GODS

BhagavadGita :Notes from Swami Velkudi

We have this Kurukshetra within us!! After taking birth, there is no escape of
Kurukshetra within us. To face it boldly and defeat
the Rajasic&Tamasic tendencies within us , Lord Krishna is there to guide us and
Gita is the greatest guide he bestowed it for us.
Gita has numerous commentators from all philosophies and Sampradaya.
SriRamanuja has written a treatise on Gita known
as "Gita Bhasyam". Vedanta Desikan has written "Tatpariya Chandrikai" .
VadiKesari Azhagiya Manavala Jeeyar has written
"Venba Padal" for every sloka on Gita.
sarvo panishado gavah! dogdha gopala nandanah
partho vatsah sudheer bhokta! dugdham geeta amritam mahat
All the Upanishads are cows; the Milker is Krishna, the cowherd boy; Partha
(Arjuna) is the calf; men of purified intellect are the drinkers, the milk is the
great nectar of the Gita.
Chapter1 - Arjuna Vishada Yogam (Chapter in which Arjuna pours out his agony)
{Gitartha Sangrahah - Verse 5, which summarizes Chapter1)
ASTHAANA SNEHA KAARUNYA DHARMAA-DHARMA DHIYAA AAKULAM I
PAARTHAM PRAPANNAM UDDHISYA SAASTRAA-VA-TARANAM KRUTHAM II
}
1-1:
Where has Dhritrarasthra and Sanjaya come into this picture ? Isn't Gita about
Krishna and Arjuna? Background of Gita i.e Mahabharat.
Sanjaya had the gift of seeing everything in the Mahabharat war, without being in
the battlefield. This was as per his Guru's boon.
So, Sanjaya is explaning what is going on in the war (Ball-by-ball commentary).
Note that, after this slokam, there is no further role
or reference of Dhritarashtra in Gita. But, Sanjaya does come up in few other
slokas of Gita. Not only Gita, Sanjaya gives commentary
of the whole Mahabharat war.
Dharma Kshetra - It is "Dharma" Kshetra, a holy land. It's amazing and
intresting that the war is being conducted here.
Dharma kshayaat traayate iti Dharma Kshetre!
Dhritarashtra poses the question on what his sons and Pandavas who have gone to
wage war , are doing? This question seems to be
a oxymoron, because it's already known that the pandavas and kauravas have gone to
wage war, so what else will they be doing!
The true reason for Dhritarashtra's question was his anxiety of Kauravas losing
and he actually wanted to know whether his sons
were winning and Pandavas losing. Rather than asking it directly, lest he be
accused of open partiality, he couches the question.
Dhritarashtra is not just blind with sight, but he is blind to gnaanam too. Even
though he knows Kauravas were at fault and reason for
the war, he is blinded by partiality.
1-2:
Sanjaya responds to Dhrtarashtra starting from this slokam. The Acharya refered
to in this sloka is DronaCharya. Duryodhana
looks at Pandava's army . There are many types of formation(Vyuham) of armies
- Vyuham : Chakra Vyuham, Suchi Vyuham,
Padma Vyuham, Sakata Vyuham . Duryodhana is scared internally looking at the
formation of Pandavas army. Many of us get
scared when we face the consequences of mistakes, but not during making the
mistakes. Similarly, Duryodhana didn't fear or
care about consequences when he threw out Pandavas from the court and ill treated
them. But, now in the middle of the battlefield,
looking at the army and realizing that his defeat was imminent, he is scared.
Duryodhana was a great warrior and not a coward,
but the fear strikes his heart too, because he was on the side of wrong. One
lesson for us is, to do good work, we shouldn't hesitate
or feel we are too small to do it.
Acharyan - Asinoti Saastratan , one he teaches saastras and shows the right path.
Vachanam - Words. Varthagalai.. Duryodhana was blabbering with fear and not
speaking with sense. He knew inside he was wrong and
that his deeds were catching up with him.
When two great people speak, we are benefited from their talk:
e.g:
Sukracharya and Pariksheet converse - SrimadBhagavatam
Bhishma and Yudishteer converse - SriVishnuSahasranamam
Parasara Maharishi and Maitreeyi - Vishnu Puranam
Nammazhwar and MadhurkaviAzhwar - TiruvaayMozhi
Ofcourse, what is the benefit when we folks speak?? It's mostly meaningless
blabber. If we focus and make efforts to speak the right
things, then it makes sense. It's better to be silent, rather than indulge in
blabber and nonsensical talk.
1-3: pasyaitam pandu-putranam acarya mahatim camum
vyudham drupada-putrena tava sisyena dhimata
The first chapter of GIta is also known as Arjuna-Vishaada-Yogam. (i.e Arjuna's
distress). In the third slokam, Duryodhana tells to
Drona: Look at the army formation of Pandavas, which was formed by Drona's sishya
Drusthadryumnan(Senapati of Pandava Army).
What is the intresting aspect of this slokam? Instead of using the normal
respectable sequence of first addressing "Acharya!" and then
telling what needs to be said , Duryodhana first tells about Pandava army and
then ends it addressing Drona as Acharya!
This shows that he is bambozled, scared, confused and hence is telling what
worries him first and then addresses Drona as Acharya
as an afterthought.
Another intresting thought is: Kaurava's army is manifold higher than Pandava
Army . It has 11 Akshohani senyam, whereas Pandavas
have just 7 Akshohani Senyam . Even then Duryodhana is worried. Now, taking
our own body as the field of Mahabharat and even
if we have a higher "Duryodhan" sena (rajasic and tamasic tendencies) and less
"Pandava" Sena (Sattvic tendencies), we should not
feel dejected and scared. Even if less, the Sattvic tendencies have the power to
overcome Rajasic and tamasic.
Another intresting thought : In this slokam, Duryodhana seems to sarcastically
point to Dronacharya and ask him to look at the army
of his disciples lke Drushtadryumnan.
Drushtadruymnan's story is one of revenge, tracing back to the enemity between
Drupad(his father) and Drona. A lesson for us from this
story is, instead of remembering bad things, harsh thoughts, things said in anger
etc by others, we should try to remember the good
things only. We have a limited capacity to store thoughts and memories (like a
RAM!), so it would be better to use it for remembering
only good things. Unfortunately, in the case of Drupad and Drona, who were great
friends, due to various reasons, they turned bitter
enemies. Drupad gave birth to a son Drushtadruymana, just for killing Drona.
Drupad's daughter was Draupadi. Ironically, both
the chiildren of Drupad (Drushtadrymnan and Draupadi) were responsible for the
demise of Drona.
Duryodhana also pointedly refers to Drushtadryumnan as clever in this sloka. Even
though he is on the opposite side of the army.
Why? on the Battlefield of Kuruksetra, Dhrstadyumna took the side of the Pandavas,
and it was he who arranged for their military phalanx, after having learned the
art from Dronacarya. Duryodhana pointed out this mistake of Dronacarya's so that
he might be alert and uncompromising in the fighting. By this he wanted to point
out also that he should not be similarly lenient in battle against the Pandavas,
who were also Dronacarya's affectionate students. Arjuna, especially, was his most
affectionate and brilliant student. Duryodhana also warned that such leniency in
the fight would lead to defeat.
1.4.5.6:
atra sura mahesvasa bhimarjuna-sama yudhi
yuyudhano viratas ca drupadas ca maha-rathah
dhrstaketus cekitanah kasirajas ca viryavan
purujit kuntibhojas ca saibyas ca nara-pungavah
yudhamanyus ca vikranta uttamaujas ca viryavan
saubhadro draupadeyas ca sarva eva maha-rathah
Even though Dhrstadyumna was not a very important obstacle in the face of
Dronacarya's very great power in the military art, there were many others who were
the cause of fear. They are mentioned by Duryodhana as great stumbling blocks on
the path of victory because each and every one of them was as formidable as Bhima
and Arjuna. He knew the strength of Bhima and Arjuna, and thus he compared the
others with them. Duryodhana explains the details of Pandava Army (who are
fighting etc). He is renowed for his ego and Ahamakara. So, why is Duryodhana
referring to Pandavas first?? Two possible reasons. One is, he is scared and is
blabbering forgetting his usual Ahamkara. Another reason is, since he has pointed
the Pandava army to Drona, he is continuing explaining who is in the battlefield.
(Ati-Ratah: One can fight with one; Arda-Ratah: One who can fight with numerous
warriors at one time.
Mahaa-Ratah: One who can fight with 11000 warriors at one time)
Arjuna, Karna and all the warriors mentioned in this sloka are Mahaa-Ratah.
Another point in this sloka(s) is, when we are fighting for Dharma, Justice etc,
it automatically gives strength. It doesn't matter who is
supporting, the reason and motivation is important. For e.g. in Ramayan, Rama's
army had monkeys, bears etc, but it didn't deter
and he prevailed in the war. The gist of Ramayan is, when one goes in the right
path, even monkeys , bears etc will support, whereas
if one goes in the wrong path, even one's own brother will desert! So, it
doesn't matter, who is coming to help, do we have great support
etc. The important thing to remember is why we are fighting for? is it right? is
it on the side of Dharma etc.. In Mahabharat, Kauravas
have great warriors like Bheeshma, Drona etc and logically they should have won,
on the strength of skills, prowess etc, but kauravas
didn't have justice on their side and ultimately perished.
1.7.8.9
asmakam tu visista ye tan nibodha dvijottama
nayaka mama sainyasya samjnartham tan bravimi te
bhavan bhismas ca karnas ca krpas ca samitim-jayah
asvatthama vikarnas ca saumadattis tathaiva ca
anye ca bahavah sura mad-arthe tyakta-jivitah
nana-sastra-praharanah sarve yuddha-visaradah
asmakam tu - In our Sena; Visistahah - Famous and accomplished ;
In slokam 7, Duryodhana says it is "HIS" (mamah) army! rather than "OUR" sena.
That displays his ego. It is a lesson to us! We should
shed this type of ego. In fact, there are so many lessons that this type of ego
blinds and brings our ruin.
In slokam 8, he refers to Drona, Bhismah, Karna, Krpacharya, Ashvathama, Vikarna,
Soumadati and others great warriors.
In Slokam 9, he says all this warriors are ready to give up their life for his
sake. These warriors are renowed with different weapons.
A questions will arise - if there are so many great warriors in Kaurava army, how
can we say Duryodhana is scared. This can be seen
by slokam 7 beginning, where Duryodhana starts of by saying "BUT.. i.e "tu" ". I.e
he explains Pandavas army and then starts of by
saying "But" and then explains his army.
Difference between Karna and Vibhishina : Both faced similar dilemma in making a
choice between Dharma and sticking with friends,
relatives etc. Vibishina choose Dharma over sticking with his brother. Whereas,
Karna decided to stay with his friends, instead of
going over the side of Dharma. Looking in isolation, Karna's step may seem right,
but when looked at it in a larger perspective, the
choice of Karna was wrong and was colored by narrow perspective.
Vairagyam - Detachment from material self or end results. Vairagyam is one of
the important characters which Gita explains that
we should display.
1.10
aparyaptam tad asmakam balam bhismabhiraksitam
paryaptam tv idam etesam balam bhimabhiraksitam
Durodhana says his sena is protected by Bhishma and Pandavas's sena is protected
by Bheema. Why is Duryodhana invoking Bhima
here? Bhima is not the chief of Pandava army. It is Yudhistra. Even Senapati -
Pandava's Senapati is Drushtadryumnan, just like
Bheesma is Senapati of Kauravas. Or if he was trying to compare archery prowess
of Bheeshma, it should have been Arjun at the
other end. So, looking from this three angles, invoking Bheema's know is wrong
and seems mysterious.
One possible hidden reason is - Both Bheeshma and Bheema have taken deadly Vows!
Bheeshma had vowed that he will NOT kill
the five pandavas and everybody else. Whereas Bheema has vowed that he will not
spare the 100 kauravas!! So, Duryodhana is bringing
out the contrast between this two folks. He seems to be saying, that his army is
led by Bheeshma, who has vowed NOT to kill the
five pandavas who are the strength of his opposition! Whereas on the other side,
Bheema has taken vow to kill all the 100 kauravas,
including tearing Dushayasana!
A literal interpretation of the sloka is, "apAryatam" - unlimited, "Paryaptam"-
limited. So, it may be intrepreted that Duryodhana is
boasting here that his army's strength is unlimited, whereas Pandava's army is
limited. But, since the invokation of Bheema's name
is out of place here, the sloka's actual meaning is that he is scared and is
actually praising the Pandava army.
Souseelyam - The guna which does not differentiate between big and small. One of
Lord's greatest guna is Souseelyam. Even though
he was the Paramatama, he came down and mingled with Pandavas, acted as Pandava
dhootan and charioter for Arjuna.
1.11
ayanesu ca sarvesu yatha-bhagam avasthitah
bhismam eva-abhi-raksantu bhavantah sarva eva hi
Duryodhana is saying here that his army should protect Bhishma. Why? Bhishma is
the heart of the army and strategically important.
Duryodhana seems to be respecting the seniority and importance of Bhishma, but
why didn't he listen to Bhisma's advice in the
past, which could have avoided the war in the first place! This shows one of the
fatal flaws in Duryodhan's character. He is not
intrested in listening to the elder, but wants them to help him.
The army formation is very important (chakravyuham, padmavyuham etc..) and even a
gap or misarrangement would be fatal.
Similarly, our senses are like a vyuham formation in our body, which houses our
soul and we should zealously guard. We shouldn't
allow any of our senses to go astray, by either listening or talking or eating or
smelling nonsense. Even if one sense goes astray,
the "vyuham" of our body would get imbalanced and would cause corruption.
1.12.13
tasya sanjanayan harsam kuru-vrddhah pitamahah
simha-nadam vinadyoccaih sankham dadhmau pratapavan
tatah sankhas ca bheryas ca panavanaka-gomukhah
sahasaivabhyahanyanta sa sabdas tumulo 'bhavat
Bhishma blew his conch loudly like the roar of a lion, which gave cheerfulness to
Duryodhan. Following Bheeshma's conch blow, other
conchshells, bugles, trumpets, drums and horns were all suddenly sounded, and the
combined sound was tumultuous.
Importance of music: There is a place for different types of music in our lives.
In this war, reference is made for different musical
sounds in this slokam, as a good sign of destruction of Kauravas. A lesson for us
is, in our daily lives too, we should give some time
for listening to sounds of nature (trees, birds etc) and find respite from our
mechanical lives. Also note that, there is different types
of music for different occasions (raagam for morning, evening etc.. raagam which
gives happiness etc).
Ganga , Gayatri, Geeta , Govinda - where this four "Ga's" are present, there is no
second birth!
1.14
tatah svetair hayair yukte ! mahati syandane sthitau
madhavah pandavas caiva ! divyau sankhau pradadhmatuh
This sloka says, "thereafter" (after all that has happened so far, as explained
in previous slokas), Krishna and Arjuna below their
conchshells. The chariot of Krishna-Arjuna is referred to as Great! Azhwars have
sung about it's greatness. Even for a person who
doesn't know to fight, this chariot assures victory. The conchshells of Krishna-
Arjuna is referred to as "Divyau" (transendental).
Note: "madhavas-Pandavas Caiva":
The sloka refers to both Krishna and Arjuna in the sequence "Krishna" and Arjuna
(Madhavas-Pandavah), since Paramatma is first.
Another explanation is, "Madhavas" means "Ma->refers to Mahalaxmi" "dhavas-Swami"
-> The reference to Laxmi is, this chariot has
Mahalaxmi Kataksham, which assures victory. Even the last sloka "Yatra-
Yogeshwara.." refers to this grace (i.e wherever krishna
and Arjuna are there, victory is assured). Another explanation is, even though
the chariot is Arjuna's, since Krishna is the charioter,
his name is mentioned first.
Another analogy is: Just like Krishna and Arjuna in the chariot, our body is the
chariot which houses both Paramatma and Jeevatma.
1.15
pancajanyam hrsikeso devadattam dhananjayah
paundram dadhmau maha-sankham bhima-karma vrkodarah
Then, Lord Krsna blew His conchshell, called Pancajanya; Arjuna blew his, the
Devadatta; and Bhima, the voracious eater and performer of
Herculean tasks, blew his terrific conchshell called Paundram.
Hrishikesa -> One he conquered his senses. This literal meaning seems superficial,
since even some mortals are able to control their
senses. So, what's the big deal for the lord. The actual meaning is, that the
Lord is able to control everybody's senses! That's the
meaning of the term Hrisikesa. So, when we hear to Lord's glory, our ears are
riveted to hearing it. Same is the case, when we
see the beautiful diety of Krishna in divya desams. Valmiki glorifies the
attraction of Rama - "Roopa Audaryam...". and says whoever
sees Rama is riveted and charmed. Azhwars have sung about the same.
Pancajanya-> Krishna's conchshell. Andal has sung the glory of panchajanyam in
"Nachiyar Tirumozhi". She asks how does the
Lord's lips taste to panchajanya! , because it has tasted lord's lips, when he is
blowing it. Nobody is as fortunate as Panchajanya,
since it never leaves the lord. Atleast, Chakratazhwan has to leave the lord,
when he is sent for destroying the wicked.
In "Kangalum pagalum" pasuram, Azhwar refers to "Sangu-Chakaram" ; In
tiruppavai, Andal sings "Sangakodu-Chakaram".
Panchajanya is refered to first and Chakratazhwan next, because they felt "Sangku"
was more priviliged.
"Panchajanya" -> "Kadal lil piranthu, panchaganana udalil valaranthu,,.."
Arjuna is referred to as Dhananjaya in this verse because he helped his elder
brother in fetching wealth when it was required by the king to make expenditures
for different sacrifices. Similarly, Bhima is known as Vrkodara because he could
eat as voraciously as he could perform herculean tasks, such as killing the demon
Hidimba. So, the particular types of conchshell blown by the different
personalities on the side of the Pandavas, beginning with the Lord's, were all
very encouraging to the fighting soldiers. On the other side there were no such
credits, nor the presence of Lord Krsna, the supreme director, nor that of the
goddess of fortune. So, they were predestined to lose the battle--and that was the
message announced by the sounds of the conchshells.
1.16-18
anantavijayam raja kunti-putro yudhisthirah
nakulah sahadevas ca sughosa-mani puspakau
kasyas ca paramesv-asah sikhandi ca maha-rathah
dhrstadyumno viratas ca satyakis ca-aparajitah
drupado draupadeyas ca sarvasah prthivi-pate
saubhadras ca maha-bahuh sankhan dadhmuh prthak prthak
King Yudhisthira, the son of Kunti, blew his conchshell, the Ananta-vijaya, and
Nakula and Sahadeva blew the Sughosa and Manipuspaka. That great archer the King
of Kasi, the great fighter Sikhandi, Dhrstadyumna, Virata and the unconquerable
Satyaki, Drupada, the sons of Draupadi, and the others, O King, such as the son of
Subhadra, greatly armed, all blew their respective conchshells.
Yudhistra is referred to as "raja" here -> he is always "Dharma Raja", even
though he has lost the kingdom temporarily. That's why
Sanjaya refers to Yudhistra as "Raja" here (anantaVijayam "Raja").
Yudhistra is also referred to as "Kunti-Putro" -> Kunti's actual name is "Prtha"
and she was the Sister of Vasudeva. Since she was given to
"Kunti Raja" for adoption and grew there, her name became "Kunti devi". Arjuna
is referred to as "paartha", since he is the son of
Prtha(i.e. Kunti). He is also referred to as "Kaunteya", since he is the son of
"Kunti". Krishna is called "PaarthaSarathi", since he
is charioter of Paartha. Kunti prayed to Krishna to always give her troubles,
because that is when she will always remember the Lord!
It's human nature to blame and think about Lord, when we are in troubles! and
claim self-credit and forget lord, when we are in joy! That's
the justification Kunti gives, when she prays to Krishna to give her troubles.
Kunti was a great devotee, who despite numerous struggles,
never lost faith in Krishna. The eldest son of this great lady was Yudishtra.
Yudhistra -> "Yudi" -"Tishtati" iti Yudishtra. i.e one what stands firm in the
war. We may have a question on where Yudishtra is
standing tall in the war, because there is no reference to him in the war like
Arjuna, Bheema etc. But, the truth is , unlike Arjuna
who was plagued by doubts etc in Mahabharat, Yudishtra stood tall and firm in the
war. During Vanavasam, when Pandavas
were desolate, Yudhistra assured them that, after vanavas if they did not get the
kingdom, he would stand tall and even wage war to
get back the kingdom.
In last chapter of Mahabharat - "SwargoLokini" : Pandavas were going towards
swargam , after crossing Badri. During the journey,
Draupadi and all the other pandavas, except Yudistra fell down on the way.
Yudishtra and a dog was the only one left. This episode
demonstrates, the great "Dharma Chintanai" of yudhistra.
Sikahndi:
Maharatah -> A warrior who can fight with 11000 opposing warriors. Sikhandi was
a Maharatah. He was born to kill Bhishma and there
is an intresting story behind it. He was "Amba" in the previous birth, who was
won in Swamyavara by Bheeshma for his brother.
But Amba was in love with another Raja(Salva Raja), so she went to SalvaRaja to
marry him. She was refused by SalvaRaja and
Bhishma and was stranded. So, she took vow to take revenge on Bhishma and did
great penance. In response to the penance,
Lord Subramanya gave her a garland and told her whoever wears the garland and
fights Bhishma will be able to defeat him. But,
nobody was ready to wear the garland. So, she did another penance and got a boon
from Siva, who told her that she will be able
to achieve it in her next birth. She was born as woman in next birth and a
gandharva fell in love with her. He gave her his male body.
She went to war with Male body, though she was born as a female.
Prithvi-pate : Dhritarashtra (Note, Sanjaya is addresing this to Dhritarashtra).
1.19
sa ghoso dhartarastranam hrdayani vyadarayat
nabhas ca prthivim caiva tumulo 'bhyanunadayan
The blowing of these different conchshells became uproarious, and thus, vibrating
both in the sky and on the earth, it shattered the hearts
of the sons of Dhrtarastra. (Krishna's conchshell - Panchajanyam).
When the Lord blows his conchshell, we should normally feel joyous. So, why are
Duryodhana etc are trembling? This is because, how
we behave and feel towards the Lord, that's exactly how the Lord will react. The
more we separate ourselves from Lord or feel inmical etc,
we feel the same reaction towards the Lord. One who takes shelter of the Supreme
Lord has nothing to fear, even in the midst of the
greatest calamity. Lord and devotee is like a Cat and it's kitten. Lord wants
to protect us like a Cat protects it's kitten, but when the
Lord comes near to us, the foolish and ignorant think themselves as Rats and run
away. But, the pure devotees think themselves like
Kitten and allow the Lord to help and guide them.
In Atmanushatavam(KooratAzhwan), Azhwan says about the incident, where Lakshmana
is felled in the war. Ravana wants to
abduct a unconsicious Lakshmana, but can't lift him. Ravana then says, he could
lift Meru and Himalaya mountains, but is not able
to lift a Unconscious Lakshmana and is amazed. Then, Hanuman lifts Lakshmana
with ease!! Valmiki sarcastically comments that
a monkey was able to lift Lakshmana (even though Hanuman is a great warrior
himself). The reason being, Hanuman came up
with devotion and good will, so could lift Lakshmana, whereas Ravana came with
hatred and pride and could not lift him.
This same conchshell of Krishna, gave great foretidings for Rukumini! In Rukmini
Kalyanam incident, Rukmini sends a message to
Krishna, requesting him to come and take her away from her brother and blow the
conchshell while he is on his way!
1.20.21
atha vyavasthitan drstva dhartarastran kapi-dhvajah
pravrtte sastra-sampate dhanur udyamya pandavah
hrsikesam tada vakyam idam aha mahi-pate
Arjuna seated in the chariot with monkey [Sri Hanuman] flag took his bow and told
these words to sri Hrishikesa. Vyasa who composed
Mahabharata has introduced the word flag to denote that where Sri Hanuman is there
victory is certain. Sri hanuman had Promised his
brother Bheema [ both are aspects of Vayu- wind god] that he can not participate
as a fighter in the Mahabharath war but will remain on
Pandava side and bless victory.
Kapi-Dhvajah -> denotes Arjuna has the blessings of Hanuman. Similarly, if we
remember and pray to Hanuman before the start of any
endeavour, we are ensured success, since Hanuman is the greatest devotee of the
Lord who achieved stupendous feats!!
Another intrepretation is, just like how the rakshahas trembled in seeing
Hanuman, similarly all the kauravas trembled on seeing Arjuna.
Krishna is refered to as "HrisiKesam" . The same name was referred to in the
previous sloka(s) i.e one who is controller of everybody's
senses. Sri Paraasara Bhattar offers another beautiful explanation of this
tirunaamam- "Harshaat soukhyaat sukha aiswaryaat
Hrisheekesatvam asnute" The Lord is the embodiment of bliss and happiness and
rules over His boundless domain
effortlessly. His overlordship is absolutely without the strains normally
associated with administering vast territories and peoples.
Thus, due to Harsham (happiness), Sukha Aiswayram (effortless rulership), He is
known as Hrisheekesa:.
The Lord Himself explains to Arjuna why He is called Hrisheekesa:. The rays of the
Sun and the Moon, known as "Kesa", gladden the
hearts of people by waking them up to a new day and lulling them to sleep after a
hard day's toil, respectively. It is due to this generation of
Harsha or happiness in His subjects through the "Kesa" or rays of the Sun and the
Moon, that the Lord is acclaimed as Hrisheekesa
1.21.22
idam aha mahi-pate
arjuna uvaca
senayor ubhayor madhye
ratham sthapaya me 'cyuta
[Sanjaya is narrating the war as it happens to Dhridhrashtra and he says] Arjuna
taking his bow tells these words to Sri Krishna" Achyutha,
take my chariot between the two armies and place it there so that i can see those
who have come to fight this war."
Here Arjuna orders and calls Sri Krishna Achyutha. He orders the Bhagwan rather
than requesting and this shows the intimacy between the
two and also the extent to which the Lord will serve His bhakthas.
Achyutha in Sanskrit means not letting down. here are two interpretations
1.He does not lets down His bhakthas and 2.He remains steadfast with His
characters, words and actions.
Sanjaya and Dhrtarashtra were disciples under the same guru and once D asks
Sanjaya as how even though both are learning
simultaneously Sanjaya is clear in grasping and in understanding conceptions while
D is not. o this it seems Sanjaya replied that if D will not
get angry he will tell and says because Sanjaya does not have any cheating or
deceiving mind. hat is he means D is possessing these evil
qualities.
That is why in the very first sloka D asks Sanjaya what do my children and Pandu's
children are doing in Kurukshetra battlefield.
Here actually D unintelligently conceals his desire to see Kauravas vanquish
Pandavas. Sanjaya while narrating immediately tells that as
Sri Krishna and others blow their conches the sound shatters the minds and hearts
of Kauravas. D does not see the point as he is having a
biased mind. Now also he does not understand the implication of the word Achyutha.
hat is why at the end he tells D bluntly that victory is
there where krishna is there. [Yatra yogeswara Krishno yatra partho dhanurdharaha
tatrashri vijayo bhutir dhruva neethir mathir mama]
1.22.23
yavad etan nirikse-'ham yoddhu-kaman avasthitan
kair maya saha yoddhavyam asmin rana-samudyame
[Kaurava side had 11 Akshouhinies of army and Pandava had 7 Akshouhinies. One
Akshouhiny consists of thousands of elephants,
thousands of horses, thousands of chariots and lahs of infantry] Arjuna has said
in previous sloka that he wants to chariot to be placed
in between the two armies.
Here, he is saying, he wants to see who he is going to fight against i.e who is
ready to fight against him(Virodhi). He wants to chariot to
placed in such a position to see as much of his position. Then he says, he also
wants to see who is on his side in this battle.
Unlike Dasaratha, we should not be hasty in making major decisions in haste, just
because we are happy or feeling temporarily excited;
On the same hand, we shouldn't feel distraught or paranoid and take major
decisions, just because we are feeling sad temporarily.
In all avtaaras, Lord is consistent in obeying his devotees orders, pleas,
requests etc. e.g. in Nrusimha avataara, he immediately came
out of a pillar in response to Prahalad's belief that he is there! ; In Gajendara
moksham, he came in an instant to Gajendra's plea;
In Rama avtaara, he went to Forest on his father's command and he killed tataka to
keep his father's word; In Krishna avtaara, he obeyed
his devotee's command as a charioter. We have a lesson here, to obey parents,
elders etc. We get their Ashirwadam(blessings)
and also please them. Our current lives are full of anxiety and responsibilities
, because of the independent streak and lifestyle, we
have embraced and moving away from elders.
1.23
yotsya-maanan avekse-aham ! ya ete-tra samagatah
dhartarastrasya durbuddher ! yuddhe priya-cikirsavah!
Arjuna further tells Sri Krishna " I want to see who all have assembled desirous
of helping the evil minded Duryodhana"
Priyam - is something which i like; Hitam - is something which is actually
beneficial to me. Generally, both of this do not go together.
What we like, is not necessarily beneficial. What is beneficial, is something
we generally do not like. For e.g. in eating, bitter gourd,
neem etc is good for health, but we generally do not like it. Junk foods are not
good for health, but many take it. Similarly, truth is
generally bitter, but is good for one's welfare. But, to please others, we
generally end up telling false things. Is their anything which
is beneficial(hitam) as well as something which we can like immediately(priyam)?
Yes, the Lord's and acharyan's darshan and teachings.
It's good to hear as well as beneficial. Both the Lord and the poorvacharyas
package what they say in a pleasing way . For e.g. there
is a saying "Satyam Bruyatu, Priyam Bruyatu, Nah bruyatu satyam apriyam" i.e
say truth which is pleasing to hear or packaged in a
pleasing way, don't say something which can be hurtful. Many of us try to keep
away from guiding friends or relatives when they are
going the wrong way and think it's not our business or even if we tell them,
they won't care. That's a wrong approach. It's our duty
to give them the right guidance. Whether they accept it or not is immaterial.
For e.g. Prahalad tried to show his father Hiranyakasipu
the right way that Lord Narayana is the supreme. He didn't hestitate thinking
that he is under his father's tutelage etc. Similarly,
Vibheeshana tried to show Ravana the right way and attempted to desist him from
going in the wrong path, even though it meant being
banished from the kingdom. Atleast he tried. So, we need to tell the right
things which is beneficial, if it is pleasing , great, even if it
is not pleasing, we still need to say it, to deter our friends and near ones to go
the wrong path. We should not resort to flattering or
be like many who egg people on to their destruction and watch them get destroyed
with glee. "Vaktah Srotah durlabah"
Nammazhwar sang "Sonnaal Virodham idu, Aaagilum sollavan kelminoh..." i.e if he
tells it, we will not like it, but it's still his duty to say.
1.24
sanjaya uvaca
evam ukto hrsikeso! gudakesena bharata!
senayor ubhayor madhye ! sthapa-yitva, rathottathe mam!
Arjuna has been referred to as Dhananjaya, Partha, Bharatha, Kaunteya ;
here he is referred to as Gudakesa. When there is a thunder, small kids are told
to say,
Arjuna, palguna, parthiba, vijaya, Jaya-vijaya etc which are names of Arjuna and
Krishna.
Gudakesa - One who won over sleep. Sleep is not easy to conquer! Why do we
sleep? It's a natural requirement to rest and refresh our sense organs and feel
rejuventaed. There are three stages of sleep - Jaagratha(when organs and mind is
awake); next stage is "Swapadasa" (organs are asleep, but mind is awake and
dreaming),
next stage is "Susupti" (when organs and mind is asleep). Arjuna has
conquered sleep, he could referesh his organs etc by dhyanam and yogam. Sanjaya
is refered
to as Gudakesa here specifically to denote how great he is. He is somebody who is
special, he conquered Sleep, which none of us can; Not only that, he had
conquered
his senses so much that, when even apsara beauties like Rambha, Urvasi etc come
before him, he used to bow to them and look at them as his mother.
Sanjaya mentions the name gudakesa for Arjuna. Guda means sleep and Arjuna was
endowed with the skill of conquering sleep. All of us require sleep to recharge
our organs ,
whereas Arjuna could get that refreshness without a sleep. Our sleep stage is
charachterised in 3 stages. he first one is Awakened or jagrath stage when all our
organs and
mind [mind is considered as an organ]are active. Next is swapna stage when all our
physical orgns are inactive but mind is active. Finally the sushumna stage when
even the
mind is inactive. By practicing yoga at his will Arjuna could give rest to all
these organs and be afresh always. Here it is to denote that such an extraordinary
man is asking
Sri Krishna. After parking the chariot Sri Krishna is going to talk now and that
will contiue in the next sloka.
It's very beneficial to gain control over sleep. Shedding Rajo and tamo guna (by
adopting right lifestyle) would atleast help us in avoding sleep in situations
where we should not
sleep!
(KooratAzhwan : SrivatsaChinna Misrebhya, NamUkthim yadhi mahey, Yadh Uktaya
trayi Kante, Yaanti Mangala Sootradham. KooratAzhwan was a great disciple of
Ramanuja. What is the connection between KooratAzhwan and BG?? He was a living
example of living the tenets of Gita! Many of us just read the BG and the tenets
which Krishna has said, but when it comes to understanding and living it truly,
we fall short. But, Kooratazhwan was unlike it. He lived like the way Krisha
guided.
Not caring about profit or loss, being equaniminous in joy or sorrow, taking
guidance from his acharya and learning, not being involved in material gains etc.
Kooratazhwan
should be an example for all of us! Also, in context of above sloka, Kooratazhwan
was a light sleeper, similar to Ramanuja!.)
1.25
bhisma-drona-pramukhatah sarvesam ca mahi-ksitam
uvaca partha pasya-etan samavetan kurun iti
Krishna took the chariot and stopped it between the two army formations in front
of Bhishma and Drona and told to Arjuna (as Paarta) to look at them (with
intention to fight
and defeat!). But, where did he stop the chariot and why?? There are various
intrepretations to this sloka.
Arjuna ordered Sri Krishna only to park the vehicle between the two armies but He
stationed it in front of Bheeshma and Drona. There are several interpretations
here.
One is He brought the chariot in front of Bheeshma, Drona and also all others.
Another is that since Bheeshma and Drona were in command He positioned the vehicle
in
front of them. Yet another interpretation is that since the Lord knows what is
going to happen and He has to deliver a great lecture of more than 600 slokas, He
should create
an oportunity for that. If He had parked the chariot in front of Duryodana or
Duschasana or Karna, perhaps Arjuna's anger will be roused and he would have
immediately
started the fight and we would have missed the Gita. Now after seeing grandfather
and his teacher he will think as to why fight and Sri Krishna will start the
lecture.Yet another
is that the Lord gives one more opportunity for Bheeshma to cancel the war and
stand by dharma. Bhishma, despite being a great gnaani, had been a mute witness
to
the disrobing of Draupadi in the court. This was a great mistake on his part. He
reasoned that Draupadi was lost in the dice battle and so it was the Kauravas
property
to do as they wish and he could not interfere. This was a tragic mistake from
Bhishma. When the Kauravas tried to disgrace females in general and Draupati in
particular,
Bheeshma as a true learned person [gyani] should have gone to the extent of taking
the sword and beheading all these wicked persons.
Also, why does it say "Bhishma-Drona", instead of "Drona-Bhishma" ?? Drona is a
great exponent of Archery, but Bhishma is a bramacharya, great gnaani, great
archer and
grand sire of Kauravas, hence the order.
Krishna is here acting under the direction of his Bhakta Arjuna! This is a
fascinating and insightful thing, one needs to understand. Normally, in life, we
see us shirking from
the role of being "adimai" (under the direction) from others. For e.g. with lot
of feminism etc, there is talk about why women should be under their husbands and
they should
be "equal". or in office, a boss and his employees don't change roles. It's only
promotion and not reversal of roles which we see. And if the roles are reversed
between a
boss and his employee or a master and his servant, how would it turn out? most
likely chaos and confusion from both sides (resentment etc). Unlike this, in the
Lord's case,
if a bhakta is truly a bhakta (like Arjun), Krishna willingly becomes a "servant"
i.e somebody who listens and accepts his bhakta's wishes. Krishna demonstrates
that in his
role of charioter here, willingly accepting Arjun's command. There are many such
instances in puranas, where this is displayed. For e.g. In Durvasa-Ambareesha
maharaj's
story in Bhagavatam, Durvasa lets a demon behind Ambareesha in anger for not
waiting on Dvadasi. the roles are reversed when the king is protected by
Sudarsana and
Durvasa has to fall at the feet of Ambareesha asking forgiveness.
1.26
tatrapasyat sthitan parthah pitrn atha pitamahan
acaryan matulan bhratrn putran pautran sakhims tatha
svasuran suhrdas caiva senayor ubhayor api
In the battlefield, on both sides, Arjuna saw his close and dear ones, his close
kith and kin, teachers etc. How come Arjuna is realizing
the relatives etc are participating in the war at this stage of the war? He should
have known it earlier too. Right? Not exactly.
We think, our relatives (close and kith kin) will always be our relatives, our
friends will be always our friends etc. But, it is not true.
The only eternal relation is that with the Lord (as Andal recites in Tiruppavai
"ettra kum Ezh Ezh Piravi kum.."). We need to consider
our relatives and friends as the devotees of the Lord and our relationship with
them should be based on that fact, rather than just bodily
relation (which is temporary). That way, we avoid disappointment, anger,
jealousy, resentment etc. While we should maintain
relationships with kith and kin, it should be like a water drop on a leaf (Padma
patra ivam bhasa), where the drop exists on the leaf,
but when disturbed it drops from the leaf, without spraying all over . Also, we
shouldn't expect anything much from the relatives.
Since Arjuna didn't have the above characteristics, hist attachment to his
relatives has made him weak and brought a great warrior
like him to this confusion.
1.27
tan samiksya sa kaunteyah sarvan bandhun avasthitan
krpaya parayavisto visidann idam abravit
When that Arjuna (Kunti putra -> Kaunteya) saw all his relatives in the
battlefield, he was overwhelmed with compassion and spoke thus.
Compassion is a very important trait. We may have lot of good characterisitics,
but without compassion it's meaningless. Even the
Lord who is all powerful, all knowing etc, has compassion(Karuna) has his most
important attribute. If lord has no compassion, we would
have been scared to approach him and he would have not tolerated our numerous
trespasses. Similarly, we also need to show
compassion to our fellow human beings, looking at them as the part and parcel of
the lord. Just as if one hand gets help from another hand
because all belong to same body we should help each other. This will happen only
when there is the quality of mercy. "Vaishnva Janato
tene kahiye! He peedah paradhi jaaney rey" is a well known song which exudes the
same emotion of compassion.
During Ramanuja's time there was another sanyasin disciple called Sri Embar. His
original name aws Govinda and was the cousin of
Ramanuja. Once he bathed in Cauvery and came out and on the bank he saw a snake
struggling because of a thorn stuck inits tongue. Embar out of pity removed the
thorn carefully and again took bath and returned to the math.
His sishyas asked why did he remove the thorn from the deadly snake and now you
have enabled it to start biting people and killing them. For
this his reply was did the snake put the poison on its teeth or is it God's
creation? Did it have the option to take birth as snake? It is the nature
of snakes and we can not see it suffering.
Though Arjuna was a great warrior and his prowess in archery was famous , yet
because he had that quality of mercy in him he was
overwhelmed with compassion at the sight of the relatives and freinds in the
battlefield.
1.28
arjuna uvaca
drstva-imam sva-janam krsna yuyutsum sam-upasthitam
sidanti mama gatrani mukham ca parisusyati
I am seeing(drstva-imam) my kith and kin (sva-janam) , not for a feast or
celebration, but have gathered (sam-upasthitham) for
war(yutusum), O krishna!. (Note: Arjuna is calling the Lord with the name of
Krishna. Krsna's meaning is one who gives joy to
the residents of earth).He addresses as Krishna and not by any other name now.
Krishna in sanskrit ,by splitting the word Krishi+, means
person who pleases earth. Krishi is farming or ploughing. By doing this we harvest
and live happily. So also Krishna makes those living on
this earth happy. Krishna also means dark blue or black which was the complexion
of Sri Krishna. Andal says in her Nachiyar Thirumozhi '
Kannan ennum karundeivam..' Since He is not appearing before her, out of disgust,
she says she wants to forget Him but she is unable to
forget the black colour.
Black is considered beautiful. A black cloud brings happiness as it will rain and
after exhausting its water content it turns white. So normally a
person with good compassion and sympathy is likened to a rain bearing black cloud.
Such a cloud does not rain for a particular section or
persons but for the entire area without any discrimination. So also good people do
not discriminate on the basis of caste or creed. So also
God is.
Arjuna is saddened by seeing his relatives gathered to fight. He says his body is
quivering, his mouth is drying . Arjuna is a great warrior, fearless about
anything. Even he is reduced to this sorry state, because of his compassion.
In Srimad Bhagavatham, Hiranyakashipu sends his son Prahlada to the guru for
learning.Next day the child refuses to go to guru and the
father thinks it is usual and fries to find what is the reason. he child replies
there is no problem in the school but the teacher says we should
hate devas and love only asuras. In the creation of Sriman Narayana how can we
hate anyone.Everyone is His child and we should love
each other. So compassion that all of us belong to same should be there. That's
why , despite numerous sins of Duryodhana, Arjuna
still feels compassion.
1.29.30
vepathus ca sarire me roma-harsas ca jayate
gandivam sramsate hastat! tvak-caiva pari-dahyate
na ca saknomy avasthatum ! bhramativa-ca me-manah
nimittani ca pasyami! viparitani kesava
My whole body is trembling, and my hair is standing on end. My bow Gandiva is
slipping from my hand, and my skin is burning.
Gandeevam comes from the word Gaandihi which means knot. The bow had many knots
for grip and so in spite of it with such a troubled
state of mind the bow was slipping from his hands. When one thinks of bow or
archery, immediately the names of Sri Rama,
SriParasurama, Bheeshma, Dronacharya, Arjuna and Karna come to mind as they were
all great archers. Such a hero feels that his bow is
slipping. The bow of Arjuna is not an ordinary one . It was gifted by Soma Deva
to Varuna who gifted it to Agni from whom Arjuna got it while
helping Agni in burning down the Kanteeva forest .
Normally, no warrior would that easily leave grip of his bow. In the Ramayana war,
Sri Rama destroys the chariot and horses of Ravana and
when Ravana stands only with a bow and arrows , Sri Rama breaks the bow and Ravana
feels highly humiliated. Similarly, Sri Parashurama
is humbled and He gifts away His Vishnu Dhanus to Sri Rama in acknowledgement of
defeat.
Much earlier, Drona calls his sishyas Aswattama, Duryodana , Arjuna etc. when they
were boys learning archery from Drona, and asks them
to aim a bird sitting on a tree.Duryodana first comes and when he was about to
shoot, Drona stops and asks whether he saw the tree,
Duryodana says yes, and further he sees the bird, its feet etc. Drona asks him to
keep away and asks Aswattama, his son, what he saw
when aiming.Aswattama replies he saw only the bird and its feet etc. Drona asks
him also to keep away and finally comes to Arjuna and asks
him what he saw while aiming. Arjuna says he saw only the eye of the bird and
nothing else and Drona pats him as the superior hero as he
fully concentrates on the object and nothing else distracts. Such was the prowess
of Arjuna.
Arjuna has a name tavyataasi which means he can hold the bow in either hand and
fight and so quick that the enemy doesn't know from which hand the arrow would
come out and from which hand will it be shot from the bow. Such a person was
unable to hold the bow.
Arjuna, Bheema are great warriors, very strong and powerful. But that didn't mean
that Arjuna was ready to fight anybody , lacking
compassion.
Much before the war began, Arjuna in some context makes a vow or sankalpam that he
may tolerate anyone if Arjuna is ridiculed but never
if his Gandeevam is made fun of and he will kill such a person whoever it may be.
After the war started and after a couple of days when
the Pandava army was destroyed by the other side and Yudhishtra is very much
annoyed and blames Arjuna that he was not up to mark
and ridicules Gandeevam. Arjuna became very furious and as per his pratigya he
wanted to kill his elder brother for making remarks about
his bow. Sri Krishna sees this and wanting to end the feud amicably, asks Arjuna
to address his elder brother with disrespect [like thum
instead of aap in hindi] and tells it is equivalent to killing. his is a sookshma
[subtle] Dharma that by disrespecting elders and great persons
one almost kills them.
Arjuna is suffering from Compassion towards an enemy who has betrayed him and is
arrayed before him in the battle. Normally, we
feel angry and venegful against those who cheated us, but here Arjuna does'nt
suffer from that feeling. On the contrary he feels
sad and compassionate and doesn't want to fight. Here, he says, he is seeing bad
omens around. Arjuna feels that it is mistrust
[ in Tamil it is nambikkai droham] and so his mind swirls and body trembles. This
happens to all when something contrary to our belief
happens. He notices some bad omens or signs ocuring heralding bad things are to
happen. The bad omens he is seeing is not about
defeat. He is sure about victory. THe "Viparita nimmitam" (bad omens) he is
seeing is towards his vamsam, people etc.
In Ramayana, Vibheeshana cautions Ravana saying that right from the time Ravana
abducted Sri Sita and imprisoned Her in Ashoka forest
he saw lots of ill omen indicating annhilation of the Rakshasa community and
advises his brother to release Sri Sita back to Sri Rama. So
noticing nature for such messages is good. In the recent tsunami havoc also
animals were able to know the disaster earlier and they
escaped to safer places while humanbeings failed to notice those indications, as
we are going awat from nature. This does not mean one
should lead a beast's life but we should try to respect mother nature and preserve
for our own benefits.
There is "Nimmita Sastram", "Svapna Sastram" in ancient texts, which gives clue
about bad omens and bad dreams, which we can
use for clues for illomen, natural disasters etc. Unusual howlings of fox or
anticlockwise circling by birds are all to be noticed to be cautious.
These should not be confused and we resort to everyting for such indications.
Also resorting to astrology for everything is bad. Astrology is a great science
and our ancestors have developed that as a science and we
are able to know eclipse etc accurately Jyotisam is one of the six angas of the
four vedas (Shiksha, Vyaakaranam, Chandaha, Jyotisam,
Niruktam, Kalpam). Jyotisam is a great science, which is accurate even today for
eclipses etc.It can be used for marriage horoscopes,
relief from ills etc. It has to be used leveraged selectively and for authorized
reasons. But refering to that for every small thing is irrational.
Ultimately, we should have belief in the holy feet of Lord.
Besides if lady becomes a widow we should not treat her so badly. We should
understand that it was not her fault that she lost her husband
and she like any sanyasin lives a secluded life and so she should be given the
same respects as we give to sanyasins. They also should be
invited to functions like anyone else. We tend to reject some stars as not
auspicious. How can in God's creations such discriminations be
possible. So all 27 nakshathrams are good and all the seven days of the week and
all kaalams are good, since they are all Lord's creations.
So, bottomline, "Nimmitam" (omens) is true, but trying to see "Viparita nimmitam,
sakunam" etc in everything, everywhere is foolish.
Kararavinde na padaravindam ! Mukharavinde viniveshayantam ! Vatasya patrasya pute
shayanam !Balam Mukundam manasa smarami!
I remember the infant Mukunda, Who sleeps inside a hollow Banyan leaf and Who by
His lotus-hands, is putting His lotus-feet in His lotus-mouth.
1.31
nimittani ca pasyami! viparitani kesava
na ca sreyo nupasyami ! hatva � sva-janam ahave
Kesavan -> One who has beautiful long flowing tresses.
Arjuna continues : Hey Keshava I do not see any good coming by killing my own
relatives. Hey Kesava! One who destroys Sorrow!
Please destroy this sorrow of mine.
Here he addresses Sri Krishna as Kesava. Kesava is an important name of the Lord
Sriman Narayana.Mere utterance of this name will
abolish all the sins one had accumulated. In a pasuram in Thiruvaimozhi while
adoring Sri Padmanabhaswamy of Thiruvananthapuram
Sri Nammalwar says 'kesava ena kedum idarellam..'.In this temple the Lord is
reclining on Anantha, the serpant. It is unique
here that the garba graha -sanctus sanctorum- has three doors. From the first we
can worship His Face, from the middle one His stomach
with the Lotus and from the third gate we can worship His feet. "Kedum IdarAya
ellam, kesava ena, naadum kodivinai seyum...", Azhwar
says that if we say Kesava once sincerely, all our sins will be cleansed (kedum
idarAya ellam).
Tirumangai Azhwar says "Naaney Naana vidah, Narakam pugum Paavam seydhen" i.e he
has commited so many sins that it would deserve
all types of hells!, "Nottren pal piravi" i.e he has taken so many births going
through this cycle of sins,
Thirumangai Alwar in a hymn praises the name Kesava saying it will wipe out all
the sins accumulated over so many births. For each type
of sin a particular hell or Narakh is indicated and the Alwar says that his sins
entitles him to all the types. But Yama, mere sight of whom is
so dreadful, comes and puts his hands on the shoulder of the Alwar and says could
you not mention even once the name of Sri Kesava
and avoided these.
That is Kesava means in sanskrit that which annihilates klesha or sorrow. (Kesava
Ena, IdarAya ellam kedum )
Kesava also means the person having curly, black and thick locks of hair on the
head.
It also means He Who killed the demon Keshi who came in the disguise of a horse to
kill Sri BalaKrishna. (Kesi-Hantah)
Lord Parama Siva says Sri Narayana commands Bramha[ka] and Iswara, that is himself
[Isa] and so He is Kesava [ka+isa +va]
" Kaiti Brahamanoh Naamah, Isoham Saravah DehinAm , Aavan tavankey Sambhutam,
Tasmath Kesava naamavan "
TondaradiPodi Azhwar has sung in "Pachamaa malai pol meni ... ", that he would
prefer to be in Bhoolakam singing the Lord's numerous names such as "Achyuta,
Amararrey, ..", rather than going to Srivaikuntam. That is the beauty, power and
importance of Lord's names.
Even if we don't know the meaning of the names, it will still give benefit and
succor in reciting it. This is similar to a fire burning anybody
touching it, even if they don't know the meaning or power of fire. It's a natural
reaction.
Arjuna indirectly is praying to end his present distress.
"Vede pourusham suktam, dharma shastre su manavam, bharathe bhagavat gita
puranesu ca vaishnavam,"
So goes a saying which means that of the so many branches and manthrams in Vedas,
it is Sri Purushsooktham the most important and
similarly in various Dharma shastras,it is Sri Manu shastram, in the 18 puranas it
is Sri Vishnu Puranam and in the thousands of slokas and
18 parvas with number of chapters in Mahabharatha, it is Bhagavat Gita ,
important.
1.32:
na kankse vijayam krishna na ca rajyam sukhani ca
kim no rajyena govinda kim bhogair jivitena va
If Arjuna doesn't fight, he will not be able to win over the kingdom and if he
cannot win kingdom, he will not be able to enjoy the luxuries
and glory of kingdom. Assuming this question, Arjuna responds that he is doesn't
want to have kingdom, happiness or glory, since
this would require him to kill his near and dear ones. And Arjuna also says,
what will he get with kingdom, or ruling it or enjoying it
on the funeral pyre of his dear ones.
This is a very striking point. Whenever we want to achieve something, we need to
understand "at the cost of what?" are we getting it and
consider whether it's really worth it. There are three types of categories in
which people
can be classified:
1) I need to enjoy at the cost of others!
2) I want to enjoy and let also others live
3) I want others to enjoy, even if i need to suffer.
There are three broad categories of people in this world. Some want to live at the
cost or destruction of others. Some others are there who
will let others live and they also live. There are few more who will not mind
their destruction to make others live. They are respectively bad,
average and good - in sanskrit adama, madyama and uthama -types.
Practically we can see in our lives examples of these types. A mother scorpion
gives birth to young ones .All these come out of the mother's
body by bursting the back of the mother, in the process the mother dies. They live
at the cost of their mother.
In the case of a cow we feed them and we get milk and both we and the cows live.
While the candle and sandalwood represent the third
category. While burning and giving us light, the candle gets destroyed. Similarly,
to provide fragrance, the sandalwood is destroyed. In fact it
provides the fragrance even to the sharp cutting edge of the axe as the sandalwood
is cut. Just as sandalwood is rare so also such good
people are rare to come across.
There are e.g. for each of the three above. For e.g. when we water plants, it
gives us fruits etc, when we give grass to cow, it gives
milk in return -> all this are in the second category; In the third category:
Agarbathi, Sandalwood etc burn themselves and give
us perfume, smoke. These are rare categories. In the First category:
Arjuna is in the third category. Despite suffering so much in pandava vanavasam,
insulted, humilated etc, he still has the DharmaChintanam,
and hesitates to kill his near and dear ones and is ready to give up kingdom etc,
for their benefit.
Another point is: We work so hard, spend so much time in earning etc. For what
purpose? Mostly it is for near and dear ones. Now,
if those near ones are no longer there, where is the incentive to the hard work ?
God has given us intelligence, sense to discriminate between what is good and
bad, in avoiding wrong type of company etc. We need
to cultivate good company and influence; we need to show the right type of
discrimination on how close to be with different people.
In the previous slokam, Arjuna asks what is the use of enjoying the kingdom, glory
etc, at the cost of killing his relatives etc. He addresses
Krishna as "Govinda!". Tondarpodi Azhwar sings in Tirumaalai "Moonru ezhu..
parangati Kandu konday. Pithanai ..". He says the Lord
is very keen on responding to us, just if we can recite his name. "Moonru Ezhtu
udaya peraal" -> Go-Vin-Da! Just by saying this three
syllables together, the Lord is ready to give us paramapadam. Tondarpodi Azhwar
says "Moonru Ezhtu udaya peraal" (i.e reciting
three syllables), he doesn't explicitly say "GoVinDa!".
Gaam Vindatiti iti Govinda -> One who protects Cows; One who Protects the
Earth.
Arjuna calls "Govinda", because he seems to say, as Govinda, Krishna is protecting
the Earth, but here is telling Arjuna to kill the great
rulers in this earth! And as Govinda, Krishna protects Cows, but here he is
asking him to kill humans and that too great personalities
like Bheeshma , Drona etc.
1.33
yesham arthe kanksitam nah! rajyam bhogah sukhani ca
te ime avasthita yuddhe! pranams � tyaktva dhanani ca
Here, Arjuna says , if he gets kingdom, bhogam, sukham etc , it is for his his
near and dear ones! and now those very people are arrayed
before him and will meet their death. So, what is the use of fighting?
"Sareeram, Artha , Pranancha, tadh Guru voh nivediyEt" -> This Body has been
given to us by the Lord and we should not be selfish
to just use it for us; rather we should help others by making use of it. e.g
river, trees, cow etc give us their labor and not consume it
themselves. Arjuna says, the fruits of his labor are to his guru etc, but those
people will be gone and it's pointless to fight for it.
After all everyone struggles in life to keep not only himself happy but others
like spouse, children, parents etc. Mere money can not bring
happiness. If a person is give enough money asked to live alone in an island, he
would refuse and be prepared to be poor but be with his dear
ones. So Arjuna is confused how by killing his relatives he can live happily
without them.
1.34.35
acaryah pitarah putras tathaiva ca pitamahah
matulah svasurah pautrah yalah sambandhinas tatha
etan na hantum icchami ! ghnato �pi MADHUSUDANA!
This sloka can be considered as a response from Arjuna to a question from Krishna.
: "these people have come to kill you in the war,
so there is nothing wrong in fighting against them". Arjuna says "he sees
acharyas, relatives, sons, grandsons, grandfathers etc in
the war and even if they have come to kill him, it doesn't matter. He is not
going to fight or kill them". In DharmaSastra and even
in our present day laws, there is justification for defending & killing somebody
in self-defence in certain special situations.
e.g. when a women's modesty is in danger.
Even our own criminal laws permit killing a murderer in defence. In dharma
shastras also if
someone tries to poison or burn or tries to molest one's wife or grabs one's
property, in defence he can be killed without further enquiry. In
Pandava's case, Bhima was poisoned and thrown in the river by Duryodana and
company. In the wax bungalow [arakku maaligai] all
Pandavas were to be burnt alive and they escaped. The action on Draupathy was
attrocious. And, their kingdom was grabbed. So, Arjuna
can not be faulted if he kills these people arrayed against him. But he is full of
mercy and compassion (ghnato pi madhusudhana!).
Arjuna feels down and dejected. Typically, when we feel betrayed, sad, dejected
by close and near ones, there is a tendency to
feel desolate and lost and we lose intrest in everything.
Note: Krishna is addressed as Madhusudhana here! Madhu-sudhana :
One he killed (Sudhanan) the twin rakshas of (Madhu and Kaitabhar) :
Madhusudhana. Arjuna seems to be calling this name to
point out to Krishna that he is killing evil rakshas like Madhu,Kaitabhar and
gets name of Madhusudhana. He has not killed his gurus
like Sandipani , vishwamitra etc. He has done great deeds for gurus, but wants
him to kill his gurus!
Here an episode in Ramayana is worth remembering.Sri Rama on exile comes to
Chitrakoot along with Sri Sita and Sri Lakshmana.
Chitrakoota is on the border of present Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh and is a
lovely place. If one wants to enjoy nature and get relaxed
this is the place. During that time, Sri Rama and Sri Sita are sitting in the
hermitage. Sri Lakshmana is atop a tree and spots a huge army
and people approaching their hermitage and Sri Bharatha is leading them. He climbs
down and informs Sri Rama and accuses that while
Sri Bharatha's mother Kaikeyi merely drove Sri Rama out of the kingdom, Bharatha
was now coming to take away Sri Rama's life. For this
Sri Rama replies that Sri Bharatha will never do such a thing as He understood
him. But even for an argument He accepted
Sri Lakshmana's accusation, Bharatha need not kill Rama to retain the Kingdom for
ever, but a mere utterance of his intention will kill
Sri Rama. Such were the words of the Lord.
1.35.36
api trailokya-rajyasya ! hetoh kim nu mahi-krte
nihatya dhartarastran nah ka-pritih syaj JANARDHANA
Arjuna says " Even if he gets three worlds, what is the use, if he gets it by
killing Dhrtarashtra's sons! " i.e if somebody says, you will
get three worlds, by killing Dhrtarasthra's sons, i will still not do it, because
what's the use or point ! Arjuna says three worlds, so it's
obvious that he is absolutely not intrested for mere Indraprastra.
Note: Krishna is refered to as JANARDHANA here! Dhatu is "Ardha himsaa yaam" .
Ardha->Hinderance; Janam-People;
One who is hindering people is Janaradhana? No. Janardhana means destroyer of
people. Here ordinary public is not meant but those
people who give hinderance to His devotees. "Jani" in sanskrit means rebirth and
He destroys rebirth of those who surrender to Him,
due to this also He is Janardhana. Adi Sankara had sung "Punarapi Jananam
Punarapi Maranam, punarapi janani, jatarey sayanam"
i,e my cycle of death and birth is going on repeatedly O Lord! Sing the name
Govinda to get away from this cycle.
Here Arjuna seems to chide Krishna by calling him Janardhana , saying Krishna is
getting this title by helping his devotees by
getting them rid of rebirth cycle, helping devotees by destroying their
opposition, BUT he should kill his gurus and get a bad name?
Arjuna says "Kim nu Mahi krte?" - i.e why should i kill Dhrtrarashtra son's just
for the kingdom!
In Sri Rama avatara the Lord was full of compassion and mercy. In the Dasavatharam
sthothram, Swamy Sri Desikan aptly describes
Sri Rama with an adjective thus: Karuna Kakuthsa. The Rama Ravana battle was over
in seven days and after Ravana had been killed, all
devas [gods] appear before Sri Rama and Bramha says that their request has been
fulfilled and so Sri Rama could return to Sri Vaikuntam.
During that time Sri Rama requests Bramha to make alive all the monkeys who
sacrificed their lives for the sake of Sri Rama. Bramha
agrees and makes them alive. Turning to Vibheeshana , Sri Rama requests him to
bring the bodies of the killed rakshasas so that they can
also be brought alive. Unfortunately, Vibheeshana had ordered all the bodies to
be thrown into the ocean. Such was His compassion and so
Arjuna is wondering how He could expect Arjuna to kill these people.
1.36.37
papam eva-asrayed asman hatva-yetan Ata-tayinah!
tasman na-arha vayam hantum! dharta-rastran sa-bandhavan
"Sin will be earned by even if we kill these Atatayees. Therfore it is not proper
for us to kill these children of Dhridharashtra and other
relatives" continues Arjuna.
Atatayee is one who tries to kill others with poison, fire or abducts others
property and wives. Shastras permit to kill Atatayees without enquiry
and it will not be construed as papa [sin]. What is Paapam and What is Punyam?
We should know what are papa and punya.That by doing
which we will become happy is punya and that by doing which sorrow will surround
us is papa.So DharmaSastras, ancestors and great people have advised certain dos
and certain don't-s .By doing do-s and not doing don't-s we acquire punya and by
not doing do-s and
doing don't-s papas are accumulated by us. For example do-s like speak truth,
respect mother and father have to be implicitly followed.
"Satyam Vara, Dharmam Cara etc" Stealing and telling untruths have to be avoided.
So by following our elders we can get punya.
But here Arjuna is not prepared to do even that permitted by shastras - killing
Athathyee and says he will incur sin, because worrld
will point to him that he has killed his close relatives. Also, now he says not
only he will not fight to kill them, all the five Pandavas
will not fight (the use of the word "vayam" refers to we).
1.37.38:
yadya-pi ete na pasyanti ! lobho-upahata-cetasah
kula-ksaya-krtam dosam! mitra-drohe ca patakam
katham na jneyam asmabhih papad asman nivartitum
kula-ksaya-krtam dosam prapasy-adbhir janardana
"Oh! Janardhana! These people out of greed do not see the faults of destruction of
a family [ dynasty] and enmity among friends. But why should we, who can see the
crime of destroying a dynasty, should do these acts of sin"
In the greed for kingdom, they are overlooking two paapams, that of cheating
and betraying friends and doing Kula-Dosham.
If Duryodhana is doing this two sins in the greed for kingdom, why should
we(Arjuna and Pandavas) indulge in the same sins, when
we have full knowledge of the consqeuences i.e of cheating friends and doing Kula
Dosham.
Arjuna mentions two sins in the above slokas, which is due to "lobhO upahata" ->
Greed. Greed is a deadly weakness which drags
us in the wrong path. We should try to avoid being greedy, whether it is for
anything (wealth, education, material etc). Rather we
should try to share what we have for the benefit of others, rather than suffer
from greed and selfishness. Duryodhan was blinded by
greed and jealousy, which didn't allow him to see the effect of his actions.
One of the sins mentioned here is "Kula Dosham". Kulam is the family lineage.
Being born in a kulam, we have certain obligations and
duties to it. For e.g. Krishna was born in Yadu kulam (Yadava dynasty) to save
it from peridition due to Yayati's curse; Rama was
born in Bharata-Kulam. Arjuna is worried that if he slays Duryodhana etc , he
will be contributing to the ruin of his kulam (kula ksaya krtam
dosam). On the same note, even if we don't ruin the kulam by direct actions, by
neglect and selfish individuality we still contribute to
kula dosham. For e.g. people deciding not to marry or don't have kids etc are
selfish actions which contribute to Kula Dosham.
In vedic system, Grhuasta stage is considered very important and foundation of
the society. It is on Gruhastas's, Brahmacharya
and Sanyasis depend for sustenance. And Krishna himself gave a great example of
preserving kulam, by sparing HiryanyaKasipu's
kulam in Nrusimha Avataar . He had given a vow to Prahalad that he will not harm
anybody in his kulam, knowing the importance
of Kulam. We should note that, by ignoring our own Kulam and not following
responsibilities like having kids, or not marrying etc, we still end up doing
kula
dosham to our own kula (even though we are not actively killing or going to war
with others, like Duryodhana). Many folks think they will not marry or have kids
or escape the responsibilities of "gruhastra". This is wrong and is "Kula Dosham".
We shouldn't point out to Bheeshma, Hanuman, PillaiLokacharya etc, because
those were great souls who had constraints and had lived for the greater good.
Brahmacharyas and Sanyasis of the society depend on Gruhastas.
The second sin is "Mitra Droham", i.e. betraying friends. Mitaat trayate iti
Mitrahah. One he saves from distress is a friend (mitra). It's one who helps
during distress
and not somebody who uses false praise to get his work done and then leaves.
Arjuna says that, in Duryodhan's side,there are lot of his friends and they don't
expect
that Arjuna will kill them. If he does so, by going ahead with the war, he will
be subject to Mitra Droham Paapam. Krishna himself is a paragon of great
friendship, as incidents
in Ramayana attest to. (Friendship with Guha, Sugriva, Vibhishan etc). Yet
another incidence from Ramayana is when Sri Vibheeshana comes to the shores of the
ocean [at
Thiruppullani, near Rameswaram] to surrender to Sri Rama. At that time Sugreeva
and other monkeys caution saying Vibheeshana is coming in the guise of a friend
from their
enemy Ravana and so Sri Rama should not accept him. Sri Rama replies them that
even if Vibheeshana pretends to be a friend [ mitra bhave �that is even such
pretension]
He will accept him. This is also another example as to how one should regard a
friend.
"mitra bhAvena samprAptam na tya-jeyam katha'n-cana |. dosho yadyapi tasya syAt !
satAm etat agarhitam ||. "(yuddha. 18.3).
Janardhana -> Krishna is addressed as Janardhana in this slokam. The name
Janardana is composed of two parts - 'jana' meaning the veil of ignorance (avidya)
and 'ardana' meaning the one who annihilates it.
1.40:
kula-ksaye pranasyanti ! kula-dharmah sanatanah!
dharme naste kulam krtsnam ! adharmo abhibhavat-y uta
Arjuna seems to respond to the question on "what is the connection between
Destruction of Kulam and rise of Adharma?". Arjuna says , if Kulam is destroyed,
the dharmas
associated with that kulam will be lost forever and Adharma will rise. "With the
annihilation of a dynasty , the kula or family traditions are destroyed and this
will give raise to
adharma or sins flourishing [ and thereby the reduction of entire mankind]"
Every kulam (Kshatriya, Brahmin, Potter, Weaver or Kula dharmam like - Doing
charity, Helping needy etc) has a dharma associated with it. "Dhara ti ti
Dharmah".
We should not give up our Kula Dharma, irrespective of how much we study, earn or
where we live. We hear stories of lot of old trades being lost forever, because
people
are giving up their kula dharmam.
Arjuna tells the importance of preserving one's family tradition and customs.
Every family or dynasty has a unique good deeds or customs. Some families ensure
that they
always feed the poor or annadhana.Some are in the habit of digging wells for the
village or community. Some impart education and so on. If a family is destroyed it
means
stoppage of such good deeds for the community. It is therefore, necessary that
every community preserve and continue good deeds for the welfare of the society.
Even if we
do not know the family tradition for doing good deeds we can start one and
continue by involving our children and their children.
An incidence from Srimad Ramayana can be recalled here. Sri Vibheeshana comes to
Sri Rama who has camped at the shores of the ocean. A debate arises as to whether
Sri Rama should accept him or not. Sugreeva the monkey king opposes acceptance of
Vibheeshana. At that time Sri Rama tells Sugreeva that as per His dynasty -Sri
Raghu
kula- customs anyone surrendering is accepted and He narrates how one of His
ancestors, emperor Sibi, gave asylum to a pigeon chased by a vulture and finally
to appease
the vulture, he cut off his own flesh and saved the pigeon. Sri Rama also narrates
another story of an ape, thereby indicating that Sugreeva, also an ape, was
forgetting what
his ancestors followed.
1.41.42:
adharma abhibhavat krishna pradusyanti kula-striyah!
strisu dustasu varsneya ! jayate varna-sankarah!
sankaro narakaya-iva! kula-ghnanam kulasya ca
Arjuna continues " When Adharma reigns, the women of the society lose respect and
go astray. One of the first signs of adharma in society is the behavior of women
in
society and how they are treated in the society. How insightful! and if the
women go astray, the varnas get polluted and mixed. There will be no order in
society.
With this pollution and mixing of varnas, everybody forgets their responsibility
and the society goes into hell.".
What is the connection between Adharma and women going astray? THis shows that
Women have a great responsbility and role in the society. Women have
responsibility
for house (housewife, housemaker etc). Today women work outside also. A woman who
is a mere housewife or homemaker can not say she is idling in the house. Because,
administering the house affairs and bringing up children are all done by the women
only and these can not be done by the males as efficiently. Right from dawn to
dusk her work
is full and if a man gets acolades for his work means his woman or wife is
responsible for that and so it is no surprise for the popular saying the behind
every succesful man
there is a woman. Without the proper functioning of the women no man can boast of
any achievement.
The moral is that if women do not cooperate men are likely to commit mistakes. So
a society can be upright only by the behaviour of its women. Arjuna does not care
about
deterioration of the men, because it can be corrected. But if women are degraded
it is impossible to set things right. In tamil we hear thai pasam but never
thanthai pasam.
Kulam -> Kula Dharmam destroyed -> Adharma raises -> Women go astray -> Varnas
gets mixed (Chain reaction).
1.42
sankaro narakaya-iva! kula-ghnanam kulasya ca
kula-ghnanam kulasya ca
patanti pitaro hy esam ! lupta-pindodaka-kriyah
Arjuna continues:
With the destruction of the dynasty, the deceased forefathers � will not get the
water and cooked rice offered in annual ceremonies and so
they will fall from their position in Pithruloka upside down �
Here Arjuna says that since the forefathers are same for Duryodana and Pandavas,
by fighting and killing the forefathers will be deprived of
the rituals. Thus the need for doing one�s duties to one�s forefathers is
emphasized here. Doing such rituals for one�s deceased parents,
grand parents and further is very important. These deceased persons or Pithrus
derive satisfaction when their prodigies perform the
specified ceremonies according to the custom of the families and so they bless
them with happiness and prosperity. Alwar also says that
such persons who perform their duties to their pithru get all happiness here in
this world and in the upper worlds. One may wonder as how
the udaka or the water and the pinda or the cooked rice made into a ball, offered
in these ceremonies can satisfy the deceased person who
is not seen but is assumed to be somewhere. This does not appear to fit into this
21st century, one may ponder. Some call these as
irrational or foolish beliefs. Es, we should not do irrational things. But if we
do not misinterpret the Vedas and do as prescribed in the
shastras they will not be irrational. Annual or monthly ceremonies or those
prescribed during Amavasya or done at Gaya or Badari or remembering
our ancestors and bathing in sacred rivers are all prescribed by shastras. So the
pithru or ancestors appreciate anyone doing these. We need not think
that the water and the rice are going to them God only watches whether we are
following His instructions.
We should have the discipline to follow the shastras strictly, which will please
the Lord.
One incidence in Mahabharatha will make this clear. Bheeshma as well known was a
great person who performed all rituals as prescribed in shastras. His father
was Santhanu and when Santhanu was alive to please him to marry the boat man; �s
daughter Matsyagandhi, he forsake the right to kingdom and also to avoid any
of his successors claiming the kingdom, he made a oath not to get married and
thereby getting the name Bheeshma. Naturally, the affection of his father was very
great. After Santhanu s death, when Bheeshma performed the rituals � such prescribed
in shastras, the deceased father wanted to take the pindam directly from
Bheeshma to show his great affection and love. So during the ritual when the pinda
was offered Santhanu�s hand emerged from the ground to accept the offerings.
But as per the shastras the offerings are to be made to the ground only- bhoomena
dattena pindena- and so Bheeshma refused to directly offer in the hands of his
deceased father. So learned scholars and our ancestors were following what was
ordered in the shastras as that would please the God and if He is pleased we
will lead a peaceful and happy life. So Arjuna refuses to deviate from the paths
of elders by killing and destroying the dynasty.
1.43
dosair etaih kula-ghnanam ! varna-sankara-karakaih
utsad-yante jati-dharmah ! kula-dharmas ca sasvatah
Arjuna continues, " With this sins which result in mixing of varnas and
destroying their kula and it's kula-dharma; The Jati dharma and Kula dharma gets
destroyed (utsad-yante!).".
Here a thought may arise that shouldn't Jati and Kula (Caste) exist, based on what
Arjuna is fearing. THe key thing is, one has to preserve the dharma of
a kula and Jati.
All the castes have emanated from the God and it is not one is superior or
inferior to another. Every organ of the same body has distinct functions but it
cannot be
said one organ is superior to other. Just like all the fingers of one�s hand are
different in size and have different functions and at the same time all are equal
in
functioning of the hand as a whole. Differentiation is inevitable but
discrimination should not be there. All should be considered equal without at the
same time not
forgetting one�s work in the society. The traditional dharma should not be allowed
to perish. But Arjuna fears this will happen if the Kula is destroyed.
Differentiation is inevitable anywhere, but we shouldn't Discriminate! There are
so many varieties in life - language, place, customs etc and that's nature
of the world. We can't make it uniform. But, we should'nt discriminate. From
Varna and Kula perspective, it's important that one should not give up his
family, traditional duties and customs.
TirukannaPuram, TirukkanaMangai, TiruKovalur, Tirukanankudi, Kapistalam - Five
Krishna Kshetras.
1.44
utsanna-kula-dharmanam! manushyanam janardana
narake niyatam vasah! bhavati-ty anu-susruma
Arjuna addresses Krishna as "Janaradana" - One who destroys the death-birth cycle
of people. He says krishna who is Janardhana, is telling him to do which
is going to entrap him in birth-death lifecycle forever. Vedas and elders say
that those who are responsible for destruction of one's kula dharma (or others
kula-dharma) surely find a place in hell.
One has to enjoy the fruits of one's punya(good deeds) and suffer the fruits of
paapam. There are two ways to get out of this - prayschittam and anutaapam.
Asking forgiveness or feeling remorse(regret). What is Narakam?
The person who does bad deeds can avoid hell by two ways � by Prayaschitha or
compensatory deed and by repentance. These are prescribed in the Vedas or
Holy Scriptures. If one does not do either of these then he has to undergo the
sufferings at the hell. Some believe the hell is another world ruled by lord Yama
and
some do not believe in another world called hell but in this life on this earth
itself such experience will be there. But it is to be understood whether one
believes in
another world of hell or not, those who commit sins have to undergo the sufferings
of hell. Whichever gives us pleasure it is swarga and whichever makes one to
suffer is naraka.
In Ramayana, there is a good episode where Sita holds forth on what is heaven and
what is hell. It varies from person to person, as per their perception.
"Yasvaya sahasah swargah..." .
She asks what is heaven and which is hell. Sri Rama being the disciple of Vasishta
gives a detailed explanation of the two. Heaven is the third upper world. This
earth being first and Bhuva loka or world is the second and Suva loka is the third
ruled by Indra, where happiness and pleasures are abound. Hell is the opposite
with all sorts of hardships like boiling oil, wild animals and insects trying to
harm. Those who do good deeds or punya go to heaven and those who do bad deeds or
papa reach hell. She laughed at this long explanation and told Him that He should
have answered Her question which is heaven and which is hell with a return query
� in whose perception?� Because the perception of hell and heaven changes from
person to person. What one considers as heaven may be hell to another and
vice versa. Also such experience can be felt here itself. An ordinary person may
think it is heaven if he could get food daily for him and his family. A laborer
may
think that if his health is maintained, so that he is able to earn, is heavenly
experience. A devotee may consider it heaven if he is always thinking of God and
hell if
this thought is broken. A lecturer like me or a musician may consider it heaven if
the throat is well maintained. So according to perception the heaven and hell
changes. Sri Sita continues and tells Sri Rama that for Her parting Sri Rama is
hell and being with Him is heaven. If She were deserted and left in Ayodya, the
same will prove to be hell for Her. On the other hand if She accompanies Him, even
the frightening forests would be heaven.
So it is not necessary for anyone to search for hell or heaven as they are
available here itself. If the desired things are done it is heaven if not hell.
Arjuna feels
that by destroying a family he is bound to suffer here itself or in another world,
hell.
Here one may ask why not Arjuna do prayaschitha after the fight. Prayaschitha is
prescribed for every bad act and it varies if the bad action was done by thought
or words or physically. We should note prayaschitha or compensatory deed couldn�t
be the remedy always. This is because just as exceptions cannot be the rule,
one cannot be doing all sinful deeds and do prayaschitham as compensation.
Especially when a sin or wrong deed is done with full knowledge prayaschitham
loses its meaning. So Arjuna feels that by committing this sin his conscience will
not permit him to do prayaschitham. Repentance also is no solution as he is
committing this sin knowingly. Here one should note that if we commit a sin to God
we could seek His pardon. But if we do anything wrong to His devotees,
He will not pardon if we approach Him but we will have to seek the pardon of His
devotees only. So one has to be very careful when dealing with His devotees.
Arjuna fears that in this war he may hurt some such devotees and so he neither
wants to go to hell nor want to have that hellish experience here itself.
1.45
aho-batah mahat papam ! kartum vyavasita vayam
yad rajya-sukha-lobhena ! hantum sva-janam udyatah
Arjuna continues "Oh! i am about to commit a great sin(mahat Papam) in the greed
for Kingdom,pleasure,gain(Rajya-sukha-lobena), ready to kill my
own people". This is a response to a question from Krishna. Even though there
is no question directly shown here from Krishna, we have to presume that
Arjuna is responding to a question, from what he is saying. Krishna is assumedly
asking Arjuna - "why he is worried and backing off now from the war, when
he had already commited to the war and is in the battlefield?". Arjuna is
responding here, that he had already done a great sin in the past, by gambling his
wife, kingdom etc in haste. Now, he doesn't want to repeat the same mistake
again. He has realized his "mistake" late and however late it may be, he can
still correct it, that's why he wants to back off from the great sin. This is
a good logic. We can always back off from going the wrong path. It's never too
late.
It's like putting money on a bad investment and expecting that it will fetch
returns, rather than backing off at some time!
Arjuna calls his sin as "Mahat-Paapam". He says, Kauravas have commited sins like
insulting draupadi, trying to burn them etc.. but, what he is about to do
is "Mahat-Paapam", in killing the whole kulam.
What a pity! We are attempting to destroy our kith and kin and � incur great sin,
just because of our greed for kingdom.� Here we have to guess that Sri Krishna
asked a question and Arjuna�s words appear as reply to that question. Sri Krishna
seems to have asked Arjuna that at this late stage when the fight is to begin and
when all kings with their troops have assembled, he is trying to backtrack or
retreat. Should not this wisdom dawned on him much earlier? Arjuna replies that
already he has been burdened with one sin or papa and he is unable to find means
to invalidate that and so how he could be brought to commit yet another sin? The
earlier sin was when they played the gambling game, the kingdom and Droupathy were
staked, which act was a great sin. So even at this very late stage at least Arjuna
wants to make a retreat and escape from committing another sin. If one realizes
that one is doing a wrong deed or adharma, the usual logic that one should not
retreat after a forward step will not be applicable and at any time one should
desist from doing adharma. Only in performing good deeds or dharma and in doing
auspicious functions one should not retreat after launch. It is illogical to say
we should continue with our efforts even if we realize the effort is wrong. Even
in business one does not invest if one realizes the investment is bad or the
product could not be marketed. Such continuance in business parlance is good money
after bad money.
Again Sri Krishna seems to ask Arjuna how he could consider this [fighting] as
sin, when Arjuna is only taking revenge for the sins like cheating and grabbing
their kingdom and humiliating Draupathy. For this Arjuna replies that it is a pity
that they are to destroy the dynasty for the sins committed by them [Kauravas] It
is sin even to think of bad deeds [like killing kith and kin]. It is worse to
discuss ways to do that and is worst to actually act. At least if this is for a
good cause one could agree to do a sin. In Ramayana, Sri Rama accompanies sage
Viswamitra to the forest. There, demon Thataka appears with a frightening figure.
Thirumangai Alwar describes so and says that the same Lord is at Thirukkannapuram.
This kshetram finds in the hymns of five Alwars viz Nammawar, Thirumangai Alwar,
Periyalwar, Andal and Kulasekhara Alwar. Sri Rama had gone to protect the yagna
being performed by Viswamitra. At that time Thataka appears and Sri Rama is
hesitant to kill her as she is a woman and killing woman is considered a sin. The
sage advises Sri Rama that she was a demon harming all people and so killing her
cannot be construed as papa. Here if the result is for a good cause even a sin or
papa could be performed. Of course here one has to follow the advise of elders to
decide which is good cause or otherwise. But Arjuna feels that here they are to
get back only the kingdom for their pleasure and so killing their relatives and
friends is a great sin.
Another example from Ramayana for knowing good and bad deeds: Hanuman goes to
Lanka and after meeting Sri Sita and obtaining the choodamani [jewel for
decorating head] he should have returned. Instead he wanted to see Ravana and
understand his strength and so he destroyed the Ashoka gardens, killed Akshay
Kumar [son of Ravana] and other commanders. Finally as though he was defeated he
acted to get bonded by Indrajit [another son of Ravana] and was dragged in the
assembly hall of Ravana. Hanuman advised Ravana to let off Sita as otherwise once
Sri Rama decides to kill Ravana, no one be it Brahma or Shiva or Indra could save
him. Ravana is furious that a monkey should advise him and orders the monkey be
killed. Vibheeshana tells Ravana that it is sin to kill an ambassador and since
Hanuman had declared him as an ambassador of Sri Rama, Ravana should not get
Hanuman killed. Ravana retorts that if Hanuman had come as an ambassador and did
only such functions he could pardon him but the monkey had destroyed property and
killed his son and commanders. So he maintained that it was in order to kill
Hanuman. Vibheeshana insists that despite all the accusations against Hanuman, it
was a great sin to kill ambassadors and so inflicting an injury like deforming the
tail of the monkey could be a punishment. Here it has to be noted that in return
for the misdeeds of Hanuman, Ravana was advised not to commit a greater sin of
killing an ambassador. Therefore, Arjuna concludes that in return for the sins
committed by Kauravas he cannot be induced to kill relatives and friends and
commit a greater sin. He is of the opinion that gaining back the kingdom is for
the Pandavas pleasure at the cost of destruction of all relatives � and friends.
This is a noble thought that one should not desire to have comforts and pleasure
ignoring others discomforts or requirements.
1.46
yadi maam apratikaram ashastram shastra-panayah
dhartarastra rane-hanyus tan-mey kshema-taram bhavet
Again guessing a query from Sri Krishna that even though Arjuna may not be willing
to fight, but the others here may not stop the war and fight and perhaps kill
Arjuna, how could he avoid that? As though a reply to that Arjuna tells in the
46th sloka: �Even if the armed sons of Dhridhrashtra were to kill me, unarmed and
unresisting, in this battle field, it will be better for me� It is not out of fear
Arjuna utters these words that he will not even resist or return the blows he is
to suffer
in the battle; but out of shear mercy. Arjuna unlike Duryodana who in the
beginning expressed his panic and doubt at the sight of the great warriors on the
Pandavas� side, is quite confident of winning the war. Besides, Sri Hanuman as
flag on his chariot and Sri Krishna, the Lord of the Universe as his charioteer,
Arjuna cannot have any doubts on his victory. With such confidence, his refusal to
fight is due to the fear that he will incur sin or papa by doing adharma.
hat is why he says that he would not resist and in order to do that he will drop
the bow and arrow and remain unarmed. This war also is like a havan or yagna. In
yagna there will be sacrificial fire or Agni and the sacred materials or havis
like ghee, curd etc. will be nearby. Using ladle or srakku the materials will be
offered into the fire. If the ladle was not there, how can one perform the yagna?
Similarly, Arjuna feels that by keeping away the arms, the fight can be halted.
Both the sides are greedy to have the kingdom and so if they kill Arjuna who wants
to remain passive and unarmed, it is going to get him greater kshemam or good.
According to him that if he were to fight and either he wins and gets back the
kingdom and the associated royal pleasures or he is killed in the fight and he
reaches heaven for following the Kshatriya and yuddha dharma, it will be only good
or kshemam. But better or kshematharam will be avoiding this great sin of killing
the kith and kin and not participate in the war and remain passive, even if he is
slained.
Kshemam (Good)- One which gives joy and benefit. Here, it is kshemam, if Arjuna
fights and wins or loses in the battle and getting veera swargam.
Kshema-taram (Better) - Arjuna feels it is Kshema-taram(better!), if doesn't
fight at all and avoid any killing.
Kshema-tamam (Best)
The essence of all the words spoken by Arjuna can be summarized as: Even when the
Almighty Sri Krishna is on his side, he would not commit this great sin of
killing relatives. Even if the regal pleasures were denied, he would not want to
see the sufferings of the near and dear ones. Thus in spite of Sri Krishna�s help
and
the possibility of others� mock at his valor, he does not want to commit this sin
of slaying relatives and friends. Hereafter Sanjaya will narrate [to
Dridharashtra]
what happens next. Since this chapter deals with Arjuna�s perturbed mind it is
called Arjuna vishada yogam.
So, even if krishna is saying it, even if it is against his Kshatriy Dharmam, even
if he doesn't get the kingdom, even if he is killed, even if he the pandavas are
killed, even if his name and fame is lost - Arjuna says, he doesn't want to go
against dharmam and kill and his relatives and friends.
Every chapter has a name. The first chapter is called Arjuna Vishada yogam, since
Arjuna is perturbed and sad and speaks about it.
1.47:
sanjaya uvaca
evam uktva arjunah sankhye rathopastha upavisat
visrjya sa-saram capam! soka-samvigna-manasah
In this slokam, Sanjaya tells the state of Arjuna. After telling his mental
plight and refusing to fight, Sanjaya [who by the grace of his guru was able to
visualize the happenings in the battlefield sitting at Hasthinapur] tells
Dhridharashtra � the perturbed Arjuna moving away from his position in the chariot
and with grief sat in the middle and threw away his bow and arrows�. Two things
are significant - he SAT down and THREW away his bows and arrows! This was the
great warrior
Arjuna!
Arjuna at the eleventh hour just before the start of the war does this out of
shear dejection at the sight of the relatives and friends arrayed to start the
fight and kill
each other. Instead of keeping this dejection within himself, he tells his mind to
Sri Krishna. From this we should also learn that we should tell our problems to
someone near to us like to husband or wife or father or mother. This way one can
avoid misunderstanding and problems get solved by discussions. Even
in company's running, there is expectation from markets and shareholders for
transparency from management. This avoids trouble. Similarly, there should
be transparency and openess in expressing problems or issues or even good things
between relations, with the understanding that we are one family.
Arjuna did not care about others mocking at him and compassion � was upper most in
his mind and he brought out all these to Sri Krishna,
In the 5th slokam of Gitartha Sangraha, Swami Alanvandar summarizes the first
chapter:
ASTHAANA SNEHA KAARUNYA DHARMAADHARMA DHIYAA AAKULAM I
PAARTHAM PRAPANNAM UDDHISYA SAASTRAA-VATARANAM KRUTHAM II
- Krishna gives upadesam to Paartha (arjuna). That arjuna who is showing mercy,
compassion, sneham to people who do not deserve it, who is confused
about Dharma and adharma.
Sri Krishna tutored the one who did not know where to be merciful, where to be
friendly and where to judge righteousness, that Partha. Using that Arjuna as
pretext Sri Krishna has delivered this precious Gita for the world. Last 46 slokas
have dealt how Arjuna was perturbed in the battlefield. We should note that it is
not that Kurukshetra alone is a battlefield. Every one of us is an Arjuna and the
world is a battlefield. Our battle may be health reasons or mental or due to
family or due to work conditions and we get perturbed. Like Arjuna everyone
possesses a skill may be in games or studies or arts etc. and so like him we also
get perturbed for various reasons. Only a person who is not affected by any of the
happenings in this world and that is Sri Krishna, Who created and protects this
world and Who is always doing good for everyone, can remove this.
Sri Parvathi asks Sri Parameshwara to tell her the greatness of Bhagawat Gita. In
a similar query on Sri Vishnu Sahasranamam, Sri Parameshwara replies that Sri Rama
name is equivalent to the thousand names of the Lord. Once Lord Sriman Narayana
was reclining and resting, when Thayar Sri Lakshmi asked Him as why unlike the
earlier times He is not active by descending on earth in various avatars, for
which He replied that after the Gita has been delivered to the world, Gita has
taken up the work of reforming and so He is resting. He added that the first five
chapters represent His five faces, the next ten chapters are His ten Arms, the
Stomach is the 16th chapter and His feet are the last two chapters. So Gita is the
Lord embodied.
Susharma was born in a noble family but was having bad habits and after his death,
he was born as a bull. Once this bull was hurt seriously and lay on the road
suffering. Passersby wanted to end the bull�s agony by donating the punya earned
by their good deeds, if any, so that the bull may die instantly and be relieved of
the sufferings. The bull did not die and continued to suffer. At that time a
prostitute passed by that side and she donated her punya if any to the bull and
the bull instantly died and the soul reached the hell. There he suffered for the
bad deeds of the past, but later he got a new birth and was able to do good things
and then reached better worlds. Here, he got the new birth and did good things
because of the punya gifted by the prostitute. How did such a bad woman earn punya
and gift it to Susharma? There was a parrot, which lived in a forest where a
number of sages were daily chanting the Bhagavat Gita and by constant listening it
picked up the first chapter. Later when this bird was with the prostitute it used
to utter the first chapter and by listening to that the prostitute got punya and
that enabled the soul of Susharma to gain a birth where he could do good deeds and
reach better worlds. This brings out the greatness of the first chapter.
Chapter2: (SANKYA YOGAM)
Summary of Chapter 2 is in Gitaartha Sangraha (sloka6)
NITYA-ATMAA ASANGA KARMA-iHAA GOCHARAA SANKYA YOGADHEE : I
DWITHEE-YEH STHITADHEE LAKSHA PROKTHAA !TAN MOHA-SAANTHAYEH II
In the second chapter (Dwitee yeh), it was said (Proktaa) , to remove Arjuna's
agony (tan moha-saantayeh), two things (Gocharaah)
- Nitya Atmaa, Asanga Karmehaa - i.e Atma is eternal and body is temporary
& We should do our Karma unattached (Asanga Karmeha) to either
the results or the feeling of "ownership". Repeat:
Two "YOGAS" - Karma Yogam and Jnaana Yogam are mentioned here (we will hear this
two terms repeatedly going forward).
"Sankhya YogaDhee" - Sankya-Dee and Yoga-Dee . "Dee means Buddhi".
Sankhya - Buddhi ;
Jeevatma -is known as Sankhyam because it's perceived by Buddhi.
Sankhya-Dee :The Atma which is known/perceived by Buddhi.
Yoga-Dee: Yoga is KarmaYogam here;
Since this Chapter2 details the nature of indestructibility of Atma , it is known
as Sankya Yogam.
Sthita-Dee Laksha : Sthita Pragnya. Gnaana Nishtai (true Knowledge). What is the
point and benefit in knowing the nature of Atma?
We will get 'Gnaana-Nishtai" (ultimate knowledge). By knowing the Atma is Nityam
and Body is temporary and all Atma's are same, we will be blessed with true
and real knowledge. It will help us realize what is important and not.
Atma is nityam, knowing and realizing this eternal truth, if we do Karma Yoga, we
will achieve Atma-Saaksatkaram and Sthitadee-Laksha.
Now, we will get a question. In first chapter, Arjuna is refusing to fight and is
sad. So, what is the connection between Jnaana-yogam, Karma Yogam and
Arjuna's misery? Krishna is going to the root cause of Arjuna's moham(delusion),
hence is doing "Proktaa tan moha-saantayeh" (telling about the two
things to shed Arjuna's delusion).
In this chapter it is emphasized that the soul or Atman is everlasting or nithyam.
While body in which the soul is there is perishable, atman does not perish.
To realize this atman one requires wisdom or budhhi as the usual sensual organs
like eyes, ears, mouth, etc cannot perceive it. In Sanskrit sankya means wisdom
or budhhi and so the atman or soul is called Saankyam. This chapter, because it
details about the eternalness of atman, is called Saankya yoga and the previous
chapter was called Arjuna vishada yoga. By understanding the Atman�s permanency
and by performing one�s duty with detachment to the results one gets the
wisdom about the Atman or one gets Gyana. This is an important step. If one gets
proper perception of Atman, one will not be able to differentiate between
various persons as all differences such as old or young, male or female,short or
tall, literate or illiterate, rich or poor, etc. are related to body only.
Understanding
all souls or Atmas or equal is called Atman Saakshthkaram. This �seeing� or Atman
darisanam is very important in the next step of Gyana yoga. How the
baffled Arjuna is related to this realization of soul is all the second chapter.
Arjuna thinks that in the war he is going to kill his grand father and teacher and
others and Sri Krishna is going to tell how Arjuna cannot destroy the soul, by
diagnosing his problem in thinking, and suggesting proper remedy.
2-1:
sanjaya uvaca
tam tatha kripaya-avistam asru-purna akule-iksanam
visidantam idam vakyam uvaca madhusudanah
This chapter starts with Sanjaya uvacha Sanjaya speaks. In the � last chapter when
the last 47th sloka also started with Sanjaya uvacha and again here also
same words. Why? Reason is it is the start of a new chapter and we should not
mistake this as again Sri Krishna or Arjuna is speaking; but Sanjaya is
continuing and so Sage Vyasa reminds that Sanjaya is speaking:
With Compassion, he was suffering (Kripaya avistam) and in tears(asru-purna) ,
akula (depressed) ,visidantam(lamenting) - To this suffering Arjuna,
Krishna (ala Madhusudanah) spoke as follows (in subsequent slokas).
One should be detached from everything i.e when one is separated from good things
etc, there should be no feeling of
dejection or sorrow. It should be considered as a "Iccha" of the Lord. So, being
overcome by compassion and that too for the
wrong reasons(i,e sympathy for wicked like Duryodhana etc) and wrong people was
wrong on the part of Arjuna.
Lord Madhusudhanah i.e Krishna is so called because he vaniqushed evil asuras
Madhu and Kaitabhara.
In us too, there are two asuras called Kaama and Krodha (attachment and Anger)
which are always alive and kicking and we
should surrender to the feet of the lord to vanquist these two deadly asuras
within us, just like Arjuna did.
In addition, we should shed two of the gunas (Rajas and Tamas) and develop within
us Sattva Gunam. THis is also referred
in the pasuram by Tirumangai Azhwar (Out of 3, shed 2 and develop 1). Incidentally
this series of pasurams is, where Azhwar
structures the pasurams in a Numeric progressive sequence.
Madhusoodana is used to denote Sri Krishna. Two demons Madhu and Kaitapa were
creating lots of hardships to all and they were killed by the Lord and got the
name Madhusoodana or Kaitapasoodana. The Lord has destroyed twins like Ravana-
Kumbakarna, Sisupala-Dhandhavaktra, Hiranya- Hiranyaksha, etc. Underlying these,it
is to be noted that the Lord is destroying someone also. They are Kama [the desire
after materials] and Krodha [the anger arising when the desire is not fulfilled].
It can also be Rajo guna [the mental state of anger and pride] or Thamo guna [the
mental state of ignorance or drowsy]. So Sri Krishna destroys these twin
evil qualities and so He is aptly addressed Madhusoodana. The three qualities,
which always are sticking to our character, are Satva, Rajo and Thamas behavior.
Satva quality induces clarity, enthusiasm and hard work. Rajo quality brings out
desire and the resultant anger and condemning others. Thamas quality gives raise
to drowsiness, sleepishness, ignorance and laziness. So it is necessary for us to
encourage Satva quality and destroy the other two evil qualities to maintain a
godly power in us. Sanjaya indicates this. Sri Krishna is going to destroy the
Rajo-Thamo qualities in Arjuna and cultivate the Satva quality in him. Thirumangai
Alwar in one of his six prabhandams [collections] viz Thiruezhukootrirukkai tells
this. This prabhandam is composed of numbers in ascending and descending order and
the lines are arranged like a chariot. He says that the two qualities are to be
cast aside and the one quality has to be nourished and maintained. So we should
avoid Rajo and Thamo qualities and cultivate Satva trait. Here Arjuna is described
as one obsessed by mercy or compassion. It is better for everyone to avoid being
obsessed by any quality good or bad. We should not cultivate, or attach ourselves
to, habits, which will make us addicts, or fanatic to them. Sri Krishna at the
time of His departure from this world told one of His ardent devotees, Uddhava,
that He was leaving for His eternal abode and Uddhava wondered how they could
remain without Him. Sri Krishna says that Uddhava should cast away his attachment
to Him and go to Gandhamana hills and do penance at Badarikashram. Uddhava
questions whether attachment to the Lord also should be stopped. Sri Krishna
replies that His advice should be adhered to without questioning.
After completing His exile to the forests Sri Rama returns to Ayodya and is
crowned the King. At that time He calls Lakshmana and tells him that He wants to
make him as His deputy [something akin to Prince of Wales or yuvaraj]. Lakshmana
flatly refuses and wants to remain as a servant to Sri Rama. Then Sri Rama called
Bharatha and told His intention to crown Bharatha as deputy. Bharatha said if that
was Sri Rama s order he would accept it. Now if we examine � the acts of both,
Lakshmana, though was having a noble trait, wanted to serve Sri Rama no matter
what Sri Rama wanted him to do. Whereas, Bharatha was totally detached and
considered to obey Sri Rama as the only objective. So one should obey the Lord and
not attach oneself to any other, however noble it is. That is why He is going to
correct Arjuna who is steadfast in having mercy at wrong circumstances, though
compassion is a noble trait. A surgeon cannot say that he is overcome by mercy and
so he will not operate on the patient. So it should be understood that it is wrong
to addict to be merciful.
2-2:
sri-bhagavan uvaca
kutas tva kasmalam idam visame samupasthitam
anarya-justam asvargyam akirti-karam arjuna
� Arjuna! How these inferior thoughts have grabbed you. They do not fit higher
[thinking] persons nor lead to higher worlds nor bring fame�.
This is a SUPER Slokam of exhortation , where the Lord chides Arjuna for running
away from his true calling as a warrior.
THis is also a exhortation for all of us, to crush any sort of dejection and face
life bravely and cheerfully with getting drenched
in sorrow or misery. What is the reason for being dejected or being overcome with
sorrows? It's only the mentally weak
without any Aryan traits(AnArya Justam-Un Aryan traits) and one which does not
lead to Glory (Akirti karam) or heaven (Asvargyam) indulge in such
behaviour. Nowadays, there is lot of talk about depression, medicines for it
etc.. THis slokam is the best anti-depressant which comes right from
the Lord! This is not told in a soft vien, but in a forceful manner by Krishna to
Arjuna, like a commander rallying his troops.
(Visame Sam-Upasthitam -> in this hour of crisis , Arjuna is indulging in
depression over things which don't deserve it.).
(Kutas tva - Where from? Krishna is asking Arjuna, "where from" he has got this
depression at this moment!)
We should always maintain a positive and cheerful spirit and never fall prey to
depression. Imagine the difficulties Rama faced. Despite, all of it,
Rama maintained a steady composure and faced everything bravely. It's a lesson to
us to not whine about difficulties or feel depressed about it.
We should confront it bravely and dedicate ourselves to the Lord.
2-3:
klaibyam ma sma gamah partha nah-etat-tvayy upa-padyate
ksudram hridaya-daurbalyam tyaktva-uttistha parantapa
"O son of Pritha! do not yield to this degrading impotence. It does not becoming
of you. Give up such petty weakness at heart and getup, Oh! destroyer
of the enemy."
This is a continuation of the exhortation from Krishna to Arjuna to shed his
misplaced angst and mental weakness.
Life is a blessing of the lord. There are people who consider suicide in face of
troubles, but this are misplaced grievances
which overlook the truth of life. Life has to be lived as a blessing of the lord
and nothing should deter one. Suicides due to
loss in love, exams, job etc are shortsighted. It doesn't befit one. Krishna
exhorts Arjuna to rise. And this is also a message
to us to raise above our mental weakness. Arjuna is a great warrior and this
depression doesn't befit him (na upa-padyateh). We are normally familiar with
a person's attitude and outlook. If a person is always laughing and positive and
suddenly looks sad, it invokes questions from onlookers. Or if somebody always
looks sad and is suddenly all smiles, it will invoke the same question from
people. Similarly, Arjuna is a great warrior and this depression is befitting.
The "hridaya-daurbalyam" (weakness of hrdyam- heart etc) is ksudram(pathetic).
Thinking weakly, capitulating to difficulties, having sucidal tedencies etc should
all
be destroyed. And if fall into this pits of depression, the Lord himself throws a
rope to help us out from this pit. This sloka should be a reminder for us to face
life
with braveness and cheerfulness.
Sri Krishna calls Arjuna, Paranthapa or one who creates fear in his enemies�
hearts. When Arjuna is on the chariot and takes his bow the enemies will
shiver out of fear. Is that Arjuna, who has to lead the army is perturbed? Then
how can he lead the army to victory? People want protection of them by
Arjuna and if he falters and sits with tears in his eyes and mind shaken. then who
is going to protect them? Sri Krishna asks him to get up. Any person
mentally weak could be encouraged to his self by these 2nd and 3rd slokas of 2nd
chapter. God s advice rich in meaning has the � power to wake up
anyone from gloom and depression and make him cheerful. Elders� advice can dispel
darkness and gloom.
Arjuna was addressed as "the son of Prtha," who happened to be the sister of
Krsna's father Vasudeva. Therefore Arjuna had a blood relationship with
Krsna.
2-4:
arjuna uvaca
katham bhismam aham sankhye dronam ca madhusudana
isubhih pratiyots-yami puja-arhav ari-sudana
In the previous slokas, Krishna said that this attitude of Arjuna is not befitting
him, will not give him any repute or victory or glory and he needs to shed it.
But
depression is not like ordinary body pain, which can be cured with a balm etc.
It's something more deeper. So, Arjuna is still desolate and not convinced.
In ordinary life too, we see lot of depressed people- the school or college kids
commit suicide or go into depression due to scoring poorly in the exams, lovers
commit suicide due to loss of a their loved ones etc - these are all decisions
made out of depression and have no foundation.
Though Arjuna did not commit suicide, such dejection for the caliber of Arjuna is
equivalent to death. Out of mercy, Arjuna resorts to this decision to withdraw
from the war in spite of all encouragement from Sri Krishna. Now in the 4th
sloka he asks Sri Krishna:
Arjuna said: Oh! Killer of enemies! Oh! Killer of Madhu! How � can I attack with
arrows in battle Bhishma and Drona, who are worthy of my worship?�
He says, in this war (Sankhye), how (katham) can face Bhishma and Drona , how can
i attack them with Arrows (isubhih pratiyotsyami), they who are worthy of my
worship.
He addresses Krishna as Madhusudhana and AriSudhana, deliberately.
An important point to be noted is that how we are to behave towards our teachers
or gurus. Bheeshma and Drona are teachers for Arjuna and he has to worship them;
but now he is
asked to aim missiles at them. This is something, which Arjuna can never think of.
Here he is indirectly indicting Sri Krishna by addressing Him as Ari soodana and
Madhu soodana.
Ari means enemy and He kills the enemies and Madhu. Whereas He never attempted to
kill His teacher Sandheepani,and He got fame by killing only enemies, how could he
want
Arjuna to become notorious by killing his teachers? Arjuna regards the teachers
much superior to the words of advice of Sri Krishna. Who is greater- the teacher
or God? This is a
delicate question. Gold is superior to silver and so normally we regard the person
who donates gold to us as greater than the one who donated silver. Why do we
regard teacher
as great? Because he is the one who guides us to open our inner eyes to see the
reality of God, the Supreme Being. So by earlier analogy teacher is greater for
having made
us to realize the most important in life. But it is God�s design that we reach a
suitable teacher. Therefore from one angle teacher is greater and from another
side God is greater.
That is why there is a saying that there is no god above teacher. Sri Madurakavi
Alwar also reflects this in his � kanninun chiruthambu�. He says � thevu
matrariyen kurugur nambi��
He regards Sri Nammalwar, his guru as god unto him. God may not forgive one for
the sins committed; but the teacher not only ignores one�s sins but also guides
one in the vision
of the Supreme Being. Upanishad says � regard mother as god, regard father as god,
regard teacher as god, regard guests as god.� This is the confusion Arjuna is
entangled
in- whether to regard the advice of the God and act or whether to worship his
teachers and abandon the war. Before enrolling as a student, he was a barren land
and only
afterwards the teacher has cultivated him to such skills and so Arjuna is
defiant.
Isn't Guru the greatest ? One's Guru is greater than God. So, how can one fight
or raise against one's own Guru ? This
is Arjuna's predicament. Guru and God are like Gold and silve. Gold is
greater/valuable than Silver , so we can consider Acharya is importan than God,
with this analogy.
But, look at it in a different way, the person who gifts Gold is greater than the
one who gives Silver, so the Lord who gifts us "gold-like" Acharya is important
than Acharya!.
If looked at either way, it seems puzzling on who is more important - one's
Acharya or God?? Remember, MadhuraKavi Azhwar who sang the glories of his
Acharya, Nammazhwar.
2-5:
gurun-ahatva hi mahaa-anubhaavaan
sreyo bhoktum ! bhaiksyam apiiha loke
hatva-artha-kamams-tu! gurun ihaiva
bhun-jiya bhogAn! rudhira-pradigdhan
In the last sloka Arjuna asked how he could afford to kill Bheeshma, Drona and
others. The word others include Kauravas viz Duryodana and � � his brothers. For
this Sri Krishna
is posing a question seemingly. If Arjuna runs away from the war, what will he do
for food and shelter? Will he live in forests? The twelve-year exile itself was
considered
by the Pandavas as a shame. Then how are they going to take this forest life if he
ran away from the war? Sri Krishna apparently asks this and so Arjuna�s reply is
accordingly in sloka 5: "Arjuna says it is better for him to beg and live rather
than killing great personalities like Bhishma and his guru Drona. If these
people are attached to luxuries and material opulence (referring to Duryodhan
etc), there is nothing wrong in it. So, why should he kill them. Isn't it better
to let them enjoy their luxury
rather than slaying them and ruling the land stained with their blood?"
In a way Arjuna is concerned with the hell that awaits him if he were to kill his
Teachers. He is also apprehensive that after killing all these people, living in
this world with bloodstains
will also be hell. So he fears hell before and after his death. Sri Krishna
logically rebuts this. If Arjuna left the battle without fighting it will be a
disgrace for a kshatriya [royal community]
and he will have to lead life by resorting to begging, as he will be deprived of
all property. Also, by abandoning his dharma of protection of his people and
gifting the kingdom to wicked
people will make him a great sinner and ensure hell after death. So Sri Krishna�s
rebuttal was either way hell only if Arjuna refused to fight.
By fighting and recapturing the kingdom he can lead a normal life in this world.
He need not consider this as enjoyment with blood stains as he is expected to do
his duty and
be a trusty for good administration and not for pleasure. This way because he
established the moral ethics of kshathriya in the war, he will be awarded heaven
after death. So
instead of Arjuna�s imagination as either way hell for him, Sri Krishna�s argument
is that by fighting it will be either way heaven for Arjuna.
Arjuna preferred begging to killing those noble teachers. Perhaps he was reminding
Sri Krishna that in one of His earlier Avatars or incarnations, He had also
begged. As Sri Vamana,
a young dwarf bachelor, He went to the Yagnashala or the sacred place, where
Emperor Bali was performing Yagna and begged for a small piece of land to be
measured by His tiny feet.
2-6:
na-cah-etad vidmah, kataran-no-gariyah! yad va jayemah! yadi-va-no jaye-yuhu!
yan-eva hatva, na jiji-visamah! teh-avasthitah pramukhe dhartarastrah
� [Uncertainity in the battle and so] whether winning or losing is better for us.
When not interested to live by killing these children of Dhridhrashtra, the same
persons are arrayed
against us�. Bhagavat Gita has a reputation that a recitation of a chapter or half
of it or a sloka in a chapter or half or even quarter of a sloka will accumulate
punya. This is to
emphasize that every word in this sacred text is rich and brimming with
significance."
Arjuna says he is torn between what to do (Kataran no gariyah?), he doesn't know
what to do (na-cah-etad-vidmah?). He is in Dharma-Sankatam - i.e choosing between
the two
dharmas - Being a Kshatriya and fighting or invoking sin of killing his
acharya. With this plaguing doubt, he says, even winning is not guaranteed in
this war (yad va jayemah! yadi
va no jaye yuhu!). And even if he is ready to fight, listening to Krishna, he
sees his gurus, relatives etc arrayed against him in the war, the very people whom
he does not want to kill!
Arjuna expresses his quandry here. Like all of us, he is caught in a dilemma of
what is right or wrong and what is better. With this quandry, he also has doubts
on his winning the
war. He doesn't wish to kill his guru and close relatives, but they are arrayed
against him in the war which he has to Win! Arjuna is thrown into despair. This
is akin to the
dilemma of a Father who wants to ensure his wayword Son reigns his habits to write
the exam, but if he physically assaults him to control, then the son ends up
not writing the exam due to being incapacitated.
2-7:
kaarpanya-dosoh-upahata-svabhavah , prcchami-tvam dharma-sammudha-cetah
yac sreyah-syan niscitam bruhi tan me! shishyas te ham � saadhi maam tvam
prapannam
�Taken over by the cowardice and losing my bravery, I ask you to tell me for
certain what is upright for me. I am your disciple surrendered unto you�
svabhavam ->Dairyam; Karpanya dosam -> Cowardice due to; tvam- You(kannan),
prchaami->asking, what is dharma, adharma-> dharam sammudaha
what is good for me -> Yac sreyah, tan meh bruhi -> please tell me; consider me
your sishya ->sishya te aham; i am taking refuge, surrending to you-> maam tvam
prapannam
saadhi- please instruct me.
A super sloka, where Arjuna helplessly falls at Krishna's feet seeking refuge and
begs him for guidance. This is a guide to all
of us to do the same! He entreats Krishna to guide him, considering him as his
disciple and not as some stranger, in case Krishna
has reservations on why he should guide anybody who is not his disciple or son.
This shows that Lord is the one who can clear our fears and doubts.
Azhwar sings, the Lotus blooms only by the rays of the sun and not by mere heat of
a fire and the waves come down to the shore, similarly the jeevatma's refuge
is the Lord.
From this it is clear that only the Supreme Being can remove a person�s perpetual
ignorance. This is what Alwar also declares in his hymns. Just as a river moves
toward a distant
ocean or jus as a lotus blossoms at the sight of a distant Sun, the wisdom of the
soul [jeevatma] will yearn for enlightenment from the Supreme Being [Paramatma].
So the Alwar
advises his mind to surrender unto the beloved of Mother Lakshmi, the dweller in
Lotus.
Unlike human nature to offer materials such as flowers or fruits to gain favours
from others, to get His grace all one needs is to surrender unto Him. While the
soul is groping in
darkness, He is shining with brilliance, the soul is slave and He is the Master
and with this attitude Arjuna falls at the feet of Sri Krishna.
He says he is suffering from karpanya dosha- a defect of a kripana. Sage
Yagnavalkya (instructing Gaargi) says the one who has not attained the knowledge
of the Supreme Being is
called a kripana. Ignorance of the knowledge of God or the relationship between
one s soul and Paramatma, will not make a person learned even � if he has acquired
thousands of various other subjects, says Swami Vedanta Desika. "Vidyaanan silpa
nai punyam".
Arjuna says he is affected by this karpanya dosha. Because of this he has lost his
courage. The Thaithriyopanishad says that as one approaches God, he gets courage
and one
who withdraws from Him loses courage. If we realize God in ourselves, we get
motivated to do things. On the other hand virakthi or nirvedam or frustration
leads to retardation.
Hanuman searched for Mother Sri Sita all over Lanka and when he was frustrated,
suddenly he remembered Sri Rama. Sri Rama gave Hanuman His Ring to be handed over
to Sri Sita and so, how can His words fail? So he got enthused and also removed
the feeling that he was searching Sri Sita and corrected that feeling by the
wisdom that Sri Sita
Herself will show up and successfully complete his mission. Immediately, Hanuman
spotted Sri Sita. One should dismiss the thought that one is doing but realize
that it is God
who gets actions done for that one. This does not mean that one should practice
idling or remain inactive; but take all out efforts with the realization that He
is the prime mover
behind one�s actions. This leads to humility. So now Arjuna surrenders to Sri
Krishna for remedy, like a person resorting to the family doctor who knows the
history of the patient
and so could suggest the right remedy. And who else is better equipped than Sri
Krishna, Who after all is Arjuna�s cousin and Who knows Arjuna too well?
Sometimes we also approach elders and seek their advice, but later act according
to our wishes. To dispel that thought in Sri Krishna, Arjuna says he is His sishya
or disciple and so will obey and act according to His guidance.
This also shows how something like mental weakness and worry can cripple even a
great warrior like Arjuna into confusion and sorrow.
2-8:
na hi prapasyami mama-apanudyat yac chokam ucchosanam indriyaanam
avapya bhumav asapatnam rddham, rajyam suranam api cadhipatyam
"I can find no means to drive away this grief which is burning up my senses. I
will not be able to dispel it even if I win a prosperous, unrivaled kingdom on
earth with sovereignty or
one like in heaven."
Na hi prapasyami -> I cannot find ; Ya Sokham ucchosanam indriyanam -> The
grief which is burning my senses and causing me sadness
avapya bhumav asapatnam rddham -> even if i win prosperous, unrivaled kingdom on
earth
rajyam suranam api ca adhipatyam -> or soverignity like in heaven.
In case Krishna is thinking - What, if there is some grief? Grief is just
temporary and one typically gets over it in no time.
So, if Arjuna is feeling grieved over the prospect of bloodshed, he should surely
get over it , once he gets to rule a prosperous
empire and enjoy all the luxuries? In response to this, Arjuna says -
unrivalled soveregnity etc is not going to overcome his grief, because this will
constantly remind him of the bloodshed he had to do to gain it. ARjuna is a
learned person too, but is not able to overcome
his grief. THis shows two things - even all the learning in the world will not
help, if one doesn't truly understand the meaning
of the scriptures and practices it. For eg: Narada is a learned scholar in all
branches of Vedic knowledge but was driven to
grief and Saunaka muni points out that he needs to inculcate the vedic meanings
truly (it's a pointer to us). Similarly, Rama
whom nothing could defeat, was drowned in misery with separation of Sita, due to
grief. So, grief can torment a living soul and
is more dangerous than the crematory fire which just burns a corpse.
Arjuna sees his beloved ones like Bheeshma and Drona on the enemy camp ready to
fight and this sight dries his sensual organs like eyes and tongue. He is engulfed
in anguish and
finds no cure. Our forefathers convey us a great lesson here. One hears the words
chithai [pyre] and chinthanai [brooding]. Chithai or a pyre is used in the
cremation grounds for
burning dead bodies. Whereas, chinthanai or brooding will burn out a living
person. Here brooding burns Arjuna. Once sage Narada met sage Sanatkumara and
requested him that
though Narada had mastered all available literature but wanted Sanatkumara to
preach him that which will dispel his anguish and sorrow. In reply Sanatkumara
asked Narada to first
tell what all he knew. Narada started telling his knowledge in the Vedas,
Upanishads, all types of Shastras, etc. Sanatkumara said that Narada had studied
all and there was nothing,
which could be preached to Narada. This gave the hint to Narada, that he had
merely studied all these without practicing or understanding the inner
significance of these literatures.
Worry lines appear on the forehead. But a person who has understood the God will
have no such lines on the forehead. Thus Sanatkumara dispelled Narada�s worries.
So one should
never get worried. Hanuman, when dispatched for searching Sri Sita was wondering
why Sri Rama was so worried at the loss of a mere wife. Being a bachelor, Hanuman
might not
have understood the role of a wife. But the same Hanuman, when saw Sri Sita, then
wondered how Sri Rama was still alive after losing such a noble and righteous
wife. Here, Valmiki
the author of Srimad Ramayana, observes that no enemy on earth could ever kill
Sri Rama and only worry had the power. Arjuna, therefore feels thoroughly
handicapped by his
worries, and seeks help from Sri Krishna. It was opined by Sri Krishna that no
distress is there which remains forever. Even death of a dear one is forgotten
after a few days or when
a happier incident is encountered. So if Arjuna got back his kingdom, this grief
of killing the relatives will vanish. But Arjuna says that all the so called
happiness one may get by
acquiring a kingdom, like music, dance, food, etc., will remind him these sins he
is to commit and make him miserable. Perhaps a small kingdom, or one with enemies
around
or one that is stuck by poverty and famine may cause worries for the rulers. So
Arjuna qualifies that even if the entire world was reigned, with no enemies and
totally prosperous,
will never clear him of his grief. Further, he says that even if he gains the
control of the heavenly kingdom, he is unable to find the way to dispel his grief.
2-9:
sanjaya uvaca
evam uktva hrishikesham gudakeshah parantapah
na yotsya iti govindam uktva tusnim babhuva ha
evam uktva -> all that Arjuna said in the previous slokas:
Arjuna has told his reasoning for not fighting. All the relatives, friends and
teachers have assembled and he could not fight with them. Killing relatives and
annihilating a dynasty or
family is a sin, which will lead to eradication of kula dharma and so take him to
hell. Enjoyment cannot be with blood stained hands. Even if the enemy camp was
ready,
killing near ones is sin. The very sight of these people ready to fight dries up
his senses. Even if a prosperous, entire world or heaven is offered to rule,
Arjuna can never think
of fighting. Having given out his mind so elaborately, Arjuna takes asylum at Sri
Krishna and stops talking with a final say that he will not fight. Sanjaya, who is
narrating alive the
happenings on the battlefield to King Dhridharashtra, exclaims with the word �ha�.
Because he is surprised that a great warrior Arjuna is declaring he will not
fight.
"na yotsya" -> I will not fight, said Arjuna.
tusnim babhuva-> Arjuna became silent. He has said all that he can and doesn't
have anything more to say.
ha -> what a surprise! (that Arjuna became silent in the thick of battlefield).
Sanjaya refers to Arjuna as Gudakesa or the one who has conquered sleep and
laziness, the hallmarks of Tamas quality. Arjuna is not tired or feeling weak to
fight. Nor is he cowardly
and afraid to fight.That is why the word paranthapa or the one who burns the
enemies is used by Sanjaya.But out of shear sympathy for those arrayed against, he
is refusing to fight.
In the last sloka Arjuna tells Sri Krishna, that his sensual organs are all dried
up at the sight of his loved ones in the opposite camp. So, significantly, Sanjaya
denotes Sri Krishna with
the epithet Hrishikesa or the Conqueror of the organs [both sensual and active].
We have to understand that God is the prime mover behind all the organs
functioning in our body.
Arjuna tells Sri Krishna that he is not going to fight. He addresses Him as
Govinda. This word implies three meanings. Sri Andal in her Thiruppavai repeats
this name of the Lord
in the 27th [koodarai vellum], 28th [karavaigal pinsenru] and 29th [chitran
chirukalai] pasurams. Govinda means Protector of cows. It also means protector of
the earth. And, it
can also mean protector of souls. In this temple the Lord is called Bha[k]tharavi
Perumal, which means He is the Aavi or Soul of the devotees. It seems the Lord
prefers cow
herding to being the Leader of all the gods or residing in Sri Vaikuntam. Sri
Andal says karavaigal pin senru, which is going behind the cows. The cows do not
say to Sri Krishna,
Who is following them, not to come behind them. In fact, He is in every soul and
follows as the inner conscience and directs. But if we say to Him that He need not
follow
and we will go our own way, He lets us go and we get entangled into all types of
situations. On the other hand, if we allow Him to follow us or direct us, we are
assured
of proper destiny. So here Arjuna calls Him Govinda and wants Him to direct in
the right path.
This slokam is a summary from Sanjaya of the previous verses of Arjuna: Sanjaya
says that having said all the above, Arjuna concluded that "I shall NOT fight" to
Krishna.
In this sloka, Arjuna is referred to as "GudaKesah", "Paramtapah" - which are
salutary terms signifying a person who is an accomplished warrior and master of
curbing
ignorance ie one not given to laziness or lack of will. THis shows that Arjuna
is not shirking from war, because of laziness or skill, but due to mental sorrow
and confusion.
On the same note, Krishna is referred to as Hrishikesa and Govinda in this sloka.
Hrishikesa is the master of senses and since the senses are crippling Arjuna, who
better than
their Master to tame them and set Arjuna in the right path? Govinda is the one
who herds cows, ruler of the earth and one who stays true to his word. All this
three are apt in this
case, because Arjuna is asking the Lord who is so merciful to herd cows etc to
guide him too; one who is sovereign ruler of the earth, his duty is to guide him
too
in this war and one who stays and mesmerises others with his words should guide
him (which Krishna does through his Gitaupadesam). A guru is not only one who is
a gnaani,
but can guide his devotees by articulating the right path and mesmerizes with
right words.
2-10:
Sanjaya continues:
tam uvaca hrishikeshah prahasann iva bharata
senayor ubhayor madhye visidantam idam vacah
Oh! Bhaaratha [Dhridharashtra] standing in between the two � armies, Hrishikesa
[Sri Krishna] with a smile spoke these words to the grieved [Arjuna]�
In response to Arjuna's request, Krishna responded with a Smile and started
speaking. Lord's reason to smile are multifold here. One is, he knows all that
will occur in the future
and is smiling; Next is, he has guided Arjuna and the Pandavas throughout in
preparation for the war and is now again at the primary center.
The smile has several interpretations. Firstly, it is a sarcastic one at the
behavior of Arjuna. The war is about to begin at any moment and both sides have
blown their conches as a
mark of their readiness to start the fight. At that time Arjuna tells he is
heartbroken to fight. Though he wants to avoid war out of sympathy for his kith
and kin, the world will think that he
is withdrawing out of fear. He is also exhibiting his contradictory actions. When
Draupathi was humiliated in the assembly hall, Arjuna burst like a volcano to kill
the Kauravas and now
he says he is feeling compassion. Next, the smile on Sri Krishna�s face also could
mean the lecture He is going to deliver. If a lecturer wants proper attendance
from the listeners, he
has to put up a welcome face. The great Acharya Sri Parasara Bhattar, seeing the
twin dimples on the Sri Namperumal idol, used to say that He appeared as though to
say something.
Next, the smile also signifies the toy Arjuna in the hands of Sri Krishna. Before
the war commenced, Sri Krishna was sent as an emissary to explore the possibility
of stopping the war.
Then He was requested to participate in the war as Arjuna s � chariot driver. Now
Arjuna is at His feet requesting for advice. Also Sanjaya is narrating the
incident and hints to
Dhridharashtra that the smile is actually a deception to the disaster that awaited
the Kuru dynasty. The smile could also mean the great philosophy to be delivered
to the World at
large and using Arjuna as a ploy. He is smiling because through the forthcoming
words so many ideas like way of life etc. are going to be told. This Sri Krishna
is trying to tell with
a body language, which Arjuna was fortunate to witness.
2-11:
sri-bhagavan uvaca
asocyan anvasocas tvam prajna-vadams ca bhasase
gatasun agatasums ca nanusocanti panditah
� Bhagavan [Sri Krishna] said [to Arjuna]: you speak like a learned and at the
same time your words show ignorance�
tvam -> you; asocyan -> that which is not worthy of lamentation; anvasocas ->
you are lamenting ; Prajna vadams ca bhasase -> you speak like a learned
one(prajna vadams)
panditah -> those who have discriminating sense , deha-atma viveka jnaanam who can
differentiate between body and soul. ; nanu-anusocanti -> do not lament
gatasun -> body (which is temporary) agatasun -> soul ; asu->pranam;
gata-"asun" -> whose pranam goes away i.e bodies agata-sun->whose pranam does
not go away(soul).
Krishna says that Arjuna's lamentations in the previous verses display somebody
who speaks like a learned person but is truly lamenting like a fool. Who is
considered learned?
A panditah? One who knows and understands that body and soul are not the same
and acts accordingly is the truly learned one in this world. And not the material
experts or
people who know the sciences and other aspects of material universe. In some of
the earlier verses, Arjuna seems to recognize this difference. For instance, when
he says
that killing all the kaurvas would leave nobody to offer oblations to the
forefathers seems to point that he knows the concept of soul. But at the same
time in the next few verses
he laments that killing Drona, Bhismha etc is a sin, forgetting that in the War,
it's his Dharma to fight irrespective of the opponents and that ultimately he is
killing their bodies
but not their souls. It is very important to note that, this shouldn't be
miscontrued as an excuse to kill anybody. Arjuna's situation was that he was in
the War fighting a battle to save
his land from the wicked and that was his Kshatriya Dharma which Krishna was
teaching. But, in normal situations, we don't have right to kill anybody. So,
in this verse, Krishna says the learned pandits who know the difference between
body and soul do not grieve at any stage of life. But, Arjuna who seems to speak
like a learned person is lamenting for something which not worthy of it. What
is Body? What is soul? How can we say it is distinct? For eg: in our daily
reference, we say this is my feet, my tongue,
my car, my house etc.. It implies the feet, tongue, car, house etc are separate
from "I". The "I" is what we refer to as SOUL, which lives forever and is
distinct from the Body. The soul has a atomic form as per puranas.
Sri Krishna refers to Pundit, which means learned. It is not mere worldly
knowledge, but the person possessing the knowledge about body and soul is referred
to as pundit He is also
called a vedanhi. Like a pundit, Arjuna appears to know the difference between
soul [atman] and body [sareeram]. But he also says words, which show that he
thinks both atman and
sareeram are same. Asu means prana or imperishable. Gathasu means perishable or
without asu or only body without soul. Agathasu is opposite of gathasu or with asu
or prana,
which means the body with soul. Pundits know about the destroyable and the
indestroyable.
All slokas upto this point (from 1.1 to 2.11) are prelude to the actual Bhagavad
Gita.
a) Consider all slokas so far (Chapter1 and chapter2 till 11): Preceding slokas
are related to Arjuna's lamentation
and ignorance. Next set of slokas starting with this one is Lord's response
clearing Arjuna's doubts.
a1) Arjuna exhibited his misunderstanding of soul and body and thought that he
is destroying Bheeshma and Drona. In Sanskrit language one word can give several
meanings and
several words can mean same thing; but they have to be judiciously used. Sareeram
and Deham refer to body but have different connotations. We see a person after,
say, 10 years
and that person has become thinner and weak. So we enquire why his body has become
weak and thin. Here, as per the dhathu or root, to indicate diminishing nature we
have to use
the word sareeram. On the other hand, suppose we see a person looking fatter or
bigger than what we saw him some years back, we express that the body has grown.
Here, it is apt
to use the word Deham which indicates growth. But in both cases the soul or atman
remains in tact. So change is the nature of body and anything that changes is not
permanent.
Thus the body is destroyable whereas the soul never changes and so is
indestructible.
b) Body goes thru 6 changes:
Shad bhavam vikaram - Asti, Jayate(born), Parinamate(change),
Vivarte(grow), Apakshiyateh(decay) Vinashyati
Atma(Soul) doesn't go thru any changes. Anything which does not go through
changes, is eternal and soul is the only such entity.
c) Son, Brother, Husband, Father, Grandfather -> A man can go through all this
roles in his life demonstrating material
relations in world, which can go thru changes. But, once self is always
constant like the Soul and is never changing.
d) What is body made of?? - PanchaBhootam - Prithvi(Earth), Ap(Water),
Tejas(Fire), Vayu(WInd), Akasam(Ether).
When this five materials are joined together, they will never survive for
long. Eg: Take Salt, Flour, Water. When
they are separate, they can survive for long, but when joined together as
upma, their shelf life becomes shortened.
What is Soul made off? - It is JnaanaSwaropam, full of knowledge. It is
eternal and never changing. Soul resides
within our hearts in the shape of lotus(?).
e) Who experiences joy and sorrow? - Body and Soul?
- Soul is full of knowledge , but the karmas cover it's knowledge. It's
just like clouds of karma covering the Sun's shine. That's why everybody has
different levels of
knowledge.
-Body is material and has NO knowledge.
- Soul resides in the Body. It's knowledge is spread throughout the
body, even though it's not seen and is tiny.
eg. Soul is like SIM card in Mobile phone ;-). Without Soul, the
body is dead.
- Even though soul is tiny, it is "dharma-bhoota gnaanam" i.e it's
knowledge is like the rays of the lamp which even though in a single place,
lights the whole place.
(eg: Tirumaalai of Thondarpodi azhwar. "Maram suvar madil edutu...",
where he says Body is like a pot full of holes.
If we list the properties of the soul, we can say it understands, it is
minute, it is intelligent, it has no organs and enjoys [or suffers] the effect of
karma. Body, on the other hand, is
having the opposite properties. It does not understand, it is big, it is
dumb, it has organs and it does not realize the effects of karma.
So bottomline, which we need to be always aware of is, the body and soul are
NOT the same. Body is perishable, subject to shad-bhava vikaram , made of pancha
bhootam.
Whereas Soul is unchanging and eternal and it's inherent nature is knowledge.
Each of us are jeevatmas and are souls, with a temporary body. (Note: Numerous
souls and
Jeevatma is different from Paramatma). Unfortunately, most of us suffer from
"deha-atma abhimaanam" (mistaking body and soul as one). Arjuna also suffers
from this same
delusion and that's why Krishna is telling Arjuna that he is speaking like an
ignoramus.
2.12.
na tvev-Aham jatu na-asam na tvam neme janadhipah
na caiva na bhavisyamah sarve vayam atah param
NEVER was there a time when I did NOT exist, nor you, nor all these kings; nor in
the future shall any of us cease to be.". Note, krishna uses two negatives (Never
& Not),
instead of just one Positive (Always), which would have meant the same. He does
it for "emphasis" purpose. For example, in a village, if one asks who was educated
there and if
the reply was that so and so was educated, it can mean that there were many
educated persons in that village and that the so and so also was educated. On the
other hand,
if the reply was that excepting the so and so, no other was educated, it means
that the person in question alone was educated. The latter form of reply gives
certainty and
emphasizes the fact forcefully. Note: Krishna refers to the "SOUL" here and not
"bodies". (Advaitic view is, the I, you and they refers to multiplicity of
bodies. But, that is NOT true.
It refers to mulitplicity of souls, since only soul is eternal across past,
present and future. Sri Ramanjua has refuted the Advaitic view very clearly in
his Gita Bhasya).
This is an IMPORTANT SLOKA, where krishna explains tattva traya
siddhantam(Achit, chit, iswara) and their
svabhavam. This Ishwaram is praised as Brahama by upanishads. Chit are
numerous, but of same jaati, even
though their may be some external differences in terms of varnas etc,
based on the bodies they house.
Here Krishna emphasizes, there are multipile Jeevatmas, and not just one.
Krishna also emphasizes the
"bedham" (difference) between Jeevatma and Paramatma. Jeevatma is NOT
paramatma and CANNOT become
Paramatma (which refutes Advaitic theory, which expounds Abhedam
siddhantam).
Krishna says that all souls exist eternally in the past, present and
future. He uses double negatives to emphasize
the fact. (Rather than just stating, souls exist eternally, he says,
there were NEVER a time where they did NOT exist!).
Body is temporary, soul is eternal. Without Soul, the body is dead and
has no value.
Krishna mentions about himself first, saying as a paramatma, he existed
in the past, in the present and the future. This
is easy to understand, since it is generally known and agreed that Lord
is eternal (Bhuta-Bhavya- Bhavat Prabhu! as
mentioned in SriVishnu Sahasranamam) across time, space and material
entities (across all times,all pervading and
inside every being). Having said this, Krishna then says, just like he
is eternal, all the jeevas are also eternal.
Another important thing to note in this sloka is, "tattva traya
Sidhantam" - Krishna makes distinction between
Chit, achit and Easwara tattvam by quoting himself first and then arjuna
and the warriors. He also makes it clear
that he is distinct from the jeevatmas.
Achit is subject to transition, but never destroyed. Jeevatma is
subject to transition, but only as it's soul passes through
experiences based on the body it is housed in, but it is never destroyed
or changing. Paramatma is never subject
to transition. It is "avikaaraya shuddhaya, nityaaya paramaatmane,
saidaka rupa rupaaya, vishnavey prabha ..."
Everything in this universe could be grouped in three categories- Iswara, Chit and
Achit. Achit are all those materials we see or hear or smell or taste or feel.
Achit means without the
intellect. The tombs of temples or the trees and plants or our limbs are all in
this category as none of them have the intelligence. But all these are
indestructible. One may wonder how
this is true? We see tombs crumbling and trees are burnt. Here we should realize
that only the form changes, but the matter remains in a different form. Gold might
have become a
ring or necklace but it remains as gold. Similarly, mud is made into a pot or
plate etc. It can be made into mud again or in some other form but can never be
annihilated. So an
important point we should know about Achit is that it has no intelligence, but
constantly changes its form and can never be drstroyed.
The second category is Chit, which means that which has the intelligence. It is
also called Jeevatma or sometimes Atman. It is recognized by the �I� in us. With
that intelligence
only we recognize various things around us. That is Chit recognizes Achit. So a
Jeevatma using his intelligence understands Achit. This is the difference and
relationship between
the two. Apart from these two, a third is there and is called Iswara. Sri Krishna
brings out all these three entities in the 12th sloka. He mentions about Him as
�I� [aham] and
Arjuna as �you� and others by �they�. Sri Krishna represents Paramatma and He is
unique. Jeevatma are many and are represented by Arjuna and all others. All
materials are Achit.
The Thatvatrayam is thus indicated in this sloka.
We can see in Sri Vaishnava sanyasins carry tridhandam or three sticks bundled
together. This is to indicate the thatvathrayam. We find that Chit is there to
enjoy all Achits. �I � is there
to enjoy the sweet drink or the sandal fragrance. Then, where is the need for a
third entity, Iswara or God? Then there is the third force that controls both Chit
and Achit, and we call that
as Iswara or God. We will see the differences in these three entities. Achit is
unintelligent and is subject to change in its form, though undestroyable. Chits
are many in number and
are not subject to changes and are very minute. Here, we all observe that everyone
is happy sometimes and sorrow sometimes. Since it is the soul, which has the
intelligence, it only
can enjoy or suffer. Does it not mean that soul also is subject to changes? We
should clearly note here that the contact between achit and chit brings about the
feeling of happiness
or sorrow. That is when the soul resides in a body, it feels sorry or delightful
for various reasons. But if the soul is away from the body, then it is having an
eternal bliss only.
Therefore, the real nature of soul is happiness only and when in contact with a
body, mixed feelings are felt. So, while change is natural to Achit, the changes
felt when in contact
with a body is unnatural to the soul or chit. Iswara or Paramathma on the other
hand is never subject to any change, natural or artificial, temporary or
permanent. That is why in
Sri Vishnu sahasranama it is said � avikaraya sudhdhaya nithyaya paramathmane..�
This is a fundamental principle to be always kept in mind.
The basis for the existence for Paramatma can be made through analogies.
Wherever there is a creation, there is
a creator. For eg: when there is Pot, we know there is a potter ; when
there is a garden, we know there is a gardener,
where there is smoke, there is fire. Similarly, when the existence of
Jeevatamas and Achit, points to the existence
of Paramatma. But, as jeevatmas, we CANNOT comprehend Paramatma by
speculation or mental thinking or
anumaanam or extrapolating. So for every creativity, we can definitely
conclude that there must be a creator. This is logical, even if we do not see the
architect of that
creation by our sensual organs. This is similar to concluding there is
fire by seeing only the smoke. This is inference or deduction. So by seeing all
the various creations
in the world, we can deduce that there must be a Creator and He is God.
But our ancestors and learned men do not rely on inference or logic or deduction
to conclude the
existence of God. Philosophers classify the bedam or difference into three
categories. We have to take the guidance of Vedas for this purpose. There is a
Bedham between
Jeevatma and Paramatma and Bedhams are of three kinds:
1.sajAtIya bhEdam : a pot being different from other pots. This
Individualistic difference is the difference between individuals of the same
category. (Sa-Jaathi -> Same category)
2.vijAtIya bhEdam : a pot being different from a cloth or picture . This
categorical difference is the difference existing between different categories .
(Vi-Jaathi -> Different category
3. svagata bhEdam the difference between the attributes of pot . This
attribute difference is the difference between attributes of an entity like the
difference between attributes
like colour, form, shape, capacity, etc; where one attribute cannot
substitute the other.
Similarly, there is a difference between Jeevatma and Paramatma along this three
bedhams. Paramatma and jeevatma both have intelligence or gyana, but the
jeevatma�s
intelligence is limited by the body it resides. So, here we see sajatiya bedam.
Bramham or Paramatma has wisdom and the objects and materials we see do not
possess any
intellect. This is vijatiya bedam. As God cannot be worshipped if there was no
form or He did not possess qualities like mercy, Bramham has forms and qualities
and so here the
swagata bedam is exhibited. So Bramham has all the three types of bedam.
Bhagavan has gunams i.e Saguna Brahmam i.e Kalyaana gunams, Tirumeni etc.
Saying Bhagavan has no
Gunam, Tirumeni etc (Nirguna Brahamam) is incorrect.
2.13.
dehino �smin yatha dehe kaumaram yauvanam jara
tatha dehantara-praptir dhiras tatra na muhyati
"As the embodied soul continuously passes, in this body, from boyhood to youth to
old age, the soul similarly passes into another body at death. A brave person is
not concerned by
such a change.".
We have seen that Bramham, Chit and Achit as the thatvathrayam and their
relationship and differences. Sri Krishna tries to clear the doubt in Arjuna�s
mind and tells that Atman is
eternal and cannot be destroyed. Body is required and we have to take care of it
to the extent possible and the perishable nature of it has to be kept in mind.
Atman is pure and superior
to body.
In the previous sloka, Krishna explains that Souls are eternal . So,
Arjuna had a doubt, if souls are eternal, then what is the meaning of birth, death
etc which we see in the world.
In response, Krishna answers with this sloka. Just like a human goes
through various stages of life from boyhood, adulthood, old age, undergoing
changes in his body and
appearance and experiences, but still has the "I" untouched, similarly
soul embodies itself in bodies and disembodies as per it's karma.
Sankara says "Punarapi Jananam , Punarapi Maranam" in "Bhaja Govindam" i.e
a soul goes through cycle of birth and death through the body, though it itself is
unchanging.
Atma is unchanging, it is nityam. But, when it enters a body,it is called
Birth. And when it sheds the body , it is called Death. It is similar to the
body itself
going through Kumaram, Yauvanam, Jara (old age), but the person itself is
the same. It's intresting to note that, there is no grief expressed when a body
transitions through
these stages of boyhood, youth, old age (infact it is celebrated through
various rituals!), but when the soul sheds the body (death), it is considered
tragedy.
Sri Krishna says a brave man will not brood and lament. We see deaths and births.
The great philosopher Adi Sankara says punarabi jananam punarabi � maranam��It is a
cycle, with
births and deaths repeating. A soul can get released from this cycle only by
uttering Sri Govinda�s name, says Adi Sankara. Atman as such is not born. When it
contacts and resides in
a body we call it birth. When the same atman departs from the body it was
residing, we call it death. But atman never dies. In this sloka, atman is referred
as dehi. A person is born
as a child; he becomes a boy, then a lad and then old man. These changes pertain
to body only and not to the soul. Sri Krishna calls him who understands this true
nature of the soul a
dheera or brave man. When a person becomes a boy after being a child but never
laments that he lost his childhood. Similarly an old man does not mourn for the
lost youth. On the
contrary, we celebrate every stage in our life, like marriages, fatherhood, etc
(Seemantham, Punyojanam, Marriage, Saattabhishekam, Kaanakabhishekam etc).
The soul in the body- I - has been watching all these changes happening on the
body. It is able to remember when the body was of a child and then of youth, etc.
We remember when
we started learning cycling and similar details. Another great philosopher
Madhavcharya, says, we should lament when child becomes youth. Whereas we are
happy and celebrate.
We should realize that we are going from one phase to another. A worm while moving
from one leaf to another, clings to the new leaf and leaves the earlier one. Same
thing happening
to body also and so there should be no room for worry and concern. A person with
such attitude is called dheera.
After listening to this explanation , the Lord expects arjuna to reply as �I
accept that the body is perishable and the soul is permanent . But the soul is not
divorced from the body .
I have to bear the suffering due to arrows piercing my body and that of others who
are dear to me . How then do you justify this war with respect to the degree of
suffering caused ?�
This question is answered by the lord in the subsequent slokas .
2.14.
matra-sparshas tu kaunteya ! sitosna-sukha-duhkha-dah
agama payino anityaH ! tams-� titikshasva bharata
"O son of Kunti, the cold and heat and happiness and distress, are transient. They
arise from sense perception, O scion of Bharata, and one must learn to tolerate
them without
being disturbed."
O son of Kunti , as a result of the action of basic forces(tanma:tra:s) in the
form of shabda , sparsha , roopa , rasa and gandha otherwise speech , sensation ,
form , fluidity and smell
with which the senses come into contact by means of the field of association
called samyo:ga , coldness , heat etc are felt. These cause happiness and sorrow
in varying proportions.
In the state of liberation , such happiness or sorrow are incapable of affecting
the soul. Hence you must bear with such happiness and sorrow.
In response to previous sloka, Arjuna responds that, if the soul is eternal and
moves from body to body, then it will be ok, if the "I" is aware of this change.
But, since a person
does not know or does not have any proof of this, he is doubtful and grieved at
the thought of shedding his body at death! Krishna says in response, that since
he
is saying this happens, it should be accepted. Great Gnaani's and Yogis know
about this. Since individuals are ignorant, they don't realize it. For eg: WHen
a sun sets in east,
it rises on the other side of the earth. Even though people in east cannot
directly infer it, the truth is the sun is visible elsewhere.
Thus we believe others in the other part of the world saying that the Sun is still
shining. So, He asks Arjuna, 'you believe others but why not what I said about the
Atman?'. This is a
difficult suggestion. But only when we have this unshakable faith in Him that what
He told is the truth and correct, we can be regarded as Bhakthas. This appears to
be illogical.
There are many yogis and saints, who have seen the atman going from one body to
another. They are able to tell what was the previous birth and what the future
birth would be.
If one cultivates one�s knowledge, one can also know all these abstract
happenings. So Sri Krishna says that just because Arjuna did not know the traverse
from one body to another,
he cannot deny that phenomenon. Arjuna says that granting what He said was
accepted, why still one should fight and suffer? Even if the body and all
matters are momentary, all feel the pain and why should we suffer? Arjuna then
has another question, accepting even that soul is eternal, don't we still have to
suffer with pain in this body, indulging in warfare ?? Krishna responds that it
is true, but a true gnaani should bear it with equanimity. Sri Krishna says that
when objectives are exalted, one has to bear these
pains.
All types of weather (Heat, Cold etc) and all types of situations
(Happiness, Grief etc) should be borne with calmness and same attitude by a true
gnaani.
The basis for all this pain and pleasure is our "TanMaatras" which is
INEVITABLE. (Senses and the PanchaBhootams)
Maatra - TanMaatra :
Pancha Bhootam -Pritvi, Vayu, Apsu, Tejas, Akasaam
Pancha Tanmatram - Shabdham, Sparsam, Roopam, Rasam, Gandham
- "Gandhavati Pruthvi" (man-Vaasanai SMELL - NOSE) ,
"Water-Ruchi Rasam TASTE - TONGUE"
"Blaze of Fire has a FORM - EYES" ,
"Roopa Rahita Sparashavaan Vayu - TOUCH SKIN"
"Shabdham - SOUND - EAR"
Cold and heat and happiness and sorrow should be tolerated. Which are
responsible for these feelings? Sri Krishna mentions mathra and contact. Mathra
denotes the pancha thanmathra or the five basic feelings related to the five basic
elements. The five elements are earth, water, fire, air and space [prithvi, appu,
agni, vayu and akasam]. Each of these has a unique characteristic. These
characteristics are called the thanmathras. Smell or gandham is earth�s feature.
Taste or rasam is of water. Appearance or roopam is of fire. Touch or sparsam is
of air and sound or shabdam is of space. Each of these thanmathras are felt by
specific organs in our body, nose for smell, tongue for taste, eyes for vision,
ears for hearing and skin for touch.
ELEMENT**** THANMATHRA **** SENSING ORGAN
Earth *********smell or scent********* nose
Water********* taste***************** tongue
Fire************vision or sight ********eyes
Air ************touch****************skin
Space********** sound**************** ear
When there is a contact between the elements and the organs, we get that feeling
which is responsible for happiness or sorrow. If this contact or connection was
not there, we will not feel. So Sri Krishna says that this sparsam or connectivity
between the organs and the matter [composed of the five elements] happiness,
sorrow, heat and cold are felt. This cannot be avoided and inevitable. Similarly,
in a fight such pains are inevitable and with that knowledge Arjuna is advised to
bear the sufferings.
Every person will have to endure what he must . A brahmin or priest who does
rituals has to observe severe austerities , suffer from hunger and thirst till the
ritual is completed. Similarly what arjuna is doing is a ritual � a ritual for
justice . Besides , arjuna is the son of kunti whose fore fathers were great
warriors. Arjuna is the descendant of bharatha , another great warrior . Is it
justified for one born in the clan of great warriors to shy from pain of war ?
Hence the Lord instructs arjuna that the pain from war is to be endured as part of
his duty . Even if he runs away from war , he cannot escape pain . This is because
sorrow will haunt as long there is body . Until the state of liberation is reached
, one will have to endure all happiness and sorrow. There is no escape till then .
Such enduration will confer the greater fruit of the soul.
The two different names of address given to Arjuna are also significant. To
address him as Kaunteya signifies his great blood relations from his mother's
side; and to address him as Bharata signifies his greatness from his father's
side. From both sides he is supposed to have a great heritage. A great heritage
brings responsibility in the matter of proper discharge of duties; therefore, he
cannot avoid fighting.
2.15.
yam hi na vyatayantye:te: purusham purusharshabha |
sama dukha sukham dhi:ram so~mrutatva:ya kalpate:||
" O great of men , The courageous look at their sorrow as happiness itself. One
who remains unshaken by the emotions springing out of pleasure or pain is fit for
eternity."
In the 14th sloka, we saw that the connection with organs and elements creates
sorrow or happy feelings. Every doubt expressed here is on behalf of us by Arjuna.
He asks why should one bear these twins, happy and sorrow or cold and heat? By
getting hurt in this fight, if we are to get any benefits we can bear that pain.
Or, if it promises a better world after death also we can tolerate this pain. But
the pain is unbearable here and by killing relatives and teachers only hell is
assured, so this fight appears to be avoidable, says Arjuna.
Arjuna questions, WHY should he bear al the pain?? Is he going to get
"return" in this world for bearing the pain?? Or
is he going to be benefited in a future life (swargam etc..??)? Arjuna
says, he is only guaranteed Narakam by killing
his elders in future and in this life he is only going to get pain. So,
why should he battle??
Krishna responds : "DhIram" A DhirAm is one who remains poised , patient,
unruffled under any circumstance, whether
it is joy or sorrow is a true "KarmaYogi" (Dheeran!). For eg: Swami
Vivekananda gives an example that a KarmaYogi
is one who remains the same in Busy city market or a desert in the same
way.
The Courageous deem their suffering as inevitable as pleasure itself. To them the
waves of pleasure and pain are unavoidable. Therefore they perform their duties
assigned to them righteously without an eye on the result or fruit of such
exercise. Such action , to them is a means to immortality . O Arjuna , Only a
person who is unfazed by any contact, hard or soft such as those resulting from
the use of weapons in war , etc; is destined to immortality . You ,being the great
of your men , look unable to bear grief . This is not the behaviour of the
courageous.
The body is bound to perish. The soul is invincible and never loses its existence
. So the wise do not grieve for the body that has been already predestined to
perish. They don't grieve for the soul as its devoid of death . This much was
asserted in 2.11 . The Lord further advised Arjuna in the previous verse to remain
undisturbed by pleasure or pain . The reason for adopting the mental state of
treating pleasure and pain equally is now put forward. The Lord describes the
mental state of the courageous who have nothing to attain but immortality , and
hence are not worried about pain or pleasure.
And a Person who acts in such a way, is blessed with Liberation. What is
this "Amrutatvaya" which Krishna refers
here? It is not "Swargam" or "Narakam" (Like Arjuna fears). Liberation is
beyond Swargam and Narakam i.e
eternal Kaimkaryam to the Lord in Vaikuntam.
Pain and Pleasure is constantly arriving and departing in life. The same
thing which gives pleasure also gives pain
beyond a certain point or in a different situation. eg. In Cold , we wear
sweater, blanket etc , but the same blanket etc
is thrown out in Summer. Similarly, foods which seems bitter, tasteless
etc are normally good for health.
Now, how can be a "DhIran" ?? It is the Lord's grace and one's sense of
purpose to follow that path. For eg: Freedom
fighters in the past bore great pain without demur, which we cannot imagine
going through in normal circumstances.
Why? Because, they had the great sense of purpose to sacrifice and suffer.
The word purusham does not mean male, but atman. Our body is called puri and
the one who is dwelling in that puri is purusha. The soul is not different for
males and females.
2.16.
na: Asato: vidhyate: bha:vo: ! na:Abha:vo: vidhyate: sata: |
ubhayo:r api drushtah: antah: ! tu-anayo: tatva darshibhi: ||
Arjuna questions that why should one tolerate and be unruffled with pain and
pleasure?? Krishna continues his
response, by defining the nature of body and soul in great detail. In this
sloka, he says that the very nature of body
is changing and never constant and it is "unreal", whereas Soul is
constant. Nammazhwar says in his pasuram
in TiruvaayMozhi that "Min in Nila Yila, Mann uyir akaaigal ..", that
compared to the body a lightning's lifespan is far
better , because we all know the life span of lightning, whereas a human
life is not even guaranteed that span!
Azhwar also sings the same in this pasuram " Illadum uladum, alladum
avanuru ...".
**Please note: "Unreal" does NOT mean that the body does NOT exist. It
means that the body is changing and
TEMPORARY.
(Advaitains interpret this unreal literally, which is not the view of
Vishtadvaita).
The literal meaning of anta is end. Here it means the summation or
conclusion of the essential natures of sat and asat. The authoritative conclusion
arrived at by elevated sages in this matter is that the nature of the physical
body is asat being temporary and that the nature of the spiritual soul is sat
being eternal. That which is asat is therefore known by its perishable nature and
that which is sat is known by its imperishable nature. Hence it is clear that what
is indicated by satva and asatva are the soul and the body.
Four important terms are defined here:
Sat = Atmah Asat = Body
BhAvah = Constant and eternal AbhaVah = changing
* na: Asato: vidhyate: bha:vo: -> Body is NOT constant and eternal (i.e
it is constantly changing)
* na: Abha:vo: vidhyate: sata: -> Atmah is NOT changing (it is
eternal).
The Lord uses two Negatives here , instead of one positive. So, it's
slightly confusing, but it is done to lay emphasis.
*The above two truths about Body and Soul, were seen (drustah:) have been
said by great seers.
The property of the body is asat . It cannot be designated as sat. The property of
the soul is sat and similarly it cannot be referred as asat. This is the ultimate
truth as has been asserted by the word "anta:h" and has been seen by the
intellects of truth or sages.
Asat denotes perishability. Sat denotes constancy . Thus the conclusion drawn is
this "the body is perishable , the soul is constant."
Sva:mi Para:shara said , "tasma:t vigna:namruthe: kinchith kacitkada:ciddvija
vastuja:tam sadbha:vam e:vam bhavato: mayo:� kto: gna:nam yatha:
satyamasatyamanyata". [Meaning : "O Twice born(or brahmin) , it is a straight
conclusion barring the soul there is no other quantity even in meagre measure that
is free of perishability . Thus I have taught you that the soul is that which is
the truth . Everything else is asatyam or devoid of constancy.]
It has also been mentioned in the Vishnu pura:na "yatu ka:la:ntare:Na:pi na:naya:m
sagnya:mupaiti vai | pariNa:madi sambhu:ta:m tat vastu nrupa taccha kim ?
" [Meaning: "Which is that O king , that over the periods of change undergoes no
modification in terms of its identity (i.e.. it receives no names) ?" � the
implication being the soul.
The Lord Himself says in 2-18 , "antavanta ime: de:ha:h" [Meaning: These bodies
will have an end"] and "avina:shi tu tadviddhi"[Meaning: Know that the soul is
indestructible] in 2-17.
To achieve something, there is always some struggle involved. To win a race,
it needs practice and enduring the rigors of the race. Similarly,
a woman gives birth to a child and has to endure pain, but at the end of it ,
she enjoys the bliss and company of the baby. For doing great in
exam, students struggle but it pays off at results time. Krishna is saying the
same here to Arjuna, saying even if he avoids this war, he can't escape
fighting as a kshatriya. Body's very nature is change. Atma's very nature is
unchanging. But how is it that the souls imperishable nature is known? The next
verse states this.
2.17.
avinasi tu tad viddhi !yena sarvam idam tatam
vinasam avyayas-yasya na kascit kartum arhati
"That which pervades the entire body you should know to be indestructible. No one
is able to destroy that imperishable soul."
Krishna explains in this sloka , why the Atma is eternal and never perishes. In
the 16th sloka He told about the everlasing nature of
the soul and the fleeting nature of the body. In this (17th )sloka He gives the
reason for the eternity of the soul and in the 18th sloka the reasons for the
perishable quality of body.
In this sloka, krishna says that which pervades the body is indestructible.
He refers to Soul as unperishable.
No one or Nothing can destroy the soul. Why? That's the inherent nature of
the soul.
Note: The allusion here is that there are NUMEROUS Souls! The soul in one
body is different from the soul in another body.
This disputes the "Advaitic" theory of only One Soul.
ANother intresting thing to note is, Krishna says only a "subtlel" element
only destroys a "grosser" element and not in the reverse.
For eg: An arrow or a Bullet which is Sukshmam annhilates a Sthulam eg. Man,
Elephant etc. But, not the reverse.
Using this logic, since Soul is the smallest atom i.e most subtle
(Sukshmam), there is nothing or anybody which can perish it, so
it is Eternal! THis is the reasoning Krishna mentions here to support the
assertion that Soul is eternal.
Know that the self in its essential nature is imperishable. The whole of
insentient matter, which is different (from the self), is pervaded by the self.
Because of pervasiveness and extreme subtlety, the self cannot be destroyed; for
every entity other than the self is capable of being pervaded by the self, and
hence they are grosser than It. Destructive agents like weapons, water, wind, fire
etc., pervade the substances to be destroyed and disintegrate them. Even hammers
and such other instruments rouse wind through violent contact with the objects and
thereby destroy their objects. So, the essential nature of the self being subtler
than anything else, It is imperishable. Agents like fire , water or wind pervade
the substances and cause destruction. Striking objects are guided by force cutting
the air . Destruction is caused by forces which are subtle essentially. The
destroyed objects are gross and manifest.So for destruction to be effected , the
destroying agent must be subtler than the object destroyed. The soul is subtler
than everything else . Hence it is free of destruction.
That is, only sookshmam [minute] will destroy sthoolam [enormity] and as a
corollary sthoolam can never destroy sookshmam. Since atman is the tiniest and
there is nothing else
smaller than atman, it cannot be destroyed. Let us examine the veracity of this
Law. A stout rod destroys a small earthen pot. Apparently,it is contrary to the
law mentioned now in that
the bigger rod destroyed the smaller pot. But actually, the enormity has not
destroyed the pot. If that was true then a big bundle of cotton if thrown on the
pot should have broken the pot.
Similarly, if the rod were just kept on the pot, the pot remains without
breaking. So a massive rod alone is not responsible for breaking the pot. Even a
throw cannot break the pot as
we saw throwing cotton bundle could not break it. So it is seen that a rod and a
force are needed to break the pot. This is also not enough. If the pot were at one
place and if we swipe
the rod with force at another place, the pot will not break. Because a contact
between the rod and pot is essential to break the pot. So, we can now conclude
that to break a pot, a
mass, a force and a contact are needed. Science tells that mass and velocity [or
acceleration] produce force or power and this in a minute form acts at the contact
point to destroy.
We can remember the famous equation E [energy]= m [mass] Xc*2 [velocity]. Thus the
law is observed to be true. An invisible minute power destroyed the pot. That is
why
Sri Krishna says that atman without a smaller entity being available, can never be
destroyed.
The soul is described as one ten-thousandth part of the upper portion of the hair
point in size. The Svetasvatara Upanisad confirms this:
balagra-sata-bhagasya satadha kalpitasya ca
bhago jivah sa vijneyah sa canantyaya kalpate
"When the upper point of a hair is divided into one hundred parts and again each
of such parts is further divided into one hundred parts, each such part is the
measurement of the dimension of the spirit soul." (Svet. 5.9)
In the Mundaka Upanisad the measurement of the atomic spirit soul is further
explained:
eso 'nur atma cetasa veditavyo
yasmin pranah pancadha samvivesa
pranais cittam sarvam otam prajanam
yasmin visuddhe vibhavaty esa atma
"The soul is atomic in size and can be perceived by perfect intelligence. This
atomic soul is floating in the five kinds of air [prana, apana, vyana, samana and
udana], is situated within the heart, and spreads its influence all over the body
of the embodied living entities. When the soul is purified from the contamination
of the five kinds of material air, its spiritual influence is exhibited." (Mund.
3.1.9)
In Tatparya Chandrikai, Swami Desikan says that it's true that Jeevatma is more
subtle and Sukshmamam and
nothing can destroy it. But, isn't Paramaatma is more subtle (Sukshmam) than
Jeevatma.
Shastras says that Paramaatma is " Anoraniyan, MahatoMaHiyaan, Atmauhaayaam ...".
So, can't Paramatma be the
reason for destroying Jeevatma?? Atleast potentially ?
(Remember the analogy: SimCard is the atma and Cellphone is the body; Next,
with just Simcard, cell phone will not
work; It needs to catch signal from Tower to work. Tower is similar to
Paramatma. Though in this case, the paramatma
is inside Jeevatma and not outside. Another example: Injection. Inserting a
needle inside the body is required to put
the medicine inside the body. Similarly the needle is like Jeevatma and the
medicine inside needle is the Paramatma.)
Nammazhwar says "Udal Misai Uyir Enna, Karand Engum Parand Ulan ....", which
confirms that Paramatma is inside
every Jeevatma. Now the question arises, can't Paramatma destroy Jeevatma ??
This causes a dilemma !
If we say, Paramatma can destroy Jeevatma, then it negates the fact that Jeevatma
is indestructible! But, if we say
Paramatma cannot destroy Jeevatma, then it negates the fact that Paramatma is
"Sarva Shakti" (attributes of Bhagavan).
Swami Desikan says that "Paramatma" definitely has the capability to destroy
"Jeevatma", since he is Bhagavan.
But, Paramatama has taken "Sankalpam" NOT to destroy Jeevatma. {Satyam Satyam
Punah Satyam! Udbrhishta
Bhujam Uchyateh!... )
2.18.
antavanta ime: deha:h nityasyokta: Sari:riNah |
ana:shino:~aprame:yasya tasma:t yudhyasva bha:rata ||
In the last slo:ka , it was clearly established that the soul is to be eternal .
In this slo:ka it is being ascertained on the pillars of the holy scriptures that
the body which houses the soul is inherently prone to destruction . Basically the
arguments in this slo:ka and the last are soul-centric. While the last slo:ka
explains the soul's nature of being undestroyed , this one puts across a view of
contrasting the eternal nature of soul with the property of destruction inherently
dwelling in the body . Hence the Lord advises , "Grieve not . Fight!"
(The Lord) now says that the bodies are perishable and the reason for it. The
very nature of Body is perishable.
He gives three reasons for it in this sloka. The immeasurable (aprameyasya) and
indestructible(aNasinah) soul(Sari:riNah) gets a
perishable (anta-vantah) body (deha:h) as per it's Karmas. The Soul is eternal
(Nityasya). Note: Immeasurable i.e aPrameyasya
means something which cannot be comprehended or measured (Prameyam is something we
can imagine or comprehend).
Ime -> all these i.e which we can see. What? This is the PanchaBhootam out of
which Body is made. Anything which
is made of panchaBhootam is destructible (eg: take example of Upma, which is a
mixture of salt, water, flour etc and
has a lifespan of just a day, compared to years of the salt, water, flour etc
individually). Whereas, Soul is made of
Gnaanam and is eternal.
dehAh -> Upachayam (grown) and Apachayam(dimimish). Body is subject to growth
and decay. Body has external
features like legs, hands,eyes, ears, nose etc, unlike Atma. Atma is sukshmam and
is unchanged.
The term deha meaning body is derived from the word dih meaning to increase and
correspondingly those bodies having increase must also have decrease and therefore
are of a
perishable nature. The elements combine to form the body dictated by karma ato
render service to the imperishable soul to enable the living entity to experience
the positive and
negative fruits of their actions. In the Brihad- aranyaka Upanisad it is stated:
by accruring merit one becomes meritorious. A living entity is forced to accept a
body only until all ones
positive and negative karma is exhausted and then the physical body is no longer
bound to exist in the physical plane.
Sareerinah(Jeevatma), Sarirah(Body) -> Sareeram is by it's very nature subject to
decay, because it's purpose to exhaust
the good and bad karmas of Jeevatma.
The body is called de:ha , Sari:ra etc; This principally qualifies that the body
is composed of parts . As it is composed of parts , destruction or damage of
individual parts means destruction of body. Further , the body is understood to be
composed of five elements . As new matter cannot be created from nothingness , its
the elements that have transformed into body . To rediscover the elements , its
only imperative that the body shed into its elements . Hence , the passing
existence of the body is beyond doubt or debate .
Sari:riNah denotes the proprietor of the body , that is the soul . A man owns his
house. His house could be quite strong or weak, tall or small , vast or compact .
If there are holes on the roof of his house , he suffers during rain . Otherwise ,
he comfortably protects himself . The house , depending on its nature decided the
comfort or trouble of its owner. Similarly the body decides the pleasure or pain
of the soul .The soul dwells in the body. The bodies are different because of the
differences in good or bad actions (karma) of the indwelling soul. Accordingly the
soul begets the good or bad results stemming out of his actions through the body.
As it is understood that the body is merely an enclosure for the soul , that
provides pain or pleasure in accordance to the soul's karma , its again inferred
easily that the body cannot exist for ever. It will cease to exist once the
pleasure or pain that was consigned to it , to be conferred upon the soul are all
exhausted. Hence , it can be concluded that the body is of temporal existence.
The body is therefore of transient existence as it is
1.composed of parts (Posseses organs, limbs etc)
2.macroscopic allowing further addition of macroscopic objects like food to enter
it ( its not eternal or permanent and its composition is often altered)
3.built or transformed from the five elements (Pancha Bhootam )
4.only an enclosure for serving on the soul the fruits of pain or pleasure
consigned to it. (Vehicle to perform karma)
But the soul is eternal because it is
1.not composed of parts
2.not pervaded or added by other macroscopic material
3.a unit in itself and not built from elements (it is pure Gyaana only)
4. the real sufferer/enjoyer of cycles of pain and pleasure through the body
(beneficiary of karma)
Whatever part of the body falls or decays , the soul remains the same . The
cognition of 'I' is independent of the body. Whether the body is put to disease or
disability , the 'I' factor always remains unaltered. Pain is sensed in the hand
or leg etc; when it comes to body level. But talking at the level of soul , there
is no headache of soul or legsore . The soul suffers as a unit . It is not built
on any parts. It cannot be transformed into anything new. The conscious is eternal
, irrespective of the nature or the state of the body. Experience may come in
different forms but ultimately its the 'I' , that forms the focal point of all
experience. What is cognized as 'I' is the soul.
So, in summary, the three main differences between Jeevatma and Body is that
Body is made of PANCHABOOTAMS,
Body has external attributes, Body's purpose to exhaust the Karma of the
Jeevatma, whereas Soul is "Jnaanam", is
"sukshamam".
(In the 17th sloka, Krishna reasoned that Atma is Nityam because its is
Sukshmam(subtle) and Pervasive. In the
18th sloka, he reasons that Body is temporary because it's made of
PanchaBhootas, is a vehicle to exhaust Karma
and is subject to change i.e growth and decay. So, in summary, Atma is
eternal and Body is temporary).
Going by the science elucidated above , its clear that it is not just that the
soul is eternal , it "alone" is . The body is bound to perish. So the eternal of
eternals , the Lord tells Arjuna , " Your grief is unjustified on any account .
Rise and fight."
Now a question arises on why Krishna has to go to such depths to explain the
temporary nature of the Body. It's well known
that Body is temporary and decayable by common observation. However, it is not so
and there are reasons to make this much of effort to say. Firstly, atman is not
perishable like Him,
the Paramatma. This is affirmative comparison. In a negative comparison, the atman
is not like the body, which perishes. So, to establish the superiority of atman,
destructible body is
compared. Just as we come across dos and don ts in our daily � life, two types of
examples were needed to show the indestructible quality of atman and so comparison
with body was
necessary.
Krishna does so to emphasize that even if Arjuna doesn't battle, the demise of
body of his opposition is anyway foregone. Next, krishna also says this to people
who are
worried about their continued misery, saying the bodily misery is temporary and
we have to do our duty. Another reason is, it's a sign for people who spend lot
of time and money
decorating themselves in a artificial sense and Krishna says irrespective of all
the "alankaram" being done to body, it's just artificial and doesn't change it's
temporary nature. Importantly, by understanding that body is temporary, Krishna
wants us to build "Vairagyam" (Detachment), knowing that Soul is permanent.
2.19.
ya-enam vetti hantaram! yas cainam manyate hatam
ubhau tau na vijanitah! nA-yam hanti na-hanyate
There is nothing or anybody which can destroy a soul. A soul cannot be killed
nor is there anything which can destroy
a soul. Thus a Soul is eternal. The two types of people, i.e one who thinks
there is something which kills this Atma or that Soul gets killed, are
ignorant. Whoever doesn't understand this, doesn't have true knowledge.
Now, a moral dilemma arises. In shastras, there are statements which advices us
not to treat and kill other Jeevas (animals,
humans, trees etc Na Himsyaat Sarva BhutaanI). But, here Krishna says that a
Soul can never be destroyed or killed by anybody or anything. Isn't it
contradictory?
Does the Shastras means "Body" shouldn't be injured and not refers to Soul? Not
really, since after the soul leaves the body, body perishes by itself. The reason
is, when Shastras
warn us not to mistreat or harm other creatures, it means that we shouldn't
"separate" a body and it's soul, because we have no right to do it!! (source:
Katavalli Upanishad).
We may think, perhaps the shastras only ask us not to kill the bodies of other
creatures. When Veda says cow slaughter should be avoided, does it mean the body
of the cow should not be hurt? This is also not correct. Because, when someone
dies, the body is cremated by igniting fire to the body. None calls this as himsa
or hurting. So the shastras instruct us not to harm a body which is living or when
the soul is inside. Therefore, the implication is that one should not cause
maranam [death]. Maranam means mruth prana thyagena. That is separation of atman
from the body and the Vedas advise us not to do this separation. So, the correct
interpretation of the shastras is that, we are not authorized to separate the soul
from the body.
Conclusion:
1.The scriptures don't talk of destroying the body alone.(dead body)
2. The scriptures ban unrighteous separation of soul from body. This is called
non-violence theory or policy of ahimsa.
3. In case of situations like righteous war, the scriptures allow the action of
separaton of soul from body. This is only to establish righteousness .
As the soul is indestructible and cannot be destroyed by any agent, its ignorance
to think that one can destroy the "very existence" itself even in righteous
actions like war. The soul continues to exist even after the action of "killing"
known to the world.
2.20.
na jAyate mriyate va kadacit ! nAyam bhutva bhavita va na bhuyah !
ajo nityah sasvato yam purano ! na hanyate � hanyamAne sarire !
"For the soul there is neither birth nor death at any time. He was not born at the
time of kalpa, does not disappear at the end of kalpa. He is unborn, eternal,
unchanging and very
ancient. He is not slain when the body is slain." The soul never takes birth or
dies. The soul is unborn , beyond destruction , without any changes in their
intrinsic state and remains
FRESH even after being many ages old. It is not formed at the beginning of
creation and it is not destroyed at the end of this world. The soul remains even
as the body perishes.
Soul is -> "ajah:" (unborn), "Nitya:"(eternal), "Sasvatah:"(not subject to
modification), "Puranah" (pura-apinavah: -> always fresh;-) ), forever(kadacit).
The word purana means ancient. Etymologically it stems from purapi navah meaning
old yet new illustrating that the eternal soul although ancient is experienced
with every birth
as ever new. Thus it has been clarified that the physical body only perishes but
never can the eternal soul perish.
The 17th sloka dealt with the reasoning that since there is not a smaller entity
than the atman, it is indestructible. In the 18th sloka, since the body was a
composite of the five elements
and since it was growing and waning, it is destroyable. In the 19th sloka, it was
told that he, who does not understand this true nature of atman and body, is not a
wise man. Having
stated so, now in the 20th sloka, Sri Krishna establishes that atman does not
undergo any changes whatsoever.
In this slokam, Krishna says that Soul is not only eternal and indestructible,
but it is not subject to any change,
at ANY time. This is to address the doubt Arjuna had on whether the Soul was
"indestructible and not subject to change", just
now or in last 1000 years and probably it has a "manufacturing and expiry" date?.
Krishna says emphatically that soul
is "ALWAYS" eternal, unborn, without death and unchanging. Now, we will have a
doubt. In shastras, it is mentioned that
the lifespan of a human is less than Devas , which is less than Brahma etc.. (eg:
1 human year is equal to 1 day for deva).
4 Yugas = 4,320,000 years * 1000 is the span of Brahma for one kalpa, when Shrusti
and Pralayam takes place.
Krishna says here, that Soul is never born or dead during any of this times,
whether it is Shrusthi, Pralayam, Kalpa or
a human life span!!
Now, another question arises, since the souls are eternal, are we Paramatma??
No, Jeevatmas are separate from Paramatma. Due to ignorance and material contact,
we have lost this true knowledge. Based on our karmas, the soul takes bodies
accordingly. In an inanimate object, also soul exists, but it has no way to
increase it's
understanding. Beyond, inanimate objects is trees, then animals, then human, then
devas etc. When it acheives true knowledge, it reaches "paramapadam" to live
eternally with Paramatma.
Each of this body, gives the soul a potential to gain the true nature of itself.
Soul is not subject to the six types of change, like body! But, intrestingly,
even though Soul is eternal, it appears to be changing as per the body it takes.
It's similar to we wearing different types and colors of dresses every day! Even
though we are the same person, our external appearance seems to change as per the
dress we wear!
This Self (Atman) is destitute of the six types of transformation or Bhava-Vikaras
such as birth, existence, growth, transformation, decline and death. As It is
indivisible (Akhanda).
It does not diminish in size. It neither grows nor does It decline. It is ever
the same. Birth and death are for the physical body only. Birth and death cannot
touch the immortal, all-pervading Self. The understanding that the eternal soul is
never slain is being confirmed by its freedom from the six changes of material
existence being: birth, existence, growth, modification, decay and death which are
controlling all living entities high and low in the material existence. The
Supreme Lord by declaring the eternal soul is not born confirms the absence of any
birth and by declaring the eternal soul does not die confirms the absence of any
destruction. The word va occurring twice is used in the sense of and as in and the
immortal soul does not come into existence by birth. The immortal soul is already
by nature itself eternal. So existence by conception is proven false due to the
fact the eternal soul is birthless. That which is conceived attains existence
after birth; but that which already eternally exists by its own nature cannot be
conceived again. This is the purport of this verse. Constant means not subject to
modification. This confirms the absence of growth. Eternal confirms the absence of
decay. Ancient confirms the absence of ageing ever beyond time the eternal soul is
ageless. Thus there is never a repetition regarding the existence of the eternal
soul and the six changes of the physical of birth, existence, growth,
modification, decay and death mentioned by Yaksa and other expounders of the Vedic
scriptures as to the nature of things in this world never is applicable to the
eternal soul which factually every living entity born from a womb possesses. The
imperishable nature of the soul and the fact that the six changes of the physical
body have no influence on it which is the topic presently under discussion has now
been satisfactorily concluded and so it is confirmed that the eternal soul does
not perish when the body perishes.
In the Katha Upanisad also we find a similar passage which reads:
na jayate mriyate va vipascin
nayam kutascin na vibhuva kascit
ajo nityah sasvato 'yam purano
na hanyate hanyamane sarire
(Katha 1.2.18)
The meaning and purport of this verse is the same as in the Bhagavad-gita, but
here in this verse there is one special word, vipascit, which means learned or
with knowledge.
The soul is full of knowledge, or full always with consciousness. Therefore,
consciousness is the symptom of the soul. Even if one does not find the soul
within the heart, where he is situated, one can still understand the presence of
the soul simply by the presence of consciousness. Sometimes we do not find the sun
in the sky owing to clouds, or for some other reason, but the light of the sun is
always there, and we are convinced that it is therefore daytime. As soon as there
is a little light in the sky early in the morning, we can understand that the sun
is in the sky. Similarly, since there is some consciousness in all bodies--whether
man or animal--we can understand the presence of the soul. This consciousness of
the soul is, however, different from the consciousness of the Supreme because the
supreme consciousness is all-knowledge--past, present and future. The
consciousness of the individual soul is prone to be forgetful. When he is
forgetful of his real nature, he obtains education and enlightenment from the
superior lessons of Krsna.
The soul is full of knowledge, or full always with consciousness. Therefore,
consciousness is the symptom of the soul. Even if one does not find the soul
within the heart, where he is situated, one can still understand the presence of
the soul simply by the presence of consciousness. Sometimes we do not find the sun
in the sky owing to clouds, or for some other reason, but the light of the sun is
always there, and we are convinced that it is therefore daytime. As soon as there
is a little light in the sky early in the morning, we can understand that the sun
is in the sky. Similarly, since there is some consciousness in all bodies--whether
man or animal--we can understand the presence of the soul. This consciousness of
the soul is, however, different from the consciousness of the Supreme because the
supreme consciousness is all-knowledge--past, present and future. The
consciousness of the individual soul is prone to be forgetful. When he is
forgetful of his real nature, he obtains education and enlightenment from the
superior lessons of Krsna.
The great deluge [pralayam] is called kalpa. At the start of the kalpa, Brahma
creates everything in this Universe. At that time also the atman is not created.
Nor the atmans perish at the end of a kalpa. When a child is born, at that time an
atman chooses that body and is born. Atman is there in everything. It is in this
plant and in that pillar. One may wonder how atman can be in those inanimate
objects. But if we examine closely, even our body is inanimate and we know atman
is there. So, there is atman in all materials also. The only difference is that
the atman in our body can develop his knowledge while, the atman in the pillar has
no scope for wisdom. The atman in that pillar is there to expend the karma he had
acquired and the moment that is over, that atman will depart that pillar and
reside in another body. The magnitude of the wisdom of the atman in any body is
determined by its past karma. If the wisdom is, let us say, 0%, it resides in an
inanimate body like pillar. A slightly higher intellectual makes the soul to take
a bird s body or animal s body. More wisdom makes the soul to take � � bodies of human
beings or devas or even a Brahma. So the ranking of the knowledge decides the body
that soul will be residing. The up and down in gyana or wisdom is only found in
atmans. Once, the soul has taken a body, he tries to develop his wisdom and seek a
higher level and ultimately, resides in the Sri Vaikuntam or His abode from where
there is no more return for the atman to lower planes like this earth. Thus atman
is eternal and never undergoes any change. Sri Krishna calls atman as purana. Pura
api navaha puranaha is the Sanskrit meaning for the word purana. It means to say
that it is very ancient and at the same time fresh or novel. Atman also is ancient
but appears fresh everyday. It is common knowledge that we seek changes so as to
avoid monotonous, which can be boring and dull. We rearrange our surroundings. We
change our dress. So Arjuna feels that an unchanging and static atman might cause
boredom. Sri Krishna allays such thoughts and says that atman is fresh everyday
with more and better knowledge. This is a greatness of atman that though he is
changeless, he appears afresh every time. Like Sri Aravamudan of Thirukkudanthai
[Kumbakonam], Alwar says, every time he visits Him, he finds Him revealing Himself
differently. We listen to Sri Ramayana. But every time we listen it refreshes our
knowledge. So He now tells Arjuna that by killing Bheeshma, he will not kill the
atman of Bheeshma.
2-21:
vedA-avinasinam nityam ya enam ajam avyayam
katham sa purushah pArtha kam-ghAtayati hanti kam
"O Partha, how can a person who knows that the soul is indestructible, eternal,
unborn and immutable kill anyone or encourage anyone to kill?"
Tirumangai Azhwar says in Thirunedundantakam - Munuru(Achit),
Pinuru(Jeevatma,Chit), Ponuru (Paramatma).
" .. Irrapaturuku enathu!". Paramatma is embedded inside every Jeevatma and
Jeevatma is in every material body.
One who knows the true nature of soul is eternal understands that he cannot
destroy or kill anybody, nor will be make an attempt
to kill. Krishna says this to Arjuna to ensure that if he knows this truth, he
will understand that he cannot kill Bhishma, Drona etc.
Atma is inside Shareeram, temporarily. Soul is "AJAM" (unborn, unchanging).,
NITYAM(eternal), AVINASINAM (indestructible), "AVYAYAM" (unchangeable). Whoever
realises this gnaanam (i.e a soul is unborn, eternal, indestructible), CANNOT
kill anybody and neither will he even attempt to kill i.e
"Katam cha purushah paartha!".
There are two types of Tattvam - ParaaDarsham, PratyaDarsham. Achit (Lamp, Stone
etc) are all Paraaa Darsham. Whereas,
human, animal etc is all "PratyaDarsham", because we all have the feeling of "I"
(self), which is "Self-illuminating".
So possessing spiritual intelligence, knowing the soul to be eternal,
understanding it to be birthless and deathless being of an inexhaustible nature
how is it possible for anyone to commit any act of destruction against the
immortal soul which dwells in trillions of various and diverse living entities
among the 8 million 400 thousand species of life throughout the billions of
material universes. Whom can anyone destroy? How can anyone destroy anyone? Who
can cause anyone to be destroyed? No one can! Thus it can be seen that ignorance
of the eternal nature of the soul is the cause of all grief by not understanding
that the soul is immortal and thinking that the eternal soul perishes when the
physical body perishes. Comprehending that what happens to the immortal soul when
the physical body ceases to function is factually the withdrawal from an old
physical body to enter into a new physical body. So it can be understood that
those who have deep regret for the loss of the physical body, serving as it does
as the facility for securing and enjoying material pleasures; these living
entities should reflect on the futility and temporal nature of material existence
rather than trying to eternally exploit their senses.
Yaksha poses this question to DharmaPutram in Mahabharat - "What is the most
wonderful-AAshcharyam thing in this world" ??
Yudishtra replies that "even though this body has 9 holes, the Jeevatma doesn't
fly away and still resides in this body!.. that is the
most amazing thing in this world" . Body is "NavaDwara Pura patnam". Yaksha
poses another question : "What is even more amazing"?
Yudishtra replies that "Seeing so many people die also, a person still thinks he
is going to live forever. For eg: Even the pallbearers
plan to make a living by carrying dead!". So it is very difficult to come to that
realization that the atman is everlasting and the body only perishes.
2-22:
vAsamsi jirnani yatha vihaya navani grhnati naro �parani
tatha sarirani vihaya jirnany anyani samyAti navani dehi
"As a person puts on new garments, giving up used up ones, the soul similarly
accepts new material bodies, giving up the old and useless ones."
Arjuna has a doubt now, after hearing Krishna mentioning that Atma is Nityam,
Indestructible etc , body is temporary and will
fall and that one has to bear the pain to achieve the goal. But, human has an
attachment by nature with his body, due to the
association of being in it. It's natural! So, isn't it normal to show attachment
to a body which has given us company throughout the life
and not show any dukham to it's demise or destruction?? In response Krishna
mentions that Slokam. He says that rather than
showing Dukham at the demise of the body, one should express joy! He says, just
like a man wears new garments and throws
off worn out garments, similarly the Jeevatma casts off one body and takes
another. So, isn't it a cause for joy rather than sorrow?
So, rather than feeling sorrow of casting away old body and taking new, it should
be joyous occasion.
In Taittraya Upanishad " Yuvasya .. athisthio... Maanusha Anandah", it says that
Youth is the ultimate fountainhead of happiness for
human life and when this body has overlasted it's usefulness, so isn't it a joy to
shed it?
Now, Arjuna had another doubt - If at the end of this life, one gets a worst body
e.g. animal etc due to past karmas, isn't it a scary thought?
i.e if one gets to wear rags, it would be preferable to wear an old shirt, rather
than shedding it and wearing a rag. Krishna says that,
Arjuna need not fear, since he is fighting a battle doing his Kshatriya duty and
even if he perishes in the battle, he is assured of swargam.
So, he need not worry about the next life.
Transference of the atomic individual soul to another body is made possible by the
grace of the Supersoul. The Supersoul fulfills the desire of the atomic soul as
one friend fulfills the desire of another. The Vedas, like the Mundaka Upanisad,
as well as the Svetasvatara Upanisad, compare the soul and the Supersoul to two
friendly birds sitting on the same tree. One of the birds (the individual atomic
soul) is eating the fruit of the tree, and the other bird (Krsna) is simply
watching His friend. Of these two birds--although they are the same in quality--
one is captivated by the fruits of the material tree, while the other is simply
witnessing the activities of His friend. Krsna is the witnessing bird, and Arjuna
is the eating bird. Although they are friends, one is still the master and the
other is the servant. Forgetfulness of this relationship by the atomic soul is the
cause of one's changing his position from one tree to another or from one body to
another. The jiva soul is struggling very hard on the tree of the material body,
but as soon as he agrees to accept the other bird as the supreme spiritual
master--as Arjuna agreed to do by voluntary surrender unto Krsna for instruction--
the subordinate bird immediately becomes free from all lamentations. Both the
Katha Upanisad and Svetasvatara Upanisad confirm this:
samane vrkse puruso nimagno
'nisaya socati muhyamanah
justam yada pasyaty anyam isam asya
mahimanam iti vita-sokah
"Although the two birds are in the same tree, the eating bird is fully engrossed
with anxiety and moroseness as the enjoyer of the fruits of the tree. But if in
some way or other he turns his face to his friend who is the Lord and knows His
glories--at once the suffering bird becomes free from all anxieties." Arjuna has
now turned his face towards his eternal friend, Krsna, and is understanding the
Bhagavad-gita from Him. And thus, hearing from Krsna, he can understand the
supreme glories of the Lord and be free from lamentation.
2-23 & 2-24:
na-enam chindanti shastrani na-enam dahati pavakah:
na ca-enam kledayanty-apah: na sosayati marutah
"The soul can never be cut to pieces by any weapon, nor burned by fire, nor
moistened by water, nor dried by the wind."
acchEdyo yam adAhyo yam aklEdyo � � asosya eva ca
nityah: sarva-gatah: sthanuh: acalo �yam puratanah
"This individual soul is unbreakable and insoluble, and can be neither burned nor
dried. He is everlasting, present everywhere, unchangeable, immovable and
eternally the same."
The concept of indestructibility of the soul that was already spoken from 11 to 17
is being reiterated here for the sake of emphasis.
Soul cannot be cleaved, burnt, wetted or dryed by weapons, fire, water and air
respectively. It is not capable of being
pervaded by them and cleaving, burning, wetting and drying are actions which can
take place only by pervading a substance.
Krishna says the same thing in both verses 23 and 24, only with a different
wording. Why?? Because, this is important and he
wants to reemphasize the truth of such import, by repeating and stressing on it.
No Weapons can cut this soul! Fire cannot burn this soul! Water cannot drown or
destroy this soul! Air cannot dry or destroy this soul!
Why? Because soul is pervaded inside everything! Now a question will arise -
Isn't this pervasion, omnipresence a characterisitic of
only Paramatma?? Not really. Paramatma is indeed omnipresent, but Jeevatma also
has pervasion(sarvagatah). The significant
difference is that, numerous jeevatmas pervaded throughout the substances of this
world and at any single time, single place, a jeevatma can only pervade only one
place, unlike Paramatma who pervades across space, time and place. Now, Arjuna
has another doubt. Ok, a soul
cannot be cut, burnt or destroyed in any way. But, will a soul will subject to
perishment over course of time? Will it change its nature,
svabhavam over time?? Krishna says NO. Self is eternal. It is Stable,
Immovable (achalah) and primeval (Puratanah).
Another important point here is that Krishna says Self is always having
knowledge(achalah) and it doesn't change or get any new knowledge.
What makes humans and other beings behave differently is due to this knowledge
being hidden or covered due to karmas, just like
a Sun gets temporarily obscured by clouds.
Though the two slokas appear to be repetitive, the 23rd sloka talks of implements,
if any, to destroy atman and the next sloka says the atman is indestructible. It
is our experience in our schools also that important points are reiterated by
teachers so that they are remembered always. Here, Sri Krishna also a Teacher par
excellence, wants Arjuna to remember these noble qualities of atman, and so
reiterates. This will clear any doubts Arjuna has. In the first place, He says
that no weapons are there to cut the atman. Fire cannot burn it. Water cannot wet
it. Here it should be understood that the atman couldn t be � dissolved by water.
Air cannot dry it.
In the next sloka Sri Krishna says about the everlasting nature of atman, which we
had seen earlier. But, in addition He makes another statement that atman is
pervading or permeating all over. We have heard that only Paramatma or God only is
all pervading and omni present. How, then, atman can have this quality? The
interpretation by elders is that when an atman is in a body, by its power of
wisdom or knowledge it is pervading in the entire body without a gap. Same atman
when takes another body as its residence, pervades that body fully. Like this many
bodies are fully pervaded by the atman, at different times. This is a major
difference between the Paramatma and the Jeevatma. While, the former permeates all
bodies always and simultaneously, the latter occupies different bodies at
different times. It is said that certain yogis have that power to have their atman
present in more than one body at the same time. Normally, atman is present in one
body only. Arjuna accepts that it is all right the atman cannot be dissolved by
water or burnt by fire and so on, but it is possible, he doubts, that the atman
might fade on its own and disappear. Sri Krishna says that the eternalness is
natural to atman. Still not convinced, Arjuna feels that the atman may change its
characters with time. He wants to know whether atman�s swabhavam or
characteristics undergo change. Sri Krishna says that the swabhavam of atman is
gyana or intellect. In other words it is gyana swaroopy, a personification of
wisdom. This never changes. A fresh doubt comes in the mind of Arjuna. We find
knowledge is neither uniform nor complete and we take efforts to develop. So how
it is justified to say that the knowledge of soul is not changing? Our elders have
explained this. All atman have total wisdom but when in a body, the knowledge
exhibited is limited by the past karmas. So the brightness is reduced by the
karmas. We dig the earth at a place for water. Water gushes out. Water was already
present there and by digging at the right place the water sprang up. Similarly,
the gyana or knowledge is already in the soul and by our efforts we try to bring
out and become more knowledgeable. Like Sunshine being reduced by the clouds or
the umbrella. So, the atman�s gyana is also permanent.
2-25:
avyakto �ayam! acintyo �ayam! avikAryo �ayam! ucyate
tasmad evam viditva-enam na-anusocitum arhasi
Krishna continues to emphasize the nature of soul - Avayaktoyam, Achintyoyam,
Avikaaroyam.
In this verse Lord Krishna gives additional reasons why one should never grieve
for the soul. Because the soul is unmanifest it is not able to be cut or burned
like objects which are manifest in this world and being unmanifest it is
inconceivable as it is not possible to equate it with the form or nature of
anything that one could imagine in the material existence. Being unable to imagine
the constitution of the soul indicates it is immutable because it is devoid of any
process of modification for example milk transforming to youghurt. Therfore
comprehending the nature and quality of the soul as enunciated above one should
not be under the delusion of lamentation.
There are three sources of knowledge - Pratyaksham (Perception), Anumaanam
(inference), Shabdham(thru other sources e.g. Vedas).
So, whatever thing you take in this world, the three sources of knowledge will
tell that it is perishable. But, for Atma(soul), there is nothing which tells it
is
perishable - Avyakta-Ayam.
Krishna says soul is Achintyoyam - i.e it cannot even be conceived.
Krishna says soul is Avikaaroyam - AviKaaryaam i.e it is unchanging.
e.g take an example. Body can be felt, perceived , while soul cannot be felt
through Senses. And neither cannot it be infered i.e by looking
at something and then saying soul can be perished. Another example is, even
though a Lamp is seen through pratyaksham as one
light which is glowing, by inference we can see that it consists of wick, oil
which is getting exhausted. But, for soul neither through
pratyaksham, nor through inference can we say that soul is temporary.
The word avyaktah means invisible or imperceivable this is because the eternal
soul being totally transcendental to the material existence cannot be practically
examined as can objects which possess qualities of a physical nature.
The word acintyah means inconceivable because the eternal soul is impossible to
perceive by the mind and the senses being in every way transcendental to the
material substratum which is what the consciousness of the living entities base
their understanding on. The eternal soul differs from all other existences and
levels of existence is in transcendence. Therefore it is avikaryah unchangeable
and immutable. The Supreme Lord Krishna instructs that by knowing the eternal soul
to be immortal there is no cause for grief.
2-26:
atha-ca-enam nitya-jatam nityam va manyase mrtam
tathapi tvam maha-baho na-enam socitum arhasi
"If, however, you think that the soul [or the symptoms of life] is always born and
dies forever, you still have no reason to lament, O mighty-armed."
In the previous slokas, Krishna emphasized the body is different from Soul and
says to Arjuna not to worry about this temporary
body and fight in the war. . But in this sloka and the next two slokas,
Krishna indulges in "Adbhukgamavadam" , where he changes tact ,
In this you argue your point agreeing with the point what your opponent is
imagining. So, Sri Krishna argues assuming that the body and soul are same, as
thought by Arjuna.
If both are same also Arjuna should not mourn at the killing of Bheeshma or
Drona. Because, as the body falls, the soul also dies according to the assumption
of Arjuna.
He should not now worry where the soul is going, to hell or heaven, as the soul is
no longer there after the body is slain. So, here he says,
Arjuna .. Ok, even if you consider Atma is identical with body and is
"NityaJatam"(constantly born) and "NityamMurtam" (Constantly dying),
even then (tatah pi), you should not feel grief. Why? The only constant in
this body is CHANGE! We don't always remain a kid, a boy,
a youth or so on. Even things around us, change constantly! Now, Arjuna says,
he is not worried about change, but death.
Krishna says, why worry about death? Arjuna says, he is worried to be separated
from everybody or others separating and the
unknown stage after death. Krishna laughs and says, if Arjuna is considering body
and soul as one and the same, what is there to
worry about death, because once the body perishes, it's the end of body and soul!
This is a good example of how ignorance can cloud
us with fear. For e.g. when we get hurt etc, we are scared, but the expert
Medics are calm and repair us without any fear. A surgeon
is not scared to operate or seeing blood etc, but we are scared. Why? Because the
surgeon is an expert. This shows that ignorance
is the root of this fear. Another reason is "experience".. Lack of awareness is
also another reason for fear. For eg. if we are familiar
with a misery or a disease etc, it is no longer a reason for fear. So, if Arjuna
thinks body and soul are one and the same, change
is inevitable and there is no reason to worry. Similarly, the question of
Swargam, Narakam doesn't arise, because if Arjuna considers
body and soul are one and the same, there is no swargam, Narakam. Arjuna now has
another doubt - "We" know the change in One
body i.e from infant to old age, but when we shed one body and take another body,
we are not aware of the old body and that is a reason
for fear, since the past and future are unknown. Krishna responds that, if we
remember every past life, then we will end up being
inundated with past memories and past relationships, which will end us drowned in
samasaram, without any chance of redemption.
Only great yogis and gnaanis have this power of rememberance, since it doesn't
disturb them. So, Krishna says that birth and death
are inevitable for the body, whose nature is modification and there is no need to
feel grief.
Krsna sarcastically addressed Arjuna as maha-bahu, mighty-armed, because He, at
least, did not accept the theory of the Vaibhasikas (a school of philosophy which
does
not accept soul), which leaves aside the Vedic wisdom. As a ksatriya, Arjuna
belonged to the Vedic culture, and it behooved him to continue to follow its
principles.
2-27:
jatasya hi dhruvo mrityur dhruvam janma mrtasya ca
tasmad aparihArye rthe na � tvam socitum arhasi
"One who has taken his birth is sure to die, and after death one is sure to take
birth again. Therefore, in the unavoidable discharge of your duty, you should not
lament."
Krishna says that whatever is originating, it's destruction is certain and
whatever is perishable, it will inevitably originate.
Arjuna now has a doubt. If he wins the war and whatever is born is going to
perish, it means the win will also be temporary. So, why even
battle?? Similarly, shouldn't a person who has recuperated from disease is happy,
should he be, because his recuperation is ultimately
temporary? Krishna responds saying that, this efforts are required for clearing
of the trouble for that period, which is natural and there
is no confusion or wrong about it. Similarly, it's Arjuna's responsibility to
fight his way from the current situation, rather than running away.
Now another doubt comes up - Is something coming up from nothing or is it coming
up from something ; This two types of
arguments are called - Sat-kaarya Vaadham and Asat-kaarya Vaadham. e.g. To take
an analogy, it's the difference between Discovery
and Invention. Discovery is something which is already there and been identified
for use (eg> country, columbus discovering America).
Invention is creating something which was not there previously (eg> Telephone).
But, really speaking, the components of telephone
was always there and it's only been arranged in a new way. e.g Wool.Thread
strung together becomes a Cloth. Similarly, something can
come out of something and nothing (this is Satkaarya Vaadham) and when it
perishes, it doesn't go away. but is transformed. eg. when
a pot is broken, even though the Pot is destroyed, it creates the clay (broken
into clay pieces). Similarly, when a body perishes, it takes
a different form.
It is evident that death of the physical body is inevitable to whatever is born
and that there is no way to escape from this physical termination of the body.
Similarly rebirth is unavoidable once one's physical body has died. How can
something which has been lost become again? It is conceivable that something which
has already been to become again; but it is inconceivable for that which has never
been to become. Therefore there is nothing that can come that has not been. What
is known as birth and death is but just different modifications of an ever
existing condition. Yarn and other materials exist but when they are woven into a
fabric that is a particular arrangement of the yarn itself, it receives the name
cloth in its modified state. Even the asat-karya-vadis who follow the fallacious
hypothesis that existence comes from non-existence should admit the ever existing
state, for what we know as cloth to them is a new creation but is factually the
same old yarn only in a new form which has been created. It is not sagacious or
well thought out to assume that a new substance has come into being simply because
of a modified condition.
Thus coming into existence and disappearing from existence are modified states of
an ever existing reality. One of the conditions of this modified state is its
appearance called birth and another condition being its diametric opposite is
known as death which by disappearing this ever existing reality passes into. For a
substance which is intrinsically metamorphic the process of modification is
essential. As in the case of a clod of earth, transformed into clay, transformed
into a pot, transformed into dust and transformed back to earth again. The
manifestation of a subsequent condition is but a modification of a previous
condition and that same subsequent condition becomes a prior condition of another
subsequent condition. Reasoning in this way it can be understood that it is
natural that successive modifications take place in regards to creation and
destruction of physical bodies which cannot be avoided and there is no reason to
lament due to this. If there is some slight grief which may be apparent by the
passing from a prior modified state to a subsequent modified state even this grief
need not arise in the case of living entities such as human beings because... and
the next verse 28 clarifies why.
2-28:
avyaktadi-ni bhutani ! vyakta-madhyani bharata!
avyakta-nidhanAny eva! tatra ka paridevana
"The [five elements made] body is not capable of revealing the past [but] middle
[present] revealed. Future not revealed, Oh! Bharatha, where is then need for
grief?"
All created beings are unmanifest in their beginning, manifest in their interim
state, and unmanifest again when they are annihilated. So what need is there for
lamentation?
Note, slokas 26,27,28 are all based on the assumption that body and soul are the
same and Krishna presenting that even assuming this false assumption is true,
even
then one should not get disturbed by the death or destruction of this body. Take
for eg: Pot, clay, mud are three different forms of the same thing and one thing
transforms
into another in it's cycle of formation and destruction. Atleast for Pot, we
know what form it will take (mud, clay etc), when it gets broken.
But, for human, we wouldn't know for sure what it's future state be, after death.
After death, it may take a better form. Arjuna asks,
whether it's possible to know what the past or future states would be? Krishna
responds that, we won't know our past or future, but
only our present. This body which is made up of PanchaBhootams(Bhootani) is
"Avyaaktaani" (unknown) in the past; Our current state(madhya) is
known (Vyaktaani); Our future i.e after death (Nidhana) is unknown(Avyaktaani).
So, there is no point in grieving about the future stage.
Do remember that this sloka is based on the assumption that body and soul are same
and Krishna is presenting it from this point of view
and letting Arjuna know, even with this assumption, there is no point in
grieving(paridevana) about future or past.
Accepting that there are two classes of philosophers, one believing in the
existence of soul and the other not believing in the existence of the soul, there
is no cause for lamentation in
either case. Nonbelievers in the existence of the soul are called atheists by
followers of Vedic wisdom. Yet even if, for argument's sake, we accept the
atheistic theory, there is still no
cause for lamentation. Apart from the separate existence of the soul, the material
elements remain unmanifested before creation. From this subtle state of
unmanifestation comes
manifestation, just as from ether, air is generated; from air, fire is generated;
from fire, water is generated; and from water, earth becomes manifested. From the
earth, many varieties
of manifestations take place. Take, for example, a big skyscraper manifested from
the earth. When it is dismantled, the manifestation becomes again unmanifested and
remains as
atoms in the ultimate stage. The law of conservation of energy remains, but in
course of time things are manifested and unmanifested--that is the difference.
Then what cause is there
for lamentation either in the stage of manifestation or unmanifestation? Somehow
or other, even in the unmanifested stage, things are not lost. Both at the
beginning and at the end, all
elements remain unmanifested, and only in the middle are they manifested, and this
does not make any real material difference.
And if we accept the Vedic conclusion as stated in the Bhagavad-gita (antavanta
ime dehah) that these material bodies are perishable in due course of time
(nityasyoktah saririnah) but
that soul is eternal, then we must remember always that the body is like a dress;
therefore why lament the changing of a dress?
Why then is it seen that even men possessing intelligence lament in this world? It
is simply due to ignorance about the true nature of the eternal soul. Having this
theme in mind the abstruseness of the eternal soul is being given, in the next
slokam (2.29).
2-29:
ascarya-vat pasyati kascid-enam ascarya-vad vadati tathaiva cAnyah
ascarya-vac cainam anyah-srnoti srutvapy-enam veda na-caiva kascit
In the previous three slokas, Krishna expatiated about not being concerned about
Body and how it is temporary. Arjuna is now
baffled that he is unable to comprehend this reality and is still scared. All of
us are in the same boat, including the great Jnaanis, even
though the jnaanis are in a higher plane of understanding. The power of this
bodily conception is very difficult to overcome.
Krishna responds to this fear of Arjuna: This amazing (Aasharyavati ) nature of
soul is known/seen (Pashchati) by only one among crores
and only one among crores talks(Vadati) about it and then only one among crores
hears (Shrunoti) about it and then only one among
crores will really understand(veda) and realise the soul exists and that body is
temporary. This shows that it's only the rare among
the beings that truly realises the Atma and not everybody can get away from this
bodily allure and conception.
Sri Krishna says that one in a crore [ten million] see atman, one in a crore only
hear about atman and one in a crore only talk about him. But it is much more rare
to find a person who understands atman. This may cause a doubt in us that there is
no one knowing about atman. So there is nothing like atman. Because, if anything
exists, then at least some persons should know about it. We talk of Mount Everest.
Very few persons would have seen it. From them we understand it is there. We
believe an object only if someone who had seen the object tells us. So, Arjuna
doubts whether there is an atman, as nobody has seen it. Sri Krishna replies that
He did not say there was no one who had seen the atman, but it is very, very rare
to find a person who had seen atman. Such a person is a noble one, who can be
followed. This second chapter unlike the first one is quite difficult to follow,
for everyone learning Gita. Because the soul is abstract and it has no form to
recognize nor are there any similar substance in the world to identify. But
constant studies and thinking can slowly make us to understand. We are able to
conceive God, as many forms are available. But for atman there are no icons. A
beginning is now made and by continuous efforts we can refine our knowledge about
atman.
We shouldn't get distressed by this! How to overcome this rarity?? Our lives are
totally consumed by material being. It needs
dedication to reflect about our selves (Atma), focus our efforts on it and be
dedicated. For eg: if a boy is given to solve a PHD maths
problem, he cannot solve it. He needs to complete schooling, Graduate, masters,
PHD, before he can solve it. But, at the same time,
if he reached adult age, it doesn't mean that he can solve it, unless he is in the
Maths field. So, this requires not only "age" & experience,
but to study in that field. Similarly, in our lives, we need continued focus in
the reflection of the truth about atma to understand this truth.
Simply, by living in material life and diving once in a while into spiritual
pursuit isn't going to help. When we put effort, the Lord too will
reach his hand to guide us. Infact, knowing about Atma is difficult, because
it's not seen, heard etc. Atleast dieties in temples, we
can see and relish and celebrate fesivals etc, whereas for our atma this is not
possible. So, this is difficult.
Among innumerable beings, someone, who by great austerity has got rid of sins and
has increased his merits, realises this self possessing the above mentioned
nature, which is wonderful and distinct in kind from all things other than Itself.
Such a one speaks of It to another. Thus, someone hears of It. And even after
hearing of It, no one knows It exactly that It really exists. The term 'ca' (and)
implies that even amongst the seers, the speakers and hearers, one with authentic
percepetion, authentic speech and authentic hearing, is a rarity.
2-30:
dehi nityam avadhyo yam dehe � sarvasya bharata
tasmat sarvani bhutani na tvam socitum arhasi
dehi-> Atma (it resides in body); Nityam->Eternal ;
"Na Tvam sochitu arhasi".. THis is a common refrain of Krishna in many slokas,
which implies that "you do not grieve"!
Here Krishna says that Self(Jeevatma) exists in everyone's body and even when all
this bodies perish, the atma(s) in them do not
perish. Note that, Krishna says there is Jeevatma in everyone's body and it's
not that ONE atma pervades all bodies!
This is in response to Arjuna's doubt: 'I am understanding about the perishability
of body as per krishan's slokas below. Now,
everybody in this world seems different. One person varies from another in
appearance, personality, esteem, joys and sorrows etc.
So, is there a difference in the Jeevatmas nature too among people? i.e is one
jeevatma's nature different from another?? Is one
jeevatma eternal and the other not? ". In response, Krishna tells this sloka
that the atmas residing in all bodies are eternal and do not
perish, when the body perishes. Now, another question arises, when the bodies
are different (color, sex, creed, appearance etc),
how come the atma is same?? To remove this doubt only Sri Krishna tells that the
atman or dehi in every body or deham is eternal. We are witnessing changes
on the body but the soul remains the same. To understand this we should examine
closely our daily habits and experiences. We see variety of persons.
Some are fair, some black, some tall, some short, some females, some males, some
animals, etc. but all these differences do not change our habits.
One may be a millionaire and another a poor. But both see with their eyes only and
hear with their ears. There is no difference in these functions.
Educated or illiterate, one has to eat with his mouth only. So, God has not
permitted any difference in certain basic functions. We eat varieties of food and
vegetables.
They remain so till what we eat reaches the throat. After this the body
assimilates them as protein, vitamin or carbohydrates. This is scientific fact.
We do not eat as such fat or proteins. So, all differences are in the external
appearance only, such as brinjal [butter fruit] or lady�s finger [okra].
The body, however, takes only the essence. So, only those, which appear different,
are all destroyed and atman, which is identical in every creature,
is eternal.
So Arjuna need not to worry that he may be destroying a destroyable atman. So,
in this sloka Krishna says, that Arjuna need not show grief.
(Note that as per bodily conception of relations, we do have to show compassion,
affection etc, but if we limit to just bodily ideas, then we end up being selfish
about
self, family etc, but if we look at if from jeevatma conception, our compassion
will not be limited just to few, but to everybody! and it will also ensure we
understand
the sense of duty without getting over emotional and binding). If we distinguish
atman from body, then we can be of real help to not merely our relatives but to
everyone
suffering. Relatives are body related. Only a perspective that all atmans are same
can make us render help to all. That is why in any calamity, there are some
persons
who concentrate on the things to do and do not go emotional. Such duty minded
persons are of real help.
Though the soul is immortal, violence is not encouraged, but at the time of war it
is not discouraged when there is actual need for it. That need must be justified
in terms of the
sanction of the Lord, and not capriciously.
2-31:
sva-dharmam api ca-aveksya na vikam-pitum arhasi
dharmyad-dhi yuddhA shreyo anyat kshatriya-� sya na vidyate
"Considering your specific duty as a kshatriya, you should know that there is no
better engagement for you than fighting on religious principles; and so there is
no need for hesitation."
In the previous slokas Krishna adviced that Arjuna should not show love and undue
attention to the body, since it is temporary.
In this slokam, he focusses on the importance of doing one's dharma. As a
Kshatriya, it is Arjuna's duty to fight. There is no other
way for Moksham for a Kshatriya. Now, there is a seeming "controversy" here.
Here, Krishna says to Arjuna that he has to fight
the war, if he wants to gain Moksham. In some quarters, Gita is incorrectly
potrayed as a "war goading" book, which resulted in Mahabharat
war. The question is, is "fighting war" the only way for Arjuna to gain
moksham?? Not exactly. Krishna is telling Arjuna to do his Dharma.
And Kshatriya's duty is to fight a "righteous" war and not run away. Had Krishna
given Gita to a non-kshatriya, it would have been
a different dharma (and not war). Another question, doesn't war involve killing
and pain to other beings?? So, how would it be construed
as a path to Moksham?? The reality is, there are different kinds of "Himsa" in
this world (e.g. for example surgery on a body, mental
agony, woman giving birth to a child etc, grabbing property from a family etc).
Himsa is something which gives pain not just for the
present but also in the future. So, in this war, all the warriors who are
fighting get "veera" swargam. As long as Arjuna is fighting a
war justly and also a just war(whose end is just) then it's his dharma and is
assured of Moksham.
Out of the four orders of social administration, the second order, for the matter
of good administration, is called ksatriya. Ksat means hurt. One who gives
protection from harm
is called ksatriya (trayate--to give protection). There are two kinds of svadharmas,
specific duties. As long as one is not liberated, one has to perform the
duties of that particular
body in accordance with religious principles in order to achieve liberation. When
one is liberated, one's sva-dharma--specific duty--becomes spiritual and is not in
the material bodily
concept. In the bodily conception of life there are specific duties for the
brahmanas and ksatriyas respectively, and such duties are unavoidable. Sva-dharma
is ordained by the Lord,
and this will be clarified in the Fourth Chapter. On the bodily plane sva-dharma
is called varnasrama-dharma, or man's steppingstone for spiritual understanding.
Human civilization
begins from the stage of varnasrama-dharma, or specific duties in terms of the
specific modes of nature of the body obtained. Discharging one's specific duty in
any field of action in
accordance with varnasrama-dharma serves to elevate one to a higher status of
life.
2-32:
yadrcchaya-ca upa-pannam svarga-dvaaram apaa-vrtam
sukhinah kshatriyAh partha labhante yuddham idrsam
"O Partha, happy are the kshatriyas to whom such fighting opportunities come
unsought, opening for them unhindered the doors of the heavenly planets."
The impending war is happening by itself, on its own, without any solicitation on
the part of Arjuna. Thus when it happens he and his brothers will be fighting on
the side of righteousness which constitutes the means for acquiring heavenly
happiness without obstacles. Such a war can only be fought by the most fortunate
of ksatriyas and Arjuna should understand his good fortune.
Krishna continues mentioning about the importance of Dharma here. He says Arjuna
is facing this war, not out of his own making,
but by "yaddrachaya" (Fate, God's grace), which is a gateway to heaven, which is a
blessing for the great and righteous Kshatriyas.
Now that question arises, which "swargam" is Krishna referring to here? Is it
Indra lokam etc?? No. Krishna is referring to Moksham
here. **This also point out to how to qualify a decision - Before we engage
ourselves in any work we will have to see these points:
Is this � legally allowed?
� After starting the work, will there be need for any unlawful activities?
� Is the objective a virtuous one or evil?
� Is there precedence by elders?
These four points are required to be examined before we embark on any activity. In
the present context, the fighting of this war has to answer all these quest
** Referring to Dharma Yuddham - The Lord himself went to war against tyrannical
demons to protect Dharma.
For e.g. Rama, Nrusimha, Vamana etc.
In the Parasara-smrti or religious codes made by Parasara, the great sage and
father of Vyasadeva, it is stated:
ksatriyo hi praja raksan sastra-panih pradandayan
nirjitya para-sainyadi ksitim dharmena palayet
"The ksatriya's duty is to protect the citizens from all kinds of difficulties,
and for that reason he has to apply violence in suitable cases for law and order.
Therefore he has to conquer the soldiers of inimical kings, and thus, with
religious principles, he should rule over the world."
Considering all aspects, Arjuna had no reason to refrain from fighting. If he
should conquer his enemies, he would enjoy the kingdom; and if he should die in
the battle, he would be elevated to the heavenly planets whose doors were wide
open to him. Fighting would be for his benefit in either case.
2-33:
atha-cet-tvam imam dharmyam sangraamam na karishyasi
tatah sva-dharmam kIrtim ca hitva paapam avapsyasi
"If, however, you do not perform your duty of fighting for dharma, then you will
certainly incur sins for neglecting your duties and lose your reputation as a
fighter."
In the previous two slokas, Krishna explained to Arjuna that it is imperative for
him to follow his dharma as Kshatriya and fight the war which has come upon him as
"yaddhrachaya"
(thru divine chance) and that by doing so, he will achieve Moksham.
In this sloka and the next, Krishna says the sins that will befall Arjuna if he
does NOT fight the war. By listing the difficulties and sorrows he would
encounter if he slipped
from his expected duty, Sri Krishna is encouraging him to fight. In any act we
have to state the benefits by doing that and the ill effects by not doing. By
judging both one
has to conclude to perform an action.
Krishna terms this war as "Sangraamam" and not "Yuddham", in this slokam. Why?
Because the war has already started and the
armies ready to battle! Yudhdham means it could start even next day or after. But
sangramam means that is already started and when both sides are aligned and ready
to fight. Peace efforts could have been initiated before start of a fight but not
after it had started. Such efforts before the fight began would be appreciated;
but after it had started any such efforts would be branded as act of cowardice. So
Sri Krishna cautions that if Arjuna decided to withdraw from the war, he will be
defamed and then he would also be slipping from his expected dharma, resulting in
sins or papa to accumulate. So by abandoning the fight he will fail in his
swadharmam, that is his duty as Kshatriya to fight, and lose kirti or fame. Even
if he does not care for the fame, sins or papa will accrue for slipping from
swadharma. Sri Krishna lists the two, swadharma and kirti, as necessities for life
in this world and in the nether world.
Sri Krishna uses the words dharmyam sangraman, which means fight performed
righteously. This war is for establishing dharma, it is to be performed legally
and the outcome also is for dharma, a high objective. Since Arjuna, desirous of
preservation of dharma, this is a holy and upright war. The word sangramam is used
instead of yudhdham. . Why? Because it is as per the law, dharma shastras, the
results are worth it. If he doesn't fight this battle - all the fame(Keerti) he
achieved in the past as a warrior will be gone, giving
up his "svadharmam" as a Kshatriya, he will incur sin (Paapam Avaapsyaasi).
If through injudicious sentiment or bewildered ignorance Arjuna should fail to
perform his prescribed duty as a ksatriya by fighting for the sake of
righteousness; he would lose a most
excellent opportunity of attaining the heavenly spheres, he would lose his
reputation as a hero and he would have to accept great sinful reaction.Losing Fame
and Name (Keerti)
is a big loss in this Lokam for a Kshatriya and Arjuna will lose it, if he doesn't
battle. Not only that, even in the other worlds, Arjuna will be at loss, since by
shirking his duty ,
he incurs sin and doesn't gain swargam.
Karma Yogam basically is doing one's duty as per his "ashrama dharma"
(Varanaashrama) and that leads to Bhakti Yogam.
If Arjuna is shedding his basic duty, he is not doing either Karma or Bhakti yogam
and that leads him to sin. **Abide by swadharma is what is advocated.
2-34:
akirtim ca-api bhutani katha-yisyanti te �vyayaam
sambha-vitasya ca-akirtir maranad atiricyate
"Creatures will always speak of your infamy, and for a respectable person,
dishonor is worse than death."
In this slokam, Krishna continues detailing the ills which would befall if Arjuna
runs away from the war. He says that Arjuna
will lose his honor and reputation as great warrior which he gained from all times
(avyaayam) and be (kaithshyanti) ridiculed by all people
(Bhutaani) that he has run away from the battle. This infamy will be worse than
death for somebody as honored and reputable as
Arjuna. For a wise man, discrimination(vivekam), courage, bravery, calmness and
caution all need to be prevalent. Arjuna cannot
say that he doesn't care about his reputation and run away. It may be ok for a
common man, but for a great personality like Arjuna
with a legacy of honor, it will come off poorly.
Not only will happiness and fame elude him if he disregards his duty as a ksatriya
but the world opinion of those competent to judge and those incompetent as well
will chastise
him and speak of his act of disgrace public and privately. They will say Arjuna
was a coward for when the battle was about to begin he gave only excuses and
retreated hastily
from the battlefield. The Supreme Lord Krishna is telling him that forever history
will brand him for cowardice. If Arjuna was to reply that what the public think is
of no consequence to
him, the Supreme Lord neutralises that by stating that for a person of honour
possessing the qualities of heroism, determination, puissance, courage etc. which
are all contrary to
cowardice to have to accept infamy is worse than death. If he was to acquire
disgrace of this kind death for him would certainly be much better. If reasoning
further one was to
present the question of how ignominy could attach itself to one who is already a
renowned hero and whose resignation from the battle field is prompted only by
motives of respect
for elders and compassion to friends and relatives then the next verse 34
neutralises that argument.
2-35:
bhayad ranad uparatam mamsyante tvaam maha-rathah
yesham ca tvam bahu-matah: bhutva yaasyasi laaghavam
"The great generals who have highly esteemed your name and fame will think that
you have left the battlefield out of fear only, and thus they will consider you
irrelevant."
"Astaana Sneham" - Showing compassion to the wrong places and towards the wrong
people, like Arjuna is doing by showing
compassion etc towards Duryodhana etc. In this slokam, Krishna responds to
Arjuna's doubt from the previous slokam. Arjuna asks
how can he get dishonor when he is withdrawing from the battle only out of love
and compassion towards his relatives and avoiding
bloodshed. Krishna responds about Arjuna(Tvam), the mahaarathis(warriors like
Duryodhan, Karna) etc will think (manyate) that
out of fear (bhayaat) that you ran (uparatam) from the battle (ranaat) and for
those (yesham bhutvah) who have been thinking
greatly (bahumata) of you, will think in the futurue (yaasyasi) lightly (laagavam)
of you and treat you with contempt. Despite going through
many humilations in losing the kingdom through treachery etc, Arjuna and other
pandavas didn't lose their honor or reputation as great
warriors among the common people, because they behaved with honor! Now, running
away from the battle, would make him lose
all the reputation.
There is a thin dividing line between "patience and compassion" and "cowardly
and weak". If somebody is very patient and tolerant,
it can be sometimes miscontrued as weakness and cowardliness. In this case, it's
possible that great understanding souls like Bheeshma
and Drona would understand Arjuna's dilemma, but "Duryodhana and Karna etc" would
not think it that way. Now, Arjuna says, he
doesn't care about what Duryodhan etc thinks and would prefer to not battle.
Krishna says, it's not just about Duryodhana, but even
the common man will perceive Arjuna as running away from battle and not doing his
duty. We should thus understand to differentiate between mercy and patience
on one hand and incompetence and cowardice on the other.
2-36:
avacya vAdams-ca bahun! vadisyanti tava-ahitah:
nindan-tas tava samarthyam ! tato dukha-taram nu kim
"Your enemies will describe you in many unkind words and scorn your ability. What
could be more painful for you?
This slokam is also advising Arjuna not to show "Astaana Sneham". His
enemies(ahitAh) will talk (vaadan cya) a lot (Bahun
Vadishyanti) of unkind and fabricated (avAcya) words. His abilities (saamarthyam)
will be vilified (nindantah). For Arjuna who is so proud
about his prowess and "Gandhivaam" would not be able to suffer this ignominy of
being humilated by his enemies with slanderous remarks.
That is what Krishna is warning Arjuna against. When a friend or wellwishers pass
remarks like it, we can tolerate it, because they are
close ones. But, when a enemy is vilifiying, a warrior like Arjuna cannot bear it.
Now, Arjuna may think, Ok, so what if my enemies
poke fun at me. Krishna also gives a vieled warning here, saying that Arjuna may
then get provoked and fight the war and if he does so,
then he will be potrayed as someone who is fighting due to being slighted and not
for the people.
A question may arise : Krishna himself "ran away" from battle with Jarasandha and
went and built Dwarka city. Arjuna may have the
question on why he is suggesting Arjuna to fight and not quit. Sri Krishna was
born in Gokulam and after ten years, He lived in Mathura for some years. But King
Jarasanda
invaded Mathura several times. Seventeen times he invaded and Sri Krishna
defeated him every time. Sri Krishna requested His brother Sri Balarama, to go to
west seashore
and reclaim land from the sea and establish a new city of Dwaraka. Sri Balarama
did not agree. When next time Jarasanda invaded Mathura, Sri Krishna ran away from
Mathura.
Arjuna remembered this incident. But there are two main differences in the two
incidents. Firstly, rules, which we follow, cannot be applied on the Lord.
Secondly, Sri Krishna
had vanquished Jarasanda several times and He was merely acting as though He was
running away from Jarasanda out of fear. Here, for Arjuna this is the first time
to fight
with these people. So, how can he run away and compare this with Sri Krishna�s
action?
2-37:
hato va prapsyasi svargam jitva va bhoksyase mahim
tasmad uttistha kaunteya yuddhaya krta-niscayah
"O son of Kunti, either you will be killed on the battlefield and attain the
heavenly planets, or you will conquer and enjoy the earthly kingdom. Therefore get
up and fight with
determination."
"Tasmad Uttishtha Kaunteya" - Thus! exhorts Krishna to Arjuna to Stand up with
determination (krta) to fight (YuddhAya), in this
slokam. If you get killed, you will achieve Swargam (Hatoh VA prApasyasi Svargam)
and if you win, you will enjoy this worldly kingdom
(jitA vA bhoksyase mahim). If you don't fight, you will not achieve either glory
here nor in other worlds. He addresses Arjuna as
"Kunti Putra" (Kaunteya), because Kunti is renowed for her courage and devotion.
In addition, Kunti is Krishna's dear aunty and as such
it becomes Krishna's responsibility to protect Krishna.
Related comments: Some may say that Asoka gave up war and violence, whereas
Krishna is prompting Arjuna for war. Asoka
actually gave up wars etc, after fighting numerous wars. Whereas Arjuna's Dharma
here is to wage war against Kauravas to protect
his people and ensure the kingdom is not ruled by crooked Kauravas. In addition,
when both opposition factions are in agreement
to call of war, it may make sense to back off (eg: Alexander and Paurus etc), but
in this case, there is no such signal from Kauravas.
Another question is, Arjuna didn't have similar qualms when warring with Kauravas
in the past (Virata yuddham during vanavas), but
why is he having the fear now?? In the past, he didn't have to worry about
killing Drona or Bheeshma or other close relatives, so
there was no issue.
2-38:
Sukha-dukhe samEy krtva, lAbhaAlabhau jayaAjayau,
tathO yudhAya yujasva, naivam pApam avApsyAsi.
This begins the prelude to KARMA YOGAM section. Krishna says Arjuna will not
incur sun (Naivam pApam avApsyasi), if he just
engages in war just for the sake of war (YuddhAya yujasvya) and not with sense of
attachment or results. What attachment or results
is Krishna referring to here - be equanimous in joy and sorrow i.e no need to
feel joy by killing enemies or felling them or no need
to feel sorrow in felling opponents such as Bhishma etc. We cannot equate Joy and
Sorrow as one, but the feelings and reactions
which emanate in the face of joy and sorrow - those feelings is something we need
to control and look at it with some sense of
detachment. The same sense of equanimity should also be there in the face of gain
and loss, victory and defeat.
This is in response to Arjuna's lament that he doesn't care about kingdom, winning
etc and doesn't want to fight. In response, Krishna
said that Arjuna should fight , since it's his duty, which will result in his
gaining heavenly kingdom (Moksham). In this slokam, Krishna
says that Arjuna should fight as a sense of duty and not get disturbed by
dualities such as joy & sorrow, victory & defeat, gain&loss.
This is a important qualification for a KarmaYogi! Krishna says that Arjuna should
fight as a Karma yogi, as a sense of duty, without
consideration or attachment or disturbed by gain or loss, victory or defeat etc
and when he does it, there will be no incurring of sin.
He who acts for his own sense gratification, either in goodness or in passion, is
subject to reaction, good or bad.
Knowing the immortal eternal soul to be that which is distinct and independent
from the physical body, uncontaminated with the qualities pertaining to the
material existence but connected to those qualities which are spiritual in nature
and eternal; maintaining an equipoised mind in the various conditions of pleasure
and pain, loss and gain, victory or defeat being devoid of any fruitive desire or
hankering for any reward or remuneration, such as going to the heavenly worlds,
fight this righteous battle as a matter of duty which needs to be discharged. One
who is situated in wisdom with their mind properly composed in this manner while
executing their prescribed duties will incur no sinful reactions and thus will be
eligible for salvation from material existence. Sinful reactions is the root of
all suffering and the cause of perpetual bondage in the cycle of birth and death
in the material existence.
Arjuna is baffled on how he can do it. Krishna points out that as Rama in the
previous avtaar, he followed this same principles!!
2-39:
esA te a'bhijitha sAnkhye! buddhir yoge tv imAm Srnu ;
buddhyA yukto yayA pArtha, karma-bandham prahAsyasi.
"Thus far I have described atman to you through analytical study. Now listen as I
explain it in terms of working without trivial results. O son of Pritha, when you
act with such
knowledge you can free yourself from the bondage of karma."
This sloka starts the KARMA yogam section, where krishna expounds on Karma yoga.
Gita is the extraction of the sayings of Upanishad.
Upanishad - UPA(near), Nishana(getting to Brahman) . Upanishad tells us the
reality of Brahman and the ways to reach close to Brahman.
The ways it propounds is Karma Yogam, Jnaana Yogam, Bhakti Yogam. In this it's
generally considered that Bhakti Yogam is primary
and Karma and Jnaana Yogam are it's ancillary i.e for Bhakti, one needs Karma
and Jnaana anushtaanam as pre-requisites.
nstead of practicing each separately, it is better to have one as the pradhanam
[main] and the other two as angam [branches or ancillaries]. Just like in our
degree courses
we have one subject, say Chemistry, as main and study say, mathematics and
physics, as ancillaries. Similarly, if one decides to seek Moksham through
Karmayoga,
then one has to have Gyanayoga and Bhakthiyoga as ancillaries. But there is a
difference. In the education system, pass in the main can be done without studying
the ancillaries.
Whereas, in seeking Moksham, if Bhakthiyoga has to be practiced, then one has to
practice Karmayoga and Gyanayoga. Without these two, a person cannot practice
Bhakthiyoga.
Upanishad says - Atma Drashtavaya, Stortavyaa, mantvyaya, nidhistavyaaya - i.e we
should constantly, deeply, exclusively hear about
the lord for reaching him. Question is, we also need to know how to conduct
ourselves in this world, while we seek to achieve
salvation(Moksham). The primary requirement for it is to realise that body is
temporary and soul is eternal and salvation lies in
getting out of the cycle of birth and death. If one doesn't realise this, then
it's not possible to get away from this never ending cycle
and we will be forever caught in this web of material existence. So, the first
step is to realise that Soul is eternal and body is
temporary. To realize Paramatma, atman has to listen about Him. Then, contemplate
on what was listened to. Then meditate without interruption , but with
concentration.
Such continuous meditation is called Bhakthi and this results in merging with the
Paramatma. This will make the atman to feel happy in union with and sorrow in
separation from God. Thereafter, the soul departs this body and this world and
reaches Moksham and remains with Him in eternal happiness. It is a stairway to
Moksham. All born cannot immediately go for
Moksham. In this world lots of good things are to be done and this life has to be
happily spent. But the objective should be to reach Moksham after this life
without the perils of another birth.
When will this thought come? First, one should realize that this body is
perishable and atman is indestructible. If one thinks atman and body are same,
when body perishes, atman
also will perish and then there would be no need for Moksham or worry about
rebirth. So, this basic knowledge that atman and body are different is essential.
Not merely accepting
that they are separate, it should be firmly believed that atman is eternal and
body is destroyable. Further, it should be realized that in this life happiness
and sorrow are mixed.
The natural feeling of the atman is always happy. But when inside a body in this
earth, mixed feelings are unavoidable. So, the objective should be to get the
everlasting
happiness, its natural quality. This pursuit is necessary.
Next step is to know that Soul is owned(adimai) by Paramatma and we are not
owners or independent. This realization about atman and body is the first step in
the stairway.
This step alone cannot take to the top. The next step is to realize that this
atman is servant of God. Paramatma is the ruler and atman is ruled. Therefore,
atman has to
cling to the Feet of the Lord. Instead of saying that Karmayaoga, Gyanayoga and
Bhakthyoga are various paths to reach Moksham, Bhakthyoga is the main.
Visiting temples, chanting His names and helping His devotees, will all constitute
Bhakthiyoga. For this as main one needs Karma [action] and Gyana [knowledge].
These are needed in any activity. Ways to reach the lord are Karma, Jnaana and
Bhakti Yogam. Rather than saying three yogams are seperate and independent, we
can say
Bhakti yogam is the primary way to reach lord and this involves singing, chanting,
visting holy places, helping others, being close to devotees etc.
Bhakti yogam has two angas, karma and Jnaana - it requires discipline and
knowledge. It is similar to - for riding a vehicle, one needs knowledge that
vehicle
requires petrol etc to run, need to operate clutch and brake together, brake to
stop the vehicle and in addition one needs the skills to operate
the vehicle. Similarly for Bhakti, one needs knowledge and discipline. ANd to
even start this course, the primary pre-requisite
is the basic knowledge that Atma is Nityam and Body is temporary.
Krishna has followed the same pattern. From slokas 2-12 onwards to sloka 2-30,
Krishna has emphasized that Atma is Nityam and temporary nature of the body.
From Slokams 2-39 to 2-51, Krishna expounds on Karma Yogam and after that he
expounds
Jnaana Yogam and in Chapters 7,8,9 he expounds on Bhakti Yogam and in the later
chapters he explains the ways for Moksha.
So, Geeta has been laid out in this manner - Initially in the second chapter
(slokas 12 to 30), it tells us the nature of the soul and the
temporary nature of body, since this is the primary pre-requisite. Next, it
explains the ways of Karma Yogam i.e how to do our
duties. NExt, it explains Jnaana yogam (knowledge). Next, it explains Bhakti
yogam (which needs knowledge of soul, how to do our
duty, knowledge) and next it explains ways for Moksham.
In this slokam,
"esa te abhihitA SANKHYE!" - note, esA te i.e in the slokas (2-12 to 2-30), i
have explained (abhitha) the philosophy of Sankhye!.
Sankhya means "buddhi" and Sankhyam is "the Atma which is understood by Buddhi"
and Sankhye is the philosophy which describes
the real nature of the soul (i.e it is nityam, it is eternal). I.e i have
explained about Sankya Yoga(the true nature of the soul).
'Sankhya' means 'intellect,' and the truth about the Atman, which is determinable
by the intellect, is 'Sankhyam'. Concerning the nature of the self which has to be
known, whatever Buddhi has to be taught, has been taught to you in the passage
beginning with, 'It is not that I did not exist' (II.12) and ending with the
words, 'Therefore, you shall not grieve for any being' (II.30).
Krishna says - "yayA buddhyA yuktah" - that buddhih (intelligence) by which ,
"Karma bandham prahAsyasi" you can
released from bondage of reaction - that knowledge (Karma yogam) will be explained
to him.
The disposition of mind (Buddhi) which is required for the performance of works
preceded by knowledge of the self and which thus constitutes the means of
attaining release, that is here called by the term Yoga. It will be clearly told
later on, 'Work done with desire for fruits is far inferior to work done with
evennes of mind' (II. 49).
"buddhir yoge tv imAm srunu" - Now Listen(Srnu) about yogE buddhi (karma yogam).
What Buddhi or attitude of mind is required for making your act deserve the name
of Yoga, listen to it now. Endowed with that knowledge, you will be able to cast
away the bondage of Karma. 'Karma-bandha' means the bondage due to Karma i.e., the
bondage of Samsara.
'Sankhya' means 'intellect,' and the truth about the Atman, which is determinable
by the intellect, is 'Sankhyam'. Concerning the nature of the self which has to be
known, whatever Buddhi
has to be taught, has been taught to you in the passage beginning with, 'It is not
that I did not exist' (II.12) and ending with the words, 'Therefore, you shall not
grieve for any being' (II.30).
The disposition of mind (Buddhi) which is required for the performance of works
preceded by knowledge of the self and which thus constitutes the means of
attaining release, that is here
called by the term Yoga. It will be clearly told later on, 'Work done with desire
for fruits is far inferior to work done with evennes of mind' (II. 49). What
Buddhi or attitude of mind is required
for making your act deserve the name of Yoga, listen to it now. Endowed with that
knowledge, you will be able to cast away the bondage of Karma. 'Karma-bandha'
means the bondage
due to Karma i.e., the bondage of Samsara.
Now question comes up, Arjuna is not intrested in fighting. So, why is Krishna
talking about Sankha Yogam, Karma yogam etc, rather
than just exhorting Arjuna to fight?? Krishna first explains thru Sankha Yogam
that Souls are eternal and body is temporary, thus
killing in a just war is not sinful and Arjuna shouldn't go weak at the thought of
killing relatives etc. Next, Krishna addresses the
concern of Arjuna about not being intrested in fruits of war etc, by talking about
Karma Yogam and explaining that Arjuna need not
fight for fruitive results, but a Saadhanam for Moksham. Waging just war is a
Kshatriya Dharma and is his karma yogam.
Karma Yogam:
Introduction: One can do a thing anywhere, or as prescribed in vedas or not
prescribed according to vedas. But, if one performs
a duty in a "loukeeka" fashion, one doesn't get any benefit other than material
benefits. But, if one does one's duty as per the viddhi of
vedas,
eg> when we bath at home, under a tap etc, there is no additional benefit, apart
from cleaning body. But, if we take a dip in ganges and
other temple pushkarinis, the body not only gets cleaned, but we are also blessed
with washing away of sins. Why? Because it's
prescribed in vedas.
What constitutes Karma yogam - All our daily activities, eating, sleeping,
working, helping etc basically constitute Karma yogam. Simple?
Right? Yes. But, this needs to be done as per the prescription of Vedas and not
do anything which is NOT prescribed in the vedas.
And it needs to be done in full faith and spirit and also NOT with sense of
attachment. For eg: if one takes bath in Pushkarini,
without any belief in it's powers, then it will not help. Again, What is Karma
yoga? It is eating, sleeping, working, etc. Nothing extra is required to be done.
But these activities are
to be done as prescribed in shastras. This is very important. If we do our
activities according to the dos and don ts of shastras, it is � karmayoga. If we do
karma yoga we are
sure to attain Moksham. Shastras are instructions given by God. He has told that
He liberates the one who faithfully follows His instructions. Once we have that
belief that
we are acting according to the stipulations of the Lord, He also will erase all
our sins and make us to reach our natural state of happiness,Moksham. In these
instructions
one is asked to eat, sleep and work. Nowhere the shastras ask us not to do
anything else. The person instructed [by shastras] could be a bachelor or married
or sanyasin
or a beast or bird. Whoever be, if the prescribed action is performed with a firm
belief that this will yield Moksham, that result will be achieved. A bath in this
pond with a belief
that it will only remove my body dirt, then this action will not get Moksham. But
same action with a firm belief that I will get Moksham, by bathing in this pond,
will get Moksham.
So a steadfast belief is to be there along with the vidhi.
So: Karma Yogam constitutes:
* Performing duties which are prescribed and NOT doing anything which is against
prescribed
* Belief in it and doing it as Bhagavan's viddhi that it's a means for moksham.
(eg: not having faith while bathing in holy waters, but just doing it because
it's prescribed!)
(eg: Marrying, having kids, performing family duties etc should be done as
Karma yogam, since it is prescribed and do it as a means
of moksham i.e just as duty).
Karma can be divided into three:
* Nitya Karma - to be practiced daily. Tharpanam, Daana-Dharama(Charity),
Festival celebration
* Naimitika Karma - to be performed due to certain reasons or in certain
occasions
* Kaamya Karma - Doing things with desire for material benefits, to achieve
certain goals eg: passing exam, marriage etc
All these karmas or actions are stipulated. These have to be done uninterruptedly.
Performing annual ceremonies [shraddham] for deceased forefathers [pithru],
celebrating festivals, etc.
are all Karma yoga. Why Sri Krishna is encouraging Arjuna to fight? Because it is
stipulated for him. He is asked to do what he learnt. So, Karma yoga can be
performed by anybody.
Sri Krishna lauds the greatness of Karma yoga in the next sloka.
2-40:
nehA-abhikrama nAso-asti ! Pratya-vAyo na vidyate!
svalpam apya-sya dharmasya! trAyateh mahato bhayAt!
"In this endeavor [karma yoga] there is no loss or lessening for a little
advancement on this path and can protect one from the most dangerous type of
fear."
In this slokam, Krishna expounds the benefit and greatness of Karma Yogam. Just
like a Parent tells a kid that what glory would be,
if he achieves 99% marks , to intrest the kid in studying, similarly Krishna
tells the greatness of Karma Yogam to Arjuna, before
explaining the details of Karma Yogam.
"NehA abikramoa-Nasao Asti" - There is no loss in this Karma yogam. eg.
unlike leaves which "lapse", this doesn't lapse.
It "carries" over it's benefits. For eg: if we follow for sometime and
discontinue, the benefits of whatever we did will not lapse.
One percent of work done in Krishna consciousness bears permanent results, so that
the next beginning is from the point of
two percent, whereas in material business, without a hundred percent profit there
is no success. or it's like writing an exam- attempt
an answer but even if you do not get the right answer or not complete it, even
then the examiner puts marks based on how much
you wrote correctly.
"pratyavAyo na vidyate" - Another fear is, if we stop karma in between, we incur
sins etc. Arjuna is scared that incuring sin would make
it a bigger issue and invite additional sins. Krishna says here that, there is no
need to fear and it does not happen that way, as long
as one performs duties with selfless spirit as a sense of duty for Moksham and not
for material gains etc.
"Svalpma apsya Dharmasya" - Even performing a little will still help. Atleast do
svalpa! (how kind of krishna!)
"TrAyateh Mahatoh BhayAt" - Doing the above can protect one from the greatest
danger and fear of samsara.
The Supreme Lord Krishna reveals that even the slightest, most minuscule effort
made regarding this karma yoga of performing actions without desiring fruitive
results is never in vain.
The word abhikrama is derived from arambha meaning any beginning as in any effort.
The word nasa means destruction as in loss of, thus the effort itself is the means
to a guaranteed
result. Not even is failure accrued when a righteous action is begun but is unable
to be completed due to circumstances and absolutely no negative effect will accrue
even when a righteous
action is interrupted at its very commencement. Even a the most minute righteous
action performed without desiring fruitive results saves one with spiritual
knowledge from the great fear
of the endless cycle of birth and death in the material existence. This same view
is further elaborated later in chapter six, verse 40 describing that in this world
or the next there is no loss or
dimunition for the aspirant.
2-41:
vyavasAyA-atmikA buddhir! eka-iha kuru-nandana!
Bahu-sAka hy anantAs-ca ! buddhayO-A'vyava-sAyinam!
"Those who are on this path[ with Moksham as objective] are resolute in purpose,
and their aim is one. O beloved child of the Kurus, the intelligence of those who
are irresolute [performing
kamya karmas]is many-branched."
So far, Lord has mentioned two key things about Karma Yoga : One is the
performer should do it without attachment to results (Labah-Alabah Jaya-Ajayaoh!)
& show equanimity
to joy & sorrow and the second is there is no dimunition of results (Na-iha-
Abhikramoh Nasao-Asti) even with some effort and also if the effort (Pratya
Vayoh na drishyateh) could
not be completed due to various reasons, there will be no Dosham. It will give
benefits till the extent it's done and protect one from the dangers of this
samsara.
Krishna splits karma into two types. One which is focussed on Moksham and other
on Kaamyam-material gains. Krishna says the
greatness of doing karma related to Moksham is superior and preferable to to
kaamyam gains. Now this may see tough - why should we
only focus on Moksha karmam? We have so many desires. To explain this further,
swami says, it's similar to schooling. Till Class 12,
we learn lot of subjects. But, from college, we focus on few subjects and as we
go further up in education, we focus on fewer subjects
and then finally in PHD , we focus on only ONE subject and one goal. Similarly,
in world, if we keep pursuing material desires, it keeps
growing and growing and we get mired into it without any end (education, marriage,
kids, fame, career etc) and dissipates our focus
on the actual goal (moksham and Brahmam). To avoid this, our focus should be on
that Karma which is on the path of Moksham.
Kaamyam Karma are variegated because there is no end to material desires. But,
the Moksha karma always remains the same(eka), since
it's never changing. Soul is the servant of God. Atman has total knowledge.
Atman s nature is happiness. So atman cannot waste pursuits after � trivial results.
If one remembers
these and performs the actions or karma with a steadfast mind, then that knowledge
will be one or same. Whereas since the kamya karmas are not performed with the
right
knowledge of atman, they will all be diversified and will not lead to a finite
result. Convergence only can lead to a single objective. So Arjuna is advised to
take up only those karmas,
which will get him Moksham. A clear and proper understanding of the atman alone
will enable to perform karma yoga.The key thing is the right disposition of
mind i.e "vyaavasayika-atmika buddhi" i.e knowledge of the true nature of soul
while doing any act and being focussed on pleasing the lord and not for material
gains.
One should be focussed (single minded - vyaavasayika) with the unshakeable
conviction and disposition of mind (buddhi) of
"atma swaaroopam" ( i.e i am subservient to the Lord, jeevatma has knowledge,
body and soul are different) and be focussed ONLY (eka)
on Moksham and not be many-branched or all over the place (bahushaaka) i.e
immersed in worldy desires, being stuck in material and part
spiritual pursuits or doing endless karmas for worldly desires and thoughts, it
will lead to nowhere and we will be stuck in samsara taking
repeated births. One who is not FIRMLY fixed in mind is diverted by various
types of fruitive acts.
The word vyavasaya derived from nischaya means certainty. The unshakeable
conviction one has of such a decisive nature is that which the aspirant of
salvation possesses and
which can be understood by the actions they perform. The strength of this
unshakeable conviction is directly connected to one's understanding of the eternal
reality of the soul's immortality.
Fragmented and not evolved is that mind which entertains ideas of performing
actions for the reaping of results. People of this type vaguely know that the soul
exists, although
mistakenly attributing it as being part of the body and no more knowledge is
required in their case as their material wishes for wealth and fame and even
heaven can be obtained without having accurate, precise knowledge of the actual
transcendental position of the eternal soul.
But on the other hand the conviction of certainty is unique in its singleness of
purpose and focused aim. All actions executed by such a living entity has for its
sole objective salvation and the
means is yoga which is the science of the individual consciousness attaining
communion with the Ultimate Consciousness. This is the essence of the Vedic
scriptures which lead to this
conclusion and such being the case there can arise only one unshakeable conviction
to one possessing spiritual insight. For the fulfilment of one single attainment
being salvation, all actions
are dedicated by one fixed in the firm resolve for salvation. Hence as the primary
objective of the Vedic scriptures is one, the firm resolve as regarding the
purpose of all actions can be but
one as in the case for example of the six different kinds of rituals called Darsapurnamasa.
Three rituals are to be performed on the new moon and three are to be
performed on the full moon. In their performance they all differ in regards to
execution yet they may be said to constitute a single aim for when all are
directed to obtaining a single fruit all there seperate
differences may be understood as part of a whole.
Whereas in the case of those with fragmented and unfocused minds who engage in
various activities each intended to acquire some result such as heaven, wealth,
fame, power and so forth and so on the schemes are endless as the desires are
endless. Even the results are diverse as in the case again of the Darsa-purnamasa,
for although the rituals are directed to be performed for the obtainment of a
specific goal, yet they confer minor benefits as well such as good health, vigor
and long life. Thus it is stated that the mentality of those not evolved is
endless and ramifying.
The conclusion of this verse is that all nitya or daily rites and all naimittika
or occasional rites for specific times prescribed in the Vedic scriptures shall be
performed with the sole aim of
ultimate salvation as the purpose. Although each rite individually is capable of
giving its own temporary, material reward; but all such rewards are to be ignored
while holding focus solely on
salvation.
As for fruitive rites and rituals desiring some material benediction, these shall
be performed in the manner prescribed for the four varnas or classes of cultured
life being brahmana, ksatriya, vaisya, and sudra in the four asramas or stages of
cultured life being brahmacarya or celibate life, grihasta or married life,
vanaprastha or renunounced life and sannyasa or dedication and focus solely on the
Supreme Lord. Accordingly they should also resign the acquired results of their
efforts in favor of salvation.
In the next three verses will be seen that those who engage solely in fruitive
activities are condemned.
2-42: yAm imAm puspitAm vAcam pravadanty avi-pascitah! veda-vAda-ratAh-pArtha
nAnyad astiti vAdinah
2-43 kAm-AtmAnaha svarga-parA ! janma-karma-phala-pradAm kriyA-visesa-bahulAm
bhogAisvarya-gatim prati
2-44 bhog-Aiswarya prasaktAnAm tayApahrta cetasAm! vyavasAya-AtmikA buddhih
samAdhau-na-vidhIyateh!
Our desires can be categorized into three:
*This world desires - Lookoh Bina Ruchih! Different types of desires in this
world. Eating well, marrying, property, hobbies, career etc.
It's all based on misunderstanding that body and soul are the same.
*Swargam desires - This is the desire for swargam i.e enjoying other worlds
like devas. This is based on the understanding that
body and soul are different
*Moksham - This is the desire for Moksham i.e breaking the eternal cycle of
births.
Thus earthly pleasures, heavenly pleasures and the endless pleasures in Moksham
are before us. Krishna divides this desires into two:
*Desires of this world and other world
*Desire for Moksham
He tells Arjuna that the various karmas performed for attaining the
earthly/heavenly pleasures, will lead one to nowhere. But a single-minded karma
with Moksham as target, will progress in a single direction and there will be no
need to do the karmas for the earthly/ heavenly benefits. That will be karma yoga.
Here we may think like this. All may not be interested in Moksham. Besides, if Sri
Krishna declares that by doing karma yoga one will soon get Moksham, many will
withdraw from practicing karma yoga or even listening to these lectures. People
will discourage younger ones from listening to Gita lecture as they may think that
Moksham will be attained immediately, and they may not be able to do the expected
domestic duties. So, it is emphasized that merely knowing Gita will not
immediately fetch Moksham and only after the prescribed life is over one will
attain Moksham.
In the previous slokam, Krishna mentioned that one needs to be focussed on the
desire for moksham and do duties accordingly. Now, a question arises on how we can
do this, while
living in this material plane, where we are forced to do material duties to
survive and thrive ??
Krishna responds that, by immersing only on material desires, we will definitely
NOT get anywhere close to Moksham.
But, if we focus on moksham and do all the worldly duties, Krishna will take
care of the material needs and we don't need to worry
about it. That is, by being focussed on Moksham and doing worldly duties, we
also get material needs fullfilled as a "byproduct".
Then what happens to our domestic compulsions and duties? So one may doubt
whether this sermon is practical. Actually, by practicing Karma Yoga as preached
by Sri Krishna one will
get all the comforts in this world as a bye-product. But karmas done with aim
for earthly/ heavenly comforts will never get Moksham. Sri Krishna clearly says
that all karmas with Moksham
as objective, will by the Grace of Sri Krishna, satisfy all the necessities in
this earth, besides guaranteeing Moksham. One need not aspire for these worldly
desires and Sri Krishna will take
care of all those. It is like one pounds paddy to get rice. In the process, one
sweats profusely. Seeing this the neighbor asks whether one was pounding to sweat.
Sweating was only a
bye-product and aim was not for sweating. Similarly, we should perform our
karmas with Moksham as the only objective and nothing else. Paramatma will on His
own take care of our
comforts in this earth also. This declaration is necessary for anyone to aspire
to do karma yoga.
Another example is, when a wealthy man is ready to give one Lakh rupees, if we
ask him 100 rupees, we only get 100Rs and waste the opportunity to get 1 Lakh.
This is similar
to asking the Lord for only material things and not Moksham. If we focus and
ask for Moksham, we would also get "material" things as part of it. (just like
100 is part of 1 Lakh!).
Another example is, in exam, if we target to get 80 marks, we may get 60, but if
we focus to get Cent percent, we have better chance of getting cent percent. It's
the same for Moksham,
which is the highest goal.
God is ready to give us the Ultimate- Moksham. The trivial benefits will
automatically follow suit. So Sri Krishna declares:
yam imam puspitam vacam pravadanty avipascitah veda-vada-ratah partha nanyad
astiti vadinah
"Men of small knowledge are very much attached to the flowery words of the Vedas,
which recommend various trivial activities for elevation to heavenly planets,
resultant good birth, power, and so forth�
Through all these slokas, Sri Krishna is instructing that all actions should be
performed with Moksham as the only purpose. Our aim should not be for the lower
benefits of comforts in this
world are other heavenly pleasures. Why does Sri Krishna say so? Firstly these
earthly/heavenly delights are trivial. They are transient in nature. The wealth
accumulated is not permanent.
What was comfortable yesterday may be irritating today. Thirdly, we are His
servants and so we should accept only what He ordains. Our service also should
only be for His pleasure.
By aspiring for lowly results, our attribute as His dependent is maligned.
Jeevatma is the servant or slave of Paramatma. Jeevatma is dependent on Paramatma.
So, it is necessary to
listen to What Sri Krishna orders and do the same. Every action of us should
please the Lord. By independently choosing a goal and doing karma to attain that,
will displease Him.
Thus these pleasures are trivial and momentary, and realizing we are in His
possession, we should never do any karma with results anything other than Moksham.
Though, this may
be accepted, it is not easy to drag away our actions from performing for petty
results. Even Alwars lament that the mind is pulled towards smaller pleasures. So
one cannot avoid this
struggle and only continuous efforts will make us to realize this. Never at
anytime think that this is impossible. As long we keep faith in Him, our efforts
in karmas for lowly benefits
will fade and we will perform all our actions only for Moksham. An action could be
done for smaller results or for lofty purpose and the attained results will be as
intended.
This material fruits are petty. The fruits of this desires are temporary (love
changes, property doesn't remain forever etc). Moreover, we are the Lord's
property (Jeevatma is subservient
to Paramatma by nature), so we should follow the path laid by the Lord, for our
benefit, rather than chasing petty and temporary things.
Ofcourse, it is not at all easy by any means to shed this material desires.
Even great Azhwars have written about the pull of the samsaric desires for Kama,
artha etc. This is a struggle
which we have to go through, with full faith in the Lord and not give up
easily.
Krishna says, a karma can be done with the intention of Moksham rather than
petty desires. We can do our daily duties with
this spirit. eg. Nuclear energy. Nuclear science can be used for good like
energy production but it can also be used for destruction.
Thus there are two sides of the coin. Therefore, the intention makes all the
difference. Similarly our karmas or actions could be intended for lowly benefits
and the same will be reaped.
But with an intention to achieve Moksham, the same karmas will yield not only
Moksham but the worldly happiness also.
If we perform actions with lowly intentions, then we will obtain only them and
we cannot avoid the recurring cycle of rebirths. Therefore, with a determination
to set goal as Moksham only,
Arjuna is advised to perform his duty. Apart from doing this way just because
Sri Krishna has told, Arjuna should have realized the temporary nature of the
worldly desires. We are able to
distinguish, in our daily life, what is good for us and what is bad. The
confusion emerges because we think atman and body are same. Since body gets
destroyed, our aim should be to do
good for the atman. Atman, like Paramatma, is in eternal bliss, but being a
captive in the body, is unable to attain its natural everlasting happiness.
Therefore, if this thought is always in
our mind, we can understand Karma Yoga properly. The true basic nature of
atman is necessary.
Ofcourse, the spirit of doing a karma in this sense requires the basic
understanding of sankya yoga which Krishna explained earlier
in this chapter i.e body and soul are not the same, soul is eternal and is
subservient to the Lord i,e ATMA SWAROOPAM.
Those who believe "svargam" is the greatest thing and pursue it in their karmas
, they do not get "vyavaSaytmika buddhi" (i.e fixed in the mind) i.,e controlled
mind and understanding
the true nature of soul and it's subservience to the Lord.
Who does Krishna call as Avi-pascitaha!(i.e one who have poor fund of
knowledge)? - These are people who know the Vedas, BUT
do not understand the true import of it!!. In vedas, there are lot of karma
kandas which tell the things to do to gain heaven, gain
children and other material benefits. These folks are "veda-vAda-ratAh" i.e
supposed followers of vedas. They argue (vAdinah) that
there is nothing else (na- Asti) in vedas, other than the fruitive activies
(karmas, sacrifices etc) that vedas recommend.
"puspitAm vAcam" - Why does krishna refer to flowery words? these words are
like flowers which fall away, but do not give any "fruits"
i.e the words of unintelligent people who say the purpose of vedas is to do
karmas for gaining heaven and other material things, their
words are merely flowery, but have no real fruits and do not reflect the true
import of vedas.
What is true import of vedas? There are two portions of vedas - Poorva bhagam
i.e Karma Kandam which explain all the yagnams,
karmas etc which provide guidance on the karmas (yagna, poojas ) which needs
to be done and includes Rig, Yagur,Sama,Atharva Vedas. The other portion(uttara
bhaagam)
is the jnana kanda which are upanishads etc which tell us to reach Brahman .
This is also called vedAnta (i.e way to reach brahman). KenoUpanishad, Taittriya
Upanishad etc ,
which refers to brahmam and ways to reach Brahman. The unintelligent focus
only on the karma kandam, but forget the true import of vedas which is to reach
brahman.
If we do activities for material things i,e sense gratification (kAm-
Atmanah!), opulent life (svarga-parA) ; Krishna refers to "svarga-Para",
because when we are in material zone, "svargam" is considered the ultimate for
this people (and not moksham). These people
consider Swargam as the ultimate Parayanam(goal). When we do this activties,
it only ends us in taking repeated cycles of birth
and death i.e "janma-karma-phala-pradAm" i.e we may get heaven or hell , but
that only results in temporary enjoyment or pain and
the cycle keeps getting repeated. These are not "nityam" (not eternal).
Even if one achieves highest heavens, it is only a matter of
time, before one gets pushed back to the earth after the time is up. In the
43rd sloka He says that people do various karma for lowly objectives.
The mind would have been set on various ordinary desires. The term atman here
means mind. Kama means desires. So, kamatmana means our frequently changing
desires.
If there was only one want, it could be fulfilled. But the desires are ever
increasing and continuing. In this list of desires the final is swarga or heaven.
That is these persons
[so called Vedic scholars] claim swarga as the ultimate and final in happiness.
By repeatedly doing these types of karma, they will only yield rebirth as the
consequential benefits.
Sri Krishna indicates the cycle of rebirths after attaining heaven. If one
wants to get away from these cycles, then one has to do karma yoga without any
desire excepting Moksham.
Here we will explain this cycle to some extent. We are in this world now. We do
various karmas and earn papa [sin] and punya [virtues]. Papa leads us to hell or
naraka and punya
takes us to swarga. In both naraka and swarga our atman will get new bodies and
we will undergo sufferings and pleasures respectively. After the punya is
exhausted, we will be pushed
out of the heaven. This is an authoritative statement [in the Vedas]. The
person enjoying pleasures in heaven does not enjoy fully as the fear of being
pushed away [after the punya is over]
will be lingering in his mind. It is like in a case where a person usually gets
only ordinary buttermilk and rice for meals. One day he is told that he would get
sarkarai pongal [a delicious
sugar candy and rice preparation] for next ten days. When he is enjoying that
delicacy, he will always be remembering that this enjoyment is not permanent and
after the ten-day period
is over, he would get the ordinary buttermilk and rice only. This thought will
not allow him to enjoy the eating of delicacy fully. He may feel it was better to
continue with the ordinary food itself
and there was no need for this temporary spell of pleasure. This fear of being
pushed out is not there in Moksham, and this is what Sri Krishna tells Arjuna.
This is what Nammalwar in
Thiruvaimozhi says. Instead of enjoying in heaven in constant fear of being
pushed away one day, it is far better to avoid heaven. At least, if there was
nothing superior to heaven also one
could aspire for that happiness. Sri Krishna says that He would show Arjuna
better place for pleasure and so why set the mind in such cheap targets.
Janma-karma-phala-pradAm - A question comes up here? Do we take Birth due to
our Karmas ? or do we do karmas due to birth?
This is like asking whether the seed or the tree came first! So, the answer
is, it's a cycle with no beginning or end. Now, another
questions may come up, what was the first karma of Atma? was it paapam or
punyam?? Answer is, atma is nityam i.e it is birthless
and Anaadi. Krishna refers here to this "karma phalam" which
results(pradAm) in births(janma). We should remember that there is nothing like
first birth, as atman is eternal and there
was not a time when it was non-existent. So the births also are in multitudes
and the swarga pala karma recommended by some Vedic pundits will result in the
continuation of this cycle of
births and karmas. Only a resolve to cling to the feet of the Lord will
divert our fickle mind from such attractions. Swami Vedantha Desika in his
Hayagreeva Sthothram says that when his
head is covered by the pollen of the Lord s Lotus feet, why � should he fall at
any mortal�s feet for favors and remedies? A steadfast surrender unto Him will
take care of all requirements in
this world for a comfortable life, besides yielding Moksham and cutting off
this cycle of rebirths.
Jeevatma is given "ahuthi" (i.e oblations) at five areas - Shraddhai,
Somam, vrushti, Annam and Repas for it to take birth in human
life. I.e when a Jeevatma's time is up in heavens , it gets pushed back from
Akasaham to Megam(clouds) and through rains it gets
pushed back to earth and through the grains(food), it finds itself in a man
and through his sperm, it deposits itself in the egg of woman
and takes birth as human. This is cycle which goes on foreover! his cycle of
births resemble yagna or homam. Just as ghee or havis is offered n the sacred fire
in a yagna, this
atman also is offered at many places. The birth of a child is described as
Panchagni Vidya Prakaranam in Upanishads. An atman after his tenure in swarga is
over is thrown out of swarga
and the atman dwells in the clouds. One day, in the decision of God, the
clouds make rain. The atman mingling in the rainy water reaches earth and feeds a
crop, say rice. The atman gets
into a grain of rice and after harvest, the rice is cooked in a house for
meal. This food is eaten by someone and later, enters the womb of a woman and
takes birth as a child, who could be
male or female. Thus the atman resided in space, cloud, rainwater, grains and
womb and then takes the body of a child and is born. The born child grows,
performs karmas and earns papa
and punya and accordingly reaches hell or heaven and after the papa/punya is
expended, again pushed out to start the next cycle. We have to therefore learn
that we will have to do our
karma without attachment to these smaller benefits, which will take us only to
heaven, only to be born again after sometime. We will have to breakaway from this
cycle.
kriyA-visEsa-bahulAm - They do pompous ceremonies, endless karmas, activities
in pursuit of material gains. All of this just to
for sense enjoyment and progress towards material gains.
bhOg-Aiswarya-prasaktAnam - People who are attached to Bhogam, Aiswaryam and
in a material plane; And NOT rooted in the
understanding that Body and Soul are different, Body is temporary, the
Soul's nature is servitude to the lord, it's goal is to get out
of this life-death cycle - these people are condemned forever.
TiruppanAzhwar in this AMalandipaaran pasuram "Mandipaay..."
mentions about monkeys who jumps from tree to tree eating fruits half here,
half there and compares us to these monkeys. When
we go to Tiruvenkgadam, we go with similar desires which keeps increasing and
changing everytime we go there and the Lord is
kind enough to do it, but we are never satisfied. Like Agni 's
characterisitic "Analaaha", there is no end to our desire, we keep
swallowing and ask more and more.
The ignorant, whose knowledge is little, and who have as their sole aim the
attainment of enjoyment and power, speak the flowery language i.e., having its
flowers (show) only as fruits, which look apparently beautiful at first sight.
They rejoice in the letter of the Vedas i.e., they are attached to heaven and such
other results (promised in the Karma-kanda of the Vedas). They say that there is
nothing else, owing to their intense attachment to these results. They say that
there is no fruit superior to heaven etc. They are full of worldly desires and
their minds are highly attached to secular desires. They hanker for heaven, i.e.
think of the enjoyment of the felicities of heaven, after which one can again have
rebirth which offers again the opportunity to perform varied rites devoid of true
knowledge and leads towards the attainment of enjoyments and power once again.
With regard to those who cling to pleasure and power and whose understanding is
contaminated by that flowery speech relating to pleasure and lordly powers, the
aforesaid mental disposition characterised by resolution, will not arise in their
Samadhi. Samadhi here means the mind. The knowledge of the self will not arise in
such minds. In the minds of these persons, there cannot arise the mental
disposition that looks on all Vedic rituals as means for liberation based on the
determined conviction about the real form of the self. Hence, in an aspirant for
liberation, there should be no attachment to rituals out of the conviction that
they are meant for the acquisition of objects of desire only. It may be questioned
why the Vedas, which have more of love for Jivas than thousands of parents, and
which are endeavouring to save the Jivas, should prescribe in this way rites whose
fruits are infinitesimal and which produce only new births. It can also be asked
if it is proper to abandon what is given in the Vedas. Sri Krsna replies to these
questions.
O! Partha, the unwise, who rejoice in the letter of the Vedas, say, 'There is
nothing else.' They are full only of wordly desires and they hanker for heaven.
They speak flowery words which offer rebirth as the fruit of work. They look upon
the Vedas as consisting entirely of varied rites for the attainment of pleasure
and power. Those who cling so to pleasure and power are attracted by that speech
(offering heavenly rewards) and are unable to develop the resolute will of a
concentrated mind.
In the 42nd sloka, He mentioned that some Vedic Pundits claim in flowery language
that swarga is the ultimate goal for the atman. In the 43rd sloka He explains how
all these karmas will lead one to earthly wealth only. In the 44th sloka, He says
that such people, who pursue karmas for worldly wealth, will never realize the
real nature of atman. If one understands atman is different from body, one will
not give that importance to the body. But these worldly wealth are all related to
body only. Therefore, these karmas will enable only recurring births and remain in
the birth cycle. So, atman chinthana or contemplating on atman is necessary to
break away from this cycle. This step will lead to reaching Brahman or God. These
people are not going to get the wisdom, if they are absorbed in karmas leading to
swarga. Which wisdom? The wisdom or gyana that atman and body are different, that
the atman is eternal and indestructible, that the atman nature is everlasting
happiness and that the atman is servant of the Lord. Thiruppanalwar describes in
his Amalanadhipiran in the 3rd hymn, mandhi pai vada venkata.. We see a tree here.
Lots of birds perch and eat the fruits. After the fruits are exhausted, they
migrate to another tree. When we go to Thirumala we notice monkeys. They jump from
one tree to another. The monkeys mentioned by Alwar in the hymn are people like
us, our Acharyas emphatically mention. Because we possess same qualities. Just as
monkeys jump off from one tree after exhausting the fruits, we also seek various
boons from the Lord Venkatesa. The Lord also thinking that next time that person
might pray for Moksham, grants the smaller desires. But that person comes with
more earthly desires next time. A villager visited a city. His friends cautioned
him that in the city you should purchase anything only after bargaining. They told
that he should bargain for 50% of the seller s price. He came � to the city and
wanted to purchase an article and the seller demanded Rs.100. villager remembered
the advice of his friends and bargained for Rs.50. The seller felt it was too low
and said he would agree for Rs.70. Immediately, the villager asked for Rs.35.
Puzzled the seller said he may as well give it free. Quick came the bargain from
the villager; whether he would give two such articles! In a similar way we never
get satisfied with what we have and our demands are ever growing. Like the monkeys
hopping tree after tree. The fire in yagna is called anala. It will consume
anything without a limit. Our mind also is in a way like that, never satisfied
with what was given. We never say enough for the accumulation of wealth. We should
earn to give the needy and poor. But we accumulate for our children without a
limit. Our mind is trained to calculate how much more we should earn and how to
amass wealth. We surely know what is enough for us, but we are greedy and want to
amass more and more. If only we could devote our attention to the welfare of atman
instead of body, we would have achieved great results. We are comforting the body
in shade while allowing the atman to suffer in the hot sun. That is we are keeping
the body in wealth and comforts. It should be the other way. But we never do that
and our mind is engaged in these worldly wealth and happiness all the time losing
even our sleep. Sri Krishna therefore tells Arjuna that by thinking of these
earthly pleasures and planning how to attain, such minds have no scope for
thinking what is good for the soul. Naturally, they can never do karma yoga and
consequently, Moksham is denied to them. That means they will be in the birthdeath
cycle and earn papa and punya. To expend these more and more births will be
needed. So only by doing one�s duty with detachment and determination, one can
come away from the cycle of births. This is the substance of 44th sloka.
*****
Extract from Gita Bhashyam Commentary for verses 42, 43, 44 :
The word puspitam meaning flowery or that whose fruit is no more than the flower
itself and therefore although flowery language may be pleasant to hear it is
merely a superficial pleasure in the same way it is pleasant to gaze upon a flower
but what is actually gained from it is negligible. Thus those of little
understanding lacking spiritual intelligence discourse on that which concerns the
acquisition of power and wealth.
The words veda-vada-ratah defines those who are addicted to the specific sections
of the Vedic scriptures which prescribe activities to receive rewards like
celestial worlds with heavenly delights.
The words anyad astiti vadinah defines those who contend that no higher goal
exists beyond the heavenly planets.
The word kamatmanah defines those whose minds are always seeking enjoyment
engrossed in material sense gratification.
The words svarga-parah defines those whose attention is always focused on
attaining enjoyments in the heavenly worlds.
The words janma-karma-phala-pradam defines that which relates to activities which
would result in being born again into the material existence due to having to
accept the rewards of one's past actions.
The word kriya-visesha-bahulam defines those discussions regarding the manifold
rites and rituals required to be performed successfully in order to aquire
opulence and power.
To those then who are addicted to wealth and power. To those whose light of
understanding is dimmed. To those who are captivated by the thought of obtaining
opulence and power and are raptly interested in the discussion of all subjects
related to acquiring opulence and power; then no determined resolve as that which
is mentioned in verse 41 will be able to manifest in their minds.
The word samadhi is a permanent meditative state of mind and when achieved it can
be likened to the mind for the mind is where spiritual knowledge is collected,
contemplated and comprehended and where consciousness of a superior nature is
attained. This is indicated by the word samadhiyate a derivative of the root word
samadhi. The understanding is that at no time ever does spiritual knowledge come
to those whose minds are engrossed in mere desire for wealth and power. The
conviction one has to obtain temporal material objects is not of the same quality
as the conviction one has who is determined to free themselves from the material
existence forever. All activities for them either practical or esoteric are but
the means to accomplish this goal and attain salvation and hence those who have
qualified in this way are very careful not to connect themselves with any kamakarmas
or actions which bring rise to carnal desires so as not to cause any
impediments in their spiritual progress.
Hence, in an aspirant for liberation, there should be no attachment to rituals out
of the conviction that they are meant for the acquisition of objects of desire
only. It may be questioned why the Vedas, which have more of love for Jivas than
thousands of parents, and which are endeavouring to save the Jivas, should
prescribe in this way rites whose fruits are infinitesimal and which produce only
new births. It can also be asked if it is proper to abandon what is given in the
Vedas. Sri Krsna replies to these questions in next verses.
2.45
trai-gunya-visaya veda nis-trai-gunyo bhav-arjuna
nir-dvandvo nitya-sattva-sthah: niryoga-ksema atmavan
"The Vedas prescribe for all the three qualities found in men. O Arjuna, become
apart from these three modes. Be free from all dualities and from all anxieties
for gain and preservation, and
be established in the self."
In the 42nd, 43rd and 44th slokas it was told that some learn Vedas and argue that
swarga or heaven is the ultimate to be attained. Sri Krishna tells Arjuna that he
should ignore karmas in the Vedas that yield the smaller rewards like swarga and
concentrate to attain Moksham or Vaikunta Prapthi. Arjuna asked which are those
karmas he should ignore. Sri Krishna intended the karmas like Jyotish Homam, etc.
All these karmas yield swarga prapthi or begetting children or destroying enemies
and so on. Sri Krishna wants Arjuna to set his objective on the superior Moksham
and not on these trivial rewards. Arjuna now asks after all these karmas, which
are intended for swarga etc., are also prescribed in Vedas, then how can he ignore
them? Vedas have recommended these acts and Vedas will never advocate wrong
things. It is said that what good a thousand mothers and fathers cannot do to a
person, Vedas do to us. Vedas will never cheat us. So how can we disregard acts or
karmas prescribed in Vedas? The second question is, we have to follow all the
commands in the Vedas. We are to faithfully follow the instructions in the
Shastras and perform the dos and avoid the don ts. These � karmas resulting in
swarga are prescribed in shastras and so how can Sri Krishna ask to ignore these
karmas? Once we start ignoring such commands of Vedas, soon we will discard all
the acts prescribed in the Vedas. Thus the two questions :one Vedas speak only
truth and will never divert anyone to wrong path and so how can anyone ignore any
commands in Vedas. Second, by saying that one should not do karmas for achieving
swarga, though prescribed in the Vedas, will not the defect of disobeying Vedas
occur? This also will lead to discrimination and discarding the entire Vedas. If
the rewards like heaven are of such an impermanent nature then why do the Vedas
which are
eternally perfect and beneficial for all beings enjoin practices aimed at
achieving heavenly spheres.These doubts of Arjuna are responded in the 45th and
46th slokas.
Vedas is not just for one category of people, but for everybody! i.e it includes
everybody who have the three qualities (sattva, rajas, tamas). But, you Arjuna,
should get away from
rajah and tamas guna and be placed in the Sattva platform only. Here we see the
word traigunya indicating the three qualities of material nature being goodness,
passion and ignorance.
This term refers to the three groups of living entities characterised under the
influence of these three aforementioned qualities. Vedic scriptures deals with the
three modes of material nature which are goodness, passion and ignorance and all
beings are born into these three modes of material nature. Some beings have a
preponderance for goodness, others for passion and others for ignorance while some
are mixed. These modes are conditioned within the mind and they typify the three
types of created beings. With exception of the Upanisads the Vedic scriptures
dealing with the three modes gives prescribed activities and their results.
If the Vedic scriptures did not address these three classes according to their
predilections by prescribing the appropriate method for attainment of the heavenly
spheres, then those living entities under the influence of passion and ignorance
would be adverse to goodness unwittingly hindering their own progress. Also they
would be in the dark as to how to advance themselves from their present position
and being lost compounded by being full of desires they would fall into
degradation falsely fancying it to lead the way to their goal; and in vain they
would be ruined.
Whatsoever one desires to obtain in heaven the prescription is enjoined for them
to achieve it and the description of the various rewards are eulogised as well as
the rituals for their fulfilment. If the Vedas were not to reveal and elaborate a
way for those within the three modes to benefit themselves according to the three
modes of material nature. Then those locked in the cycle of birth and death would
forfeit both their opportunities. Firstly unaware of the reward of liberation
beyond the three modes and thus being oblivious to it would miss it altogether and
secondly if their was no material goal which they could strive for they would lose
faith in spiritual knowledge without rituals and practices giving them the means
to acquire their cherished goals such as heavenly delights and thus they would
lose both chances bequeathed to them with birth into material existence. So it is
justly so that the Vedic scriptures deal with the three modes of material nature
as they explain the rituals that bring benefits for all those subject to the
influence of these modes.
For example, imagine a person having no faith in Vedas. He wanted to get rid of
his enemy but could not succeed. He came across a Vedic scholar and he sought the
scholar�s advice. He recommended sena yagna. This person though not believing in
Vedas, wanted to give that advice a try. His enemy was vanquished. Then he wanted
money and this time scholar recommended another karma and after performing that
wealth accumulated. Now, this person slowly started having faith in the Vedas. As
time passed, his desires also multiplied and every time he resorted to various
karmas in the Vedas and sincerely performed and got satisfied. He aspired for
swarga and got it. But later found that also was limited and so sought the advice
of Vedic scholars for permanent happiness free from all miseries. He realized
that Karma yoga or Gyana yoga or Bhakthi yoga would yield Moksham. This method was
required to correct a non-believer. This method is not applicable to people like
Arjuna who have already surrendered to the Lord. Therefore, Sri Krishna tells
Arjuna that the Vedas are meant for all three types-satva, rajo and tamo- of
persons.
Imagine a mother having three children. One is very submissive and good mannered.
The second is a rough and arrogant. Third one is lazy. The mother is common to all
the three. The
methods used by the mother to get things done from each child will vary. For
example if the first child tries to eat something that should be avoided, a mere
warning will do. Whereas for
the second child, the mother will allow the child to eat and later on when the
child complains of stomach disorder, she would give the advice and correct to
avoid such foods. This example
is quoted by Pillai Lokacharya and his brother Azhgiya Manavalaperumal
Nayanar.Now, the first child cannot complain that the mother was partial and she
allowed the other child to eat
that avoidable food. So, Vedas being common to all sorts of people, that is,
variety of people endowed with satva, rajo and tamo guanas, the Lord cannot ask
the same karma to be
performed by all.
Hence the Vedic scriptures contain all that the three classification of living
entities possessing different qualities could desire. But ideally one should free
themselves from passion and ignorance and devote oneself to increasing the
quality of goodness fully. This increase should be pure without any dilution of
passion and ignorance all intermixture should be fully purged. The word
nirdvandvah means free from duality, devoid of any influence of material nature.
Nitya-sattva-sthah is one who is ever wedded to increasing goodness without any
trace of passion and ignorance. How is this to be accomplished? By being niryoga-
ksema meaning one is completely unconcerned about acquiring any other
advantage apart from the realisation of the soul and the means to effect that
end. By this method one becomes atmavan or established in the soul. If one
conducts oneself in this manner and remains fixed, the influence of passion and
ignorance
will cease and goodness will become predominant.
It may be put forth that one may become indifferent to heavenly delights but that
the basic requirements for human existence such as food, clothing and shelter
which are also veritable modifications of the three modes of material nature are
impossible to ignore and become indifferent too. In answer to this Lord Krishna
explains to be free from dualities like praise and blame, heat and cold, pleasure
and pain. Being free from them means being unattached to them. How is this to be
done? By enduring them and becoming established in pure spiritual consciousness.
Its characteristic is patience and endurance uninfluenced by passion or covered by
ignorance. One should always be tempered by patience for one without patience is
easily overpowered by passion and ignorance and becomes uncontrolled and fearful
in situations involving the three modes of material nature. So we should overcome
the hindrances of passion and ignorance and maintain a balanced state of
equilibrium.
But in all this one with worldly possessions desirous of increasing and protecting
them may wonder how they may maintain themselves in the material nature. To this
Lord Krishna reiterates niryoga-ksema become free from conceptions of acquisition
and preservation. But how then would one sustain their lives? By atmavan firmly
established in spiritual consciousness of the soul. The essence is to understand
that the Supreme Lord is the fulfiller and bestower of all desires. So one should
only seek His refuge and accept His shelter. Never fear nor seek any other succour
from any other source for the Supreme Lord will provide all sustenance and
maintenance to those who understanding Him are fully surrendered.
Nirdvandva: Dvandam is duality. Nirdvandam is non-duality. What is it? We see
everything in pairs : Happiness-Sorrow, Birth-death; Gain-Loss etc (we have seen
in earlier sloka on
how to bear duality.. suka dukha samey krtva, laabah-Alaabah , Jaya-Ajayau). So,
Nirdvanda moksham is treat this duality as equal and bear with equanimity. We have
to train ourselves to
pass these pairs. Another intepretation is, we see duality in this life only. So
bypassing this samsaram or lifecycles, and reaching Moksham. So our aim is to
achieve nirdvandvo. But in our
daily life we come across these pairs regularly and react accordingly! Isn't it
extremely difficult! How can we avoid these pairs then?
nis-trai-gunyo:This is explained in the next words in the 45th sloka. In the
beginning of this sloka He told that Arjuna should be without the three gunas or
qualities. This does NOT mean that
Arjuna should be without all the three-satva, rajo and tamo qualities; but avoid
rajo and tamo gunas alone. So a person without the three gunas- that is without
the rajo and tamo qualitiescan
passover the dualities or pairs or become nirdvandvo. We feel we are attacked
by the pairs of victory-defeat, happiness-sorrow and profit-loss, because of the
inherent rajo and tamo
qualities.
nitya-sattva-sthah: By training ourselves in satva guna, we can resist the impact
of the pairs. The pairs cannot be avoided in our lives, we should remember, but we
can avoid the influence
of them on us. Just as we cannot avoid mosquitoes but we guard ourselves against
mosquito bite by various methods. Sri Krishna also suggests two methods to resist
the influence of the
pairs on us. One, by avoiding the trigunya or discarding rajo and tamo qualities.
The second is to cultivate the satva quality in us. This two-pronged approach will
enable us to overcome the
impact of the pairs. Now Arjuna asks Sri Krishna how to identify these three
qualities in him and how to manage them? Sri Krishna smiled, as these qualities
are not physically
identifiable. But He suggests a method for that also.
niryoga-ksema : He says one should be niryoga-ksema atmavan. In Sanskrit yogam
means receiving what is not possessed. Kshemam means protecting what is possessed.
Here
Sri Krishna advises that other than atman, do not aspire to possess anything else
and do not desire to retain what is possessed. Desireless on yoga kshemam,
excepting atman, will
make one nistrai-gunyo and nitya-sattva-stho. Because the desire to acquire makes
us to employ our rajo guna. We get angry with all those impeding our desire. On
the other hand,
if we can discard that desire to acquire, then there is no room for passion, anger
and jealousy. Niryogakshema will reduce rajo and tamo qualities.
Atmavan- What about cultivating satva quality? that is always be thoughtful of the
atman. This will grow satva quality and we can easily resist the influence of the
pairs.
Summarizing, atmavan and niryogakshema will make one nistraigunyo and nithya
satvo. This will make one nirdvandvo, which is essential to reach Moksham. The
elimination of rajo and tamo qualities and developing satva quality depend on our
food habits.
2.46
yaavan artha udapaane sarvatah: samplutohdakE
taavan sarveshu vedesu brahmanasya vijanatah
In the preceding sloka Sri Krishna advised Arjuna to contemplate on the atman only
and to discard passion to acquire or retain material benefits. By doing these
Arjuna can eliminate rajo and
tamo qualities and develop satva quality. This will result Arjuna being immune to
the pairs happiness and sorrow, victory and defeat and gain � or loss. Arjuna is
commanded to take
initiatives to achieve these. Arjuna has doubts, that when everything is
mentioned in vedas, why should Krishna tell him to ignore the material benefits
provided by Vedas and select
what is related to Brahman? Vedas are supreme. Isn't it? Why should Vedas tell
it and then Krishna is telling to ignore it? Why doesn't the Vedas provide only
what is ultimate, instead
of giving Swargam, Putra Kameshti Yagnam and other tips (rituals etc) which are
for material benefits? The reason is, ALL of us are living in a material plane
and each one of us (except
very rare exceptions) have some desire or other (whether it is wealth, property,
Son, knowledge etc), so Vedas are kind to help us in this process. Krishna is
repeating that this desires
will keep us in a endless cycle of material world and that we should focus on
getting out of this, by taking the appropriate portions of Vedas. This
continuous exhortation will atleast help
a few of us to realize it and stop chasing more new material desires and limit our
existing desires Or atleast realize the importance giving attention to the needs
of the soul. Also Krishna is
telling Arjuna not to consider what the vedas are telling for all, but just focus
on what Krishna is telling him. Now citing an example Sri Krishna tells in the
46th sloka:
"Water in a reservoir is common to all kinds of people and purposes and at all
times. Similarly, all the Vedas serve all and brahmana selects the one needed by
him."
Sri Krishna says that His commands in the Vedas are for all types of people, just
as a mother is common to her various children. So, Arjuna should pick up what is
applicable to him. He now
cites an example. Let us consider river Ganges or Kaveri or a large lake where
water from various rivers is stored. There are many ghats in the river or lake.
People of various requirements
are at these ghats. One wants to get his thirst quenched. Another wants to have a
bath, and so on. Even for the person who wants to quench his thirst, he can take
water to the extent he
needs. Also, he can drink the quantity his palms can collect. One cannot complain
that he is not drinking all the water in the river or lake, just because so much
water is available. Because,
he has to take water to the extent to quench the thirst only and cannot take more.
He also cannot complain that there should be water in the river to his requirement
only. The water in the
river or lake is meant for all and at all times. Also, the water is required for
not only drinking but for other uses also. Similarly the commands in the Vedas are
for all types of people with
various degree of the triguna satva, rajo and tamo qualities. � Vedas are also
meant for the people in various eras or yugas �kritha, thretha, dwapara and kali
yugas. It is also meant
for persons at various stages in life like bramhachari [bachelor], grahastha
[familied persons], vanaprastha [secluded life] and sanyasi [renounced]. It is
meant for both males and females,
young and old, learned and the ignorant. So, everyone should accept what is
suited or prescribed for him. Sri Krishna now advises Arjuna not to resort to some
karmas as he is not
suited for those. Arjuna is having the satva quality and the other two �rajo and
tamo- are absent in him. Arjuna should fight to establish dharma. At the same
time, he should not fight
to gain inferior rewards like swarga, but for obtaining Moksham. He should not
fight for acquiring the kingdom or for enjoying regal comforts. Besides, Arjuna
being His cousin,
who else could be dearer to be preached to cultivate satva quality? Thus, Sri
Krishna preached that Moksham was the appropriate path for Arjuna in this
juncture.
We may not be in the same high level as Arjuna and so it may be difficult to
relinquish our desires. We can write down our desires and review them periodically
to see whether we have
renounced any as preached in Gita. We can also note the dos and don�ts, Sri
Krishna has advised and review all those where we have drifted away from His
advice.
Small progresses achieved are great steps in the path Sri Krishna has shown to us.
Sri Krishna further says that all the Vedas prescribe the karmas for all types of
people and a brahmana should follow those suitable and applicable to him. Here the
word brahmana does not
indicate a Brahmin as a caste member. Any person who is desirous of reaching the
Brahman as mentioned in the Vedas is addressed as Brahmana. Such persons should
follow the
commands in Vedas, which will take them to the Paramatman. All other destinations
should be treated as mere impediments in reaching Moksham and they should be
avoided.
Any karma, which takes one to swarga or other worlds for enjoyment, will prevent
the person from reaching Moksham till that tenure was over and to that extent they
become
obstacles in the path for eternal happiness. Avoid all those objectives of
inferior results. They are the techniques of rajo and tamo quality persons. So
advices Sri Krishna
and induces Arjuna to fight for dharma with Moksham as the end result.
It must be understood that not everything written in the Vedic scriptures is
necessary for all the three classifications of living entities. Some injunctions
apply only to those possessing qualities
of passion and ignorance and some apply only to those solely possessing the
qualities of goodness. The rituals and sacrifices mentioned in the karma-kanda
division of the Vedic literature
are to encourage gradual development of self-realization. And the purpose of selfrealization
is clearly stated in the Fifteenth Chapter of the Bhagavad-gita
(15.15): the purpose of studying the
Vedas is to know Lord Krsna, the primeval cause of everything. So, selfrealization
means understanding Krsna and one's eternal relationship with Him.One
should follow that portion of the
Vedas to perform activities that are most pleasing to Lord Krishna which is in the
best interests of all beings. It is not that one must just adopt everything that
is said in the Vedas. One should
never do activities against the injunctions of the Vedic scriptures but according
to qualification and circumstances one must follow what is prescribed in the
Vedas. For example certain rituals
such as the agnihotra are prescribed to be performed in the Vedas; but they are
prescribed for married householders. They are not to be performed by sannyasis.
Also celibacy is prescribed
in the Vedic scriptures but it is prescribed for brahmacaris and sannyasis. It is
not prescribed for married householders. So it is not that everything in the Vedas
is to be followed by everyone
although all the four orders must certainly follow the Vedas but according to ones
ashram. This is the discrimination regarding this matter. Lord Krishna gives the
example here that just as a
great reservoir of water answers the purpose of a well and when water is flowing
to the brim on all sides there is only a small amount required to one thirsty to
allay their thirst in the same
way only that much need be taken from the Vedic scriptures as may be required.
Hence it can be clearly ascertained that from all the Vedic scriptures only that
which leads to the realisation
of the Ultimate Truth needs to be chosen by those who are in complete knowledge.
What is then necessary for one in goodness aspiring for this is revealed in the
next verse.
2.47
karmany eva-adhikaras te ma phalesu kadacana
ma karma-phala-hetur bhu: ma te sango astv akarmani
"You have ONLY right to perform your prescribed duty, but you have no rights for
the fruits of action. Never consider yourself the cause of the results of your
activities, and never be inactive."
This sloka is very sweet to listen to but most difficult to follow in practice.
Why Sri Krishna told this sloka and what is the connection to the previous sloka?
In the earlier slokas 45 & 46, Krishna mentioned to Arjuna that , he can't take
everything in Vedas and follow it, since Vedas is like a river and for everybody.
But, just like we use river
water as per our individual use, Arjuna should use those aspects of veda, which
is specifically suited to him i.e. he should follow the sattvic ones (ones which
reach him to brahman and
not the ones which are for material desires). Arjuna has a question here -
Krishna is telling him to pick specific part of vedas - So, can Arjuna ignore what
he doesn't feel like?
This is a challenge. Sri Krishna is advising him to discard some commands of
Vedas. So can he discard any? If someone is asked to follow all in a book then
there is no problem. But if same person is told that some in that book are not
meant for him, then he thinks that he has the discretion to choose any and discard
some, as he likes. There are so many daily karmas prescribed like the simple ones:
speak the truth, do not steal, etc. These are also prescribed in the Vedas. Can
anyone discard these basic tenets also? Can we discard daily routines like Pooja
for the God? So, there is every possibility of total confusion in following Vedas.
Also whichever karma is being performed, the objective will always be lingering in
mind. As a reply to all these doubts, Sri Krishna mentions this 47th sloka. He
says, Arjuna has right to do ONLY his karma . ONLY(te) emphasizes that he has no
RIGHT on the RESULTS. He says,
"phalesu" -> numerous results/fruits. arjuna should not be thinking he has any
right on all the numerous fruits.
Karma-Phala->results of the work; hetur->responsible/ownership; ma-bhuh->do not :
Do not think you are the cause for the results.
Akarmani-> Never be inactive. Ma-teh-Sangah-Astu -> Do not associate :
Do not associate anytime with inactivity.
You have only Right for doing your presribed duty; You have no right for the
fruits of the action
Do not think that you are the cause of the results of your activities; But,at
the same time, do not ever associate with inactivity.
This is very difficult to understand. Every thing we do, again, everything we do
-> even simple acts such as turning on TV is with the expectation for some result
or working for
money .. everything we do is with expectation for result. So, why is Krishna
saying like this? Even a dull-headed person will not move a finger unless some
results are there. So it might surprise us as to why Sri Krishna is advising like
this. We should note that Sri Krishna does not say Arjuna should do without
expecting any results. Actually we should link this with the previous sloka and
understand that one should contemplate on atman and making the atman to reach
Moksham alone should be the result we should expect in every karma performed. Sri
Krishna is not saying that we should not aspire for results, but asks not to
desire for inferior rewards but aspire to reach the Paramatman for all our
actions.
In the next line of the sloka it is said that Arjuna should not be the cause of
any results. We are to perform the action and even though we may not aspire for a
result, unless we perform, the
results are not going to be there. If in a game the player is asked not to bother
about results, the player may ponder as to why he should play. What Sri Krishna
means, when He says that
one should not be the cause for a result, is that one should not think that one
was responsible for the results.
Inaction should not be there. Result may or may not be but when we do a karma we
should think that we are not doing that karma for an inferior reward and we should
never think that we are responsible for that reward. Arjuna then feels that
instead of this elaboration, he could as well remain passive and thereby avoid any
result. This Sri Krishna prohibits. Arjuna cannot sit idle; he has to fight in the
battle. But he should not desire for swarga or victory.
Let us delve into why Sri Krishna is advising that we should not expect or desire
for results. We should be clear first as to what we need in this world. If we
frequently change our needs we can never reach the destination. Our objective
should be that beyond which there is nothing else, that which will give us
everlasting experience and that which will yield supreme feeling. The experience
in this world indicates to us that happiness and sorrow are mixed. Therefore we
have to elevate ourselves to higher planes and reach Paramatman for everlasting
pleasure. This should be our objective. This is not small happiness. This will
never be lost or decay. It is not going to end after some time. Once we have
decided on this aim, all our actions should be targeted to reach this goal only.
Any deviation in this will make us miss the objective. Any action for any other
target will only waste our time and energy. This is what Sri Krishna explains to
Arjuna. He should do his duty and that only is going to realize him the
Paramatman. We have to perform duties prescribed for us. We have to do our duties.
Follow the righteous path. Speak the truth. Be helpful to others. Do not malign
others. Cultivate the real traits of atman. By doing all these we will follow the
path shown by Sri Krishna and surely we will secure the results He indicated. We
can do these acts like speaking truth only or following righteous path, for other
benefits also. As an example digging to create a pond for the benefit of the
society is a righteous act. By doing so one may get position or wealth. But if the
same person can also think that by doing this act, he is going to make available
water for many devotees in whom He resides and so this will please Paramatman and
so He will receive him to His Domain. So a choice exists. We can perform a
commendable act for smaller rewards like position or wealth, or for sublime
rewards like pleasing the God. We should choose the latter. Here, Sri Krishna is
encouraging Arjuna to fight to reach Moksham. Arjuna should have his aim as
reaching the feet of the Lord and fight in the battle.
That is why Sri Krishna tells that Arjuna has right only for the duty- karmanyeva.
Now, Arjuna enquires that if Sri Krishna is telling that he is not the cause for
results of his action, then will not the normal concept of relation between cause
and action be faulted? It appears that what Sri Krishna tells is against our daily
observations. If a person hits a person and is produced in a court, he cannot
escape punishment by saying that he was not responsible for the injury suffered by
the other. So one can never runaway from the results of an action. If the battle
is won, it will mean that Arjuna was responsible for that victory. If this is not
accepted then it will result in a mindless act. Result and action have to be
always together only. Then why Sri Krishna is advising the other way? Swami
Ramanuja in his Gita Bhashyam and Swami Vedantha Desika in his Tatparya Chandrika
explain these. In karmanyeva adhikara, the word adhikara indicates the thought
mine or I am doing . Where this thought should be and where � � � � it should not be?
When one is doing his duty he should have this thought that it is his duty and
that he is doing his duty. So this right � adhikara- and the thought that right is
being exercised should be there while performing one�s duty. But when a result is
there he should not claim it as a right and be inert to the results. Sri Krishna
therefore does not say that cause and action are not related. He only says that
while doing a duty, one cannot claim one was responsible for the result. If in the
battle Arjuna wins it is no doubt that Arjuna was responsible for that. But he
should never think that he is responsible for the outcome. With the feeling that
one is not responsible for the result, one should do a duty. This feeling is quite
difficult to bring to practice. The advantages of such a feeling are brought out
in the next sloka. We should perform our duty for superior goal and at the same
time we should always remember that we are not responsible for the end results. If
we are not responsible for the results of our action, why should we do any action?
Why not remain inactive? Sri Krishna says that He never said that we are not
responsible for the results, but commands that we should not perform our duty with
the thought that we are responsible for the results. Arjuna asks what is wrong if
he assumed or thought that he was responsible for the results? Sri Krishna
counters Arjuna whether could he ever say that for any result of any action, he
alone was responsible? For any action it is the teamwork, which gets results. In
the Shastras it is said that for any action five entities are needed. They are
Paramatma, Jeevatma, body, organs and Pranavayu [Oxygen]. Team effort of all these
only can result in any action. When this is the position, how can anyone claim
that he has done? So there is nothing wrong in assuming that he has not performed
that action. Arjuna accepting this asks whether he, being one of the five, can
assume at least 20% was his contribution? Sri Krishna denies this and says that in
this Universe everything perform to His orders and so it would be better to say
that He was responsible for all actions. If we analyze we can realize that one
alone is not responsible for any action.
(Extract from Gita Bhashyam:
Lord Krishna instructs Arjuna that for one who is fixed in goodness, whose sole
aim is for liberation; the routine of performing daily duties, occasional duties
and fruit bearing duties should be performed automatically and whatever recompense
assigned to each of them should not be hankered for desiring rewards and benefits
or else it becomes fruitive. The desire for reward and benefits has a binding
effect keeping one bound in the material existence. But free from these
impediments the same action performed as worship to the Supreme Lord becomes the
veritable means to secure liberation. Therefore be devoid of motive for actions
nor desire to reap the reward from actions. Though all living entities are acting
their part in this world, those who are situated in goodness aspiring for
liberation are considered not to be entangled as so. It can be understood that
when one eats the hunger one had is appeased and the desire is satisfied as well;
yet one would not consider theirself as the cause of the appeasal and
satisfaction.
)
2.48:
yoga-sthah kuru karmani sangam tyaktva dhananjaya
siddhy-asiddhyoh samo bhutva samatvam yoga ucyate
"Perform your duty equipoised, O Arjuna, abandoning all attachment to success or
failure. Such equanimity is called yoga."
yoga-sthah--steadfast in yoga; kuru--perform; karmani--your duties; sangam--
attachment; tyaktva--having abandoned; dhananjaya--O Dhananjaya; siddhiasiddhyoh--
success and failure;
samah--the same; bhutva--having become; samatvam--evenness of mind; yogah--yoga;
ucyate--is called.
Established in yoga and renouncing attachment to all accompanying results one
should engage in actions as a matter of duty to the best of one's ability
completely unconcerned with success
and failure. This equipoised condition of the mind keeps it peaceful and steady in
the face of all adversity and balanced and calm in the fulfilment of any actions.
In this 48th sloka Sri Krishna mentions yoga. It means considering victory and
defeat alike without differentiation. The person who attains such a mind of
tranquility and in whom the mind is in
harmony is called yogi. Arjuna should be one among such yogis. We see here a large
tree and the big Anaimalai rock. They represent steadfastness. Nothing can shake
these. Similarly we
should also be firm. Just because others talk, we should not lose our heart. By
desiring various rewards our weakness is exhibited. Today this is required,
tomorrow we need that, if we do this
we may get that reward, if we do that we may get a different reward- like this we
are advised by so many people. By losing our minds and getting distracted we will
become nervous.
We should decide whether we want a strong mind or a weak one? By listening to all
sorts of suggestions our mind gets weaker. We should firmly believe that whatever
we need will all be
granted by the Lord. The relationship between a devotee and God should not be
commercial. Devotee has to establish his rights and God will certainly perform His
duty. Both have duties
and rights. Our resolute should be that we are devoted to Him and we will do only
what pleases Him. Our objective is to reach Him. This must be our resolution. With
this thought we should
perform our duties. When this is done there is no need to establish our rights.
God Himself will grant all those.
When we do our duty we should have a resolute and balanced mind to either victory
or defeat arising as a result of that karma. What is balanced approach to victory
or defeat? Abandoning
attachment sangam tyaktva-one should perform his duty. That is � we should be free
from any attachment to the result of our action. Such detachment from result will
enable the karma to be
done properly. Here we have to see important aspects. In our daily life we notice
that only if we have interest in the result, we get enthusiasm to perform a task.
A student keeps his aim as
securing 99% in the exam and this drives him to study harder. But what Sri Krishna
is telling here is exact opposite. Don�t have attachment on the result, if the
work is to be properly done.
There appears to be contradiction to convention we notice in this world. Will not
Sri Krishna�s advice induce laziness and indifference? We have to note here what
is the result expected?
By aiming for the ordinary worldly rewards, our efforts will be more by aspiring
for those. But when we want to reach Him, we should be away from these petty
rewards. We reap that only
which we keep as objective in our mind. So the supreme goal of reaching His feet
should be our aim and we should not care for other results. We can see some
examples as how we can
perform better by not attaching to the result. If a person�s father, let us say,
has chest pain in the midnight. All relatives are crying. The person himself is
totally agitated. In this state of mind the person is unable to find means to take
his father to hospital. Just at that time as Godsend, the person�s friend comes
and surveying the situation he does the correct actions to get the ambulance,
doctor and medicines. The family is relieved from the misery. How the friend could
make these arrangements while the person could not? Because in this case the
person�s father was suffering and the attachment of the person to the patient
could not enable the person to do what his friend could do. The friend on the
other hand had no such attachments and his aim, a noble one, was to help his
friend. Attachment brings in anxiety. While detachment ensured calm and quite
approach. We might have kept important documents in a cabinet and if the keys are
misplaced, we will find very difficult to search for the keys. This is because we
know the importance of the document inside the cabinet and so the anxiousness to
retrieve the documents will disable our proper approach. But a person not knowing
the contents in the cabinet, will be able to find the keys and get the cabinet
opened. We can see our cricket team. A player may be performing excellently. But
when he is made the captain of the team, his performance goes down. Why? Because
now his mind is on the results to get the team perform well, to ensure coherent
approach, etc. This attachment to the result of team performing well disables the
player and performance goes down. Some players in this type of situation also
perform well, which means they have followed the principle enunciated in the Gita.
So if we get attached to rewards then this balanced approach will not be there.
2.49
durena hy avaram karma buddhi-yogAd dhananjaya
buddhau saranam anviccha kripanah phala-hetavah
"Action with attachment is far inferior, O Arjuna, to action done with evenness of
mind. Seek refuge in evenness of mind. Miserable are they who act with a motive
for results."
Earlier Krishna told that we have right only to do our duty. But when we perform a
duty, it should not be mere an action. That is it should not be a mere ritual. Our
intellect should also be
associated with that karma. What type of intellect should be there? We are NOT
doing this karma for trivial rewards but for a supreme purpose of Moksham. We
should be having an equitable
approach on the results arising out of the action. With such a mind the duty will
be performed well. Without this thought in mind if the karma is done it will be
mere ritual. So, our intellect forms
an important part in karma. Sri Krishna shows the difference in a karma one does
with this intellect and without. With such noble mind the karma is also noble.
Without this sublime thought
any action performed is regarded as very low. This will result in rebirths.
A person who thinks he is responsible for swarga or victory/loss in karma, is a
krupana or underprivileged and he is going to have rebirths. Whereas with the
intellect that he is not responsible
for the rewards, the karma is noble. An action performed without involving the
intellect a mere ritual- is considered very inferior. So, Arjuna � is advised that
applying his intellect in the action
that he is not aspiring for trivial rewards like swarga, he should do his duty. He
should resort to this type of understanding. The person who thinks he is
responsible for rewards will have rebirth.
So do the duty with the understanding that he is not responsible for the result
and perform the duty. We have right only to do the karma and we should not aspire
for results. Do the duty with
the conscience that � I am not doing this karma�.The karma is to be done by Arjuna
only and the rewards also will be for Arjuna. But while doing the karma he should
do the duty with total
detachment to the results. We can also see what happens if we do a work with
conscience and without.
A good example of this is the incident quoted in Srimad Bhagavatam on Krishna's
request for food to Brahmans and when being refused, going to their wives with the
same request.
(Note that , this is just an example and it's important to understand the truth
behind it and not just get stuck in the example, without understanding it's
purport!)
Though the Brahmins were learned and knew Sri Krishna as the God, they never
applied their mind as to what for they were performing the yagna and who was to be
appeased in the yagna. Thus they were doing karma without applying their
intellect. The uneducated ladies on the other hand were so much devoted to Sri
Krishna that they could not bear the feeling He was hungry and rushed. These women
did not perform great yagnas but had the greatest devotion. Whereas the Brahmins
daily performed yagna to invoke God. But they became mere ritual and so they never
received His blessings. This was because the intellect that the yagna was being
performed to please God and He Himself as Sri Krishna was asking for food, was
missing. So mere learning is of no use and similarly, mere ritual also is waste.
We also while chanting Sri Rama, Sri Krishna and Sri Govinda, should be conscious
that these are His names and by uttering these we are pleasing Him and
Namasankeerthanam [singing God�s names] is our duty. This will elevate the mere
uttering to a noble karma.
One performing actions with the thought of receiving rewards gets the desired
resultant. This appears positive but it is repeatedly denounced. Why? Because
actions performed due to selfish
motives are inferior to actions performed due to selfless motives. Selfless
motives are balanced in equanimity. Equanimity possesses a determinate
consciousness. Because of this reality
one should seek the shelter of evenness of mind in equanimity. Actions performed
with fruitive motivations are far inferior to actions performed as a matter of
duty. The mind of those whose actions are performed as a matter of duty are not
disturbed or unbalanced by delusions of rewards gained or lost. The activities
performed in spiritual intelligence removes all suffering in the world and leads
to liberation from the material existence. Contrarily activities performed for the
acquisition of rewards assuredly results in suffering and affliction in the
material existence. Phala-hetavah are those who sole motivation is dictated be the
prospects of reward. It should be understood that such living entities are krpanah
or pitiable due to the fact but acting in this way they are imprisoned in the
material existence unable to attain their spiritual nature.
Thus, when an act is being done, take refuge in Buddhi (evenness of mind). Refuge
means abode. Live in that buddhi, is the meaning. "miserable are they who act
with a motive for
results": it means, "those who act with attachment to the results etc are
miserable and they will continue in samsara".
For all living entities the Supreme Lord is the only refuge. When this realisation
finally dawns upon the intellect of a living entity whether they are ignorant,
wise or liberated they surrender unto
the Supreme Lord without reservation. Those who in delusion consider themselves
the same as the Supreme Lord Krishna who is distinctly different due to His
inconceivable potencies and
transcendental attributes, descend to the hellish worlds of darkness without a
doubt. They are doomed to eternal damnation in hellish conditions.
2.50
buddhi-yukto jahatiha ubhe sukrita-duskrte
tasmad yogaya yujyasva yogah karmasu kausalam
After pointing out the defects of performing optional activities which are not
essential, Lord Krishna extols the virtues of equanimity in that it neutralises
all reactions without a doubt both positive and negative. Therefore everyone
should make a diligent endeavour to achieve this consciousness of equanimity. For
one expertly engaged in actions which do not incur reactions on their path to
attain liberation form the material existence and the ultimate truth is the
highest skill.
A deed done for a sublime cause elevates the doer. If the deed is done with the
thought that it would please God, it is Karma yoga. So while doing karma or deed,
our intellect or buddhi has to be involved. The buddhi or understanding should be
that we are not doing the karma for inferior rewards like swarga. The karma is not
being done by us. This karma will please God. These thoughts or understandings are
needed while doing any karma. Instead if it is done as a mere karma, it will
engage the person in rebirths. The thought or understanding that we are doing
karma as a devotion to Him and we have no ambition for swarga or material comforts
in this world, will make God to grant Himself all our needs. When we request God
for anything it would be limited but if God Himself grants it would be profuse.
So, instead of praying God to grant this or that, we should leave all our
requirements to His judgment and devote ourselves in His service. This is a basic
tenet of Karma yoga.
In the preceding 47th, 48th and 49th slokas, Sri Krishna explained the difference
in mere karma as a ritual and karma with intellect involved. The latter is
superior. So, He advises Arjuna to resort to this understanding while doing karma.
While fighting in the battle, he should have the understanding that this is his
karma and by doing so he would please Sri Krishna. By pleasing Him, Arjuna will
get all happiness. We have to see sloka 50. In the 50th and 51st slokas Sri
Krishna mentions two rewards. In sloka 50 He says all undesirables will be
destroyed from us. In sloka 51 He says we will get our desires fulfilled. It is
usual for anyone to wish that things he disliked were all destroyed and get only
things he liked. But the things disliked and things liked vary from person to
person. Universally there should be something, which is liked by all, and
something else hated by all. All like devotion to Him and reaching His feet. All
would dislike what does not please God. There should not be difference in this
common like and dislike. We should avoid the rebirths and associated miseries in
life. Without the fluctuation of happiness and sorrow, but only everlasting
happiness at His feet is what we should aspire for.
Here yoga is the buddhi or understanding that the karma is being done not for
inferior objectives but only as a devotion to Him. So, Sri Krishna advises Arjuna
to strive for this yoga. In any work we do our intellect should be involved. When
a mother feeds her child, though milk is fed, her thought that she is its mother
is always there. So this becomes a noble one. In contrast, the commercially
available milk does not establish a relation between the child and the mother.
This is an inferior act as mere feeding is done. An action by itself cannot
elevate a person unless the intellect also is involved. Iha means while doing the
karma. With proper understanding or buddhi that the karma is being done as a
devotion to Him and not for any inferior rewards, when the person is doing the
karma yoga here itself- he relinquishes both punya and papa. � Therefore Arjuna
should strive to get that buddhi. Arjuna should fight, as it is his dharma. By
doing that he should realize he will be pleasing the Lord. Pleasing Him will make
this life happy and bring in the eternal happiness by reaching the feet of God.
But a thought that this fight will enable him to experience blood smeared victory
and kingdom, will bring rebirths and the associated miseries. Kausalam is talent.
Sri Krishna says that both papa and punya are expended. How can doing karma
nullify our papa and punya? How are these related? These doubts may arise. How our
performing karma destroys the invisible papa and punya? This is one query.
In Athimanushastavam, Kooratalwan says that in this world punya or papa is related
to His feeling of happiness and unhappiness. It is all right papa is destroyed,
but why should the punya also
be got rid of? After all everybody is trying to acquire punya. Why then Sri
Krishna says punya as well as papa will be removed? We should know what are punya
and papa. We do certain karma and they may bring punya for us. Some other deeds
may bring papa. These are not written anywhere as we do various deeds whether any
are for punya or papa. But these are engraved in Him. They cannot be wiped out nor
there will be any misappropriation of one�s papa and punya are accounted for
someone else. If our deed pleases Him, they are punya. If our deeds are
displeasing to Him, then they bring papa. This will raise the doubt why then we
should remove the happiness in Him i.e. punya? We should remember that our goal is
to reach His feet and get
Moksham. For that goal, the ordinary delights in this world as well as the
pleasure in swarga are all impediments. It is like a person arrested is in
fetters. Whether that person will be happy if
the fetters are golden instead of iron fetters? So, when Moksham is the objective,
both papa and punya have to be avoided. By acquiring punya one goes to swarga and
by papa actions one
goes to naraka. In either case, one does not go to Moksham. Therefore one has to
avoid the karmas yielding either punya or papa. If punya was just an entity we
could avoid that, but when
punya means God s happiness, should we � avoid that also?
During Mohini Avataaram, Devas prayed Him for Amrut to have immortality. But they
never prayed for His feet and permanent happiness in His Company. Had they
requested Him, His
happiness would have been the ultimate and total. Though He would be happy that we
by doing punya karma we did not go to naraka, He would feel happiest if we seek
His feet. By doing
jyotishhomam he sought swarga and God will be definitely pleased to grant him. But
there will be a small resentment that instead of praying for Him, the person has
demanded only swarga.
Though the person has followed the Vedas and performed His commands only, the
person has ignored the Vedanta and not aspired for Moksham and to this extent God
will have a small
unhappiness. Therefore karmas, which will fetch punya, have to be avoided. From
this we have to learn a minute lesson. If we pray Him to get Him, He is fully
happy. But if we pray Him for
anything else, Lord is not that happy.
He, who is established in EVENNESS OF MIND in the performance of actions,
relinquishes good and evil karmas which have accumulated from time immemorial
causing bondage
endlessly. Therefore, acquire this aforesaid evenness of mind (Buddhi Yoga).
Yoga is skill in action. That is, this evenness of mind when one is engaged in
action, is possible through
great skill i.e ability.
2.51
karma-jam buddhi-yukta hi phalam tyaktva manisinah:
janma-bandha-vinir-muktah padam gacchanty anaa-mayam
Those who possess this evenness of mind while performing actions and relinquish
their fruits, are freed from the bondage of rebirth and go to the region beyond
all ills. "Hi" means that
this dictum or teaching is well known in all the upanishads. How actions are able
to turn out to be the means of liberation are being now given. Those with
spiritual intelligence who relinquish all
fruitive desires for the results of all actions, perform in righteousness
activities as an offering unto the Supreme Lord are blessed with self-realisation,
and being released from the bondage of birth and death they being liberated attain
the eternal and everlasting spiritual worlds (SriVaikuntam) of the Supreme Lord
Krishna.
Amayam means illness and Anaa-mayam means the place or position without illness.
That is placement in Vaikunta. The one who does the karma yoga with his buddhi or
consciously,
reaches the place free of illness i.e.anaa-mayam. Men discarding the karmas by
which they will obtain inferior results, and by doing the karma with buddhi or
intellect- that they will not do a
karma for ordinary rewards but for the highest reward of Moksham, the karma is
done as a devotion to God- will get the superior results. For this they are to be
released from their shackles
or bandham and obtain the never-to-return position (vinir-muktah). The birth and
death are shackles and the karma yoga destroys these anishta or undesirables.
Then, gets the ishtam or
desirable of the highest reward of Moksham where one does not face any miseries.
Padam can mean the feet of the Lord . "Vishnoh Padeh paramey madhva utsah:"
or His abode, Sri Vaikuntam:
" tad vishnoh paramam padam sada pashyanti surayo diviva chakshur-atatam , tad
vipraso vipanyavo jagrivamsaha, samindhate vishnor yat paramam padam"
(Just as the sun's rays in the sky are extended to the mundane vision, so in the
same way the wise and learned devotees always see the supreme abode of Lord
Vishnu. Because those highly
praiseworthy and spiritually awake brahmanas are able to see the spiritual world,
they are also able to reveal that supreme abode of Lord Vishnu." (Rig Veda
1.22.20) )
By combining both we can interpret that by clinging to His feet we can reach His
abode, Vaikuntam or Moksham. By seeking refuge at His feet our fetters or bandham
in this world are eliminated. For this we have to perform karma yoga without
aspiring for inferior rewards and with conscience that it is done as a devotion to
Him.
Like the same type of food, however tasty it might be, produces aversion, by doing
karmas for inferior rewards our birth gets repeated and produces distaste. Whereas
in Moksham he appears
afresh every moment and our experience also is fascinating every moment. Namo
namo bavati jayamanaha so says Upanishad. He appears afresh � every time we look
at Him. The Lord is
decorated everyday differently and it fascinates us every time we look at Him.
Ornaments, attires, garlands, vehicles and even the prasad are changed daily. He
is purana or very ancient but
at the same time He appears anew everytime and graces us. Such persons attain
Moksham. The Lord of this place does this important duty of getting us the
Moksham. We can see how an
atman goes from a body to Moksham and how Thirumogur Apthan is helping the atman
in getting that highest reward.
In Chandogya and Brihadaranya Upanishads and in Alwars� hymns Archiradi marg is
explained. Atman is residing in a very minute form in the heart. Let us assume
that after innumerous births
all papa and punya have been expended. After this the journey of the atman starts.
All the shackles of papa and punya acquired not only in this life of 70 or 80
years but of the innumerous birth
cycles experienced by the atman and which have been there binding us to this
world are to be cut off now. Just as His birth removed the shackles in His parents
Vasudeva and Devaki, karma
yoga with dedication to His feet cuts off these bondages. There is a small hole on
the top of our head. When a child is born this spot can be felt but later as the
child is daily bathed, skull
covers this spot. This spot is called Brahma ranthram. From the heart to this
Brahma ranthram there is a nerve called sushoomna nadi. Normally this passage is
dark and one day the Lord
illuminates the entire path for the atman to take the journey. Out of the 101
nerves, the Lord identifies the sushoomna nadi as the route for the soul to take
the journey. The soul with His
help now pierces the Brahma ranthram and goes on archiradi marg. The Lord gives
the atman a minute body to escape as the body made of the five elements is cast
off in this world.
Archit means jyoti or light. This brilliantly lit up route is there to the atman.
Just as a person struggles when from darkness he is brought to bright light, the
atman also is dazed. Now comes
the Sri Kalamega Perumal. He is also called Sri Marga Bandhu or Vazhithunai
Perumal. As a friend and guide Thirumogur Apthan will lead us on this grand
voyage. Like the clouds,
He sprinkles water, which is His compassion, on the entire route to make the Atman
feel comfortable. Nammalwar wanted to reach the Holy Feet of the Lord and remain
in service in
Vaikuntam. We also can cling to the lotus feet of the Sri Kalamega Perumal praised
by Alwar. Such is the splendor His idol and all should come here and experience
the bliss.
In this context, it's useful to note Varaha Charama Slokam, where the Lord states,
When our body, mind, intellect and vital organs are properly functioning and in
our control, if we surrender at the Divine feet of Sri Varaha Perumal, then, when
we are in our death bed, when we can not even remember His name nor our body and
mind are in our control, Sri Varaha assures that He would remember and with a
helping hand would take us to Moksham.
sthithE manasi susvasthE sarIrE sathi yO nara:
dhAthusAmyE sthithE smarthA visvarUpam cha maamajam (1)
tathastham mriyamANam thu kAshtA paashaNa sannibham
aham smarAmi madh bhaktham nayAmi paramAm gathim (2)
(Meaning ):Oh Bhumi Devi ! The entire universe is my body (sarIram ) . I do not
have births or deaths . When my bhakthAs with mahA visvAsam surrender to me,
while they are still in a
state of tranquil mind and healthy body and reflect about Me as as SarvAdharan
( root cause of all) , NiyanthA ( one who commands from within ) sarva sEshi
( the ultimate ), aasrayaNeeyan
( one who is fit to be worshipped ) , Sarva VyApthan (all-pervasive ) and Nithya
sannihithan ( One who is always near ) , THEN I think of them at their last
moments, when they are totally
unconscious like a log or a stone and lead them by archirAdhi maargam to My parama
padham and bless them to have nithya kaimkarya bhAgyam to Me there .
The liberated living entities seek that place where there are no material
miseries. The Bhagavatam says (Bhag. 10.14.58) :
samasrita ye padapallava-plavam mahat-padam punya-yaso murareh
bhavambudhir vatsa-padam param padam padam padam yad vipadam na tesam
"For one who has accepted the boat of the lotus feet of the Lord, who is the
shelter of the cosmic manifestation and is famous as Mukunda or the giver of
mukti, the ocean of the material
world is like the water contained in a calf's hoofprint. Param padam, or the place
where there are no material miseries, or Vaikuntha, is his goal, not the place
where there is danger in every
step of life."
Owing to ignorance, one does not know that this material world is a miserable
place where there are dangers at every step. Out of ignorance only, less
intelligent persons try to adjust to the
situation by fruitive activities, thinking that the resultant actions will make
them happy. They do not know that no kind of material body anywhere within the
universe can give life without
miseries. The miseries of life, namely birth, death, old age and diseases, are
present everywhere within the material world. But one who understands his real
constitutional position as the
eternal servitor of the Lord, and thus knows the position of the Personality of
Godhead, engages himself in the transcendental loving service of the Lord.
Consequently he becomes qualified
to enter into the Vaikuntha planets, where there is neither material, miserable
life nor the influence of time and death. To know one's constitutional position
means to know also the sublime
position of the Lord. One who wrongly thinks that the living entity's position and
the Lord's position are on the same level is to be understood to be in darkness
and therefore unable to engage himself in the devotional service of the Lord. He
becomes a lord himself and thus paves the way for the repetition of birth and
death. But one who, understanding that his position is to serve, transfers himself
to the service of the Lord, at once becomes eligible for Vaikunthaloka. Service
for the cause of the Lord is called karma-yoga or buddhi-yoga, or in plain words,
devotional service to the Lord.
2.52
yada te moha-kalilam buddhir vyati-tarisyati
tada gantasi nirvedam srotavyasya srutasya ca
52nd sloka is the last sloka on Karma yoga. Earlier by some slokas the everlasting
nature of atman was told. From 39th sloka Karma yoga was described. In that
sequence this is the
last sloka.
Lord says that Arjuna would regret and feel ashamed about the petty things he is
attached and running around and ignoring the reality of what needs to be pursued,
after hearing what Krishna
has already said and will be saying in the next slokas. His i.e his buddhi
(intelligence) will get out (vyati-tarisyati) of Moham (delusion) and Kalilam and
at that time, he will reach (gantasi) nirvedam(sad, ashamed) after hearing what
Krishna has said so far (srutasya) and will say (strotavyasya).
Sri Krishna tells Arjuna that he is going to get disgusted with himself for having
clung to various things and which, his mind should have concentrated, were ignored
all these days. His intellect was confused all these days. Moham means confusion.
When his buddhi comes out of this confusion, at that time he will get nirvedam
i.e. he will start hating himself. When he is going to attain this state? After
having heard all that Sri Krishna told and all that He is going to tell in due
course. Sri Krishna had told him that he was attached to various things and in the
coming slokas He is going to further explain on this subject. Hearing both, Arjuna
is going to get nirvedam or get disgusted and blame himself. �Where I should have
attachment, I did not and where I should not have attachment, I had�. This is
going to be Arjuna�s lamentation. Our various actions were all targeted for
inferior rewards. Did we aspire for such low objectives? Such aversion is going to
overtake. We should have attachment to the Lord. Our atman should have been
serving Him only. Discarding these noble things in life we have been after all
inferior objectives. We desired all those which were impediments to Moksham and
which were all temporary and transient. Mourning such actions of us is nirvedam.
So far we have understood that karma performed with detachment and with our buddhi
or conscience involved, our papa and punya are eradicated. With the elimination of
papa and punya , rebirths are eliminated. By avoiding rebirth we reach God�s feet.
Nammalwar says [2.x]: Pattrilan Isanum , Muttravam Ninrann, Patrilayaay, avan
Mutril Adange! the Lord does not desire anything else but only us. When will we
reach Him is His thought
always. Therefore we should also discard our desires in other things and cling to
His feet. Our query is that He is somewhere and after so much of time if we
suddenly fall at His feet, will He
accept? He is so great and will He not kick us out for not coming to Him all these
days? In Srimad Ramayana, Vibheeshana was somewhere else. When he sought refuge in
Sri Rama,
he was not driven away. Whoever be, if he comes and falls at His feet, the Lord
never drives him away.
In this context, it's useful to note the slokam on Sudarshan Azhwar. The Discus
held by the Lord in His right hand eliminates all our sins.
Spurath sahasrara sikhathi theevram Sudarsanam bhaskara koti thulyam l
surad visam prana vinasi Vishno: chakram sadaham saranam prabadye ll
From all these we understand that the Lord is desirous of taking us to His domain.
We should also have identical desire but we concentrated on inferior rewards.
Pondering over this only will induce nirvedam and Arjuna will start disliking his
behavior all these days. Our buddhi is contaminated. As long as papa and punya are
there our buddhi will be like this only. Just as we cannot see our image clearly
if the mirror has dust on it, with polluted mind we cannot perform any yoga
properly; we cannot distinguish truth from falsehood. Which is thyajyam
[rejectable] and which is upadheyam [acceptable] will not be known. This is what
He calls mohakalinam. This is a great question before all of us. We cannot decide
what we want. If all are asked to demand only one, which cannot be changed later,
there will be total silence. We can never be firm in what we want and the
requirement changes every moment. Do we want education or employment or good
family orwealth? We can never be decisive. This is one type. But what Arjuna is
told is that he should discard all the small and ordinary benefits like victory,
swarga, etc, and desire only the feet of Sri Krishna. Thus the supreme goal will
be unique or singular while the inferior rewards will be many and in multitude. We
should reject the multitudes and accept the unique. This is rational knowledge.
That is we are able to distinguish our acceptable and rejectable. In Sanskrit this
is called thyajya upadeya gyan or viveka gyan. Once this moha kalinam is jumped
over, nirvedam steps in and we start blaming ourselves for desiring such trivial
things in life and having wasted our time. This disgust is a necessary step to
reach Him. This only will make one to perform karma yoga with buddhi. Therefore
from this 52nd sloka we understood all those multiple desires we should discard
and contemplate on the unique desire to reach His feet by detached karma yoga.
After this Sri Krishna starts His sermon on Gyana Yoga with introduction.
************
Summary of slokas covered in Second Chapter so far:
Sri Krishna, in Gita tells about Moksham in two parts and in two situations.
Our Ultimate goal is to reach the feet of Paramatman. But suddenly we cannot jump
to that height. Therefore it is
necessary to understand our atman. With this knowledge we should practice Karma
yoga uninterruptedly. What is the knowledge about atman? This was detailed from
12th sloka to 37th sloka
in 2nd Chapter. Thereafter, He started telling about Karma yoga. In the 38th sloka
He explained how a karma yogi would perceive equitably victory/defeat, profit/loss
and happiness/sorrow
i.e "Sukha Dukha, Samey krtva, Labah-Alabau Jaya-Ajayau". With this as
introduction, from 39th sloka He explained Karma yoga (Esha teh Bhitah Sankey..).
So we see two steps.
First is to realize Paramatman. Before that we have to realize our atman. This is
called atma sakshatkaram. That is possessing clear understanding of Atma. Nothing
more is required to clarify atman- this clarity should be possessed. This will be
like seeing atman and so is called atma sakshatkaram. To reach this state what is
needed? Three things are needed. One, the ordinary knowledge about atman. This
only will mature to get atma sakshatkaram. This is a basic knowledge about atman.
Once this knowledge is acquired, then we do karma without attachment or with
detachment. This Karma yoga should be continuously performed. This will enable to
eliminate the contaminations in our mind or intellect. Why this contamination was
there?
As long as papa and punya are there this pollution will be there. Confusion is the
contamination. What is the confusion? Which is to be discarded and which is to be
adhered to? This lack of
knowledge to differentiate, is the confusion. As long as this knowledge is not
acquired, the knowledge about atman is not going to ripen. Because we have to
adhere to atman and leave all
others. Thus the mind or buddhi is contaminated. Without the ripening or maturing
of knowledge we cannot get atma sakshatkaram. To get this we have to meditate on
the atman
uninterruptedly. To meditate continuously we require serene mind.
Like an automobile requires clear petrol and clean carburetor for smooth running,
a serene mind is needed. Rational knowledge of on what we should have attachment
and on which we should
be detached should be there. In a confused mind meditation is impossible. Without
meditation, we cannot get atma sakshatkaram. We can visualize this as stairway.
By performing Karma yoga we can eradicate papa and punya. Eliminating papa and
punya will facilitate to clear the confusion in our minds as to which are to be
adhered to and which are to
be discarded, and the mind is serene. Serene mind will allow proper meditation on
atman. This will lead to atma sakshatkaram. With clear and full understanding of
atman, the inner motive
force of atman Paramatman- will be realized. This requires Bhakti � yoga. This will
be explained in the 7th, 8th and 9th Chapters. That will be the ultimate and final
step.
So reaching Paramatman by Bhakti yoga is one part. Since we do not have the
ability to go direct to Paramatman, we have to acquire knowledge about Jeevatman.
This Jeevatma
sakshatkaram is another part. To get this we require doing continuous meditation,
which is called Gyana yoga. This requires unpolluted intellect and so we have to
get rid of papa and punya.
This needs performing Karma yoga. For this basic knowledge about atman is
necessary. That is why Sri Krishna sermonized on the basic nature of atman from
12th to 37th sloka of Chapter II.
We can recall that He told that atman is everlasting, it is different from body,
it is an embodiment of gyana or knowledge, it is full of bliss, it cannot be
destroyed, it is indivisible, it can not be
moistened or dried and it cannot be cut or burnt. This basic knowledge was tutored
and made us to realize that atman is superior to body and it cannot be destroyed
and so we should find
ways and means to uplift atman. What should be our efforts for this? After
learning the attitude of a Karma yogi, we have now learnt from 39th till 52nd
sloka detailingKarma yoga.
The one, who does Karma yoga with buddhi, destroys papa and punya and gets the
bliss of Moksham. (Ihey Sukrutah duskrute. Iha Gahati ; Tadah Gacchanti AnAmayam).
Karma yoga was deliberated. Karma yoga removes papa/punya. Removal of papa/punya
gets us nirmala or unalloyed, serene mind.
Looking back we can appreciate the logical manner all the slokas are placed. Like
an able Professor teaches, Sri Krishna is taking us step by step to understand our
lifestyle. Till 38th
sloka , he detailed about Atma's nityatvam and Atma Gnaanam. And Till 52nd sloka
Karma Yoga was explained.
Karma yoga removes papa/punya. Removal of papa/punya gets us nirmala or unalloyed,
serene mind. The next 53rd sloka will tell us what we achieve by a serene mind. In
such a mind a
coherent and concentrated knowledge can be unshakably established. This knowledge
is about atman.
Why this knowledge is steadfast? Because, it cannot be shaken by any rewards like
that pleasure or this comfort. Our objective is only atma sakshatkaram. We have
already seen that in sloka
2.41, the buddhi in pursuit of atman will be unique or singular, while the buddhi
striving for other rewards will be in multiples. Rewards are many, buddhi also are
many and efforts also are
many. In the case of atman as objective, only one effort, objective is one and
buddhi also is one. This singular knowledge will be acquired. This knowledge will
be resolute and unshakable.
It is in a serene and clear mind. Just as a dust-free mirror reflects our face
brilliantly, we can see our atman in a serene, free of papa and punya, mind. This
constant meditation is Gyana yoga.
Without papa/punya there is nothing to distract and drag the mind from meditation,
just as a firm ground will not slip below. Continuous Gyana yoga will result in
atma sakshatkaram.
Let us recapitulate the steps.
Basic, ordinary knowledge about atman. (i.e Atma is eternal, � body is temporary
etc)
� Performing Karma yoga with detachment
� Elimination of papa/punya and acquisition of unconfused mind (after performing
Karma Yogam)
� Qualified to undertake Gyana yoga. (after acquiring steady mind )
� Ripening of Gyana yoga will lead to Atma sakshatkaram.
There can be a doubt here. The first step is knowledge of atman and again the last
step also is understanding atman. What is the difference? The first step was very
elementary knowledge that
atman is different from body and it is eternal. But visualizing the entire atman
with its eminence is the last step. Thus this is a refinement process to get atma
sakshatkaram. The knowledge at
that time will enable one to realize that all atman are same and Paramatman
resides in all atman. This knowledge is not acquired in the beginning or first
step.
*****
2.53
shruti-vi-pratipanna te yada sthasyati niscala
samadhav acala buddhis tada yogam avapsyasi
"When your mind has absorbed so far [Sri Krishna s sermon], � and enlightened the
intellect or buddhi , and when it remains resolute and unshaken by others, then
you will have attained the atma sakshatkaram�
The word yogam here indicates atma sakshatkaram. So objective of second Chapter is
atma sakshatkaram. Arjuna was listening to the sermons of Sri Krishna (shruti vi
pratipanna te)
and this enlightened his intellect or buddhi and enabled him to know what is to be
adhered to and what are to be discarded in life, resulting in removing the
contamination of papa/punya in the mind (acala Buddhi) . This knowledge is going
to blossom as Gyana yoga, which will remain steady(samadhau). This will mature in
due course to have atma sakshatkaram.
Sri Krishna tells Arjuna that he will get atma sakshatkaram. That is matured
understanding of atman. There is no difference in the atman in various bodies.
Same Paramatman resides in all atman. When this state is achieved the person is
detached and renounces all worldly desires. Such a person is the one who has a
ripened Gyana yoga. He gets atma sakshatkaram. When we talk about this we feel
weary and wonder whether we can reach that state. But Sri Krishna does not preach
something, which we cannot practice. Why then we feel bewildered? Because such
things have not been in our daily habits and customs. We have never cultivated a
habit to look at our atman or to control our organs. We do not control and choose
right food for the body and mind. Because we are not habituated, initially we find
some obstacles. But slowly practicing these, they will become our habits. We will
then know how sweet life is, if we practice what Sri Krishna told. Atma
sakshatkaram is all souls are identical, happiness or sorrow does not affect and
realizing Paramatman is residing in every atman.
Karma yoga is practicing our daily routines like eating, sleeping, nithya
anushtanam, cultivating lands, doing business, guarding our home land, etc. We are
doing these already but with an attachment. Same actions we should do as devotion
to God and to please God. This is a first step and difficult to do. We can list
all our activities and review which are all pleasing to God and decide to do only
those and discard those which will displease Him. After that, we should slowly
remove our attachments to the activities, which are pleasing to God. We should
also realize that the activities are not done by us but by Him. We have already
seen that we cannot claim any activity as done by us, as five entities are
involved- self, Paramatma, body, organs and the prana. So it is always a team
work. If we do our routine work with a resolution that we will not do them for
ordinary rewards and with total detachment, it is Karma yoga. Continuous practice
of Karma yoga, reduces the impact of papa/punya. Because of papa only we suffer so
many things in life like sickness, poverty, children�s problems and so many. So we
have to get the impact of papa reduced. We are normally interested in rewards but
we do not ponder over the ways to achieve. That is why Sri Krishna advises Arjuna
to do his assigned duties with detachment and this will, as Karma yoga, yield
results. He will get atma sakshatkaram. The lecturer should not lecture for fame
or compensation but with a higher objective that Gita will be learnt by many and
that would please God. Similarly the listeners should not listen to boast that
they know Gita, but as an eye opener for practicing Karma yoga and pleasing God,
thereby. This common objective of pleasing God for all of us in all works will
make us practice Karma yoga. But if our objectives are all different we will be
reborn. Karma yoga will reduce papa/punya and mind will get purified. All these we
were doing with very little application of our intellect- that we are not doing
these and not aspiring for ordinary rewards. We are yet to do meditation by
controlling our organs. We have been doing our regular activities only. By
continuous practice our minds get purified and we are then ready for meditation.
We will have continuous thoughts on atman and our organs will get controlled.
Happiness and sorrow would not affect us and we will see all as equal. This is
Gyana yoga. Without interruption we will meditate on the atman. Even a half an
hour such meditation will give us great benefits. But knowing the difficulty to
practice Gyan yoga, Sri Krishna advises Arjuna in 3rd Chapter that he need not do
Gyana yoga but by Karma yoga alone he can get atma sakshatkaram. But now Sri
Krishna tells about Gyana yoga to laud its superiority. When He says that we need
not practice very difficult Gyana yoga to reach Him, but continue our normal
routines as Karma yoga, we have to understand His concern for us.
2.54
arjuna uvaca
sthita-prajnasya kaa bhaasha samadhi-sthasya keshava
sthita-dhih kim prabhaseta kim aasita vrajeta kim
In the 53rd sloka Sri Krishna tells how one is ready to practice Gyana yoga and
get atma sakshatkaram. Arjuna is too eager to know more about such a person
practicing Gyana yoga. What
all he will do, what he will think- such questions rise before Arjuna and so he
asks this in the 54th sloka:
"Arjuna said: O Krishna, what are the symptoms of one whose consciousness is firm
in meditation? Such a steady minded person what does he speak, and what words will
describe him? What does he think, and how does he act?"
sthithapragna he who has resolute or firm conviction. Sri � Krishna is going to
reply this in the next four slokas.
After telling that atman is eternal and continuous practice of Karma yoga will
purify our mind, Gyana yoga can be practiced in the crystal clear mind. Arjuna
became eager and wanted to know
the traits of a Gyana yogi. How would he speak? How would he think? What are his
actions? This was in 54th sloka. Sthitaprgna means Gyana yogi. Pragna means our
intellect. Sthita is
steady. When our intellect or buddhi is steady and firm, it is the first step in
Gyana yoga. Sri Krishna in reply to Arjuna�s query, lauds sthitapragna from 55th
sloka. That is Sri Krishna praises
the Gyana yogi who has acquired atma gyana. Swami Nammalwar is head among such
gyanis. He is named prapanna jana kootasthar. Lord Sri Ranganatha affectionately
called him
Nam [Our] Alwar, even though there were ten Alwars.
Sri Krishna had to explain Gyana yogi in four slokas. This Gyana yoga is in four
types or samgya. These are Yatamana samgya, Vyatireka samgya, Yetendria samgya and
Vaseekara samgya.
What we require is vairagyam or dispassion or steadfastness. We have to get
detached from the worldly affairs. This only will qualify us to Gyana yoga. So we
have to slowly climb step by
step. The highest or the last step is explained in the 55th sloka. The third step
is in 56th sloka and the second step is in 57th sloka. The initial step is 58th
sloka. So we have to first see 58th
sloka, as that is the first step. So there will be a reversal in the sloka order
and after coming to 55th sloka we will go to 59th sloka.
Let us see what these samgyas are. Normally our desires are varied. Let us assume
one has the drinking habit. This is an undesirable habit and has to be discarded.
Initially when he sees drinks he should turn away and control his passion. This is
the first step or Yatamana samgya, where we avoid any contact with such bad
things. This will not make us abandon our passion
in such things. Second step will be to remove such desires or vyatireka samgya.
The third step Yetendriya samgya, where we control our mind. Even after
controlling all the organs, mind will
be difficult to control. It is like oil in a cup. If we throw out the oil, there
will still be the greasy layer sticking to the cup surface. The last step is
Vaseekara samgya. It is like rubbing the cup with powder to remove the greasy
layer.
So the steps are
1.Trying to control our sensual organs from objects.
2. Removing the desire from the organs.
3. Removing the small traces in the mind.
4. Total removal of such desires without any trace.
2.58 (note, we will be covering 58, 57, 56, 55 in reverse order)
yada samharate ca-ayam kurmo �ngan-Iva sarvasah:
indriyani-indriya-arthebhya: tasya prajna pratisthita
One who is able to withdraw his senses from sense objects, as the tortoise draws
its limbs within the shell, is to be understood as truly situated in knowledge.
This is the first sloka explaning about the nature of a Gnaani. Control Senses!
This is the first step or Yatamaana samgya
Ayam - The Gnaani , Yada- When Samaharate - Controls , Indriyani - Senses
, Indriyaa-Arthebhya - Sense Objects (objects of smell, taste, touch etc)
Koormah - Tortoise, Anganiva - Parts of its body(head, limbs etc)
Lord Krishna gives the analogy of a turtle which withdraws its limbs inside.
Similarly when one is able to keep their senses from pursuing sensual objects of
mundane pleasure by withdrawing
the senses inside and who also consciously reflects upon the soul within, such a
one is sthita-prajna situated in the perfect knowledge of transcendent meditation.
Now, we will get a doubt immediately. How is it possible to do this? Do we have
to close our eyes, not hear anything, keep away from everything etc.. This is not
the case.
Lord's implication in this sloka is that we have to reign in our senses and not
let it stray. For e.g. In our eating habits, we have to discriminate on eating
what is allowed and what is
prohibited.
Nammazhwar was the epitome of a true Gnaani, which Lord is explaning to Arjuna in
this and the next three Slokas. A Gnaani Yogi controls his senses and focuses on
his true self
which is servitude to Paramatma. Nammazhwar meditated for 16 years without food,
water etc, right from his birth. In response to a question by MaduraKavi Azhwar,
If Jeevatma(Soul)
which resides in Achit(This body) , attains Jnaana (realizes its true nature,
which is true nature to Paramatma), where does it reside and what does it do?
Nammazhwar's response was that , the jeevatma who realized his true nature, will
constantly meditate on Paramatma and consider kaimkaryam to lord and his devotees
as it's primary duty.
Nammazhwar's glory is captured in this tanian:
Vakula Bharanam Vandey Jagatah Bharanam Munim
Ya Srutey Uttaram Bhagam Chakrey Dravida Bhashaya:
(Meaning:Nammazhwar adorned Vakula Mala ; He is adorned as the jewel by this
earth; He took birth in this world to expound the tattvam of upanishad in Tamil.)
2.57
yah sarvatraa-anabhi-sneha: tat tat praapya subha-asubham
naa-abhinandati na-dvesti tasya prajna pratisthita
Forming no attachments in any situation means to be indifferent, unconcerned in an
aloof state or attitude. Auspicious is a situation that is pleasing and
inauspicious is a situation that is displeasing. Lord Krishna is instructing not
to be overjoyed by the pleasing nor despondent over the unpleasant. One who can
successfully engage themselves thus is sthita-prajna situated in the perfect
knowledge of transcendental consciousness.
This is Vyatireka samgya, to divert our sensual organs from inferior objects to
superior ones. The earlier&first step was to avoid or prevent our organs in touch
with sensual objects.
These words tasya pranja pratishthita will be repeated in many places. Pranjya is
knowledge and pratishthita is established. This Gyana yogi�s knowledge is
established. He is also a Gyana
yogi.
Sneha meas desire. Abhisneha is excessive desire and anabhisneha is without excess
desire. Such a person who is void of excess desire on all desirable objects, is
neither happy for
desirable objects nor unhappy on undesirable objects, he comes across. He does not
get dejected nor curse for having got undesirable things. Similarly he is not
happy if he gets desirable
things. How is this possible? If there is a desirable thing in this world one
should feel happy if one got it. After all we are made of senses and not inanimate
or inert beings. If a child gets 98%
his father should feel elated is natural. Similarly if the student scores 35%
only, dejection is inevitable. Then why Sri Krishna is telling that both these
expressions are to be avoided?
In this world joy and sorrow are mixed. None can expect to have always victory.
But we speak that in sports and games victory and defeat are common. On similar
lines Sri Krishna tells
us to know that joy and sorrow are common in life and we should be able to meet
those equitably. One need not jump and hit the ceiling when happiness is there and
at the same time
need not get dejected and curse when sorrow things are encountered. Whereas a
mature person has a different object as desirable and he is not worried about the
common desirable
things in life. For him God is desirable; soul is desirable. He is unattached to
everything without a mental inclination towards anything totally indifferent to
all sense objects. When exposed to sources of pleasure like mouth watering
vegetable preperations, delicious nectarian fruit drinks, silky, fashionable
clothes or luxurious homes such a one does not rejoice at receiving these things
nor give praise to those who have bequeathed these things. Similarly when exposed
to sources of unpleasantness like unpalatable food and drink, coarse unfashionable
clothes and humble homes such a one does not show disdain and is indifferent to
statements made by people to criticise him such as being called a pseudo yogi or a
hypocrite. Thus the essence is such a one uses his words sparsely, praises no one
and blames no one and because he possesses neither love nor hatred for any living
being benefits all.
Alwar imagines himself as a child and in front of him there are toys, ball and a
parrot to play with. But he is devoted to Him. He names each of the playthings as
Madhave, Kesava and Sridhara.
Alwar is not interested in these toys are playful objects. At the same time like
any ordinary child will get pleasure in play, Alwar gets in calling all these
articles by their names he had christened,
like Madhava, Kesava and Sridhara. While the sports articles may break or deform,
but the names with which Alwar calls them will remain everlasting and so will give
always happiness.
Therefore, by diverting our thoughts on Him and get happiness in those thoughts,
the worldly desirable and undesirable objects can never have any impact on us.
Thus we divert our organs
on God. These two steps thus train us to control our organs, which is an important
step to control mind.
This will be explained later.
2.56
duhkhesv anu-dvigna-manah: sukhesu vigata-sprhah
vita-raga-bhaya-krodhah sthita-dhir munir ucyate
This is "Ekeindriya Samgya"
"One who is not disturbed in mind even amidst the threefold miseries or elated
when there is happiness, and who is free from expectation, fear and anger, is
called a sage of steady mind."
We are seeing the various stages of Gyana yogi. The first step was the efforts.
That Yatamana samgya was described like a tortoise withdrawing its feet and head
into the shell from enemy attack, here the person withdraws the organs from
contact with inferior desires. Next was Vyatireka samgya. Here the person assumes
an impartial role of not joyful when desirable things occur nor brooding when sad
things occur and observe detached mindset. Why does Sri Krishna ask Arjuna to be
neutral and neither feel happy nor sorrow? It is seen practically that by having a
neutral mind the work is done more efficient. By being emotionally attached to a
work, it gets ruined. A surgeon takes an impartial view of the patient. In such
situations emotion could spoil the work.
This samgya is called EkeIndriya Samgya -> Ekam is One; INdriya is Senses; It is
so called because controlling senses along is not enough, it's important to
control Mind also which
tries to provoke senses again. One who controls Mind which keeps senses in
reign. This is Ekendriya samgya.
Dhi is buddhi or intellect. Sthita dhi is well established knowledge. Person with
such knowledge is praised by Sri Krishna as muni [munir ucyate].
Muni -> Manana Seelah Munih: One who is capable of controlling mind (which
includes controlling senses) and directing the buddhi to concentrate on Atma is
called Muni. Person capable of controlling mind and directing it at the atman is
called muni. Just by sitting in forest in a particular posture does not make one a
muni. Controlling and directing mind as one wants is muni. All other organs can
even be controlled but it is too difficult to control mind. That is why this is
called Yekendriya samgya. Yekendriya means the single organ i.e. mind as the
leader of all organs.
How to control mind? Sri Krishna tells the way:
*duhkhesv anu-dvigna-manah: We should be having unperturbed mind at the CAUSE of
sorrow (not just sorrow).
(ud-dvigna-manah-> Pertrubed mind; anu-dvigna-manah -> Unperturbed mind)
*sukhesu vigata-sprhah: Similarly we should have unexcited mind at the CAUSE of
joy (not just joy).
(Sprhaha: Intrested or excited ; vigata-sprhah: without being excited or
intrested)
Note: So, remember, to be ANU-DVIGNA-MANAH! for sorrows/cause of them
and to be VIGATA-SPRAHA: for joys/cause of them, which is reverse of normal!
In addition to the above two, Krishna says we should avoid raaga, bhaya and
krodha. (vita-raga-bhaya-krodhah!)
Swami Ramanuja in his Gita Bhashyam has explained these three (raaga, Bhaya,
Krodha) very well:
*Raaga is the expectation feeling one has about a joyous thing to happen in the
future. If a father is elated at the prospect of his son going to score very high
marks in the results that
are going to be published next day, it is raaga. That is our interest in a joy
that is going to happen. Sri Krishna says that one should abandon this raga that
is the feeling of an expectation.
Not merely happiness or the cause for such happiness but even the anticipation
or prospect of that event have to be avoided.
*Bhayam -fear. It is the feeling one gets when there is a prospect of a happy
thing not happening or an unhappy thing is happening. When we feel happy of a
joyous event in future we get
raga. But if that event is not likely to happen? Then the mind gets perturbed
and that is bhaya. Bhaya is not the undesirable thing coming to us or the
desirable one leaving us. Today what we
feel about the prospect of an unwelcome guest tomorrow is bhaya. This bhaya
will transform into sorrow when actually the unwanted guest knocks at our door and
we see him. So bhaya
becomes the cause for sorrow and Sri Krishna advises that bhaya also should be
avoided. In the next day results whether his son is going to score low marks, is
fear today for the father.
When the results confirm that low marks the bhaya becomes sorrow. But on the
contrary if the results reveal very high marks, bhaya is converted to happiness.
*Krodha is anger. If one has raga and is expecting a happy event in future, and
if some persons or things obstruct that event from happening then the feeling of
krodha or anger is on those
obstructing. So, raga transforms to happiness. Feeling of anger on the persons
obstructing one from attaining that happiness, is krodha.
Passion is the extreme mental attachment to objects cherished with intense
desire with the intention of never letting possession of these objects be
discontinued. Fear is the pain caused
from the approaching agony arising from separation from what is cherished.
Anger is a specific mental attitude which appears in one who experiences
separation at the time of loss of
cherished objects. These three passion, fear and anger all arise due to the
lack of discrimination regarding the eternal nature of the soul. By the gradual
development of this discrimination
one becomes free from these three impediments and by this discrimination when
the introspective one's contemplation becomes mature they're known as sthitaprajna.
So Arjuna is advised to abandon(Vita) these three raga, bhaya and krodha and a
person who achieves this is muni. To achieve this, MIND HAS TO BE CONTROLLED.
What if raga or bhaya is there? Let us see the example of student. When were
his marks decided? Was it when he wrote the exam? Or, when the evaluator saw his
answer papers? Or,
when the results were published? But actually his result was decided when he
put in his efforts preparing for the exams. His efforts only will reflect in the
exam. What he writes only will be
evaluated. And, what the evaluation is there will be published. But our
expectation is on the publishing only. So a person who understands this and avoids
these three qualities is praised as
muni.
There are three types of sorrow or pain: adyatmika or physical, adhidaivika or
supernatural and adhibhautika or natural. Adyatmika is pain of the body and pain
of the mind. The pain of the
body is diseases and ailments attacking it such as fever, rheumatism, gout,
etc. The pain of the mind is due to insult, jealousy, shame and the like.
Adhidaivika is pain caused by drought,
flooding, cyclones, earthquakes, hurricanes, etc. Adhibhautika is pain caused
from people, demons, animals, ghosts, etc. All these three are destined by fate
and as such are not transitory
and after experiencing them they fade into oblivion.
The sthita-dhi-muni is always in Krsna consciousness, for he has exhausted all
his business of creative speculation. He has surpassed the stage of mental
speculations and has come to
the conclusion that Lord Sri Krsna, or Vasudeva, is everything. He is called a
muni fixed in mind. Such a fully Krsna conscious person is not at all disturbed by
the onslaughts of the threefold
miseries, for he accepts all miseries as the mercy of the Lord, thinking
himself only worthy of more trouble due to his past misdeeds; and he sees that his
miseries, by the grace of the Lord,
are minimized to the lowest. Similarly, when he is happy he gives credit to
the Lord, thinking himself unworthy of the happiness; he realizes that it is due
only to the Lord's grace that he is in
such a comfortable condition and able to render better service to the Lord.
And, for the service of the Lord, he is always daring and active and is not
influenced by attachment or aversion.
Attachment means accepting things for one's own sense gratification, and
detachment is the absence of such sensual attachment. But one fixed in Krsna
consciousness has neither
attachment nor detachment because his life is dedicated in the service of the
Lord. Consequently he is not at all angry even when his attempts are unsuccessful.
A Krsna conscious person is always steady in his determination.
2.55
praja-haati yada kaaman sarvaan partha mano-gataan
atmany eva-atmana tustah: sthita-prajnas tadocyate
" O Partha, when a man gives up all varieties of desire for sense gratification,
which arise from mental concoction, and when his mind, thus purified, finds
satisfaction in the self alone, then he is said to be in pure transcendental
consciousness."
When a person is satisfied in himself with himself, i.e. when his mind depends on
the self within himself; and being content with that, expels all the desires of
the mind which are different from that state of mind --- then he is said to be a
man of firm wisdom. This is the highest form of devotion of knowledge. Then, the
lower state, not far below it, of one established in firm wisdom, is described in
later slokas (56,57,58), which we had already studied.
Now we will see the fourth step of Vaseekara samgya in the 55th sloka. The first
step Yatamana samgya in 58th sloka was our efforts to withdraw from objects
creating inferior desires. The second step Vyatireka samgya in 57th sloka
explained diversion of our organs from those objects and remain detached. The
third step was Yekendriya samgya in 56th sloka where we were told to train our
mind also detached from pleasures and sorrow. Now we will see the fourth step of
Vaseekara samgya in the 55th sloka. Here we will be told that we have to get rid
of all traces of all attachments and hatred, and ensure a sparkling pure mind.
In this Sloka, Krishna says a gyaani is praised as Stitha Prajna, when? (Stita
Prajna Tado ucyateh). When?
Yada (when), Sarvaan Kaaman (all desires) manoh-gataan (from the mind)
prajahaati(removed or expelled) and Atmany eva atmana tustah (i.e atma is the
only objective of the mind
and is content). When all desires in mind are expelled and atman is made the
objective of the mind and remains happy. That is when mind is no longer becomes
happy or otherwise with ordinary pleasures and sorrow but becomes happy with atman
only. This is a very difficult stage to attain.
Normally the mind is happy with pleasures enjoyed through the organs. We listen to
a good music or we see a beautiful figure and become happy. But atman is formless
and does not make
sound nor can be tasted nor smelt. Then how can one get happiness? We all know
that all images or sounds or tastes or scent will fade away one day. But atman is
eternal. It is a quintessence of gyana and ananda or happiness. So this has to be
inculcated in our mind. Normally we take vegetables for nourishment; but when we
are sick, same nourishment is
given to the body by drips. So it is possible to experience all our happiness felt
in life, by engaging the mind on atman. This happiness will be everlasting unlike
the worldly pleasures.
This can be understood from the story of Prahlada. He was tortured in many ways:
by making serpents to bite, by making elephants to tramp over him, by throwing
him tied to a stone in
mid ocean, by surrounding him with fire, etc. All these were never even felt by
Prahada. Because he had engaged his mind fully in Sri Krishna. By this he was
detached from the worldly
miseries and pleasures. This is Vaseekara samgya. All including the mind is under
control. There will be no trace of any worldly miseries and pleasures. To achieve
this level the gyana yogi had to understand atman is superior, practice Karma
yoga and remove all blemish in the mind and start Gyana yoga and reach the
ultimate stage in Gyana yoga.
We can see Alwar also as an example. In the mannai irundu thuzhavi Thiruvaimozhi
ten pasurams, he shows that happiness and sorrow are mixed in this world. We have
to withdraw our mind from all these and understand atman, then understand the
inner atman of our atman as Paramatman. Our mind should be trained to
concentrate only on Him. He squeezes the mud below and says this mud belongs to
Sri Vamana [an incarnation of Sri Narayana]. Though there was considerable time
span between the Sri Vamana incarnation and Alwar s time, � he sees God in all.
While ordinary person will think of how to purchase the land where this mud was
scooped out or what plant could be cultivated to earn money, Alwar thinks
entirely different. When he sees burning fire he runs to embrace it as he sees the
glowing figure of God. Because of this mentality the fire does not burn him. So we
have to inculcate this habit in our mind.
We see in karate and kungfu sports, persons are trained to break bricks with hands
without being hurt or dipping the hands in fire without getting burnt. This is by
practicing mind and organs to concentrate. Such practice can make us do anything.
When mind is trained to see atman, he is admired as sthitaprajna. His intellect is
set up firmly when nothing can disturb his mind. He can remain isolated without
being affected by worldly affairs. This does not mean he will remain in solitude
and be of no use to the society. He can do all the good works for the society
without being influenced by others. By training mind to engage in atman we can
perform all our duties efficiently. This will be perfected if the mind is further
trained to engage in God, Who is the atman of all atman.
We have seen all the four stages of Gyana yogi: Yatamana samgya, Vyatireka samgya,
Yekendriya samgya and Vaseekara samgya.
2.59
visaya: vini-vartante nir-aaharasya dehinah
rasa-varjam raso pyasya param � drishtva nivartate
The sense objects are the food of the senses. From the abstinent embodied being,
i.e., from one who has withdrawn his senses from objects, these sense-objects,
being rejected by him,
turn away, but not the relish for them. Relish means hankering. The meaning is
that the hankering for the sense-objects does not go away by abstinence alone. But
even this hankering will
go away, when one sees that the essential nature of the self is superior to the
sense-objects and that the realisation of this self gives greater happiness than
the enjoyment of sense-objects.
Krishna explains how to get rid of even the small traces of desires in Slokas
59,60 and 61 , which all make one part. Sri Krishna says in 59th sloka, If we are
able to visualize atman then all
organs get disciplined, By comprehending atman in its true form, all other organs
are controlled. It is interesting to note in the next 60th sloka. Arjuna asks
what
he should do to �see� atman and Sri Krishna replies that if Arjuna could control
all organs, atman can be visualized. This normally will puzzle and confuse. One
depending on other can never
give a solution. But Sri Krishna removes the confusion in the 61st sloka. So we
will have to see all these three slokas as one.
Sensual objects of enjoyment are fuel for the senses. Lord Krishna states that the
desire for these sensual objects departs when one starves them by restraining the
senses from indulging in them. But although the action is restrained the craving
remains subtly within the mind. Rasa is taste and raga is attachment. So the
craving attachment for taste of sense objects remains present. However when the
eternal nature of the soul is realised in all its glorious splendour and it is
seen that it is infinitely more attractive than the most delightful sense object.
At that time all desire for sense objects completely vanishes along with the
residue of craving.
nir-aaharasya dehinah: = Dehi is atman. Nir-Aharam means without food or
starving. Enjoying the objects of the senses is known as ahara. Restricting the
objects of the senses is known as niraharasya. What is food for atman? When atman
is in a body, enjoyment by various organs is all food for atman. Taste is food
for tongue but pleases atman. Music is food for ears but
pleases atman. So if we have to starve atman, it means we have to prevent various
organs in their desires.
Visaya: vini-vartante = Visaya: all the objects for sense gratification
(Roopa, Sparasha, Sabhda, Rasa:, Gandham) , Vini-varatante: Refraining
Rasa-varjam = Rasam here means trace of desire. We can prevent various organs
their food like listening for ears, scent for nose, etc. But the small trace of
such desire lingers on. When one declines to enjoy sense objects with the objects
of the senses the physical experience ceases; yet the residue desire for sense
objects still remains and the craving for them actually has not departed.How to
get rid of this trace?
Param drishtva - Seeing the ultimate(param) tattvam i.e our Self (sat-cit-
Ananda);
Nivartate, raso'apyasya - even this trace of desire(raso apyasya) is removed.
By concentrating on the eternal and quintessence of happiness �atman, and a
glimpse of it will drive away this small trace also. After getting atman darshan,
the small trace of desires lingering
in the mind also is got rid off. When atman is in a body, if all desirable
objects like tasty food, good music, etc, are removed it starves the organs and we
do not indulge in such pleasures. But
in the mind traces of these desires will be sticking. Many people have developed a
custom of not eating or drinking certain type of food or drinks, but when such
persons are in a company of
friends who eat or drink such articles, there could be compulsions or curiosity to
taste. By yielding to such temptation we may spoil our health. So it is better to
avoid such events altogether
and resist temptations. But even then mind will not get controlled. This can be
suppressed only if we are able to have atman darshanam.
The process of restriction from sense enjoyment by rules and regulations is
something like restricting a diseased person from certain types of eatables. The
patient, however, neither likes
such restrictions nor loses his taste for eatables. Similarly, sense restriction
by some spiritual process like astanga-yoga, in the matter of yama, niyama, asana,
pranayama, pratyahara,
dharana, dhyana, etc., is recommended for less intelligent persons who have no
better knowledge. But one who has tasted the beauty of the Supreme Lord Krsna, in
the course of his
advancement in Krsna consciousness, no longer has a taste for dead material
things. Therefore, restrictions are there for the less intelligent neophytes in
the spiritual advancement of life,
but such restrictions are only good if one actually has a taste for Krsna
consciousness. When one is actually Krsna conscious, he automatically loses his
taste for pale things.
2.60
yata-to-hyapi kaunteya purushasya vipascitah
indriyaani pramaathini haranti prasabham manah
"The senses are so strong and impetuous, O Arjuna, that they forcibly carry away
the mind even of a man of discrimination who is endeavoring to control them."
In the 59th sloka we saw that if atman darshan is available then all the organs
and mind get controlled and there will not be a trace of desire for inferior
pleasures. Nirahara, that is starving will
prevent the organs from seeking such cheap pleasures but mind will still remain
uncontrolled. If we can see the param or atman, then even this mind also gets
controlled. So Arjuna queries
as to what should be done to see atman or have atman darshan. Here we should
understand that atman couldn t be seen with our eyes as we � see materialistic
objects. Here it means feeling
the atman. Its magnificence can be felt. In response, Krishna mentions in this
sloka the following.
If organs could be controlled atman darshan will be achieved. As told in the last
lecture this is a peculiar situation. This is called anyonya asraya dosham or
inter dependent fallacy. It is like asking location of A and in reply it is told
it is by the side of B. where is B located and reply is it is by the side of A.
this will create confusion. Here also it appears like that.
In the previous sloka Sri Krishna told that if atman darshan is acquired, the
organs get controlled. But here He says that controlling organs could enable one
to achieve atman darshan.
purushasya vipascitah : Vipaschita means one who can differentiate and understand
or rational thinking. He is said to have viveka gyana. One who distinguishes that
the body is perishable and
atman is eternal. He tries to control organs and concentrates his mind on the
atman. Purusha here indicates atman.
yata-to-hyapi : Yati is effort and api means EVEN. So, even a person who tries to
take efforts in Gyana yoga, is the meaning of first part. So, Krishna is
referring to not an ordinary person,
but somebody who is accomplished in viveka gynana, knows the difference between
Atma and Body, pursues sincerely Gyaana Yoga. The second part of the sloka says
that , even for such sincere people, the senses are difficult to overcome. For
him also the organs and mind will not get controlled.
indriyaani pramaathini : Senses are very strong , turbulent (pramaathini). The
strength of the senses are our desires. That is the strength of seeking pleasure
or desire. This desire is in the
mind and the organs exhibit this as strength.
haranti prasabham manah : The organs compel(haranti) mind and drag it in their
way. This desire becomes ammunition for organs and so they are able to forcibly
(prasabham) take in their
direction. Like a hurricane uprooting large trees the desire in the organs uproot
the mind.
In Thiruvaimozhi [7.1.1] Alwar says that he has five tenants in his house. But
they are all enemies. That is in his body [house] the five organs are occupying as
tenants and are forcing him in their way. In emma veetu thiran poem, he complains
to God that He is partial and rescues an elephant Gajendra but not the Alwar. God
told that it was an animal and was suffering for the past 1000 years seizeed by a
crocodile, so He had to rescue. Alwar replies that then it is all the more he
deserves immediate rescue. Compared to the big elephant he is a weaker being. The
elephant was suffering only for 1000 years while the Alwar has been suffering for
thousands of births. One crocodile grabbed the elephant while five crocodiles in
the form of organs have seized the Alwar. So organs are a great menace to all
including the Nithyasuris who are doing intimate service to the Lord at Vaikuntam.
We see persons doing very noble service to the Lord in temples. But they are not
free from the power of senses. We are daily witnessing the fights for position and
greed for money in such
persons involved in sacred assignments also. This is the domination of senses in
persons. The organs function very well in youth time, but the mind is
uncontrollable. When the person becomes old his mind is some what controlled but
now the organs do not function properly.
Sense organs are so strong that they dictate even learned persons. One situated
in spiritual intelligence with discrimination and powers of observation trying
their level best to keep the mind
from gravitating towards the senses and withdrawing their mind repeatedly away
from objects of the senses and directing it internally within is a form of
meditation. But the senses are so
strong that they forcibly invade the mind, disrupt this meditation and forcibly
overpower the mind and indulge it in contemplating sense gratification and bodily
attachment. How is it possible
that the senses can carry away ones mind while they are intently striving? It is
because the senses are so restless and turbulent that they totally disregarding
all ones efforts in discrimination,
besieging the mind they direct it towards sensual objects that will gratify these
self-same senses by engaging the mind in sense contemplation.So to control them
it is necessary to have
atman darshan. Sri Krishna says controlling the organs is difficult even for
viveka gyana persons. We should see the subtle difference Sri Krishna is making.
He did not say control the organs
to get atman darshan. But He says even for rational thinking people, controlling
sense organs is difficult! It gives an impression that there is a negative
thinking by Sri Krishna that controlling
organs is not possible and so atman darshan is never possible. But actually, He
drives home the great effort required to bring the organs in control. Also when we
see the next 61st sloka then
the real import of this sloka will be clear.
2.61
tani sarvani samyamya yukta aasita mat-parah
vaseh hi yasye-indriyani tasya prajna pratisthita
" For one who restrains his senses, keeping them under a little control, and fixes
his consciousness upon Me, his intellect gets firmly established."
In 59th sloka it was told that by visualizing atman, senses are controlled. In the
60th sloka however, it was told that control of senses would enable atman darshan.
Arjuna was confused and he did not know which one to precede which? He requested
Sri Krishna to solve this riddle. Sri Krishna replies that unless organs are
controlled the atman cannot be perceived; there is no doubt on this. But He would
suggest an easier way to control the organs. Then he could perceive atman. We also
desire to see and hear good things only. But the organs are not disciplined. This
is because of the ever-remaining rajo and tamo qualities in our mind. Our mind has
the mixture of satva, rajo and tamo qualities. When satva quality is prominent our
organs are well disciplined. When the rajo and tamo qualities are exalted, our
organs also seek cheap pleasures. So it is important to cultivate our habits to
reduce rajo and tamo qualities. This is explained in 61st sloka:
*Tasya-that atma gyani s, prajna- intellect, pratisthita- gets � firmly founded or
established.
*Tani sarvani- all the sense organs, samyamya- at least somewhat controlled,
*mat parah- direct them on Me and yukta asita- remain resolved. (Mat-parah is
the punch word here!.. implies be a sincere devotee of Lord. Focus the senses
towards him!).
*Vaseh hi - are brought under control yasya indiryaani - whose senses
So instead of allowing the organs to wander as they like, direct them with a small
effort, on Sri Krishna.
Vedas say that all the best tastes are all inherited in Him, all the fragrance of
the world are all lodged in Him, and He is the repository of all the auspicious
things in this world.
The things we see or hear continuously affect us. If a song is played frequently,
we automatically start humming it. If that song is good then we inherit that
goodness;
but if it is a bad song then we go in that way. Since mind follows what is
frequently seen or heard, we should try to see or hear superior sources. Superior
entities will influence
superior results in us. On the contrary if we go after inferior matters, the
influence on us also will be inferior.
Why do we go to temples and sacred Kshetrams? These are all embodiment of satva
qualities. The Lord s image is supposed to be suddha satva mayam. � Our bodies are a
mixture of the five elements. But the Lord�s image is aprakrutham or eternal. It
consists of only satva quality. By constantly worshiping His image, our organs do
not wander and get disciplined. Even though we can worship God in our own houses,
in temples we get the AMBIENCE OF SANCTITY and our minds will have more of satva
quality and the rajo and tamo qualities fade away. This is what
Sri Krishna is telling. By directing the organs on Him we pacify the mind and His
supreme qualities affect and influence our mind. So he whose organs have come
under the influence of God, his intellect gets properly founded. That is why nama
snkeertan � singing His names- or listening to His stories or talking in praise of
Him or going to temples and involving in sacred activities there, are all efforts
to place our organs in His service. This will with His blessings, enable us to
control the organs. Disciplining organs will pave the way for atman darshan. We
can also follow this simple and easier method.
Because the uncontrolled senses are the cause of all disturbance, one with
spiritual intelligence seeking transcendence should make their first priority to
control ones senses.
If one were to question how is it possible to control the restless senses which
are turbulent by nature. Lord Krishna reveals that by devotion of mind and heart
unto the Supreme Lord one will
surely be able to control the senses. Lord Krishna is present within the heart of
all living entities. As Hrisikesa the lord of the senses he is the ultimate object
of all meditation. Without meditating
on Lord Krishna it is not possible to master the senses. This is absolutely sure
and thus the aspirant who follows these instructions has success and none other.
When our minds have been evolved to realising Lord Krishna as the supreme absolute
reality all impurities are eradicated and the mind is purified and clear, free
from all desires. Now at this stage for the first time the mind is free from all
desires. The mind along with the senses completely under control is then capable
of achieving cognition of the eternal soul.
In the Vishnu Purana XI.VII.LXXIV beginning yatha adniruddhata-sikhah it is
written that as a blazing fire fanned by blowing wind burns up dry wood; in the
same way Lord Krishna enthroned in the heart burns up all sins of those who link
their individual consciousness with the ultimate consciousness in soul cognition.
Spiritual intelligence is confirmed in those whose senses are under control. But
it must be noted that unless devotion has developed for the Supreme Lord Krishna,
whosoever attempts to master the senses by their own might and self effort are all
destined to failure.
The great sage Durvasa Muni picked a quarrel with Maharaja Ambarisa, and Durvasa
Muni unnecessarily became angry out of pride and therefore could not check his
senses. On the other
hand, the king, although not as powerful a yogi as the sage, but a devotee of the
Lord, silently tolerated all the sage's injustices and thereby emerged victorious.
The king was able to control
his senses because he was a true devotee of the Lord and engaged all his senses in
the service of the Lord. The word mat-parah is most significant in this
connection. How one can become
a mat-parah is described in the life of Maharaja Ambarisa. Srila Baladeva
Vidyabhusana, a great scholar and acarya in the line of the mat-parah, remarks:
"mad-bhakti-prabhavena sarvendriya
-vijaya-purvika svatma-drstih sulabheti bhavah." "The senses can be completely
controlled only by the strength of devotional service to Krsna."
So in conclusion one cannot be in transcendent meditation without controlling the
senses. And that controlling the senses is not possible without devotion to Lord
Krishna. Thus devotion to
Lord Krishna can be seen as the essential ingredient assuring all success.
2.62 & 2.63
dhyaayato visayan pumsah sangas tesu-upajayate
sangaat sanjaayate kamah kaamat krodho �bhijayate
krodhaad bhavati sammohah: sammohaat smriti-vibhramah
smriti-bhramsaad buddhi-naso buddhi-naasat pranasyati
"While contemplating the objects of the senses, a person develops attachment for
them, and from such attachment lust develops, and from lust anger arises
uncontrollably."
"From anger, complete delusion arises, and from delusion bewilderment of memory.
When memory is bewildered, intelligence is lost, and when intelligence is lost one
falls down again into
the birth cycle."
Sri Krishna describes the GRADUAL deterioration if one does not concentrate on Him
and allow the mind and intellect to wander. If the atman does not direct the
intellect on Him, then
we think only of the materialistic pleasures. NOTE: a person, whose attachment
to sense-objects is expelled but whose mind is not focussed on the Lord, even
though that person
controls the senses, contemplation on sense-objects is unavoidable on account of
the impressions of sins from time immemorial. He details this in gradual steps:
*Dhyaayatoh Visaayam Pumsah: The mind starts wandering and contemplating on
cheap and inferior matters i.e objects of senses (sparsham, roopam, gandham ,
sabdham, rasam)
*Sangas tesu upajaayateh: Next, this will induce i.e develop (upaajayateh)
attachment(sangam) in them. It will slowly sprout.
*Sangaat Sanjaayateh Kamah: From that attachment (sangaat)
sprouts(sanjaayateh) a desires (kaamah) in all the organs. This tiny spark of
desire then grows into a flame, that is
Kama or lust. This develops into a craving to appease that passion. What is
called 'desire' is the further stage of attachment. After reaching that stage, it
is not possible for a man to stay
without experiencing the sense-objects.
*Kaamat Krodha: AbhiJayate: When the sought desire is not fulfilled, krodhaanger
and hatred, engulfs the mind. This will be not just on the desired objects
and on those who are
considered as impediments. Sri Krishna says that the krodha is not simply
developing but becomes indiscriminate and uncontrollable anger. This anger is not
restricted only on those
preventing the desire to be achieved, but on all those related to them, their
friends and supporters.
This is not exaggerating, nor could happen only to ordinary persons. Sri Rama
also was enslavened by this feeling, Valmiki says. When Sri Rama came to know that
Sri Sita was abducted
by Ravana his anger knew no bounds. He declares that before dawn, if Sri Sita
were not returned back, He would destroy Ravana, his relatives and others. Sri
Rama was passionately in
love with Sri Sita, and so this passion was converted to anger when She was
missing. This grew in such a magnitude that He declared He would destroy Ravana
and his relatives. In fact,
not only those, Sri Rama says, He would destroy all gods, humans, etc. Because
anger is very difficult to control. It is said that a person caught in anger, will
not even hesitate to murder his
teacher.
*Krodhaad Bhavati Sam Mohah: Once anger steps in, the person would lose his
balance and sense of discrimination as what should be done and what should not be
done. That is he
would lose his rational behaviour and would be senseless. Mohah: delusion..
Sam Mohah: Extreme delusion.
*sammohat smriti-vibhramah: This delusion leads to memory (smriti) loss
(vibhramah). That is we FORGET the purpose of trying to controlling the sense
organs for Atma-darsanam.
*smriti-bhramsad buddhi-naso : This loss of memory about trying to controlling
the senses makes one loss of intellect or buddhi nasam. That is the buddhi to have
atman darshan is lost.
*buddhi-nasat pranasyati : This results in disappearance of atman swaroopam or
the basic knowledge about atman. So, the person indulges in Kama and krodha and is
destined for
rebirths.
To summarize:
Lord Krishna is explaining that one whose cravings for sensual objects
linger, the effort to overcome the senses without focusing the mind on the Supreme
Lord is futile. This is due to the fact that without the Supreme Lords grace the
residue of past sensual activities and the pleasure or frustration derived
therefrom will delude the mind to pursue sense objects. This debilitating effect
creates a magnetic attraction where the desire for sense objects becomes more and
more extreme. From this extreme desire springs kama lust. Lust is the next stage
of desire. Lust is that which one feels when they thinks that they cannot exist
without their desire being gratified. From lust springs krodha anger. Krodha is
that frustrated outraged one feels against that which stands in the way of
obtaining the gratification of ones senses. From krodha arises sammoha
bewilderment and delusion which is the mental condition where one is no longer
cognisant of what action should be performed and what action should not be
performed. One will foolishly do anything in this condition. Thereafter comes
dementia causing loss in memory of the process one began in order to constrain the
senses and control the mind. From dementia comes loss of will power, one no longer
has the drive and incentive to cultivate themselves towards obtaining spiritual
realisation of the eternal soul. When this happens then one perishes their
spiritual opportunity being drowned again and again in samsara the endless cycle
of birth and death in the material existence. So we should devote all our mind and
activities at the service of Lord to ensure our mind does not go astray due to
sense objects and material gratification. The senses require real engagements, and
if they are not engaged in the transcendental loving service of the Lord, they
will certainly seek engagement in the service of materialism. In the material
world everyone, including Lord Siva and Lord Brahma--to say nothing of other
demigods in the heavenly planets--is subjected to the influence of sense objects,
and the only method to get out of this puzzle of material existence is to become
Krsna conscious. One who is not, therefore, in Krsna consciousness, however
powerful he may be in controlling the senses by artificial repression, is sure
ultimately to fail, for the slightest thought of sense pleasure will agitate him
to gratify his desires.
2.64
raga-dvesa-vimuktais tu visaayan indriyais caran
atma-vasyair vidheyatma prasadam adhigacchati
"But a person free from all attachment and aversion is able to control his senses
and skips materialistic lures and controls mind resulting in pure mind by the
mercy of the Lord."
Previously in verse 61 Lord Krishna has declared that who ever meditates
exclusively on Him as the Lord of all, being the soul within all hearts, then by
this all impurities are eradicated and
the mind becomes clear, expunging all desires. Here he says that the senses
become destitute and barren of all cravings and aversions when they are mastered
by the mind in this manner.
Rejecting all desires for sensual objects with a mind firmly under control, one
achieves lucidity of mind along with inner purity and blissfulness.
Like Alwar, if we can devote our SPEECH, ACTIONS, THOUGHTS in Him, we would have
controlled our organs. In the last two slokas 62 and 63- � we saw how by not
devoting ourselves in
him, we tumble down and plunge to the bottom.
What greatness one achieves by such devotion to the Lord? Here He explains how
gradually the atman is climbing in steps to reach pinnacle.
By thinking of Him, the rajo and tamo qualities in our mind are cleared and the
mind is purified. Only satva quality would dominate in us. By doing Aradhana
[Pooja] and consuming only that food offered to Him, rajo and tamo gunas get
reduced and satva qualities flourish.
* Raaga-Dvesha vimuktais tu : The first step reached by devotion to God, is we
are relieved of raga and dvesha. By concentrating our thoughts in Him, by singing
His names, by hearing
his names, by performing Aradhana and by consuming only the food offered to
Him, satva qualities thrive and the other two qualities fade. This will get rid of
raaga and dvesha.
As told earlier, raaga is the desire to acquire or expecting some pleasing
incidence. Dvesha is hatred or enemity. Both these are housed in us. We do not
like even good things rendered by
those we hate and accept bad things from our dear ones. This is because of rajo
and tamo gunas. If we have uprightness in our mind then we will accept good things
irrespective of who did
that. With raga and dvesha removed, all are our dear ones and all actions are
impartially looked into.
*Atma vasyair , Indriyai: visayaan caran : This will result in the control of
sense organs and they will not be after the pleasures arising from smell, taste,
sight, hearing and touch. If organs
are to be disciplined we should be rid off likes and dislikes. By disciplining
the organs, we stay away from the five sensual pleasures and their sources.
*Atma Vasyair Vidhey- Atma : After this atman, here it means mind, is in our
control.
*Prasadam adigachhati - Prasadam means serene and pure mind here, which will
help focus on Atma Darasanam.
Recapitulating, devoting ourselves to God and by proper food, rajo and tamo
gunas are driven away and satva guna thrives. Raga and dvesha are destroyed. Sense
organs are disciplined.
Sensual and cheap pleasures are cast away. Mind gets controlled. Then we get
prasadam. Prasadam means here serene and pure mind. This will take us near atman
darshan.
Contaminated mind is unable to properly perceive atman.
While 62nd and 63rd slokas explained how one plunges to degradation, 64th
sloka details how the atman is uplifted. We can clear our doubts from Vedas, if we
have that capacity to learn
them. We can control our organs by deep meditation and yoga. These are
possible for a few capable persons. But for ordinary people like us, devotion or
bhakthi is the recourse.
Thondaradipodi Alwar says he gets all doubts cleared by seeing God, Lord Sri
Ranganatha. By looking at His feet, he knew he was His attendant. By looking at
His abhaya hastha, he
realizes He would protect him. By looking at his crown he recognized that He
was his ruler. Therefore it is necessary for us to dedicate ourselves to Him and
serve Him. God�s image is
made of satva guna only. So by looking at that image the satva guna in us
grows. While in temple also, it is not correct to close the eyes while in front of
God.
It is already explained that one may externally control the senses by some
artificial process, but unless the senses are engaged in the transcendental
service of the Lord, there is every
chance of a fall. Although the person in full Krsna consciousness may
apparently be on the sensual plane, because of his being Krsna conscious, he has
no attachment to sensual activities. The Krsna conscious person is concerned
only with the satisfaction of Krsna, and nothing else
2.65
prasaade sarva-duhkhanam haanir asyo:upajaayate
prasanna-cetasO hy-asu buddhih parya-avatisthate
"For a person with such enlightened mind, all miseries are removed;only for
enlightened person the intllect [gyana] get well established immediately."
When the mind of this person gets serene, he gets rid of all sorrows originating
from contact with matter. Because, in respect of the peson whose mind is serene,
i.e., is free from the evil
which is antagonistic to the vision of the self, the Buddhi, having the pure self
for its object, becomes established immediately. Thus, when the mind is serene,
the loss of all sorrow surely arises.
In the 62nd and 63rd slokas Krishna showed how by not engaging us in God�s
service we fall from grace down the steps and get destroyed. The 64th sloka
however told us that by serving and
singing in praise of Him, we can climb up steps to reach higher echelon.
In last 64th sloka he had told , prasadam adhigacchati-[ the atman] gets purified
or serene mind. In this sloka (65) he continues,
* Asya "Prasade" i.e � such a person who obtained serene mind, for him,
* sarva dukhani- all sorrows and miseries,
*hanir-loss or removal,
*upajayate- happens.
That is, for the atman gyani, after acquiring purified mind, all his miseries get
removed. This is the last step. If God were to enquire as to what we want, we
would promptly say all our miseries should be removed. Here Sri Krishna indicates
the miseries of samsaram [the birth due to papa and punya karma].
Arjuna gets a doubt here. What is the relation between serene mind and the
miseries of samsaram? Sri Krishna replies in the second half of the sloka.
*Prasanna cetasa� the enlightened one [one who has acquired serene mind],
*hi- only, (for the one who has acquired serene mind)
*asu- immediately,
*buddhi- knowledge or intellect
*avatisthate �firmly established or installed,
*pary-avatisthate- well established.
So enlightened person gets intellect well founded. This we had earlier mentioned
as stithaprajna. The one who understands atman properly and fully and is about to
perceive atman or get atman darshan. It is also called atman sakshatkaram, when he
will perceive all atman are identical jaati, atman is the quintessence of
knowledge and bliss. For this our buddhi has to be well founded. Enlightenment or
serene mind is essential for this. Atman darshan will lead to bhakthi yoga. To
remove all our miseries, we have to have devotion or bhakthi. Since atman darshan
is a pre-requisite for devotion, enlightenment is necessary.
We can visualize this also in steps.
1.Enlightenment or purity of mind
2.Atman darshan�
3.Bhakthi yoga
4. Removal of all miseries. In the first part of the sloka,
He combined directly steps 1 and 4 and said enlightenment would remove all
miseries. This skipping of 2 and 3 was clarified to Arjuna in the second half of
the sloka. If we now see the 64th and 65th slokas together we can build the entire
stairway:
1.Meditating on God
2.Lessening of rajo/tamo guna and increase of satva guna
3.Discarding likes and dislikes or elimination of raga/dvesha
4.Control of senses
5.Stay away from materialistic desires
6.Control of Mind.
7.Mind is purified or enlightenment. (Prasadam Gacchati)
8.Atman darshan.
9.Bhakti yoga.
10.Elimination of all miseries.
If we take efforts to put us on the first step of meditating on God, all
other steps would follow suit and we can reach the ultimate step. So we don't need
to feel worried or overwhelmed
on how we can remember all this steps and details. We just need to take the first
step of meditating constantly on the Lord, reciting his names and serving his
devotees. This is like we
stand in the line in Tirumala. Automatically, the line moves and takes us near the
Lord to have darshan and get His blessings. So by singing His names and serving
His devotees we can
gradually reach the Bhakthi yoga. This is what Alwar also says that by devoting
ourselves to Him, all our miseries get destroyed and we reach eternal happiness.
2.66
naasti buddhir ayuktasya na ca ayuktasya bhaavana
na ca-bhaavayatah shantir asaantasya kutah sukham
"One who is not devoted in the Supreme [in Krishna consciousness] can not have
atman darshan without which a steady mind on atman is not possible, and so there
is no possibility of peace.
And how can there be any happiness without peace?"
In him who does not focus his mind on Me but is engaged only in the control of
senses by his own exertion, the Buddhi or the right disposition that is concerned
with the pure self never arises. Therefore he fails in the practice of meditation
on the self. In one who cannot think of the pure self, there arises the desire for
sense objects; in him serenity does not arise. How can eternal and unsurpassed
bliss be generated in him who is not serene but is attached to sense-objects? [The
idea is that without the aid of devotion to God, the effort to control the senses
by one's will power alone will end in failure.] Sri Krsna speaks again of the
calamity that befalls one who does not practise the control of the senses in the
way prescribed above:
By devoting ourselves in Him, we can get atman darshan. This has been already told
in the previous slokas. We have to always remember that in order to get our organs
and mind disciplined,
we have to devote ourselves in Him. Control of mind results in serene mind.
Purified mind will get us atman darshan. From the 55th sloka, Sri Krishna is
telling how by controlling organs one becomes a gyana yogi. The easiest way to
achieve this is to worship his graceful form. In this slokam, he explains what
all will not accrue if specific things are not done and finally, sukham i.e.
Moksham will not be there.
* Ayuktasya naasti Buddhir: Yuktam, is surrendering our organs in Him. For the
one who does not think or meditate on Him i.e Ayuktasya, there is no possibility
of the intellect or buddhi
getting cleaned and getting Atma Darshanam. By devoting one �s organs, mind and
intellect only, one would acquire atman darshan. Atman is so minute it is not that
easy to visualize it. Impure minds can never get atman darshan. To
purify mind, we have to devote our organs in Him. Ayuktam means the one who does
not devote oneself in God.
Such a person would never get atman darshan. What if one does not get it?
*na ca ayuktasya Bhavana : If that were not there the bhavana or the thoughts
on atman would not be there. That is the deep meditation will not be possible. A
proper understanding of
atman will only result in meditating on atman. Then we will waste all our time
only in the routine things, which we are thinking all the time. Alwar asks how are
we spending our 24 hours at
our disposal. We reply, we have innumerous things to plan and think and enjoy,
but we are wondering what Alwar is doing? Alwar all the time is seeing the same
Lord and nothing else.
So we think the Alwar does not have variety. Because of this they do not see
the normal things, which we see. Day in and day out they are seeing the same
images and the same festivals.
Whereas we see so many places, eat variety of foods and listen to variety of
music, drama, etc. It therefore appears that we have much more things to see and
enjoy while Alwars do not
have this advantage. But actually, even though they see only one Object, It's
the one which is enabling us to see so many. So, if we also could �see� him, then
there will not be any necessity
to see anything else. So meditation on Him and atman is very much necessary. A
person without atman darshan can never meditate on atman.
*na ca abhavayatah shantir : He explains what will happen to one who does not
meditate. Here the word shanti is mentioned. Normally this means peace. But can
peace bring shanthi?
If we go to an isolated place where the surroundings are all peaceful, can our
mind be peaceful? But a yogi, even amidst the noises in our towns would be
peaceful in his meditation. So
surroundings do not contribute to shanti. We are seeing that some persons
sleep only if some noise is there. Absence of such sound may make them sleepless.
Actually, if we see the
correct interpretation of shanti it is desireless. A contented life with
satisfaction with what one possesses, one may have shanti. This shanti would be
there only if we could think of atman.
Desire less will result in shanti. Happiness accumulates with desires being
lesser and lesser. This happiness will be lost as desires increase. Persons
earning small wages with honest
labor are able to sleep peacefully. But persons earning in crores daily, do
not have this happiness. Desire or Trishna (thirsting for sense-objects) is the
enemy of peace. There cannot be
an iota or tinge of happiness for a man who is thirsting for sensual objects.
The mind will be ever restless, and will be hankering for the objects. Only when
this thirsting dies, does man
enjoy peace. Disturbance is due to want of an ultimate goal, and when one is
certain that Krsna is the enjoyer, proprietor and friend of everyone and
everything, then one can, with a steady
mind, bring about peace.
*asantasya kutah sukham : That lack of desire lessness (Shantih:) will not
get one sukham, which means Moksham here.
In this sloka four stages of Ashtanga yoga are mentioned. We have heard of
Patanjali�s Yoga Shastra. This is called, Ashtanga yoga and has eight stages. They
are:
1.Yamam. controlling of organs and mind
2.Niyamam. controlling of organs and mind 3.Asanam.
sitting in the proper posture
4.Pranayamam. breathing properly using one nostril for inhaling and the
other for exhaling
5.Pratyaharam. diverting the mind from all other matters and
concentrating on the atman
6.Dyanam. deep meditation of atman
7.Dharanai. desire less in all others and remain detached
8.Samadhi. meditating on God
Out of these eight, the latter four Pratyaharam, Dyanam, Dharanai � and Samadhi
are mentioned in the 66th sloka.
First line says that devoting in God one could have atman darshan and this is
Pratyaharam.
In the next line He said that atman darshan will enable meditating on atman and
this is Dyanam.
Thinking and meditating on atman would enable one to get rid off desires in
other things and that is Dharanai.
In the last line he said, one could get Moksham and that is Samadhi.
On our own we are unable to control organs. Why do we visit temples often? By
having such darshan, our papas are dissipated, rajo/tamo gunas get diminished,
likes and dislikes are
removed, organs and mind get controlled. This would make us desire less and we
get shanti. We therefore worship Sri Mayakoothan and get shanti.
2.67
indriyaanam hi caratam yan mano anuvidhiyate
tad asya harati prajnam vaayur navam ivammbhasi
"As a strong wind sweeps away a boat on the water, the wandering senses are
followed by the mind; such a mind carries away a man�s intelligence."
Unless all of the senses are engaged in the service of the Lord, even one of them
engaged in sense gratification can deviate the devotee from the path of
transcendental advancement.
As mentioned in the life of Maharaja Ambarisa, all of the senses must be engaged
in Krsna consciousness, for that is the correct technique for controlling the
mind.
That mind, which is allowed by a person to be submissive to, i.e., allowed to go
after the senses which go on operating, i.e., experiencing sense-objects, such a
mind loses its inclination
towards the pure self. The meaning is that it gets inclined towards sense-objects.
Just as a contrary wind forcibly carries away a ship moving on the waters, in the
name manner wisdom
also is carried away from such a mind. [The idea is that the pursuit of sense
pleasures dulls one's spiritual inclination, and the mind ultimately succumbs to
them unresisting.]
*Indiryaanam hi carataam: - Our senses (eyes, ear, taste etc) keep pursuing
and running (carataam) behind their respective (touch, hearing, smell, taste etc)
sense experiences.
Our organs want to enjoy sensual experiences. Eyes want to see attractive
scenes. Ears want to listen to good sounds. Mouth wants to eat tasty foods, and so
on. These, that is, vision,
hearing, taste, scent and feeling are all matters of interest for the organs.
This is what Sri Krishna tells that every organ is interested in seeking the
experience, which will please.
So the materials in the world attract the senses and they run after them.
*Yan Manah: anu vidhiyate: - While doing so, the senses drag the mind also
along with them. The matters of the world create various desires like taste,
vision, etc. The organs go after
them to experience those desires. Mind follows the organs.
*tad - For such a person, whose mind is being dragged by the senses behind
sense experiences
*Asya prajnam harati - Tad, that mind, will forcibly divert (divert) the
intellect (prajna) engaged in atman perception of asya, this atman that is trying
to control mind. So, even though this
atman had decided its mind to perceive atman, the same mind is after the
organs, which are attracted by the materialistic pleasures. So there is no mind to
think of atman. Mind is present
but it is engaged in pursuit of other pleasures along with the organs. Mind has
the capacity to think about only one at a time. But are we not thinking of so many
things at the same time?
Yes, then it is called a confused mind. When mind is engaged in one thought,
it is clear but when it thinks many, it is confusion.So when a mind is trying to
perceive atman and at that time
if its attention is diverted by the organs, then there will not be this mind
to think of atman. When this happens we will not have resolute knowledge. This is
what Sri Krishna tells. The buddhi
to understand atman is carried away by the mind and the organs. If Sri
Mayakoothan abducts our mind it would be welcome, but when the senses carry away
the mind disaster befalls.
*Vaayur navam ivam-ambhasi : Sri Krishna illustrates this by an example. Just as
the wind(vaayu) blowing opposite to the direction in which a boat(naavam) is
sailing will divert the boat.
Here we have to regard the mind as boat, which is sailing towards atman and
the winds are the organs, which divert the sailing. The method to stop this
diversion is to prevent the winds
blowing in the opposite direction. Since this capacity is not with us to
prevent such a wind, we will have to seek asylum at the feet of Him, Who has the
capacity to prevent the wind from
blowing in the opposite direction. He is mightier than the wind, the Sun, the
fire, the planets, this Universe and He is Sriman Narayana. By devoting ourselves
to Him, our mind and senses
would all get controlled. The boat also would reach its destination.
Therefore, surrendering our organs in His service is the best way to control and
discipline our mind and organs.
Thirumangai Alwar imagining himself as a girl is being invited by her girl
friends to witness the dancing Lord. This Juggler performs the dance and the girl
[Alwar] is attracted. The
performance was over and the performer and all spectators leave. But the girl
[Alwar] remains in the auditorium. When asked by her friends as to why she is not
getting up and start for
home, the Alwar in his imaginary girl form says that to get up and start for
home, her mind should be there. It is no longer there, as it has gone along with
the Juggler. When mind is not there,
no one is there to order the organs to prepare to get up.
The message here is that by devoting our mind and organs in His pranks and
beauty, we escape our mind and organs from engaging them in the worldly desires.
Similar is the experience
of Nammalwar. He says that after seeing Him, the eyes follow the Lord. We think
of the mortals who are all having innumerous shortfalls. Whereas His qualities do
not have any deficiency,
He does not have any blemish. In every sense He cannot be faulted. So by
devoting in such a perfect and blemish less Him, our organs and mind will get
controlled. So when we see this
great pond, we should remember Him and His astonishing pranks and thereby our
mind and organs will get fixed in Him and get controlled.
2.68
tasmAd yasya maha-bahO nigr-hItani sarvasah
indriyaani indriya_arthebhya: tasya prajna pratisthita
Therefore, in the way described above i.e he whose mind is focussed on Me the
auspicious object for meditation, and whose senses are thereby restrained from
sense-objects in everyway,
in his mind alone wisdom is firmly set.
*Tasmad - therefore. The mind that goes after the senses. With that condition
we can never have atman darshan. Only by disciplining the mind we can get all
advantages.
By thinking about God, the mind gets controlled. So we cannot expect to
control the mind on our own, but only with His help. Therefore,
*asya- that atman which is trying to control the mind and organs, which are
dragged by materialistic desires, can control the mind with His help only.
*Indiryaani - the senses of that atman
*Indriya-arthebhya: - the objects of the sense enjoyment
*sarvasah nigrhitaani - is curbed down.
*tasya prajna pratishtita - In such an atman the intellect or buddhi gets
well established and he qualifies to do gyana yoga. Such a person who can curb
his senses and control
his mind from getting driven by senses (by the help of devoting to the
lord), will realize the true nature of the soul.
Here we may have a doubt. To get atman darshan shouldn't we just concentrate
on the atman only, rather than devote ourselves in God? Devoting our mind on our
own atman
is not that superior. Also, atman does not have a form or qualities to imbibe
or worship. Mind will find it very difficult to concentrate on a formless and
blank entity. Whereas God has
many attributes and forms and temples. This makes it easier for the mind to
devote. Why so many forms for God and why so many temples and Avatars? Because our
tastes differ and
to satisfy every taste so many forms, temples, etc. have been arranged by our
elders. God also takes so many Avatars to satisfy the varied tastes of devotees.
Absorbed by the beauty
of the Lord here, Alwar says that one by one all his senses were lost to Him
and the mind also surrendered to him. We also by involving us in this enchanting
beauty of the Lord can
control the organs and mind and have atman darshan.
As enemies are curbed by superior force, similarly, the senses, can be curbed
not by any human endeavor, but only by keeping them engaged in the service of the
Lord. One who has
understood this, is called sadhaka, or a suitable candidate for liberation.
The Lotus flower blossoms when Sun rises and closes its petals when the Sun
sets or when the Moon is shining. The Discus has the brilliance of innumerous Suns
and so the Lotus like
eyes open as a lotus flower blossoms. The Conch, on the other hand is white
like a moon and so seeing that, the eyes close, as a Lotus flower would do. So, it
appears the eyes of the
Lord open wide and close alternately and Alwar is mesmerized by this beauty and
so mentions this as he sees the Sri Sudarsana and the Panchajanya. We can also
visualize this in our
memory and thereby we can involve our senses in this magnificent vision and get
our senses controlled. Our mind need not wander on various persons as to what harm
they did or what
abuses were hurled at us. By visiting temples and after return, memorizing the
brilliant image of the Lord our time would be spent better. This will cultivate
the satva quality in us and the
mind gets disciplined.
RECAP of 2.55-2.68 Slokas:
If we can also like Alwar treat our mind as the abode of the Lord, then our mind
will not go after the organs or worldly matters. In the ordinary streets one may
throw garbage and unwanted
things. But once it is his sannidhi, we tend to maintain the sanctity and
cleanliness. Similarly, if we make our mind the residence of ordinary mortals,
then all sorts of things would accumulate.
But if we regard it as the street for His procession, then we would maintain
sanctity and keep it clear of cheap and unwanted things. We have to regard the
mind as His residence and carefully
maintain it. This is the most important aspect in the 2nd Chapter of Gita.
From 55th sloka to 68th sloka the Lord explained the need for control of the
organs.
In the four slokas 55th, 56th, 57th and 58th- four samgyas � or stages were
mentioned. They are Vaseekara samgya, Yekendriya samgya, Vyatireka samgya and
Yatamana samgya.
In the 59th sloka he mentioned that by getting atman darshan, the sense organs
get controlled.
In the 60th sloka he told that by controlling organs, atman darshan would be
realized.
When Arjuna was confused in seeming contradiction of 59th and 60th slokas, he
told him in the 61st sloka that to control the organs, he should submit the senses
in Him only.
In the 62nd and 63rd slokas he made it clear how the atman, which does not
think of God goes in bad surroundings and tumbles down to the bottom.
In the next four slokas �64th, 65th, 66th and 67th - He explained once again
how the person who devotes himself in Him, gradually rises up and how the people
with wandering mind descend.
In the 68th sloka, he told that therefore, by devoting unto Him and by
withdrawing the senses from worldly matters, one starts Gyana yoga and reach
supreme status.
In the following three slokas of 69th, 70th and 71st, Sri Krishna tells what all
advantages accrue to that person who had atman darshan. The higher stages are
explained in the three slokas in descending order, as was done in 55,56,57 and 58
slokas. In the 55th sloka Vaseekara samgya was told as the highest stage. Here in
the 69th sloka He is going to tell the highest reward for the Gyani. The 56th
sloka dealt with the lower level stage Yekendriya samgya. Here in 70th sloka the
middle reward will be explained. In the 57th and 58th slokas the next lower stages
were explained. In the 71st sloka the early rewards are mentioned.
2.69 :
ya nisa sarva-bhutanam tasyaam jaagarti samyami
yasyaam jaagrati bhutani sa nisaah pasyato muneh
"What is night for all beings is the time of awakening for the self-controlled;
and the time of awakening for all beings is night for the introspective sage."
We will now see the 69th sloka carefully. Sri Krishna explains with some examples.
We already witness that when it is daytime for us, it is night in North America
and vice versa. Similarly, for birds like crows, visibility is there in daytime.
But for nocturnal birds like owls, nighttime is visible clearly. So we can say the
day of crows is night for owls and the day of owls is night for crows. Citing this
Sri Krishna says that the day for a person, who has controlled the senses, is
night for the undisciplined person whose mind wanders on worldly matters. That is
the night for the ordinary person is day for the Atma gyani.
*Sarva bhuthanam- all ordinary beings, that is those who have not disciplined
the senses, for them [Atman darshan] is
* ya nisa- nisa means night. For the ordinary beings, what is night. Here night
means for those persons atman chintana or perception of atman is night. Just as
we say in our conversation
that if we do not understand anything, we say it is all Greek and Latin. So
atman darshan is not understandable for ordinary person and so he regards it as
night.
Here night signifies ignorance or darkness.
*tasyam - in that same atma darsana
*jaagrati samyami- those who have control over the senses, are jagrati (awake )
f That is what is night or darkness for the ordinary persons, is bright daylight
awakening for the person who has controlled his senses and so he is active.
*yasyam jaagrati Bhutani- But, the ordinary persons(bhutaani) i.e those who
have not controlled their senses, are all awake(jaagrati), in worldly
matters(yasyaam) i.e enjoy
the senses (shabda, sparsa, roopa, raasa, gandham)
*mune-the person who has controlled his senses,
*Sa nisa pasyato : for the one who has controlled his senses, the sense
enjoyment is like night (i.e not affected and doesn't indulge and is not aware of
it).
That is we are all active as in daylight in worldly matters and enjoy the
inferior desires. But he, who has had atman darshan and controlled his senses,
finds darkness in such worldly
matters. Sri Krishna desires that we should all raise to this level of person
who controls his senses. This is the HIGHEST LEVEL.
There are two classes of intelligent men. The one is intelligent in material
activities for sense gratification, and the other is introspective and awake to
the cultivation of self-realization.
Activities of the introspective sage, or thoughtful man, are night for persons
materially absorbed. Materialistic persons remain asleep in such a night due to
their ignorance of self-realization.
The introspective sage remains alert in the "night" of the materialistic men. The
sage feels transcendental pleasure in the gradual advancement of spiritual
culture, whereas the man in
materialistic activities, being asleep to self-realization, dreams of varieties
of sense pleasure, feeling sometimes happy and sometimes distressed in his
sleeping condition. The introspective
man is always indifferent to materialistic happiness and distress. He goes on
with his self-realization activities undisturbed by material reaction.
2.70
aapurya-maanam acala-pratishtham samudram apah: pravishanti yadvat
tadvat kaama_yam pravishanti sarve sa shantim apnoti na kaama-kaami
"A person who is not disturbed by the incessant flow of desires �that enter like
rivers into the ocean, which is ever being filled but is always still�can alone
achieve Moksham, and not the
man who strives to satisfy such desires."
In the 69th sloka Sri Krishna explained how the night for ordinary people who do
not have a control over their senses, is daylight for persons who have atman
darshan. When ordinary people
are awake, that is they are active in the worldly pleasures, it is night for atman
gyani. This is the highest state for such enlightened persons. Here the person
does not see those worldly matters. But in the 70th sloka, Sri Krishna tells of an
enlightened person, who comes into contact with such worldly matters and is not
influenced or affected by them. This is a lower state than the person mentioned in
the last 69th sloka.
Child devotee Prahlada was tortured by his father in many ways. Serpents were
directed to bite Prahlada. But he saw the serpent as the bed of Sriman Narayana
and so nothing happened to him; he was rolled down a hill and he saw Govardan,
which was lifted by the Lord to protect the cowherds. He was given poison to drink
and prahlada saw the blue hue of the Lord and so
poison had no effect on him. He was drowned in the ocean and he saw it as the
abode of the Lord and so he was saved. This devotion is a very superior state and
what Sri Krishna mentions
is of persons like us. The difference is that when they see a serpent or poison
they do not show fear or run away but look at it indifferently. The snake or
poison may kill these persons but
they take it in their strides, as they are aware that body is perishable while
their atman is eternal. In the earlier case the poison or snake never came in the
sight of those persons; but here,
though they come into contact with these they have no impact on these persons. Sri
Krishna explains this with an example in the 70th sloka.
In the ocean all river waters mingle. With that inflow, the level of the ocean
does not rise. Similarly, when the rivers are dry and when there is no inflow, the
level of the ocean does not fall.
It remains constant -acala. Tadvat- similarly, all worldly desires and miseries
even when attack, the person, who has atman darshan, he does not change and
remains unaffected.
Such a person attains the supreme status of shantim or Moksham. Whereas Kama yami,
the ordinary persons who are after worldly matter, will never reach this position.
*Aapurya maanam - (Sea which is) always filled with water
*Acala pratishtam - "Cala" is changing; Acala is unchanging; i.e Sea
doesn't get impacted whether the river water flows into it and does not flow into
it.
*Samudram - Sea
*Apah: pravishanti - water(apah:), pravishanti(flowing) into sea,
* yadavat - just like (sea)
*tadvat - Similarly (like sea, into which waters from river flowing, doesn't
affect it or change it)
*Yam - to whom (that person)
*pravishanti sarve - flowing of desires due to sense objects
*sa shantim apnoti - he is the one who gets the fruit of Atma darshanam
*na kaama-kaami - not for one who is agitated by desires and affected by sense
objects
The river waters enter into the sea which is full by itself and is thus the same,
i.e., unchanging in shape. The sea exhibits no special increase or decrease,
whether the waters or rivers enter
it or not. Even so do all objects of desire, i.e., objects of sense perception
like sound etc., enter into a self-controlled one, i.e., they produce only
sensorial impressions but no reaction from him.
Such a person will attain peace. The meaning is that he alone attains to peace,
who by reason of the contentment coming from the vision of the self, feels no
disturbance when objects of
sense like sound, etc., come within the ken of the senses or when they do not
come. This is not the case with one who runs after desires. Whoever is agitated by
sound and other objects,
never attains to peace.
As long as one has the material body, the demands of the body for sense
gratification will continue. The devotee, however, is not disturbed by such
desires because of his fullness.
A Krsna conscious man is not in need of anything because the Lord fulfills all his
material necessities. Therefore he is like the ocean--always full in himself.
Desires may come to him like the
waters of the rivers that flow into the ocean, but he is steady in his activities,
and he is not even slightly disturbed by desires for sense gratification. That is
the proof of a Krsna conscious
man--one who has lost all inclinations for material sense gratification, although
the desires are present. Because he remains satisfied in the transcendental loving
service of the Lord, he can
remain steady, like the ocean, and therefore enjoy full peace. Others, however,
who fulfill desires even up to the limit of liberation, what to speak of material
success, never attain peace.
The fruitive workers, the salvationists, and also the yogis who are after mystic
powers, are all unhappy because of unfulfilled desires. But the person in Krsna
consciousness is happy in the
service of the Lord, and he has no desires to be fulfilled. In fact, he does not
even desire liberation from the so-called material bondage. The devotees of Krsna
have no material desires, and therefore they are in perfect peace.
2.71
vihaaya kaaman yah sarvaan pumaams_carati nihsprhah
nirmamo nir_ahankarah: sa shantim adhigacchati
"A person who has given up all desires for sense gratification, who lives free
from desires, who has given up all sense of proprietorship and is devoid of false
ego �he alone can attain
Moksham" What are desired, they are called the objects of desire. These are sound
and other sense-objects. The person, who wants peace must abandon all senseobjects
such as sound,
touch etc. He should have no longing for them. He should be without the sense of
'mineness' regarding them, as that sense arises from the misconception that the
body, which is really
non-self, is the self. He who lives in this way attains to peace after seeing the
self.
As mentioned earlier, 69th 70th and 71st slokas describe different stages of a
gyani who had atman darshan. The 69th sloka mentions the highest stage and 70th
sloka mentions one in a
slightly lower level. The person mentioned in 69th sloka does not see any of the
worldly matters. This is same as Vaseekara samgya. For the person in 70th sloka,
the worldly matters are all
felt and seen. But he is immune to them and these worldly matters inflict no
changes on him. Now we have to see the 71st sloka. Here the person is at his
initial stage taking efforts for atman
darshan. The person mentioned here starts his efforts. We can listen to the levels
in 69th and 70th slokas but very difficult to achieve. But the 71st sloka is
intended for ordinary persons like us.
From this level he upgrades himself to the level mentioned in 70th sloka and then
further uplifts him to the level indicated in 69th sloka.
*Yah: puman- that Jeevatman or person,
*vihaya sarvaan Kaman- discarding all sensual pleasures (sparsha, roopa,
gandha, shabdha, rasa)
*nisprahah- should abandon all desires. To do this he should be ,
*nirmamao- not claiming possession or the feeling �my�.
*nirahankaara - Also he should have the feeling of nirahankara or not imagining
body as soul or atman.
*sa shantim adhigacchati - Such a person would lose interest in material
pleasures and would attain Moksham or eternal bliss. Shantim means desire less,
not involving in materialistic
pleasures and brahma prapti or reaching the God.
Here Sri Krishna tells what one has to do to get that peace and eternal bliss.
First step is nirahankaraha. Next is nirmamaha. Next is nishprahaha. Next is
vihaya Kaman and
finally atman darshan. To have atman darshan, we have to follow the four steps.
We have to first destroy ahankaram. Normally this is commonly used to indicate
pride. We should know why this comes. When someone does not do what we want, we
abuse him and start
finding faults with every action of him. This happens because we think atman and
body are same. Aham is self or soul and we assume it is body, it is called,
ahankaram. The soul is not man
or tree or an animal. The bodies of all these do not have the intellect or
gyana. But Atman has intellect. Without understanding the basic difference between
soul and body, we start assuming
atman is body then we are said to have ahankaram. What is the advantage in
differentiating atman from body? When it is exam time, we are to study all night
without sleeping. But we feel � I
am getting sleep or I feel sleepy�. But actually, it is the body, which requires
rest and sleep. Atman never gets tired and so does not need rest. If this correct
perception is there during exam
time then we can throw off that laziness and sleep and study. But by going the
way the body requires, one would feel asleep and may not be able to study. A
sprinter, when reaching the
winning pole never thinks of the aching legs but thinks only of victory. At this
point the sprinter looks at atman as different from body. This is a great
advantage to progress.
Next, we should discard the mamakaram or assuming propreitorship. In this world
nothing is ours and we carry nothing when departing from this world. But once we
think something as
ours, then we tend to protect it. The only thing, which can be claimed as ours,
is gyana or knowledge and it will be enough if we can protect that. All others,
which we claim as belonging to
us, are all body, related only. The minute atman does not need any clothes or
decorations. So avoiding mamakaram will drive away our desire to possess.
Next is nishpraha, or discarding desires on materials. As long as water is there
in a well, more water would spring. But if we dry the well totally, then no water
would spring. So if we discard
the materials then they will also leave us. This would lead to vihaya Kaman that
is driving away the desires. This will result in atman darshan.
To become desireless means not to desire anything for sense gratification. In
other words, desire for becoming Krsna conscious is actually desirelessness. To
understand one's actual
position as the eternal servitor of Krsna, without falsely claiming this
material body to be oneself and without falsely claiming proprietorship over
anything in the world, is the perfect stage
of Krsna consciousness. One who is situated in this perfect stage knows that
because Krsna is the proprietor of everything, therefore everything must be used
for the satisfaction of Krsna.
The living entity cannot be desireless or senseless, but he does have to change
the quality of the desires. A materially desireless person certainly knows that
everything belongs to Krsna
(isavasyam idam sarvam), and therefore he does not falsely claim proprietorship
over anything. This transcendental knowledge is based on self-realization--namely,
knowing perfectly well
that every living entity is the eternal part and parcel of Krsna in spiritual
identity, and therefore the eternal position of the living entity is never on the
level of Krsna or greater than Him.
2.72
esa braahmi sthitih partha nainam praapya vimuhyati
sthitva-asyam anta-kale �pi brahma-nirvaanam rcchati
"This will reach bramham, oh! Partha, after which there is no bewilderment. This
should be practiced at least in the final phase of life and attain the pure
happiness of bramham."
*Esa sthithi � this state (which state is Krishna referring to here? the state
in the previous sloka? the state described in the whole of second chapter?.
Selfless Karma yogam , which
is done without attachment or desire for fruit is being referred to as here as
Esa Stithi. Here we should interpret to indicate the essence of 2nd Chapter �Karma
Yoga. It was started that
Arjuna should realize the eternity of atman and should uphold his dharma of
protecting his people and fight. It is not just Karma yoga but asanga Karma yoga.
That is unattached, without
the feeling �I did� or �mine� and without a desire in the result.)
*braahmi- that which will get us brahma . (which state is being referred to
here? It can be considered as SriVaikuntam or Atma Saaksatkaaram or Atma darsanam
i.e makes us
realize the true nature of our self i.e jeevatma. Please note from 2nd sloka
to 6th chapter, Krishna is detailing the true nature of Jeevatma and from 7th
to 9th chapter he is referring
to ways to reach Paramaatma. So any reference to Brahman in 2nd to 6th
chapter, should be considered as referring to Jeevatma)
*yenaam praapya - Whoever attains this state
*na vimuhyati - will never get confused about his true state and neither will
he grieve. Earlier we have seen that atman darshan would banish all miseries and
worries.
*asyam- in this Karma yoga,
*anta kalepi- at least in the final years or phase of life of a person (even
if we missed the boat of performing in early stages)
*Sthitvaa - Situated (i.e perform) in this state (i.e performing karma yoga)
*nirvaanam- unalloyed by miseries and so pure happiness,
*rcchati- reaches the state ,
*brahmam- state of realizing the atman darshan or Moksham.
With this Sri Krishna concludes this chapter. He advises Arjuna to stay in
asanga Karma yoga that would get him atman sakshatkaram. Once that state is
reached, there is no room for
confusion or worries. Normally, this realization should have come up in youth
time. Even if the person has become old, let him not think that Karma yoga is
impossible to practice.
Even in the final phase of life, Karma yoga can be practiced and attain the
eternal bliss. So we have to understand from this sloka that even if we did not
realize the merits of Karma yoga
all these years, it is not late to start even in the final phase of life. We
can involve ourselves, even at the ripe old age, in selfless service to others,
society, country or world. We should dedicate such activities as service
to God.
Any work we do as long as it is not self-centered and without ego and it is
within the accepted boundaries of shastra, can be regarded as Karma yoga. We
should get that yearning for
Karma yoga at least in our old age and try to reach a little of the stitha
prajna state mentiond by Sri Krishna. We should try earnestly. By practicing if we
are able to achieve something it
would give us that happiness. Our elders have toiled to make these methods
available for us and so we should try to practice them.
Karma yoga is not to be performed in a secluded jungle leaving all our near
and dear ones. In fact it was Arjuna who said he would go to forests and do
meditation and it was Sri Krishna
who prevented him from that and asked him to practice Karma yoga in his
routine work. So our daily life is our playground and in that only we have to
overcome all our challenges by
practicing Karma yoga. Sri Krishna is always there to help us and we need not
bother about victory or defeat in our endeavors. If we view life as an ocean of
distress only, we will only get
mental depression. Some regard life as challenge. The difficulty here is that
since it is taken as challenge, there will be always the urge to be victorious.
This will develop egoism and all our
works will be self-centered. But we have to regard life as an opportunity and
practice Karma yoga incessantly and do good for all and this universe. This is the
essence of the 2nd Chapter.
This state of performing disinterested work which is preceded by the knowledge of
the eternal self and which is characterised by firm wisdom, is the Brahmi-state,
which secures the attainment of the Brahman (the self). After attaining such a
state, he will not be deluded, i.e., he will not get again the mortal coil.
Reaching this state even during the last years of life, he wins the blissful
Brahman (the self) i.e., which is full of beatitude. The meaning is that he
attains the self which is constituted of nothing but bliss. Thus in the second
chapter, the Lord wanted to remove the delusion of Arjuna, who did not know the
real nature of the self and also did not realize that the activity named 'war'
(here an ordained duty) is a means for attaining the nature of Sankhya or the
self. Arjuna was under the delusion that the body is itself the self, and
dominated by that delusion, had retreated from battle. He was therefore taught the
knowledge called 'Sankhya' or the understanding of the self, and Yoga or what is
called the path of practical work without attachment. These together have as their
objective the attainment of steady wisdom (Sthitaprajnata) This has been explained
in the following verse by Sri Yamunacarya: Sankhya and Yoga, which comprehend
within their scope the understanding of the eternal self and the practical way of
disinterested action respectively, were imparted in order to remove Arjuna's
delusion. Through them the state of firm wisdom can be reached.