panchajanyam hrisheekesah-chapter16-Bhakthiyoga-adhyaya12

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After the elaboration of the nature of Brahman as the Absolute Reality in the chapters second to tenth Krishna has shown the Cosmic Form in the eleventh chapter., thus showing the efficacy of contemplation on Brahman with and without Upadhis. Now Arjuna wants to know the relative importance of worship of both manifest and unmanifest Brahman.

This legitimate doubt has sprung from the proclamation of Krishna in the last chapter that ‘bhakthya thu ananyaya sakyah hi aham evamvidhah , jnaathum, drashtum cha thathvena,’ the Lord cannot be understood or perceived in His real state through any means except devotion. In the next verse Krishna gives a definition of such devotion by saying, ‘mathkarma krt mathparamo madbhakthassangavarjithah nirvairassarvabhootheshu.’ The devotee should be nirvaira, without malice towards any being, sarvabhootheshu and sangavarjitha without attachment towards worldly affairs, and mathkarmakrth , all his actions are done as an offering to God

 

So which of the two, those who worship the Lord in the manner outlined above ,’evam sathatha yuktha yebhakthaah, devotees whose mind is integrated in the Lord always, and those who worship or meditate on Aaksharam avyaktham, imperishable and unmanifest Brahman, are comparatively better yogis?

 

The Lord replies extolling the bhakthiyoga to be the best. ‘Mayyaavesya mano ye maam nithyayukthaa upaasathe sraddhayaa parayopethaah me yukthathamaa mathaah.’ The best yogis are those who worship the Lord constantly with full concentration and great faith The best example of the expression ’mayyaavesyamanaah’ are the gopies who never had any other thought except that of Krishna. Without rigorous disciplines of yoga and meditation they were able to attain mukthi easily through their madhurabhakthi.

P rahladha illustrates the paraa sradhdha , With full faith in the power of the Lord he did not fear from the acts of his father to kill him. When in the end Hiranyakasipu asked Prahlada “Will your Lord protect you if I cut your head with my sword?†Prahlada replied “ No, because he would not allow you to bring your sword near me in the first place “ That is the sradhdha paraa, great faith.

 

At the same time Krishna hastens to add that those whose minds are integrated on the unmanifest Brahman are not inferior in any way because they also attain the Lord only, meaning that they are one with the Lord,’ brahmavit brahmaiva bhavathi ‘ The reason the bhakthas were extolled is given in the sussequent verses while in this and the next Krishna defines the nirgunopaasana, the worship of Nirguna Brahman.

 

‘Ye thu aksharam anirdesyam avyaktham paryupaasathe, sarvathragam achinthyam cha kutastham achalam dhruvam.’ The Nirguna Brahman is aksharam, Imperishable, anirdesyam Indefinable, avyaktham, Unmanifest, sarvathragam Omnipresent, achinthyam, Imponderable, kutastham, Immutable, achalam, Immovable and dhruvam , unwavering. Brahman is indefinable and imponderable because it is beyond description and imagination , transcending word and thought. As the Upanishad declares that Yatho vaacho nivarthanthe apraapyamansaa saha, both speech and mind returned without seeing Him. It is unmanifest being atheendhriya , beyond the cognition of sense organs. Thus it cannot be established by any means of cognition It is also immutable, immovable and unwavering because it is all pervading.

 

Then how could the jnanayogis become integrated in the Unmanifest Brahman? The answer is given as samniyamya indhruyagraamam sarvathra samabudhdhayah the praapnuvanthi maameva sarva bhootha hithe rathah. They attain the infinite by controlling their sense organs through mind and when the mind is stilled there is no ragadvesha and hence they become samabuddhayah, equanimous in their attitude , and since they are devoid of likes and dislikes they become sarvabhootha hithe rathaah intent on the welfare of all beings.

 

Presentation of the picture of jnana yogis leads to the reason as to why Krishna extolls the superiority of bhakthi yoga. The distinction between a jnani and a bhaktha lies not in their comparative merits as such but in the relative efficacy of the two methods. Krishna describes jnana yoga as being wrought with difficulties and therefore painful to follow. Kleso adhikatharastheshaam avyakthaasaktha chethasaam. The path of the unmanifest is harder, avakthaa hi gathirduhkham, while being conscious of the body for dehaathmabuddhaya. This is because the self-realisation will happen only when one transcends the body, mind and intellect and the rigorous discipline involved in controlling senses and the mind is full of obstacles and it is easy to swerve from the path without constant vigil over oneself..

 

Krishna continues now with Bhakthi yoga. ‘Ye thu sarvaani karmmaani mayi sanntasya mathparaah, ananyenaiva yogena maam dhyaayantha upaasathe, theshaam aham samuddhartha mrthyusamsaara saagaraath,’ He says, ‘I become the redeemer of those, who offer all their actions to me, always think of Me with undivided attention on Me as their goal, and rescue them from the ocean of samsara, the cycle of iransmigration.’ He becomes the boat to cross the sea of samsara to those who surrender to Him all their thoughts words and deeds with the attitude ‘kaayena vaachaa manasendhriyairva budhdhyaathmanaa vaa prakrthersvabhaavaath karomi yatyat sakalm parasmai Narayanaayethi samarpayaami.’ This is the meaning of mayyaavesitha chethasaam.

 

Then Krishna advises Arjuna to follow the path of bhakthi. He says, ‘If you fix your mind on Me alone, with all your thoughts absorbed in Me you will dwell in Me . There is no doubt about this.’ Whatever one does thinks or sees, there should be a persistent thought flow about the Lord like the trickle of oil, thailadharavat at the back of the mind. This is ananya bhakthi..

 

How is this possible. One has to discharge his duties towards his family and perform the work assigned to him in this world by society as a householder. Sri Ramakrishna gives a beautiful example to illustrate this. When a servant woman is looking after her ward she does her work sincerely and with involvement. But at the back of her mind is the thought of her child whom she has left behind and the moment her duties are over she hurries to her house to care for her child. This should be the attitude, when you are engrossed in your worldly affairs, towards God.

 

The possible doubt that may arise in the mind of an aspirant is that is it possible to concentrate on God steadfastly and if it is not what should one do. This is answered b Krishna next. ‘Atha chittham samaadhaathum na saknoshi mayi sthiram abhyasayogena athah maam iccha aapthum,’ If it is not possible to establish the mind in meditation on the Lord, try again and again. This is termed as yoga by Krishna, abhyasayoga. Abhyasa or repeated effort in fixing the mind in one object becomes a yoga which is the resulting concentration. ‘Maam iccha aapthum , reach out to Me’ says Krishna.

 

But this is easier said than done as Krishna Himself accepted earlier, the mind is most fickle and impossible to control,’mano dhurnigraham chalam.’ So what is the alternative? Krishna says, ‘Do not despair, if you are not able to practice control of the mind, do all your actions for My sake, . matkarmaparamobhava, devote yourself to do My work.’ Renounce the agency of action to Him, casting of the attitude of ‘ I ‘ and ‘ ‘ ‘Mine.’

There is a beautiful sloka in Kulasekhara’s Mukundamala, garland for Mukunda.

Jihve kirthayakesavam muraripum chetho baja sridharam

paanidvandva tham archaya achyuthakathaah srothra dvaya tvam srnu,

krishnam lokaya lochanadvaya hareh gachchaanghriyugmaalayam

jighra graana mukundapaada tulasim murdhan nama adhkshajam.

 

Oh my tongue, sing the glory of Kesava ,the destroyer of the demon Mura, oh mind think about Sridhara, my two hands, worship Him, my two ears hear the stories of Achyutha, my two eyes, see Krishna, my two feet go to the temple of Hari ,oh nose smell the tulasi offered to His feet and oh head, bow down to Him

If one can train his faculties this way it becomes easy to think of the Lord all the time. But caught in the samsara is this possible? What about catering to the needs of oneself and one’s family. If a man in his prime of life spends all his time in this manner who will feed him and his family? It may be alright for one who has finished his duties and leads a retired life. This may be the thought that comes uppermost in our minds. Even for those like us Krishna provides a solution.

 

Atha ethadhapyasakthosi karthum madyogamaasrithah sarvakarmaphalathyaagam thathah kuru yathaathmavaan. Whatever one does it should be done as an offering to God and the result of the action should be renounced. This is possible only for a yathaathmavan, one who is endowed with self control. That is, one who has given up all idea of ‘I ‘ and ‘mine. What Krishna means here is that whatever you do according to your position on life, should be done as offering to God, ‘sarvam narayanaayethi samarpayaami.’ The same attitude was stressed in the chapter of Karmayoga but here it is not mere Karmayoga but Karmayoga coupled with bhakthi which becomes easier.

The last alternative outlined above is lauded to be the best by Krishna. He says, knowledge is superior than repeated efforts without discrimination, sreyo hi jnanam abhyaasaath, meditation guided by knowledge is even better, jnaanaathdhyaanam visishyathe. But renunciation of the fruits of action is the best as peace results from it, dhyaanaathkarmaphalathyaagah thyaagaathshanthiranantharam.

 

The question that arises in the mind is that whether the renunciation of the fruit of action is so easy or so commendable than dhyana, abhayasa and jnana. It is definitely not that easy. But it is praised because even an ignorant man, provided he has faith and devotion, can be induced to give up the fruit of action as it is ingrained in the human mind that result of action is not entirely in his control, that is, there is a many a slip between the cup and the lip. So by giving up the fruit of action he places his trust in God and slowly gives up his desires thinking that God knows best what is good for him and will give it unasked. This leads him to think about God more and more and realizes that whatever he does belongs to God. Then he tries to concentrate on God more and more and this practice induces him to acquire knowledge and discrimination. So the renunciation of the fruit of action finally culminates in peace that is born out of jnana.

 

Once the jnana has risen there is absolutely no difference between the saguna and nirguna upasanas. Even a devotee who starts worshipping God with form comes to realize that God is all pervading and not limited to a particular form and the form is only for convenience of concentration. So the description of a jnani that follows is applicable to both bhakthiyoga and jjnanayoga and is similar to what has been outlined in the second chapter regarding the man of realization.

 

‘Adveshtaa sarvabhoothaanaam maithrahkaruna eva cha, nirmamo nirahankarah samaduhkasukhakshami, ‘ He has no hatred towards any living being, and friendly and kind to all. He is without the ego and possessiveness. He is patient and equanimous in sukha and duhkha.(Vide: Duhkheshvanudvignamanaah sukeshu vigatha sprhah veetaragabhayakrodhah sthithadheermnuiruchyathe â€" Ch.2-56.)

 

 

‘Santhushtassathatham yogi yathaathmaa dhrdanischayah maayyarpitha mano buddhih yo me bhakthassame priyah’ He is always contented. Because he has selfcontrol and of steadfast resolve(sthithaprajna.) Why he is so, is indicated by the word mayyarpitha manobuddhih. ‘ His mind and intellect is absorbed in Me,’ says Krishna, and adds that such a devotee is dear to Me.

 

Why is such a devotee dear to the Lord. The merits of the bhaktha are enumerated in the four verses that follow each one emphasizing that he is dear to the Lord.

 

Neither the world has any reason to be agitated by him nor is he agitated by the world, yasmaannodhvijathe loko lokaannodhvijathe cha yah. The reason for this is his being free from elation, intolerance, fear and agitation. and hence he is dear to the Lord.

 

He craves not, anapekshah, is pure, suchih, very adept in his actions at the same time not affected, udaaseenah , not worried, gathavyathah and given up all desire motivated actions, sarvaarambhaparithyaagi. He is not elated, has no hatred, not aggrieved and has no desire, yo na hrshyathi na dveshti na sochathi na kaankshathi. He has given up both good and evil, subhaasubhaparithyaagi, because all his actions are done as worship and he has renounced the fruit of action. Since he is detached he is the same towards friend and foe,. honour and dishonour, cold and warmth sukha and duhka. Therefore he treats .both contempt and praise alike. He is silent and contented with whatever that accrues. He has no fixed abode. For him vasudhaiva kutumbhakam. and he is sthiramatih, in other words sthithaprajnah. ‘Such a devotee,’ says Krishna,’ is dear to Me.’ Krishna concludes by saying that all those who are endowed with aforementioned qualities and have faith and are engrossed in Him are exceedingly dear to Him.

 

End of Part2-adhyayas6to12