Bhagavad Gita Study 34

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Song Celestial Bhagavad Gita Study Group Verse 34th verse chosen by Bhagavan out

of 42 from the 700 in the Gita.

 

From Ch.II:71

 

" When a man casts out all desires of the mind, O son of Pritha, and is content

in himself, he is said to be steadfast in wisdom. "

 

Comment: After a man is no longer a slave of every desire, whim or fancy which

arises, and is contented in himself, he has reached the prerequisite necessary

for Self Enquiry, Surrender and their necessary support sadhanas.

 

To be happily contented is close to the satvic mind. All negative emotions

such as worry, fear, grief, anger, envy, hate, lust, gossip, greed, fantasies

and escapisms etc. must be inwardly renounced. They cause a tremendous loss of

energy that is much better used for Self Enquiry. They are renounced by the

Surrender practice of handing over all one's life burdens to God, inner Guru, or

the immanent Self. Having achieved this state of contenment and the absence of

all desires, the sadhak has now become a Jnani steady in non-dual

wisdom-knowledge. Son of Pritha is another name for Arjuna, or each one of us

who reads this text.

 

 

Members comments and questions are warmly invited.

[Guest guest]

Alan Jacobs <alanadamsjacobs wrote:

 

> From Ch.II:71

> " When a man casts out all desires of the mind, O son of Pritha, and

is content in himself, he is said to be steadfast in wisdom. "

 

Dear Alan and Friends,

 

To Be content in oneself is the Ananda part of the essence of the

Self: Sat (Existence/Reality/Truth), Chit (Consciousness/Knowledge)

and Ananda (Bliss/Fullfilllment).

Binding desires (I do prefer this word than " evil " desires), the ones

which are mistakenly taken as the source of happiness and

fullfillment, the ones that when not fullfilled create agitation in

the mind and intellect, are the mechanisms (illusory ones) that throw

us out of our Centre. Since our very essence is Fullfillment,

Ignorance of this fact makes us search completeness in the form of

many desires (physical, emotional or intellectual).

Binding desires die hard. But the persistent enquiry on their source

of existence finally dissolves them, showing our primordial identity,

Bliss and Peace.

 

Best to All.

Yours in Bhagavan,

Mouna

[Guest guest]

Dear Mouna,

 

Thank you for this precise and exact commentary on this verse. I found it most helpful. I inserted the word evil as it was used used in Padamalai, because in some texts their is reference to the 'desire for liberation' which is a benign desire, to be distinguished from those other desires which are described as 'enemies'.

 

All love and best wishes,

 

Alan --- On Mon, 29/9/08, upadesa <maunna wrote:

upadesa <maunna Re: Bhagavad Gita Study 34 Date: Monday, 29 September, 2008, 3:31 AM

 

 

Alan Jacobs <alanadamsjacobs@ ...> wrote:> From Ch.II:71 > "When a man casts out all desires of the mind, O son of Pritha, andis content in himself, he is said to be steadfast in wisdom."Dear Alan and Friends,To Be content in oneself is the Ananda part of the essence of theSelf: Sat (Existence/Reality/ Truth), Chit (Consciousness/ Knowledge)and Ananda (Bliss/Fullfilllmen t). Binding desires (I do prefer this word than "evil" desires), the oneswhich are mistakenly taken as the source of happiness andfullfillment, the ones that when not fullfilled create agitation inthe mind and intellect, are the mechanisms (illusory ones) that throwus out of our Centre. Since our very essence is Fullfillment,Ignorance of this fact makes us search completeness in the form ofmany desires (physical, emotional or intellectual) .Binding desires die hard. But the persistent enquiry on

their sourceof existence finally dissolves them, showing our primordial identity,Bliss and Peace.Best to All.Yours in Bhagavan,Mouna

[Guest guest]

Alan Jacobs <alanadamsjacobs wrote:

 

> Dear Mouna,

> Thank you for this precise and exact commentary on this verse. I

found it most helpful. I inserted the word evil as it was used in

Padamalai, because in some texts their is reference to the 'desire for

liberation' which is a benign desire, to be distinguished from those 

other desires which are described as 'enemies'.

 

Dear Alan,

 

I agree with you, the choice of " binding " instead of " evil " is

completely personal due to the emtional charge that word has for me.

Also, I am sure that in cultures such as India, the word " evil " has a

different connotation than catholic or protestant oriented ones like

many of our western countries. There is less guilt embeded. Even the

" evil " ones in Ramayana or Mahabharatta get " boons " from the Gods if

they do sufficient austerities, and they may even attain Realization.

Could you imagine Satan going to Heaven after doing intense tapas?

 

Thanks for the clarification.

 

All the best, Alan.

Yours in Bhagavan,

Mouna