Karma Yoga - Continued

Last post was more verses and less of an analysis. So let us try to analyze the same in this post.

Arjuna asks if knowledge is superior to karma then why should I war with kauravas? This can be analysed in various ways. In earlier posts we have said that Kauravas represent the evil within ourselves and if we know what evil is and what it is not, then this question would be how and why should one fight them. Can this not co-exist? Answer is pretty clear. Right?

Thinking more about it, if knowledge is superior then should not man try to seek knowledge only and not engage in karma (that too a karma like war).

Karma Yoga and Jnana Yoga are not competetive but something to be practised serially. We should exhaust all our vasnas or desires by doing our karma selflessly. Samnyasa or renunciation of action or being actionless means a state where you are not bound by action. It is a proper understanding of who "I" am and what is it that "I" exist for. In Vedanata, ignorance is not knowing anything but knowing everything but the Supreme, that "I" am actually that parabrahma, that we are not different but the same. By exhausting all our vasanas we reach a state where we are no more affected by results of our actions. Our actions would be then merely to sustain our life, we would have finished doing all actions as per our roles or dharma.

One can link this to the chaturashramas prescribed where samnyasa follows the grihasthashrama. For a normal man, who lives in this material world it would be difficult rather impossible to remain actionless. This is because our senses will have to react to the influence of the three gunas Sattwa, Rajas and Tamas. Being physically inactive but mentally being driven by them is also equivalent to state of being in action. And one who physically denounces actions but mentally follows them is a hypocrite.

Chapter 3 - Karma Yoga

This is after a very long hiatus, we continue our journey into the world of Bhagavad Gita. So far we have covered Chapter - 2. As said earlier chapter 2 is a summary for the entire Gita. In fact, I have continued reading Gita and have reached Bhakti Yoga (Chapter 12). And the idea pervasive throughout is: Sankya and Karma are two ways to attain nirvana. Sankya is the way of so called sanyasi and Karma is the way of action; action with no desire for its result. I read the same in Chapter 12 when Bhagavan says:

shreyo hi jnanamabhyaasaath

jnanadhyanam vishishyathay

dhyanath karmaphalathyaga

sthyagath shantinarantharam

Meaning: Jnana (Knowledge) is superior to action (with no knowledge). Dhyanam is superior to mere knowledge. Much superior to mere dhyana is the karma devoid of desire for results. And this denouncing of desire for results leads to peace very soon.

This was just a recap on the points discussed till now and to reinstate the fact that it is not wearing of saffron or denouncing family life, that alone can lead to niravana; but you can still doing your karma accroding to your dharma and still attain nirvana. So do your karma according to your dharma as parent, child, sister, brother, cousin, grandchild, friend, lover etc. But these actions should not be with a desire for results. We should love but still have a sense of dettachment. Seems very difficult but does not actually look impossible.

So to understand the Karma Yoga more we step into Chapter 3 - Karma yoga.

Arjuna asks

jayasi cheth karmanasthay

matha budhirjanardhana

tath kim karmani ghoray maam

niyojayasi kesava

Meaning: hey kesava, if you say jnana is superior to karma, then why do you want me to do this horrendous karma (war) ?

Sri Bagavan uvacha

lokesmin dwivividha nishta

pura prokhtha mayanagha

jnanayogena saankhyaanaam

karmayogena yoginaam

Meaning: I have preached two ways for the people in the world - Jnanayoga and karma yoga.

na karmanam na arambaath

naishkarmyam purushoshnuthay

na cha sanyasanadeva

sidhim samadhigathchathi

Meaning: Man cannot attain a state of "absence of karma" by resorting to inaction. Also, mere sanyasa does not mean somebody has attained siddhi or perfection

niyatham kuru karma thwam

karma jyayo hyakarmanah

shareerayaatrapi cha thay

na prasidhyeydkarmanah

Meaning: You definitely do your karma. Karma here refers to "Niyatha Karma" or bounden duty of an individual in his home or office. As action is better than inaction. and if you do not do karma, you may not be even able to sustain your body

yagnarthath karmanonyathra

lokoyam karmabandana

thadhartham karma kountheya

mukhtasangah samachara

Meaning: Hey kounteya (son of kunti), those karma which are done without a sense of yagna OR as yagna OR for yagna leads to bondage. So we need to do karma or action as a self sarifice for the benefit of all, without selfish interests. It can also be interpreted that Karma should be an offeing to God (God = Yagna).

Few great videos

swami chinmayananda - Video 1
swami chinmayananda - Video 2
swami chinmayananda - Video 3
swami chinmayananda - Video 4
swami chinmayananda - Video 5

Can we be like a tortoise...?

Let us take the sloka we discussed two posts before:

karmaneyvaadikarasthay
ma phaleshu kadhachana
ma karmaphalahethurbhoor
ma thay sangosthwakarmani

Bhagavan says to Arjuna that you have rights only on karma and not on jnana as of now. Why does he say so. It establishes what has been said in our previous post. And that those who are treading the path of karma should continue to do so.Still discussing on how we should do karma,

Bhagavan says

Dhoorena hyavaram
Karmabudhiyogadhananjaya
Budhow sharanamanichwa
Kripana phalahetawa

Meaning: Bad karmas are far away from knowledge or jnana yoga. You should seek refuge in jnanayoga as those who do karma with desire of result are to be looked down upon.

Arjuna uvacha:

Sthithaprajnasya ka baasha
Samaadisthasya keshava
Sthitadhi kim prabaashathay
Kimaseetha vrajathay kim

Meaning: Samadisthasya = One who is engrossed in samaadhi or meditation; Sthithaprajnasya = One whose mind is fixed, not confused and not moving in many directions. Arjuna asks how do we identify a sthithaprajna? How he sits, he behaves, he walks and talks?

What follows is a summarized version of Lord’s reply to Arjuna.

A knowledgeable man in is like a tortoise. He withdraws all his senses from material pleasures just like a tortoise withdraws its organs into the shell. In fact, Koorma avathar and Paalazhi madhanam episode of Puranas symbolically represent something very similar.

As stated before, all puranas are spiritual thoughts said in form of stories. It is said sravana, manana and dhyana are the paths that lead us to spiritual knowhow. Unfortunately, over generations people did sravana (to hear), manana (to by-heart the same) but somehow missed dhyana i.e. to ponder on these and find what exactly these stories tried to convey.

Coming back to koorma avathar, let us try to understand what symbolism in the story was and what it actually tried to convey.

Paalazhi represents our mind and its waves represent the various thoughts.

In the depth of this ocean is hidden the greatest of treasures including Amrith which is nothing but the knowledge of oneness with God and that we are Atman and hence never assailable.

Gods and Demons represent the right and wrong.

Mandhara is from Sanskrit words Mann = Mind and Dhara = Line. So Mandhara represents the concentration required or in other words meditation.

Vasuki, the snake used for the same represents our desires.

Koorma or tortoise represents withdrawal of senses from material pleasures. In fact this helps to keep afloat the sinking concentration.

Reading it all together, when we meditate, the right and wrong personalities in us create waves of thoughts. We need to support this process of meditation by withdrawing our senses like a tortoise withdraws its organs into its shell. And when we do this we get all kinds of treasures and the ultimate being Amrith – the knowledge that Atman is not perishable and is same as Parabrahman. Mohini represents the maya or delusion of the mind which deprives demons from getting Amrith, thus symbolising that those who surrender to this world of delusion, will not be able to achieve the supreme knowledge of oneness.

Bhagavan continues,

Dhyayathay vishayan pumas

Sangasthayshupjayathay

Sangath samjayathay kamah

Kamaath krodhabhijayathay.

Krodha bhavathi sammoha

Sammohath smrithivibrahma

Smrithibrahmshadh budhinaasho

Budhinaashath pranashyathi.

Meaning: One who concentrates on “vishaya” (i.e. sensory pleasures) gets attached to the same. That attachment causes “kama” or desire. And when desire is born and then it is not achieved, it leads to krodha or anger.

Anger puts a veil on knowledge. When this happens, we forget what we are. And this leads to actually death of Budhi or Thought Process. To stop thinking is equal to destruction of praana or life. This is no less than death.

These verses are really good, aren’t they? It gives the real reason behind all our miseries. And also the way it actually grows within us. How attachment leads to desires and how it leads to anger and budhibrahmsha.

Vihaya kaaman ya Sarvan

Pumamshcharathi nisprihaha

Nirmamo Nirahankarah

Sa santhimadhigatchathi.

Meaning: One who thus denounces desires and lives without sense of detached attachment and without pride of living so or of being

knowledgeable attains Santhi.

The idea is very simple. If you have opted for Karma then do your karma with a sense of detachment from its result. Do your duty whatever may be the result. Denounce desires and then you shall be peaceful forever.

With this sloka we would put an end to discussion on Sankya Yoga for time being. We will revisit the same again later as we get newer better ideas on the same

Karmaneyavaadikarasthay - II

I have not been able to add much over the last two weeks because I have been trying to read more and gather as much information as possible on karma and jnana. It is still in process and I am reading Chapter-2 of Gita, Saankya yogam, again and again. It is getting clearer but should take some more time.

It is said that all this knowledge is already with us and the only thing required is unlearning them. How does a sculptor create a beautiful statue from a very crude stone? Just be chiseling away the unwanted parts of the same. We have over a period of time accumulated a lot of unnecessary ideas, beliefs and superstitions which are actually putting a veil on the core ideas that help us realize who we are. So what is required basically is to undergo a process to cleanse ourselves from within and bring out that shining diamond of knowledge.

It is really worth noting that the scriptures say we are nothing but that Parabrahmam itself. And hence we cannot be a less important normal creature. The beauty of the concept is well highlighted by

Poornamadha poornamidham
Poornath poornamudchyathay
Poornasya poornamaadaya
Poornamevavashishyathay

Meaning: That (parabrahmam) is also complete, this (myself) is also complete. What is generated from that which is complete is also complete. And when we take something from that complete, what remains is also complete.

Jagadguru Sankarachaarya once pleaded mercy to God for committing three sins:

1. He tried to visualize the Brahman in a very small idol and thus belittled Him
2. He tried to limit the all encompassing Brahman into few places of pilgrim and thus belittled Him
3. He tried to praise the indescribable Brahman in few words or hymns and thus belittled Him.

Frankly, when I stand now before anything – be it a wick lamp or photo or an idol; fold my hands and try to concentrate on it and pray I feel so bad. This is no excuse for not going to temple (a few weeks back I used to daily go to temple) or trying to prove that I have realized Brahman (I am far away from it) but trying to share the feeling that comes in once we really understand the meaning of the above verses as well as Sree Sankara’s plead for mercy. It becomes a way of life, to see God in all living and non-living beings and thus get filled with that wonderful nectar of love and joy.

This does not mean to be a Sanyasi. A Sanyasi or Sthithaprajnan is the one who sees the oneness (advaita) in all and treats win and lose or heat and cold in the same token, same manner. He can be a household person, have wife children etc but with this ultimate knowledge that he is not that mere body that he thinks he is; he is the Parabrahman itself. And once you start thinking that, you need to play the role well – right? How would you ever sin then, how would you ever be sad then.

We see who a Sthithaprajnan is in the next few slokas (probably next post) to come. But before that let share my thoughts or understanding on the routes of karmayoga and jnanayoga.

The path that takes us to the realization of Brahman and thus moksha is only that of Jnana or Knowledge and hence that is the supreme path. The path of Karma should ultimately lead to path of Knowledge path and thus lead us to the same place. But when we allow ourselves to be driven by the senses and not brain then we may lose our way or say be late to join that path of Knowledge. It is not possible to tread both paths at the same time.

If you decide to be in path of Knowledge, we should take the path of Sanyasis in the normally used sense. Leave everything and tread through path of knowledge and meditation to seek Brahman. But if you have decided to tread the other path, even then you should do it without attachment to results (as already explained in previous post). For the same reason we have well defined structure of growing and maturing as

1. Brahmachari ( a student)
2. Grihastha ( a householder)
3. Vanaprastha ( a forest dweller)
4. Sanyasa.

By the time we reach the last stage we are supposed to learn from each stage, do all our karmas in each stage as an offering to Lord and thus through ultimate knowledge attain moksha.

Now does sanyasi or muni mean to be devoid of family wife? No. All sanyasis or munis you read in our scriptures have wife and children. But it is the way we look at it that matters. Even acts of sex were done with a spiritual outlook and were not subject to vasana. And let me add one more thing – kama in Sanskrit is different from kama in other languages; in Sanskrit it is nothing but desire and not lust. We will get into this topic more, later.

(The above can be corrected by somebody who feels I am wrong, as I have tried to present what I know about the same. I am still reading Karma yoga of Bhagavad Gita but have just penned down my thoughts – let us mature together)

I just put together three slokas which I tell myself daily, meaning of which has already been explained. I would request each reader to understand the meaning and then repeat the same – each time analyzing the meaning better.

Poornamadha poornamidham
Poornath poornamudchyathay
Poornasya poornamaadaya
Poornamevavashishyathay


Kayena vacha manasendriyairva
Buddhyatmana va prakrite swabhavath
Karomi yadyad sakalam parasmai
Narayanayeti samarpayami


Asathoma sathgamaya
Thamasoma jyothiramaya
Mrithyoma amrithamgamaya

Meaning: God lead me from that is not true to the truth, from the darkness (ignorance) to the light (knowledge) and from death to life (from the notion that I am this body that dies to the notion that I am this Atman which never dies)

Om Shanti Shanti Shanti !!!

Karmaneyavaadikarasthay

Gita Chapter -2 called as Saankyayogam is actually a gist of the entire Bhagavad Gita. Most of the things that have been explained later have been well presented here in capsule - A crash course like thing.

So we now get into some of the most dicussed and perhaps the most misunderstood slokas as well

Sri bhagavan uvacha,

karmaneyvaadikarasthay

ma phaleshu kadhachana

ma karmaphalahethurbhoor

ma thay sangosthwakarmani

Meaning: You have rights on karma only and you should never have any desire on its fruits or results and thus you should also not become the means for the results. Also you should not be attracted to or attached to akarma because of lack of motivation (in form of results) to do karma. Then how should we do karma? Answer is:

yogastha kuru karmanisangam

thyaktwa dhananjaya

sidhyasidhyo samo bhootwa

samathwam yoga uchyathay

Meaning: Hey Dhananjaya, we should see the state of having an outcome and no outcome as the same. We should not be attached to the outcomes of our actions but do actions with a sense of detachment. It is this sense of impartiality that is called "yogam".

Let us try to analyze the same.

To be frank, I still need to be clearer on “Karma yogam” and “Jnana yogam” but let us keep the ball rolling. So this would be more of a superficial analysis and a detailed analysis may follow, in fact will follow when we discuss the “Jnana yogam” or “Sanayasajnana yogam”

According to Sankara Baashyam on Gita, Bhagavan says, you can either tread karma yoga or jnana yoga. They are like two roads which lead you to the same destination – moksha. To my understanding as of now, suppose you have decided to be a part of this saansarik world then you should do your karma. But if you need to attain moksha or nirvana, you need to do karma without attachment to the results. It is not that you should work without an aim, but you should accept a win or lose in that attempt, in the same manner. The major reason for disappointment is that when we do things we attach too much of value to the result and when we do not get the results that we looked forward to, we feel disappointed. But just imagine a situation when we understand that we have right only to do the karma (as per dharma) and we have no control over the results and are ready to accept the results whatever it may be, then we would never be unhappy.

So fearing a loss, is it right not to do karma? In fact as per scriptures karma is nothing but movement and then you can very well assume that no man can ever be on this world without doing karma. There are actually only 5 types of karma and 5 kinds of its impact. The definition of karma ends there. To it you can add 3 kinds of karmas at the individual level. We will explain that in detail in future posts.

So then how should we do karma? We should do karma as if it was an offering at the Lord’s feet. It is just an offering to Him and even it should not be an attempt to appease Him. It is well said in the following mantra (very well known to those who have done Sandhya Vandhanam or read Vishnu Sahasranamam)

Kayena vacha manasendriyairva

Buddhyatmana va prakrite swabhavath

Karomi yadyad sakalam parasmai

Narayanayeti samarpayami

Meaning: Whatever I do with my body, speech, and mind or with other senses of my body, or with my intellect and soul or with my innate natural tendencies I offer (dedicate) everything to Lord Narayana

Atman vs. Paramathman vs. Brahman

Disclaimer: The views I have presented here has nothing to with Swami Sandeep Chaithanya or School Of Bhagavad Gita. They are my own views, interpretations and understanding but of course inspired by his discourse and writings. For whatever little I know about Gita and Vedas I am deeply indebted to him.

What follows was not part of the Gita discourse, but some information I have gathered from some other books.

So, we have been discussing about ourselves and that we are not what we are. It is clear from the common statements like “My Body”, “My Mind”, “My Brain” etc. It is exactly like saying “My Car” and what does this mean. The car is a different entity from me hence I say “My Car”. So since we say “My Body” or “My Mind”, it can be understood that I am different from this body or mind and hence to say I am not what I physically am is very apt.

Before we go further into Gita and its messages let us try to know more about ourselves and what Vedas have got to tell about the same. What we plan to discuss here are called the chaturvakyas (four statements) or mahavakyas in Vedas and they very well sum up the idea. Deeply indebted to the book “Hinduism – Frequently Asked Questions” by Chinmaya Mission for setting this very clear.

The chaturvakyas are in form a conversation between a disciple and his Guru and also the self declaration of the disciple.

The first vakya is “Prajnanam brahmanam” - Here the guru explains to the disciple that your “Consciousness itself is Brahman”. Our consciousness makes us do all our actions but itself does not do anything. It is aware of all actions but still does not do anything by itself. It is omnipotent and thus exists everywhere.It is the same Spiritual Core in all beings and things. This verse is taken from Aitareya Upanishad, Rig Veda. This is lakshana vakya - Statement of Definition

The second vakya is “Tatwamasi” – Here the guru says “That Thou Art” or “That Brahman is you”. This statment clarfies the doubt of the student and reinstates that "That Brahman is you". This also pushes the idea that the student is not merely the physical body that he thinks he is and thus his powers are unlimited. This also triggers the step of Self-enquiry as Guru says that Brahman is within you and yourself only. So you need not look for him outside as He is in you only. In fact, He is not either inside or outside but everywhere. I hope this vakya most of us has come across when ever we have seen an Ayappa Temple. Tatwamasi is the slogan that catches your eye when you climb the 18 steps at Sabarimala. Tatwamasi proclaims that each individual (though we cannot call it Individual after realizing the oneness, individual here refers to the bodily individual) is the same and one Brahman. We have heard of the song which goes as "swami thinthakathom, ayappa thinthakathom". Though now it is a rhyming lyrics that makes our feet tap but the real lyrics was "swami nintakatu OM, ayappa nintakathu OM". how wonderfully have our people twisted the lyrics and go the entire philosophical greatness go upside down. "swami nintakatu OM, ayappa nintakathu OM" - where one devotee (all devotees call each other swami, not by names which is a wonderful thought that all are swami or God or Brahman) calls other and says "it is OM that is in you" and that devotee replies "Ayappa it is the same OM in you too". This is one reason I always love to go to Sabarimala because there is no divide of caste or religion there. Any person practising any religion can go there. Perhaps, the only temple were you find Ayappa and his muslim friend Vaavar being worshipped - Tatwamasi. This verse is taken from Chhandogya Upanishad of Sama Veda. This is upadesha vakya - Statement of Instruction.

The thrid vakya is "Aham Brahma Asmi" - Here the student through Dhyana or meditation realizes that he himself is the Brahman. He frees himself from the burden of the thought that he is different from the Brahman and finds oneness with Him. The Atman and Paramatman are the same.This verse is taken from Brihadaranyaka Upanishad of Yajur Veda. This is anubhava vakya - Statement of Experience.

The fourth vakya is "Ayam Atma Brahma" - The guru then tells the student to revel in Self as "This Self is the Brahman". Though these verses seems to be overlapping and hence may rise doubts in our minds, we need to understand all this tries to achieve the same and hence cannot be different at core. This verse is taken from Mandukya Upanishad of Atharva Veda and is called anusandhana vakya - Statement of Constant Practice

To summarize these vakyas,

1. Prajnanam Brahma - Lakshana vakya - Conciousness is Brahman

2. Tat Tvam Asi - Upadesha vakya - That Thou Art

3. Aham Brahma Asmi - Anubhava vakya - I am Brahman

4. Ayam Atma Brahma - Anusandhana vakya - This Self is Brahman

So our Vedas hit at the roots of the thoughts that man is different from others or even non-living objects. The Brahman is the same in all and we are that Brahman only. As explained in a previous post, we are not the physical body but Atman and Atman is nothing but Paramatman.

When we say Brahman here it does not refer to Braahman - one of the varnas is Chatur varnas. We will go more into details of these varnas when we discuss the Karma yoga chapter of Bhagavad Gita.

Grief and Love - A Selfish Showoff

Shri Bhagavan uvacha
Ashochyaananvashochastvam
Pragnavaadamscha bhaashase
Gathasoonagathasoomscha
Naanushochanthi panditaah

Meaning: You are lamenting about someone who need not be lamented upon. And then you speak like a wise man as well. Learned people do not mourn over either living or dead

Nah thvayvaaham jaathu naasam
Nah thvam nay may janadipah
Na chaiva na bhavishyamah
Sarvey vayamataha param

Meaning: There never has been a time when I have not existed, you have not existed, and these kings have not existed. There shall never be a time in future as well, when we all do not exist.


Na jayate mriyathay va kadachith
Naayam bhootvahbavitah van a booyaha
Ajo nithyaha shaasvathoyam puraano
Nah hanyathay hanyamaanay shareeray

Meaning: Atman has never taken birth nor has it ever died. Never has it perished nor regenerated. It has always existed from time unknown and does not die when the body is killed.

Jaathasya hi dhruvo mrithyur
Dhruvam janma mrithasya cha
Thasmadparihareyarthay
Na tvam shochithumarhasi

Meaning: Death is sure for all that has taken birth. And rebirth is sure for all that has died. So you have no rights to lament upon something that you cannot change.

This has been a longer run with verses unlike previous posts where we went one by one. But this was done as I felt all these verses read together would make more sense. Let us try to analyze the same

In fact these sentences are self explanatory and hence needs very less analysis. The underlining statement is we are not what we physically “are”. Basically we are not what we call each other by names. We are actually the Atman - Atman, which never dies.

Bhagavan in the first verse mentioned in the post states that grief of losing beloved ones or things and intelligence cannot co-exist. We feel sad either on loss or on fear of loss of our life or our beloved ones. But then that grief does not have any base, once we realize that our beloved ones have not died and have in fact just changed their bodies just like we change our soiled or torn down dress. This is again a comparison beyond compare. So a learned person never falls indefinitely sad over the death or loss of the beloved.

It is to be understood that there never has been a time we never existed. So we are not we the physical body that we have taken shelter temporarily but the Atman. And one thing is for sure, those that have taken birth shall surely die – the one that takes birth is this body as Atman has always been there; it has never died so there raises no question of it taking birth again.

Then do not we have right to fall sad or cry when our beloved departs? Even Swami Vivekananda cried our loud when his beloved friend died. But when his disciple queried, he said “It is just a reaction of my senses it is bound to happen”. But we should not allow it take over our brains or thoughts and spoil this wonderful life. As a fact, most of the sadness that we show is just show off. We feel our love for someone at its maximum when we feel we are losing them, right? But on thinking deeply, is this love not selfish. We mourn because we may not be able to see them or love them anymore. How many times would we have wept thinking that those who left us would miss us or will not be able to be with us anymore? No, it is not the same.

Many times it would have happened to us that we start hating or at least stop loving a person who was once our best friend or whom we loved very much (could be our relative as well) just because they do not reciprocate the same any more. So was not our love to them conditional? We hear people saying “I would not be able to live without you for even a moment” and the same people living happily ever after separation.

Earlier I was mentioning that the sadness that we show is more or less a show off. How many of us would have actually regularly called and spoke to the family in which a death has happened before the event and how many of us do the same, say after a month or so. Then what was all that we showed off during the ceremony. I know I may be sounding too practical or even cruel. But I myself have felt this many times. Many times after I have cried, and later questioned myself. I know I am not able to put what I want to communicate in the right words, but I hope I might have ignited a spark or two in the reader’s minds.

Our mind is very much conditioned. We actually cry because we are expected to cry. We walk into a house where somebody has died and we find the in mates roaming around, welcoming guests and speaking to all without carrying a sad face, our immediate comment would be “Oh!! They are not at all sad in the demise of that person” or “It seems they were waiting for him to die”. So our society has set some unwritten rules which lies deep beneath in our minds and comes up as time arises.

Many times we see people who have well controlled themselves after initial outburst suddenly show a sad face accompanied with saddest of dialogues on seeing somebody who has come to pay homage. Till that time he or she was OK but then suddenly what happened? The most humorous scene is like say after a month or two; somebody walks in who was not able to see us during the death ceremonies. People who were till that moment laughing, watching TV or Cinema, show up with a sad face.

We have a habit of keeping us reminded of all good moments and then make ourselves sad. We believe we have no right to laugh, speak loud, be happy or even smile, if someone near has died. We can even see people scolding young children, who are totally unaware and telling them “you are not supposed to laugh or play when someone has died.” We can hear people saying especially women “see her husband is dead and still she wears bindhi, wears silk saree etc”.

Dears, I know there are exceptions and may be my examples too are a bit over board. But I hope I have been able to communicate what I intended to.

I am not saying we should not be sad and that we should never miss or remember people. But yes there is a limit to it. In fact, I adore the South Indian clan who take out the dead to cemetery in a procession, like a celebration with musical band and dance. It actually celebrates death. Death is nothing to mourn but a natural progression of the Atman. And if we really take this message to heart, next time we will not leave our senses out of control and our brains shall definitely rein them in.

Earlier, I said Love is selfish but let me add only one relation that I have found as an exception to this is love of parents to their children. With exceptions, the love of children back to their parents is also conditional and driven by selfish motives. Else we will not see parents complaining after marriage of their kids, or we may not even see so many Old Age Homes coming up. Just doing a flash back to our story as in movies, just see how much pains they have taken to bring us up to this stage. When we were not capable to so anything for ourselves, how much pains they would have taken to give us everything we need even without us asking for the same. How many times our parents would have cleaned our excretions? And today we cannot stand to listen to their advices. “Mom, there is a huge generation gap. You never know what we need”. Yes, there needs to be a change in approaches here and there but then are we doing right? We cannot wait to hear our parents say something more than once, the third time we say “come on, enough is enough. How many times would you tell the same thing? I am sick of it”. But they never fell sick hearing us cry in our babyhood, cleaning our excretions or whatever it may be. And even today however we may treat them; they would be the only ones and only ones who would be there for our aid when we would be in some trouble. Yes, they can be wrong but then there is a way to correct them as well. We can always tell them “with due respect, I disagree to your point of view.” But no, we straight away shout on their faces.

Ok coming back to the verses, we can summarize it as: We are not what we look we are. We are nothing but Atman and this Atman is never destroyable. This Atman is nothing but the Param Athman, the Para Brahmam. And this is well said as Aham Brahma Asmi meaning “I am Brahman”

How I killed a cow

It so happened while I was returning from the Gita Discourse by Swamiji, I saw this cow lying on its sides, near the railway track. First I thought it could be rubbing its sides but then I saw it moving only its legs. I kept moving forward but something held me back. I took a U-turn and went besides it and waited near it, still on my two-wheeler. I hoped someone else to come so that we could together do the needful, but no one turned up. Many of them gave it a glance and walked away. Confused and feeling helpless I too turned back and left for home.

While riding my bike, I thought if only I could get number of any Animal Welfare organization, I can pass on this information. I reached home and then there are no marks for any right guesses. I “Google”-ed. I got a few numbers and saw two of them close by, with little knowledge of Bangalore that I have. The first one I tried was one Ramakrishna Goashram and since Goashram was meant for cows only I thought it should click. But no one picked the call.

The next number was of CUPA, but the number given on the site was wrong. I tried all 2 to 3 numbers given there but all failed. But then I saw something on a site which hinted me that I should try the same number but this time after prefixing it with a “2”. And to my surprise it worked. These are times when you feel the presence of HIM. And exactly this is what he said in Gita “sambhawaami yugay yugay” – he would take incarnations in our mind as and when so required.

But then no one responded to the first number and a lady picked the call when I tried the second number.

“Hi, is it CUPA office”

“No, this is a residence”

“I found this number on one of the websites”

“This is not CUPA office but a residence. I am a CUPA volunteer and you can tell me”

“I found a cow lying on roadside near to the railway track and since I could not find any help from anyone, searched the Internet and got your number”

“Ok, what has happened to it?”

“I don’t know might be it is hit by the train or any other vehicle. If it was hit by train probably it should have breath it’s last by now so may be it has some other issue”

“See, we have received another call from Koramangala, is it the same cow?”

“I do not think so as this incident is near Indiranagar, to be more precise near Bayapanahalli West Railway Cabin”

“Ok, what’s your good name?”

“I am Venki here”

“See Venki, we have only one ambulance to pick injured animals and that is now somewhere in Koramangala. It is a pregnant cow which has got its forelegs fractured. So only once it returns and then, you see, if it has not died then we can immediately attend your case. So may be in the morning at about 6:30 – 7:00 you can go there, check and let us know if the cow is still alive and then give me a call back”

“6:30 – 7:00? Now the time is 8:30 in the night and you mean to say the cow would survive the 11 to 12 hours of pain. I do not think so, it should die by then.”

“But what to do Venki, there are so many cases like this in Bangalore and Bangalore is a very big place to cover. We receive many incidents like this but then since we have limited infrastructure, you know, we may not be able to attend all cases.”

“But then…”

“Ok you do one thing. I will give you a number. It is the number of the reception of CUPA. You can speak to one Mr. Anil there and apprise him of the situation. Let us see what he has got to say and then we will proceed further. Give me a ring back and let me know what he has got to say”. There was an air of commanding in her voice but then I decided to keep that aside and work towards our common goal.

I rang the number she gave me.

“Hello, CUPA”

“Hi, I am Venki here and I would like to report about a cow which has been badly hit it seems.”

“Is it in Koramangala? Then our people are already there?”

“No, it is not in Koramangala. It is near Bayapanahalli West Railway Cabin”

“What happened?”

“I really do not know. I saw it lying there and then rang you guys up for help”

“Is the owner of the cow there?”

“I do not know. I saw it, waited for some help, no one came and then I called you guys.”

“Ok Sir, we will call you back in five minutes”

I called up that lady and informed her about the same.

“Venki, please do give me a call and update the status when Anil calls you back”

“Ok”, I confirmed.

Anil called me up in 10 minutes

“Sir, we can go and pick the cow in another 30 mins. Can you please tell me the exact location?”

I was not aware by what name the road is called or even the place’s name. But I made an attempt by explaining the route I normally take

“See, when you come from Indiranagar 100 ft road and take a right you are in Old Madres Road, right? A few meters and then we can see a turn to the left, before we reach the turn to the 80 ft. road.”

“Yes Sir”

“And then you would see a railway cross. You should not cross it but take the left road which goes parallel to the track and then about half-a-kilometer ahead you would see another railway cross and the cow is lying there.”

“Sir, I am not much aware of that location”

“Ok, if you guys can come till Banaswadi Railway Station I can take you guys to that location”

“That would be nice sir. I will call you once the driver comes”

I called up that lady and updated her. She was happy

“See Venki, now you should think about becoming a volunteer of CUPA”

“Hey!! See, I do not want to make any commitment and then go back on it. I came across a situation and called you up guys.”

“No Venki, there are so many cases like this in Bangalore. And we have very less local support or volunteer to help these poor animals.”

“I understand and would always be happy to help you. But before I commit, let us meet up in your office sometime and then we will decide”


“Ok.”

“Ok, I shall update you once the driver calls me”

“Thanks Venki”

I waited for sometime but there was no call. I was about to have my dinner when I got a call from CUPA office.

“Sir, it is about that hit cow issue. I am the driver speaking, where is the location”

I told him the route again but this guy knew the place very well and was also supporting me with the place name and road name. The road is supposed to be Jeevana Halli main road.

“Since you know the location, I think you can go on your own and pick the cow. But in case you face any difficulty in locating the cow, please call me. I shall come and show it to you.”

“Ok Sir.”

I thought all has ended well. But about an hour later I got a call

“Sir, we spotted the cow but the owner is not allowing taking it”

I was surprised. I never thought such an issue would arise and I was even more surprised what I could do in this matter when the owner himself is disagreeing. And here begins my personal degradation

“See, I have never been in such situation before and do not know what needs to be done. You can probably speak to your managers, get them involved and solve the issue”

“Ok sir, I shall call you back”

I called that lady and told her what happened

“See Venki, the owner wants the cow to die so that he can sell it for meat at ShivajiNagar or so. Can you go there and tell them that we have come with police aid and that the owner would be in trouble if he does not co-operate. Also I do not know kannada. If you could go and tell the owner”

“Even I do not know kannada, and frankly I have never been into this before. It would be nice if yourself or your managers can go there and take control of the situation”

She was furious

“Ok, so you do not want to go”

“No” I said in a lower tone filled with guilt

“Ok then, let me see what I can do else we have no option but to let the cow die”

“But please do update me the status, if possible”

“No Venki, it is not possible. We get numerous calls like this daily and then it is not possible to call each back and update the status. If you want you can call CUPA office tomorrow and ask for yourself”

“Thanks”

“Thanks and bye”

Frankly, I was really disturbed by this. I should have made one more attempt to help that cow but then something stopped me. I would not list any of the reasons that has happened in the background for all of them would be a mere excuse compared to the life of a poor creature.

I went to bed with my heart full of shame and guilt

Next morning, I called up CUPA and asked.

“Sir that owner did not let us take the cow and it seems it died”

It died or not, I died that moment. I have killed a cow!!! Hopefully next time I get a chance, I do not end up going to bed with shame and guilt.

I salute the selfless service given by CUPA for this cause. In this world, when man kills man and does not care for him, here are a lot of people who at 10 in the night go to pick an injured cow and help it recover. Hats Off!!! And let God Bless!!!

For those who would like to call up CUPA and help them in helping these poor animals; their number in Bangalore is 080-22947301.

Radha Sankalpa - Body and Chariot

Before adding more about the subject, let me add something about the war itself. The war as already stated is a war in our minds not on the battlefield. But for a minute let us think about Mahabharata war as something on battlefield itself and analyze who is fighting whom. Is it not brothers fighting brothers? Even if we say Kauravas and Pandavas many not be born of same parents but is not there a person fighting for Kauravas who is the eldest brother of Pandavas. I had touched upon this in my blog on Apr 16.

At the end of the war when Kunti asks Pandavas to do post-death rituals for Karna and that Karna was their elder brother, they are shocked and even go up to level of cursing Kunti. There they say had you told us before this war would not have happened.

Now let us see the bigger picture. Though today we see brothers and sisters fighting each other, a true realization that the person being affected also came from my mother’s womb would definitely stop us from fighting. It is the Dritharashtra in us that makes us fight with our brothers and sisters – the maya that forces us not to see the truth behind the veil. Now let us think about our neighbor or anyone for that matter – are we all not sons and daughters of that great God. If we can overpower our feeling of selfishness cannot we consider them as our brothers and sisters? And once we do that will not the war within us cease to exist. As all wars and conflicts are first formed in mind before they actually happen. That we had seen in case when Draupadi insulted Duryodhana (blog of Apr 16). The bad feeling that Duryodhana developed there culminated in the Kurukshetra war.

Now back to warfront. After coming back to their chariots, Arjuna asks Krishna his charioteer to take the chariot and park it in middle of the two armies.

He says let me see for once all those who have come desiring a war and Krishna obliges. And then standing there Arjuna sees people of age of his great grandfather, grandfather, father, son, grandson and great grandson. It may be remembered that at fag end of the “Ajnathavasa” Arjuna himself had fought with and defeated all these Maharadhis, all alone, that too not revealing himself.

More than what he physically sees, this more of introspection. He feels he is fighting his own people; the impact of this is going to be on even two generations to come. This is a great enlightenment, a very noble thought.

The war that Krishna asks Arjuna to fight is never the physical war with Kauravas but is his war within. Krishna has never asked Arjuna to fight with Kauravas. A political blood shedding war is never preached and can never be preached by Him. It is our misunderstanding that makes us think so.

This could mean before we actually pick up any fight, it is also good to think for once whom are we fighting against – are they not our own people. No, we are not speaking of any kind of attachment here; but a quick thinking as to what and who benefits out of a war. Now, after speaking of Kurkshetra war as a symbolic war of the good and evil within us, it also may be asking us to take stock of all the evils that we have accumulated over a period of time, to know what we are going to fight against. And then there are all chances that we may feel there is no point in living on this earth after sacrificing all those evils (which we consider are essential to our living) and that going to beg is much better than that, exactly as Arjuna felt and communicated to Krishna in following verses

arjuna uvacha

nihathya dhartharaashtran nah

ka preeti syaajanardhana

papamevaashreadasman

hathvai thanathaayina

(hey Janardhana, what happiness do we get by killing sons of dritharashtra? Even by killing this dushta we would be doing nothing but sin)

Arjuna keeps his bow and arrow down telling he cannot fight them. Before we continue there is one more big point to be discussed here which is the Radha Kalpana.

It can be noted that Arjuna himself did not walk down to the centre of the area where two armies were standing but being owner of the chariot asked Krishna his charioteer to take the chariot to the centre. It is said in Kadopanishad that human body is like a chariot and the same has been brilliantly illustrated by Ved Vyasa. The Upanishad says:

Aathman radhin vidhvi, shareeram rathamevacha

budhvim tu sarathim vidhvi, manaha prigahameva cha

indriyani hayaanyahu vishayamstheshu ghorochan

Aatmendriya manoyuvantham bhothethyahurmaneeshin

Which means: - the body is a chariot whose owner is the Atman, the horses are the Indriyas or senses, the reins represent the mind and the charioteer is our brain - a comparison beyond comparisons. Now let us analyze the same. It is the charioteer who guides the horses using the reins to take the owner to the destination that he needs to go to. Similarly in this world it depends on how well we control our senses. The four horses above also indicate the senses we have - eyes, ears, nose and skin (tongue is counted with skin). These senses always create a thrive in us to behave in certain ways. But then on what does our behaviour depend? How we use our mind or heart to react to that situation. If we leave things to our mind only (when we say mind only it means we react without thinking without using our brains) we are sure to be carried away in most of the cases. It would be like a chariot (body) without charioteer (brains) moving without any direction and control. But then if we control this reins (mind) with our charioteer (brains) then we are sure to take the horses (senses) to the place that the owner (atma) wants to move. So Atman can be taken to its destination only when the brain controls our senses using our mind. This is the Radha Sankalpa.

More of Gita in next

Who is dritharashtra - none but you and me

Before I begin this blog, I would like to touch upon a remark made in my previous blog. Regarding the joining of Yuyutsu with Pandavas I had observed - "we also find that in the task of overpowering the evil in us, the easiest should be to overcome the tendency to pick a fight". Readers may please understand it was my own interpretation and not Swamiji's words. But on further thinking, I felt it could be considered as follows: We should use our spirit to fight, not to fight against the right but against the evil or the wrong. Some people prefer to use the word incorrect rather than wrong which too is a polite way of putting it. Needs to practice on that for time being, so I continue writing the way it naturally comes to me now.

It is said the purpose of a "grantha" is understood by reading the first and last word of it. For example in case of Gita, the first word is "Dharma" and last word is "mama" which read together is "mama dharma" meaning "My Dharma". So Bhagavad Gita tries to explain "The Dharma" that we need to follow.

The first sloka of Bhagavad Gita is

"Dritharashtra Uvacha

Dharmakshetra Kurukshetra
Samavetha Yuyutsuvha
Mamakah Paandavaaschai
Kimkurvatha Sanjaya"

Literally translates into - Dhritharashtra asks

Hey Sanjaya, what are my sons and Pandavaas, who have come with desire to battle, doing in Dhramkshetra or Kurukshetra

So how is this Dritharashtra like you and me? It comes from a similarity in our thoughts, the thoughts which makes us feel that things, events, people are mine or somebody Else's'. It is these thoughts that is the seed for all our miseries and these miseries are not less than a war within us. This sense of attachment we have makes us possessive when we lose or tend to lose or fear to lose something. This sense of attachment is so pervasive that we bind ourselves to a thing as small as pen or a pin. "It is mine" we usually tend to say. "My father, my mother, my siblings, my house, my car" and so on. And how many times would we have cried, forget crying atleast really really felt bad when someone Else's father died, mother died, sibling died or a house was shattered into pieces in an earthquake or we saw a car on the road totally battered after an accident. But when it happens to us..yes we react. Even Lord Buddha had said the same..desires leads to miseries.

In yet another incident, Dritharashtra himself says to his father Ved Vyasa "Father, I know all that you know. I know what is Dharma and what is Adharma. I know how they are different as well. But still this selfishness of mine and selfish world makes me think for those who are mine.

So this is another beautiful symbolism we see in this epic story. Dritharashtra's blindness represents the blindness that we have accepted. With all knowledge that we have and is required, we still tend to behave like fools. We are selfish. We distinguish between those that is ours and those that are not , forgetting we walked in alone and will also go alone from this earth. We turn our eyes away from the truth because that suits our situation more but at same time lament somebody doing it crying out loud that it is wrong.

We fail to do our duty but blame others for not doing it. We never vote for an election but we blame the leaders. We always spit on roads but we curse those who spit from bus when we are walking on roadside. We always put garbage on roadside though there is a bin nearby, or on railway tracks, in a cinema hall but blame authorities not for cleaning it. When it comes to our parents, our kids, our siblings we tend to be selfish. Then we may bribe people, we may break rules but when the same is done by others we cry foul.

So our brain is blinded by the veils of attachment, selfishness, unnecessary lamenting on those that need not be lamented upon. It is this sense of attachment, Gita primarily targets. It encourages to do our duty without attachment.

So who does Dritharashtra represent - none but you and me. It is advisable every day before we go to sleep, to think - what did I do today that was like Dritharashtra - did I turn a blind eye to some truth, did I cheat someone, did I lie to someone, was I selfish, did I show any favouritism. It is the removal of this Dritharashtra from us that this Dharma Yudha is all about