Bhaja Govindam Verse- 4

नलिनीदलगत जलमतितरलं

                       तद्वज्जीवितमतिशयचपलम् ।

                       विद्धि व्याध्यभिमानग्रस्तं

लोकं शोकहतं च समस्तम् ॥ ४॥

naliniidalagata jalamatitaralaM
tadvajjiivitamatishayachapalam .
viddhi vyaadhyabhimaanagrastaM
lokaM shokahataM cha samastam .. (4)

(naliniidalagata = nalinI + dala + gata = lotus + petal + reached / gone; jalaM = water (drop); atitaralaM = ati + taralam, very + unstable; tadvat.h = like that; jiivitaM = life; atishaya = wonderful; chapalaM = fickle-minded; viddhi = know for sure; vyaadhi = disease; abhimaana = egoism; grastaM = having been caught / seized; lokaM = world; people; shokahataM = attacked (hata) by grief (shoka); cha = and; samastaM = entire.)

 (naliniidalagata jalamatitaralaM = The water drop trapped in a lotus petal is susceptible; tadvat.h = likewise; jiivitaM atishaya chapalaM = life is also wonderful and uncertain; samastaM lokaM, vyaadhyabhimaanagrastaM shokahataM cha viddhi = know that the whole world is seized by diseases and pride and devastated by grief)

The great poet in Sri Sankara here compares life with a drop of water trembling on a lotus petal. It is so uncertain and unstable. The water drop trapped on a lotus petal is shaky and may fall any time. Our life is no different. It may come to end anytime. Death comes without any forewarning. Man should understand this truth and turn his attention to God.

Life is not only unstable, but it is infected with the maladies like diseases and pride. Pride or egoism is also considered a disease here. Jnana (knowledge) and mukti (salvation) cannot be had as long as egoism persists. Birth and death also do not come to an end to him who is given to egoism. Hence it is really sorrowful. There is more pain here than pleasure. More trouble than fun. This is the nature of life.

 There must also be a hidden meaning to this shloka. Lotus grows in water. Hence the water drop which falls into the water again joins its original source; i.e, water. If we think of the infinite Brahman as water and the Jeevatma as the water drop, the matter is clear. From Brahman we come. We remain in the lotus petal of life for a short while and then again merge in our original state. While in this apparent state of isolation from the original place, like the water drop trapped in the lotus petal, our life is full of uncertainties. Slightest wind will mean the downfall of the drop. In life also, slightest mishap can mean disaster. Hence the Acharya urges us to turn to God.

Bhaja Govindam Verse- 3

नारीस्तनभर नाभीदेशं

दृष्ट्वा मागामोहावेशम् ।

एतन्मांसवसादि विकारं

मनसि विचिन्तय वारं वारम् ॥ ३॥

naariistanabhara naabhiideshaM
dRishhTvaa maagaamohaavesham.
etanmaaMsaavasaadi vikaaraM
manasi vichintaya vaaraM vaaram. .. (3)

(naarii = woman; stana = breasts; bhara =full; naabhiideshaM = nAbhI + deshaM, navel + region; dR^ishhTvaa = having seen; maagaa = mA + gaa, Don't + go; mohaaveshaM = infatuated state (moha + AveshaM - seizure); etan.h = this; maa.nsavasaadi = mAmsa+ vasa + Adi, flesh, fat, etc. vikaaraM = appearance (generally, grotesque / ugly); manasi = in the mind; vichintaya = think well; vaaraM = again; vaaraM = and again)

 (naariistanabhara naabhiideshaM dR^ishhTvaa = Seeing the full breasts and the navel area of women; mohaaveshaM maagaa = don’t lust after; etat maamsa vasaadi vikaaraM = these are mere derivatives of flesh, fat and the like; vaaraM vaaraM manasi vichintaya = think (this) again and again.)

After tackling the issue of limiting the greed for wealth, Sri Sankara now turns his attention to the issue of sex. Don’t be carried away by the sight of full breasts and the belly of a beautiful woman! Think of it again and again as mere flesh, fat and the like covered in skin. A very difficult advice indeed! This perhaps would not be accepted by the worldly minded people. But this advice is for spiritual aspirant.

Beauty is but skin deep. The Acharya points to this fact. If the spiritual aspirant is stuck with such diverting things, his progress will be stalled. So the caution. The mental picture of such beautiful objects as mere combination of flesh, fat and other undesirable matter (for the sadhaka), will slowly develop a vairagya (renunciation) in the sadhaka’s mind. The reality behind many attractive things in life will often be shocking. This shock is necessary to develop ‘vairagya’ to cross the river of ‘maya’. But it is not easy. Lust is not easy to give up, because it is our animal nature. Hence the thought as explained has to be reinforced again and again (vaaram, vaaram).

Sri Sankara has often been criticized for writing this verse; the sanyasi discusses explicit sexual details, they accuse. But sex is part and parcel of life. It is a basic instinct of man, who is after all an animal. There is no escape from this fact. Closing our eyes on it will not help. Sexual urge is quite natural and it is hence very difficult to control it. The spiritual aspirant needs solid advice to tackle the problem. Hence Sri Sankara boldly attacks the subject and suggests solution also. It should be remembered that the Acharya doesn’t condemn either dhana or sexual urge. Objects are neither ugly nor beautiful; But the mind colours them as such; the trouble starts there. Spiritual aspirant’s mind has to be free from attachment to such things. He or she should see the truth and then turn their mind to the Real.

The spiritual aspirant’s life is not an easy one. He has to conquer the thirst for unlimited wealth and also his insatiable urge for the opposite sex. It may sound very demanding. True; but to realize a higher truth and to reach a state of infinite pleasure in the discovery of the Self, this sacrifice is necessary. The Acharya only tries to help the situation by offering practical suggestions.

Though the Acharya addresses men here, by explaining about female anatomy, the advice is, needless to say, for women also to think twice on attraction for men. The Acharyas were certainly not biased against women.

Bhaja Govindam Verse- 2

मूढ जहीहि धनागमतृष्णां

                      कुरु सद्बुद्धिं मनसि वितृष्णाम् ।

                         यल्लभसे निजकर्मोपात्तं

                       वित्तं तेन विनोदय चित्तम् ॥ २॥

                                                                         mUDha jahiihi dhanaagamatRishhNaaM
                                                                       kuru sadbuddhiM manasi vitRishhNaam.
                                                                                 yallabhase nijakarmopaattaM

vittaM tena vinodaya chittam. .. (2)

(mUDha = Oh fool!; jahiihi = jahi + iha, leave / give up + here (in this world); dhana = wealth; agama = coming / arrival; tR^ishhNaaM = thirst / desire; kuru = do; act; sadbuddhiM = sat.h + buddhiM, good + awareness (loosely speaking: mind); manasi = in the mind; vitR^ishhNaaM = a state without desires; yallabhase = yat.h + labhase, whatever + (you) obtain; nijakarma = nija + karma, one's + duty (normal work); upaattaM = obtained; vittaM = wealth; tena = by that; with that; vinodaya = divert / recreate (be happy); chittaM = mind.)

 (mUDha dhanaagama tR^ishhNaaM jahiihi = Oh fool, give up here the thirst to amass wealth; manasi vitR^ishhNaaM sadbuddhiM kuru = Getting rid of desire, fill (your) mind with good thoughts (on God); nija karmopaattam yad vittaM labhase = the wealth that is obtained as a result of one’s own karma; tena chittaM vinodaya = with that, entertain your mind.)

Again Sri Sankara calls a man ‘fool’: This time he addresses the man who is yearning for money! Money itself is not bad. But the ‘thrushna’, the relentless thirst for money could be a poison. Such a man could be easily called a fool! There is no harm in earning whatever money is obtained by doing honest work as per one’s dharma. But one shouldn’t be greedy.

It is an everyday affair: Killings for money, robbery, corruption and numerous financial crimes. The reason is the insatiable thirst for money. Man thinks that without money he cannot lead a reasonable life. This is true also. But when he finds his own means are limited, he tries to grab others’ property; if this is not easy, he even tries violent means. Sometimes he also ends up in trouble, along with his victim. Human mind refuses to set a limit for requirement of wealth. The shocking fact is that crimes are often committed not by poor people, but by well-to-do men who are not satisfied with their present position!

The word ‘dhana’ here not only means money, but also all other human pursuits for enjoyment and collection of wealth. The important thing is to isolate our mind from material possession. The materials of enjoyment are neither good nor bad. But we should not attach ourselves to them. This is the secret. The Acharya here doesn’t condemn money or wealth. Neither does he differ with our fair means of acquiring it. What is objectionable is the greed. There is no end to greed, if we give it a free hand. Very few people are satisfied with what they get. No amount will satisfy them. So, for having a balanced mind and a peaceful life, there has to be a line marking the limit. Sri Sankara nicely sets it here: Obtain your lot by fair means by doing your legitimate duties; but do not fall for greed. Be happy with whatever you attain through your limited and fair means and lead a contented life. This is the message. The mind which is isolated from greed should be filled with good thought; i.e, turned towards God. Mind being always in a restless state, needs something to entertain itself. Good thoughts and love of God should fill the vacuum created by lack of greed for material enjoyments. Wealth thus acquired without greed, through fair and legitimate means and meant for distribution to the needy, is good.

Bhaja Govindam Verse- 1

भजगोविन्दं भजगोविन्दं
गोविन्दं भजमूढमते ।
सम्प्राप्ते सन्निहिते काले

नहि नहि रक्षति डुकृञ्करणे ॥ १ ॥

bhajagovindaM bhajagovindaM
govindaM bhajamuuDhamate .
saMpraapte sannihite kaale
nahi nahi rakshati DukRiJNkaraNe .. (1)

(Bhaja = worship; govindaM = Govinda; (a name of Krishna, God); muuDhamate = OH fool; saMpraapte = (when you have) reached / obtained; sannihite = presence / nearness of; kaale = Time (Kala, Time, the great destroyer, Lord of Death, Yama); nahi = No; rakshati = protects; DukR^iJN karaNe = a formula of grammar (from Panini’s book) (bhajagovindaM bhajagovindaM govindaM bhaja muuDhamate .= Worship Govinda, Worship only Govinda, oh fool! sannihite kaale saMpraapte = when the time (for death) comes near; DukR^iJNkaraNe nahi nahi rakshati = the rules of grammar won’t save (you). ) 

Sri Sankara warns us that at the hour of death, "dukrin karane" (a formula from Panini's book of grammar) will not help us. By "dukrin karane", not only the rules of grammar are meant, but also the whole of physical knowledge. He urges us to close down the book of material knowledge such as art, science, etc. and turn the mind toward God. Further, “dukrinj karane” means “useless knowledge”. He does not condemn all knowledge, but merely states that such knowledge will not be useful for God – realization, in case that is what you aim for. Well, if you have not taken it in your agenda, the material knowledge may be useful to you - for a livelihood or for satisfying curiosity, for example; but the fact remains that the best of physical knowledge serves no purpose for a spiritual aspirant, though the story of the man who is still immersed in worldly pursuits, is different. One whose mind is set on God realization will find all other knowledge quite useless: may it be mathematics, grammar, history or atomic science. Because it doesn’t accompany him beyond the point of this life. When the doors of death are suddenly opened, knowledge of God alone helps. Nothing else. So, what is knowledge ? Knowledge is that which helps to realize God. The rest is ignorance. Hence Sri Sankara asks firmly to discard useless pursuits and set the mind to God.

Material science or knowledge indeed is great, but it is only a part of the Infinite knowledge of the Self. For the man who wants to have the full knowledge which will solve ALL his problems, the limited knowledge of physical science is not critical. There are many people who believe in God, but consider it not necessary to follow the religious path now. There is time, they say, till the old age. They could do all this in the retired life. After retirement from occupation or active life, people have little to do and religion could be pursued as a hobby. Till the hour of death, there is time. Good idea! But this may not work well always. Death may not wait till the old age. Moreover, the body and mind will be weak during old age and it may not be easy to carry out sadhanas, even if one wishes to do so.

Anta kale cha mameva smaranmuktua kalevaram Yah prayati sa madbhavam yaati nasty atra samshaya (Bhagavad Gita sloka 5, Chapter 8).

And whoever, at the time of death, quits his body, remembering Me alone, at once attains My nature. Of this there is no doubt.

Moreover, some commentators like Sri Sankara say, the ‘cha’ in the sloka after ‘anta kale’ is very important. It means, “thought of the Lord, ALSO at the time of death” (during the whole life and also at the time of death, “poorvamapi anta kale cha”). Lord cannot be reached with the thought of something else. So it is essential to start following the path of God as soon as possible. The desire to know the meaning of our existence should come from one’s own self. The rest will follow. Now, what is “Bhaja”? It is not the mechanical repetition of Lord’s name without the presence of mind. Some people do it as a mere religious ritual or observance. The Bhajan of Lord should come from the bottom of one’s heart. It should be true love and devotion to Him; Calling on Him in that spirit is what is meant by “Bhaja Govindam”. It may not be a coincidence that Sri Sankara chose to name God by the word ‘Govinda’: His Guru’s name was Govindacharya.   

Bhaja Govindam Introduction

Bhaja Govindam was written by Jagadguru Adi Shankaracharya. It is classified as a prakaraNa grantha, a primer to the major works. Though sung as a bhajan, it contains the essence of Vedanta and implores the man to think, Why am I here in this life ? Why am I amassing wealth, family, but have no peace ? What is the Truth ? What is the purpose of life ? The person thus awakened gets set on a path to the inner road back to the God principle. 

The background of Bhaja GovindaM is worth examining. During his stay in Kashi, Adi Shankaracharya noticed a very old man studying the rules of Sanskrit by Panini. Shankara was touched with pity at seeing the plight of the old man spending his years at a mere intellectual accomplishment while he would be better off praying and spending time to control his mind. Shankara understood that the majority of the world was also engaged in mere intellectual, sense pleasures and not in the divine contemplation. Seeing this, he burst forth with the verses of Bhaja govindaM. In 31 verses, he, like no other, explains our fallacies, our wrong outlook for life, and dispels our ignorance and delusions. Thus bhaja govindaM was originally known as moha mudgAra, the remover of delusions. Shankara explains, nay chides, us for spending our time in useless trivia like amassing wealth, lusting after (wo)men and requests us to discriminate and cultivate the knowledge to learn the difference between the real and the unreal. To emphasise that, he concludes that all knowledge other than the Self-Knowledge is useless, Shankara makes the person realize how foolish he/she is in the conduct and behaviour by these verses, and shows the purpose of our worldly existence, which is to seek Govinda and attain Him.

 Bhaja govindaM is divided into dvAdasha manjarikA stotram and chaturdasha manjarika stotram. At the end of composing the first stanza, it is said that Shankara burst forth with the next 11 stanzas of bhaja govindam. Thus stanzas 1-12 are called dvAdash manjarika stotram. Inspired by the extempore recital by Shankara, each of his 14 disciples composed a verse and the 14 verse compendium is called chaturdasha manjarika stotram. Shankara added the finishing touches by adding five of his own stanzas at the last bringing the total to 31- The last two verses in this version is not found in all editions. Bhaja govindaM has been set to musical tones and sung as prayer songs by children. It is divided into dvAdashapanjarikA and charpaTapanjarikA for this purpose. The former is a set of verses (verses 1-12a) while the rest of the verses form charpaTapanjarikA. Anyone who listens to the music of Bhaja govindaM is attracted to it. However, the significance of the text goes much deeper and contains a well defined philosophy of attaining salvation.

 Shankara’s words seem to be quite piercing and seem to lack the softness and tenderness often found in his other texts, thus addressing directly. The reason is that this was an extempore recital to an old man. His words can be compared to a knife of a surgeon. The surgeon’s knife cruelly removes the tumor with much pain, but removing the tumor ultimately restores good health in the patient. So are Shankara’s words, which pierce and point out our ignorance. It is a knife into the heart of worldliness, and by removing this tumor of ignorance, we can attain everlasting bliss with the grace of Govinda. May the AchAryA guide us from ignorance to truth. OM tat sat.

Jai Shri Krishna!!

Feeling Hopeless??? The Lord is there:)

All glories to Lord Krishna!!!

Dear wonderful people out there, first of all I want to tell you that each one of you are beautiful creation of the Lord. Yes each and every one of you. You are all amazing, wonderful and lovely. As I have said in my previous post you guys are the greatest blessings of the Lord in my life. So today I don’t know but I just want to tell you guys something.

Well ok… let me start by telling you guys I quit my job recently without having another one in hand because of various reasons that I don’t want to get into. I was depressed because of that. A lot and I have confided it to some people and even went for counseling too and some devotees also helped me a lot. I also had this music teacher whom I call sir and who is more like a family to me and I am very close to him and more closer to his older brother whom I called as dodappa meaning big dad. I wanted to confide in them about this depression thing too. I just wanted it to come out, rant it out to anyone because I felt better. But they were off on a road trip my music teacher n dodappa and their families so I was just waiting for them to come back.

And 3 days back I suddenly receive this horrible news that they had met with an accident on d way back home. My beloved dodappa was killed along with another lady a relative of theirs. Sir and others were injured and sir’s father is still in a critical state. Well now I was looking for some kind of solace from them but now tables turned. I can never forget that feeling. I went to pay my last respects to them well I can never forget dodappa’s lifeless body lying there, never forget how sir held my hand and cried. I just could not… In the mean time I began to forget my problems. Now it was sir who was crying out to me in a shock. But I noticed how the mere presence of his students there comforted him. I did not know what to say but just the fact I held his hand gave him some peace.

I have visited sir every day after that, sat next to him, spoke to him. Well for the first time in the world I felt thankful I quit job or else I could not meet sir everyday nor could I have seen dodappa for last time nor would I have seen the broader picture. Sir kept telling the details on how accident happened and honestly all the while I felt it was all premeditated. Destined to happen that’s what I felt. And dodappa did not have a single major injury. He was unhurt miraculously but he had died of heart attack as a result of shock. Well and the other lady she had just emerged victorious after fighting a life threatening cancer. But destiny willed otherwise.

Whatever I realized nothing is under our control. I felt we were all puppets in the lord’s play. Dear readers. Today I want to tell u something. As I said before I saw how sir felt better when he brought out the feelings that were eating him up. Dearest devotees I realize sometimes everyone undergoes something and you just want to bring that feeling out you want to ramble to someone. The lord is the best person you can ramble to but I know sometimes we seek replies but the lord gives his replies at the right time and no prayers will go unanswered for sure. I too know that but sometimes due to my own ignorance I get bogged down and sometimes my own faith is on a verge of being lost. But wonderful devotees like you have restored my faith. I would want to thank each one of you personally. I really mean it that this connection was not accidental. It was Krishna. He knew I needed valuable people like you guys in my life and you guys are the blessings I received from God.

At the same time dear readers, there may be people out there who are undergoing things similar to what  underwent and am still undergoing and sometimes things a lot more worse than me. But any time please don’t lose faith. Trust me. Whatever is happening is happening for your good. Trust the process. Trust the Lord and surrender to his well.

And if you need someone to restore your faith, or you need someone to pour out your heart to, I am available. Few months back I found this one person a devotee who said the same to me (my angel) and you guys can’t believe I don’t even tell my parents anything (because they are not devotees) but to my angel I tell everything. Devotees always manage to convince me because of that Krishna factor. And now I have found more angels who comment on my posts and who have always made me feel better. Thank you to each one of them personally.

And yes my email Id is visible on my blog and anyway I will mention it here too its krishnasoul8@gmail.com You guys can contact me through it any time you are feeling low or you feel your faith is being tested. Even if you are happy too you are free to talk. And I will try my best to restore your faith. I am nowhere close to being good or a perfect devotee but I will try my best to restore your faithJ by the Lord’s will and grace. Thank you everybody and love you all. Jai Shri Krishna!!

Confusion..

Krishna, I am completely in darkness. I don’t see a way out of here. I am confused regarding the various conflicting theories. Krishna if everything happens according to your will and everything is already pre meditated then what is the need for us to take decisions in life? But that too am always confused regarding what is right and what is wrong. And I am a person who easily gets influenced by others. Now I really don’t know why things happen in a certain way. I don’t know if it is my fault that I just give up. I just don’t know anything. 

Okay and you say if we are confused with the various conflicting theories we must just surrender to you. What exactly is surrender? I have mentioned this before also that I don’t even know what exactly is surrender. Is it thinking about you always? Is it being devoted to you? Praising you? Chanting your names? What exactly is this process called surrender. You say you guide us from within and how exactly do you do that? How can be completely sure that I am doing the right thing? I don’t even understand any of your words Krishna. I just know that here I am completely uninterested in this world and waiting to get back to you. Nothing seems to be making me happy. 

In the material world, I tried telling my problems to the concerned people but they don’t even understand. They just saw things from their own perception.  They in turn termed me to be incapable and cribbing. All this makes me doubt myself if it was my fault. I am just surviving here because of a few kind devotees who always manage to put some hope into me that you are here. But repeatedly my mind just goes back to the material world. I am left wondering if I made a right decision even when it is all over. I am tormented of the fact of what happens next. I am not even able to get it into my mind that you are in control of everything. I just want to cry out in your arms. I wish you would just hold me and comfort me.

 You are the center of everything and I know if I make you the center even in material life everything will fall in its place but how exactly do I do that Krishna?? I am not able to control this insane mind of mine. Krishna I beg you to guide me. I am desperate need of help right now and I don’t know what to do with my life. Please help me out Krishna. I need your assistance and I can’t do this alone. Also I beg you to have mercy on all other devotees and non devotees too. This material world is just going from bad to worse day by day. People are losing their humanity, and are behaving as if they don’t even have feelings or a heart. People who are good at heart are being used by inhuman people. And it’s a wonder how all the inhuman people seem to just shine out everywhere and the people who are humble are being trampled by the proud egoistic people. Krishna you need to help everyone out. You are the refuge of everyone. You have to help everyone Krishna, Please please lead us and guide us. I really don’t know how you guide but hopefully by your grace I will get to know soon. 

I love you my LordJ 

Jai Shri Krishna!!