Bhagavad Gita Verse 34, Chapter 18

22 Saturday Jun 2013

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yayaa tu dharmakaamaarthaandhrityaa dhaarayaterjuna |
prasangena phalaakaankshee dhritihi saa paartha raajasee || 34 ||
 
But, that fortitude by which one holds on to duty, sensual pleasure and wealth, O Arjuna, desiring reward as their occasion arises, that fortitude is raajasic, O Paartha.
 
yayaa : by which
tu : but
dharmakaamaarthaan : duty, sensual pleasure and wealth
dhrityaa : fortitude
dhaarayate : one holds on
arjuna : O Arjuna
prasangena : as the occasion arises
phalaakaankshee : desiring reward
dhritihi : fortitude
saa : that
paartha : O Paartha
raajasee : raajasic
 
Pursuit of duty, sensual pleasure, wealth and liberation, dharma, artha, kaama and moksha, are considered the four goals, the four purushaarthas, of a human life. Over time, the importance and even awareness of liberation as a goal was lost. Most of us pursue the first three goals only. Shri Krishna says that the fortitude or the will power that enables us to pursue these three goals is termed as raajasic dhriti, raajasic fortitude. It is termed raajasic because it is oriented around the attainment of the goal, and also, the personal reward that comes to us when that goal is accomplished.
 
On college campuses, we always know of a few people that spend the entire day in the canteen, and do not attend even a single class. But somehow, many of them study for a few days prior to their exams, just enough so that they pass their tests. Some of them get very good at playing the guitar so that they can impress others. Yet others are spending their time buying and selling shares online. In all these cases, they seem to have a will power that only works when there is an occasion for pwesonal reward that is in line with their world view, their raajasic jnyaanam. The will power, the fortitude does not work all the time, especially for anything selfless or altruistic.
 
Another way to look at fortitude is to assess the type of thoughts that our intellect holds on to, and the type of thoughts it rejects. In the prior example, all three types of students know that a lecture is going on daily. Such a thought will arise in their mind every day, like it arises for every other student in the campus. However, the intellect chooses not to act upon that thought, and conequently, no action follows from a discarded thought. Instead, thoughts about sensual pleasure and accumulation of wealth are held on to, and are acted upon. Everything happens at the level of the mind and the intellect, and that is why the mind is given so much importance in the Gita.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 33, Chapter 18

21 Friday Jun 2013

Posted by in 18.33, avyabhichaarinyaa, chapter 18 verse 33, dhaarayate, dhritihi, dhrityaa, manahapraanendriyakriyaahaa, paartha, saattvikee, yayaa, yogena

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dhrityaa yayaa dhaarayate manahapraanendriyakriyaahaa |
yogenaavyabhichaarinyaa dhritihi saa paartha saattvikee || 33 ||
 
That fortitude which is accomplished through yoga, which regulates the activities of the mind, life forces and that senses, such unwavering fortitude is saattvic.
 
dhrityaa : by fortitude
yayaa : by which
dhaarayate : regulates
manahapraanendriyakriyaahaa : activities of mind, life forces and senses
yogena : accomplished through yoga
avyabhichaarinyaa : unwavering
dhritihi : fortitude
saa : such
paartha : O Paartha
saattvikee : is saattvic
 
To recap, Shri Krishna classified several components of action into three categories: saattvic, raajasic and taamasic. First we looked at jnyaanam or knowledge, followed by karma or the action itself, the doer or kartaa, and buddhi or intellect. We also saw that jnyaanam gives us a target or a goal to act upon, and the intellect creates a plan to attain the goal. Now fortitude, another aspect of action, is examined in three shlokas, and is classified in the same manner as the other aspects of action.
 
Fortitude is an essential quality of the intellect which is useful in both material and spiritual endeavours. A seemingly simple action like going to the market to buy fruits requires a certain degree of fortitude. Some people will finish that task within no time. Some people will start heading to the market, but get distracted and go to a restaurant instead. Some other people may not want to get up from the bed, and in doing so, either procrastinate or forget the task entirely.
 
Shri Krishna says that the fortitude which is able to focus the mind on the task at hand, and also, is able to restrain the mind, energy and senses from straying away from the task, is saattvic. The task will be conducive to liberation, since it has been prompted by sattvic knowledge. The key quality of such fortitude is that it is avyabhichaarini, which means never wandering, never wavering, never flitting from one thing to another. Ultimately, we have to learn how to master our mind by mastering our thoughts.
 
Now, such immense fortitude can only be accomplished through yoga, which refers to the consistent, repeated practice of keeping our mind engaged in the self. Such strength can only be gained by daily studying of scriptures, daily worship of our deity, maintaining a good diet and so on. If we cannot even restrain our senses for dietary reasons, we will never be able to get to a state where the mind is constantly engaged in the self.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 32, Chapter 18

20 Thursday Jun 2013

Posted by in 18.32, aavritaa, adharmam, buddhihi, chapter 18 verse 32, dharmam, iti, manyate, paartha, sarvaarthaanvipareetaan, taamasaa, taamasee

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adharmam dharmamiti yaa manyate tamasaavritaa |
sarvaarthaanvipareetaanshcha buddhihi saa paartha taamasee || 32 ||
 
That by which one understands adharma as dharma, and all things as completely contrary, that intellect is called taamasic.
 
adharmam : adharma
dharmam : dharma
iti : in this manner
yaa : that which
manyate : one understands
taamasaa : darkness
aavritaa : covered
sarvaarthaanvipareetaan : all things as completely contrary
cha : and
buddhihi : intellect
saa : that
paartha : O Paartha
taamasee : taamasic
 
Let’s imagine that there is a house with three rooms, each having a 100 W light bulb. One room is cleaned and dusted daily, so the bulb light shines brightly. All objects in this room are seen crystal clear. The second room is cleaned once every month, so the light from the bulb is partially covered by dust. Some objects in the room are seen clearly, but some are fuzzy. The third room has not been cleaned for several years, so the bulb delivers hardly any light at all, since it has acquired a thick coating of dust and dirt on it. We can barely see any object in this room.
 
Similarly, our intellect, which is like a light bulb, gets covered by the dirt of selfish desires. A raajasic intellect is like the bulb in the second room, with partially obscured light. But the taamasic intellect is like the bulb in the third room. The level of selfish desires is so great that the intellect cannot shine through. Shri Krishna says that such a such a person behaves in a totally ignorant and illogical fashion, confusing what is right with what is wrong. Vipareeta, the word used to describe such an intellect, means topsy turvy, contrary, reverse.
 
Where did such a high degree of selfishness come from? It is nothing but a bundle of vaasanaas, impressions that have been gathered since birth, or even through several lifetimes. It starts with the taamasic jnyaanam, the knowledge or worldview, that presents one object, person or situation as the sole goal of attainment, to the exclusion of everything else. It says, “money is the sole aim of life, everything else is secondary”. So the intellect responds : “let’s rob someone to get this money”, and in doing so, going against all logic, morality, ethics and civility. Each time such an action is committed, its strengthens the vaasanaa for stealing and harming people. Over time, a thick cloud of these harmful vaasanaas coat the intellect.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 31, Chapter 18

19 Wednesday Jun 2013

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yayaa dharmamadharmam cha kaaryam chaakaaryameva cha |
ayathaavatprajaanaati buddhihi saa paartha raajasee || 31 ||
 
That by which one improperly understands the difference between dharma and adharma, what should be done and what should not be done, O Paartha, that intellect is raajasic.
 
yayaa : by which
dharmam : dharma
adharmam : adharma
cha : and
kaaryam : what should be done
cha : and
akaaryam : what should not be done
eva : also
cha : and
ayathaavat : improperly
prajaanaati : one understands
buddhihi : intellect
saa : that
paartha : O Paartha
raajasee : raajasic
 
A soldier goes through weeks of bootcamp training. A chef takes decades to hone her craft. Surgeons are in their thirties before they perform their first official operation. A musician can take a lifetime, and still have room to grow. In all these cases, we see that it takes years to fully understand what and how to perform actions in one’s career. Unless such knowledge is gained through a competent teacher, and years of one’s life are put in, the quality of our work output will never reach perfection.
 
Shri Krishna says that the science of action, the karma yoga, needs to be studied with similar dedication and guidance. Unless we learn what is our dharma, what is our duty towards this world, we will be swimming in an ocean of ignorance. Are our actions ethical? Are they carried out for selfish ends or are they performed selflessly? Are they entangling us further in worldly affairs, or are they taking us closer to liberation? We need to understand karma yoga, the science of action, to clearly understand all this.
 
Therefore, one who has not received this knowledge will always be unclear about what is dharma and what is not. Consequently, they will always be confused whether to act or not. Confusion will creep in if we forget our dharma and get swayed by egoism and attachment. Arjuna’s attachment to his family members, the Kauravas, triggered this confusion with regards to his duty as a warrior. Shri Krishna had to teach him the science of karma yoga to remove this confusion. So then, whenever our intellect gets confused about whether to act or not, we can assume that it is raajasic, tinged with selfishness.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 30, Chapter 18

18 Tuesday Jun 2013

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pravrittim cha nivrittim cha kaaryaakaarye bhayaabhaye |
bandham moksham cha yaa vetti buddhihi saa paartha saattvikee || 30 ||
 
That intellect which knows engagement and withdrawal, what is duty and what is not, fear and fearlessness, bondage and liberation, O Paartha, that is saattvic.
 
pravrittim : engagement
cha : and
nivrittim : withdrawal
cha : and
kaaryaakaarye : what is duty and what is not
bhayaabhaye : fear and fearlessness
bandham : bondage
moksham : liberation
cha : and
yaa : which
vetti : knows
buddhihi : intellect
saa : that
paartha : O Paartha
saattvikee : is saattvic
 
Our jnyaanam, our knowledge, gives us an object to pursue, person to approach, or situation to create. Now it is upto our buddhi, our intellect, to decide the course of action. Typically, for any objectve, we need to decide whether or not we want pursue the objective, and if we do, how should we go about doing it. Shri Krishna says that a saattvic intellect, a saattvic buddhi is one that is clear on those two factors. In fact, Shri Krishna breaks the two factors down into four assessments: assessing one’s stage in life and one’s svadharma first, then whether an action is one’s duty or not, then whether to be fearful or not, and lastly, whether to continue to act or not.
 
As we will see in a later topic in this chapter, the varna aashrama system, the system of aptitude and stage of life, helps us determine whether we should act at all, and if so, which actions should we perform and which we should not. A student should focus on studying, not in creating a family. A soldier should focus on protecting his country, not making money by selling his country out. The varna aashrama system helps address the first two assessments: engagement and withdrawal, and what is our duty and what is not. For example, if we get a new business proposal, we should assess whether we have the aptitude to execute it, but also, whether we are in the right stage of life. It is no use starting a new business when we are in our late sixties.
 
Once the varna aashrama system has approved the performance of an action, we need to test whether the action is motivated by personal reward, or whether it is motivated by selfless service. If we have fear in our mind while performing an action, chances are that a trace of egoism has crept into it. We may be doing the action out of the need for praise and honour. But if our mind is fearless, we can assume that our action is motivated out of selflessness. Lastly, as we perform one action after another, we should always examine whether these actions are taking us closer to liberation, or are further entrenching us in the material world. An intellect that guides us in such a manner is termed saattvic.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 29, Chapter 18

17 Monday Jun 2013

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buddherbhedam dhrityeshchaiva gunatastrividham shrunu |
prochyamaanamasheshena prithaktvena dhananjaya || 29 ||
 
According to gunaas, intellect and fortitude are said to be of three types also. Listen to this, completely and with its distinctions, O Dhananjaya.
 
buddhehe : intellect
bhedam : types
dhritehe : fortitude
cha : and
eva : also
gunataha : according to gunaas
trividham : three
shrunu : listen
prochyamaanam : are said
asheshena : completely
prithaktvena : with their distinctions
dhananjaya : O Dhananjaya
 
To recap the teaching so far, Shri Krishna provided a three fold classification of knowledge, action and the doer. Jnyaanam or knowledge prompts an individual to perform an action. The kartaa or doer is the state of mind while performing the action. Now, although the knowledge or jnyaanam aspect supplies the doer with the target of action, it does not prescribe a plan of action as to how to get that object. Therefore, the buddhi, the intellect, gives the course of action.
 
Once the intellect has determined the course of action, the doer needs to hold on to that course of action, and not arbitrarily get distracted or change its tactics. The quality of holding on to something in spite of obstacles is known as dhriti or fortitude. Shri Krishna says that intellect and fortitude are part of Prakriti’s gunaas. So they also are divided into three types. He proceeds to describe them in the next six shlokas. He also emphasizes that he will give a complete description, without leaving anything out.
 
So then, jnyaanam is the goal, buddhi is the plan and dhriti is adherence to the plan. Even in our daily life we see that different people can get the same outcome through different plans. And some people fail in face of obstacles, while some people persevere. Some people see a roadblock as an opportunity to think outside the box, whereas some people are completely flummoxed. Understanding how to plan and how to stick to the plan has benefits in the material path as well as the spiritual.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 28, Chapter 18

16 Sunday Jun 2013

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ayuktaha praakritaha stabdhaha shatonaishkritikolasaha |
vishaadee deerghasootree cha kartaa taamasa ucchyate || 28 ||
 
Unsteady, immature, unbending, fraudulent, wicked, lazy, dejected and procrastinating, such a doer is called taamasic.
 
ayuktaha : unsteady
praakritaha : immature
stabdhaha : unbending
shataha : fraudulent
naishkritikaha : wicked
alasaha : lazy
vishaadee : dejected
deerghasootree : procrastinating
cha : and
kartaa : doer
taamasa : taamasic
ucchyate : is called
 
Having described characteristics of the saatvic and the raajasic doer, Shri Krishna concludes this topic by describing the characteristics of a taamasic doer. It is the longest list of the three types of doers. Even if we will take a long time to cultivate saattvic qualities, it is fine. But we should strive to reduce, and eventually eliminate, any trace of these taamasic characteristics within us. Forget holding us back on the spiritual path, these qualities will become a detriment even to success in our material world.
 
If the state of mind is taamasic while performing a task, the mind will be ayukta or unsteady. It will never be able to focus on one thing, and will jump from thought to thought, or from distraction to distraction. Praakrita, opposite of samskrita, refers to a mind that is uncultured, uncouth, without proper values or the ability to think logically. Taamasic doership comes from taamasic vision, which always hangs on, perversely, to one particular object, viewpoint, person or situation. Therefore, the mind becomes stabdha, unyielding, arrogant, unwilling to accept a different position.
 
Now, some more dangerous characteristics are presented. A taamasic mind will not step at anything to accomplish its task. It will be shataha, which means malicious, deceptive, fradulent, playing games rather than being straightforward. This type of mind will also resort to creating a negative environment for others. It will be naishkritaha, which means wicked. Conversely, if the task is not upto its liking the mind will be alasaha or lazy. It will always remain in a state of vishaada, which means forever dejected, despondent and depressed. It will find ways to pawn the task off to someone else by procrastinating. A somewhat funny word is used to describe this characteristic – deerghasootree which means long string or long length. Shri Shankaraachaarya says in his commentary that such a person will take months to do a one day task.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 27, Chapter 18

15 Saturday Jun 2013

Posted by in 18.27, ashuchihi, chapter 18 verse 27, harshashookaanvitaha, himsaatmakaha, karmaphalaprepsuhu, kartaa, lubdhaha, parikeertitaha, raagee, raajasaha

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raagee karmaphalaprepsurlubdho himsaatmakoshuchihi |
harshashookaanvitaha kartaa raajasaha parikeertitaha || 27 ||
 
One with likes, coveting the reward of action, greedy, cruel, impure, prone to joy and sorrow, such a doer is said to be raajasic.
 
raagee : one with likes
karmaphalaprepsuhu : coveting reward of action
lubdhaha : greedy
himsaatmakaha : cruel
ashuchihi : impure
harshashookaanvitaha : prone to joy and sorrow
kartaa : doer
raajasaha : raajasic
parikeertitaha : is said
 
Having described the saattvic doer or kartaa, Shri Krishna now speaks about the raajasic doer. For most of us, this is our normal or default state of mind whenever we perform any action. Raaga refers to likes, and also to its opposite factors, dvesha or dislikes. Our mind rushes out into the world towards a certain set of objects, people and situations that it likes, and also, runs away from other objects that it dislikes. This creates additional friction while performing action. For instance, if we have to deal with people that our mind dislikes, we will not be able to get the job done efficiently.
 
A raajasic doer is always thinking – what is in it for me? This thought of coveting the reward of action shifts our attention away from the action, and consequently, losing focus from the action. Our motives are impure, since they are selfish. Once we get a personal reward, we want more like it, we become greedy. We sometimes do not hesitate to harm others who come in the way of our personal reward, we can become quite cruel towards them. We are also prone to elation and depression whenever there are temporary wins or setbacks in performing our actions.
 
Such a doer is termed raajasic. The raajasic doer is prompted to act by raajasic vision, which cuts up the world into pieces and attaches likes and dislikes to those pieces, as opposed to saattvic vision that presents a unified, harmonious view of the world. The foundation of a raajasic doer is the notion of attachment to the reward, the action, and to the sense of individuality or I. This stands in total contrast to the saattvic doer. The only way we can rise from our present state to a saattvic state, is by reducing our attachment to the world, and increasing our attachment to Ishvara.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 26, Chapter 18

14 Friday Jun 2013

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muktasangonahamvaadee dhrityutsaahasamanvitaha |
siddhyaasiddhyornirvikaaraha kartaa saattvika ucchyate || 26 ||
 
One who is free from attachment, who does not support egoism, filled with fortitude and enthusiasm, unperturbed in success and failure, such a doer is called saattvic.
 
muktasangaha : free from attachment
anahamvaadee : one who does not support egoism
dhrityutsaahasamanvitaha : filled with fortitude and enthusiasm
siddhyaasiddhyoho : in success and failure
nirvikaaraha : unperturbed
kartaa : doer
saattvika : saattvic
ucchyate : is called
 
Let us recap what we have seen so far. Jnyaana or knowledge shapes our world view and prompts our actions. It is a product of Prakriti and is of three types. Karma or action itself is also of three types. Now, Shri Krishna starts a new topic and describes three types of the kartaa, the doer. The doer is nothing but the state of our mind from the start of an action to its end. In other words, the same action can be performed differently by different types of doer. We see this in our lives as well. No two people will perform a task in quite the same way.
 
This shloka describes a doer who is of the nature of sattva, of is sattvic. Shri Krishna says that a saattvic doer is prepared for any outcome of the action, be it success or failure. They will not let external circumstances change their state of mind. If the action fails, they do not dwell on it but learn from their mistakes and move on. Many top athletes have this quality, since they have to continually compete throughout their career, and cannot afford to get depressed or elated with each outcome.
 
In addition to success or failure, we also encounter temporary setbacks during the action. A sattvic doer possess extreme endurance to deal with these setbacks. Their enthusiasm to do their duty lifts them out of any temporary sense of sorrow. In the second chapter, Shri Krishna had emphasized the importance of fortitude, also known as titikshaa. Their utsaaha, their enthusiasm makes them stronger since they are not perturbed by outcome. They are also not concerned about egoism, about tooting their horn in front of others, since they are unconcerned about how good or bad they will look in front of others.
 
Freedom from attachment of any kind is the crucial quality of the saattvic doer. They are not attached to the outcome of the action, to the action itself, or to their sense of individuality, their ego. They have achieved a high level of vairagyaa, of dispassion from the pulls of the material world.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 25, Chapter 18

13 Thursday Jun 2013

Posted by in 25.18, aarabhyate, anapekshya, anubandham, chapter 25 verse 28, himsaam, karma, kshayam, mohaat, paurusham, taamasam, ucchyate

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anubandham kshayam himsaamanapekshya cha paurusham |
mohaadaarabhyate karma yattattaamasamucchyate || 25 ||
 
That which is begun in delusion, without considering its consequence, loss, harm and capability, that action is called taamasic.
 
anubandham : consequence
kshayam : loss
himsaam : harm
anapekshya : without considering
cha : and
paurusham : capability
mohaat : in delusion
aarabhyate : begun
karma : action
yat : which
tat : that
taamasam : taamasic
ucchyate : is called
 
Shri Krishna now explains the nature of a taamasic action, listing its characteristics. As an example, a lot of new college graduates start a career path just because they get a lot of money, but they do not fully learn about the impact on their health, whether there is any ethical compromising going on etc. They also do not stop to think whether they have the aptitude, capability, training and passion for their role. Whenever we begin any action without fully understanding its impacts and consequences, that action becomes taamasic.
 
On similar lines, many people invest money in new ventures without having done the due diligence on the business plan, understanding the market and so on. They do not take into account the potential loss of their investment, since they only focus on the potential game. Furthermore, they do not assess whether their new venture could harm the economic, political or natural environment. Even if they know what the harm is, they conveniently choose to overlook those facts. Such kind of action is also called taamasic action.
 
The root of taamasic action is taamasic knowledge, which creates a highly perverse sense of attachment towards certain object, person, situation or end goal, that everything else becomes inferior and worthless. The underlying connectedness or unity of things is forgotten. Even a simple thing like cutting our face when shaving is a taamasic action, which has happened because our mental noise shifted our focus and attention away from the action. Similarly, whenever we eat food that is tasty but creates negative long term health impacts, whenever we give importance to our tongue, we are committing a taamasic action.