Category Archives: yoginaam

Bhagavad Gita Verse 47, Chapter 6

24 Thursday May 2012

Posted by in antaraatmanaa, api, bhajate, chapter 6 verse 47, maam, madgatena, mataha, me, saha, sarveshaam, shraddhaavaan, yaha, yoginaam, yuktatamaha

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yoginaamapi sarveshaam madgatenaantaraatmanaa |
shraddhaavaanbhajate yo maam sa me yuktatamo mataha || 47 ||
 
Even among the yogis, endowed with faith, one who worships me with his mind fully absorbed in me, he is the most fit in my opinion.
 
yoginaam : among the yogis
api : even
sarveshaam : among all
madgatena : one absorbed in me
antaraatmanaa : with mind
shraddhaavaan : endowed with faith
bhajate : worships
yaha : one who
maam : my
saha : he
me : my
yuktatamaha : most fit
mataha : opinion
 
As the chapter on meditation comes to a conclusion, we are left with an intriguing question. Like Arjuna, most of us have worldly duties and responsibilities. Even if we follow Shri Krishna’s advice and take up meditation, we still have to perform actions in the material world. Till we reach a stage in life when meditation becomes our whole and soul, what do we do when we are not meditating to ensure that we continue our spiritual journey? In other words, how do we stay connected to the eternal essence when we are not meditating?
 
Shri Krishna says that we should develop the highest possible ideal to whom can dedicate all our worldly actions. But this ideal should not just be an intellectual ideal. Unless our hearts are filled with devotion towards this ideal, our attempts will be lacking. But we need to strike a balance. Emotion without intellect results in superstition. Intellect without emotion results in fanaticism. Both are ill-advised. We need a combination of the two. We also need the ideal to be tangible and real, not something that is extremely difficult for our mind to grasp.
 
Devotion is not exclusive to the spiritual path. Any worldly endeavour requires a combination of action, emotion and intellect. An entrepreneur not just knows what steps he has to take to build a company, but also gets a thrill doing it. A freedom fighter not just knows that freedom is right for their country, but also has reverence for the motherland. A mother loves her children more then she loves herself, but knows when it is time to scold them.
 
To that end, Shri Krishna urges us worship to the eternal essence in its universal form, which is nothing but Ishvara. We need to begin to develop reverence, and ultimately, whole-hearted devotion to Ishvara. One who develops such devotion to Ishvara that his entire life becomes service and worship of Ishvara, is considered as the foremost yogi or meditator by Shri Krishna.
 
Therefore, the concluding message of this chapter to Arjuna, and to us, is to develop devotion. Devotion will ensure that we remain connected to Ishvara. In order to do so, we first need to understand who is Ishvara, where is he located, what are his accomplishments, how can we access him and so on. Only then can we truly develop devotion. This shloka is the seed for the topic of the next six chapters, which is bhakti or devotion.
 
om tatsatiti shrimadbhagavadgitasu upanishadsu brahmavidyayaam yogashastre shrikrishnaarjunasamvade dhyaanayogonaamo shatodhyaahaha || 6 ||

Bhagavad Gita Verse 42, Chapter 6

19 Saturday May 2012

Posted by in athavaa, bhavati, chapter 6 verse 42, dheemataam, durlabhataram, eedrisham, etat, eva, hi, janma, kule, loke, yat, yoginaam

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athavaa yoginaameva kule bhavati dheemataam |
etaddhi durlabhataram loke janma yadeedrisham || 42 ||
 
Alternatively, he will go only to a family of learned yogis. One whose birth is of this type is exceedingly rare in this world.
 
athavaa : alternatively
yoginaam : in yogis
eva : only
kule : family
bhavati : will go
dheemataam : learned
etat : this
hi : definitely
durlabhataram : exceedingly rare
loke : world
janma : birth
yat : one whose
eedrisham : of this type
 
Earlier, Shri Krishna spoke about the fate of the unfulfilled meditator who goes to an illustrious family after having attained heaven. In this shloka, Shri Krishna talks about another type of unfilled meditators who is born not into a wealthy family but into a family of learned yogis. He also says that such a birth is exceedingly rare.
 
So far, Shri Krishna has spoken about two types of serious seekers who had a clear understanding of meditation but were unable to attain liberation. The difference between the two types of seekers is the presence or absence of desires. The meditator who still harbours desires is born into a wealthy family.
 
Desires are the biggest obstacles in meditation. Only when desires are extinguished can serious meditation begin. That is why this category of meditators is given the chance to fulfill his desires in a wealthy family.
 
The other rarer category of meditator had managed to extinguish his desires, but could not attain liberation because he ran out of time. Since he is not interested in fulfilling any desire, regardless of whether it is heavenly or earthly, he goes straight into a family of yogis after he dies. These yogis are not just accomplished meditators, they also possess “dheemata” or a keen understanding of the scriptures.
 
Such a family provides a conducive environment for this kind of meditator to continue his progress in meditation. He has enough dispassion in him and therefore does not get affected by the the absence of wealth in this new family. In fact he appreciates it because wealth can become a distraction in the path of meditation.
 
Now, do both these types of newly-born seekers have to start their journey from scratch? This is taken up by Shri Krishna in the next shloka.