Gita Satsangh Chapter 11 Verses 21 to 22

[Guest guest]

Gita Satsangh Chapter 11 Verses 21 to 22

(Verse Translation by Swami Gambirananda, Gita Bhasya and commentary

by Swami Chinmayanandaji)

 

Amee hi twaam surasanghaah vishanti Kechid bheetaah praanjalayo

grinanti;

Swasteetyuktwaa maharshisiddhasanghaah Stuvanti twaam stutibhih

pushkalaabhih.

Verse 21

 

21. Those very groups of gods enter into You

struck with fear, some extol (You) with joined palms. Groups of

great sages and perfected beings praise You with elaborate

hymns,saying 'May it be well!'

 

Ami hi, those very

sura-sanghah, groups of gods, the soldiers engaged in battle-groups

of gods such as the Vasus who have descended here in the form of

human beings for eliminating the burden of the earth

visanti, enter-are seen to be entering

tvam, You. Bhitah, struck with fear, and unable to flee

kecit, some among them

grnanti, extol You

pranjalayah, with their palms joined. Maharsi-siddha [siddha: A semi-

divine being supposed to be of great purity and holiness, and said to

be particularly characterized by eight supernatural faculties called

siddhis.-V.S.A.]-sanghah, groups of great sages and perfected beings

seeing protents foreboding evil, etc. as the battle became imminent

stuvanti, praise

tvam, You

puskalabhih, with elaborate, full

stutibhih, hymns

uktva, saying

'svasti iti, May it be well!'

 

The running commentary given out so long by Arjuna was the

description of a stagnant Cosmic-Form, at once " marvelous and awful. "

Here we find Arjuna describing the movements and actions that he

observes in that Cosmic-Form of the Lord. " THESE HOSTS OF DEITIES "

enter into and disappear in the Universal-Form. Shankara, commenting

upon the expression " HOSTS OF DEITIES, " interprets it to mean the

Duryodhana-fold. Though this interpretation is not inconsistent with

what is yet to follow, it is true that this meaning is not the

natural interpretation of the terms used in the text.

 

If some, who are thus irredeemably drawn towards the Lord's Form,

disappear therein, others who are waiting and watching the process

are necessarily getting panicky with fear. When man is threatened

with a sure mishap, and when he knows of no remedy or defense against

it, he, in his despair, always turns to prayer. This psychological

truth is beautifully brought out here, when it explains how " SOME IN

FEAR EXTOL THEE WITH JOINED PALMS. "

 

And this is not all. Bands of great Rishis and perfected-men

(Siddhas) who are not at all perturbed by the Vision of the Totality,

because of their super-human tranquility and inward peace arising

from their own " wisdom, " merely sing sublime hymns of glory to the

mighty appearance of the total phenomenal world of multiplicity. They

do so wishing " MAY PEACE BE " to all, always. They realize in

their " wisdom " that the face of the cosmos assumes such a terrible

ferocity only when it has launched a wholesale reconstruction scheme.

The mean of wisdom also know that nothing is lost in such a Programme

of " construction through destruction. " Therefore, they hail this

process and wish the world a brilliant golden era, which is sure to

follow immediately after such a total upheaval.

 

In this stanza, the entire world of phenomena has been beautifully

brought under three heads: the " Sub-normal, " the " Normal, " and

the " Super-normal. " The " Sub-normal " unconsciously dies away. They

are the victims of the process of death and they are so miserably

unaware of the very process that they do not at all revolt against

it. The " Normal " dread when they intelligently observe and become

aware of the process of decay and death. They become apprehensive of

their own fate; and failing to realize that nothing is lost by death,

they, in their ignorance, shudder at the inescapable lot of all

living names and forms.

 

There is yet another set constituted of " Super-normal " men, who have

sufficient apprehension of the Totality and Its behavior, and who are

not at all perturbed even if what is happening in the Universe

everyday, were to visit them also one day. When bubbles are broken,

there is no occasion to regret for those who know what they are and

how they are born. Similarly, when these Siddhas see the upheaval

that precedes a dying culture's reorientation, they recognize therein

the mighty Power of Truth and wish only good luck and peace to the

world so reconstructed by the very hands of the Lord.

In whichever light we may observe this work, we must come to realize

how great a psychologist Vyasa himself must have been and also how

beautifully the knowledge of the mental behavior has been harnessed

for quickening the evolution of man to reach the fulfillment of all

his struggles.

 

HOW THEN DID THE GODS OF THE HEAVENS REACT TO THIS SPECTACULAR VISION

OF THE COSMIC-MAN IN ACTION?

 

Rudraadityaa vasavo ye cha saadhyaa Vishwe'shvinau

marutashchoshmapaashcha;

Gandharvayakshaasurasiddhasanghaa Veekshante twaam vismitaashchaiva

sarve. Verse 22

 

22. Those who are the Rudras, the Adityas, the Vasus and the Sadhyas

[sadhyas: A particular class of celestial beings.-V.S.A.], the Visve

(-devas), the two Asvins, the Maruts and the Usmapas, and hosts of

Gandharvas, Yaksas, demons and Siddhas-all of those very ones gaze at

You, being indeed struck with wonder.

 

Ye, those who are

the rudra-adityah, Rudras and Adityas

vasavah, the Vasus

and sadhyah, the Sadhyas-the groups of Rudras and other gods

the gods visve, Visve-devas

and asvinau, the two Asvins

marutah, the Maruts

and usmapah, the Usmapas, (a class of) manes

and gandharva-yaksa-asura-siddha-sanghah, hosts of Gandharvas-viz

Haha, Huhu and others-, Yaksas-viz Kubera and others-, demons-

Virocana and others-, and Siddhas-Kapila and others

sarve eva, all of those very ones

viksante, gaze

tva, (i.e.) tvam, at You

vismitah eva, being indeed struck with wonder.

 

Continuing the description, Arjuna says that among the hosts of being

who gaze on at the Mysterious Form, there are Deities who are all the

Lords of the phenomena, worshipped and revered by the generations of

the Vedic period. Even they, looking at the Universal Form, stand

struck with wonder and astonishment.

 

The terms used here have all been described during our discourses on

the previous chapters. The Spirits of Destruction (Rudras), the Sun

(Adityas), the Lord of the seasons (Vasus), the Spirits of the Sky

(Sadhyas), the Lesser Lords (Vishwe-devas), the Horsemen Twins

(Ashwins), the Storm-Lords (Maruts), the Heat-drinkers (Ushmapas),

the hosts of Heavenly Musicians (Gandharvas), Yakshas, Asuras and

Siddhas --- these constitute the crowd that gaze at the terrible form

of the Lord, " ALL QUITE ASTOUNDED. "

 

This stanza may not be quite appealing to us who are today strangers

to the conceptions which these terms represent. But Arjuna was a

student of the Vedas, and was the child of the age; he was naturally

well versed in these Vedic thoughts and therefore the vocabulary of

Arjuna could not have been otherwise. We have only to watch for, and

understand, the general effect produced upon the Pandava warrior by

the Vision of the Totality and the different reactions created in

different types of minds. Each, according to its own intrinsic

capacity, comprehended and appreciated the Vision of the entire

Universe, so crystallized into the definite shapeless shape.

 

GIVING MORE AND SURER STROKES, ARJUNA IS BRINGING OUT HIS EXPERIENCES

TO A PRECISE CONCEPTION UPON THE CANVAS OF HIS LISTENER'S MIND:

[Guest guest]

Swami Dayananda Saraswati's Commentary:

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

These hosts of good people, surasanghah, Sankara says, are the

devatas like the Vasus as well as good men who have come down to

remove the burden upon the earth. This burden is not the population,

as the Malthusian theory claims. According to Malthus, the population

increases at a faster rate than its means of subsistence and unless

it is checked by war, among other things, there will be widespread

poverty and degradation. But it is not population that burdens the

earth. It is the growth of adharma. The company of any number of good

people is not a disturbance. But if there is one problematic person,

everything can be ruined. It is something like eating a bad peanut.

No matter how good the other peanuts were, once the bad one enters

your mouth, that is the end of it. Your mouth and stomach are

spoiled. Similarly here, the weight upon the earth is the

predominance, pracurya, of adharma. That is why Bhagavan said he

would come whenever there is a decline in dharma, yada yada hi

dharmasya glanir bhavati, not whenever there is excess population.

 

In order to cut down the weight of adharma, these good people,

surasanghah, come. Even individually, adharma does weigh you down.

Any wrong thing you do, pains your heart. That is the weight. When it

becomes predominant upon the earth, these people who are all born of

the devas come here in the form of human beings. " All of them are

entering into you, " Arjuna says. All these various human beings,

manusyas who have come here from the devalokas, are all entering into

Bhagavan. What does it mean? " I see them dying. "

 

Among those who are assembled in the battlefield, some of them,

kecid, are frightened, bhitah. On, both sides the soldiers, and even

the chieftains and great warriors are afraid. Drona, Bhlsma, Karna,

Satyaki, Abhimanyu and so on are not ordinary people, yet they are

afraid. Nevertheless, they have come. Either they are convinced of

the cause or they have been conscripted by Duryodhana, the king. But

even if you are convinced you should fight, when the situation

finally presents itself, everything is different. The bravado with

which the challenge was made all dissipates in the face of the

reality of battle. All problems arise only at that time. In any

challenging situation, whether it is a battle or public speaking,

there is always a last-minute fright.

 

These frightened warriors stand with hands folded quietly saluting

the Lord, pranjalayah grnanti. All dressed in armor, standing in the

middle of the battlefield with this very rough exterior, they are

frightened inside and offering salutations to the Lord. These are our

arta-bhaktas, devotees in distress, Grnanti, they salute, quietly

repeating all the verses they learned when they were young, Sankara

adds that there are others who are so frightened they are not even

capable of running away. How can they when they know that Duryodhana

will kill them? They are also frantically imploring Bhagavan inside.

The sages are also praying. There are two types of sages, the

waharsis, like Vasistha, who are vaidikas and the siddhas, like

Kapila, who are yogis. Both groups, Sankara mentions here, are seeing

bad omens on the battlefield that foreshadow the coming destruction.

Therefore they prayed, " Let there be well-being, svasti, "

meaning, " Let the impending destruction not be total. " Having made

this prayer, they worship you with praises that are full of meaning,

svasti Hi uktva stuvanti tvam stutibhih puskalabhih, to mollify the

inevitable destruction.

 

There are others who are also able to see the cosmic form without

being given a special divya-caksus. Arjuna tells who they are in the

next verse.

 

All the devatas, the eleven rudrzs, twelve adityas, eight vasus, and

a certain group of devas called sadhyas are seeing this cosmic form

as Arjuna is. Also the vi's'vacfevas, the two asVins and the seven

marut-devatas. Then there are the usmapah from the pitrlokas, and the

group of gandharvas, yaksas, asuras, and siddhas. " All of them see

you and are astonished, " vlksante tvam vismitah ca sarve. Gandharvas

are the celestial musicians some of whom have onomatopoeic names like

Haha, Huhu, and Hlhl that characterize their singing. Then there is

another type of celestial called yaksas headed by Kubera, the

presiding deity of wealth. And there are asuras, not ordinary asuras

because they would not be able to see Isvara, but exalted souls like

Virocana who underwent a dramatic conversion to proper thinking. Then

there were the siddhas like Kapila etc. " All of them, the whole host

see you with great wonder, " Arjuna says. He sees all these exalted

beings awestruck as they view the cosmic form.

[Guest guest]

Namaste:

 

In his commentary, Swami Dayananda articulates how the burden

of `adharma' is more severe than just an increase in population. He

describes how the Divine manifests instantaneously to destroy the

presence of adharma using a profound example. " Whenever we feel the

guilt when we recognize our adharmic action, that confirms the

manifestation of the Divine. " It is easy to see that the `Devil and

the Divine' both reside within our minds – whenever the devil

manifests to commit the adharma, the Divine manifests to preserve the

Dharma!

 

The purpose of entire Cosmic Vision could be considered as a

presentation by the Lord to Arjuna so that he can understand

the `Cosmic Vision of Dharmic Actors and Actions.' The divine

understanding of the Divine vision of Cosmos is different from the

human understanding of the Divine vision of cosmos. Arjuna was

provided only the Divine Vision but not provided with the Divine

understanding. He was certainly not able to comprehend the Cosmic

Vision of Dharma and that may explain his `fear' and `exhaustion.'

Arjuna suddenly recognizes that he needs the help of the Lord's

protection and support in fighting the war against adharma. The Lord

has provided him by playing, rewinding and fast-forwarding the show

consisting of all actors and actions. Suddenly Arjuna recognizes

that it is much for him to handle and request the Lord show him mercy

by withdrawing the show!

 

Sometimes we get the desire to know " How others think? " Suppose if

the Lord provides us with this special power to know how everyone

thinks, within a short spell of time, we will likely experience the

same `fear and exhaustion' suffered by Arjuna. Even without this

facility, our thoughts mostly focus on `outside' instead

of `inside.' Alas, what would happen if we had the facility to know

how others think about us! We should be thankful to the Lord for not

providing us with this special facility to know how others think

about us. The problems of the world will get dissolved if everyone

stops think on others and focus the attention to within!

 

With my warmest regards,

 

Ram Chandran

 

advaitin , " Ram Chandran " <ramvchandran

wrote:

>

> Swami Dayananda Saraswati's Commentary:

> ========================================

> These hosts of good people, surasanghah, Sankara says, are the

> devatas like the Vasus as well as good men who have come down to

> remove the burden upon the earth. This burden is not the

population,

> as the Malthusian theory claims. According to Malthus, the

population

> increases at a faster rate than its means of subsistence and unless

> it is checked by war, among other things, there will be widespread

> poverty and degradation. But it is not population that burdens the

> earth. It is the growth of adharma. The company of any number of

good

> people is not a disturbance. But if

[Guest guest]

It is easy to see that the `Devil and

the Divine' both reside within our minds – whenever

the devil

manifests to commit the adharma, the Divine manifests

to preserve the

Dharma!

 

Yes, so well put! They are both within us and maybe we

can keep them there and not project one side of the

pair out into the " world " . If I believe that only the

divine resides in me, then where is the devil/evil? I

have to find it outside in the " world " . That seems to

be a psychological/spiritual law. If I can keep both

within, side by side, the divine and the devil, then I

don't find them in the " world " ...the crusade, the

jihad is then internal, the " battle " is contained

within me, and NOT out there in our brothers and

sisters!!

 

One side of a pair of opposites DEPENDS upon the other

side! They come as a pair and can never be split apart

as some doctrines state. The Christian idea of an

eternal hell, eternal heaven, tries to do just that.

As opposites, heaven and hell depend upon each other

for their very existence. Therefore, if some one ends

up in heaven, he needs to thank hell!