Bhaja Govindam part 8

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Continuing with the Bhaja govindam (part 8) from Gopi Krishna

 

Sloka 3

 

Naaree Sthanabhara Naabheedesam

Drishtvaa Maa Gaa Mohaavesam

Etan Maamsavasaadi Vikaaram

Manasi Vichintaya Vaaram Vaaram

 

.... Bhaja Govindam, Bhaja Govindam ..

 

Meaning:

 

Naaree - the maidens, Sthanabhara - with the weight of their bosom,

Naabheedesam - their naval, Drishtvaa - having seen, Maa - do not, (Aa)

Gaa - fall a prey, Mohaavesam - maddening delusion, Etat - this is, Maasam -

of flesh, Vasaa - of fat, Aadi - etc., (Etan Maamsavasaadi), Vikaaram - a

modifiction, Manasi - in your mind, Vichintaya - think well, Vaaram Vaaram -

again and again.

 

Substance:

 

Do not fall prey to maddening delusion and get enticed at the sight of the

physical glamour of women having full bosom of young maidens and their

naval, as these are nothing but a modification of flesh and fat. Do not fail

to remember this truth and think over and over again in your mind.

Commentary:

 

In this Sloka, Sri Adi Sankaracharya strikes at the evil of lust, which is

the most intractable of all. Sri Sankaracharya exhorts both men and women to

resist the temptation of getting into the passions for the opposite sex. Our

elders always warned us to keep away from two important things if we wish to

grow steadily in the path of spirituality. They are Kaantha or Kaminee and

Kaanchana, i.e., women and wealth. These are forbidden things, as they are

the most attractive things of lust in the world.

 

Having carried away by the external appearance of beauty of the body, some

people argue that beauty is to enjoy, at least by looking at them, whether

it is a beautiful woman or an handsome man. This argument does not have any

weight because it is self-deception. Looking at things will not produce

satisfaction, it only breeds more desire. Attraction towards opposite sex is

natural, but the ultimate destination of this attraction is sorrow, as this

attraction and the enjoyment one gets out of it is temporary and transitory.

The allurement towards woman's physical beauty or the physical fitness or

body-building of man will fade away with the passage of time. They become

old and they will not be any more attractive. This biologically natural urge

for opposite sex is to be controlled, disciplined, purified, sublimated and,

if possible, eliminated. Unlike animals, intelligent human beings should not

act according to instincts and impulses, but by rational analysis, curb and

control the flow of passions and divert them for nobler and divine

activities.

 

Of course, it is difficult to practice initially, as it is against the very

nature of body-desires. Precisely for this reason, one has to over-grow from

the sense-objects and body-related desires. Realising this truth, if the

Sadhaka proceeds in one's Sadhana, divine unfoldment within takes place.

 

Sri Sankarcharya pleads by prescribing an efficient antidote for this evil.

He suggests that if one analyses and perceives mentally the reality, the

body is composed of only abhorrent flesh and fat, packed in a bag of skin,

having nine holes. If one keeps on analysing on these lines, the spiritual

mind shall retreat from the disgusting ugliness of this body immediately.

This is the only easy and best way to educate our mind so that we will not

run after the perishable and filth-filled body, but dedicate ourselves for

the nobler cause to attain the Lotus Feet of Lord.

 

We might have passed through several lives and lived through the two

passions of thirst for wealth and instinctive hunger for flesh of women or

men. Now, we have attained this manava janma due to some punya karmas in our

earlier births. It is the time now to achieve required balance of mind and

to maintain it all through our lives. We need to practice again and again

(vaaram vaaram) to acquire this art and ultimately firmly establish in it,

because Mother Maya is always ready to strike at us with Her attractions of

world of objects spread around us. We should opt for Shreyas Dr rather than

Preyas, by effectively using our discriminatory power.