Bhagavad Gita Verse 37, Chapter 4

27 Monday Feb 2012

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yathaidhaamsi samiddhognirbhasmasaatkuruterjuna |
jnyaanaagnihi sarvakarmaani bhasmasaatkurute tathaa || 37 ||

Just as a burning flame turns fuel into ashes, O Arjuna, so does the fire of knowledge turn all actions into ashes.

yathaa : just as
edhaamsi : fuel
samiddhaha : burning
agnihi : flame
bhasmasaat : ashes
kurute : turn into
arjuna : O Arjuna
jnyaana-agnihi : fire of knowledge
sarvakarmaani : all actions
bhasmasaat : ashes
kurute : turn into
tathaa : so does

Previously, Shri Krishna mentioned that having gained knowledge, we will be able to cross over all our sins. But does that mean that the sins remain hidden somewhere? In this shloka, he says that all sins or karmaas get destroyed with knowledge. Just as fire has the capability to burn fuel in the form of wood or coal into ashes, so does knowledge totally destroy karmaas.

Karmaas accumulate in our psyche due to ignorance of our true identity. Now, knowledge and ignorance are mutually exclusive. One cannot remain when the other is present. Take an example from early school. Once you what the addition symbol “+” does, you no longer get confused when you see a question on addition.

So when knowledge comes, ignorance is destroyed, as well as karmaas that were created a result of ignorance. And when the sense of doership and enjoyership vanishes, then situations do not cause joy or sorrow. No more karmaas are accumulated.

In this manner, Shri Krishna continues to praise knowledge in this shloka and the following two shlokas.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 36, Chapter 4

26 Sunday Feb 2012

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api chedasi paapebhyaha sarvebhyaha paapakrittamaha |
sarvam jnyaanaplavenaiva vrajinam santarishyasi || 36 ||

Even if you are the most sinful among all sinners, you will certainly cross over all sins with the boat of knowledge.

api : even
chet : if
asi : you are
paape-bhyaha : sinners
sarve-bhyaha : among all
paapa-krittamaha: most sinful
sarvam : all
jnyaana-plavena : boat of knowledge
eva : definitely
vrajinam : sins
santarishyasi : cross over

Shri Krishna continues speaking about the greatness of knowledge in this shloka. He says that this knowledge has the power of destroying all of our sins completely, regardless of how many sins we committed in the past.

Let’s re-examine what is meant by sin here using an example. Two most common sins are stealing and harming someone. In both these cases, the physical act itself is not the sin. It is the ego, the assertion of individuality and superiority behind each act, that is the real sin.  This sense of separation created by the ego causes us to commit these acts, and experience joy and sorrow as a result. Over the course of our living, we have accumulated a large number of karmas.

Shri Krishna says here that the knowledge gained through sacrifice will destroy all sins. How will this happen? This will happen because the sinner himself will be annihilated through this knowledge. The sinner is nothing but the ego, the notion of individuality created by the false sense of identification with the finite body, mind and intellect.

This annihilation of the ego is comparable to deletion of an email account. An email account is nothing but a persona created in the virtual world. It can receive regular emails as well as spam emails. But when the email account itself is deleted, it will no longer be the recipient of any kind of email, regular or junk.

So therefore, Shri Krishna paints a beautiful picture to deliver this message. He says that we can cross over the river of all our sins with the boat of knowledge.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 35, Chapter 4

25 Saturday Feb 2012

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yajnyaatvaa na punarmohamevam yaasyasi paandava |
yena bhootaanyasheshena drakshasyaatmanyatho mayi || 35 ||

Having realized that knowledge, never again will you be subjected to delusion in this manner, O Paandava. By that (knowledge), you will view all beings completely in you, and likewise, in me.

yat : that
jnyaatvaa : having realized
na : not
punar : again
moham : delusion
evam : in this manner
yaasyasi : subjected
paandava : O Paandava
yena : by that
bhootaani : all beings
asheshena : completely
drakshasi : view
aatmani : in you
atho : and likewise
mayi : in me

Having explained the method of acquiring knowledge from a teacher, Shri Krishna praises this knowledge in the following shlokas. In this shloka, he provides a test by which we know whether we have truly gained this knowledge or not. He says that this knowledge totally transforms our vision. It gives us whole new way to view the world.

Imagine we are at a social gathering. We are introduced to a new person, someone whom we have never met before. At that point, we try to size up that person and are not quite sure how the conversation will go. But when we find out that both of us went to the same school for 8 years, we instantly connect with that person. The sense of separation between us and that person diminishes just a little.

Now, take this destruction of separation to its logical extreme where we see all things – plants, rocks, animals, humans – as a part of our own self. Everything is connected to each other. Furthermore, we realize that in essence, distinct entities such as plants and animals are not really distinct. There is only one Ishvaraa but appearing as many forms. This is the grand vision after having obtained this knowledge.

So therefore, having gained this knowledge, our moha or delusion with regards to who we are, what is our correct relationship with the world, what are our duties, what is good and bad – all these questions are answered with this vision of the world. After having this vision, our actions in the wold continue, but they do not accumulate any further karmaas because we are in tune with the world.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 34, Chapter 4

24 Friday Feb 2012

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tadviddhi pranipaatena pariprashnena sevayaa |
upadekshyanti te jnyaanam jnyaaninastattvadarshinaha || 34 || 

Know that by complete surrender, inquiry and service, you will receive instruction from those who have gained knowledge through direct realization of the eternal essence.

tat : that
viddhi : know
pranipaatena : surrender to the feet
pariprashnena : inquiry
sevayaa : service
upadekshyanti : will instruct
te : they
jnyaanam : knowledge
jnyaaninaha : those who have knowledge
tattvadarshinaha : through direct realization of the eternal essence

In the previous shloka, Shri Krishna spoke about the realization of the eternal essence that is obtained through the sacrifice of knowledge. Here, he describes the method through which we should go about pursuing that knowledge.

Shri Krishna says that we should begin by approaching a teacher who has two key qualities. One, he should be a tattva-darshinaha. He should have realized the eternal essence himself first-hand. Second, he should be a jnyaaninaha, one who knows the technique of communicating this knowledge. Both qualities are essential and complementary. One without the another will not work.

Having approached the teacher, we should first completely surrender ourselves to him and accept him as our teacher. If we don’t do so then our ego comes into the mix and disrupts everything. The teachings will have no impact if such a thing occurs. We see this type of behaviour when someone approaches a teacher and ends up using that meeting to boast about one’s own knowledge rather than surrender to the teacher.

Next, we should have a thirst for inquiry about the eternal essence, which will be reflected by the questions we ask the teacher. Questions like: Who am I? How do I free myself of bondage? This is what the teacher should be able to answer. All our scriptures including the Upanishads, the Gita and the Bhagavatam are a dialogue between a teacher and student. Furthermore, we should not question about worldly matters like should I get married, should I take this job and so on. Liberation should be top priority.

Finally, we should continue building a relationship with the teacher through serving him. This will foster humility in us. It will also built a better connection and tuning between the teacher and the student. In the Gita, both Arjuna and Dhritaraashtra heard the Gita, but only Arjuna truly understood it. This is because Arjuna was in tune with Shri Krishna and Dhritaraashtra was not. Also, there is absolutely no room for a transactional or “coaching class” relationship between the teacher and student. Service is the only way.

Even Sant Jnyaaneshwar gained knowledge by serving his guru Nivruttinaath. He says “yogiraaja vinavane mana aale vo maaye” which means “I gained realization by serving my guru yogiraaja Nivruttinaatha”.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 33, Chapter 4

23 Thursday Feb 2012

Posted by in 4.33, akhilam, dravyamayaat, jnayana, jnyaane, karma, paartha, parantapa, parisamaapyate, sarvam, shreyaan, yagnaha, yajnyaat

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shreyaandravyamayaadyajnyaanjnyaanayagnaha parantapa |
sarvam karmaakhilam paartha jnyaane parisamaapyate || 33 ||

Superior to sacrifice of materials is the sacrifice of knowledge, O scorcher of foes. All actions completely culminate in knowledge, O Paartha.

shreyaan : superior
dravyamayaat : material oriented
yajnyaat : sacrifice
jnyaana-yagnaha : knowledge sacrifice
parantapa : O scorcher of foes
sarvam : all
karma : actions
akhilam : completely
paartha : O Paartha
jnyaane : knowledge
parisamaapyate : culminate

Having pointed out the defect of finitude in the wide range of yajnyaas, Shri Krishna praises jnyaana yajnya or the sacrifice of knowledge. Another interpretation, but on similar lines, is that the yajnya of knowledge is the only one that leads us to the path of shreyas or bliss, rather than the path of preyas or the pleasant.

We learned about the sacrifice of knowledge in an earlier shloka. In this yajnya, we go through three steps to acquire the right understanding and knowledge through study of the scriptures: shravana, manana, nidhidhyaasana. Shravana is listening with complete attention. Manana is deep contemplation on the teachings. Nidhidhyaasana is internalizing the teachings through concentration and meditation.

So why is the sacrifice of knowledge better than the other sacrifices? Shri Krishna offers the answer in the second line of the shloka. He says that all actions culminate in knowledge. If we add the context of karmayoga to this sentence, the meaning becomes : all selfishness that motivates actions completely ends in the realization of infinitude. It is like a river that stops flowing when it reaches, or realizes, the ocean.

Let’s dig into this a little deeper. What does it mean to end selfishness? It means that the notion of doership and enjoyership ends. No more does one think “I am doing this” and “I have obtained the result”. Furthermore, this knowledge is permanent. It is not a finite material object like the result of any other yajnya like material yajnya and so on.

Therefore, when we truly understand this highest knowledge that everything is the eternal essence, we identify with infinite and permanent, thereby ending our sense of finitude. Once that happens, we continue performing all our actions. However, all selfish motives behind those actions will have completely vanished.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 32, Chapter 4

22 Wednesday Feb 2012

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evam bahuvidhaa yajnyaa vitato brahmano mukhe |
karmajaan viddhi taan sarvaanevam jnyaatvaa vimokshyase || 32 ||

In this manner, various types of sacrifices have been explained in the Vedas. Understand that all those are born of action; having known this, (you will) be liberated.

evam : in this manner
bahuvidhaa : various types
yajnyaa : sacrifice
vitataaha : have been explained
brahmanaaha : Vedas
mukhe : mouth
karmajaan : born of action
viddhi : understand
taan : those
sarvaan : all
evam : in this manner
jnyaatvaa : having known this
vimokshyase : (you will) be liberated

With this shloka, Shri Krishna concludes the section on practical yajnyas. In this section, we came across many varieties of yajnya. There are several more types of yajnyas in the scriptures such as pilgrimages, how to perform poojas during certain festivals, chanting of japas and so on. With the guidance of a teacher, we can choose the one that works best for us and follow it diligently.

Having concluded this section, Shri Krishna now makes a very important point. He says that while performing these yajnyas, we should never forget that any yajnya is ultimately an action. We saw earlier that actions are performed by the gunaas of prakriti. And anything that is related to gunaas is distinct from the eternal essence. So, how can yajynas move us closer to liberation if they are in the realm of gunaas?

Another way of looking at this issue is as follows. Anything that is a result of action will always be finite by definition. We are looking for realization of the eternal essence which is infinite. How will yajnyaas, born out of finite action, make us obtain the infinite eternal essence?

The key point to understand here is that action does not yield realization, only knowledge can do so. Performance of yajnya is a preparatory step towards realization, just like we prepare for sleep in the night. We can lie down on the bed, we can drink a cup of hot milk, we can turn off the light and so on. But the onset of sleep happens on its own. Similarly, even if we perform yajnyaas, realization will happen when we gain the knowledge when we are not the doer or enjoyer of any actions.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 31, Chapter 4

21 Tuesday Feb 2012

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yajnyashishtaamritabhujo yaanti brahma sanaatanam |
naayam lokostyayajnyasya kutonyaha kurusattama || 31 ||

Only those who taste the nectar of sacrificial remnants obtain the ever-existing eternal essence. The non-performer of sacrifice does not have (joy) in this world, how (will he get joy) in other worlds, O foremost among Kurus?

yajnya-shishtaaha : remnants of sacrifice
amritabhujaha : those who have tasted nectar
yaanti : obtain
brahma : eternal essence
sanaatanam : ever-existing
na : not
lokaha : in this world
asti : have
ayajnyasya : non-performer of sacrifice
kutaha : how
anyaha : other worlds
kurusattama : O foremost among Kurus

So far, Shri Krishna gave us a wide range of yajnyas that we can implement in our daily lives. In this shloka, he urges us to implement at least one of those yajnyas in our life. He says that one who does not live his life in the yajnya spirit will not even be able to function properly in the material world, let alone progress on the spiritual path.

Let’s take a practical example. Suppose we decide to follow the yajnya of nityaahaarah. In other words, we decide to restrict our food intake. How do we actually implement this? Shri Krishna tells us that in all actions that we undertake, we should first perform the yajyna, and then partake of the “remnants” of the yajnya.

So if we see a tasty dish, we perform a yajnya on the spot by saying “I am performing a yajnya. I first offer all the food to Ishvara because this food belongs to Ishvara. I will take only x amount for myself as the remnants of that yajnya.” The key point here is we first perform the yajnya, then partake of the fruit of the action. We do not rush directly into the action. This lets our intellect override the impulses of our senses.

If we truly make yajnya spirit a part of our life, we will develop “praasada buddhi”, which is one of the cornerstones of karma yoga. Since the praasaada is a gift from Ishvaraa, we will not compare it to someone else’s prasaada. In doing so, we will subdue negative emotions such as jealousy and insecurity. Over time, we will find inner joy in conducting such yajnyas every day. This inner joy is called “amrita” or nectar in this shloka. It will have the power of negating all our sorrows.

One who does not maintain the attitude of yajnya goes against the laws of nature, as it were. This is because the yajnya spirit pervades the entire universe, as we have seen earlier. Such a person lives an unhappy existence even in the material world, and has no chance of attaining any spiritual goals whatsoever.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 30, Chapter 4

20 Monday Feb 2012

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apare niyataahaaraaha praanaanpraaneshu juhvati |
sarvepyete yajnyavido yajnyakshapitakalmashaaha || 30 ||

Others regulate their diet, offering the life force into the life force. All these (seekers) destroy sin through sacrifice, who are the knowers of sacrifice.

apare : others
niyataahaaraaha : regulate diet
praanaan-praaneshu :  life force into the life force
juhvati: offer
sarve : all
api : also
ete : these
yajnyavidaha : knowers of sacrifice
yajnyakshapita : destroy through sacrifice
kalmashaaha : sins

In an earlier shloka, Shri Krishna spoke about the yajnya of regulating the quality of sensory intake. In this shloka, he describes a yajnya where one not only controls the quality of sensory intake but also the quantity. Although this is applicable to all senses such as smell, taste, sight and so on, let us consider one which is the simplest to understand: taste. Dieting becomes a form of yajnya.

By controlling or regulating the intake of food, we can control our mind. Our body and mind is ultimately made up of the food we consume. Later in the seventeenth chapter, Shri Krishna describes different types of food. For now, let us consider three main types. Saatvic food is that which is conducive to mind, which creates harmony in our system. Raajasic food makes us more active. It is usually spicy to taste. Taamasic food makes us dull, sleepy and sometimes intoxicated as well. It is food that has lost all its nutritional value, and is usually stale. It is also known as junk food.

On a subtler level, food also acquires the characteristics of how it has been prepared. At some level, we can always tell whether the food we eat has been mass produced, or has been made with care and attention. That is why many serious students of meditation will usually prepare their own food.

So therefore, Shri Krishna says here that we can perform yajnya by restricting our sensory intake. Now, let’s look at the deeper meaning of this shloka. By regulating the intake of our senses, we reduce our dependence on the senses and in doing so, offer them senses back to the universe. In parallel, our life forces also do not need to work hard in order to digest and process all this sensory “food” that we consume. Therefore, we also offer our life force back to the universal or cosmic life force. In other words, we say “Here, please take these senses and life force back. It is your property to begin with. It is not mine.”

Bhagavad Gita Verse 29, Chapter 4

19 Sunday Feb 2012

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apaane juvhati praanam praanepaanam tathaapare |
praanaapaanagati ruddhvaa praanaayaamaparaayanaaha || 29 ||

Others offer the outward breath into the inward breath, and also the inward breath into the outward breath. Halting the movement of both these breaths, they constantly engage in praanaayaam.

apaane : outward breath
juvhati : offer
praanam : inward breath
praane : inward breath
apaanam : outward breath
tathaa : also
apare : others
praana-apaana-gati : movement of these breaths
ruddhvaa : halting
praanaayaam : praanaayaam
paraayanaaha : constantly engage in

In this shloka, Shri Krishna provides more detail around the use of praanaayaam as a form of yajnya. It is to be noted that it no practice of praanaayam should be undertaken without the supervision of a teacher, otherwise it can be harmful.

As we saw earlier, praanaas are the life energies within us that enable all our bodily functions including breathing, digestion, circulation and so on. Moreover, they function as the link between the mind and the body. We know that if our mind is upset all the time, our body develops psychosomatic illnesses due to the praanaas linking the mind and the body.

Since our mind and body are connected via the praanaas, we control the mind by controlling the praanaas. In praanaayaam, one regulates the breathing pattern (breathe in – retain – breathe out) as well as the time interval between each breath. This regulation has a direct impact on the mind. Even without studying pranaayaam, we can see that a few minutes of observing our normal breath helps to quieten the mind.

In this manner, Shri Krishna adds yet another yajnya to the list of yajnyas that one should pursue in order to gradually develop the ultimate vision that everything is the eternal essence.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 28, Chapter 4

18 Saturday Feb 2012

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dravyayajnyaastapoyajnya yogayagnyaastathaapare |
svaadhyaayagnyaanayagnyaashcha yatayaha sanshitavrataahaa || 28 ||

Others offer sacrifice of materials, austerity and yoga, and other seekers with a resolute will offer the sacrifice of knowledge through study of scriptures.

dravya-yajnyaaha : material-sacrifice
tapo-yajnyaaha : austerity-sacrifice
yoga-yagnyaaha : yoga-sacrifice
tathaa : and
apare : others
svaadhyaaya : study of scriptures
jnyaana-yagnyaaha : knowledge-sacrifice
cha : and
yatayaha : seekers
sanshita-vrataahaa : with resolute will

Shri Krishna gives us a choice of four more yajnyas in this shloka.

First, he talks about the sacrifice of wealth, or as it is more commonly known – charity. As we saw in the second chapter, lobha or the tendency to hoard can destabilize our mind, and strengthen the ego. Therefore, giving away wealth or even our time to a higher ideal checks this tendency to hoard. But charity has to be done with the attitude that I am giving away what was not mine to begin with. If one donates with a view to gain publicity and so on, that is a selfish or rajasic type of charity.

Secondly, Shri Krishna mentions austerity or tapas. In this type of yajyna, the urge of the sense organs to go out into the world is checked, so that the ego is weakened. There are three avenues for conducting tapas: the body, senses and mind. In physical tapas, we use the energy of our body to do seva or service the world. In sense-related tapas, we keep a strong leash on our senses and organs. For example, we can practice austerity on speech by always speaking truth, saying what’s beneficial to someone, and creating disturbance in anybody’s mind. In mental tapas, we control our mind by not giving attention to negative thoughts and emotions, and not letting others trigger such emotions in us.

Third, Shri Krishna gives us the option of practicing a detailed regimen of spiritual practice or yoga. It could be bhakti yoga (which we will see later), karma yoga, raaja yoga of Patanjali and so on.

Finally, we can practice study of the scriptures, which is also known as jnyaana yajnya. A daily reading of the Gita, Ramayana or any other such spiritual text with utmost attention, concentration, understanding and discipline is also a yajnya. Here also, the ego becomes weak because the intellect gains a firmer and stronger position in relation to the ego, strengthened by daily exposure to the scriptures.

The common thread of all the yajnyas mentioned is that of weakening the hold of the ego, which is nothing but weakening of the notion of “I-ness” and “mine-ness”.