etaam vibhootim yogam cha mama yo vetti tatvataha |
sovikampena yogena yujyate naatra samshayaha || 7 ||
He who understands this, my manifestation and yoga in its essence; he becomes engaged with unperturbed yoga, without a doubt.
etaam : this
vibhootim : manifestation
yogam : yoga
cha : and
mama : my
yaha : he who
vetti : understands
tatvataha : in essence
saha : he
avikampena : unperturbed
yogena : with yoga
yujyate : engages
na : not
atra : any
samshayaha : doubt
What is the result of hearing about Ishvara’s expressions? Shri Krishna says that one who is able to perceive Ishvara as manifesting through expressions becomes established in “avikampena yoga” or a constant, unshakeable connection with Ishvara.
Vibhooti refers to the multiple or pluralistic manifestation of Ishvara, the presence of Ishvara in all forms present in the universe. Yoga, also known as yoga-maaya, is the power that makes this pluralistic manifestation possible. Shri Krishna says that one who knows this vibhooti and yoga as arising from Ishvara is constantly united with Ishvara.
The key here is to develop a vision that goes into the essence of any object or person or situation instead of getting distracted by the form, just like a scrap metal dealer’s vision goes straight into the metal, and not the shape.
How do we develop this vision? Let us bring back the concept of material cause and intelligent cause that we saw earlier. A pot is created by two aspects: the material cause which is clay, and the intelligent cause which is the potter. So for instance, when Shri Krishna said that the seven sages were created by Ishvara, it means that Ishvara is both the “stuff” and the “sculptor”. He is both the material and intelligent cause of those sages. The Mundaka Upanishad illustrates this concept with the example of a spider who creates a web from his own body, using no other external raw material. The spider becomes the material cause and the intelligent cause of the web.
So if our thoughts are made of Ishvara, objects are made of Ishvara, situations are made of Ishvara, if we develop this vision, what will happen to us? We will get established in an unshakeable, unwavering connection with Ishvara. In other words, if we know that Ishvara is present in everything, we will never be disconnected from Ishvara, just like our cell phones are never disconnected from their network no matter which part of the country we visit. We will we able to encounter every situation in life with poise and equanimity, without being shaken up, because everything is ultimately Ishvara.
This state of unwavering yoga is elaborated upon in the next shloka.
Showing posts with label samshayaha. Show all posts
Showing posts with label samshayaha. Show all posts
Thursday, September 6, 2012
Monday, July 2, 2012
Bhagavad Gita Verse 5, Chapter 8
antakaale cha maameva smaranmuktvaa kalevaram |
yaha prayaati sa madbhaavam yaati naastyatra samshayaha || 5 ||
One who, even during the time of departure, abandons his body while remembering me, he achieves my true nature, in this matter there is no doubt.
antakaale : during the time of departure
cha : and
maam : me
eva : even
smaran : remembering
muktvaa : abandons
kalevaram : body
yaha : one who
prayaati : goes
saha : he
madbhaavam : my nature
yaati : achieves
na : no
asti : is
atra : in this matter
samshayaha : doubt
The remainder of this chapter is the answer to the fundamental questions raised by Arjuna : “How does one attain Ishvara at the time of death?” Having addressed all the other questions, Shri Krishna begins to answer that most important question in this shloka. He says that only the one who remembers Ishvara at the time of death will attain Ishvara.
We now have a definite “action item” from Shri Krishna. He asserts that our final goal in life should be this: to remember Ishvara at the time of death. Shri Krishna assures it is so, because he says “in this matter there is no doubt”. It is clearly spelled out for us.
At first glance, it may seem straightforward. All we have to do is to remember Ishvara at the time of death. But it is not so. In most cases, we may not know when we die. We could die in an accident. We could have lost our mental faculties. Our attachment towards our family will occupy our minds. There are so many factors that will prevent us from remembering Ishvara only at the time of death.
So then, how do we get around this problem? Shri Krishna addresses it shortly. First, he explains why our thought at the time of death is so important.
yaha prayaati sa madbhaavam yaati naastyatra samshayaha || 5 ||
One who, even during the time of departure, abandons his body while remembering me, he achieves my true nature, in this matter there is no doubt.
antakaale : during the time of departure
cha : and
maam : me
eva : even
smaran : remembering
muktvaa : abandons
kalevaram : body
yaha : one who
prayaati : goes
saha : he
madbhaavam : my nature
yaati : achieves
na : no
asti : is
atra : in this matter
samshayaha : doubt
The remainder of this chapter is the answer to the fundamental questions raised by Arjuna : “How does one attain Ishvara at the time of death?” Having addressed all the other questions, Shri Krishna begins to answer that most important question in this shloka. He says that only the one who remembers Ishvara at the time of death will attain Ishvara.
We now have a definite “action item” from Shri Krishna. He asserts that our final goal in life should be this: to remember Ishvara at the time of death. Shri Krishna assures it is so, because he says “in this matter there is no doubt”. It is clearly spelled out for us.
At first glance, it may seem straightforward. All we have to do is to remember Ishvara at the time of death. But it is not so. In most cases, we may not know when we die. We could die in an accident. We could have lost our mental faculties. Our attachment towards our family will occupy our minds. There are so many factors that will prevent us from remembering Ishvara only at the time of death.
So then, how do we get around this problem? Shri Krishna addresses it shortly. First, he explains why our thought at the time of death is so important.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)