Srimad Bhagavad - Gita

20/12/2018 Srimad Bhagavad-Gita : Chapter-13. ( Kshetra-kshetrajna-vibhaga-yogam) Slokam-28. "samam  sarveshu  bhuteshu  tishthantam  paramesvaram, vinasyatsvavinasyantam   yah  pasyati  sa  " sarveshu  bhuteshu  =  in  sarva-cara-caram-s  (  in  all  living  and  non-living  entities ); samam   tishthantam  =  situated  equally  as  one; paramesvaram  =  the  supreme  Lord; vinasyatsu   avinasyantam  =  in  the  perishable  ( destructible )  things  as  imperishable ( not  destroyed ); yah  pasyati  =  one  who  sees; sah  pasyati  =  he  is  seeing  the  Truth. ( One who sees the Supersoul accompanying the individual soul in all bodies and who understands that neither the soul nor the Supersoul is ever destroyed, actually sees. ) Discussion : Lord Krishna confirms with the words pasyati meaning perceives or discriminates that one who realises that paramatma or the Supreme Soul existing equally within all jivas or embodied beings is the kset

18/12/2018 (Spoken on Gita Jayanti in 1973) A Synthesis of Thought and Action-2 We have in our own sciences such as mathematics or physics the theory and the practice, the theorem and its corollary, and so on. In one sense at least, though not in every sense, we may say the Upanishads lay down the fundamental theory of the cosmos on which we have to work out the practical application of the doctrine in our day-to-day life. This application of the theoretical dictum or the fundamental principles of the Upanishads is in the gospel of the Bhagavadgita. The Upanishads tell us how to think, and the Bhagavadgita tells us how to act. We always think before we act; but how are we to think? The direction of our thoughts is provided by the Upanishadic gospel but the direction of our action is given in the Bhagavadgita. So we have in the Upanishads and the Bhagavadgita a complete science of life. And today, as we are here to humbly and yet solemnly observe the sacred occasion of the

16/12/2018 2. Arjuna had several other doubts and questions and the discussion in the Bhagavad Gita then turns not only towards his duty but towards other aspects of life like how one should live in this world, other paths of worship etc. A detailed description of the Lord Himself and His qualities are found in the Geeta. The path of Self-realization is also expounded. The Geeta is really the most important text in Hindu religion since it teaches us how to live in this world, how to become better person and how to obtain a higher status not only in a secular way but also in a spiritual way. Ultimately the Geeta also shows us the path to Self realization or realization of the Supreme. It contains the essence of all the Upanishads. We have several Upanishads that deal with the subject matter of the Supreme Self or Brahman. They teach us how to unfold the divinity within us and reach the Supreme Self. The Upanishads are fairly complex and deal with a very subtle subject. In

13/12/2018 Sri Krishna’s Brindavanam and Dvarka Lilas : 2 The evolutionary process that is seen in the various avataras of Vishnu—such as Matsya, Kurma, Varaha, Narasimha, Vamana, etc.—reaches a culmination in Rama and Krishna. From the lower levels of life through which God incarnates, as demonstrated in the earlier avataras, human perfection is reached in Rama’s avatara. But that is not enough. God has to descend into the world in the full force and power of His Completeness.  (Srimad.Bhagavatam - 1.3.28). Ete camsa-kalah pumsah  krsnas tu bhagavan svayam indrari-vyakulaṁ lokam  mrdayanti yuge yuge "Ete camsa-kalah pumsah krsnas tu bhagavan svayam" As the entire energy of the sun may be concentrated on a lens through which this energy passes, and it has the capacity to work as the sun would work, so is the way in which we have to understand the nature of an incarnation, especially of the type of superman such as Bhagavan Sri Krishna. The universal forc

12/2/2018 2. The most intriguing and significant incident in the early life of Krishna is what has been called the Rasa Lila or his love-dance with the Gopis of Vrindavan. Commentators have tried to interpret the romantic seeking of Krishna by the Gopis and his response to their search in a dalliance that surpasses understanding as the eternal quest of objects for the Universal Subject which is present in every one of them as their Atman, the seeking of the individual for the Absolute in an ecstasy of feeling that the intellect cannot measure or estimate, a rapture of love for God in which all rationality is hushed, and the divine reaction from the Supreme Atman in a revelation of multiple immanence or a universal Self-manifestation, a state of spiritual superconsciousness in which one forgets one's own personality and becomes conscious only of God's existence everywhere in an emotion of love which bursts the bubble of individuality, which, indeed, was the condition, of

11/12/2018 (Spoken on Sri Krishna Janmashtami, August 25, 1978) 2. This wholeness is present in our lives also. We are completes, not partials, and in our physical life, mental life, intellectual life, social life, political life, and in every aspect of our life we assert this completeness so that wherever there is a lack felt by us in our aspiration for completeness, we feel a sort of unhappiness. Something is lacking, as we say. The sense of lack is also the feeling that completeness has not been achieved. Even if we take our breakfast, our lunch, an ordinary meal, we wish that it should be a complete action and not a partial act that we perform. We do not like a half meal, for instance, or a one-fourth meal. It should be a complete meal for a complete satisfaction of a particular stage of our existence – the physical and the biological. When we speak, we wish to become complete in our expressions, and when someone speaks in a half-hearted, partial, segmented or chaotic m

10/12/2018 The Tree of Life : Srimad Bhagavad Gita : 1.7 Chapter- 1: The Twofold Character of Cosmic Life-7. Post - 7. This is explained in the very first verse of the Fifteenth Chapter of the Gita. There is the expression of this tree into various branches. What are these branches? The knowledge that we seek, the intelligence that we have, the perceptions which give us satisfaction are the branches of this impulse for self-expression— chandamsi yasya parnani (B.G. 15.1). Chandamsi are various types of knowledge, natural as well as supernatural, and it is so because the tree spreads itself not merely in this world of physical experience, but also even in the heavens. Adhas cordhvam prasyatastasya sakha (B.G. 15.2): The branches of this tree spread themselves not merely here on Earth but also above in the heavens. Na tad asti prthivyam va divi deveshu va punah, sattvam prakrtijair muktam yad ebhih syat tribhir gunaih (B.G. 18.40): Not one thing anywhere, neithe

24/11/2018 Srimad Bhagavad-Gita : Chapter-13. ( Kshetra-kshetrajna-vibhaga-yogam) Slokam-27. "yavat  sanjayate  kincit  sattvam  sthavarajangamam, kshetrakshetrajnasamyogat  tadviddhi   bharatarshabha." "O Arjuna!  whatever you see in existence, both moving and unmoving, is only the combination of the field of activities and the knower of the field." bharatarshabha  =  arjuna; sthavara-jangamam  =  immobile  and  mobile  ( not  moving  and  moving ),  likewise; yavat  kincit  sattvam   sanjayate  =  if  any  one  thing  makes  its  presence  (  whatever,  takes place,  anything,  its  existence ); tat  kshetra-kshetrajna-samyogat  =  that,  is  because  of  union  between  kshetra  ( body )  and  kshtrahnan  ( knower  of  the  body  i.e,  Jivatma ) viddhi  =  know  ( understand )  this  ( you  must  know it ).   Discussion : Even after elaborating upon the applicable perennial principles applicable to all creation Lord Krishna again re

23/11/2018 (Spoken on Gita Jayanti in 1973) A Synthesis of Thought and Action-1 The culture of mankind may be said to have reached its zenith in the thoughts of the Upanishads, wherein we have an exposition of the quintessential essence of all values that humanity has been seeking through the passage of history. In this groundwork of human culture, we have the perennial inspiration of the soul of man, the cry of the deepest in the human individual, the raptures of what may be regarded as the most valuable part of human nature. Such is the meaning hidden behind the gospel of the Upanishads, which soar into the empyrean of the superhuman and the meta-empirical, rising to levels of such ecstatic heights almost inaccessible to the faculties available to the human individual, making us giddy with the heights that they have reached. It is practically impossible for the modern man especially even to think of their significance except that they are wonderful spiritual messages giv

23/11/2018 1. Bhagavad Gita is the Divine Song sung by Lord Krishna in the battlefield for removing Pandava Prince Arjuna's confusion. Sri Krishna needed to teach Arjuna about his duty and also show him the true way of life. He wanted to prove to him that the war he was fighting was a war for justice and righteousness. It was not a war for territory, money or property, but was one to uphold the principles of Dharma. If Arjuna did not fight the war, it would send wrong messages to posterity. The first message: Arjuna the great warrior became a coward and quit the war right at the last moment when he saw that the opposing army was stronger and bigger than his. The second message: Evil triumphs over good. If Arjuna did not fight, the Kauravas would win and continue to rule the kingdom. Further, even though war is evil and results in death, sometimes it is necessary. Just as one has to do surgery to cut out a cancerous part of one’s body, similarly when people in this

22/11/2018 Sri Krishna’s V(B)rindavanam and Dvarka Lilas : 1 In the Srimad Bhagavata Mahapurana, the Eighth Skandha is devoted to the detailing of Gajendra Moksha, Amrita Manthana, and Sri Vamana avatara of Bhagavan Sri Vishnu, and in the Ninth Skandha we have the long history of the Solar and Lunar dynasties—Rama being a descendant of the Solar dynasty, and Krishna of the Lunar dynasty. The most important theme, surpassing all other descriptions that we have in the Srimad Bhagavata Mahapurana, is the principle objective of the whole text—namely, the life of Bhagavan Sri Krishna himself. In a wonderfully touching prayer, Kunti glorifies the great Master, as we have it recorded in the - First Skandha of the Bhagavatam : (S.B. 1.8.18-19) "Namasye purusham tvadyam isvaram prakrteh param, alakshyam sarva-bhutanam antar bahir avasthitam; maya-javanikacchannam ajnadhokshajam avyayam, na lakshyase mudha-drsa nato naṭyadharo yatha." (S.B. 1.8.43). "Sri

22/11/2018 1. Narayana and Nara, the great sages who are supposed to be performing eternal penance in the holy shrine of Badrikashrama (modern Badrinath), and who are the representations of Vishnu's presence on earth, are regarded to have taken birth as Krishna and Arjuna, respectively, for the redemption of the world from sin and evil. Krishna, who is considered to be the Purna-Avatara (full incarnation) of Vishnu or, according to some, of the Universal Narayana who transcends even Brahma, Vishnu and Siva, revealed himself in Mathura as the child of Vasudeva and Devaki. We need not go into details of the miraculous and dramatic events of his early life in Vrindavana, such as the spontaneous opening of the gates of the prison where Vasudeva and Devaki were confined; the ebbing of the River Yamuna when Vasudeva tried to cross it with the child Krishna; the destruction of Putana and other Asuras like Sakata, Trinavarta, Vatsa, Dhenuka, Baka, Agha, Pralamba, Kesi, Chanura a

21/11/2018 (Spoken on Sri Krishna Janmashtami, August 25, 1978) We are here gathered today to rouse our souls to a state of a supernormal type of divine appreciation in the holy act of the adoration of the divine incarnation we know as Bhagavan Sri Krishna, which advent is celebrated not only throughout this country but in many other parts of the world where his presence has been felt, and where he is enshrined in the hearts of people. This periodical awakening of the human spirit in the celebrations of the religions of humanity constitutes a great significance in human life, in all life in general. There seems to be in every type of living pattern a longing to reach a perfection which one secretly feels lingering in oneself, sometimes being conscious of it and sometimes not being conscious of it. The restlessness and the eagerness to achieve a higher perfection in life is present in all pattern of creation. This restlessness of spirit and an aspiration for the higher becomes

20/11/2018 The Tree of Life : Srimad Bhagavad Gita : 1.6 Chapter- 1: The Twofold Character of Cosmic Life-6. Post - 6. Now, a reality cannot be forgotten. If the death and destruction and annihilation of Earthly existence is to be an end of all things, if that is a reality by itself, there cannot be another reality overcoming it. But there is something in us which somehow or other overwhelms this instinct of destruction and sorrow, and tells us that life need not necessarily be equated with all sorrow. If it is concluded once and for all that life is only sorrow and an ocean of suffering, and there cannot be anything else but that, then there cannot be any such thing as the instinct of hope for a better future. But who does not hope for a better future? So we have in us a mysterious and tremendous impulse for what we may call an immortal pursuit of the ultimate success in life, though what is visible to our eyes is only darkness and pain. The comparison that the Bhagavadg

01/11/2018 Srimad Bhagavad-Gita : Chapter-13. ( Kshetra-kshetrajna-vibhaga-yogam) "anye tvevamajanantah  srutvanyebhya  upasate, tepi  catitarantyeva  mrtyum  srutiparayanah." Slokam-25. ( Again there are those who, although not conversant in spiritual knowledge, begin to worship the Supreme Person upon hearing about Him from others. Because of their tendency to hear from authorities, they also transcend the path of birth and death.) anye  =    others; evam  ajanantah  tu  =  this  way,  but,  knowing ( spiritual  knowledge )  nothing; anyebhyah  srutva  =  by  hearing  from  others; upasate  =  begin  to  worship; sruti  parayanah  te  api  =  they  who  getting  interest  on  hearing  from  others; mrtyum  atitaranti  eva  =  certainly  transcend  the path of samsaram ...... death. Discussion : According to variegated differences of qualification, methods of perception for varying humans have been prescribed differently. For a devotee of the Su

31/10/2018 The Tree of Life : Srimad Bhagavad Gita : 1.5 Chapter- 1: The Twofold Character of Cosmic Life-5. Post - 5. 1. The creative evolution of life, into which great research has been made in modern times by philosophers such as Bergson, is a tendency to move in every direction, outwardly expressing its power of vitality for a purpose which the human mind cannot properly envisage. When we grow, we do not know what we are growing into, and to what purpose. Why should we become an adult? Who has written this, in which scripture? Why should we not remain as a baby? What is the harm? Let us all be babies and never grow, or let us be born as youths. Why should we be born as babies and then grow into youths, and then have this agonising decrepitude of senile ataxia? What is all this mystery? Why should there be this growth of anything or everything? What is the direction which things are appearing to take? Why should the tree grow?  Why should man prolong h

14/10/2018 Srimad Bhagavad-Gita : Chapter-13. ( Kshetra-kshetrajna-vibhaga-yogam) Slokam-24. ( That Supersoul is perceived by some through meditation, by some through the cultivation of knowledge, and by others through working without fruitive desire. ) dhyanenatmani   pasyanti  kecidatmanamatmana, anye   sankhyena   yogena  karmayogena capare. kecit  atmanam  atmana  =   one/ few   of  atma  with  atma  itself; dhyanena  atmani   pasyanti  =  others  by  meditation  see  in  his  self  / in  them (selves ); anye   sankhyena   yogena  =  another ,  by  sankya-yogam  ( by  the  yoga-system  of  philosophical discussions )  and; apare  karma  yogena   ca  =  yet  another,  by  karma-yogam  ( by  activities  without  fruitive  desires )  knows  atma. Discussion : Lord Krishna expounds here that some humans having become perfect in yoga or the science of the individual consciousness attaining communion with the ultimate consciousness; perceive by the lucidness of

10/10/2018 The Tree of Life : Srimad Bhagavad Gita : 1.4 Chapter- 1: The Twofold Character of Cosmic Life-4. Post - 4. There is, therefore, a need to be serious in our pursuits and not to continue to behave like babies or children asking for toys, which are only a temporary relief for their tears. We give a toy to the child, and it stops crying. Why it cries, nobody knows. These toys are temporary contrivances to suppress the outward expression of the sorrow of the child, but the inner difficulty persists whatever be the outer adjustments we make in the various walks of life. The various outer adjustments are well known. The gaining of wealth, making money, increasing the bank balance, getting a good job, enhancement of status of oneself in human society, dainty dishes, palatial houses, vast gardens, and so forth, are the avenues of approach of the mind that seeks immediate relief. We have seen people with large areas of land. Are they happy? We have seen people with large

25/09/2018 Srimad Bhagavad-Gita : Chapter-13. ( Kshetra-kshetrajna-vibhaga-yogam) Slokam-23. ya  evam  vetti  purusham  prakrtim  ca  gunaih  saha, sarvatha  vartamanopi   na  sa  bhuyobhijayate. evam  purusham  =  thus,  of  purushan; gunaih  saha  prakrtim  ca  =  of  nature  with  guna-s; yah  vetti  =  who  knows  these; sah  sarvatha  vartamanah  api  =  he  is  with  by  all  means  situated  in  any  manner,  in  spite  of; bhuyah  na   abhijayate  =  he  never  takes  his  rebirth. Slokam-23. ( One who understands this philosophy concerning material nature, the living entity and the interaction of the modes of nature is sure to attain liberation. He will not take birth here again, regardless of his present position.) Discussion : In slokam 21 purusa referred to the jiva or the embodied being. In slokam 23 purusa refers to the Supreme Lord. Thus purusa can refer both to the Supreme and to the jiva when indicating the atma or immortal soul within. I