Bhagavad Gita Verse 40, Chapter 11

namaha purastaadatha prishtataste namostu te sarvata eva sarva |
anantaveeryaamitavikramastvam sarvam samaapnoshi tatosi sarvaha || 40 ||
 
Salutations to you from before and behind. Indeed, let there be salutations to you everywhere, O one with infinite power, O one with infinite valour. You pervade all, therefore you are everything.
 
namaha : salutations
purastaat : before
atha : and
prishtataha : behind
te : you
namaha : salutations
astu : may there be
te : you
sarvataha : everywhere
eva : indeed
sarvaha : all
anantaveerya : infinite power
amitavikramaha : infinite valour
tvam : you
sarvam : all
samaapnoshi : pervade
tataha : therefore
asi : you are
sarvaha : everything
 
Arjuna, wielder of Lord Shiva’s Gaandiva bow, was universally regarded as one of the foremost archers of his time. So far, he thought that it was his might and power that was defeating the Kauravas. But now, after beholding the cosmic form, his pride had dropped completely. In this shloka, he acknowledged that his power and valour came from Ishvara, and that he was only the “nimitta”, the instrument for channeling that power.
 
Now, we have seen ten chapters of the Gita. Each chapter is called a “yoga”, because it takes us higher and higher in our spiritual journey if we can understand and implement its teaching. In the previous chapter, Shri Krishna wanted Arjuna to see the one Ishvara in all beings, to see unity in diversity. In this chapter, he wanted Arjuna to see all beings in that one Ishvara, to see diversity ultimately subsumed into unity. Shri Krishna’s goal was fulfilled when Arjuna realized the truth expounded in the Upanishads, declaring here that Ishvara pervades everything, and that he ultimately is everything.
 
So when he recognized Ishwara as the infinite source of all power and valour, and in fact, the ultimate source and cause of everything, Arjuna could not help but repeatedly offer salutations to that cosmic form. But as we saw earlier, he had lost all notions of space and direction. He did not know what was north or south, or what was up or down. So giddy was his state of mind that he wanted to offer salutations to Ishvara from the front, back and all directions.
 
Offering our salutations to Ishvara, also known as "vandanam", is considered one of nine methods of worship. Shree Ramdas Samartha has devoted an entire section of the Dasbodh to describe the glories of vandanam. He considers it one of the simplest and most effective tools to connect with Ishvara. By its very nature, offering salutations or bowing to someone automatically eliminates our ahankaara, our ego, the primary obstacle to connecting with Ishvara.
 
Having understood the purpose of the cosmic form, Arjuna began to ask for Shri Krishna's forgiveness next.
 
Footnotes
1. Vandanam is elaborated in the fifth section of the fourth chapter of the Dasbodh.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 39, Chapter 11

vayuryamognirvarunaha shashaankaha prajaapatistvam prapitaamahashcha |
namo namastestu sahastrakritvaha punashcha bhooyopi namo namaste || 39 ||
 
You are Vayu, Yama, Agni, Varuna, Shashaanka, Prajaapati and Prapitaamaha. Salutations to you a thousand times. Salutations to you, again and again.
 
vayuhu : Vayu
yamaha : Yama
agnihi : Agni
varunaha : Varuna
shashaankaha : Shashaanka
prajaapatihi : Prajaapati
tvam : you
prapitaamaha : Prapitaamaha
cha : and
namaha : salutations
namaha : salutations
te : to you
astu : let there be
sahastrakritvaha : a thousand times
punaha : again
cha : and
bhooyoha : again
api : also
namaha : salutations
namaha : salutations
te : to you
 
Arjuna understood that the source of nature’s power was none other than Ishvara. He saw Ishvara in all the primal forces of nature and listed their presiding deities: Vayu, the lord of wind who sustains all living beings. Yama, the lord of death who ensures justice for everyone. Agni, the lord of fire who provides energy to all beings. Varuna, the lord of life-giving water. Shashaanka, the moon, who nourishes all plants and herbs.
 
How could Ishvara manifest as all these deities? Because Ishvara functions as Prajaapati, also known as Lord Brahmaa, creator of the universe who brought all the deities into existence. Vedic texts refer to Brahmaa as Hiranyagarbha, the golden womb that brought forth the universe. But Ishvara existed even before Brahmaa was created, he is the Prapitaamaha, the great-grandfather, the original person.
 
When we are humbled, when we come in the presence of someone who is infinitely more capable than we are, we could have one of two reactions. If we have no respect for that person, we could harbour feelings of resentment and anger. But in this case, Arjuna was humbled by Ishvara for whom he had the utmost reverence. Knowing that the source of the universe was on his side, all he could do was repeatedly prostrate and offer his salutations. Knowing that it was Ishvara who was doing his work all along, Arjuna’s completely surrendered his pride.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 10, Chapter 3

sahayajnah prajaah srishtvaa purovaacha prajaapatih |
anena prasavishyadhvamesha vostvishtakaamadhuk || 10 ||
 
In ancient times, Prajaapati created humanity along with yajna. He said "through this (yajna) let everyone prosper,  and may it become your fulfiller of wishes".
 
sahayajnah : with yajna
prajaah : humanity
srishtvaa : created
puraa : in ancient times
uvaacha : said
prajaapatih: prajaapati
anena : through this
prasavishyadhvam : may you prosper
eshah : this
vah : for you
astu : become
ishtakaamadhuk : fulfiller of wishes
 
A common question for many of us is: "I understand the concept of selfless dedication. However, how do I know that I will be able to fulfill my material needs if I give up caring for the fruits of action altogether?" Shri Krishna has the answer : perform actions with selfless dedication or yajna, and your material needs will be provided for automatically.
 
If we work for a corporation, we do several different things everyday to fulfill our job responsibilities: respond to emails, attend meetings, draft project plans, make excel documents and so on. Do we ever think : "how much money will I get paid for opening this email? how much money do I get for attending this meeting?" If we have done our job right, the results will automatically come to us in the form of a monthly salary.
 
Shri Krishna explains that yajna is embedded within the fabric of humanity since time immemorial. It is a universal law. Once invoked, that law provides us with all that we need in this world. It becomes the "fulfiller of wishes". And the key to invoke that universal law is to perform selfless action dedicated to a higher ideal.
 
This is the essence of karmayoga.
 
Footnotes
1. Some commentators interpret the word "isthakaamadhuk" to mean "kaamadhenu", the mythological cow that grants any wish asked of her. But even with this interpretation, the essence of this shloka remains unchanged.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 47, Chapter 2

karmanyevaadhikaaraste maa phaleshu kadaachana |
maa karmaphalaheturbhoormaa te sangostvakarmani || 47 ||
 
You only have authority over action, not ever to the result. Don't be motivated by the result, and don't get attached to inaction.
 
karmani : action
eva : only
adhikaaraha : authority
te : your
maa : not
phaleshu : result
kadaachana: ever
maa : no
karmaphalahetuhu : motivated by result
bhuha : become
maa : don't
te : you
asangaha : attached
astu : happen
akarmani : inaction
 
As mentioned earlier, this shloka is probably the most known and oft-quoted shloka in the Gita. There are many chapters in the Gita that go deeper into the layers and layers of meaning packed into this shloka. Given the richness of this shloka, we shall try to understand it to the best extent possible. Since there are several messages in this shloka, let's examine the teaching part by part.
 
Let's start with the first half of the shloka. The message is as follows. Shri Krishna says that we have authority only over the actions performed by us, but never on the result. In other words, we do not have complete control over the outcome of any activity. As we grow older and spend more time in this world, we know this fact instinctively. But because we forget it, we tend to get disappointed when things don't go our way, or get elated when things do.
 
Look at our own lives, we can take any number of examples to test this theory. Take a simple thing as catching a bus that has just arrived on the other side of the road. We run to catch the bus. But even in such a simple task, the outcome is not guaranteed. If we are able to catch the bus then all's well. But there are several other outcomes that could occur. The bus may leave before we get to the stop. We could catch the wrong bus. Once aboard, we may not have the fare. Worst of all, we could get hit by a car while crossing the road.
 
Or consider a complex task as a surgeon performing heart surgery. Take the world's best doctor trained at the world's best college, in the surgery room of the world's best hospital with the world's best surgery team. Even with all these things, that surgeon will never have a 100% success rate.
 
The outcome of any action is like an equation where we provide some of the variables, but not all of them. In fact, we may not even know all the variables that end up determining the outcome.
 
So unless we logically convince ourselves that we do not have complete control over the result of an action, we will not be able to learn the main teaching the second half of this shloka. We will tackle that teaching in the next post.
 
Footnotes
 
1. "Phala" literally means "fruit". Fruit of a result has a "seed" in it, which has the potential to generate yet another action.