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