Bhagavad Gita - Daily - II CHAPTER 4 - 3 II

March 16, 2010

Gita 4 - 3

sa evaayam mayaa te'dya yogahh proktahò puraatanah |

bhakto'si me sakhaa cheti rahasyam hyetaduttamam || (Gita 4/3)

" That same ancient Yoga has been imparted to you today by Me, as You are My

devotee and dear friend and because this Yoga is a Supreme Secret. " (Gita 4/3)

From " Gita Prabhodani " in hindi by Swami Ramsukhdasji

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

Chapter 4, Verse 3 is as follows;

SaH = that

Eva = even

Ayam = this

Maya = by Me

Te = to you

Adya = today

YogaH = Yoga

ProktaH = has been taught

PuraatanaH = ancient / time immemorial

BhaktaH = devotee

Asi = you are

Me = My

Sakhaa = dear friend

Cha = and

Iti = thus

Rahasyam = secret

Hi = indeed

Etat = this

Uttamam = the best / supreme

English Translation:-

The same ancient Yoga has been imparted to you by Me today, for you are My

devotee and a dear friend. The knowledge of this Yoga indeed is the Supreme

Secret.

Comment:

There is nothing absolutely new under the Sun in our planetary system. The same

old truth gets re-stated over and over again. The presentations may be

different, which may be adapted to suit different generations of people under

different socio and economic conditions that are prevalent, from time to time.

Probably that is the reason we call it `research' and not `search'.

In this verse, Lord Krishna admits that he is not stating any new doctrine; but

he is only restoring the old tradition, the eternal verity, handed down from a

preceptor to a disciple. However, his teaching is a renewal, a rediscovery and a

restoration of the old tradition forgotten over a long passage of time. All

great teachers are content to reaffirm that they are merely restating the

teachings of their Gurus.

When Gautam Buddha returned to the capital of his kingdom to seek blessings from

his father on his newly found mission, at first his father could not recognise

Gautam in his ascetic's dress with a begging bowl in his hand. However, as soon

as he realised that he was indeed his beloved son Gautam, he asked him, " What is

this? " and the prompt reply was, " My dear father, it is the custom of my race! "

With an utter surprise with a tinge of anger, the king asked, " What kind of

race? " and Gautam Buddha replied,

" The Buddhas who have been and who shall be; of these I am the one and what they

did, so I do. And this, which now befalls, so fell before as well. That at his

gate a warrior king should meet his son, a prince in hermit weeds. "

Similarly, even Jesus Christ, prior to the final order for his crucifixion, had

described his mission to Pontius Pilate, who had presided over his trial, " I

came into this world to bear witness to the Truth and all who are on the side of

Truth, listen to my voice " ; to which Pilate had replied, " What is the Truth? "

Unfortunately, Jesus Christ did not get an opportunity to elaborate it.

In Mahaa-Bhaarata, Duryodhana and his uncle Shakunee tried every trick to drive

a wedge between Lord Krishna and Arjuna; however their every attempt resulted

into a miserable failure. There were so many competent persons in the

battlefield of Kurukshetra, however Lord Krishna chose Arjuna to be the most

worthy recipient of the ancient Yoga due to his two unique qualifications of

utmost devotion and true and yet selfless friendship. Therefore, `Yatra

Yogeshwara Krishna, Tatra Arjuna " i.e. come what may, in every situation Arjuna

always demonstrated his unwavering faith or `NishThaa' in the guidance of Lord

Krishna.

It reminds me of a famous song in Marathi language wherein Arjuna tells Lord

Krishna, " CharaNee Tujheeyaa Maja Deyee Vaasa Hari " i.e. My Lord, please give me

a small place near your Lotus feet.

Every Saadhaka knows about his / her body, its perceptions, its external as well

as internal stimuli and the resultant responses or actions. Every Saadhaka knows

about his / her mind, its association with mental feelings and emotions. Every

Saadhaka also knows about his / her intellect, its thought experiments and the

resultant if-then-else construction of various alternative scenarios. However,

the knowledge of the Self within is not a natural occurrence to the most of us.

The Self remains a supreme secret to one and all as it lies beyond the cognition

of the human equipments of the physical body, mind and intellect. Therefore,

Yuga PuruSha like Lord Krishna had to take birth to impart ancient Yoga to

Arjuna.

The Mahaa-Bhaarata has eighteen chapters. The Shreemad Bhagawad Geeta has

eighteen chapters. One plus eight is nine, the final number. It is a symbol of

finality - the last word. There are many who consider that the Shreemad Bhagawad

Geeta contains the " last word. " Others claim the title for the Holy Bible or the

Holy Quran. One, who realizes that all these three spring from the same eternal

source; sees no confusion in any one of them. As per Vedanta philosophy,

however, that this " last word " can be re-stated time and time again, with a

slight difference in the modulation and accent. This is the secret of our

tolerance, understanding and all-inclusiveness. Please refer verse 41 from

Chapter 10 in Shreemad Bhagawad Geeta to illustrate the point in this case.

Truth gets perverted and lost on account of disuse or misuse. The human

intellect is incapable of comprehending the spiritual truth, which individual

spiritual experience alone can approach. When the latter is absent, out of

egoistic tendencies the human intellect feels compelled to spin a web of myth

and superstition popularly known as modern philosophy around the truth, which is

totally covered up in this cobweb in the course of time. No wonder Shreemad

Bhagawad Geeta has survived the ultimate test of time for the past 5,000 odd

years and it is my personal opinion and unwavering faith that it will continue

to survive for ever.

Thus, after having established an affectionate rapport with Arjuna, his beloved

friend and genuine devotee; Lord Krishna develops trust and confidence in Arjuna

by citing eloquent testimonials of the `Karma Yoga' practiced by RaajarShees

like Vivasvaan, Manu, Ikshavaaku and later on Janaka. In this verse, Lord

Krishna declares His pleasure in imparting the ancient Yoga to Arjuna in

Kurukshetra.

Thanks & Best Regards,

Shrikant Joshi

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

To read the SADHAK SANJIVAN in Hindi please visit :

http://www.swamiramsukhdasji.org/swamijibooks/pustak/pustak1/html/SadhakSanjeevn\

i/main.html

Also selected verses of Sadhak Sanjivani recited (audio) can be heard at:

http://www.facebook.com/?ref=logo#!/pages/Sadhak-Sanjeevani-Swami-Ramsukhdasji-D\

etailed-Commentary-on-the-Gita/485952915098

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

Gita Discussion - Post message:

Subscribe: -

Un: -

March 19, 2010

Gita 4 - 3sa evaayam mayaa te'dya yogahh proktahò puraatanah |bhakto'si me sakhaa cheti rahasyam hyetaduttamam || (Gita 4/3)"That same ancient Yoga has been imparted to you today by Me, as You are Mydevotee and dear friend and because this Yoga is a Supreme Secret." (Gita 4/3)

A Vital Fact

In beginning the of the gospel of Gita, The Lord had described, in Gita 2/11-13 (from the eleventh verse to the thirtieth verse of the second chapter), that every being experiences or realizes, `I am'. Even trees and mountains feel this, though they cannot express it. This can be clearly seen among animals and birds, because they fight with each other, as they are aware of their own existence; otherwise why should they fight? "I am distinct from the body and the world"—this is a common experience of every being. It is called discrimination. As far as a man is concerned, he has been specially endowed with discrimination by God. The pity is, that he does not respect it and use it appropriately.

Senses, mind and intellect, are the part of nature (prakrÌ£ti) and so whatever is known through these, is knowledge born of nature. The knowledge of scriptures that is acquired through the senses, mind and intellect is also born of nature. The knowledge of God, is far superior to this knowledge. Therefore, He can be known only by the knowledge of the Self. When a man attaches importance to the knowledge of the Self i.e., discrimination (wisdom, vivek), he develops the power to know `Who I am', `What is mine', `What is sentient and what is insentient', `What is God and what is nature (prakrÌ£ti)', and so on. The same discrimination, is applied for Karmayoga also—this is something vital.

In Karmayoga, two important factors predominate—(1) There is no doubt about one's own existence, `I am'. (2) Whatever objects we possess are not ours, because these are acquired; these were neither ours in the past, nor will remain ours, in future. `I' (the Self) remains the same while these objects—body, senses, mind, intellect etc., are changeable and perishable. As actions appear and disappear, so does their fruit. So actions and objects, have their affinity for the world, not for the self. When this discrimination (wisdom) is aroused, desire perishes. When desire perishes, self-evident actionlessness is revealed i.e., Karmayoga is accomplished.

Discrimination (wisdom) is enveloped by desire (Gita 3/38-39). A man motivated by selfish desires cannot discriminate between the right and the wrong, because he hankers after worldly prosperity and pleasures. Thus, he cannot decide what ought to be done and what ought not to be done. He wants to find out a solution, to the riddles of life through the body, senses, mind and intellect or by changing the circumstances. But circumstances cannot be changed by him. So he gets more and more entangled, and cannot decide his duty. But, when his discrimination (wisdom) is aroused, he gets rid of the desire for pleasure, prosperity and selfishness; and then he clearly sees his duty, and then all entanglements perish.

Actions bear fruit in the form of outward circumstances, such as riches and poverty, praise and blame, honour and dishonour, fame and defame, profit and loss, birth and death and health and sickness etc. He who becomes, either happy in favourable circumstances or sad in unfavourable circumstances, by accepting his affinity for them, is a fool. Why? The reason is, that he cannot change the circumstances, but he can rise above these i.e., can remain detached from them, by making proper use of them. In favourable circumstances he should render service to others, while under unfavourable conditions, he should neither feel sad nor should he desire favourable circumstance. Such an aspirant, easily gets liberated from worldly bondage.

Undesirable circumstances, are fruits of sinful actions. So, even in a dream sinful actions which hurt others should not be performed. But in unfavourable circumstances, which are the fruits of sinful actions of the past, worry, sadness and fear etc., automatically come to his mind, even though he does not commit new sins. An aspirant, should not be attached to these. He should believe that these come to his mind in the same way, as a cow whom he has sold visits his house, because of old habit. As the cow stops, coming to his house and starts living in the new place, similarly, when a striver does not get attached to these feelings, these stop coming to his mind.

Even when, discrimination (wisdom) is not fully aroused, a Karmayogi has a determinate intellect, and he has to renounce affinity for the perishable, which is not his and he has to render service to the world without enjoying worldly pleasures. It is because of his determinate intellect, that he ceases attaching importance to worldly pleasures. Then, he cannot be entangled in the mirage of pleasures. Thus his determinate intellect, leads him to salvation. Good company and the study of the scriptures strengthen this intellect. Therefore, every striver should have a firm intellect, that he has to attain salvation. Everyone is independent in having this determination, without seeking the least help, from anyone else.

From "The Bhagavad Gita - Sadhak Sanjivani" in English by Swami Ramsukhdasji

-----------------To read the SADHAK SANJIVAN in Hindi please visit :http://www.swamiramsukhdasji.org/swamijibooks/pustak/pustak1/html/SadhakSanjeevn\i/main.htmlAlso selected verses of Sadhak Sanjivani recited (audio) can be heard at:http://www.facebook.com/?ref=logo#!/pages/Sadhak-Sanjeevani-Swami-Ramsukhdasji-D\etailed-Commentary-on-the-Gita/485952915098============================Gita Discussion - Post message: Subscribe: - Unsubscribe: -