Bhagavad Gita - Daily One Verse Brief Explanation - II 2:14 II

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|| Shree Hari ||

Ram Ram

 

II 2:14 II

 

maatraa-sparshaas tu kaunteya, sitosna-sukha-duhkha-daah

aagamapayino 'nityaas, tams titikshasva bhaarata

 

O son of Kunti, the contacts of the senses with their objects, gives

rise to the feeling of cold (likes) & heat (dislikes) and pleasure &

pain, etc., these feelings come and go and are impermanent;

therefore, forbear them patiently i.e., remain unaffected by them, O

Bharata (Arjuna).

 

Comment:

 

All the circumstances and situations of the world are transitory,

they come and go. Ordinary man desires that the pleasant situation

should stay and unpleasant situation should not come. But a natural

rule is that the pleasant situation goes and the unpleasant

situation comes, it is God's wonderful play. A spiritual aspirant

should accept all situations with joy only.

 

To try to see permanence in impermanent things is a big mistake. It

is from this mistake, mamta (the sense mine-ness) and desire are

born. Ordinarily looking at things, the objects seem to be primary

and actions seem secondary, but in fact it is all actions and

actions only, the objects are not there at all!

 

From Gita Prabodhani in Hindi pg. 26 by Swami Ramsukhdasji

 

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Chapter 2, Verse 14 is as follows;

 

Matraa-SparshaaH = contacts of sensory organs with material objects

Tu = indeed

Kaunteya = O Arjuna!

Sheeta = cold

UshNa = hot

Sukha = pleasure

DuHkha = pain

DaaH = producers of

Aagam – ApaayinaH = which come and go away

AnityaaH = impermanent

Taan = them

Titikshasva = you should endure

Bhaarat = O Arjuna!

 

English translation:-

 

O son of Kunti, the contacts of the sensory organs with material

objects create feelings of heat and cold, of pain and pleasure. They

come and go and are impermanent. O Arjuna! Please endure them

patiently.

 

According to the Vedanta philosophy, an object is perceived not by

the sense organs but through them. Smoking a cigarette brings joy to

one, while it creates a nuisance to another one. While a cigarette

as an object remaining the same in nature, brings exactly opposite

experiences to such two individuals due to their different sensory

perceptions, mental compositions and intellectual orientations.

 

An alcoholic may enjoy first few pegs of his favourite hard drink,

but if he indulges in it by consuming multiple pegs; then he is

bound to lose the ecstasy of the joy that he had felt in the

beginning. Therefore, the feelings of joy and sorrow are relative

in nature.

 

Whenever you buy a new mobile phone or a personal computer, after

the initial enthusiasm of the lure of possession of the product is

over, sooner or later the customer dissonance sets in.

 

Similarly, a boy after marrying a girl of intense desire and fancy

in his youth, over a period of time may get disenchanted with her

and ultimately may end up in divorcing her.

 

These are clear examples of ever changing human mind and human

relationships. Everything that we experience is in a state of flux

i.e. undergoing changes ad infinitum. A change alone is a changeless

law.

 

It reminds me of a famous gazhal by a famous Pakistani singer, Gulam

Ali as follows;

 

`Dil Badalate Hai To Chehere Bhi Badala Jaate Hain " i.e. whenever

there is a change of mind, it certainly reflects on your face.

 

The feelings of heat and cold are experienced by the physical organs

of a body of a living being. The feelings of pain and pleasure are

experienced by the mind. The feelings of honour and dishonour are

felt by the intellect. However, all these feelings are not lasting

forever. They are transient in nature and therefore O Arjuna, please

be patient and face them with equanimity of the trio of body, mind

and intellect.

 

It is the outlook and attitude of wise men to go through the cycles

of life and death both in joy and sorrow, in success and failure

with the constant awareness that, " Even this will pass away. "

 

In verse 42 of chapter 3, Lord Krishna has very nicely explained the

pyramidal structure. At the bottom of the pyramidal structure; there

are the physical organs of a body, the next layer is that of the

fickle mind followed by the layer of the intellect. However on top

of these three layers, there exists the Aatman the enlivening

principle in the Universe.

 

By attaining `Yoga' i.e. unity with the Self, a Sadhak remains calm,

cool and collected under the continuous onslaught of all these

transient phenomena.

 

The famous German philosopher Immanuel Kant has described in

`Kantianism', a phenomenon is a thing as it appears to be, as

constructed by the trio of body-mind-intellect; whereas a noumenon

is something quite different, as inaccessible to experiences, one

that can be the object only of a purely intellectual and non-

sensuous intuition i.e. thing-in-itself, without any distortions

introduced by individual perceptions.

 

One, who remains unaffected by all such transients, becomes firm in

life and thus becomes competent for enlightenment.

 

Lord Krishna addresses Arjuna as `Kaunteya' i.e. a son of virtuous

mother Kunti and `Bhaarat' i.e. belonging to the great nation

`Bhaarat-Varsha'. These references to such pedigree imply that

Arjuna is indeed a deserving candidate to receive `Yoga' i.e. the

highest spiritual knowledge of unity with the Self.

 

An endless pair of opposites like birth and death, joy and sorrow,

honour and dishonour, good and bad, profit and loss, war and peace

etc. rise up and wither away. None of these pair of opposites is a

permanent one. A human life is full of continuous torrent of

experiences of such transient opposites in nature.

 

In Sanskrit language this is called as `Dvandva' i.e. opposites. In

modern language it is called as binary division of `0' and `1'

states. Out of these perplexing dualities, every Sadhak has to deal

with every such favourable or unfavourable experience with a clear

understanding of its impermanent nature.

 

In Sanskrit language `Titikshaa' means endurance, patience or

forbearance. It is the enduring capacity coupled with cheerful

disposition to put up with any favourable or unfavourable outcome,

while keeping aside likes and dislikes.

 

Lord Krishna chides Arjuna to understand that both desirable as well

as undesirable are inevitable facets of human life. Every good or

bad thing has an end. Nothing lasts forever. The only things that

transcend the limitations of space, time and causations are the

Universal Truths and not transient truths.

 

Thanks & Best Regards,

Shrikant Joshi

 

===============================================================

OTHER SADHAKS

 

Hari Bol.

 

I wish to add a few comments to Sri Shrikant Joshi's wonderful

commentary which I look forward to reading every day. In these

verses in Chapter 2 of the Holy Gita, Bhagavan Sri Krishna is

asserting, in unequivocal terms, the truth behind the doctrine of

Reincarnation.

 

Swami Chinmayananda's commentary on Bhagavad Gita provided some

revealing references to the doctrine of Reincarnation in the

scriptures of other religions, and in Western Literature and

Academia.

 

Christ himself told his disciples: " John, the Baptist, was Elijah. "

Origen, the most learned of Christian fathers, declared: " Every man

received a body for himself according to his deserts in former

lives. "

Virgil and Ovid regarded the doctrine as perfectly self-evident.

Josephus observed that the belief of reincarnation was widely

accepted among the Jews of his age.

Solomon's Book of Wisdom says: " To be born in sound body with sound

limbs is a reward of the virtues of past lives. "

 

And, the famous saying from the son of Islam who declared: " I died

out of the stone and I became a plant; I died out of the plant and

became an animal; I died out of the animal and became a man. Why

then should I fear to die? When did I grow less by dying? I shall

die out of a man and shall become an angel ! "

 

The Reincarnation doctrine was accepted by great philosophers:

Goethe, Fichte, Schelling, Lessing, Hume, Spencer, et al.

 

When Bhagavan Sri Krishna declared in 2:12 that none of them,

including himself, Arjuna, and the great kings, even after their

deaths on the battlefield " shall cease to exist in the future, "

Arjuna could not grasp it as a self-evident fact. Hence, Lord

Krishna again explained the concept in 2:13. Bhagavan is bringing

home the point to Arjuna, and to us, that wise men do not worry when

they leave one body for the purpose of taking over another one.

 

Alas, as human beings, while the principle of Reincarnation is

intellectually satisfying, it may not give sufficient consolation to

the human heart. The knowledge and acceptance of Reincarnation may

lessen our grief for the dead but they certainly do not free the

living from the pangs of sorrow and separation. Unless, of course,

we truly understand and accept the concept of rebirth and the

continuity of existence in spite of the inevitability of death. May

Bhagavan shower His Blessings on all of us so that we can attain

this level of spirituality.

 

My apologies for going on for a few more paragraphs than I had

originally intended.

 

Hari Om,

Krishna S. Narinedath

 

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|| Shree Hari ||

Ram Ram

 

All Sadhaks can and should contribute as well. Discussion /

clarification is encouraged

 

OTHER REQUESTS FROM SADHAKS -

 

Please feel free to take the lead in any of these areas so that all

sadhaks may benefit.

 

- Introduction to Chapters (GT MODERATOR FROM SADHAK SANJIVANI)

- Chapter Summary - Principles and Laws emanating from it.(N.B. VYAS)

- Summary of Chapter from Sadhak Sanjivani " AS IS "

- Yes, Epilogue / Important Facts in each verse good to bring out.

- Any subtle thoughts / interpretation (MIKE)

- In-depth explanation of " Om Tat Saditi Srimadbhagavadgitaasu,

Upanishadsu..... " is a very good idea. (GT MODERATOR FROM SADHAK

SANJIVANI)

 

From Gita Talk Moderators

Ram Ram

-----------------------------

 

Shree Hari

Ram Ram

We deeply thank Shri Shrikantji Joshi for taking the initiative to

support this divine work of daily one verse Bhagavad Gita

explanation and Shri Madan Kauraji for the Gita Prabodhani

translation Chapter 1 and 2 and to Mrs. K Asani for requesting shloka

explanation on a daily basis.

From Gita Talk Moderators

Ram Ram