Episode 01 - Essential Gita - Chapter 7 - Bhakti Yoga.
CHAPTER 7 – BHAKTI YOGA
“Bhakti Yoga” – It is useful to comprehend a word with reference to its etymological root. “Bhakti” is derived from the root “bhaj” -, which means "to worship, have recourse to, betake oneself to" “Yoga” of course is derived from the root ‘yueg’ or ‘yuj’ which means ‘unite with’ or ‘yoke’. The two word phrase thus leads to the definition – The path of devotion or worship or loving (of the Supreme Being or the chosen God Form) that leads to union (or communion) with that God Form.
“Bhakti” is classified severally in the scriptures. Indeed, Srimad Bhagavatam has Prahlada tell his father Hinranyakasipu that there are as many as nine forms of this style of devotion to a God Form (Nava Vidha Bhakti) –
śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ smaraṇaṁ pāda-sevanam
arcanaṁ vandanaṁ dāsyaṁ sakhyam ātma-nivedanam
iti puṁsārpitā viṣṇau bhaktiś cen nava-lakṣaṇā
kriyeta bhagavaty addhā tan manye ’dhītam uttamam.
(Hearing and chanting the holy name, form, qualities, paraphernalia and pastimes of Lord Viṣhṇu, (Sravanam and Kirtanam) remembering and meditating on them (Smaranam), serving the lotus feet of the Lord (Pada Sevanam) , offering the Lord respectful worship with several types of offerings (Archanam) , offering prayers to the Lord (Vandanam), servitude to Him (Dasyam), considering the Lord one’s best friend (Sakhyam), and surrendering all of oneself unto Him (in other words, serving Him with the body, mind and words) (Atma Nivedanam)—these nine processes are accepted as pure devotional means. One who has dedicated his life to the service of Sri Vishnu through these nine methods should be understood to be the most learned person, for he has acquired complete knowledge.)
Srimad Bhagavatam (1.2.11) would say that
vadanti tat tattva-vidas tattvaṁ yaj jñānam advayam
brahmeti paramātmeti bhagavān iti śabdyate
It is said (vadanti) that those souls (who have realized the Truth) call that One without a second (advayam), “Brahmam” (a feature of the Absolute Truth (Brahmeti) ; “Paramātmā”, the comprehended aspect of the Supreme Being, and “Bhagavan”, the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Purport: Those who understand simply that the physical body is not that ‘I’ but only the Atman (soul) and who yearn union with that Supreme Being, perceive It as “Brahman”. Those, who, in their yoga, through their meditation, see within their hearts the four-handed Viṣhṇu form of the Paramātmā, or Supersoul - associate the Supreme Being in a personalized form - see Him as “Bhagavan”.
Sri Krishna proclaims in the Bhagavad Gita (Chapter 6. Verse 47) that those who seek him in the devotional path are the supreme among seekers – the Bhakti Yoga is the best among paths to reach Him.
yoginām api sarveṣāṁ mad-gatenāntar-ātmanā
śraddhāvān bhajate yo māṁ sa me yukta-tamo mataḥ
Of all yogis, those whose minds are always absorbed in Me, and who engage in devotion to Me with great intensity and faith (śraddhāvān bhajate yo māṁ), them I consider to be the highest of all.
The Lord expatiates this further in Srimad Bhagavatam, thus:
ahaṁ bhakta-parādhīno hyasvatantra iva dvija
sādhubhir grasta-hṛidayo bhaktair bhakta-jana-priyaḥ (9.4.63)
“Although I am supremely independent, yet I become enslaved by my devotees. They conquer my heart. What to speak of my devotees, even the devotees of my devotees are very dear to me.” ahaṁ bhakta-parādhīno – I become bound, enslaved, by my bhaktas.
Sri Krishna Himself lays down the pre-requisites for the seeker who aspires to attain ‘moksha’ salvation:
buddhyā viśhuddhayā yukto dhṛityātmānaṁ niyamya cha
śhabdādīn viṣhayāns tyaktvā rāga-dveṣhau vyudasya cha
vivikta-sevī laghv-āśhī yata-vāk-kāya-mānasaḥ
dhyāna-yoga-paro nityaṁ vairāgyaṁ samupāśhritaḥ
ahankāraṁ balaṁ darpaṁ kāmaṁ krodhaṁ parigraham
vimuchya nirmamaḥ śhānto brahma-bhūyāya kalpate .. The Gita Chap.18, Verses 51 – 53.
- Purified Intellect – Chitta Suddhi
- Complete restraint of the senses
- Giving up noise and other objects of desire
- Vanquishing both attachment and aversion
- Seeking solitude
- Eating lightly
- Disciplined and controlled body, speech and thought.
- Always engaged in meditation
- Practising dispassion and universal love
- Free from egoitism
- Practising ahimsa (in thought, speech and action)
- Free from arrogance, desire, possessiveness of property and selfishness
One who accomplishes all these traits would be firmly established in tranquility. Then he shall be fit for union with the Supreme Being.
How is ‘Chitta Suddhi’ (a purified mind) accomplished? Over sustained and long application –
na hi jñānena sadṛiśhaṁ pavitramiha vidyate
- ṁ yogasansiddhaḥ kālenātmani vindati .. Gita Chapter 4, Verse 38
In this world, there is nothing as purifying as divine knowledge. One who has attained purity of mind through prolonged practice of Yog, receives such knowledge within the heart, in due course of time.
A very tall order! And, Srimad Bhagavatam speculates over the rarity of such an entity eventuating:
muktānām api siddhānāṁ nārāyaṇa-parāyaṇaḥ
su-durlabhaḥ praśhāntātmā koṭiṣhv api mahā-mune (Bhāgavatam 6.14.5)
“Amongst many millions of perfected and liberated souls, the fully pacified person who is devoted to the Supreme Lord, Narayana, is very rare. (su-durlabhaḥ - koṭiṣhv api mahā-mune)”
All these overwhelming pre-requisites need not put off aspirants – not at all. For, Sri Nammaazhwar, the tallest among the twelve Azhwars who together elevated the bhakti marga – the path of bakti – to the top of the pyramid of means to salvation, proclaims: IT IS THE D E S T I N Y OF EVERY HUMAN TO ATTAIN VAIKUNTAM (THE SUPREME ABODE OF SRIMAN NARAYANA) வைகுண்டம் வைகுவது மண்ணவர் விதியே – he proclaims. It is the DESTINY OF EVERY HUMAN to attain salvation. The proclamation is the most definitive as definitions come – no ambivalence nor any caveats here.
If one ponders over Nammaazhwar’s assertion, one gets to a universal truth that all scriptures assert as well: being born a human is the best and ONLY chance for a soul to aspire for and attain ‘moksha’. Even celestials would not have that opportunity as they would have to serve out their celestial term and be born again here, after their ‘punyas’ – good karmas – get spent in the celestial domain. And the further truth, that one need not go through the arduous and challenging path of acquiring spiritual wisdom and realization that hard way (failing and having to be born again); one needs only to invest in the devotional path that the Azhwars (and the Saivite Nayanmars) of the South so poetically and captivatingly laid out – for the simplest of folks, literate, illiterate, wise, ignorant, high-born – low born – it does not matter at all.
Sri Krishna Himself holds out that promise:
Chapter 9, Verses 30 & 31
api chet su-durāchāro bhajate mām ananya-bhāk
sādhur eva sa mantavyaḥ samyag vyavasito hi saḥ
kṣhipraṁ bhavati dharmātmā śhaśhvach-chhāntiṁ nigachchhati
kaunteya pratijānīhi na me bhaktaḥ praṇaśhyati
Even if the vilest sinners (durāchāro ) worship Me with exclusive devotion(ananya-bhak bhajate), they shall be considered righteous because they have made the proper resolve. Quickly they become virtuous, and attain lasting peace. O son of Kunti, declare it boldly that no devotee of Mine is ever lost.
…. Building up to project ‘bhakti’ – devotion – as the path of salvation most suited to the uninitiated and ignorant multitudes.
There is a chasm of difference between the ‘bhakti yoga’ as laid out in the Bhagavad Gita and the science of ‘bhakti’ as presented by the other scriptures e.g. the Bhagavatam quotes given above.
We find that ‘bhakti’ as enunciated in the puranic sources and as understood from the devotional poetic outpourings of the Azhwars and Nayanmars of the South, the Kabirs, Meeras of the North is connoted by the simple, uncomplicated process of one giving up the ego, surrendering to the Almighty in the personal form of his or her choice – completely, without any reserve or doubt – and immersing oneself in devotional thoughts of that form – through pleasure and pain. “Sravanam, Kirtanam, Mananam, Pada Sevanam, Archanam, Vandanam, Dasyam, Sakhyam and Atma Nivedhanam” – all of these rolled into one, would be the bhakta in the Azhwar-mould. These great souls were so highly evolved and so near the Paramatma, that they felt it natural to relate with Him with no holds barred, the devotion-led intimacy with the Lord of their devotion leading them to calling Him names, criticizing Him or indulging in love-laid frays with Him. (Nammaazhwar enjoins on the reclining Lord – Sri Maha Vishnu – ‘How long would you be reclined thus? Bestir yourself!’ Andal, the only lady in the Azhwar phalanx of 12, would buttonhole her beloved Krishna: “Are you too double-tongued – like Ananta your snake bed?”.
But ‘Bhakti Yoga’ of the Gita is laid out very differently – live one’s life normally – equipoised with both ‘sukha’ and ‘dukha’ and averting attachment - but with the mind riveted to the Almighty – in the personal form of the devotee’s choice – ‘mayy arpita-mano-buddhi’.
When Sri Krishna asserted earlier that there were only two paths to salvation, the ‘Bhakti Yoga’ did not form part of that assertion:
Srimad Bhagavad Gita Chapter 3, verse 3:
loke ’smin dvi-vidhā niṣhṭhā purā proktā mayānagha
jñāna-yogena sāṅkhyānāṁ karma-yogena yoginām
O sinless one! (anagha). The two paths leading to enlightenment were previously explained by Me: the path of knowledge (njana marga), for those inclined toward contemplation, and the path of work (karma marga) for those inclined toward action.
We noted in the foreword that the Gita was a free-flowing instruction of Sri Krishna to Arjuna; the topics and tenets do, however, dominate given collections of verses. Later commentators have divided the 700+ verses into eighteen chapters depending on this dominance of the topics in the verses taken to denote a distinct chapter. For instance, a major part of the second chapter ‘Sankhya Yoga’ talks about ‘karma’; and ‘karma yoga’ figures many other chapters other than Chapter 3 designated as ‘Karma Yoga’.
It is thus that the verses that refer to the path of devotion – the word ‘bhakti’ and ‘bhakt’ figure in this collection – is designated as ‘Bhakti Yoga’. We would find that a good part of this chapter also addresses aspects of ‘karma yoga’.
In the first part (verses 1 to 7), Sri Krishna distinguishes the two paths – njana yoga and bhakti yoga briefly and commends the latter (as more suited to the multitudes), for the simple reason that here, the devotee is not entirely on his own; indeed, he surrenders himself completely to the Almighty and the Almighty descends to hold his hands and guide him through this emotional journey. The other major difference that is pointed out in these verses is that the ones who choose the ‘njana marga’, the challenges are nearly insuperable: they need to meditate on the unmanifest, impersonal, Supreme Being.
Srimad Bhagavad Gita – Chapter 12, verse 5
kleśho ’dhikataras teṣhām avyaktāsakta-chetasām
avyaktā hi gatir duḥkhaṁ dehavadbhir avāpyate
For those whose minds are focussed on the unmanifest, the path of realization is full of tribulations – ‘klesho’ – . Meditating on the unmanifest is exceedingly difficult for beings still conscious of the body as the ‘I’.
There is an easier, and more joyous, path, though:
Verses 6 & 7
ye tu sarvāṇi karmāṇi mayi sannyasya mat-paraḥ
ananyenaiva yogena māṁ dhyāyanta upāsate
teṣhām ahaṁ samuddhartā mṛityu-saṁsāra-sāgarāt
bhavāmi na chirāt pārtha mayy āveśhita-chetasām
But those who dedicate all their actions to Me, regarding Me as the Supreme goal, worshiping Me and meditating on Me with exclusive devotion, O Partha, I swiftly deliver them from the ocean of birth and death, for their consciousness is united with Me.
The distinction is clear – in the first path, one is all on his own, having to surmount challenges that are hardly human. In the other, one only needs to do simpler things – dedicate all actions to Him, extol Him and meditate on Him with exclusive devotion.
And, in that case, the Almighty comes down more than halfway – to provide salvation from ‘sansara’.
A major metaphysical issue is involved in these two statements:
The Supreme Being, the Brahman, which is the object of meditation, is widely acclaimed to be – all-pervading, omniscient, omnipotent – but; akṣharam—the imperishable; anirdeśhyam—the indefinable; avyaktam—the unmanifest; therefore, it is not possible to lend this phenomenon a name, a form or attributes – neither naama, nor roopa; not gunas too.
divyo hyamūrtaḥ puruṣaḥ sa bāhyābhyantaro hyajaḥ |
aprāṇo hyamanāḥ śubhro hyakṣarātparataḥ paraḥ ||Mundaka Upanishad 2.1.2 ||
He is bright, formless, all-pervading, existing without and within, unborn, without prana, without mind, pure and beyond the avyakrita, which is beyond all.
How does one fix his mind on that kind of phenomenon?
From this question arose a great number of commentaries that accommodated a form and name and attributes too for that very same Supreme Being, drawing inferences from the Sruti sources for this immense tool for ‘upaasanaa’. Let us briefly look at how this difficult discourse – walking on a knife’s edge, as it were - was possible at all and how the conclusion was drawn:
The suggestion of a form for the Brahman in Sruti sources is rather rudimentary –
Like “sahasra SIrshA purusha: sahasrAksha: sahasra pAt” ‘Sahasra Sirsha .. Sahasraksha.. Sahasrapaath’ actually connoting heads everywhere, eyes everywhere and limbs everywhere – all pervading – rather than one thousand heads, eyes, hands (a thousand heads ought to have had two thousand eyes and two thousand feet).
Brahma Sutra 1.2.30 –
anusmṛterbādariḥ |
For the purpose of constant remembrance—so says Badari.
The Highest Lord may be called “measured by a span” (to render the term ‘Pradesamatra’ differently), because He is remembered through the mind, which is seated in the heart, and the heart is of the size of a span.
Brahma Sutra 1.2.31
saṃpatteriti jaiminiḥ, tathā hi darśayati
Because of imaginary identity (the Supreme Lord may be called span long), so says Jaimini; for so (the Sruti) declares.
Sampat Upasana** is a kind of meditation in which you impose upon an ordinary object something greater. Two objects are involved, the one you know and the other you impose upon it. As, for example, when the cosmic being (Purusha) is worshipped through the identification of His different limbs with the different parts of the worshipper’s body from the top of the head to the chin. The head of the worshipper is heaven, the eyes the sun and the moon, and so on. In this meditation of the cosmic Person He is limited to the size of a span, the distance from the top of the worshipper’s head to the chin. Therefore, says Jaimini, in the text under discussion, the Supreme Lord is regarded as of the size of a span.
In short, smritis evolved means of reducing the irreducible Brahman to forms that the human mind could conceive and meditate upon, worship, adore, extol; and names and attributes follow.
The nama rupa guna (Name, Form and Attributes) aspects of the Almighty are extensively narrated more in the puranas and ithihasas than in the ‘sruti’ texts.
Bhakti, at its exalted intensity is so powerful, that it binds the Almighty to the bhakta; as Srimad Bhagavatam would say, he becomes the Bhakta’s slave.
ahaṁ bhakta-parādhīno hy asvatantra iva dvija
sādhubhir grasta-hṛdayo bhaktair bhakta-jana-priyaḥ
“I am completely under the power of My devotees. Indeed, I am not at all independent. Because My devotees are completely devoid of material desires, I sit only within the cores of their hearts. What to speak of My devotee, even those who are devotees of My devotee are very dear to Me.”
On the Bhakta’s side, he realizes everything in that state of exalted devotion – parama bhakti – that he does not desire anything else other than being engrossed, immersed, in the love of his God, not even ‘moksha’. Commentators of the ‘Tiruvaaimozhi’ of Nammaazhwar would say that this Azhwar was in that state and Sriman Narayana had to plead with hm to accept Sri Vaikuntam.
Did not the Lord Himself define that kind of a parama bhakta in these very same terms?
Srimad Bhagavatam Chapter IX, 20 – 29-35
..Holy men of firm mind, who ae endowed with unwavering devotion to Me, do not desire or even accept ‘Moksha’, which offers salvation from the cycle of samsara, even if I Myself offered it to them.. That state of mind is termed ‘Nirhasreya’. Pure, unalloyed devotion for me dawns only on a person who wants nothing, nothing even from Me – worldly fulfillment or even ‘moksha’…
Verses 8 to 11 (of Chapter 12) connote the amazing heights that the Gita perches at as a motivational science – even leaving aside the magnificent scriptural and spiritual values that it imparts. Sri Krishna is found here using motivational hand-holding that should inspire the lowliest and the least motivated to rise from their hopeless despair and step on to the comfortably graduated steps to liberation.
Chapter 12, Verse 8 –
mayy eva mana ādhatsva mayi buddhiṁ niveśhaya
nivasiṣhyasi mayy eva ata ūrdhvaṁ na sanśhayaḥ
“Fix the mind on Me alone; in Me alone let rest thine intellect. There is no doubt that from then on
you will dwell in Me alone.”
The human mind is at once the barrier to and the only threshold for liberation. ‘mana eva manuṣhyāṇāṁ kāraṇaṁ bandha mokṣhayoḥ’ - “Bondage and liberation are decided by the state of the mind.” Avers Pañchadaśhī of Sri Adi Sankara.
The Gita suggests here a sure and clear-cut means of converting the mind from being the cause of bondage - the crucible of all mischief and despair as it were - and the cause thereby of resultant cycles of births -- to an instrument to salvation.
Verse 9
atha chittaṁ samādhātuṁ na śhaknoṣhi mayi sthiram
abhyāsa-yogena tato mām ichchhāptuṁ dhanañjaya
“If you are unable to fix your mind steadily on Me, O Arjuna, then practice remembering Me with devotion while, with perseverance, restraining the mind from worldly affairs.”
‘Fix your mind on Me and Me alone’ was the instruction in the previous verse. For the average aspirants, that does not come easy: the mind is a wild horse. One needs to inculcate ‘abhyasa’ – constant practice to achieve that level of perfection. Here in this verse, the Lord does more hand-holding, admitting that difficulty on the part of the aspirant: “Try attaching Me, my name to your thoughts and try to rein in your sense organs.” Each time the aspirant’s mind breaks loose and runs after objects of distraction, he should try and redirect it to God – His naama, roopa, guna, vibhootis. (His Names, Forms, Attributes and His playfields.)
The Lord underscores one vital pre-requisite in the aspirant here – he ought to have that desire in him, the desire to reach there, reach Him. That desire should be the driver.
Commentators have wonderfully marked out the graduation of a successful ‘sadhaka’: from the quagmire of material desires pulling him in all directions, towards destruction, he lifts himself out of it with that desire – the sole desire – of reaching God. And that, when he reaches there, with this steadfast ‘abhyasa yoga’ – even that desire shall evatporate.
True devotion takes the devotee to a level of bonding with the Lord that makes it difficult for the devotee to survive even a moment bereft of the thought of the Lord – the allegory used for this highest level of devotion – parama bhakti – is that the devotee would struggle for his breath like fish out of water, if he cannot be engaged in the thoughts of the Lord even for one single moment.
Verse 10
abhyāse ’py asamartho ’si mat-karma-paramo bhava
mad-artham api karmāṇi kurvan siddhim avāpsyasi
If you cannot practice remembering Me with devotion (as indicated in verse 9), then just try to devote all your work to Me. Thus performing devotional service to Me, you shall achieve the stage of perfection.
(More handholding, more motivational instruction – IF YOU CANNOT DO THE FIRST, DO NOT DESPAIR, DO NOT GIVE UP, DO THE NEXT ONE BELOW THAT AND GRADUATE FROM THERE TO THE HIGHER STEP. )
(This message – ‘abyasa yoga’ is ingrained also in the concluding chapter (18) – verse 46 –
yataḥ pravṛittir bhūtānāṁ yena sarvam idaṁ tatam
sva-karmaṇā tam abhyarchya siddhiṁ vindati mānavaḥ
He is the One from whom all of this Creation has issued forth. He is the One that pervades all of this Creation and sustains it. Therefore, by performing work that is natural for one (with the mind riveted in that Creator), one worships that Creator a person easily attains perfection.
Verse 11
athaitad apy aśhakto ’si kartuṁ mad-yogam āśhritaḥ
sarva-karma-phala-tyāgaṁ tataḥ kuru yatātmavān
If you are unable to even work for Me in devotion, then try to renounce the fruits of your actions and be situated in the indwelling Soul.
MORE HAND-HOLDING, MORE MOTIVATION!! If you cannot even manage the second one, here is a third means – just give up ownership of the results of all your actions; the fruits. And try and look inwards, try to connect with your own Atman (soul).
Noteworthy in these instructions is the remarkable feature that the instructor begins with a taller goal with the learner and then takes him or her down to the next lower step only on finding the learner is not yet ready for the higher step. ‘If this is something you feel not quite upto right now, try from lower down.’ Wonder how much this remarkable tool of instruction is practiced in the world of learning. The learner picks the grade he or she would get into and start. That transfers the process of learning remarkably on to the learner and his or her devotion/commitment to it.
Sri Krishna presents the graduated spiritually elevating steps – like alluring a keen student with what he or she could rise up to once having accomplished the first step, the next, the next and the next – the Supreme Teacher that He is:
Verse 12
śhreyo hi jñānam abhyāsāj jñānād dhyānaṁ viśhiṣhyate
dhyānāt karma-phala-tyāgas tyāgāch chhāntir anantaram
“You may begin with ritualistic devotion mechanically for a start. But, know Ye! better than that mechanical engagement with devotion, is acquiring the knowledge about what you are doing, that ritual – njana. And, even better than that knowledge (about what you are doing in that ritual) is the accomplishment, in that ritualistic work, of a state where you can meditate on Me with a still mind – dhyana. And, even better, the best of all these, would be for you to cultivate renunciation of fruits of all your actions; the mental peace that you achieve in that step is both immediate and ever-lasting.”
One could admire all his or her life over the peerless lesson mode in this one verse.
THE NEXT AND CONCLUDING PHASE OF BHAKTI YOGA:
Having instructed on the path to Bhakti in the first part, the Supreme Being now begins to celebrate those who have successfully travelled in that path and extol their exceptional attributes – holding out for the seekers at the beginning of this emotive, joyous road, the extraordinary prize for completing that journey – he calls them all ‘me priya’ – they are all dear to Me. Sri Krishna goes on to define the ‘end products’ – exemplars for aspirants to follow and imbibe, as attributes that would drive them to their destination – to be with Him:
“THESE ARE VERY DEAR TO ME” – SRI KRISHNA:
Verses 13, 14
adveṣhṭā sarva-bhūtānāṁ maitraḥ karuṇa eva cha
nirmamo nirahankāraḥ sama-duḥkha-sukhaḥ kṣhamī
santuṣhṭaḥ satataṁ yogī yatātmā dṛiḍha-niśhchayaḥ
mayy arpita-mano-buddhir yo mad-bhaktaḥ sa me priyaḥ
- One who does not hate any being in this universe, one who is friendly inclined towards all of them and one who invests compassion in all of them;
- One who is completely divested of “I” ego, one who has conquered pride and one who regards pain and pleasure equally and who is always inclined to forgive;
- One who is ceaselessly filled with true happiness because of his yogic state and who is unwaveringly established in his defined, determined thoughts.
- One who has his mind and intellect devoted to me firmly,
That One is very dear to me.
- One who does not hate ANY BEING (Sarva bhoothaanam)? How is this humanly possible? The mind entertains either affection or aversion towards the objects/persons/beings we have to interact with. We cannot conceive of a universe where we could entertain only affection towards all beings, can we? We can. The Isopanishad tells us how:
yastu sarvāṇi bhūtānyātmanyevānupaśyati |
sarvabhūteṣu cātmānaṃ tato na vijugupsate .. Mantra 6, Isopanishad
He who sees everything in relation to his own Self (his Atman), who sees all living entities within his Soul (Atman) and who sees his Soul (Atman) within (as an integral part of) everything (in the Universe), never hates anything or any being.
All living entities within one’s own Soul? Is this possible? Yes. The Sruti asserts so:
santhatham siraabhisthu, lambathyaakosha sannibham
thasyaanthe sushiram suukshmam, thasmin sarvam prathishtitham .. Sri Narayana Suktam.
Surrounded on all sides by nerve-currents (or arteries), the lotus-bud of the heart is suspended in an inverted position. In it is a subtle space (a narrow aperture, the sushumna-nadi), and therein is to be found the (microcosmig) Substratum of all things – ‘Sarvam Prathishtitham’ – leaves no room for any query or doubt.
And how does one find his own Atman represented in the whole Universe?
How does this meet with scientific tenor?
Michael Talbot, the American author celebrated for his ‘holographic universe’ writings, would say this on how intrinsically this universe is interconnected – microcosmically and macrocosmically:
“The electrons in a carbon atom in the human brain are connected to the subatomic
particles that comprise every salmon that swims, every heart that beats, and every
star that shimmers in the sky. Everything interpenetrates everything, and although
human nature may seek to categorize and pigeonhole and subdivide the various
phenomena of the universe, all apportionments are of necessity artificial and all of
nature is ultimately a seamless web.”
So, when one sees through this ‘seamless connectivity’, as the Upanishad hails, the idea of ‘me’ and ‘them’ ought to evaporate; and once that happens, where is the room for ‘fear’ or ‘hatred’ or ‘aversion’?
At the more material, physical level too, another Upanishad calls for the phenomenon of the whole world as a family – ‘Vasudaiva Kutumbakam’ (we have discussed this verse earlier.)
So, begin with not hating anything in the Universe, ‘adveshta’ says Sri Krishna. He then goads us to the next logical elevation: ‘maitra’ – elevate your mind to a state of friendliness towards all beings. Then on to the next graduated elevation – invest compassion on all of these beings – ‘karuna’. )
Verse 15.
yasmān nodvijate loko lokān nodvijate cha yaḥ
harṣhāmarṣha-bhayodvegair mukto yaḥ sa cha me priyaḥ
Those who are not a source of fear or bother to anyone and who in turn are not bothered by or fearful of anyone, who are equal in pleasure and pain, and free from fear and anxiety, such devotees of Mine are very dear to Me.
One who is not afraid of the world and who in turn the world is not afraid of – it takes quite a bit to internalize this state of a human, doesn’t it? If one is not afraid of the world, then he ought to be a strong person, well-protected, and quite sure of his own abilities/power to avert any harm to him – and therefore – to be feared by some? But could such a person also be one who the world is not afraid of? The indivisibility of the Brahman, if truly understood, should lead one to that state of universal fearlessness.
. yada hyevaisha
etasminnadrishye.anatmye.anirukte.anilayane.abhayam
medskip pratishtham vindate . atha so.abhayam gato
bhavati . yada hyevaisha etasminnudaramantaram kurute.
atha tasya bhayam bhavati . tatveva bhayam
vidusho.amanvanasya . tadapyesha shloko bhavati .. ..
Taitreeya Upanishad – Anandavalli – Anuvaga 6.
When a man finds fearless support in That which is invisible, incorporeal, indefinable and supportless, he has then obtained fearlessness. If he makes the slightest differentiation in It, there is fear for him. That becomes fear for the knower who does not reflect.
“Does not entertain any fear from the world; nor doth pose any fear to the world”. Comes through as a conundrum – contradiction in terms – but as the Upanishads explain, in Truth, that is as natural as the existence of this Universe, once the Truth is realized.
“Equal in pleasure and pain” would be a common denominator for all these definitions.
Verse 16.
anapekṣhaḥ śhuchir dakṣha udāsīno gata-vyathaḥ
sarvārambha-parityāgī yo mad-bhaktaḥ sa me priyaḥ
Those who do not desire any worldly gains, externally and internally pure, skillful, without cares, untroubled, and free from selfishness in all undertakings, such devotees of Mine are very dear to Me.
“Vanquishing desires” would be another common denominator.
Verse 17.
yo na hṛiṣhyati na dveṣhṭi na śhochati na kāṅkṣhati
śhubhāśhubha-parityāgī bhaktimān yaḥ sa me priyaḥ
Those who neither rejoice in pleasures (that the material world offers) nor despair in worldly sorrows, who neither lament for any loss nor hanker for any gain, who renounce - both good and evil deeds, such persons who are full of devotion as well, are very dear to Me.
yo na hṛiṣhyati na dveṣhṭi na śhochati na kāṅkṣhati
When you are under the all-encompassing Grace of the Supreme Being, lighting up every nook of space why would you rejoice or despair if a small lamp is lit or is blown out? The Grace of the Supreme Being subsumes all material emotions and once one gains That, he or she shall not feel either pleasure or despair, lament for or hanker for worldly gains.
The Narada Bhakti Darshan would attribute all the traits stated in this verse – neither rejoicing in pleasure nor despairing in sorrows, neither lamenting over losses nor celebrating gains, renunciation of deeds both good and bad – to a true Devotee of the Lord, automatically, as it were:
yatprāpya na kiñchidvāñchhati, na śhochati, na dveṣhṭi, na ramate, notsāhi bhavati (Sūtra 5)
“On attaining divine love for God, the devotees neither yearn for pleasures nor grieve on losing them. They are not hateful of those who harm them. They have no liking for worldly enjoyments. They are not any more anxious for the enhancement of their worldly status.”
Verse 18 & 19.
samaḥ śhatrau cha mitre cha tathā mānāpamānayoḥ
śhītoṣhṇa-sukha-duḥkheṣhu samaḥ saṅga-vivarjitaḥ
tulya-nindā-stutir maunī santuṣhṭo yena kenachit
aniketaḥ sthira-matir bhaktimān me priyo naraḥ
In equipoise with friend and foe, equipoised in honor and dishonor, cold and heat, joy and sorrow, and are free from all inappropriate association; those who take praise and denunciation alike, who are inclined to silent contemplation, content with what comes their way, without attachment to a place of residence, whose intellect is firmly fixed in Me, and who are full of devotion to Me, such persons are very dear to Me.
Equipoise in all favourable and adverse situations; good, appropriate sanga (association), silent contemplation, not ‘property’-minded – and with full and truthful devotion to the Lord – is the summary of this rather long list of credentials presented in this verse.
Verse 20.
ye tu dharmyāmṛitam idaṁ yathoktaṁ paryupāsate
śhraddadhānā mat-paramā bhaktās te ’tīva me priyāḥ
Those who imbibe the nectar of wisdom narrated here, have exclusive faith in Me, and are devoted, with their hearts set on Me as the supreme goal, they are exceedingly dear to Me.
“EXCEEDINGLY DEAR TO ME” PROCLAIMS THE LORD.
The Lord’s verdict, answering Arjuna’s question – who between the two, one who seeks after the formless Brahman (avyaktam) through meditative njyana yoga or the one who seeks Him in a personal form through devotion – bhakti – is clear here: the personalized version of the seeking stands out as very, very dear to the Lord.
Postscript: We discussed last week, a question: The Gita is known as the repository of all the Upanishads – Sarva UpanishadO GhavO – then why keep seeking cross-references to the Upanishads? The answer to that question is once again underscored here – when we discussed the Lord’s command: ‘Adveshta Sarva Bhoothaanam’. Referencing Upanishads (or other scriptural texts) is not just an embellishment and therefore avaoidable. It is a necessary tool to expatiate, illustrate the Gita’s messages – where necessary.