Category Archives: ye

Bhagavad Gita Verse 29, Chapter 7

25 Monday Jun 2012

Posted by in 7.29, adhyaatmam, akhilam, ashritya, brahma, cha, chapter 7 verse 29, jaraa, karma, kritsnam, maam, marana, mokshaaya, tat, te, viduhu, yatanti, ye

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jaraamaranamokshaaya maamashritya yatanti ye |
te brahma tadviduhu kritsnamadhyaatmam karma chaakhilam || 29 ||
 
Those who strive for liberation from old age and death seeking my refuge, they know “brahman” as well as “adhyaatma” and “karma” completely.
 
jaraa : old age
marana : death
mokshaaya : for liberation from
maam : my
ashritya : taken refuge
yatanti : strive
ye : those who
te : they
brahma : brahman
tat : that
viduhu : know
kritsnam : completely
adhyaatmam : adhyaatma
karma : karma
cha : and
akhilam : entire
 
As a prelude to the eighth chapter, Shri Krishna introduces a series of technical terms that a devotee needs to know the meaning of in order to gain access to Ishvara. The terms are listed in this shloka and the next shloka, whereas the meaning of the terms is explained in the beginning of the eighth chapter.
 
Who exactly is this devotee? Shri Krishna says that it is that devotee who is striving. In other words, he is performing karma yoga for purification of his mind and intellect, and has become ready for meditation. But this devotee is not driven by blind faith. He is a jnyaani or wise devotee.
 
So now, what should the wise devotee have knowledge of? Three technical terms are mentioned in this shloka : brahman, adhyaatma and karma. Some more terms will be added in the next and last shloka of the seventh chapter.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 14, Chapter 7

10 Sunday Jun 2012

Posted by in 7.14, chapter 7 verse 14, daivee, duratyayaa, eshaa, etaam, eva, gunamayee, hi, maam, maayaa, maayaam, mama, prapadyante, taranti, te, ye

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daivee hyeshaa gunamayee mama maayaa duratyayaa |
maameva ye prapadyante maayaametaam taranti te || 14 ||

For this, my divine maaya, comprised of the gunaas, is hard to cross. Only they who seek my refuge, cross over my maaya.

daivee : divine
hi : for
eshaa : this
gunamayee : of the gunaas
mama : my
maayaa : maayaa
duratyayaa : hard to cross
maam : my
eva : only
ye : those
prapadyante : seeks my refuge
maayaam : maaya
etaam : this
taranti : crosses over
te : they

At this point in the seventh chapter, Shri Krishna has framed an interesting problem for us. If our mind with its senses is attracted to sense objects because of the play of the three gunaas, and if Ishvara is beyond the three gunaas, we need to somehow pierce through gunaas to contact Ishvara. If we cannot do it with our mind with its sense organs, how do we do it? We need some additional help. Shri Krishna says that the only solution is to surrender to Ishvara.

First, let us understand what exactly is preventing us from contacting Ishvara. Shri Krishna says that there is something called maaya is the barrier between us and Ishvara. What exactly is this maaya? It is nothing special, it is the 3 gunaas that saw in the previous shloka. Where is this maaya located? Not too far away. It is in our mind, and we can see its effect daily. Just when we think we are studying Gita and are immune to its effect, we suddenly get an angry thought about a friend or a co-worker. That is maaya. Now if maaya is the moat that blocks access to Ishvara, how do we cross it?

Shri Krishna says that in order to cross over maaya, we have to surrender to Ishvara completely. This type of complete surrender is indicated by the word “prapadyante” in the shloka. It literally means falling down at someone’s feet. To visualize it, imagine that the devotee is holding onto Ishvara’s feet, and also keeping one hand under Ishvara’s feet. With this arrangement, the devotee will not run away from Ishvara, and Ishvara will also not run away from the devotee.

Now, what does surrender mean in practice? As long as we assert ourselves physically, emotionally and intellectually, as long as we emphasize our individuality and assert our ego, we will strengthen maaya. So therefore, we need to de-emphasize our individuality and strengthen our devotion to Ishvara. When we surrender ourselves to Ishvara, we give up the notion that “I do everything” or “I own everything”. It is all Ishvara’s maaya. By distancing ourselves from maaya, we get closer to Ishvara.

Moreover, Shri Krishna says that maaya is divine, which means that it is supported by Ishvara but it has reality on its own. In our lives, however, we still rely on maaya for support. We rely on our savings, friends, family, job, education and so on as our refuge if times get tough. But all this is still the product of maaya. Once we shift our thinking that maaya cannot be a support, we will rely on the cause of maaya for support instead of maaya. And that cause is Ishvara. We can only enjoy bungee jumping when we have a strong rope and support. Similarly, we can enjoy the play of maaya if we have tethered ourselves to Ishvara.

How should we practice this daily? We should continue performing our duties as we saw in the previous chapters. What we should change, however, is our attitude. Whenever we start giving importance worldly things including people, objects and situations, we should train ourselves to shift our attention to Ishvara who is behind everything. But we should not use this to justify all our wrongdoings. As we saw in a previous chapter, prakriti or nature is a self-regulating system. If we do something that is against the laws of nature, it will come back to us as a punishment.

So then, having understood this, why do people not seek Ishvara?

Bhagavad Gita Verse 12, Chapter 7

08 Friday Jun 2012

Posted by in 7.12, aham, bhaavaaha, cha, chapter 7 verse 12, eva, iti, mattaha, na, rajasaaha, saatvikaaha, taamasaaha, taan, te, teshu, tu, viddhi, ye

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ye chaiva saatvikaa bhaavaa rajasaastaamasaashcha ye |
matta evati taanviddhi na tvaham teshu te mayi || 12 ||
 
And indeed, all saatvik qualities, and all raajasic and taamsic qualities, know those to be only from me. Know that I am not in them, but they are in me.
 
ye : all
cha : and
eva : indeed
saatvikaaha : saatvik
bhaavaaha : qualities
rajasaaha : raajasic
taamasaaha : taamasic
cha : and
ye : all
mattaha : from me
eva: only
iti : this
taan : those
viddhi : know
na : not
tu : but
aham : I am
teshu : in them
te : they
mayi : are in me
 
Shri Krishna began this chapter by indicating that Ishvara is the essence of everything. He also provided a short list containing tangible examples of his glories, which he concluded in the previous shloka. In this shloka, he summarizes this point by saying that the three fundamental aspects of prakriti or nature arise from Ishvara, but are subservient to Ishvara.
 
Sattva, rajas and tamas are the three aspects of prakriti or nature. A more detailed explanation of these three gunaas or aspects is provided in the 18th chapter. At the internal level, these aspects are the moods of our mind. A taamasic mind is dull, a raajasic mind is active and a saatvic mind is serene. Moreover, a saatvic object or thought is tied to knowledge, a raajasic object or thought is tied to activity and a taamasic thought or object is tied to ignorance, sloth or procrastination.
 
We see all these three aspects in our personality. The body is taamasic. It likes to be in stasis, it does not like to move. A lot of energy is required to move our bodies. Our limbs and our praanas or physiological processes are raajasic because they embody action and movement. Our mind and intellect are saatvic because they embody knowledge. Later in the Gita, Shri Krishna will classify everything, including desire and faith, into these three classications.
 
Now, all three aspects of prakriti cannot exist by themselves. Nothing can exist without a base or a support. Shri Krishna says that it is Ishvara who provides existence to these three aspects of prakriti. However, he qualifies that statement by pointing out that they are in Ishvara, but Ishvara is not in them. In other words, Ishvara can exist without the gunaas, but the gunaas cannot exist without Ishvara because they need his support.
 
What is the implication of this statement? Every object, person or situation that we encounter in this universe is comprised of a permutation of the three gunaas. All three gunaas are supported by Ishvara. Therefore, Ishvara is everywhere, behind every object, person and situation in this universe.
 
So then, what prevents us from knowing Ishvara? Shri Krishna covers this topic next.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 22, Chapter 5

25 Sunday Mar 2012

Posted by in 5.22, aadyantavantaha, bhogaa, budhaha, chapter 5 verse 22, duhkkhayonaya, eva, hi, kaunteya, ramate, samsharshajaa, te, teshu, ye

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ye hi samsparshajaa bhogaa duhkkhayonaya eva te |
aadyantavantaha kaunteyane teshu ramate budhaha || 22 ||

For, the pleasures born out of sense contact are only wombs of sorrow. They have a beginning and ending, O son of Kunti. The wise person does not revel in them.

ye : he
hi : for
samsparshajaa : born from sense contact
bhogaa : pleasures
duhkhkhayonaya : wombs of sorrow
eva : only
te : they
aadyantavantaha : have a beginning and ending
kaunteyane : O son of Kunti
teshu : in them
ramate : revel
budhaha : the wise person

Previously, we saw the need for the seeker to turn inward, away from the sense pleasures of the material world. Here, Shri Krishna provides another compelling reason to turn away from sense pleasures. He says, in no uncertain terms, that pleasures born out of sense contact are not really pleasures at all. They are not just sorrow disguised as pleasure, they are “wombs” of sorrow. Which means, a single experience of sense contact sows the seed for multiple sorrows.

For many of us, the period of transition between academic life and work life is when a lot of these seeds are sown. As we start earning money, we automatically seem to find outlets to spend this money. Some develop an attachment to high-end coffee. Some develop an attachment to going to clubs. Some develop a taste for vehicles and so on. If we introspect, we realize that the pleasure obtained by any of these objects is not just fleeting, but results in a chain of sorrow later. Take high-end coffee for instance. The first few times it is quite pleasurable. But later, you cannot do without it.

But then, where does the pleasure arise in the first place? The mind is restless without constant sense contact. Depending upon the strength of the vaasanaas that we have cultivated, it experiences a vacuum and rushes out into the material world towards an object in order to fill that vacuum. At the same time, the eternal essence present within us, having identified with the mind, also rushes out into the world. When the sense contact happens, the mind temporarily ceases to move outside and comes into contact with the eternal essence. This results in joy.

So, here is where the mix-up happens. The joy was already inside us, the mind causes us to believe that it is outside us. Furthermore, this joy is short-lived because the mind will again go out into the material world. Then the cycle of sorrow (vacuum) and joy (sense contact) will repeat itself. This is called “samsaara”.

Therefore, Shri Krishna urges us to become wise people and realize that sense contact is not the true source of joy. Next, Shri Krishna goes into the root cause of the mind rushing out into the world.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 11, Chapter 4

01 Wednesday Feb 2012

Posted by in 4.11, aham, anuvartante, bhajaami, chapter 5 verse 11, eva, maam, mama, manushyaah, paartha, prapadyante, sarvashaha, taan, tathaa, vartam, yathaa, ye

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ye yathaa maam prapadyante taanstathaiva bhajaamyaham |
mama vartmaanuvartante manushyaah paartha sarvashaha || 11 ||

In whichever manner one approaches me, in that manner I favour them. People follow my path in different ways, O Paartha.

ye : one who
yathaa : in which manner
maam : me
prapadyante : approaches me
taan : him
tatha, eva : in that manner
bhajaami : favour them
aham : I
mama : my
vartam : path
anuvartante : follow
manushyaah : people
paartha : O Paartha
sarvashaha : in different ways

Earlier, Shri Krishna said that only those who take refuge in him realize the eternal essence and are liberated. On this note, a doubt may arise: Is he partial to those who take refuge in him, compared to those who do not? He advises us to be free of desires and aversions – isn’t this an example of aversion towards those who do not take refuge in him?

Shri Krishna responds to this doubt in this shloka. First, he asserts that whenever we have a strong desire, whether it is a material one or a spiritual one, that desire reaches Ishvaraa. If we approach the world with a desire for a promotion in our career, or we want better health, that desire reaches Ishvaraa because the world is part of Ishvaraa. The world is a part of Ishvaraa, as we saw earlier.

Having learned of the desire, how does he respond to the request? He says that he treats all requests like an impersonal computer system. Whatever we input, similar will be the output. If someone truly and deeply desires a promotion, and works hard towards it, he will get it. Similarly, if someone truly and deeply desires moksha, or realization of the eternal essence, and puts in the effort, he will get it.

The power of Ishvaraa is impartial. It is without any prejudice or hatred, just like electricity. One may harness electricity to power a fan, to light a room, to watch television and so on. Electricity will never say “I do not like television, so I will not power it, but I will power the fan”. Ishvaraa’s actions are based on laws, just like the laws of nature.

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 31, Chapter 3

08 Sunday Jan 2012

Posted by in 3.31, anasooyanto, anutishthanti, api, chapter 3 verse 31, idam, karmabhih, maanavaaha, matam, me, muchyante, nityam, shradhvavantah, te, ye

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ye me matamidam nityamanutishthanti maanavaaha |
shradhvavantonasooyanto muchyante tepi karmabhih || 31 ||

Those who always execute this teaching of mine, with faith and without objection, they too are freed from all actions.

ye : those
me : my
matam : teaching
idam : this
nityam : always
anutishthanti : execute
maanavaaha : people
shradhvavantah : faith
anasooyanto : without objection
muchyante : freed
te : those
api : too
karmabhih : actions

As we have seen so far, if we are bound to actions and objects, we will never be able to realize the eternal essence, which is the ultimate goal prescribed by the Gita. So in this shloka, Shri Krishna begins to conclude the teaching of karmayoga by reassuring us that it will free us from all bondages while we are engaged in action.

Prior to the Gita coming into existence, people heralded a misconception that spiritual realization was the domain of a select section of society, and could be achieved only through the accomplishment of extremely secret and arcane rituals. The Gita proposed a radical new method of realization where anyone regardless of their background can get the same result while performing any and all actions.

So therefore, Shri Krishna urges us to overcome any misconceptions, barriers and objections we may harbour against this teaching. Some may say, this teaching is too simplistic. Others may say, it goes against whatever preconceived notions they have about religion. Or that it is not achievable and so on. Whatever be the objection, Shri Krishna wants us to put the teaching into practice and try it out for ourselves.

Now, as he is about to conclude the teaching of karmayoga, Shri Krishna anticipates a problem. He knows that even for people who are ready and willing to take this path will run into obstacles. He covers this topic in the next shloka.

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 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.