Geeta Dhara – Gurukul

śrībhagavānuvāca:
imaṁ vivasvate yogaṁ proktavānahamavyayam 
vivasvānmanave prāha manurikśvākave’bravīt (4.1)

The Lord said,“It was I who taught the eternal yog to the Sun- (Vivaswat), who then taught it to Manu, who taught it to Ikshwaku.”

It was he,Sri Krishn says, who at the beginning of devotion (kalp), imparted the knowledge of eternal yog to the Sun (symbolizing righteous impulses), from whom it was passed on to Manu (symbolizing mind), son and then to Ikshwaku (symbolizing aspiration).Sri Krishn, as we have seen, was a yogi.

So it is a yogi, a sage dwelling in the Supreme Spirit, who initiates the everlasting yog at the beginning or, in other words, at the commencement of worship and transmits it into the life breath. The Sun represents the way of God-realization. God is the “one light that gives light to all.’’Yog is everlasting.Sri Krishn has said earlier that the inception, the seed, of this process is indestructible. 

If it is but begun, it does not cease until it has achieved perfection. The body is cured by medicines, but worship is the remedy for the Soul. The beginning of worship is the beginning of Self-cure. This act of devotion and meditation is also the creation of an accomplished sage. 

To the primitive man lying unconscious in the night of ignorance, who has not given a thought to yog, is brought to the perfection of yog when he meets with a sage-just by looking at the great man, by listening to his voice, by rendering albeit an inadequate service to him, and by associating with him. 

Goswami Tulsidas has also said this: “Ultimate bliss is granted to the man who has perceived God as well as to the man who has been noticed by God.”

Sri Krishn says that at the beginning he taught yog to the Sun. If a realized sage just casts a glance at a devotee, the refinement of yog is transmitted into the life-breath of the lucky Soul. All beings that live are animated by the sun-by God who is subject to himself alone. Since light is life or breath, it is ordained that the Supreme Spirit can be attained only by the regulation of life-breath. 

Transmission of pious instincts into early man is the imparting of knowledge of yog to the Sun, after which in due time the seed of this perfection sprouts in the mind. This is how gods pass on the knowledge to Manu. After the seed has sprouted in the mind, there will arise a wish for the realization of the sage’s utterance. If the mind has something in it, there is also the desire to achieve it. This is Manu’s preaching yog to Ikshwaku.

There will be a longing, or aspiration to do that ordained act which is eternal and which liberates from the bondage of action. If it is so, there is the will to act and worship is quickened.
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evam paramparāprāptam imam rājarṣayo viduḥ,
sa kālene’ha mahatā yogo naṣṭaḥ parantapa (4.2)

“Derived from tradition, this yog was known to sages of the royal stage (rajarshi),but at this point, O the destroyer of foes, it declined and was almost extinct.”

This yog, transmitted by an accomplished saint into the breath of the primitive, barbaric man, and thereafter flowing from breath into the mind, thence to longing (or aspiration), and from that to active practice, thus developing by gradual stages, reaches the royal stage and is then revealed to the seeker. 

Extraordinary powers are generated in worshippers who have reached this level. At this critical stage, yog almost ceases to be in this world (body). So the problem is how to carry it beyond this dividing line. It seems that every seeker is destroyed after reaching this stage, but according to Sri Krishn it is not so. One who has taken refuge in him as a loved devotee and dear friend is spared.
*
sa evā’yam mayā te’dya
yogaḥ proktaḥ purātanaḥ,
bhakto’si me sakhā ce’ti
rahasyam hyetad uttamam (4.3)
*
“That is the timeless yog which I now impart to you, because you are my devotee and beloved friend, and because this yog embodies a supreme mystery.”

Arjun is a Kshatriya worshipper, of the level of rajarshi at which, lashed by waves of achievement, worshippers are in danger of being destroyed. It is not that the beneficial nature of yog is cancelled at this stage, but worshippers usually stumble after arriving at this point. 

That eternal and supremely mysterious yog Sri Krishn now imparts to Arjun, because his disciple is in the same way on the brink of destruction. And he does this because Arjun is devoted to him, single-mindedly reliant upon him, and a beloved friend.

When the God we crave for-the accomplished sage-abides in the Soul and begins to instruct him, only then does real worship begin. Here God and accomplished sage- teacher, as prompters, are synonymous.If God descends into heart at the level at which we stand, begins to check and guide, and support in case the worshipper stumbles-only then is the mind fully restrained. Unless God stands by as a charioteer, close to the Soul as a prompter, there cannot be an adequate initiation to his path. Before this the adorer is on trial; he has not yet achieved the state of true worship.
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arjuna uvāca
aparam bhavato janma param janma vivasvataḥ,
Katham etad vijāniyām tvam ādau proktavān iti (4.4)

Arjun said,“Since Vivaswat (craving for God) was bent in the distant antiquity and your birth is only recent, how am I to believe that you had taught yog to him?”

Sri Krishn has had a recent birth, in remembered time, whereas the breath of knowledge he claims to have transmitted to the Sun belongs to “the dark backyard and abyss of time.” 

So how is Arjun to believe that Sri Krishn is the one who had enunciated yog at the beginning?Sri Krishn resolves the doubt thus in next verse.
*
śrībhagavān uvāca
bahūni me vyatītāni janmāni tava cā’rjuna,
tāny aham veda sarvāṇi na tvam vettha parantapa (4.5)

The Lord said, “O Arjun, you and I have passed through innumerable births but, O vanquisher of foes, whereas you do not have memory of your previous births, I do.”

Sri Krishn and Arjun have had numerous births, but the latter does not remember them. The worshipper does not know. But he who has beheld his Self knows it and one who has realized the unmanifest knows it. According to Sri Krishn, his birth is unlike that of others.

Attainment of the Self is distinct from attainment of a body. Sri Krishn’s manifestation cannot be seen with physical eyes. He is birthless, hidden, and eternal, and yet he is born with a human body. Therefore, they who preach that death of the physical body brings liberation offer, but, a false consolation.

A Soul realizes the ultimate essence while he is yet in his assumed human body. If there is even the slightest flaw, he has to undergo another birth. Till now Arjun has thought Sri Krishn to be a mortal like him. That is why he speaks of his recent birth.

[As expounded by most revered Gurudev Swami Adgadanand Jee Paramhans]

Main Source: www.yatharthgeeta.com
Audio Link:https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLLKeK4s8zBZFWYK9XfbZw5BJsJctJkVUr

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“Humble Wishes”

Many loving expositors of the Geeta have given this chapter
the title of “Karm Yog” (“Way of Action”),
but this is not appropriate.
Yogeshwar Krishn mentioned action in Chapter 2,
and his elaboration of its significance created a reverent attitude towards the subject. In the present chapter Sri Krishn has defined action as the conduct of yagya.
It is certain that yagya is the ordained mode.
Whatever else is done by men, besides this,
is one form or another of worldly servitude.
It will be affirmed in Chapter 4 that conduct of yagya is the action which effects freedom from the material world.

The chapter describes the origin of yagya as well as what the conduct of this discipline has to offer. It then portrays the characteristic features of yagya. The importance of conducting yagya is repeatedly stressed, for this is the ordained action.
They who do not practise it are not only sinful lovers of pleasure, but they also live vainly.
Sages of yore had realized the state of attainment
and actionlessness through yagya.
They were men who had rejoiced
and felt adequate in the Self.
So there was left nothing more for them to do. Yet they continued to be assiduously engaged in their task for the guidance of their less fortunate fellowmen who had lagged behind.Sri Krishn compares himself with these great Souls.
He, too, is left with nothing to do and nothing to achieve,
and yet he devotes himself to action for the good of mankind.
Thus he reveals himself as a yogi, an ascetic or saint, engaged in constant meditation.
He is indeed, as we have seen, a Yogeshwar,
an adept in yog.
Further, in the chapter,Sri Krishn repeatedly cautions sages like himself that they ought not to confuse and undermine the faith of the initiated seekers, even though they may be engaged in material tasks, because they can achieve the ideal state only through action.

If they stop acting, they will be destroyed. The right action requires the waging of war by concentrating on the Self
and the Supreme Spirit.
But what is the need of war when the eyes are closed
and a man’s thought is centered on contemplation,
and when the senses are all confined within the intellect?
According to Sri Krishn,
when a seeker sets out on the path of worship,
desire and anger, and attraction and repulsion appear
as frightening hurdles in his way.
To fight and overcome these negative impulses is war. Entering progressively deeper into the state of meditation by gradual elimination of the demoniacal,
alien impulses of Kurukshetr is war.
So this is a war which rages in the state of meditation.
This, in brief, is Chapter 3 and, as it may be seen from the attempted summary, we have not yet been told what precisely action or yagya is. When we understand the nature of yagya, we will also comprehend the nature of action.

This chapter mainly stresses the instructional role of sages,
of great Souls, who have perceived reality.
The chapter is thus a directive for revered teachers.
They will lose nothing if they do not undertake any action
and they will not gain anything for themselves if they do it.
And yet they have to be active for the welfare of mankind. However, nothing of real significance has been said for seekers who wish to realize God. They are not told what they have to do for this. This chapter is, therefore, not about the Way of Action. The action which has to be undertaken has not yet been illumined. So far all that we have been told is that the conduct of yagya is the prescribed action. But, then, we are kept in dark about
what yagya is.
It has to be admitted, though, that the most detailed portrayal of war is found only in Chapter 3 in the whole of the Geeta.

Glancing at the Geeta as a whole, it is in Chapter 2 that Sri Krishn exhorts Arjun to fight because the body is destructible.
He should fight because the body is ephemeral.
This is the only concrete reason for fighting given in the Geeta.
Later while explaining the Way of Knowledge,
war is said to be the only means
for achieving the most auspicious end.
Sri Krishn has told Arjun that knowledge he has imparted to him is related to the Way of Knowledge. The knowledge is that Arjun should fight
because it is profitable for him in victory as well as defeat.
Later, in Chapter 4,Sri Krishn will tell Arjun that, resting firmly in yog he should sever the irresolution in his heart with the sword of discrimination.
 This sword is sword of yog.
There is no reference to war at all from Chapter 5 to Chapter 10. In Chapter 11,Sri Krishn only says that the enemies
have already been slain by him,
so Arjun has just to stand as a proxy and earn glory.
The enemies have been killed even without his killing them; and the power which drives all beings
and objects will also use him as an instrument to effect what he wishes.
So Arjun should stand up boldly and kill his enemies
who are nothing but living corpses.

In Chapter 15, the world will be compared to a mighty-rooted Peepal tree and Arjun will be directed to seek spiritual perfection by cleaving the tree with the axe of renunciation. There is no mention of any war in the later chapters,
although in Chapter 16 there is an account of demons who are doomed to hell.
The most detailed portrayal of war is thus found
in Chapter 3.
Verses 30 to 43 are concerned with the setup of war,
its inevitability,
the certain destruction of those who refuse to fight,
the names of enemies who have to be killed,
weighing of one’s strength,
and the determination to slay the enemies.
The chapter thus identifies the enemies and, at the end,
also provides the required encouragement to the seeker
to destroy these enemies.
*
Thus concludes the Third Chapter, in the Upanishad of Shreemad Bhagwad Geeta, on the Knowledge of the Supreme Spirit, the Science of Yog, and the Dialogue between Krishn and Arjun, entitled:
*
“Shatru Vinash-Prerna’’ or ‘‘Urging the enemy’s destruction’’
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Thus concludes Swami Adgadanand’s exposition of the Third Chapter of the Shreemad Bhagwad Geeta in *”Yatharth Geeta’’*
*
HARI OM TATSAT

[As expounded by most revered Gurudev Swami Adgadanand Jee Paramhans]

Main Source: www.yatharthgeeta.com
Audio Link:https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLLKeK4s8zBZFWYK9XfbZw5BJsJctJkVUr

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“Humble Wishes”