The Nectar of Gita…for you, me and all! Essay 14 - Chapter 2: The Guru Speaks but the Questions continue!

Om Namo Bhagavathe Vaasudevaayaa!

The Guru Speaks but the Questions continue!

Chapter 2: Sankhya Yoga

Seeing Arjuna shedding tears of anguish and suffering misery, Krishna looks at him with kindness and speaks thus;

“Oh Arjuna! How did you get yourself into this state of misery? You are doing something which doesn’t suit a person of your stature. This kind of misery is for the ignorant. This deprives you of the path to heaven and glory”

“At this critical juncture, when the bugle of war is blown, how could you fall into this dishonorable state of delusion? Don’t lose your courage and valor. Please get rid of this mental paralysis which doesn’t befit you. Pick up your bow and arrow and get ready to fight”

Krishna, like an inspirational speaker tries to motivate his Subject. But the Arjuna’s misery was deep-rooted. He needed a thorough cleansing of his thought process and mind. He speaks out his mind thus;

“Oh Krishna! The most venerable Bheeshma and Dronacharya are lined up against me. How could I shoot my arrows at them in the war?”

“Isn’t it preferable to live out of eating alms, rather than living in luxury that comes out of killing the most revered Gurus and family elders? Won’t that wealth and luxuries be stained by their blood? How could I enjoy such wealth happily?”

“Moreover, the result of war is always governed by Destiny. No one can tell who finally wins or who gets vanquished. It’s also not clear to me which way I will be better off! Such great people like Bheeshma and Dronacharya, who I can’t even dream of killing and living thereafter, are standing in front of me ready for war.”

“Oh Krishna! I am caught in a mental vacuum and am not able to judge which is in my best interest. Please guide me out of this debilitating ignorance. I take refuge under you. Kindly treat me like your disciple, clarify my doubts, direct the course of action and lead me out of this darkness”

“Oh Krishna! Even though this war leads to control of a kingdom that is free from enemies and confers heavenly glory, even that thought is also not comforting enough to help me come out of the profound grief that is debilitating my limbs. I don’t think I can fight this war”. Saying so, he remained still.

If we see, all these questions look very genuine and speak of the state of mind of someone however competent he is, when faced with a grave situation. Initially Arjuna thought what he was doing was right and started giving his own reasons. But seeing Krishna’s silence, he decided to take refuge under Krishna, completely surrendered to him and pleaded for his kind counsel.

This speaks the role of a mentor or the right Guru. The Guru understands the state of our mind and through his wise counsel, makes us realise the ‘Big Picture’ and guides us on to the right path of action. But this needs our complete surrender and faith in his wisdom.

As Arjuna surrendered to him, it’s now the duty of the Guru to show him the light. Let’s see how Krishna starts handling the situation in the coming blogs.

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The Nectar of Gita…for you, me and all! Essay 13 - Introduction to Sankhya Yoga (Cosmic Wisdom)- Chapter 2

Om Namo Bhagavathe Vaasudevaayaa!

                                                                                                                                

Introduction to Sankhya Yoga (Cosmic Wisdom)

Chapter 2

Right medicine is the need of the hour for a patient. Similarly, for someone caught in a trap of ignorance or delusion, ‘Gyan’ or ‘Wisdom’ through the medium of a Guru is the need of the hour. Arjuna was in a state of despair caught in the trap of ‘Moha’(attachment) or Delusion or Maya. He needs a strong dose of wisdom and here Lord Krishna who is called the ‘Jagadguru’ was by his side. He starts with ‘Sankhya Yoga’ or ‘Cosmic Wisdom’ which mainly discusses with Aatma and its nature.

This chapter is called ‘Sankhya Yoga’ because it deals with ‘Sankhya’ or numbers. It is held that ‘Prakruthi’ or the human being is made of 24 ‘Tatvas’ or systems. These are ∞Pancha MahaBhootas (5 elements), €Pancha Gnanendriyas(5 sensory organs), £Pancha Tanmatralu (5 mediums of the sensory organs), ¥Pancha Karmendriyas (5 organs of action), Manas (Conciousness), Chitta (Sub-consciousness), Buddhi (Intellect) and Ahamkara ( the I).

Sankhya is the wisdom that discusses about ‘Aatman’(Soul) and ‘Anatma’ (Non-Soul) matters and discriminates between these two. To put it differently, it discriminates between what is eternal and what is temporary; which is indestructible and which is destructible; which is ‘vidya’(knowledge) and which is ‘avidya’(Ignorance).  This in effect is cosmic wisdom as different from the knowledge of worldly sciences and arts. 

Sankhya considers these 24 Tatvas and discriminates as to which is an item of ‘Aatma’ and eliminates all those which are items of ‘Anatma’ as per the definition given above. It recognizes the one which is permanent and which is witnessing with detachment, the actions of the combination of these 24 elements in the form of a human body.

For someone like Arjuna who is caught in the worldly illusion or ‘Moha’, the Guru sets out to impart the Cosmic Wisdom or ‘Gyana’. This is in nutshell, the Cosmic Wisdom or ‘Sankhya Shastra’ is about. 

Let us see this more in detail as we go on.

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∞Pancha MahaBhootas: (The 5 elements of Nature)

1. Prudhvi -Earth
2. Apas – Water
3. Tejas – Fire
4. Vayu – Air
5. Akash - Ether

 €Pancha Gnanendriyas: (Sensory Organs)

1. Ghroona – Nose
2. Rasana – Tongue
3. Akshu – Eyes
4. Tvak – Skin
5. Srotra - Ear

 £Pancha Tanmatralu: (The Medium of Sensations)

1. Gandha – Smell
2. Rasa – Taste
3. Roopa – Sight
4. Sparsa – Touch
5. Shabda – Sound

 ¥Pancha Karmendriyalu: (The 5 Physical Organs of Action)

1. Payu – The Excretory Organ
2. Upastha – The Sexual Organ
3. Pada – The Feet for locomotion
4. Pani – The Hands for action
5. Vak – the Speech Organ

 Anthakarana Chatustayam: (The 4 Inner Instruments)

1. Manas – the lower mind
2. Chitta – The sub-conscious mind
3. Buddhi – The Intellect
4. Ahamkara – The empirical Ego

 Total 24 elements

The Nectar of Gita…for you, me and all! Essay 12 - Arjuna’s Predicament

Om Namo Bhagavathe Vaasudevaayaa!

                                                                                                                               

Arjuna’s Predicament

(Chapter 1 – Arjuna Vishadha Yogam)

When Krishna takes the chariot between the rows of the two warring sides on the great battlefield of Kurukshetra, Arjuna looks at the line up the great warriors on both the sides. Then suddenly a wave of compassion and sorrow besieges Arjuna. He tells Krishna in a sorrow filled voice that, his body was trembling out of disgust; his throat was drying up; his knees were buckling; his famous bow was slipping out of his hand; his head was reeling; his heart was throbbing with sorrow and that he was not in a position to even stand. Explaining his physical and mental condition, Arjuna with tear-filled eyes slumped on the floor of the chariot dropping his weapons down. A large number of doubts and troubling questions clouded his mind. Mustering strength, Arjuna looked at Krishna and tried to explain what questions were troubling him.

1 What is the use of killing all these relatives in war? what do I gain out of it?

2 I am not desirous of victory, kingdom and pleasures associated with them. What is the purpose of these anyway?

3 We generally desire all these for the benefit of our family, elders and relatives. But I see all of them …teachers, grandfathers, uncles, brothers, children and other relatives all standing before me either to kill me or to be killed by me. Then what is all this for?

4 Even though they are ready to kill me, I have no intention to kill them even for the Lordship over heaven. Then what to talk of an ordinary earthly kingdom?

5 Tell me how can I be happy killing these cousins even though they are cruel and devious? Afterall these are my own kith and kin.

6 Even assuming that the Kouravas do not realise the sins of betraying their own brothers and are blind to the consequences of total annihilation of the family, why should we, who can discriminate between right and wrong, resort to such a destructive war?

7 If the family males die in the war, the family line and the traditions come to an end. Family dharma comes to danger. Family values get destroyed, intermingling happens and the dead souls do not get proper homage. This leads to further deterioration of Dharma. For the sake of a kingdom, aren’t we responsible for causing all this mayhem?

8 Instead, if I drop my weapons and even if the Kouravas kill me, I will still be gaining on all fronts. I will be saved from the disgrace of killing my own kith and kin; I will be saved from the sin of destroying family lines and traditions; all my relatives stay alive; by doing all these I will get the doors of moksha. Wouldn't I ?

These questions on the face of it, look very sincere and appear to have come out naturally of a noble person like Arjuna. These questions indicate the state of mind of a person confronted with a grave situation. The gravity of the problem and the possible consequences, short term as well as long term tend to push the person’s mind into a great dilemma. Discretion may fail, reason may be clouded by biases, thinking may not be deep as it would be enveloped by emotions.

This looks more or less similar to many problems in work and life we face in daily life. It would not be uncommon for us at times, also to fall into such a trap of emotions. So, we can look at the predicament of Arjuna and try to draw analogy to our real-life situations. The need of a good mentor or a wise counsel arises in such a situation. Let us see how Bhagavan Krishna addresses these concerns of Arjuna as we move on.

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The Nectar of Gita…for you, me and all! Essay 11: “Does Gita advocate Renunciation of all Actions (Karmas)?”

Om Namo Bhagavathe Vaasudevaayaa!

Essay 11:       

“Does Gita advocate Renunciation of all Actions (Karmas)?”

This question keeps springing up quite often from different quarters putting the Gita reader into confusion. This surely is on account of a mistaken understanding of the tenets of Gita. In support of their argument they refer to what is called ‘Sarva Karma Sanyasam’ or renunciation of all actions discussed in the Gita. Harping on this, they hold the view that Gita advocates renunciation of all actions as a sure shot to ‘moksha’ or liberation and thereby promoting inaction and encourage shying away from doing any action so as to escape from the bondage of ‘karma phalas’ or results of such actions.

To clear this mist and to put it in the proper perspective, let’s reconstruct mentally, the scene and context of ‘Gitopodesh’. The scene was the battle field of Kurukshetra and there was Arjuna the warrior prince, who put his bow and arrows down. He was in a spell of utter dejection and was in no mood to get up and fight the war which was his bounden duty. Krishna was appealing to him to get up and fight but Arjuna was bogged down in a mire of questions and confusions or ‘moha’ about the propriety of doing his duty of fighting the war.

Then comes the ‘Gitopadesh’ – the eternal knowledge. Krishna imparts this cosmic wisdom to Arjuna. At the end of this ‘samvad’ or the session of question and answers, Arjuna, free from confusion or ‘moha’, picks up his legendary bow and arrows and fights the war to the finish and emerges victorious.

If we analyse this situation – there was someone who was refusing to do his karma or action but on listening to the ‘Gitopadesh’, was fully recharged and he sprang back into action with renewed energy. This clearly indicates that Gita advocates discharge or doing of one’s actions and doesn’t in any way advocate renunciation of actions as clearly evidenced by the transformation it brought about in Arjuna - from a state of inaction to a state of energetic action.

What Gita advocates is ‘sarva karma phala sanyasam’ - meaning sincere discharge of enjoined or assigned actions with a sense of detachment to the outcome of such actions. Here detachment to the outcome or result of such actions is defined as ‘sanyasam’ or renunciation. Hence the actions are not to be renounced but one should be detached to the outcome. All the assigned legitimate(as per his swadharma) actions should be done in the name of God. Then there would not be any bondage- good or bad arising out of such actions or karmas.

Gita says that once born, a person would continually be doing actions for survival. Even Bhagavan Krishna says though not required, he continuously keeps doing actions or else taking cue from Him, people stop doing actions. Even the yogis who are self-realised and are beyond any desire, keep doing actions for the sake of the welfare of the world. But their actions don’t bind them as they are totally detached to the outcome of such actions.

To sum it up, Gita does not advocate either renunciation of actions or stipulate what actions are to be done but shows a way how to do the enjoined actions in the most desirable or liberating way.

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The Nectar of Gita…for you, me and all! Essay 10 :Why do we behave differently at different times? (Know Thy Personality as per the Three Gunas of Nature)

Om Namo Bhagavathe Vaasudevaayaa!

Essay 10:       

     

Why do we behave differently at different times?

(Know Thy Personality as per the Three Gunas of Nature)

It’s our day to day experience that we tend to behave differently at different times and respond differently to different situations. We see all the contrasting shades of behavior in us; we may be kind and cruel; gentle and rude; soft-spoken and harsh worded; forgiving and vengeful; caring and selfish; patient and restless; intelligent and stupid; active and lethargic. Our responses to various situations generally come from this spectrum of behavior. Often, we don’t even know why we behave in a certain way. It means our core personality is a mosaic of all these behavior patterns and they come out at random without much of a conscious effort by us to control such responses.

Cardiologists have identified two predominant behavior patterns known as Type A and Type B about which most us must be aware. Personalities that are more competitive, highly organized, ambitious, impatient, highly aware of time management and/or aggressive are labeled Type A, while more relaxed personalities are labeled Type B.

Now let us see how Gita handles this subject. Gita talks about 3 types of ‘Gunas’ or qualities that characterize any person. They are:

Sattva (Sattvik): Sattva is the quality of balance, harmony, goodness, purity, universalizing, holistic, constructive, creative, building, positive, peaceful and virtuous. But Sattva binds us to the desire for happiness and the desire for knowledge.

Rajas (Rajasik): Rajas is the quality of passion, activity, neither good nor bad and sometimes either, self-centeredness, egoistic, individualizing, driven, moving, dynamic. The nature of Rajas is of attraction, longing and attachment and Rajas strongly binds us to the fruits of our work.

Tamas (Tamasik): Tamas is a state of darkness, inertia, inactivity and materiality. Tamas is the quality of imbalance, disorder, chaos, anxiety, impure, destructive, delusion, negative, dull or inactive, apathy, inertia or lethargy, violent, vicious, ignorant. Tamas binds one to ignorance and lethargy and therefore deludes all beings from their spiritual pursuits.  

As per Gita, all these qualities emanate from Nature or Prakrithi and become a part of all of us. Our personality has all these 3 Gunas in a proportion that is typical to each one of us. That is the reason why we respond in a certain way to a given situation. Awareness of the existence of these qualities would help one to control and choose the type of response one wants to come out with regarding to external stimuli.

Gita says, in a person endowed with more Sattva Guna, Rajas and Tamas stay subservient. If the person has more of Rajas, it suppresses the other two Gunas. So is the case with Tamas. Now let us see how to identify these three types of people based on manifest behavior patterns.

A Sattvik person radiates peace, happiness and knowledge. All his actions indicate Sattvik nature. The words he speaks would be good, soft and knowledgeable, the books he reads would be of knowledge, the actions he does would be good in nature, the food he eats would be fresh, simple and healthy.

A Rajasik person would always be busy in doing all kinds of action whether desirable or undesirable. He would be therefore restless, short-tempered. He would be ambitious, loud and vain-glorious. He would be running after worldly pleasures and eats hot and spicy food.

A Tamasik person is characterized by inertia, inaction, laziness, carelessness, dull-wittedness. He is a work shirker and delivers shoddy jobs. He eats sour, stale, uncooked and unhealthy food.

So, you can look at yourself, your family, friends and colleagues and try to identify and classify all into one of the three Guna types.

Gita exhorts all to make conscious efforts through Saadhana, to gradually suppress Tamo Guna and move into Sattva and Rajo spectrum and then through intense practice come out of Rajas and move into Sattva.

A spiritual seeker or some one on the path of yoga finally would annihilate all the three Gunas and reach a state of Nirguna Paramathma (Beyond Gunas).

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The Nectar of Gita…for you, me and all! Essay 9:The Four-pronged Practice Methodology (Sadhana Chathushtaya) for Achieving Life’s Goal

Om Namo Bhagavathe Vaasudevaayaa!

Essay 9:            

The Four-pronged Practice Methodology (Sadhana Chathushtaya) for Achieving Life’s Goal

We all know very well that for achieving the ultimate goal in one’s life, one has to endeavor relentlessly on the chosen path and practice the virtues that go with it. Any detour or shortcuts lead to the person not reaching the goal. The path to success is not generally an easy one…but it is the right one. A follower of this path not only has to do certain things, but also has to strictly avoid or discard a lot of other things. Such a disciplined approach applies uniformly to the goals in the mundane world and also to that of the spiritual world. To make matters clear, let us consider two examples from both these worlds … an aspirant for admission to IIT or MIT, Harvard, Stanford and the likes on one side and a spiritual practitioner on the path of Gyana Yoga working towards Self-realisation. Both these practitioners need to follow a time-tested practice methodology that takes them to the desired goal. Let us see what it is!

Sadhana Chathushtaya (The Four-pronged Practice approach):

Self-realisation or Enlightenment is the ultimate destination of a Gyan Yogi. As discussed earlier, the path to Enlightenment is not an easy one. It requires stringent sadhana as per the ‘Sadhana Chathushtaya’ or the Four-pronged approach. The four key elements of the approach are:

I. Discrimination (Viveka)

II. Dis-passion or non-attachment (Vairagya)

III. The Six Virtues (Shat sampat)

IV. Longing for Liberation (Mumukshatva)

Now let us see by following these, how a goal seeker in the materialistic life and a practitioner or sadhak in the spiritual world would equally benefit.

I.Discrimination (Viveka):

It is the sense of choosing between good and bad; helpful and detrimental; constructive and destructive. A right choice would help the progress of the aspirant. An IIT aspirant should be able to choose the right approach that would be helpful in his endeavors. Similarly, a sadhak has to be able to choose between what is real or unreal (sat or asat); permanent or impermanent (nitya or anitya); self and not-self (Athma or Anathma) matters. So, the beginning starts with the right choices through an evolved sense of discrimination.

II. Dis-passion (Vairagya):

A student has to exercise a sense dis-passion or non-attachment to things that distract his energies. Passion about sports, movies, outings, etc. come in the way of his preparation. He has to be detached with these if he wants sure success in his endeavors. Similarly, a sadhak has to develop a detachment to worldly distractions and the pleasures they give. He needs to be above these material things. He need not avoid doing his worldly activities; but he needs to develop non-attachment to the outcome of such activities.

III. The Six Virtues (Shat sampat):

These six virtues are very essential for training the mind into developing the right attitude and equip oneself for the goal on hand. These virtues hold equally good for a student or the spiritual sadhak. These are namely;

1.Tranquility (Shama):

Developing an attitude of inner tranquility and balance of mind and composure, is the first step.

2. Sensory Control (Dama):

Controlling the sensory organs and directing them into more constructive ways is Dama. The eye desires to watch a movie or a game, the tongue wants to go out for dining; the ear wants to listen to pop music. Such distractions derail the efforts of the practitioners. So, controlling and channeling the energies of the sensory organs is very crucial for success either at the University entrance examinations or for entering the world of spiritual enlightenment.

3. Withdrawal (Uparathi):

Discriminatory withdrawal of the senses from outside distractions and concentrating them inwards brings calm and satiety. Such inward looking approach helps one stay focused on his goals.

4. Forbearance (Titiksha):

Tolerance to external situations and their undesirable consequences with equanimity is called Titiksha. Unfavorable situations during practice may occur…outside disturbances, inner urges like hunger and thirst, weather oddities like heat and cold, activities of detractors; all these may disturb the balance of the practitioner. Cultivating a sense of forbearance helps the sadhak to stay on his path.

5. Faith and Dedication (Shraddha):

An unwavering faith in the direction chosen; in the counsel taken; in the body of instructions and knowledge taken from the trainer; is imperative for success. Skepticism in any of the above will steer the sadhak off the course.

6. Focus (samadhana):

Resolute focus and concentration of all thoughts and energies on the goal will negotiate the practitioner to the destination.

IV. Longing (Mumukshatva):

An intense and longing desire for enlightenment or for attaining the desired goal is called Mumukshatva. This longing desire as an undercurrent, steers the practitioner away from various distractions on the way and finally reaches him to the desired destination.

As you have seen, the ‘Sadhana Chathustaya’ encompasses virtues that are very much applicable to anyone having set goals. He could be a student or professional in the material world or a sadhak in the spiritual world. The road blocks and distractions are the same on any path of progress. Overcoming these hurdles requires concerted efforts and a time-tested strategy. The Rishis have given us this highly time-tested strategy of ‘sadhana chathustaya’ thousands of years ago. It is necessary for us to be aware of this and adopt it for success both in the day to day life and also for spiritual progress.

The Nectar of Gita…for you, me and all! Essay 8: The Six Thieves that destroy happiness from within!

Om Namo Bhagavathe Vaasudevaayaa!

Essay 8:            

The Six Thieves that destroy happiness from within!

It is not uncommon for most of us to be unhappy for some reason or the other both in personal and work life situations. The reason could be anything…. not able to get a physical possession of our choice, or get a hike at work, or not having a choice of boss or subordinates, etc. The unhappiness becomes more pronounced, if our neighbor or colleague, another family member or a friend appears to be more successful in this regard.

In such times, we generally try to look around for finding the source causing such unhappiness and often times, we may even be successful in pinning the blame on someone around us. But do we ever care to look inside us for seeking out the real cause for such unhappiness? While the unhappiness is a feeling within us, we look for the culprit outside of us. strange but true. Isn’t it?

So, let me introduce you to the 6 Thieves, that lurk within all of us and take every opportunity to mislead us into doing actions detrimental to our well-being. This path surely leads us to despair, dejection and unhappiness. Only a well aware person knowing their existence could consciously work towards not falling prey for their fatal attraction and lead a life of all round happiness. So, let us start by knowing them.

The 6 Thieves:

These are called ‘thieves’ because they sneak into us and work from within, without we being even aware and steal our happiness; just like an ordinary thief sneaking into a house and getting away with our prized possessions. These are namely;

1 Desire (Kama):

This starts as a seed and grows very fast and envelopes us in its fatal charm. In its worst form it becomes lust. It destroys our reason and our only intention and effort would be to satisfy this desire by going for that object. For instance, our neighbor buys a car and we would like to go for similar or a better one. Even if our financial position does not permit us, we may be tempted to go for it by taking personal or an EMI loan. If the finances do not cope with, this may end in a disaster leading to unmitigated happiness. While our unreasonable desire was the culprit, we try to find fault with the car financier or our job for not affording us enough incomes.

2. Rage or Anger (Krodha):

When our desire for car ends up in a financial disaster, our unhappiness pushes us into a fit of rage or anger against people, who we mistakenly think to be the cause for such a situation. Anger kills reason and prompts us into doing some more disastrous actions.

3 Greed (Lobha):

“Greed gets grief” is an old saying. A healthy, legitimate and controlled desire for something is welcome, but greed for something lands one into grief. We get to see the stories of many public servants, politicians, Industrialists, etc.…in their greed for amassing wealth, power and control, they resorted to unethical means that finally landed them into disrepute and grief. So, it becomes necessary for each one of us to draw a line between desire and greed and act with discrimination.

4. Attachment (Moha):

We often get attached to people, places and physical possessions. While a general liking is desirable, unreasonable attachment may lead to grief when one is forced to get separated from it. It could be our undue attachment to a place, a position, some people or our material possessions. When the time comes for separation, we will be grief-stricken. So, it is always wise to be aware of this fact and be prepared for it mentally. It saves us from a lot of grief subsequently.

5. False Pride/Ego (Mada):

While it is a good thing to be proud of our endowments, false pride or ego stands in between us and people and destroys human relationships. So, respect for others as we respect ourselves is the key to sustaining happy relationships. One who is aware of this and puts it into practice will always be in state of happiness.

6. jealousy (Matsarya):

Jealousy like cancer grows silently and kills our happiness. One who is always jealous of others progress and well-being, can never be happy. Jealousy is the root cause for prompting us to do undesirable things for destroying the peace of others. One who is aware that jealousy destroys oneself more than the other, will never be jealous of others.

Gita calls these six as ‘Arishadvargas’ and exhorts sadhakas to be aware of these 6 internal enemies and through conscious spiritual practices overcome these for an enlightened living full of bliss and happiness. Overcoming these will make one lead a happy and contented life at home and also at work.

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