Ch.8 - part 1

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--- Sunder Hattangadi <sunderh > wrote:

 

> Namaste Shyam-ji,

>

> Thank you. I can only pray for His grace

> for me to

> understand Gita 8:27-28.

> Regards,

>

> Sunder

 

 

 

Shri Sunder-ji

Pranams

I am sure you are very familiar with Ch8 and with

Shankara bhashyam on the same.

I wish to reproduce some key verses to reflect my

understanding of this, which to my mind is in keeping

with what HH Kanchi MahaSwamigal has said above

 

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8.8 Partha, O son of Prtha; anu-cintayan, by

meditating, i.e. contemplating in accordance with

(anu) the instruction of teachers and scriptures;

cestasa, with a mind; abhyasa-yogayuktena, engaged in

the yoga of practice-abhyasa, practice, consists in

the repetition of the same kind of thought,

uninterupted by any contrary idea, with regard to Me

who am the object of concentration of the mind; that

practice itself is yoga; the mind of a yogi is

engrossed (yuktam) in that itself; with a mind that is

such, and na anya-gamina, which does not stray away to

anything else which is not inclined to go away to any

other object; yati, one reaches; the paramam, supreme,

unsurpassed; purusam, Person; divyam, existing in the

effulgent region (divi), in the Solar Orb. And, to

what kind of a Person does he go? This is being

stated:

8.9 Yah, he who, anyone who; anusmaret, meditates on;

kavim, the Omniscient, the Knower of things past,

present and future; puranam, the Ancient, the Eternal;

anusasitaram, the Ruler, the Lord of the whole

Universe; aniyamsam, subtler; anoh, than the subtle;

dhataram, the Ordainer; sarvasya, of every-thing-one

who grants the fruits of actions, in all their

varieties, individually to all creatures;

acintya-rupam, who is of inconceivable form-His form,

though always existing, defies being conceived of by

anybody; aditya-varnam, who is effulgent like the sun,

who is manifest as eternal Consciousness like the

effulgence of the sun; and parastat, beyond; tamasah,

darkness-beyond the darkness of delusion in the form

of ignorance-(he attains the supreme Person). This

verse is to be connected with the earlier itself thus:

'by meditating (on Him)...he attains Him.' Further,

8.10 Prayana-kale, at the time of death; after first

brining the mind under control in the lotus of the

heart, and then lifting up the vital force-through the

nerve going upward-by gradually gaining control over

(the rudiments of nature such as) earth etc. [space,

air, fire, water and earth.] and after that, samyak,

avesya, having fully fixed; pranam, the Prana (vital

force); madhye, between; the bhruvoh, eye-brows,

without losing attention; acalena manasa, with an

unwavering mind; he, the yogi possessed of such

wisdom, yuktah, imbued; bhaktya, with devotion, deep

love; ca eva, as also; yoga-balena, [Yoga means

spiritual absorption, the fixing of the mind on

Reality alone, to the exclusion of any other object.]

with the strength of concentration-i.e; imbued with

that (strength) also, consisting in steadfastness of

the mind arising from accumulation of impressions

resulting from spiritual absorption; upaiti, reaches;

tam, that; div yam, resplendent; param, supreme;

purusam, Person, described as 'the Omniscient, the

Ancient,' etc. The Lord again speaks of Brahman which

is sought to be attained by the process going to be

stated, and which is described through such

characteristics as, 'What is declared by the knowers

of the Vedas,'etc.:

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Shyam:

In the above verses 8.8-8.10, Bhagwaan Sankara uses

two qualifications for what is defined by Bhagwaan

Krishna as yoga for the purpose of this chapter. The

word Yoga as you well know has over a dozen meanings

in different parts of the Gita.

Here yoga is with reference to 2 things- singlepointed

meditation on Me – the Ishwara, the Omniscient One –

which is different from what is generally understood

as a forced suppression of the mental activities using

breath control, etc etc. This form of yoga which has

neither atma vichara not Ishwara bhkati as its

underlying objective is as Sankara bluntly puts it in

Aparoksha Anubhuti – “merely torturing ones own nose”

The second thing is anuchintayan – meditating on the

words of the acharya and the scriptures – this term

(which Sankara often uses) never refers to yogic

acharyas or yogic scriptures, but the Acharya or Guru

who is teaching you about atmavichara.

 

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8.11 Pravaksye, I shall speak; te, to you; samgrahena,

briefly; tat, of that; which is called the aksaram,

immutable-that whch does not get exhausted, which is

indestructible; padam, Goal to be reached; yat, which;

veda-vidah, the knowers of the Vedas, the knowers of

the purport of the Vedas; vedanti, declare, speak of

It as opposed to all qualifications-'It is neither

gross nor minute' (Br. 3.8.8) etc.-, in accordance

with the Upanisadic text, 'O Gargi, the knowers of

Brahman say this Immutable (Brahman) is that' (ibid);

and further, yat, into which, after the attainment of

complete realization; visanti, enter; yatayah, the

diligent ones, the monks; who have become vita-ragah,

free from attachment; and icchantah, aspiring to know

(-to know being supplied to complete the sense-); yat,

which Immutable; people caranti, practise;

brahmacaryam, celibacy-at the teacher's house.

Commencing with, '"O venerable sir, which world does

he really win thereby who, among men, intently

meditates on Om in that wonerful way till death?" To

him he said, "O Satyakama, this very Brahman that is

(known as) the inferior and superior is but this Om"'

(pr.5.1-2), it has been stated, 'Again, anyone who

meditates on the supreme Purusa with the help of this

very syllable Om, as possessed of three letters,...he

is lifted up to the world of Brahma (Hiranyagarbha) by

the Sama-mantras,' (op.cit.5) etc. Again, beginning

with '(Tell me of that thing which you see as)

different from virtue, different from vice,' it has

been stated, 'I tell you briefly of that goal which

all the Vedas with one voice propound, which all the

austerities speak of, and wishing for which people

practise Brahmacarya: it is this, viz Om'

(Ka.1.2.14-15), etc. In the above quotations, Om which

is going to be spoken of is presented as a name of

this supreme Brahman, and also as Its symbol like an

image. This has been done as a means to meditation on

it (Om) for the attainment of the supreme Brahman by

poeple of low and mediocre intellect, in as much as

this leads to Liberation in course of time. Here also

that very meditation on Om in the manner stated

above-which is the means of attaining the supreme

Brahman introduced in, '(He who meditates on) the

Omniscient, the Ancient,' and in, '(I shall speak to

you briefly of that immutable Goal) which the knowers

of the Vedas declare,' and which (meditation) leads to

Liberation in due course [Realization of Brahman leads

to immediate Liberation (sadyomukti, whereas

meditation (contemplation, upasana) leads to gradual

Liberation (krama-mukti).-Tr.]-has to be spoken of

along with 'adherence to yoga' as also whatever is

connected directly or indirectly with it. For this

purpose the following text is begun:

 

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Shyam:

In this commentary Sankara delineates the two paths –

one that leads to liberation in stages which is fit

for students of mediocre or low intellect, who are not

going to be able to follow the delicate path of jnana

marga; and the other path that culminates in direct

realization of the statement of the mahavakyas – tat

tvam asi, etc and consequent immediate liberation.

 

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8.12 Samyamya, having controlled; sarva-dvarani, all

the passages, the doors of perception; niruddhya,

having confined; the manah, mind; hrdi, in the

heart-not allowing it to spread out; and after that,

with the help of the mind controlled therein, rising

up through the nerve running upward from the heart,

adhaya, having fixed; atmanah, his own; pranam, vital

force; murdhni, in the lead; (and then) asthitah,

continuing in; yogadharanam, the firmness in yoga-in

order to make it steady-. And while fixing it there

itself,

8.13 Yah, he who; prayati, departs, dies; tyajan, by

leaving; deham, the body-the phrase 'leaving the body'

is meant for qualifying departure; thereby it is

implied that the soul's departure occurs by abandoning

the body, and not through the destruction of its own

reality, having abandoned thus-; vyaharan, while

uttering; the eka-adsaram, single syllable; om iti

brahma, viz Om, which is Brahman, Om which is the name

of Brahman; and anusmaran, thinking; mam, of Me, of

God who is implied by that (syllable); sah, he; yati,

attains; the paramam, supreme, best; gatim, Goal.

Further,

8.14 Partha, O son of Prtha, tasya yoginah, to that

yogi; nitya-yuktasya, of constant concentration, who

is ever absorbed (in God); and ananya-cetah, of

single-minded attention, a yogi whose mind is not

drawn to any other object; yah, who; smarati,

remembers; mam, Me, the supreme God; satatam,

uninteruptedly; and nityasah, for long-. By satatam,

uninterrupteldy, is meant 'without any break'. By

niryasah, is meant along duration. Not six months, nor

even a year! What then? The meaning is: He who

remembers Me for his whole life, continuously. To that

yogi aham, I; am sulabhah, easy of attainment. Since

this is so, therefore one should remain ever absorbed

in Me, with mind given to nothing else. 'What follows

from Your being easy of attainment?' This is being

answered: 'Hear what follows from My being easy of

attainment.'

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Shyam:

Sloka 14 clarifies that even for such a yogi, who is

adept at controlling his prana and directing its path,

he cannot attain Brahman even through stages, unless

he remembers Ishwara for every single moment of his

entire life. What does this signify? This is no longer

a Yoga consisting of a mere exercising of breath and

prana-control – this is in essence Bhakti yoga whose

aim is not a mere forceful cessation of mind’s

activites, but whose aim is the very absorption in

Ishwara. Why? Because whatever one desires at the time

of death whatever one conceives at the time of death

one becomes, and if this yogi is not conceiving of

Ishwara, or Brahman as represented by the symbol Om at

the time of death, then there is no means for him to

acquire it. Bhagwan Krishna is stating the obvious –

we never know when we are going to depart, and hence

presuming that at that time we will somehow be able to

think of Ishwara or Om as a symbolic representation,

without thinking of Him for every blessed moment we

are alive, is wishful thinking indeed.

 

.....to be continued. Hari OM