Bhagavad Gita Verse 3, Chapter 17

23 Tuesday Apr 2013

Posted by in 17.3, ayam, bhaarata, bhavati, chapter 17 verse 3, purushaha, sarvasya, sattvaanuroopaa, shraddhaa, shraddhaamayaha, yacchraddhaha

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sattvaanuroopaa sarvasya shraddhaa bhavati bhaarata |
shraddhaamayoyam purusho yo yacchraddhaha sa eva saha || 3 ||
 
The faith of each is according to his nature, O Bhaarata. This human being is comprised of faith. As his faith, so is he.
 
sattvaanuroopaa : according to nature
sarvasya : of each
shraddhaa : faith
bhavati : is
bhaarata : O Bhaarata
shraddhaamayaha : comprised of faith
ayam : this
purushaha : human being
yaha : he who
yacchraddhaha : as his faith
saha : so
eva : only
saha : he
 
Shri Krishna emphasized the point made in the earlier shloka. The human being is nothing but a bundle of faiths, also known as beliefs, prejudices, customs, culture, tradition, basically everything that is ingrained into us as samskaaraas or impressions. But where do these impressions come from? Some of these impressions come from external factors, and some of these are present in us right from our birth.
 
When we see a child prodigy perform a complicated symphony, we may say that she got this skill from non stop practice since her birth, or we may say that she got it from her practice in a previous life. In any case, her actions are a product of the samskaaraas or impressions formed through countless hours of practice.
 
Shri Krishna says that faith is according to one’s sattva. Here, sattva is not used in its traditional meaning as a guna like rajas and tamas. Sattva refers to our svaabhaava, our nature, the bundle of impressions that are stored in our inner instrument, our antaha karana, which is comprised of our mind, intellect, memory and senses. This sattva, this bundle of impressions, makes us choose our actions throughout our lives. Although we think of ourselves as rational individuals, we use logic and reason to justify and rationalize our faith, in a roundabout way.
 
Now we come back to the question posed in the previous shloka. How can we assess the texture of our faith, our beliefs and our prejudices? We need to examine our actions. Our faith, our beliefs and our prejudices guide our actions. Therefore, by examining the texture of our actions, we can determine the texture of our faith. Our faith could be saatvic, raajasic or taamasic. Shri Krishna now takes each aspect of our actions and gives us guidelines on how to determine their texture.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 2, Chapter 17

22 Monday Apr 2013

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Shree Bhagavaan uvaacha:
trividhaa bhavati shraddhaa dehinaam saa svabhaavajaa |
saatvikee raajasee chaiva taamasee cheti taam shrunu || 2 ||
 
Shree Bhagavaan said:
Threefold is the faith that comes from the nature of the embodied ones, saatvic, raajasic and taamasic. Listen about that from me.
 
trividhaa : three fold
bhavati : is
shraddhaa : faith
dehinaam : embodied ones
saa : they
svabhaavajaa : come from nature
saatvikee : saatvic
raajasee : raajasic
cha : and
eva : also
taamasee : taamasic
cha : and
iti : in this manner
taam : about that
shrunu : listen
 
Arjuna began this chapter by posing the following question. If one does not have access to the scriptures but uses their faith to guide their lives, what kind of a position is that? Shri Krishna does not answer that question directly. The entire chapter, in fact, is the answer to that question.
 
It is not an easy question to answer because faith differs from person to person. We can say that we trust our faith, our conscience, to guide us towards performing right actions. But the faith of a terrorist is different than faith of a saint. If we do not have guru to guide us, we cannot assess our faith objectively. So how should we tackle this issue?
 
Shri Krishna gives us a starting point to help us. We first need to understand what he means when he says that faith comes from svabhaava or nature. What exactly is meant by nature here? Nature refers to the collection of samskaaraas or impressions that are present in a person, a “dehin” or embodied one, from birth until death. Whenever we perform an action and get its result, both the action and result are ingrained in our mind in the form of an impression. This impression is called as samskaara. Whenever we repeat the action and get the same result, the impression is further ingrained and strengthened. If we repeat it often enough, it becomes a habit. It could be a good habit such as respecting our elders, or a bad habit such as smoking.
 
So this nature, this collection of samskaaraas or impressions, is where our faith comes from. Now let’s go back to Arjuna’s question. In the absence of scriptures, in the absence of a rational, logical means to check our actions, what will happen if we use our faith instead? If someone swears loudly at us in the middle of the street, we will respond instinctively at that point rather than using logic or reason. We may punch the person who yelled at us, or we may ignore him. It depends on the makeup of our nature.
 
Now, based on the makeup of our nature, we can classify our faith into three types: saatvic, raajasic and taamasic. But it is difficult to do so directly. We will have to infer the nature of faith through something else. Shri Krishna tells Arjuna to listen, since he will explain how to do this.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 1, Chapter 17

21 Sunday Apr 2013

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Arjuna uvaacha:
ye shaastravidhimutrisrijya yajante shraddhayaanvitaahaa |
teshaam nishthaa tu kaa krishna sattvamoho rajastamaha || 1 ||
 
Arjuna said:
Those who, setting aside laws of scripture, perform worship endowed with faith, O Krishna, what is their position? Is it of sattva, rajas or tamas?
 
ye : those who
shaastravidhim : laws of scripture
utrisrijya : setting aside
yajante : perform worship
shraddhayaa : faith
anvitaahaa : endowed with
teshaam : their
nishthaa : position
tu : then
kaa : what
krishna : O Krishna
sattvam : sattva
aaho : or
rajas : rajas
tamaha : tamas
 
In order to prevent the prompting of actions by selfish desire, we should use the scriptures as a guide to decide what to do or what not to do. This was the concluding message of the previous chapter. Hearing this, the word “shaastra” or scripture stuck in Arjuna’s mind. Perhaps he foresaw that over the course of time, most people will not have access to scriptures. They will not be able to receive the guidance of a real guru who truly cares about their spiritual growth versus extracting money from them. He wanted to know, like all of us do, how to use our judgement without access to scriptural laws.
 
Let us now investigate what category of people Arjuna is speaking about. There are those who may have access to the scriptures, may even understand the scriptures, but have no inclination of following them. Such people were covered in the last chapter under the category of devilish qualities. Conversely, there are people who understand the scriptures and also conduct their life according to scriptures. These people were covered under the category of divine qualities. This chapter covers those people who do not have access to the scriptures, but yet try to lead their lives through faith, sincerity and honesty.
 
So then, Arjuna asks this extremely practical question on behalf of common people who have faith in some higher principle. Some may be devotees of Shri Krishna, some of Lord Shiva, some of Lord Ganesha. Some may not have faith in a deity but may have faith in a spiritual text such as the Gita. Some may have not have faith in any of these but may have faith in a friend, spouse or relative who has faith in a deity or a spiritual text. Some may have faith in their nation or in a higher cause such as improving the state of the nation’s education system.
 
Regardless of what their faith is, such people would like to set themselves on a path that gains them happiness in the material world, and also enables them to pursue the supreme goal of self realization or liberation. In the absence of scripture as the authority, faith determines the course of action for such people. How can they determine whether their faith is saattvic, rajasic or tamasic? How can they ensure that their faith is leading them in the right direction?

Summary of Bhagavad Gita Chapter 16

20 Saturday Apr 2013

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The theme of the sixteenth chapter is the analysis of divine and devilish qualities that are present in every human being. Shri Krishna beings by listing all of the divine qualities such as fearlessness and purity of mind. He then provides a similar but brief list of devilish qualities such as ostentation and arrogance. He underscores the point that the divine qualities are a stepping stone towards self realization and liberation, but the devilish qualities are a slippery slope towards never-ending bondage and sorrow
 
Next, the philosophy of materialists is analyzed in great detail, because extreme materialism is considered no different than devilish nature. At its core, materialists do not believe in any overarching humanitarian laws or values, since they see the world as nothing but a combination of elements. Material gain is the sole aim of their lives. Anyone or anything that comes in their aim is a target for annihilation.
 
Shri Krishna says that such people are steeped in delusion and ignorance. Instead of bringing happiness, their infinite desires only bring them infinite worries. These infinite desires bind them and prod them to illegal and unethical means of accumulating wealth. What should I acquire next, whom should I harm next, this becomes their thinking. They develop extreme arrogance and pride towards their family, their wealth and their actions. They totally sever any association with whatever little values and conscience in them.
 
Such people never realize that by hating everyone they hate Ishvara who dwells in everyone and everything, who is the support of this creation. Although such people think that they are above all laws, they are not above the law of karma. They get the results of their actions in this life and several others to come. Caring only for themselves, they have begun behaving like animals even when they are human. Therefore they are cast into an endless cycle of births and deaths as animals, insects and other creatures.
 
Shri Krishna ends this chapter with an extremely practical message. He gives us a simple formula that will give us peace and happiness in this world, and also put us on a fast track to liberation. All we need to do is to avoid the three gates of hell which are desire, anger and greed. We do so by making scripture become the motivator and the prompter of our actionsm and not selfish desire.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 24, Chapter 16

19 Friday Apr 2013

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tasmaachhaastraam pramaanam te karyaakaaryavyavasthitau |
jnyaatvaa shaastravidhaanoktam karmam kartumihaarhasi || 24 ||
 
Therefore, the scripture is the authority to guide you towards what is to be not and what is not. Knowing this, you should perform actions according to scripture here.
 
tasmaat : therefore
shaastraam : scripture
pramaanam : authority
te : you
karyaakaaryavyavasthitau : guide to what is to be done and what not
jnyaatvaa : knowing this
shaastravidhaanoktam : according to scripture
karmam : actions
kartum : perform
iha : here
arhasi : should
 
Shri Krishna concludes the sixteenth chapter with this shloka. He says that ultimately it is the prompter of our actions, our motivation, that determine whether we are behaving as divine entities or as devilish ones. If the prompter of our actions is selfish desire, we are heading in the wrong direction. If the prompter is scripture, we are heading in the right direction. Therefore, when in doubt, we should refer to the guidelines in the scriptures on the performance of actions.
 
A case in point is Arjuna’s fundamental question: is it right to harm another individual? A soldier of the army defending his country and a gangster shooting at a crowd are performing the same action – killing people. But the difference is the prompter of both those actions. The soldier is prompted by duty to his country, whereas the gangster is prompted by greed. Where did the soldier’s duty come from? We could say that it came from the army’s code of conduct. We could say that it come from the constitution of his country. We could say that it came from the values cultivated by his parents.
 
In all these cases, the soldier’s sense of duty came from a set of guidelines that were founded on something that was much larger than the narrow viewpoint of one individual, that kept the bigger picture in mind. This is what Shri Krishna refers to as scripture. Using the word “here” in the shloka, he reminds Arjuna that such intelligent living is only possible in a human birth, not in any other birth. Now, we come to an interesting question? Which authority, which scripture should one follow? In this day and age, how can one practically lead an intelligent life that follows a selfless set of guidelines, that follows a scripture? This intriguing question is tackled in the next chapter.
 
om tatsatiti shreematbhagavatgitasupanishadsu brahmavidyaayaam yogashaastre shreekrishnaarjunsamvade daivaasurasampadvibhaagayogo naama shodashodhyaayaha || 14 ||

Bhagavad Gita Verse 23, Chapter 16

18 Thursday Apr 2013

Posted by in 16.23, avaapnoti, chapter 16 verse 23, gatim, kaamakaarataha, paraam, shaastravidhim, siddhim, sukham, utsrijya, vartate

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yaha shaastravidhimutsrijya vartate kaamakaarataha |
na sa siddhimavaapnoti na sukham na paraam gatim || 23 ||
 
He who dismisses the laws of scripture and conducts himself according to impulses of desire, he neither attains success, nor happiness, nor the supreme goal.
 
yaha : he who
shaastravidhim : laws of scripture
utsrijya : dismisses
vartate : conducts
kaamakaarataha : impulse of desire
na : not
saha : he
siddhim : success
avaapnoti : attain
na : not
sukham : happiness
na : not
paraam : supreme
gatim : goal
 
Imagine that we have to assemble a complex piece of furniture. Most people will follow the instructions given in the manual that comes in the box. But, for some reason, lets say we ignore the manual and build what we want based on a whim. What will be the outcome? We will be unsuccessful in building a functional piece of furniture. Consequently, we will not be happy with this outcome. Without following the manual, we neither gain success nor attain happiness.
 
Shri Krishna says that if we live our lives based solely on our desires, we will neither attain success in any worldly endeavour, nor will we attain worldly happiness. The supreme goal of self realization then is totally out of the question. Unfortunately, whenever we feel disillusioned, we usually seek guidance from the latest self help book, or try to emulate the lives of those who have had significant material prosperity. Such guidance may get us temporary happiness in a small part of our life, but will never solve our predicament holistically.
 
So then, what is the solution? Shri Krishna points us to the Vedas, the scriptures, as a guide towards checking our selfish desire-oriented life. He is in no way advocating a dogmatic, ideological or blind faith oriented lifestyle that imposes restrictions upon society. The Gita, in fact, presents the very principles of the Vedas in a format that is meant for practical individuals. The notion of svadharma, of following a career path that is in line with our interests and our qualifications, is a perfect example of guidance from the scriptures.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 22, Chapter 16

17 Wednesday Apr 2013

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etairvimuktaha kaunteya tamodvaaraistribhirnaraha |
aacharatyaatmanaha shreyastato yaati paraam gatim || 22 ||
 
One who is free from these, the three gates of darkness, does good to himself, O Kaunteya, and with that, attains the supreme goal.
 
etaihi : these
vimuktaha : free
kaunteya : O Kaunteya
tamodvaaraihi : gates of darkness
tribhihi : three
naraha : one who
aacharati : does
aatmanaha : himself
shreyaha : good
tataha : with that
yaati : attains
paraam : supreme
gatim : goal
 
Shri Krishna describes the fate of one who has successfully conquered desire, anger and greed, the three gates of tamas or darkness. He says that such a person, from a practical standpoint, puts his life on the right track, he does good to himself. From an absolute standpoint, such a person attains the supreme goal of self realization, of oneness with Ishvara, instead of entrapment in the never ending cycle of birth and death.
 
With this shloka, the message of the entire sixteenth chapter is summarized and concluded. Most of us, given the materialistic nature of the world, are on the path of preyas, the pleasant, the path of continuous satisfaction of selfish desires. Shri Krishna urges us to slowly tune down the three devilish qualities of desire, anger and greed, so that we can start walking on the path of shreyas or the auspicious, the path of the divine qualities. Only then do we become qualified to attain the supreme goal of self realization.
 
Having heard this, we probably have a question that arises in our minds. Every second of our lives, we are bombarded with a ton of desires. If our awareness level is high, we can regulate them some of the time, but not all of the time. Furthermore, anger can erupt and take over our mind within a microsecond. How can we, on our own, control desire, anger and greed? It is not easy. Anticipating this question, Shri Krishna answers it in the next shloka.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 21, Chapter 16

16 Tuesday Apr 2013

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trividham narakasyedam dvaaram naashanamaatmanaha |
kaamaha krodhastathaa lobhastasmaadetattrayam tyajet || 21 ||
 
Three gates of hell cause one’s destruction, desire, anger and greed. Therefore, give up these three.
 
trividham : three
narakasya : hell
idam : these
dvaaram : gates
naashanam : destructive
aatmanaha : oneself
kaamaha : desire
krodhaha : anger
tathaa : and
lobhaha : greed
tasmaat : therefore
etat : these
trayam : three
tyajet : give up
 
Like a good teacher, Shri Krishna summarizes the entire chapter comprising the rather lengthy list of devilish qualities into three main ones: desire, anger and greed. He says that we always need to watch out for these three qualities in our daily lives, and minimize them as much as possible. He calls them gateways into hell, because they lead to the path of destruction rather than the path of liberation. Even the order of these three is important, because both anger and greed follow desire.
 
The second chapter explained how kaama or desire comes into our lives. Dhyavato vishayaan, by constantly thinking of an object (or a person or a situation), we develop an association with it. If carried on for long, this association results in a desire to procure that object. If anyone or anything comes between us and the object, we develop anger. And once we have the object, once our desire is fulfilled, we want more of the object. This results in greed.
 
So then, how do we tackle these three gates of hell? Let us first look at kaama or desire. If desire develops through contemplation of objects, we can reduce desire to a certain extent by keeping a watch on what we expose our mind to. For example, we can go to the mall with a shopping list rather than wander around shops that we don’t need anything from. But the root of desire is the labelling of objects as desirable by our mind. This labelling or superimposition is known as “shobhana adhyaasa”. It is why the same dress looks desirable to one person and irrelevant to another, since objects by themselves are not desirable. Controlling and convincing the mind through study of scriptures and meditation helps to reduce this labelling.
 
Desire is somewhat easy to control, but once we are in the grip of anger, it becomes somewhat difficult to do so. At least we do not publicly display our desires, but we do not hesitate to show our anger publicly. We require tremendous control over our mind in order to release ourselves from the grip of anger. It is therefore better to focus on rooting out unnecessary desires than to confront anger directly.
 
Lastly, lobha or greed can be kept in check through charity. Anytime we start feeling pride over our wealth or possessions, we should immediately donate a portion of our wealth or possessions. How exactly we should do so is covered in the next chapter.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 20, Chapter 16

15 Monday Apr 2013

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aasureem yonimaapannaa moodhaa janmani janmani |
maamapraapyaiva kaunteya tato yaantyadhamaam gatim || 20 ||
 
Entering into devilish wombs, the deluded individuals, from birth after birth, do not attain me, O Kaunteya. They attain destinations even lower than that (state).
 
aasureem : devilish
yonim : wombs
aapannaahaa : entering
moodhaa : deluded individuals
janmani : birth
janmani : birth
maam : me
apraapyaiva : do not attain
kaunteya : O Kaunteya
tataha : than that
yaanti : go
adhamaam : even lower
gatim : destinations
 
Here, Shri Krishna expresses his regret about a lost opportunity. Anyone who has attained a human birth has a chance to achieve self realization and liberation. But those individuals who engage in destruction of others instead of improving their state give up this golden opportunity. Such people enter a never ending descent into lower and lower realms of existence. An example given in most commentaries is that of kumbhipaaka, where individuals spend their time in a pot of boiling oil.
 
Such is the rare and special nature of a human birth, that most spiritual masters have mentioned it in their texts. Shankaraachaarya begins the Vivekachoodamani text with this proclamation : “For beings a human birth is hard to win, then manhood and holiness, then excellence in the path of wise law; hardest of all to win is wisdom. Discernment between Self and not-Self, true judgment, nearness to the Self of the Eternal and Freedom are not gained without a myriad of right acts in a hundred births”.
 
The practical implication of this shloka is the importance of free will. Only a human has the ability to shape his or her destiny. Plants, animals and birds cannot do so. All they can do is follow their instincts and their sense organs. If we also start ignoring our intellect and empowering our sense organs, there remains no difference between us and animals. We lose all traces of sattva, and only exist through rajas and tamas.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 19, Chapter 16

14 Sunday Apr 2013

Posted by in 16.19, aasureeshu, ajastram, ashubhaan, chapter 16 verse 19, dvishataha, krooraan, kshipaami, naraadhamaan, samsaareshu, taan, yonishu

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taanaham dvishataha krooraansamsaareshu naraadhamaan |
kshipaamyajastramashubhaanaasureeshveva yonishu || 19 ||
 
Those who are hateful, cruel, they are wretched in this world. Definitely, I cast such inauspicious people into devilish wombs, repeatedly.
 
taan : those
aham : aham
dvishataha : hateful people
krooraan : cruel people
samsaareshu : in this world
naraadhamaan : wretched people
kshipaami : I cast
ajastram : repeatedly
ashubhaan : inauspicious people
aasureeshu : devilish
eva : definitely
yonishu : wombs
 
What happens to people who, through their devilish behaviour, cause trouble to everyone and everything around them? Shri Krishna says that through their behaviour, such people become naraadhamaan, the lowest of the humans, the most wretched category of people in this world. They mistakenly think that they are above the law. But they are not above the law of karma. Ishvara ensures that such people get the punishment that they deserve, which is rebirth into devilish wombs such as those of animals and insects.
 
Let us first examine the symbolic meaning of this shloka. As we have seen in earlier chapters, we are at our best when the intellect has supremacy over our senses and our mind. But in people with devilish attributes, this picture becomes topsy turvy. The senses rule over the intellect. Logic, reason, duty, all such characteristics of the intellect are suppressed. Only sensual consumption takes precedence.
 
Now lets look at the shloka. Each time someone gives precedence to their senses as opposed to their intellect, their ego, their sense of I, ties yet another know, makes yet another association with the senses. Symbolically, each time this happens, they take birth in a devilish womb. This situation cannot carry on for a while. History is full of tyrants and dictators who let their greed get the better of them, made one miscalculation, and died horrible deaths at the hands of their subjects or their enemies.
 
Literally, this shloka asserts the working of the law of karma. Out of nowhere, we find that we experience unexpected professional success, monetary and personal gains. Similarly, we find that unexpectedly, we have to go through a rough, painful patch. Good or bad actions that we have performed in our present life, or perhaps in a previous life, always bring their consequences back to us. In fact, whenever we are going through a rough patch, we should be glad that the consequences of our bad actions are getting exhausted.
 
Similarly, people who commit devilish actions also get their payback. But their payback is harsher than what most of us go through. Shri Krishna says that such people take birth into species such as animals and insects. In such species, there is no scope for using the intellect to gain self realization and liberation. Only humans have this ability. Any state where we cannot access the intellect, whether we are in a human form or not, is the worst punishment possible.