Bhagavad Gita Verse 27, Chapter 7

24 Sunday Jun 2012

Posted by in 7.27, bhaarata, chapter 7 verse 27, dvandva, dvesha, ichchaa, mohena, parantapa, sammoham, samutthena, sarge, sarvabhootani, yaanti

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ichchaadveshasamutthena dvandvamohena bhaarata |
sarvabhootani sammoham sarge yaanti parantapa || 27 ||
 
O Bhaarata, ever since the creation (of this world), all beings attain ignorance by the delusion born of duality, O Arjuna.
 
ichchaa : desire
dvesha : hatred
samutthena : born of
dvandva : duality
mohena : delusion
bhaarata : O Bhaarata
sarvabhootani : all beings
sammoham : deluded
sarge : creation
yaanti : attain
parantapa : O Parantapa
 
If someone says “I love my job” or “I love to go to this city” we have no doubt in understanding that there is satisfaction in that emotion of loving something. But if someone says “I hate my boss”, we may not admit it but there is satisfaction in expressing hatred as well. It is next to impossible for our mind to think of anything without a tinge of love or hate.
 
Shri Krishna says that the moment we are born, we are cast into this double or dualistic thinking. We can never think an integrated, holistic thought because we are forced to think is terms of likes and dislikes. We run after a certain object because we like it so much and cannot live without it. We finally acquire it. But once that happens, that we begin to dislike that very object that we could not live without. Ultimately every such pursuit results in sorrow.
 
So therefore, how do we get rid of our likes and dislikes, and begin to think holistically? Karma yoga is the answer. By relentlessly performing actions for the service of a higher ideal, we eliminate likes and dislikes to a great extent. Every sense organ has a like and dislike for its respective objects. That is an undeniable truth. But whether or not we fuel these likes and dislikes is up to us. Breaking away from the clutches of the sense organs prepares us for piercing the screen of maaya.
 
Now, if we summarize the shlokas so far, we have the entire problem laid in front of us. Maaya caused by our dualistic disposition blocks us, prevents us from accessing the true nature of Ishvara. Unless we gain this access, we are trapped in samsaara or earthly existence. What should we now do?

Bhagavad Gita Verse 26, Chapter 7

22 Friday Jun 2012

Posted by in 7.26, aham, arjuna, bhavishyaani, bhootaani, cha, chapter 7 verse 26, kashchana, maam, na, samateetaani, tu, vartamaanaani, veda

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vedaaham samateetaani vartamaanaani chaarjuna |
bhavishyaani cha bhootaani maam tu veda na kashchana || 26 ||
 
I know those beings who used to exist, who exist now, and who will exist in the future, O Arjuna, but no one knows me.
 
veda : know
aham : I
samateetaani : those who have existed
vartamaanaani : those that exist
cha : and
arjuna : O Arjuna
bhavishyaani : those who will exist
cha : and
bhootaani : beings
maam : I
tu : but
veda : know
na : not
kashchana : anyone
 
In continuing the topic of maaya, Shri Krishna makes it very clear that maaya or the limitations of space and time do not have any impact on Ishvara. He says that Ishvara does not identify with any one form, therefore he has knowledge of all forms in the past, present or future. In other words, Ishvara transcends time.
 
Earlier, Shri Krishna had said that Ishvara is like a string that goes through all the beads in a necklace, which is a poetic way of saying that Ishvara is beyond space. So therefore, we can conclude that Ishvara is beyond space and time.
 
Looking at it differently, we who inhabit the world of three dimensions cannot understand the dimensionless Ishvara. When viewing a live broadcast, we are conscious of the time aspect because we cannot know how the broadcast will end. But if we are viewing a recorded program, we have the ability to go backwards and forwards in time and see all the events regardless of when they took place. Time as a concept ceases to exist if we have that ability.
 
Similarly, from Ishvara’s standpoint, there is no such thing as the past, present or future, because the concept of time does not exist for him. That is how he can have knowledge of everyone that was alive, is alive and will be alive.
 
What is the implication for us? The only way to know Ishvara completely is to surrender to him and take refuge in him. This means knowing that we do not have an independent existence or power apart from Ishvara. We need to lose our identity in Ishvara, become one with Ishvara.
 
Now, if we know that Ishvara alone is the truth, that alone is going to give infinite happiness, why don’t we really strive to know that Ishvara? Why is it that we get stuck here and there?This is answered in the next shloka.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 25, Chapter 7

22 Friday Jun 2012

Posted by in 25, 7, abhijaanaati, aham, avyayam, ayam, chapter 7 verse 25, lokaha, maam, moodhaha, na, prakaashaha, samaavritaha, sarvasya, yogamaayaa

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naaham prakaashaha sarvasya yogamaayaasamaavritaha |
moodhoyam naabhijaanaati loko maamajamavyayam || 25 ||
 
Concealed by yoga maaya, I am not visible to everyone. Foolish people do not recognize me as unborn and unchanging.
 
na : not
aham : me
prakaashaha : visible
sarvasya : everyone
yogamaayaa : yoga maayaa
samaavritaha : concealed
moodhaha : foolish
ayam : this
na : do not
abhijaanaati : recognize
lokaha : people
maam : me
ajam : unborn
avyayam : unchanging
 
Earlier, Shri Krishna stated the fundamental problem that most people have with regards to understanding the nature of Ishvara. A mental limitation forces people to think of Ishvara as a visible, finite entity. Here, Shri Krishna provides the reason for this mental limitation. He says that Ishvara is hidden from us due to the power of maaya.
 
Our mind is trained to recognize two things: space and time. We can only see, hear, touch, smell and taste objects in space. We can also perceive changes in those objects, which is nothing but the time aspect. So, we are unable to perceive anything that is beyond space and time. We can say that space and time is maaya, or the three gunaas of prakriti known as sattva, rajas and tamas are maaya.
 
Shri Krishna says that Ishvara has disguised himself in a dress, as it were, made of maaya. Our senses can perceive only maaya. Therefore, we fail to comprehend Ishvara, who is beyond maaya, just like the light of the sun blinds us from seeing the sun itself. Those who think that only the visible is real and the visible is unreal are called moodha or foolish. They fail to see the real nature of Ishvara which is beyond birth and death.
 
But if we cannot pierce through maaya, can Ishvara do so? We shall see next.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 24, Chapter 7

21 Thursday Jun 2012

Posted by in 7.24, aapannam, abuddhayaha, ajaanantaha, anuttamam, avyaktam, avyayam, bhaavam, chapter 7 verse 25, maama, mama, manyante, param, vyaktim

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avyaktam vyaktimaapannam manyante maamabuddhayaha |
param bhaavamajaananto mamaavyayamanuttamam || 24 ||
 
The unintelligent, not knowing my unmanifest, supreme, incomparable and imperishable nature, believe that I assume a human form.
 
avyaktam : unmanifest
vyaktim : human form
aapannam : assume
manyante : believe
maama : me
abuddhayaha : unintelligent
param : supreme
bhaavam : nature
ajaanantaha : not knowing
mama : my
avyayam : imperishable
anuttamam : incomparable
 
“To one that holds a hammer, everything looks like a nail”. When we get used to a certain mode of thinking or behaving, it becomes a disadvantage because that mode of thinking begins to limit our perspective. We spend all of our waking life taking in information from the sense organs – the eyes, ears, nose, tongue and skin. Due to this constant exposure, we tend to perceive everything in terms of these 5 senses. Ultimately, these senses limit what we can perceive.
 
Shri Krishna, having described the finite goal-seeking mindset of most people, now clearly articulates the problem that they face. Limited by their finite intellect, limited by the prison of the 5 senses, people tend to view Ishvara as a finite entity. As if this is not unfortunate enough, they get so attached to their favourite deity that they sometimes begin to develop a fanatic attitude – “my god is better than your god” and so on. The true Ishvara is beyond all senses. Neither the mind nor our speech can reach it. Ishvara is beyond all names and forms.
 
But, many of us go to temples to worship deities. Even spiritual masters worship deities. How should we understand this? It is because deities in a temple are indicators or pointers to the infinite. An idol in the shape of a deity helps us focus our attention on the form of the deity. But this focusing of attention on the finite deity is a stepping stone to contemplating the true nature of Ishvara which is infinite, imperishable and supreme.
 
What is the real reason for the problem pointed out here? Why do most people think of Ishvara in finite terms? This is examined next.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 23, Chapter 7

19 Tuesday Jun 2012

Posted by in 7.23, alpamedhasaam, antavat, api, bhavati, chapter 7 verse 23, devaan, devayajaha, maam, madbhaktaaha, phalam, tat, teshaam, tu, yaanti

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antavattu phalam teshaam tadbhavatyalpamedhasaam |
devaandevayajo yaanti madbhaktaa yaanti maamapi || 23 ||
 
But, those with finite intellect obtain a perishable result. Worshippers of deities obtain those deities, (and) my devotees obtain me alone.
 
antavat : perishable
tu : but
phalam : result
teshaam : of those
tat : that
bhavati : obtain
alpamedhasaam : people of finite intellect
devaan : deities
devayajaha : those who worship
yaanti : obtain
madbhaktaaha : my devotee
yaanti : obtain
maam : me
api : alone
 
We saw that there were two kinds of devotees – those who pursue finite goals and those who pursue the infinite. Earlier, Shri Krishna said that there was nothing wrong with pursuing finite goals as long as such devotees eventually involve towards pursuing the infinite.
 
Why do most devotees contact a deity, someone or something that is higher than them? It is to acquire or obtain a goal that will relieve them of their finitude. Let’s say they worship a deity and manage to obtain the object that they desire. Shri Krishna says that no matter what object is acquired, it will perish at some point. In other words, that object will be time-bound or space-bound. It will make the person happy for a short amount of time, after which he will begin to feel finite and consequently unhappy. The cycle of seeking another finite goal will start all over again.
 
Devotees who do not see the folly of repeatedly acquiring finite things are termed “alpa-medhasaa” or finite-minded by Shri Krishna. They will never be free of sorrow but will manage to suppress it temporarily. They are deprived of the knowledge which indicates the true nature of Ishvara. That is why we should never stop enquiring into the reality of things, and try to look beyond the material world for the real answers to our problems.
 
Shri Krishna goes on to say that those who worship deities may eventually obtain the favour of the deity, who will shower them with his grace. Though commendable, this outcome will still be futile, because the deity is still a finite entity. Only those who seek the infinite Ishvara will gain infinitude by which their sense of finitude or incompleteness will be taken care of once and for all.
 
So then, there has to be reason why most people do not seek infinitude. This is taken up next.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 22, Chapter 7

18 Monday Jun 2012

Posted by in 7.22, araadhanam, cha, chapter 7 verse 22, eehate, eva, hi, kaamaan, labhate, mayaa, saha, shraddhayaa, taan, tasya, tataha, tayaa, vihitaan, yuktaha

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sa tayaa shraddhayaa yuktastasyaaraadhanameehate |
labhate cha tataha kaamaanmayaiva vihitaanhi taan || 22 ||
 
Engaged with faith, that person worships that (deity) and his desire is fulfilled, but that (desire fulfillment) is delivered only through me.
 
saha : that person
tayaa : that
shraddhayaa : with faith
yuktaha : engaged
tasya : that (deity)
araadhanam : worship
eehate : performs
labhate : fulfilled
cha : and
tataha : his
kaamaan : desire
mayaa : through me
eva : only
vihitaan : delivered
hi : but
taan : that (desire fulfillment)
 
When someone chooses to pursue a finite or a worldly goal, they run towards a finite deity instead of going towards Ishvara. We saw this in the previous shlokas. Shri Krishna continues that point here by saying that Ishvara does not object when devotee seeks a finite goal from a finite deity. In fact, he strengthens that devotee’s faith by delivering what the devotee asks of the deity.
 
Faith is a process that most of us do not fully comprehend. But it is a reality. Even in the medical profession, placebos or pills made of inactive ingredients such as sugar are known to cure patients by sheer power of faith.
 
So Shri Krishna says that even if a devotee approaches a deity with a finite goal, Ishvara is ready to deliver that goal as long as the devotee’s faith in the deity is strong. By fulfilling finite desires through the lower deities, Ishvara hopes that the devotee will learn to further subdue his ego. One cannot have an increase in faith without a decrease in ego.
 
As desires are sought with greater and greater faith, and the corresponding desires are fulfilled, the devotee’s faith increases. This process has the potential to result in the spiritual evolution of that devotee. He will evolve from seeking finite goals to seeking the infinite – Ishvara himself.
 
This is the ideal state, but it is totally up to the devotee to make that transition. Unfortunately, most devotees get stuck in the pursuit of finite goals, as we shall see in the next shloka.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 21, Chapter 7

17 Sunday Jun 2012

Posted by in 7.21, achalaam, aham, architum, bhaktaha, chapter 7 verse 21, eva, icchati, shraddhaam, shraddhaya, taam, tanum, tasya, vidadhaami, yaam, yaha

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yo yo yaam yaam tanum bhaktaha shraddhayaarchitumicchati |
tasya tasyaachalaam shraddhaam taameva vidadhaamyaham || 21 ||
 
Whichever devotee desires to faithfully worship a particular form, I fortify his faith in exactly that (form).
 
yaha, yaha : whosoever
yaam, yaam : whichever
tanum : form
bhaktaha : devotee
shraddhaya : faithfully
architum : worship
icchati : desires
tasya,tasya : that
achalaam : firm
shraddhaam : faith
taam : in that
eva : exactly
vidadhaami : make
aham : I
 
The chapter so far dealt with the notion of the infinite Ishvara’s ability to bless us with infinitude. But Shri Krishna recognized that not all devotees have the vision of pursuing that infinite Ishvara. That is why they worship finite, localized forms of Ishvara in the form of deities such as Ganesha, Saraswati and so on.
 
So in this shloka, Shri Krishna offers a ray of hope for such devotees. Even if we worship a finite deity with a finite goal, Ishvara will ensure that our finite goals are awarded to us. In doing so, Ishvara will strengthen our faith in that deity.
 
There is nothing wrong in asking for something finite. All notions of spirituality, no matter how finite the goal, are equally valid. They have the power to lift us from our egoic centre towards the universal.
 
For example, if we ask Saraswati for success in our exams, it is Ishvara who delivers that success through Saraswati. Saraswati becomes the channel through which Ishvara works. He is the running the whole show, as it were. But more important than the delivery of our desire is faith. Ishvara ensures that our faith in Saraswati is strengthened. It is because there will come a when that faith will be eventually turned towards Ishvara. More about this faith is mentioned next.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 20, Chapter 7

16 Saturday Jun 2012

Posted by in 7.20, aasthaaya, anya, chapter 7 verse 20, devataahaa, hritajnyaanaahaa, kamaihi, niyamam, niyataahaa, prakrityaa, prapadyante, svayaa, taihi, tam

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kamaistaistairhritajnyaanaahaa prapadyantenyadevataahaa |
tam tam niyamamaasthaaya prakrityaa niyataahaa svayaa || 20 ||
 
They, whose knowledge has been usurped by desires, seek refuge of other deities. They resort to rites, compelled by their own nature.
 
kamaihi : desires
taihi, taihi : those
hritajnyaanaahaa : they whose knowledge has been usurped
prapadyante : seek refuge
anya : other
devataahaa : deities
tam, tam : those
niyamam : rites
aasthaaya : resort
prakrityaa : nature
niyataahaa : compelled
svayaa : their own
 
Shri Krishna praised the wise devotee’s quest for the infinite Ishvara in the previous shlokas. He now proceeds to describe the other category of devotees. These devotees feel a sense of incompleteness. They keep looking for finite things such as people, objects and situations to make themselves feel complete. Shri Krishna says that such devotees, compelled by their nature, seek the refuge of finite deities. They do so because their discrimination is usurped by the force of their desires.
 
First, let us look at what is meant by usurping of knowledge by desires. We have seen the example earlier of a family walking through a shopping mall. The husband and the wife see the exact same shops. Both their intellects give them the same knowledge of objects. In other words, both of them recognize that “this is a nice outfit” and “this is an Ipod”. But their behaviour towards these objects will be different due to the difference in their respective desires. The husband will think “I want that Ipod” whereas the wife will think “I want that outfit”.
 
Now, unlike the wise devotees, such devotees still have not shifted their focus towards the ultimate goal that will give them infinitude – Ishvara. They still harbour desires for material objects, people and situations that prevents them from contacting the infinite. So then, due to the force of their desires, they look for something finite to give them happiness. To that end, they propitiate deities that will give them their finite objects of desire. They approach Lord Ganesha to remove obstacles in their line of work, for example.
 
Their situation is no different than a businessman who wants to build a factory. He will have to appease the local minister to get land clearances. He will have to appease the local union leader to ensure the smooth running of his factory. He will have to appease his customers so that they will keep placing orders for his goods. But in doing so, he will have to dance to their tune. He may have to give someone’s son-in-law a job in his factory, and so on and so forth. Similarly, in order to propitiate these deities, we may also have to follow prescribed rites and rituals that are specific to each deity.
 
Shri Krishna says that even if pursuing limited or finite goals is not the way to go, Ishvara will still demonstrate compassion towards such devotees, indicated by the next shloka.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 19, Chapter 7

15 Friday Jun 2012

Posted by in 7.19, ante, bahoonaam, chapter 7 verse 19, iti, janmanaam, jnyaanavaan, maam, mahaatmaa, prapadyate, saha, sarvam, sudurlabhaha, vaasudevaha

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bahoonaam janmanaamante jnyaanavaanmaam prapadyate |
vaasudevaha sarvamiti sa mahaatmaa sudurlabhaha || 19 ||
 
At the end of several births, the wise one seeks my refuge knowing that Vaasudev is everything. Such an individual is supreme and extremely rare.
 
bahoonaam : several
janmanaam : births
ante : end of
jnyaanavaan : the wise one
maam : my
prapadyate : seeks refuge
vaasudevaha : Vaasudev
sarvam : everything is
iti : in this manner
saha : he
mahaatmaa : supreme individual
sudurlabhaha : extremely rare
 
Shri Krishna previously pointed out that the wise devotee is special because he does not use Ishvara to gain anything else but Ishvara. He treats Ishvara no different than his own self. Here, Shri Krishna emphasizes the fact that such people, who know that the ultimate cause of everything is Ishvara, are extremely rare and exalted. In fact, it has taken them several lives worth of effort to get to this stage.
 
Let us examine the nature of this effort that has led to this vision of the wise devotee. This effort is of two types – the dawning of knowledge that there is a single cause behind everything, and the surrender of one’s ego to that single cause or Ishvara. There is no specific order in which these can happen first, but both are necessary. The individual who has gone through so much effort to get to this stage is most certainly rare and privileged.
 
Now, we need to be careful in how we interpret the second half of this shloka. “Vaasudev” means one who resides in all, as well as one in whom everything and everyone resides. In other words, the phrase “Vaasudev is everything” denotes “Ishvara is everything”. If we get stuck with the image of “Vaasudev”, if we forget that Vaasudev is an indicator for the one Ishvara, we will begin to develop a fanatic attitude towards people who worship other deities.
 
Next, Shri Krishna elaborates on the topic of worship for finite gain.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 18, Chapter 7

14 Thursday Jun 2012

Posted by in 7.17, aasthitaha, aatmaa, anuttamaam, chapter 7 verse 18, eva, gatim, hi, ite, jnyaanee, maam, matam, me, saha, sarva, tu, udaaraaha, yuktaatmaa

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udaaraaha sarva evaite jnyaanee tvaatmaiva me matam |
aasthitaha sa hi yuktaatmaa maamevaanuttamaam gatim || 18 ||
 
All those are certainly sincere, but only the wise one is my own self, in my opinion. For, he engages to become established in me only as the ultimate goal.
 
udaaraaha : sincere
sarva : all
eva : certainly
ite : those
jnyaanee : the wise one
tu : but
aatmaa : self
eva : only
me : my
matam : opinion
aasthitaha : established
saha : he
hi : for
yuktaatmaa : he engages
maam : me
eva : only
anuttamaam : ultimate
gatim : goal
 
So far, Shri Krishna enumerated four types of devotees and singled out one of them, the wise one, as the most special type of devotee. This is because the wise devotee does not approach Ishvara for something else. He approaches Ishvara to gain only Ishvara and nothing else. Here, Shri Krishna adds another reason for singling out the wise devotee as special. The wise devotee considers Ishvara as his own self and not as another object.
 
First, let us look at the sense of oneness aspect. What is different between a good friend and an acquaintance? There is always a sense of “otherness” between ourselves and the acquaintance, but there is a sense of oneness with the good friend. We see this in a lot of proverbs: “a friend in need is a friend indeed”, “my house is your house” on so on. The ultimate closeness with a friend is when we do not see any difference between doing something for ourselves, and doing something for our friend. In other words, we see our friend as our own self.
 
Similarly, whenever we expect something from God, we are by definition treating him as someone different from our own self. Shri Krishna says that he prefers if we treat him as our own self. Such kind of devotion, where the seeker plants himself in Ishvara day in and day out, and melts his existence into Ishvara’s cosmic existence, is the greatest kind of devotion. This is also known as ekabhakti or advaita, where there is no duality between devotee and Ishvara.
 
However, the reality is different. Most of us consider Ishvara as different than ourselves. One colourful illustration of this is found in the Hindi phrase “bhee aur hee siddhanta” which means “also philosophy” vs “only philosophy”. In other words, we love material objects and Ishvara “also”. Shri Krishna says that we should love Ishvara “only” and not “also”.
 
Now, this does not mean that Ishvara gives second class treatment to the other three types of devotees. Shri Krishna says that those other devotees are “udaaraha” or sincere. Ishvara is affectionate towards all of them.
 
Having pointed out the unique aspects of the wise devotee, Shri Krishna highlights the scarcity of wise devotees in the next shloka.