karmendriyaani saiyamya ya aaste manasaa smaran |
indriyaarthaanvimoodhaatmaa mithyaachaarah sa ucchchyate || 6 ||

One who sits, forcibly restraining his organs of action, yet keeps thinking about objects, that foolish individual is known as a hypocrite.

karmendriyaani : (sense and action oriented) organs
saiyamya : forcibly restrain
yah : one who
aaste : sits
manasaa : in the mind
smaran : thinks
indriyaarthaan : (sense) objects
vimoodhaatmaa : foolish individual
mithyaachaarah : hypocrite
sah : that
ucchchyate : known as

The second chapter of the Gita informed us that the way to achieve the ultimate spiritual goal is by eliminating our vaasanaas, because they are the source of selfish desires. But this message has the potential to be dangerous if it is misinterpreted.

Under the banner of becoming more spiritual, some people put their bodies through extreme fasting, while some forcibly repress their urges. We see a milder version of this behaviour when individuals are trying to rid themselves of addictions by simply cutting off the supply or going “cold-turkey”.

For example, if one has an addiction to alcohol, one tries not to keep alcohol in the house to avoid temptation. That may work in the short term, but an addiction is not in the body, it is in the mind. It is like any other vasanaa and will come up as a desire when one sees alcohol the next time.

So in this shloka, Shri Krishna issues a strong warning to anyone who thinks that they can advance on the spiritual path through extreme repression of the body or of the mind. He uses a strong term to admonish such individuals by calling them hypocrites.

Let’s connect this shloka to the previous one. It informed us that the body, mind and intellect comprise the three gunaas. These gunaas born of prakriti will always compel us to perform actions. But the current shloka tells us that repression of action will not lead to elimination of desires. We have no choice but to perform action, yet we need clear up our desires and vasanaas.

So what’s the conclusion? We have to find a way to eliminate vasanaas WHILE we are performing actions. That technique is karma yoga.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 57, Chapter 2

24 Thursday Nov 2011

Posted by in 2.57, abhinandanti, anabhisneha, ashubham, chapter 2 verse 57, dveshti, na, praapya, prajna, pratishthitaa, sarvatra, shubha, tasya, tat, yah

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yah sarvatraanabhisnehastattatpraapya shubhaashubham |
naabhinandanti na dveshti tasya prajna pratishthitaa || 57 ||

He who remains without affection everywhere, is not elated in gain, and is not dejected in loss, his wisdom is steady.

yah : he who
sarvatra : everywhere
anabhisneha : without affection
tat tat : those
praapya : receive
shubha : gain
ashubham : loss
na : not
abhinandanti : elated
dveshti : dejected
tasya : his
prajna : wisdom
pratishthitaa : steady

In the prior shloka, we saw how a person of steady wisdom responds to joyful and sorrowful situations that he encounters in life. In this shloka, Shri Krishna points out how that person responds to beneficial and adverse outcomes of his expectations.

This shloka uses an interesting word “anabhisneha”, which means without affection. The root of this word is “sniha” which means “to stick”. Most of us tend to get stuck to objects, people and situations that we encounter in our lives. And it is that stickiness which gets us into trouble.

An example from the corporate world would be a consultant who is hired for a 3 month assignment verses a full time employee who is given a similar assignment. The consultant comes in, does what she is supposed to do, submits her report and moves on to the next assignment, without getting entangled in office politics. Whereas the employee gets “stuck” to the job and gets entangled in all kinds of office politics, who he should align himself with, etc.

So therefore, if one remains unattached and works towards a goal, he gains the objectivity to remain the same whether he succeeds or fails in accomplishing that goal. He knows that he was there before that success or failure happened, he was there during it, and he will be there after it as well. Therefore whatever happened can be easily dealt with. In no way does he let any adverse outcome demotivate him.

How can we apply this practically? For example, if we worked hard for a project and someone criticizes us, internally we should remain steady and evaluate whether the criticism is valid or mean-spirited. If it is valid, we take the feedback positively. If it is mean-spirited, we ignore it. But if we are too attached to the work, we will lose our equanimity each time someone criticizes us.