Gita Satsangh Chapter 16 Verses 12 through 14

December 20, 2009

Dandavat pranams to all!

Tasmaat shaastram pramaanam te kaaryaakaaryavyavasthitau; Jnaatwaa shaastravidhaanoktam karma kartumihaarhasi. Therefore, let the scripture be the authority in determining what ought to be done and what ought not to be done. Having known what is said in the ordinance of the scriptures, thou shouldst act here in this world. (BG 16.24)Gita Satsangh Chapter 16 Verses 12 through 14To listen to Swami Brahmanananda of the Chinmaya Mission chanting this Chapter...

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

Aashaapaashashatairbaddhaah kaamakrodhaparaayanaah; Eehante kaamabhogaartha manyaayenaarthasanchayaan. 12. Bound by a hundred ties of hope, given over to lust and anger, they strive to obtain by unlawful means hoards of wealth for sensual enjoyment.

Sankara Bhashya (Swami Gambiranda's Translation and Commentary)

12. Bound by hundreds of shackles in the form of hope, giving themselves wholly to passion and anger, they endeavour to amass wealth through foul means for the enjoyment of desirable objects. Baddhah, bound, being impelled, being lured from all sides; asa-pasa-sataih, by hundreds of shackles in the from of hope-the hopes themselves are the shackles; by hundreds of these; kama-krodha-parayanah, giving themselves wholly to passion and anger, having passion and anger as their highest resort; ihante, they endeavour; artha-sancayan, to amass wealth; anyayena, through foul means, i.e. by stealing others' wealth, etc.; kama-bhoga-artham, for the enjoyment of desirable objects-in order to enjoy desirable objects, not for righteous acts. Swami Chinmayananda's Translation and Commentary

12. Bound by a hundred ties of hope, given to lust and anger, they do strive to obtain, by unlawful means, hoards of wealth for sensual enjoyments.BOUND BY A HUNDRED TIES OF HOPE, LUST AND ANGER --- Bringing vividly to the mind of the student, the picture of such a materialist, Krishna records in this stanza, the activities of such an individual. Entangled by hundreds of desires, his mental and intellectual energies get dissipated. Such an individual becomes restless and impatient with things that happen around him, and soon loses his balance of mind --- his sense of judgement. Irritated and constantly unhappy with himself and his environments, such a man is seen in life 'GIVEN TO YEARNINGS AND ANGER.' Wherever desire is throttled, anger is natural. Since he is devoted to desires he pursues sense-fulfilments, and since in the world of competition, desire-fulfilments, often get throttled, his lusty urges get transformed into wild and passionate anger. THEY DO STRIVE, no doubt --- They do tirelessly and diligently strive to satisfy their ever-increasing urges. To secure their quota of sensual enjoyments, they must necessarily acquire and procure objects of sense-satisfaction from the world without. They are not seeking happiness as such or peace as such; theirs is the anxiety to quench a nameless thirst which they are constantly feeling --- a strange hunger they are chronically suffering from. They have not the mental equipoise to investigate into their urges, and analyse and judge them properly. Madly they strive on to acquire and possess, and in their desperate anxiety to indulge and to enjoy, they lose sight of the divine principles of existence and the noble dictates of their conscience. THEY DO STRIVE, day and night, to satisfy their inexhaustible passion, with wealth acquired and hoarded by all known unjust means. Though written some five thousand years ago, strangely enough, this portion of the description of the 'Diabolically Fallen' reads as though it were a bitter, but honest, criticism of our own age!! Thus, if students of the Geeta were to judge our era of brilliant scientific knowledge, material prosperity, secular achievements and political freedom, they will have to classify our era as of this 'Diabolically Fallen' type. Amidst the bleating sirens of our booming industries, the horrid thuds of our modern missiles, the devastating powers of nature that we have discovered and released for our own destruction, we may not give our ears to the thundering truth declared by the 'wise' men of such a distant past; but sincere students of the Geeta cannot but perceive the unquestionable veracity in them, and must come to feel sad for the world and age.

CONTINUING, THE LORD PAINTS THE ATTITUDE OF SUCH PEOPLE TO LIFE:

Idamadya mayaa labdham imam praapsye manoratham; Idamasteedamapi me bhavishyati punardhanam. 13. “This has been gained by me today; this desire I shall obtain; this is mine and this wealth too shall be mine in future.” Sankara Bhashya (Swami Gambiranda's Translation and Commentary)

Their intentions, too, are of this kind: 13. 'This has been gained by me today; I shall acquire this desired object. This is in hand; again, this wealth also will come to me.' Idam, this thing; labham, has been gained; maya, by me; adya, today; prapsye, I shall acquire; idam, this other; manoratham, desired object which is delectable to the mind. And idam, this; asti, is in hand; punah, again; idam, this; dhanam, wealth; api, also; bhavisyati, will come; me, to me, in the next year. Thereby I shall become rich and famous. Swami Chinmayananda's Translation and Commentary

13. "This has to-day been gained by me" --- "this desire I shall obtain" --- "this is mine" --- and "this wealth shall also be mine in future. " There is not much in this stanza that calls for explanation, for the average man of the world to-day lives, exactly the life suggested here. The most successful man in a competitive world is the one who lives in constant consciousness of what he has already acquired, and remembers and sweats for his day-to-day ambitions, to acquire and possess, more and more of the wealth of the world. And the laughable paradox in the philosophy of possession is that the more one has, the more one craves for. No material-wealth hunter has ever declared, "I have this much now, that will do." On the other hand, when one gets drunk with the vanity of possession, one's shameless cry is only: "I HAVE THIS MUCH, AND THIS WEALTH SHALL ALSO BE MINE." The game of desires is an endless gamble. The more one possesses the more one is tempted to strive to possess more. Each time a man strives to acquire something, his desire is to feel his full share of satisfaction. But, invariably, his experience is that he is not fully satisfied, and in his disappointment, he thirsts for more and more possessions. Earlier in the Geeta, it is said that "he who has disciplined and controlled himself to such an extent that the world of stimuli cannot create in him even a ripple of reaction, alone knows what peace is and not the desirer of desires."

THIS STANZA POINTED OUT THE MATERIALIST'S ATTITUDE TO THE PHYSICAL THINGS AROUND HIM; THE FOLLOWING STANZA GIVES US HIS ATTITUDE TOWARDS THE WORLD OF BEINGS:

Asau mayaa hatah shatrur hanishye chaaparaanapi; Eeshwaro’hamaham bhogee siddho’ham balavaan sukhee. 14. “That enemy has been slain by me and others also I shall slay. I am the lord; I enjoy; I am perfect, powerful and happy”.

Sankara Bhashya (Swami Gambiranda's Translation and Commentary)

14. 'That enemy has been killed by me, and I shall kill others as well. I am the lord, I am the enjoyer, I am well-established, mighty and happy.' Asau, that; unconquerable satruh, enemy, named Devadatta; hatah, has been killed; naya, by me; and hanisye, I shall kill; aparan, the other wretched ones. What will these pitiable persons do? There is none equal to me at all. Aham, I; am the isvarah, lord; I am the bhogi, enjoyer; and I am siddhah, well-established in every respect-I am blessed with sons, and grandsons born of sons and daughters. Not only am I a man, but I am also balavan, mighty; and I myself am sukhi, happy; others are born to be but a burden to the earth! Swami Chinmayananda's Translation and Commentary

14. "That enemy has been slain by me" --- "and others also shall I destroy" --- "I am the Lord" --- "I am the enjoyer" --- "I am perfect, powerful and happy. " The translation of this stanza is itself its commentary. And it is a commentary on the lives of us too! All businessmen in the world, unknown to themselves, constantly chant this stanza in their heart-of-hearts. "I destroyed one competitor in the market, and now I must destroy the remaining competitors also."... "In fact, what can those poor men do to stop me from doing what I want?"... "Because there is none equal to me in any respect... I am the Lord. I enjoy, I am the most successful man. I am strong in influence, among political leaders, in my business connections, and in my bank balance. I am strong and healthy...." This, in short, is the ego's SONG OF SUCCESS that is ever hummed in the heart of a true materialist. Under the spell of this Satanic lullaby, the higher instincts and the diviner urges in man go into a sleep of intoxication.

to be continued...

Hare Krishna!!!