Bhajagovindam part 15

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Bhajagovindam by Adi Shankracharya

(commentary by Gopal Krishna).

 

Sloka 10

 

Vayasi Gate Kah Kaamavikaarah

Sushke Neere Kah Kaasaarah

Ksheene Vitte Kah Parivaaro

Gyaate Tattve Kah Samsaarah

 

.... Bhaja Govindam, Bhaja Govindam

 

Meaning:

 

Vayasi gate - when the age (youthfulness) has passed, Kah - where is,

Kaamavikaarah - lust and its play, Sushke Neere - when water is evaporated

(dried up), Kah - where is, Kaasaarah - the lake, Ksheene vitte - when the

wealth is reduced, Kah - where is, Parivaarah - the retinue, Gyaate tattve -

 

when the Truth is realised, Kah - where is, Samsaarah - the Samsaara.

 

Substance:

 

When youth is gone, where is the lust and its play? When water is

evaporated, where is the lake? When the wealth is reduced, where are the

relatives? When Truth is realised, where is the (snare of) Samsaara.

 

Commentary:

 

Without any doubt, the only unfailing remedy for the sorrows of life in this

Samsaara is knowledge of the self. Any kind of sorrow of life will cease on

its own accord upon the dawn of the knowledge of the self. One is afflicted

by sorrows so long as there is delusion in the mind. The only true path

available for a sadhaka to remove delusion is wisdom. Good conduct,

character and devotion are necessary to secure wisdom. By mere bookish

knowledge one does not get wisdom. (The writer of this commentary is the

best and readily available example of this fact.) There is a lot of

difference between bookish learning and knowledge of the self. By drawing

three beautiful analogies, Sri Adi Sankaracharya brings home the point to

explain how it is possible.

 

The lust and its play will bind one in maddening passion so long as one is

in youthfulness with hard muscles, tight skin, stormy blood and one is young

and hearty. When the old age knocks the door, all acts of lust will just

vanish on their own accord.

 

As long as one is in the grip of desires, whether one is young or old, one

strives to fulfil them. But, when once these desires are dried up, one is

freed from all problems. When the water dries up, the lake loses not only

its form and existence but also its meaning and utility. So is with our

emotions and desires. Once the dawn of life sets in, the passion and lust

lose their grip on our body, thereby one is liberated from the pangs of all

worldly problems.

 

When wealth is reduced and one becomes poor, all the relations disappear

into nowhere. One will enjoy name and fame as long as one is rich. Once one

loses one's wealth, even one's own family members may not turn back to help.

 

After giving the above three analogies, Sri Adi Sankaracharys asks the

sadhaka that when the Truth is realised, where is the Samsara? Even the most

persistent sorrows will be cured by the true knowledge of the self, as with

the dawn of wisdom, man's native powers will assert themselves. One cannot

seek true fulfilment in life by striving to acquire and possess the outer

world. The misconceptions must end and one should know the Reality, as only

Truth will eliminate the false ego and its meaningless achievements.