Shree Bhagavaan uvaacha:
idam tu te guhyatamam pravakshyaamyanasooyave |
jnyaanam vijnyaanasahitam yajnyaatvaa mokshayaseshubhaat || 1 ||
Shree Bhagavaan said:
However, to you who is without fault, I will teach this extremely secret knowledge along with wisdom, having known which, you will be liberated from the inauspicious.
idam : this
tu : however
te : to you
guhyatamam : extremely secret
pravakshyaami : I will teach
anasooyave : faultless
jnyaanam : knowledge
vijnyaana : wisdom
sahitam : along with
yat : which
jnyaatvaa : having known
mokshayase : you will be liberated
ashubhaat : inauspicious
Shri Krishna uses this chapter to progress the theme of the seventh chapter, which was the infinite nature of Ishvara and the finite nature of maaya. He begins the chapter by asserting that the knowledge of Ishvara’s infinite nature will result in liberation. He addresses Arjuna as “anasooya” which means without fault, doubt or prejudice, indicating that those who have begun the process of purification of their minds through karma yoga and devoted meditation will understand this knowledge completely.
First, let us understand the result of knowledge that Shri Krishna is glorifying in this shloka. It is going to give us freedom or liberation from the inauspicious. The word inauspicious in this shloka refers to samsaara or the endless cycle of creation and dissolution that all of us are trapped in.
Next, let us look at what makes this knowledge unique. Shri Krishna says that he is going to reveal not just "jnyaana" or knowledge, but also “vijnyana” or wisdom that we can internalize in our lives. Also, unlike other knowledge that requires action to give a result, this knowledge gives us the result of liberation all by itself. As an example, if we come to know that a mirage in a desert is false, we don’t have to do anything further.
What makes this knowledge even more special is that it is extremely subtle. It is hard for someone to figure out on their own. We need a competent teacher like Shri Krishna to reveal this knowledge to us, as well as a competent student who is ready and unprejudiced. Shri Krishna, urging us to learn this knowledge in the right way through a teacher, calls it secret knowledge. It also shows the level of trust that Arjuna built with Shri Krishna in order to qualify for this knowledge.
Shri Krishna further glorifies this special knowledge in the next shloka.
Footnotes
1. Four things comprise ignorance or incorrect knowledge about our self. Doership, enjoyership, the notion of birth, death and rebirth, and the notion that the "I" in me has a different identity than the universe; all this is ignorance or avidya.
2. This ignorance is driven away by knowledge, which is the true nature of our self.
Showing posts with label ashubhaat. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ashubhaat. Show all posts
Friday, July 27, 2012
Monday, February 6, 2012
Bhagavad Gita Verse 16, Chapter 4
kim karma kimakarmeti kavayopatra mohitaaha |
tatte karma pravakshyaami yajnyaatvaa mokshyaseshubhaat || 16 ||
What is action and what is inaction? Seers are deluded in this regard. To you, I will explain that action, by knowing which you will gain liberation from this inauspicious (nature of samsaara).
kim : what is
karma : action
kim : what is
akarma : inaction
iti : this
kavayaha : seers
atra : in this regard
mohitaaha: are deluded
tat : that
te : you
karma : action
pravakshyaami : explain
yat : that which
jnyaatvaa : knowing
mokshyase : gain liberation
ashubhaat : from this inauspicious
As we continue to move forward in the Gita, we comes across milestones where Shri Krishna takes us from one level of understanding to a more advanced level. With this shloka, Shri Krishna alerts us that the upcoming shlokas will give us a much deeper understanding of the topic of karma or action.
Let us recap what we have learned so far about action and inaction. Action or karma as defined by Shri Krishna is any activity performed with a selfish motive. Inaction or akarma is defined as any activity performed in a selfless manner. In other words, with a yajnya spirit. It is important to revise these definitions because Shri Krishna says that even intelligent people very easily get confused by this terminology, since action typically means any activity and inaction means absence of activity.
Why is this topic important? Unless our intellect fully understands and gets the conviction that we can achieve self-realization through performance of action, we will again and again fall prey to the wrong notion that we should renounce everything.
This is evident in our daily lives. Whenever we feel pressure at our job, we start thinking about changing jobs. If we have to resolve a delicate issue impacting our friends or relatives, we may try to defer or avoid it altogether rather than addressing it. We have an inbuilt tendency to avoid performing actions, even though all our bodies can do is perform action. Therefore, Shri Krishna wants us to have a thorough understanding of the nature of action so that it becomes a part of our life, than something that we just read about.
tatte karma pravakshyaami yajnyaatvaa mokshyaseshubhaat || 16 ||
What is action and what is inaction? Seers are deluded in this regard. To you, I will explain that action, by knowing which you will gain liberation from this inauspicious (nature of samsaara).
kim : what is
karma : action
kim : what is
akarma : inaction
iti : this
kavayaha : seers
atra : in this regard
mohitaaha: are deluded
tat : that
te : you
karma : action
pravakshyaami : explain
yat : that which
jnyaatvaa : knowing
mokshyase : gain liberation
ashubhaat : from this inauspicious
As we continue to move forward in the Gita, we comes across milestones where Shri Krishna takes us from one level of understanding to a more advanced level. With this shloka, Shri Krishna alerts us that the upcoming shlokas will give us a much deeper understanding of the topic of karma or action.
Let us recap what we have learned so far about action and inaction. Action or karma as defined by Shri Krishna is any activity performed with a selfish motive. Inaction or akarma is defined as any activity performed in a selfless manner. In other words, with a yajnya spirit. It is important to revise these definitions because Shri Krishna says that even intelligent people very easily get confused by this terminology, since action typically means any activity and inaction means absence of activity.
Why is this topic important? Unless our intellect fully understands and gets the conviction that we can achieve self-realization through performance of action, we will again and again fall prey to the wrong notion that we should renounce everything.
This is evident in our daily lives. Whenever we feel pressure at our job, we start thinking about changing jobs. If we have to resolve a delicate issue impacting our friends or relatives, we may try to defer or avoid it altogether rather than addressing it. We have an inbuilt tendency to avoid performing actions, even though all our bodies can do is perform action. Therefore, Shri Krishna wants us to have a thorough understanding of the nature of action so that it becomes a part of our life, than something that we just read about.
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