Gita Satsangh Chapter 12 Verses 14to 15

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Gita Satsangh Chapter 12 Verses 14to 15

 

(Verse Translation by Swami Gambirananda, Gita Bhasya and commentary

by Swami Chinmayanandaji)

 

Santushtah satatam yogee yataatmaa dridhanishchayah;

Mayyarpitamanobuddhiryo madbhaktah sa me priyah.

 

14. He who is ever content, who is a yogi, who has self-control, who

has firm conviction, who has dedicated his mind and intellect to Me-

he who is such a devotee of Mine is dear to Me.

 

Santustah satatam, he who is ever content: who has the sense of

contentment irrespective of getting or not getting what is needed for

the maintenance of the body; who is similarly ever-satisfied whether

he gets or not a good thing. Yogi, who is a yogi, a man of

concentrated mind; yata-atma, who has self-control, whose body and

organs are under control; drdha-niscayah, who has firm conviction-

with regard to the reality of the Self; arpita-mano-buddhih, who has

dedicated his mind and intellect; mayi, to Me-(i.e.) a monk whose

mind (having hte characteristics of reflection) and intellect

(possessed of the faculty of taking decisions) are dedicated to,

fixed on, Me alone; sah yah, he who is; such a modbhaktah, devotee

of Mine; is priyah, dear; me, to Me. It was hinted in the Seventh

Chapter, 'For I am very much dear to the man of Knowledge, and he too

is dear to Me' (7.17). That is being elaborated here.

 

Swami Chinmayanda's Commentary

In the following seven stanzas (XII-13 to 19), in six different

sections, Lord Krishna enumerates the characteristic features of a

Man-of-Perfection, and thereby prescribes the correct mode-of-conduct

and the way-of-life for all seekers. In these stanzas, the Yogeshwara

has very well succeeded in painting the picture of a true devotee for

Arjuna's understanding. As a true painter would again and again step

back from his canvas to judge his own production and then go forward

to it to lay a few more strokes to bring out his theme into a more

effective relief on his canvas, so too Krishna is trying in these

seven stanzas to paint the mental beauty and the intellectual

equipoise of a true devotee, along with his relationship with the

world around him. No other part in the whole Geeta can be compared

with the beauty of expression that we have in these stanzas, except

perhaps, the description of " the Man-of-Steady-Wisdom (II-55 to 68)

that we read in the second chapter.

 

Moral rules and ethical codes of behaviour are in Hinduism not

arbitrary commandments thrust upon its followers by a Son of God, or

by a Messiah. These rules of conduct are copied from the behaviour of

God-men who had attained the spiritual perfection and had actually

lived among us. Seekers are those who are striving hard to attain the

spiritual experience of those Saints and Seers. A devotee who is

trying to attune himself with these Masters of Yoga should

necessarily start at least copying their external behaviour and

mental beauties, which constitute the moral and ethical rules

prescribed in our religion.

 

Eleven noble qualities are indicated in the above two stanzas which

constitute the OPENING SECTION. Everyone of them declares a moral

phase in the character of Man-of-Perfection. One who has realised

that the Spirit everywhere is one and the same, and that the Spirit-

in-All alone is his own Self, cannot, thereafter, afford to hate

anyone, because, from his vision-of-understanding, there is no one

who is other than Him! No living man can afford to hate his own right

hand because he is in it too. Nobody hates himself!

His attitude to all living creatures will be friendly, and he is ever

compassionate to all. He offers security of life to all beings. He

cannot regard anything as his and he is completely free from the

notion of egoism. Even-minded in pain and pleasure, he remains

supremely unaffected even when beaten or abused. Always content, he

discovers a flawless infinite joy in himself whether he obtains even

the means of his bodily sustenance or not. Steadfast in his

meditation, self-controlled and firm in his resolve, he lives on

joyously, his mind and intellect " ever centered in Me. " " SUCH A

PERFECT, DEVOTED YOGI, " THE LORD SAYS, " IS DEAR TO ME. "

The truth expressed in the stanza earlier, " I am very dear to the Man-

to-Wisdom and he is dear to Me " (VII-17), is being more elaborately

elucidated in all these seven verses of this chapter.

 

MOREOVER:

 

Yasmaannodwijate loko lokaannodwijate cha yah;

Harshaamarshabhayodwegairmukto yah sa cha me priyah.

 

15. He, too, owing to whom the world is not disturbed, and who is not

disturbed by the world, who is free from joy, impatience, fear and

anxiety, is dear to Me.

 

Sah ca, he too; yasmat, owing to whom owing to which monk; lokah, the

world; na udvijate, is not disturbed, not afflicted, not agitated; so

also, yah na udvijate, he who is not disturbed; lokat, by the world;

muktah, who is free; harsa-amarsa-bhaya-udvegaih, from joy,

impatience, fear and anxiety;-harsa is elation of the mind on

acquiring a thing dear to oneself, and is manifested as

horripillation, shedding of tears, etc.; amarsa is non-forbearance;

bhaya is fright; udvega is distress; he who is free from them-, is

priyah, dear; me, to Me.

 

Swami Chinmayanda's Commentary

This stanza constitutes the SECOND SECTION in which again Lord

Krishna enumerates three more characteristic features of a real

devotee.

 

" HE BY WHOM THE WORLD IS NOT AGITATED " --- A Man-of-Perfection is one

who will not create any agitations in the world around him. Where the

Sun is, there cannot be any darkness, where the peaceful Master of

Equanimity and Perfection dwells, he, by the intrinsic divinity in

him, creates, as it were, an atmosphere of serene joy and endless

peace around him; and even those, who are agitated in the world, will

suffer no more from such agitations when they approach such a master-

mind, and enjoy a peace in themselves. In fact, the world

irresistibly rushes to such a saint to bask in his brilliance and

comes to experience the joy which he wafts all around him!

" WHO CANNOT BE AGITATED BY THE WORLD " --- Not only does a Man-of-

Perfection quieten the very world around him, into a dynamic peace,

but also the world, however chaotic, revolting, boisterous, and

vengeful it may be, cannot create any agitations in him. The world-of-

objects will almost always be in a state of flux, and its maddening

death-dance cannot bring even a whiff of its storms to disturb the

calm serenity of the saint. He is made of stronger mettle and his

life is built upon surer foundations.

 

The floating reeds dance on the surface of the sea but the light-

house that is built on the rocks beneath stands erect and motionless,

watching the smooth sea turning rough with the rise of the tidal

waves. The personality of a perfect-man is rooted in his realisation

of the deeper substratum of life; and, since he is not attached to

the superficial conditions of matter and its playful magic, any

amount of wild agitations outside cannot bring any disturbance to his

inner equipoise. In and through the battling circumstances, he

perceives the changeless ground --- he hears the harmony that runs

through the various discordant notes in life around.

 

" HE IS COMPLETELY FREED FROM " all the usual causes for inward

agitations such as " JOY, ENVY, FEAR AND ANXIETY. " A devotee of this

type, ever peaceful with himself and the world, who rules over the

circumstances and never yields to be victimised by them, who has

crossed over the usual weaknesses of the mortal heart --- such a

devotee " IS DEAR TO ME. "

 

CONTINUING THE SAME TOPIC THE LORD DECLARES:

[Guest guest]

Namaste All.

 

With reference to the word 'ud-vij' in 12.15, the following thought

occurred to me.

 

'To spring up or forth' is one of the many meanings for this word.

The world we confront is a field for us to work out our vAsanAs and

fashioned after our samskArAs. One in whom vAsanAs and saMskArAs

have come to an end in the fire of Knowledge has no need for a

field. He can't therefore continue to be the raison d'etre for the

existence of a world 'external' to himself that serves as a work-out

field. That the world has gone into him without return and as such

the prior mutual estrangement between the two has vanished without a

trace might, therefore, be a harmless explanation.

 

Best regards.

 

Madathil Nair

 

____________________

 

 

advaitin , " Ram Chandran " <ramvchandran

wrote:

>> Yasmaannodwijate loko lokaannodwijate cha yah;

> Harshaamarshabhayodwegairmukto yah sa cha me priyah.

>

> 15. He, too, owing to whom the world is not disturbed, and who is

not

> disturbed by the world, who is free from joy, impatience, fear and

> anxiety, is dear to Me.

>

> Sah ca, he too; yasmat, owing to whom owing to which monk; lokah,

the

> world; na udvijate, is not disturbed, not afflicted, not agitated;

so

> also, yah na udvijate, he who is not disturbed; lokat, by the

world;

> muktah, who is free; harsa-amarsa-bhaya-udvegaih, from joy,

> impatience, fear and anxiety;-harsa is elation of the mind on

> acquiring a thing dear to oneself, and is manifested as

> horripillation, shedding of tears, etc.; amarsa is non-forbearance;

> bhaya is fright; udvega is distress; he who is free from them-, is

> priyah, dear; me, to Me.