Gita Satsangh Chapter 16 Verses 1 & 2

October 25, 2009

Dandavat pranams to all!

STUDY OF THE SCRIPTURES (Swaadhyaaya) --- Traditionally, this term indicates

regular study of the scriptures. Study of scriptural literature daily, in

measured quantities, will provide the necessary inspiration to live the divine

life in our day-to-day existence. But, scriptural study is indicated here [ BG

16.1] by a very significant term, which in Sanskrit suggests that the study of

the scriptures should not be merely an intellectual appreciation, but as the

student reads the text-books, he must be able, simultaneously, to observe,

analyse and realise the truth of what he is studying within his own life.

Regular studies, coupled with regular practice (Yajna), will give us the courage

to live in self-control of the sense-organs, which in its turn will supply us

with steadiness in meditation for realising the Highest. ~ Swami Chinmayananda

To listen to Swami Brahmanananda of the Chinmaya Mission

chanting this Chapter...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B50lu0Oilak & feature=related

Summary of Sixteenth Discourse (by Swami Sivananda)

This discourse is important and very instructive to all persons who wish to

attain happiness, prosperity and blessedness, and to seekers in particular, who

wish to attain success in their spiritual life. Lord Krishna brings out quite

clearly and unmistakably here the intimate connection between ethics and

spirituality, between a life of virtue and God-realisation and liberation.

Listing two sets of qualities of opposite kinds, the Lord classifies them as

divine and demoniacal (undivine), and urges us to eradicate the latter and

cultivate the divine qualities.

What kind of nature should one develop? What conduct must one follow? What way

should one live and act if one must attain God and obtain divine bliss? These

questions are answered with perfect clarity and very definitely. The pure divine

qualities are conducive to peace and liberation and the undivine qualities lead

to bondage. Purity, good conduct and truth are indispensable to spiritual

progress and even to an honourable life here.

Devoid of purity, good conduct and truth, and having no faith in God or a higher

Reality beyond this visible world, man degenerates into a two-legged beast of

ugly character and cruel actions, and sinks into darkness. Such a person becomes

his own enemy and the destroyer of the happiness of others as well as his own.

Caught in countless desires and cravings, a slave of sensual enjoyments and

beset by a thousand cares, his life ultimately ends in misery and degradation.

Haughtiness, arrogance and egoism lead to this dire fate. Therefore, a wise

person, desiring success, must eradicate vice and cultivate virtue.

In this world three gates lead to hell-the gates of passion, anger and greed.

Released from these three qualities one can succeed in attaining salvation and

reaching the highest goal, namely God. Thus the sacred scriptures teach wisely

the right path of pure, virtuous living. One should therefore follow the

injunctions of the sacred scriptures that wish his welfare and be guided in his

actions by their noble teachings.

---------

Chapter 16

The Yoga of the Division Between the Divine and the Demoniacal

Sri Bhagavaan Uvaacha:

Abhayam sattwasamshuddhih jnaanayogavyavasthitih;

Daanam damashcha yajnashcha swaadhyaayastapa aarjavam.

The Blessed Lord said:

1. Fearlessness, purity of heart, steadfastness in Yoga and knowledge,

alms-giving, control of the senses, sacrifice, study of scriptures, austerity

and straightforwardness,

Sankara Bhashya

(Swami Gambiranda's Translation and Commentary)

The divine, fiendish and demoniacal natures of creatures were referred to in the

ninth chapter (12, 13). In order to present them elaborately, the chapter

opening with, 'Fearlessness, purity of the mind,' etc. is begun. Among them, the

divine nature leads to Liberation from worldly existence, while the fiendish

and demoniacal lead to bondage. Hence, the divine nature is being presented so

that it may be accepted, and the other two rejected.

The Blessed Lord said:

1. Fearlessness, purity of mind, persistence in knowledge and yoga, charity and

control of the external organs, sacrifice, (scriptural) study, austerity and

recititude;

Abhayam, fearlessness; sattva-samsuddhih, purtiy of the mind (sattva), mentally

avoiding fraud, trickery, falsehood, etc. in dealings, i.e., honest behaviour;

jnana-yoga-vyavasthitih, persistence in knowledge and yoga-jnana means knowledge

of such subjects as the Self, learnt from scriptures and teachers; yoga means

making those things that have been learnt matters of one's own personal

experience through concentration by means of withdrawl of the organs etc.;

persistence, steadfastness, in those two, knowledge and yoga;-this [This-refers

to all the three from 'fearlessness' to 'persistence in knowledge and yoga'.] is

the principal divine characteristic which is sattvika (born of the sattva

quality). That nature which may occur in persons competent in their respective

spheres, [Persons treading the path of Jnana-yoga or Karma-yoga have sattvika

qualities. Some of the qualities mentioned in the first three verses occur only

in the former, whereas the others are found in both or only in the

latter.-Tr.]-that is said to be their sattvika attribute.

Danam, charity, distribution of food etc. according to one's ability; and damah,

control of the external organs-the control of the internal organ, santih, will

be referred to later; yajnah, sacrifices-Agnihotra etc. sanctioned by the

Vedas, and sacrifices in honour of gods and others [Others: Those in honour of

the manes, humans and other beings. Brahma-yajna, the fifth sacrifice, is

referred to separately by svadhyaya.] sanctioned by the Smrtis: svadhyayah,

study of the Rg-veda etc. for unseen results; tapah, austerity, those concerning

the body, etc., which will be stated (17.14-16); arjavam, rectitude,

straigthforwardness at all times-.

Swami Chinmayananda's Translation and Commentary

The Blessed Lord said:

1. Fearlessness, purity of heart, steadfastness in the YOGA -of-Knowledge,

alms-giving, control of the senses, sacrifice, study of the SHASTRAS, and

straightforwardness . . .

As we read the opening stanza we are reminded on the twenty VALUES of life, that

were described earlier by Lord Krishna in His Divine discourse (XIII --- 8 to

12). Herein we find an almost exhaustive list of the noble TRAITS in a cultured

man living the spiritual way-of-life; a life wherein he accepts and lives those

twenty VALUES of life, while meeting the work-a-day world. And in the

enumeration of these qualities, FEARLESSNESS (Abhayam) comes first. Fear is

generated in one, only when one is in a field which is clouded by 'ignorance.'

Fear is the expression of Avidya. Where there is 'Knowledge' there is

fearlessness. By placing this quality of fearlessness at the head of the list,

with the unsung music of sheer suggestiveness, the divine Acharya is indicating

that true ethical perfection in one is directly proportional to the spiritual

evolution attained by the individual.

PURITY OF HEART --- No amount of external discipline can supply the student the

positive dynamism that is the very core in all moral living. The Geeta preaches

a dynamic religion, militant both in theory and practice. The Divine Charioteer

is not satisfied by a tame generation of passive goodness. He wants the members

of the perfect Hindu society not only to live among themselves the highest

values of life, but also to burst forth with the positive glow of righteousness

and bathe the entire generation of men in the light of truth and virtue ---

virtue that implies honesty of intentions and purity of motives.

STEADFASTNESS IN THE YOGA-OF-KNOWLEDGE --- This ethical purity at the level of

the heart cannot be brought about when the human mind is turned outward to the

flesh. Only when the mind is constantly in unison with the Infinite Song of the

Soul, can it discover in itself the necessary courage to renounce its low

appetites, clinging attachments and the consequent foul motives GURGLING from

within itself. Devotion of Knowledge (Jnana-Yoga) is thus the positive way to

persuade the mind to leave all its low temptations. When a child is playing with

a delicate glass curio, to save the precious object, the parents generally offer

it a piece of chocolate, and the little child, anxious to get at the chocolate,

drops the precious thing down. Similarly, a mind that is awakened to the serener

joys of the Self will, naturally, never hang on to sensuous objects and their

fleeting joys.

ALMS-GIVING (CHARITY), CONTROL OF THE SENSES AND SACRIFICE --- These three are

now the techniques by which an individual successfully tunes up his inner

instruments of knowledge in order to discover the required amount of " steady

devotion to Knowledge. " Charity must come from one's sense of abundance. Charity

springs only from a sense of oneness in us --- oneness between the giver and the

recipient. Unless one is able to identify oneself with others, one will not feel

this noble urge to share all that one has with others who do not have it. Thus

Daana is born out of a capacity to restrain one's instincts of acquisition and

aggrandisement, and to replace them with the spirit of sacrifice, and it

consists in sharing with others the objects of the world that one possesses.

If charity (daana) develops in one the capacity to detach oneself from the

wealth that one possesses and share it with others who are poorer, then we can

say that control of the sense-organs (dama) is the application of the same

spirit of sacrifice in one's personal life. To give a complete licence for

indulgence to the sense-organs is to waste, unproductively, the total human

vitality. To economise in the expenditure of energy through the sense organs in

the fields of sense-objects is to discover an extra amount of untapped energy.

This energy can be made use of as the motive power behind the mind and intellect

that is set on a flight to the higher realms of meditation. To keep the mind

turned up to the Self, a subtle energy is called forth, and it will be

discovered within ourselves when we control our sense excesses. Without dama and

daana the pilgrimage to Truth is merely a dream.

In the Vedic period, SACRIFICE (Yajna) was the day-to-day devotional ritualism

that the average man of spiritual seeking diligently practised. Without this

regular prayer-cum-puja --- which is the substitute for Yajna available for us

--- control of the sense-organs will be impossible, and without this control,

the spirit of charity cannot come. In the absence of both daana and dama,

spiritual experience of the Self, recognition of the Divine within us, is

impossible. It is interesting to note that each subsequent term in this list is

logically connected with the one indicated immediately before.

STUDY OF THE SCRIPTURES (Swaadhyaaya) --- Traditionally, this term indicates

regular study of the scriptures. Study of scriptural literature daily, in

measured quantities, will provide the necessary inspiration to live the divine

life in our day-to-day existence. But, scriptural study is indicated here by a

very significant term, which in Sanskrit suggests that the study of the

scriptures should not be merely an intellectual appreciation, but as the student

reads the text-books, he must be able, simultaneously, to observe, analyse and

realise the truth of what he is studying within his own life. Regular studies,

coupled with regular practice (Yajna), will give us the courage to live in

self-control of the sense-organs, which in its turn will supply us with

steadiness in meditation for realising the Highest.

ASCETICISM (Tapas) --- All conscious self-denials at the body level, whereby an

individual reduces his indulgences in the world outside, gains more and more

energy within himself, and applies the new-found energy for the purpose of

self-development, are called Tapas.

UPRIGHTNESS (Arjavam) --- Crookedness in thought, emotion and general conduct

has a self-destructive influence upon the personality. Actions belying one's own

true intentions and motives, convictions and aspirations, realisation and

discrimination will result in the crookedness of one's personality. He who is

indulging in this way-of-life will thereby develop in himself a split

personality and will soon lose the glow of efficiency and be impoverished in the

powers of personal grit.

In short, in this very opening stanza of the chapter, while enumerating the

qualities of a " Divinely good " man, we find a definite scientific connection

among them. Ethical values and moral beauties described in Hinduism are not

arbitrary declarations of an imaginative Saint or a melancholy prophet. They are

built on the rocky foundations of reason and experience. Sincerely pursued and

consciously lived, they contribute to a better expression of the diviner

possibilities in man which generally lie dormant. Ethics in India are not, by

themselves, a passport to heaven, but are a preparation for a fuller unfoldment

of the divine contents in the bosom of man.

MOREOVER, HERE ARE LISTED THE MENTAL CONTENTS OF THE GODLY:

Ahimsaa satyamakrodhas tyaagah shaantirapaishunam;

Dayaa bhooteshvaloluptwam maardavam hreerachaapalam.

2. Harmlessness, truth, absence of anger, renunciation, peacefulness, absence of

crookedness, compassion towards beings, uncovetousness, gentleness, modesty,

absence of fickleness,

Sankara Bhashya

(Swami Gambiranda's Translation and Commentary)

2. non-injury, truthfulness, absence of anger, renunciation, control of the

internal organ, absence of vilification, kindness to creatures,

non-covetousness, gentleness, modesty, freedom from restlessness;

Ahimsa, non-injury, abstaining from giving pain to creatures; satyam,

truthfulness, speaking of things as they are, without unpleasantness and

prevarication; akrodhah, absence of anger, control of anger that might result

when offened or assulatd by others; tyagah, renunciation, monasticism-for,

charity has been mentioned earlier; santih, control of the internal organ;

apaisunam, absence of vilification-paisunam means backbiting; its absence is

apaisunam; daya, kindness; bhutesu, to creatures in distress; aloluptvam,

non-conveteousness, absence of excitement of the organs in the presence of

objects; mardavam, gentleness, absence of hard-heartedness; hrih, modesty;;

acapalam, freedom from restlessness, absence of unnecessary use of organs such

as speech, hands and feet-.

Swami Chinmayananda's Translation and Commentary

2. Harmlessness, truth, absence of anger, renunciation, peacefulness, absence of

crookedness, compassion to beings, non-covetousness, gentleness, modesty,

absence of fickle-ness . . .

Continuing, Lord Krishna enumerates the mental contents of the godly type of

men.

HARMLESSNESS (Ahimsa) --- It does not consist so much in not causing bodily

injury to beings in the physical world, as in not harming any living creature in

the world around from the realm of thought. Physical ahimsa is simply

impossible. To continue living, some kind of physical harm or the other has to

be brought about; it is unavoidable. But even while bringing about unavoidable

disturbances around ourselves, if our motives are pure and clean, the harm so

wrought is not regarded as causing injury.

TRUTH (Satyam) --- We have already discussed this virtue while explaining the

last term in the previous stanza " uprightness. "

AN EVEN TEMPER (absence of anger --- Akrodha) --- Sometimes it is rendered as

'angerless-ness' which is not very happy. A better rendering would be the

capacity to check, at the right time, waves of anger as they mount up in our

bosom, so that we do not manifest anger in our actions. It will be almost

unnatural to expect the mind to become incapable of anger. But no emotion should

be allowed to overwhelm us to such a degree as to render us almost impotent.

This anger arises out of an insufferable impatience with others. In short,

Akrodha does not mean 'without anger' but only 'keeping, as far as possible, an

even temper.'

SPIRIT OF RENUNCIATION (Tyaga) this stanza also we find, as we noticed in

the previous stanza, that there is a sequential order strictly followed in the

development of thought from term to term. If without respect to Truth, we cannot

live in the spirit of ahimsa, so also without the spirit of renunciation an even

temper is but a vain hope.

PEACEFULNESS (Quietude --- Shanti) --- If a seeker is capable of living,

conscious of Truth harming none, keeping an even temper, in a spirit of

renunciation, inspite of all disturbing environments and happenings around, then

he is the one who shall come to experience peace and quietude in himself. Even

in the midst of a stormy life and outrageous circumstances, such an individual

can successfully keep his inward balance and intellectual poise.

ABSENCE OF CROOKEDNESS (Unmalicious tongue --- Apaishunam) --- The ugliness or

beauty of the tongue is ordered by the personality behind it. A shattered entity

will seek self-gratification in malicious scandal-mongering, and the soft,

fleshy tongue can often become more devastating than the most destructive

missile. A seeker who is trying to reach a fuller and more exhaustive

self-expression should develop such an inward harmony that his speech should

echo the fragrance of his soul. A speech with softness of tone, clarity of

expression, honesty of conviction, power of bringing a clear picture in the

listener's mind with no veiled meaning, overflowing with sincerity, devotion and

love, becomes the very quality of the autobiography of the speaker's

personality. To develop, therefore, a habit of such speech would be

unconsciously training many aspects in ourselves which are all necessary for the

perfect disciplining of the inner equipments.

COMPASSION (TENDERNESS) TOWARDS BEINGS the society in general, it is not

reasonable for a seeker to expect that all will keep up to the ideal that he

himself entertains. There will be imperfections around. But to recognise, in and

through those imperfections, the Infinite beauty of life expressed, is the

secret of enduring tenderness in all Saints and Sages. Love alone can discover

an infinite amount of tenderness in us. Unless we train ourselves to see the

beauty of life pulsating through even wretched hearts and ugly characters, we

will fail to bring forth tenderness to sweeten life within and without.

NON-CONVETOUSNESS (Aloluptvam) the subjective life, to live " without

covetousness " means controlling our sense-organs from extreme indulgence in

sense-enjoyments. An average man has an endless thirst and an insatiable hunger

for sense indulgence. To remain in self-control without endless sense-hunger is

meant by the term non-covetousness.

GENTLENESS AND MODESTY --- These are not so much the particular disciplines of

the individual, as the resultant beauty and harmony which an individual brings

forth as the fragrance of his culture, in his contacts with the world outside.

These two qualities are best seen in one who has established himself in all the

above-mentioned noble qualities. The conduct of such a disciplined man will be

both gentle and modest.

ABSENCE OF FICKLE-NESS --- NOT UNNECESSARILY MOVING THE LIMBS (Achaapalam) ---

Restlessness of mind and unsteadiness of character are reflected in the physical

movement of a person. The body shadows the condition of the mind. A constant

restlessness, a sudden outburst of activity, an immodest shaking of the body and

voluptuous tossings of the limbs are all noticed only in individuals who have

not yet cultivated a steady character and a purposeful personality. These can be

seen in a child and there they are even considered as enhancing its beauty. But

as an individual grows, the beauty in him is his mastery over himself as

declared by his movements.

Shankara explains this as " NOT TO SPEAK OR MOVE HANDS AND LEGS IN VAIN. " This is

an extension of the meaning of this term, and implies the promptitude and

economy of all physical energy in any efficient activity. Unnecessarily

exhausting the muscles with indecisive movements and thoughtless exertions are

signs of weakness in the personality. Such individuals are extremely imaginative

and miserably weak in their intellectual calibre and emotional vitality. To

avoid such movements, therefore, is to cure many simple weaknesses at the

various facets of any given personality.

MOREOVER, CONTINUING THE LIST OF DIVINE QUALITIES:

to be continued...

Hare Krishna!!!

October 27, 2009

Pranams.

Thank you Radhe-ji for the introductory two verses and the Shankara bhashyas on

the same. My humble suggestion to you and Ram-ji would be to take a pause, and

take up at this juncture each and every one of these attributes, and

allow/encourage all the (2000plus!!) group members to dwell on these divine

attributes at some length - one attribute at a time. It would be great if each

and every member of this forum contributed a small paragraph, or anecdote, or

poem, or anything relevant to any one of these qualities. I shall begin by a

small write-up on abhayam the very first quality, and it is my hope that we get

a great many members to spend 10 or 15min of their time with one or more

original contributions.

Â

Abhayam

It is at first glance perhaps surprising that Krishna should start listing the

divine qualities with something like â€œcourageâ€ â€“ after all when we think

of a saintly person the first quality that comes to our mind is not necessarily

one of bravery â€“ conditioned as we are to associating bravery with violence

and war â€“ â€œbrave as a lionâ€ is a common epithet. However when one examines

this more one realizes that this really is the quality that most characterizes a

saint. The fearlessness is at two levels â€“ for a self-realized there is no

other that he should feel fear for â€“ and so absolute fearlessness can only

come from advaita â€“as the Chandogya Up declares â€œabhayam etad-brahmetiâ€;

The Katha Upanishad also conveys the same: â€œabhayam samsaraparamâ€

Fearlessness is the other shore of samsara â€“ i.e. Brahman. But at the level of

a seeker abhayam comes from faith coupled with adherence to dharma. Faith in the

Supreme Lord as oneâ€™s

savior and benefactor allows the seeker to be less mindful of the numerous

obstacles that may come his way during his sadhana. " Be of good courage, and he

shall strengthen your heart, all you that hope in the LORD. "

These are exemplified in the story of the young boy Prahlada whose own father

tries to kill him in multiple ways and the fearless lad is able to withstand and

survive all of these by dint of his exalted devotion. In fact after slaying his

demoniac father Hiranyakashipu, Vishnu in his avatara as Nrsimha was in a state

of severe umbrage that even the Gods and Goddess Lakshmi Herself were said to be

in no position to approach him because of fear. It was only Prahlad who because

of his tremendous devotion to the Lord was able to approach the Lrod who in turn

immediately resolved his ferocious form upon seeing his Supreme devotee.

Contrast this with Arjunaâ€™s fear on seeing a similar ferocious form of the

Lord Â whereupon he is simply struck with benumbing fear and requests the Lord

to withdraw that form, as he is still not mature enough in his devotion to

withstand beholding the Lord in that vicous aspect.

Even in everyday practice, we gain fearlessness when we know we are being

protected by someone powerful â€“ either the law-giver like the police or in

some cases the unlawful like the mafia don. In the case of a true seeker his

source of fearlessness is also similar â€“ only difference is he places his

trust in the Ultimate Don! â€“ the only one in whom such trust can be

reassuringly unfailing. This is the basis for the abhaya mudra which every Deity

in Hinduism is portrayed with. In a big cyclonic storm a mother sits with her 2

year old child in a poorly lit room. The wind is blowing hard, the waters are

pouring down violently. The mother is highly anxious. The child is playing with

his toy â€“ totally fearless. Why? Because he has his mother sitting with him.

As long as his mother is with him, he has unshakeable and unflinching faith that

nothing untoward can happen to him, he is protected. In our case too, there is

the potential for violent

thunderstorms at all times. And we do not even have a weather channel to warn

us of upcoming inclement weather. Illness to us, diseases for our near and dear

ones, even death, personal loss, financial loss or even gain, natural calamaties

can befall us - rather very likely WILL befall us at sometime. In these

circumstances, maintaining chittanaischalyam may prove impossible - what saves

you from that? - faith. Just like that 2 yr old, if we develop unshakable faith

and shraddha in our Divine Mother, then no matter what the happenings in my life

are I know they are not going to touch me beyond a point - I have Ishwara in my

corner. That then is the very basis for abhayam.

Hari OM

Shri Gurubhyoh namah

Shyam

--- On Sun, 10/25/09, Radhe <shaantih wrote:

Radhe <shaantih

Gita Satsangh Chapter 16 Verses 1 & 2

advaitin

Sunday, October 25, 2009, 10:05 AM

Chapter 16

Sri Bhagavaan Uvaacha:

Abhayam sattwasamshuddhih jnaanayogavyavasthi tih;

Daanam damashcha yajnashcha swaadhyaayastapa aarjavam.

The Blessed Lord said:

1. Fearlessness, purity of heart, steadfastness in Yoga and knowledge,

alms-giving, control of the senses, sacrifice, study of scriptures, austerity

and straightforwardness ,

October 28, 2009

Dear Shyamji,

Thank you for your excellent recent post on abhayam. I wanted to raise some

issues regarding abhayam through faith in Ishvara, not by way of argument but to

try to better understand what exactly is giving us reassurance (b/c *something*

is, no doubt).

As you mentioned, the child has faith that " he is protected " . In the case of the

child, this is a false faith due to ignorance. There are many things from which

he is not protected, even though he feels completely protected.

In the case of being protected by Ishvara, what does this protection mean - what

are we being protected from, exactly? Also, does this protection apply to

everyone or only to those who fully take refuge in Ishvara? If it is only to

those who fully take refuge, then faith in Ishvara is dependent on one's faith

in one's own ability to take refuge. For many of us, it is the latter that we

are more likely to have doubts about...

Regards,

Rishi.

October 28, 2009

In the case of Mother-Child relationship, " step into the shoes " of the child and

feel his pulse. Imagine yourself to be child and you will feel the gentle touch

of the Mother. Because, we are gazing the scene which is something *external*

to us, we feel that the child's faith is false. Supposing, we are unaware of

the mithyatva of the relationship, just imagine how sweet the relationship would

be if we think from the standpoint of the innocent ego-less child.

So, i presume, Shri Shyamji has made that statement from the standpoint of an

innocent child.

SO, ULTIMATELY, THE STATEMENT IS " LET US FACE THE MUSIC OF LIFE " .

regs,

sriram

advaitin , " risrajlam " <rishi.lamichhane wrote:

>

> Dear Shyamji,

>

> Thank you for your excellent recent post on abhayam. I wanted to raise some

issues regarding abhayam through faith in Ishvara, not by way of argument but to

try to better understand what exactly is giving us reassurance (b/c *something*

is, no doubt).

>

> As you mentioned, the child has faith that " he is protected " . In the case of

the child, this is a false faith due to ignorance. There are many things from

which he is not protected, even though he feels completely protected.

>

> In the case of being protected by Ishvara, what does this protection mean -

what are we being protected from, exactly? Also, does this protection apply to

everyone or only to those who fully take refuge in Ishvara? If it is only to

those who fully take refuge, then faith in Ishvara is dependent on one's faith

in one's own ability to take refuge. For many of us, it is the latter that we

are more likely to have doubts about...

>

> Regards,

>

> Rishi.

>

October 28, 2009

The 'dhIraM' in BG 2/15 - " yaM .... dhIraM soAmR^itatvAya kalpate " - also

indictes the imp of this quality - 'fearlessness'.

Regards

Balagopal

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October 28, 2009

Pranams Shri Balagopalji

Dhirah is more appropriately understood as a viveki or as a Wise person.

We find similar use of the term dhirah with regards to a Wise One in the

upanishads as well - tau samparitya vivinakti dhirah, and kaschit dhirah

prtyagatmanam aikshat from the Katha Up. and bhutesu bhutesu vicitya dhirah from

the Kena Up. among other instances.

Needless to say such a Dhirah has Absolute Abhayam.

Hari OM

Shyam

--- On Wed, 10/28/09, balagopal ramakrishnan <rbalpal wrote:

balagopal ramakrishnan <rbalpal

Re: Gita Satsangh Chapter 16 Verses 1 & 2

advaitin

Wednesday, October 28, 2009, 7:14 AM

The 'dhIraM' in BG 2/15 - " yaM .... dhIraM soAmR^itatvAya kalpate " - also

indictes the imp of this quality - 'fearlessness' .

Regards

Balagopal

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http://in.overview. mail.. com/connectmore

October 28, 2009

Dear Rishi-ji

Thank you for your post and your very thoughtful posers - I think there are many

waysÂ of thinking about the answers to them and I thank Sriram-ji for giving his

perspective.

Â

Q.Â

In the case of being protected by Ishvara, what does this protection mean -what

are we being protected from, exactly?

A.

Let us look at the famous shantimantra - vang me manasi - it has the following

lines:

Tanmamavatu Tadvaktaaramavatu Avatu Maam Avatu Vaktaaram Avatu Vaktaaram Om

Shantih, Shantih, Shantih

May that (Brahman) protect me; May That protect the the teacher, may That

protect me; may That protect the speaker â€“ may That protect the speaker.

As seekers the protection we ask is for this - protection from obstacles to our

sadhana. And we repeat Shanti three times because the obstacles are three-fold.

These obstacles are AdhyAtmikam, Adhibhautikam, Adhidaivikam.

And all three lead to or have the potential of leading to great impediments to

our sadhana;

Adhyamtmikam - this is the most perverse of the three obstacles - suffering

casued by one's own self ie the vagrancies and turmoils of one's mind. Greed,

anger, jealousy, desire, and other such mental disturbances are constantly

causing in us great upheavel and have the potential to derail any progress we

may attempt to make.

Adhibhautikam - is suffering brought about by others - these could be from our

enemies, our neighbours, our friends, even our own family members - kith and

kin, or other creatures like pesky mosquitoes,etc.

Adhidaivikam - is generally thought to mean natural disasters like floods or

earthquakes, etc. But a better reading would be look at it as that ordained by

the very Order which is the Lord - our " ill-gotten gains " are nothing but the

fruits of our own past adharmic actions, to the innumerous times since

beginningless times that we have been violaltion of dharma and which lay in

store for us as the futures we have ourselves shaped.

So prayer allows us to tap into that very Order and obtain the Grace to help

ward off or mitigate these obstacles - or alternatively give us the strength to

withstand their downpour with fortitude and patience.

Protection in a more general sense is also from that which we fear. We who

harbor under the notion of our individuality are constantly in fear. I am so

utterly limited and helpless that the entire Universe is a source of fear unto

me.Â Â

bhoge roga bhayaM kule cyuti bhayaM vitta nRpAlAd bhayaM

mAne dainya bhayaM bale ripu bhayaM rUpe jarAyA bhayam

zAstre vAdi bhayaM guNe khala bhayaM kAye kRtAntAd bhayaM

sarvaM vastu bhayAnvitaM bhuvi nRNAM vairAgyam evAbhayam

(Vairagya Shatakam. 31)

In enjoyment is the fear of disease,

in wealth is the fear of hostile rulers,

in honour is the fear of humiliation,

in knowledge the fear of opponents,

in beauty the fear of old age,

in power the fear of backbiters,

in virtue the fear of jealousy,

even in body is the fear of death.

Everything on this earth is fraught with fear.

He alone is fearless who has given up everything.

Thus we see that our greatest fears are the ones we fashion for ourselves. A

truckload of a thousand bricks has absolutely no capacity to instill an iota of

fear in my mind. A few skilled artisans fashion out of those very bricks a

structure which I call my house and now those very bricks have become a great

source of fear for me - because it is mine there is fear of loss. Same way if we

introspect on these famous lines of Bhrthari we realize that it is the honor we

consider our own that we fear its loss, in the kith'n'kin we consider our own we

fear their demise, and so on.

So protection then is solicited for that very thing which our own minds have

latched on to with a sense of infatuated possessiveness.

Q.

Also, does this protection apply to everyone or only to those who fully take

refuge in Ishvara? If it is only to those who fully take refuge, then faith in

Ishvara is dependent on one's faith in one's own ability to take refuge.

A.

These are indeed sublime thoughts Rishi-ji. There is a beautiful prayer to

Ishwara, (which is my personal favorite) - humko sharanagati ki shakti dena - O

Lord, please bestow unto me the strength so I may surrender. There is tremendous

depth in these simple words. Surrender is thought of as belonging to the meek,

and misunderstood as being a sign of the weak. In reality surrender itself

requires tremendous strength. That in us which refuses to surrender is the Ego,

and it does so because of fear and deeprooted insecurity that betray its own

falsitude. How then to develop and nurture this Ego's ability to take refuge?

Prayer - I ask of the Order to strengthen my yet feeble faith so that as it

deepens so does my capacity to surrender. Our prayer is to " Help me understand

that as my Ego " I " am nothing, and as my Lord, my antaryamin, " I " alone am

everything. " In this manner then, as I gain in both shraddha, and hence in

sharanagati, - faith and surrender -

naturally then do I develop fearlessness abhayam.

Once again my pranams to Rishi-ji for stimulating more thought on this subject

- it is a lesson in satsanga that as we start to scratch the surface of these

" qualities " we uncover so many layers of perspectives and understandings,and

dwelling on these at some length is what is truly beneficial about satsanga. I

look forward to more perspectives from the learned members of our group.

Hari OM

Shri Gurubhyoh namah

Shyam

--- On Wed, 10/28/09, risrajlam <rishi.lamichhane wrote:

risrajlam <rishi.lamichhane

Re: Gita Satsangh Chapter 16 Verses 1 & 2

advaitin

Wednesday, October 28, 2009, 5:46 AM