Geeta Dhara – Gurukul

karmendriyāṃ sanyamya ya āste manasā smaran,
indriyārthān vimūḍhātmā mithyācāraḥ sa ucyate (3.6)

3.6 -“That deluded man is a dissembler who apparently restrains his senses by violence but whose mind continues to be preoccupied with objects of their gratification.”

Such ignorant men who dwell upon sensual objects while restraining the senses outwardly by hath yog are false men and not men of wisdom at all. It is evident that such practices were prevalent in the age of Sri Krishn, too. There were some who, instead of practicing what ought to be practiced just restrained their senses by unnatural means and claimed that they were wise and perfect. But according to Sri Krishn such people are cunning liars. Whether our preference is the Way of Discrimination or the Way of Selfless Action, work has to be undertaken for each of them.
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yas tv indriyāṇi manasā niyamyā rabhate’rjuna,
karmendriyaiḥ karmayogam asaktaḥ sa viśiṣyate (3.7) 

3.7 – “And, O Arjun, that man is meritorious who restrains his senses with his mind and employs his organs of action to do selfless work in a spirit of complete detachment.”

He is a superior man who exerts inner (rather than external) control over his senses, so that his mind is freed from passions, and who does his duty in a state of total desirelessness. Now, although we have known that work has to be done, the difficulty is that we do not yet understand the precise nature of this work. That is also Arjun’s problem and Sri Krishn now proceeds to resolve it.
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niyatam kuru karma tvam karma jyāyo hy akarmaṇaḥ,
śarīrayātrā’pi ca te na prasidhyed akarmaṇaḥ (3.8)

3.8 -“You ought to do your prescribed action as enjoined by scripture, for doing work is better than not doing any, and in the absence of it even the journey of your body may not be completed.”

Arjun is prompted to do prescribed action-the ordained task-which is distinct from all other kinds of work. Performance of this action is preferable to inaction, because if we do it and traverse even a small part of our way, it can rescue us from great fear of birth and death. Performance of one’s spiritual duty – the ordained action- is, therefore, the better course. By not doing it we cannot even complete journey of our Soul through different bodies. This journey is usually interpreted as “sustenance of the physical body.” But what kind of sustenance is this? Are we a physical body? This Soul, the embodied Self, that we know by the name of Purush-what else has he been doing except making his physical journey through endless lives? When clothes are worn out, we change them and put on new ones. Just so, this whole world, from lowest creatures to most highly evolved, from Brahma to its most distant limits, is mutable. Through births, low and high, this Soul has been making his physical journey since an unknown beginning. Action is something that completes this journey. If there is yet to be another birth, the journey is still incomplete. The seeker is still on his way, travelling through bodies. A journey is complete only when the destination is reached.

After being dissolved in God, Self does not have to travel any further through physical births. The chain of the Self’s rejection of old bodies and assumption of new ones is now broken. So action is something that frees the Self, the Purush, from the necessity of journeying through bodies.Sri Krishn tells Arjun in the sixteenth verse of Chapter 4:“By this action you shall be freed from the evil that binds the world.” So action, as used in the Geeta, is something that liberates from the bondage of world.
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yajñārthāt karmaṇo’nyatra loko’yam karmabhandhanaḥ,
tadartham karma kaunteya muktasangaḥ samācara (3.9)

3.9 – “Since the conduct of yagya is the only action and all other business in which people are engaged are only forms of worldly bondage, O son of Kunti, be unattached and do your duty to God well.”

Contemplation of God is the only real action. That conduct is action which enables the mind to concentrate on God. It is a prescribed act and, according to Sri Krishn, tasks other than this are only forms of worldly bondage. Anything other than performance of this yagya is a form of slavery rather than action. It is important to remind ourselves once more of Sri Krishn’s injunction to Arjun that he shall be freed from evils of this world only by doing the one real work. The accomplishment of this work, of yagya, is action; and Arjun is urged to do it well in a spirit of detachment. It cannot be performed without disinterest in the world and its objects.

So conduct of yagya is action. But another question that now arises is what this worthwhile act of yagya is. Before answering this question, however,Sri Krishn first gives a brief account of the origin of yagya, as also of what it has to offer. It is only in Chapter 4 that it is clarified what that yagya is-the doing of which is action. It is evident from this that it is Sri Krishn’s way that he first describes the characteristic features of the subject he has to elucidate in order to create a respectful attitude towards it, then points out the precautions that have to be observed in the course of its performance, and only finally expounds main principle.

Before we proceed, let us recall what Sri Krishn has said of another aspect of action: that it is a prescribed ordained conduct and that what is usually done in its name is not true action.

The term “action” was first used in Chapter 2.Its characteristic traits as well as the precautions needed for it were pointed out. But the nature of this action has remained unspecified. In Chapter 3,Sri Krishn has so far said that no one can live without action. Since man lives in nature, he must act. Nevertheless there are people who restrain their sense organs by use of force, but whose minds are still occupied with objects of the senses. Such people are arrogant and their efforts are vain. So Arjun is told to restrain his senses to perform the ordained action. But the question yet remains: what action should he perform? He is told that the accomplishment of yagya is action.But according to Sri Krishn, they simply are not what he means by action. Whatever other than yagya is done is only a form of worldly bondage, not true action. The performance of yagya is the only real action. True that yagya is action; but what is yagya? In the present chapter Sri Krishn only points out the origin and special features of yagya, and it is only in Chapter 4 that he will elaborate the concept of the action which is fit to be done.

A proper understanding of this definition of action is the key to our comprehension of the Geeta. All men are engaged in some work or the other, but that is different from true action. Some of them do farming, while others are engaged in trade and commerce. Some hold positions of power, while others; are just servants. Some profess that they are intellectuals, while  others earn their living by manual labour. Some take up social service, while others serve the country. And for all these activities people have also invented contexts of selfishness and selflessness. But according to Sri Krishn, they simply are not what he means by action. Whatever other than yagya is done is only a form of worldly bondage, not true action. The performance of yagya is the only real action.
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sahayajñāḥ prajāḥ sṛṣṭvā puro’vāca prajāptiḥ,
anena prasaviṣyadhvam eṣa vo’stv iṣṭakāmadhuk (3.10)

3.10 -“At the beginning of kalp-the course of self-realization Prajapati Brahma shaped yagya along with mankind and enjoined on them to ascend by yagya which could give them what their hearts aspired to.”

Prajapati Brahma, the god presiding over creation, made mankind along with yagya at the beginning and told men to progress through yagya. This yagya, wholly propitious, was prescribed or ordained as the action which would satisfy their hunger for realization of the eternal God.

Who was the creator of mankind along with yagya? Was it Brahma and who is he? Is he, as it is believed, the God with four heads and eight eyes? According to Sri Krishn there are no beings like gods. The sage who has realized and become one with the Supreme Spirit, the fountainhead from which all mankind has arisen, is “prajapati.” Wisdom that results from knowledge of God is itself Brahma. At the moment of this realization the mind becomes a mere instrument. It is God himself who then speaks through the voice of the sage.

There is constant growth of wisdom after the commencement of spiritual adoration, or worship. Since at the beginning this wisdom is endowed With knowledge of God, it is called brahmvitt. Gradually, as evil impulses are subdued and the knowledge of God is enriched, this wisdom is said to be brahmvidwar. As it ascends yet higher and gets more refined, it comes to be known as brahmvidwariyan.At this stage, the sage who is blessed with knowledge of God also achieves the capacity to bring others on to the way of spiritual growth.

The highest point of wisdom is brahmvidwarisht, that state of divine inundation in which the spirit of God flows through it like a crystal current.

Men who have attained to this state enter into and dwell in the Supreme Spirit from whom all mankind is born. The minds of such sages are mere instruments and it is they who are called “prajapati.” By dissociating themselves from the contradictions of nature, they create the Self who is yet unaware of the process of meditation or God’s worship. Conferring perfection which is in accordance with the spirit of yagya is the creation of mankind. Prior to this human society is unconscious and chaotic. Creation has no beginning. Sanskar has always been there: but before the sages conferred perfection on it, it was deformed and in a state of anarchy. To shape it in accordance with the requirements of yagya is the act of refining and adorning.

Some such accomplished sage or sages created yagya besides creating mankind at the beginning of kalp, the course of Self-realization. The word ‘‘kalp,” however, also means cure of sickness. Physicians effect such cures and there are some who even rejuvenate us. But their remedies are only for ephemeral bodies. The true cure is that which provides liberation from the general malady of the world. The beginning of worship or adoration is the commencement of this remedy. When meditation is complete, we are wholly cured.

Thus sages with their beings in the Supreme Spirit gave a proper shape to spiritual excellence and yagya, and instructed men that they would prosper through the observance of yagya. By this prosperity they did not mean that clay houses would change into brick-and-plaster mansions. Neither did they promise that men would begin to make more money. They rather wished men to know that yagya would fulfil their God-inclined aspirations.

“Charan Sparsh Revered Gurudev”

[As expounded by most revered Gurudev Swami Adgadanand Paramhans]

Main Source: www.yatharthgeeta.com

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“Humble Wishes”

arjuna uvāca
jyāyasī cet karmaṇas te matā buddhir janārdana,
tat kim karmaṇi ghore mām niyojayasi keśava (3.1)

3.1 – Arjun said, “0 Janardan, if you think knowledge superior to action, why do you, O Keshav, ask me to engage in fearsome action?”

“Janardan” is one who is merciful to his people. So Arjun is hopeful that Sri Krishn will enlighten him on why he is prompting him to adopt the dreadful way. Arjun finds the way frightening because on this way he has only the right to act, but without entitlement at any time to the rewards of his action. There should also be no loss of dedication and, with constant submission and his eyes fixed on the way, he has to be incessantly engaged in the task.

Has not Sri Krishn promised him that following the Way of Knowledge, he will in the case of victory attain to the Supreme Spirit, whereas even in the event of defeat he will be privileged to lead a godly life? Moreover, he has to proceed on the way only after a due evaluation of his assets and liabilities.
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vyāmiśreṇe’va vākyena buddhim mohayasī’va me,
tad ekam vada niścitya yena śreyo’ham āpnuyām (3.2) 

3.2 – “Since your complex words are so confusing to my mind, kindly tell me the one way by which I may attain to the state of blessedness.’’

Sri Krishn had, in fact, set out to dispel Arjun’s irresolution, but his words have only added to his doubts. So he requests Sri Krishn to tell him unambiguously the one way by which he may achieve emancipation.
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śrībhagavān uvāca
loke’smin dvividhā niṣṭhā purā proktā mayā’nagha,
jñānayogena sānkhyānām karmayogena yoginām (3.3)

3.3 -The Lord said, “I told you before, O the sinless (Arjun), two ways of spiritual discipline, the Way of Discrimination or Knowledge for sages and the Way of Selfless Action for men of action.”

“Before” here does not mean a bygone era (yug) like the Golden or Treta Age. It rather refers to the last chapter in which Sri Krishn had spoken of the two ways, recommending the Way of Knowledge for men of wisdom and the Way of Selfless Action for those who are actively engaged in the task that will finally make them one with God. In both the ways, action has to be performed. So action is an essential.
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na karmaṇm anārambhām
naiṣkarmyan puruṣo’śnute,
na ca sannyasanād eva
siddhim samadhigacchati (3.4)

3.4 -“Man neither attains to the final state of actionlessness by desisting from work, nor does he achieve Godlike perfection by just renunciation of work.”

There is no escape from action. A man cannot achieve the state of actionlessness by not commencing work, nor can he attain to the state of divine perfection by merely giving up an undertaken task. So, whether Arjun prefers, the Way of Knowledge or the Way of Selfless Action, he has to toil alike for each of them.

Usually, at this point, seekers on the way to God begin to look for shortcuts and escapes. We have to be on our guard against the common misconception that we become “selfless doers” just because we do not undertake any work. That is why Sri Krishn emphasizes the point that one does not achieve the state of actionlessness by just not beginning work. The point where both good and evil deeds cease completely, where alone there is true “actionlessness,”can be reached only through action. There are the misguided ones, on the other hand, who believe that they are unconcerned with action because they are men of intellect and discernment, and because there is no action as such on their chosen path. But they who renounce action under such an impression are not really men of wisdom. Just renunciation of an undertaken task cannot lead anyone to the attainment of realizing and becoming one with God.
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na hi kaścit kṣaṇam api
jātu tiṣṭhaty akarmakṛt,
kāryate hy avaśaḥ karma 
sarvaḥ prakṛtijair guṇaiḥ (5)

3.5 -“Since all men have doubtlessly sprung from nature, no one can at any time live even for a moment without action.”

No man can ever even for a fraction of a second live without action because the three properties of matter born from nature compel him to act. As long as nature and its properties are, no man can be without action.

Sri Krishn says in the thirty-third and thirty-seventh verses of Chapter 4, that all actions cease to be and dissolve into the most exalted knowledge: the knowledge obtained from meditation on the sublime truths which teach man to be aware of his own Self and how he may be reunited with the Supreme Spirit. The fire of this knowledge annihilates all action. What really the Yogeshwar means by this is that action ceases to be when yog has gone beyond the three properties of the material world, and when a clear outcome of the meditative process comes forth in the form of a direct perception of as well as dissolution of the Self in God? But before this completion of the ordained task, action does not end and we are not rid of it.

[As expounded by most revered Gurudev Swami Adgadanand Paramhans]

Main Source: www.yatharthgeeta.com

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“Humble Wishes”

It is said by some that the Geeta is completed in the second chapter itself. But the chapter can be accepted as a conclusion only if all the implications of action (karm) get elucidated by a mere naming of the process. In this chapter Sri Krishn has told Arjun to listen to him on the Way of Selfless Action, for by knowing it he will be liberated from the shackles of material life. He has the right only to act, but he has no right to the fruits of his action. At the same time he ought not to lose dedication to action. He must always be prepared to act. By the performance of such action he secures the most exalted knowledge of the Self and of God, and achieves ultimate peace. All this Sri Krishn has said, but not what action is.

In fact, the section popularly known as “The Yog or Way of Discrimination” is not a chapter; it is but a contrivance of reviewers rather than a creation of the poet of the Geeta. There is nothing surprising in this, because we can at best interpret a work only according to our own understanding.In this “chapter”, as we have seen, by expounding the merits of action, and by indicating the precautions to be observed in the performance of action as well as the characteristic marks of the sage who has gained direct knowledge of the Self and God through perception.Sri Krishn has aroused Arjun’s curiosity and also answered some of his queries. The Self is immutable and eternal. Arjun is exhorted to know it in order to learn reality. There are two ways of acquiring this knowledge, the Way of Discrimination or Knowledge and the Way of Selfless Action. Performance of the required action after a careful review of one’s capacity and self-determination is the Way of Knowledge, whereas applying oneself to the same task with loving dependence on the worshipped God is the Way of Selfless Action, also known as the Way of Pious Devotion (Bhakti Marg).

Goswami Tulsidas has portrayed the two ways, both leading to ultimate liberation, thus: “I have two sons. The elder son is a man of discrimination. But the younger one is a mere boy, devoted to me like a faithful servant and desirous only of rendering me service and homage. The latter thus relies on me, whereas the former depends upon his own prowess. Both of them have, however, to struggle and fight against the same enemies, namely, passion and anger.”

Sri Krishn says in the same way that he has two kinds of devotees.There is first the follower of the Way of Knowledge(gyanmargi). Secondly, there is the follower of the Way of Devotion (bhaktimargi). The man of devotion or doer of selfless action finds refuge in God and proceeds on his chosen path with total dependence on his grace. Possessed of confidence in his own strength, on the contrary, the man of discrimination goes along his way after making a proper evaluation of his own ability, as well as of the profit and loss in the enterprise.But the two have a common goal and the same enemies. Not only the man of discrimination, but also the man of devotion has to overcome the same adversaries, namely, anger, desire, and other impieties. Both of them have to renounce desire; and the action, too, that has to be performed under both the disciplines is one and the same.

Thus concludes the Second Chapter, in the Upanishad of the Shreemad Bhagwad Geeta, on the Knowledge of the Supreme Spirit, the Science of Yog, and the Dialogue between Krishn and Arjun, entitled:
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“Karm – Jigyasa” or “Curiosity About Action.”
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Thus concludes Swami Adgadanand’s exposition of the Second Chapter of the Shreemad Bhagwad Geeta in*”Yatharth Geeta”.*
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Main Source: www.yatharthgeeta.com

Humble Wishes!!!

nā’sti buddhir ayuktasya na cā’yuktasya bhavanā,
na cā’bhāvayatah ̣śāntir aśāntasya kutaḥ sukham (2.66)

2.66 : “A man without spiritual accomplishment has no wisdom nor true faith, and a man without devotion knows no peace of mind. Since happiness depends on peace, how can such men be happy?”

A man who has not undertaken meditation is devoid of selfless action oriented wisdom. This impoverished man is even deficient in the feeling of devotion to the all-pervading Spirit. How can such a man, without an awareness of the Self within and the God without, be at peace? And how can he, without peace, experience happiness? There can be no devotion without knowing the object of devotion and knowledge comes from contemplation. Without devotion there can be no peace and a man with a disturbed mind cannot experience happiness, much less the state of changeless, eternal bliss.
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indriyāṇām hi caratām yan mano’nuvidhīyate,
tad asya harati prajñām vāyur nāvam ivā’mbhasi (2.67)

2.67 : “For, as the wind captures the boat on water, just so even one of the senses, that roam amidst objects of their gratification and with which the intellect dwells, is strong enough to sweep away the discrimination of one who is unpossessed of spiritual attainment.”

As the wind drives a boat far away from its destination, even one out of the five senses roving amongst objects perceived by the intellect can get hold of the man who has not undertaken the task of spiritual quest and discipline.Therefore incessant remembrance of God is essential.
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tasmād yasya mahābāho nigṛhītāni sarvaśaḥ,
indriyāṇī’ndriyārthebhyas tasya prajñā pratiṣṭhitā (2.68) 

2.68 : “Therefore, O the mighty-armed (Arjun), the man who prevents his senses from straying to objects has a steady discrimination.”

The man who restricts his senses from being drawn to their objects is a man of steady wisdom. “Arm” is a measure of the sphere of action. God is called “mighty-armed” (mahabahu), although he is bodiless and works everywhere without hands and feet. The one who becomes one with him or is inclined to him and is on the way to his sublime splendour is also therefore, “mighty-armed.” That is the significance of the use of this epithet for both Sri Krishn and Arjun.
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yā niśā sarvabhūtānām tasyām jāgarti sanyamī,
yasyām jāgrati bhutāni sā niśā paśyato muneḥ (2.69)

2.69 : “The true worshipper (yogi) remains awake amidst what is night for all creatures, but the perishable and transient worldly pleasures amidst which all living creatures stay awake are like night for the sage who has perceived reality.”

The transcendental Spirit is like night for living beings because he can be neither seen nor comprehended by thought. So he is like night, but it is in this night that the spiritually conscious man remains awake because he has seen the formless and known the incomprehensible. The seeker finds access to God through control of senses, peace of mind, and meditation. That is why the perishable worldly pleasures for which living beings toil day after day is night for God’s true worshipper.

The sage alone, who beholds the individual Self and the Universal Self and is indifferent to desire, succeeds in his enterprise of God-realization. So he dwells in the world and is yet untouched by it.
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āpūryamāṇam acalapratiṣṭham samudram āpaḥ praviśanti yadvat,
tadvat kāmā yam praviśanti sarve sa śāntim āpnoti na kāmakāmī -(2.70)

2.70 : “As the water of the many rivers falls into the full and ever constant ocean without affecting its tranquillity, even so the pleasures of sense merge into a man of steady discrimination without producing any deviation, and such a man attains to the state of the most sublime peace rather than yearn for sensual enjoyment.”

The full and changeless ocean assimilates all the rivers that flow violently into it without losing its repose. Similarly the man who is aware of the oneness of his Self and the Supreme Spirit assimilates all worldly pleasures within himself without in any way staying from his chosen path. Rather than longing for sensual gratification, he aims at the achievement of the most sublime bliss of uniting his Self with the supreme God.

Ravaging everything that comes in their way- crops,men and animals, and their habitations-and with a frightening roar, the violently sweeping currents of hundreds of rivers fall into the ocean with a tremendous force but they can neither raise or lower its level by even an inch; they only merge into the ocean. In the same violent way sensual pleasures assault the sage who has attained knowledge of reality and merge in him.They can impress on him neither weal nor woe. The actions of the worshipper are non good and non evil: they transcend good and evil.The minds which are conscious of God, restrained and dissolved, bear only the mark of divine excellence. So how can any other impression be made on such a mind?

In this one verse, thus, Sri Krishn has answered several of Arjun’s queries. Arjun was curious to learn the mark of a sage who know the divine reality:how he speaks,how he sits, how he walks. With the single word- “ocean”-the omniscient Sri Krishn answers all these questions. The mark of a sage is that he is like an ocean. Like an ocean he is not bound by rules,that he must sit like this and walk like that. It is men like him who achieve the ultimate peace, for they have self control. They who yearn for pleasure can have no peace.
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vihāya kāmān yaḥ sarvān pumāmś carati niḥspṛhaḥ,
nimamo nirahamkāraḥ sa śāntim adhigacchati (2.71)

2.71 : “The man who has renounced all desire, and who conducts himself without ego, arrogance, and attachment, is the one who achieves peace.”

Men who have given up all desire, and whose actions are entirely free from the feelings of I and mine, realize the ultimate peace beyond which there is nothing to strive for and achieve.
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eṣā brāhmī sthitiḥ pārtha nai’nām prāpya vimuhyati,
sthitvā’syām antakāle’pi brahmanirvāṇam ṛcchati (2.72)

2.72 : “Such, O Arjun, is the steadfastness of the man who has realized God; after attaining to this state he subdues all temptation and, resting firmly in his faith, even at the time of his death he continues in this state of rapture of the union of his Self with God.”

Such is the state of one who has realized God. Rivers of temporal objects merge into these ocean-like sages who are endowed with self control and an intuitive perception of God.

[As expounded by most revered Gurudev Swami Adgadanand Paramhans]

Main Source: www.yatharthgeeta.com

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“Humble Wishes”

dhyāyato visyān punsaḥ sangas teṣu’pajāyate,
sangāt samjāyate kāmaḥ kāmāt krodho’ bhijājāte (2.62)

2.62 : “They whose thoughts are of sensual objects are attached to them, attachment gives rise to desires, and anger is born when these desires are obstructed.”

The feeling of attachment persists in men who have got over their concern with the objects of sense.Desire is born from attachment. And there is anger when there is an obstacle in the way of satisfaction of desire.
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krodhād bhavati sammohaḥ
sammohāt smṛtivibhramaḥ,
smṛtibranśād buddnināśo
buddināśāt praṇaśyati (2.63)

2.63 : “Delusion is born from anger, by which memory is confused; confusion of memory undermines the faculty of discrimination and, when discrimination is lost, the seeker deviates from the means of absolution.”

Confusion and ignorance arise from anger. Distinction between the eternal and the transient is obliterated. Remembrance is shaken by delusion, as it happens with Arjun. Sri Krishn says again that in such a state of mind one cannot determine wisely what to do and what not to do.

Confusion of memory weakens the seeker’s dedication and loss of discrimination makes him deviate from his goal of being one with God.

Here Sri Krishn has emphasized the importance of cultivating unconcern with sensual objects. The worshipper’s mind should rather always be concerned with that-word, form, incarnation, or abode-by which his mind may be enabled to be one with God. The mind is drawn to sensual objects when the discipline of worship is relaxed.Thoughts of these objects produce attachment, which in its own turn results in desire for them. Anger is generated if the satisfaction of this desire is obstructed in any way. And ignorance finally undoes the power of discernment.

The Way of Selfless Action is also said to be the Way of Knowledge, for it has always to be kept in view that desire must not be allowed to enter the worshipper’s mind. There are, after all, no real fruits. Advent of desire is inimical to wisdom.

Steady contemplation is, therefore, a necessity. A man who does not always think of God strays from the right path that will lead him to ultimate bliss and glory. However, there is one consolation. The chain of worship is only broken, not completely destroyed. Once the joy of worship has been experienced,when taken up again, it resumes from the same point at which it was discontinued.

This is the fate of the worshipper who is attached to sensual objects.
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rāgadveṣaviyuktaistu viṣayān indriyaiś caran,
ātmavaśyair vidheyātmā prasādam adhigacchati (2.64)

2.64 : “But that man achieves spiritual tranquillity who has mastered his mind, and who remains unaffected by sense-objects although he may be roaming amidst them, because his senses are properly restrained.”

Possessed of the means of spiritual realization, the sage who has experienced an intuitive perception of the identity of Self and the Supreme Spirit achieves the state of the most sublime peace, because he has subdued his senses, and therefore remained untouched by their objects even though he may be wandering in their midst. No prohibitions are needed for such a man.

There is for him nothing unpropitious anywhere against which he should fight and defend himself. There is also for him no good for which he should yearn.
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prasāde sarvaduḥkhānām hānir asyo’pajāyate,
prasannacetaso hy āśu buddhiḥ paryavatiṣṭhate (2.65)

2.65 : “After realizing the ultimate repose, all his (the seeker’s) sorrows disappear, and the blissful mind of such a man quickly grows in firmness.”

Blessed with a vision of God’s ineffable glory and his divine grace, all the worshipper’s griefs-the temporal world and its objects which are the abode of all sorrows-vanish and his power of discrimination grows strong and steady.

[As expounded by most revered Gurudev Swami Adgadanand Paramhans]

Main Source: www.yatharthgeeta.com

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“Humble Wishes”

duḥkheṣu anudvignamanāh sukheṣu vigataspṛhah,
vītrarāgabhayakrodhah ̣sthitadhīr munir ucyate (2.56)

2.56 – “He is indeed a steady-minded sage who is unmoved by sorrow and indifferent to happiness, and who has overcome his passion fear, and anger.”

He whose mind is untroubled by bodily, accidental, and worldly sorrows, and who has rid himself of desire for physical pleasures, and whose passions, fear, and anger have been subdued,is the sage with discrimination who has achieved the culmination of spiritual discipline..
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yaḥ sarvatrā’nabhisnehas tat-tat prāpya śubhāśubham,
nā’bhinandati na dveṣti tasya prajnā pratiṣṭhitā (2.57) 

2.57 -“That man has a steady mind who is entirely free from attachment and who neither gloats over success nor abhors failure.”

That man has a firm wisdom who is totally free from infatuation and who neither welcomes good fortune nor repudiates misfortune. That alone is auspicious which draws a Soul to the being of God, whereas that which pulls the mind to temptations of the material world is inauspicious. The man of discrimination is not too happy in favourable circumstances and he also does not scorn adversities, because neither is the object which is fit for attainment different from him nor is there for him any evil that may sully the purity of his mind. That is to say that he has now no need for further striving.
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yadā samharate cā’yam kūrmo’ngānī va sarvasah ̣,
indriyān ̣ī’ndriyārthebhays tasya prajñā pratiṣṭhitā (2.58)

2.58 -“As a turtle pulls in its limbs, this man reins in his senses from all objects, and then he truly has a steady mind.”

When a man pulls back his senses from all sides and restrains them within his mind like a turtle pulling its head and feet within its shell, his mind is steady. But it is only an analogy. As soon as the turtle knows that the danger is gone, it again expands its limbs.

Does a man of steadfast wisdom also, in the same way, let his senses loose after restraining them, and resume enjoyment of worldly pleasures?
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viṣayā vinivartante nirāhārasya dehinah,
rasavarjam raso’py asya param dṛṣṭvā nivartate (2.59) 

2.59- “While objects of sensual pleasure cease to be for the man who withdraws his senses from them, his desire for these objects yet remains; but the desires of the man of discrimination are completely erased by his perception of God.”

The objects of sense come to an end for the man who has rejected them because his senses no longer perceive them, but his desires yet survive. The feeling of attachment lives on. But the passions of the yogi, the doer of selfless action, are annihilated by his perception of the ultimate essence that is God.

The accomplished, or enlightened, sage does not, like the turtle, re-extend his senses to objects which are pleasing to them. When once his senses have shrivelled, all the influences and impressions (sanskar) he has carried with him from a previous existence are irrevocably dead. His senses do not then return to life. By apprehending God through the observance of the Way of Selfless Action, even the attachments to objects of sensual pleasure become extinct. Force has often been a feature of meditation, and by its use seekers rid themselves of objects of sense. But thoughts of these objects persist. These attachments are brought to an end only with the perception of God and never before that, because before this stage residues of matter persist.

Sri Krishn proclaims that although a man’s association with objects of sense ends when he restrains them from reacting to these objects, he is rid of desire for these objects only when he knows his own Self as the identical God through meditation. So we have to act until we have achieved this perception. Goswami Tulsidas has also said that at first there are passions in the heart, which are swept away only by true devotion to God.
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yatato hy api kaunteya puruṣasya vipaścitaḥ,
indriyāṇi pramāthīni haranti prasabham manaḥ (2.60)
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tāni sarvāṇi sanyamya yukta āsīta matparaḥ,
vaśe hi yasye’ndriyāṇi tasya prajñā pratiṣṭhitā (2.61)

2.60/2.61 -“O son of Kunti, men ought to subdue their senses which seize forcibly even wise and striving minds, and devote themselves to me with perfect concentration, because only that man’s mind is unwavering who has achieved control of his senses.”

Mutinous senses ravish even discerning and active minds, and undo their steadiness. So with full control over his senses, equipped with yog and devotion, Arjun should find shelter in God, for that man alone has a firm mind who has subdued his senses. Here Yogeshwar Krishn explains what ought to be prevented in the course of worship, as also the components of spiritual seeking which it is the duty of men to undertake.

Restraint and prohibition alone cannot subdue the senses. Along with negation of senses there must also be incessant contemplation of the desired God. In the absence of such reflection, the mind will be preoccupied with material objects, the evil consequence of which we see in the words of Sri Krishn himself.

[As expounded by most revered Gurudev Swami Adgadanand Paramhans]

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