Guest guest Posted December 11, 2005 Report Share Posted December 11, 2005 Sri Govindaya Namaha ! Sri Govinda Swaripinaye Namaha ! ( one of the names of Sri Lalita ) Sri Gurave Namaha ! Today is GIta Jayanti ! It is my pleasure to bring to you certain verses From the Srimad bhagvat Gita on 'bhakti ' and 'jnana and their relevance to this month's topic! Bhagwan says in Chapter 12, verse 9 atha cittam samadhatum na saknosi mayi sthiram abhyasa-yogena tato mam icchaptum dhananjaya My dear Arjuna, O winner of wealth, if you cannot fix your mind upon Me without deviation, then follow the regulated principles of bhakti- yoga. In this way you will develop a desire to attain to Me. The 'mind' is the hardest to control for the mind is like 'monkey' so, here Lord Krishna advises Arjuna that if you find it hard to focus your 'mind' on me!SO lORD kRISHNA ADVOCATES THE PATH OF SPIRITUAL DISCIPLINE and advises Arjuna to follow the prescribed rules and regulations which will help a devotee to attain the lotus feet of the lord ! Adi shankara bhagvadapada also advocates the spiritual aspirants to follow a path of spiritual discipline as oulined in the five verses of Sadhana panchakam ! IN the Srimad Bhagvat Gita , Chapter 9 , verse 18, Lord Krishna says "gatirbhartA prabhuH sAkSI nivAsaH zaraNaM suhRt prabhavaH pralayaH sthAnaM nidhAnaM bija mavyayaM" (Gita 9.18) "I am the GOAL, the SUPPORTER, the LORD, the WITNESS, the ABODE, the SHELTER, the FRIEND, the ORIGIN, the DISSOLUTION, the FOUNDATION, the TREASURE-HOUSE and the SEED IMPERISHABLE." and what does ADI SHANKARA SAY IN HIS BAJA GOVINDAM STOTRA ? kurute gangaasaagaragamanam vrataparipaalanamathavaa daanam gyaanavihinah sarvamatena muktim na bhajati janmashatena One may go to the Ganga, observe fasts, and give away riches in charity! Yet, devoid of jnana, nothing can give mukthi even at the end of a hundred births. AND WHAT IS THIS 'JNANA' OUR BELOVED ADI SHANKARA BHAGVADAPADA IS TALKING ABOUT ? bhagavad giitaa kijnchidadhiitaa gangaa jalalava kanikaapiitaa sakridapi yena muraari samarchaa Let a man read but a little from the Gita, drink just a drop of water from the Ganga, worship Murari just once. He then will have no altercation with Yama. YES! Read the great scriptural text Srimad Bhagwat Gita and Worship Govinda ! After Gita and Govinda, next comes Ganga ? Why is an adwaitin like ADI SHANKARA ADVOCATING praying to the lotus feet of the lord and visiting pilgrimage spots ... ? There is deep meaning behind these external acts of Worship ? adi shankara bhagavadapads himself visited all the places of pilgrimages from Kedarnath to Kashi to Kanceepuram, why ? He also paid his homage to many gods/esses in many temples along the way ! Why would a staunch advaitin do this ? The only way to subdue the 'monkey'mind is to purify the mind by chanting the 1008 names of the god/essess and silent the turbulent mind! bhajagovindam bhajagovindam govindam bhajamuudhamate naamasmaranaadanyamupaayam nahi pashyaamo bhavatarane Worship Govinda, worship Govinda, worship Govinda, Oh fool! Other than chanting the Lord's names, there is no other way to cross the life's ocean. AND ADI Shankara himself says in a 'mood' of total surender i Siva manasa puja "Atma tvam Girija matih, sahacharaah praanaah, sariram griham, Pujaa te vishayopa bhoga rachanaa, nidraa samaadhih stitih, Sanchaarah padayoh pradakshina vidhih, stotrani sarvaa giro, Yadyat karma karomi tattadakhilam Sambho! tavaaraadhanam". "My self is Sambhu (yourself); my intellect is Girija; my vital breaths are your attendants; my body is your temple of residence; my enjoying the objects of senses is your worship; my sleep is the state of meditation; all movement with the pair of feet is doing pradakshina to you and all my words are your praises. O Sambhu! Whatever I do is entirely an act of worshipping you." (Satsanghis! Even my writing on 'bhakti and jnana' in this advaitic forum is an act of worshipping GOVINDA) AdvaitaGuru adi shankara sings in his Krishnashtakam guNAkaraM sukhAkaraM kRpAkaraM kRpAparaM suradviSannikandanaM namAmi gopanandanam navInagopanAgaraM navInakelilampaTaM namAmi meghasundaraM taDitprabhAlasatpaTaM (6) My sweet Lord Krishna is the repository of all Divine attributes, transcendental bliss, and Supreme grace. He is the powerful destroyer of the enemies of the heavenly gods and source of immense delight to the cowherds of Vrindavana. I bow down to the mischievous cowherd boy, Krishna, Who is eagerly attached to His ever blissful exploits, which appear with fresh and new charm every day. His handsome complexion resembles the dark rainy cloud, while His attire of yellow silken garment, pItAmbara, shines like lightning. YES, OUR BELOVED SHANKARA BHAGVADAPADA IS SINGING THE GLORIES OF LRD Krishna by describing all his divine attributes ! and Bhagwan Krishna himself says in Srimad Bhagwat Gita chapter 10, verse 20 aham atma gudakesa sarva-bhutasaya-sthitah aham adis ca madhyam ca bhutanam anta eva ca I am the Self, O Gudakesa, seated in the hearts of all creatures. I am the beginning, the middle and the end of all beings. what is the meaning of Gudakesa ? Gudakesa means one who has conquered the darkness of sleep ! Yes when one's eyes are closed due to ignorance , how can we worship feet of the Lord? But Sri Krishna revealed this 'secret' knowledge to arjuna because Arjuna was qualified to receive this knowledge ! In the Taittiriya Upanishad, Brahman has been described as SATYAM, JNANAM, ANANTHAM i.e. Existence, knowledge and infinity. i request all learned advaintins to comment on this in the light of ADI SHANKARA'S PHILOSOPHY! ANY TAKERS ? BAKTI IS 'SAT' - TRUTH ! BHAKTI IS ALSO CHIT" CONSCIOUSNESS AND IT IS 'ANANDA' HAPPINESS AND JOY! can you seperate 'truth' from 'consciousnees' can you seperate 'consciousness ' from 'ananda? WhenEver Shri RAMAKRISHNA was asked to describe 'brahaman' , he went into a 'samadhi' SO EVEN a BRAHMA JNANI CAN not DESCRIBE THE INDESCRIBABLE, HOW CAN ORDINARY BHAKTIN LIKE ME describe the shoreless ocean of ADVAITA ? i can only sing the glories of Guru and govinda ...... BUT, ONE THING I CAN ASSERT FOR SURE ! as tonji says beautifully in his post ' EGO' is a bigger obstacle than a lack of Knowledge ! After all, Sabari, Guha, VIBISHANA AND dRUVA WERE ALL GREAT BHAKTAS! Lord Krishna says to SAGE nARADA nAhaM vasAmi vaikuNThe yoginAm hRdaye na ca/ mad-bhaktAH yatra gAyanti tatra tiSThAmi nArada// Listen my dear Narada! I neither reside in the Divine abode of Vaikuntha, nor in the pure hearts of yogis in contemplation. But most certainly I do dwell where ever my loving devotees sing about My Divine pastimes, glories and holy Names!! ( i want to thank my dear friend Pyari_hari who has taught me so much about krishna-prema ! ) Sri shankara bhagvadapada sings in Saundarya lahari ! O Daughter of the king of mountains! Great men say that the closing and opening of thy eyelids marks the dissolution and creation of this universe. Therefore it must be to prevent this universe, that has sprung at the opening of thy eyes, from going into dissolution that thou dost not wink But keepest thy eyes always open. The above verse takes upon the popular belief that divinities do not wink or blink and their eyes are always open. The poet finds a cosmic purpose in this feature of the mother's eyes. SIMILARLY, THESE EYES ARE THERE ONLY TO APPPRECIATE THE CREATOR AND HIS CREATION ! THESE EYES ARE GIVEN TO READ THE HOLY SCRIPTURES ! (FOLKS! ADI MAA HAS RIPE CATARACT IN BOTH EYES ... SHE HAS 'DIABETIC RETINOPATHY' AND HIS A 'GLAUCOMA' SUSPECT ! but still adi maa is using her eyes to see and understand the 'real' through her not so 'real ' eyes! smile! jnana dhristi comes after the ajna chakra gets opened by the grace of Devi's kataksham! There is a wonderful message here for all of us! I am not advocating 'blind' faith but atleast , remember THE VISION OF GOD/ESS appears only to those whose 'ajna' chakra is open BY the grace of Guru! Surdas was Blind but he could see the vision of the lord in the inner chamber of his heart ! TO the lotus feet of Govinda and govindapada , the guru of our beloved adi shankara bhagvadapada! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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