N for (Human) Nature

 

The Bhagavad Gita is a treasure trove of knowledge - all that you need to be is an inquisitive student, because only when the student is ready, the master appears! Join me this month in the 'April A to Z challenge,' as I take you through selected verses of this monumental scripture, and try to decipher the amazing lessons it has in store for us.                  

Translation 

In this verse, Krishna tells us that sattva, rajas and tamas are the three gunas (nature) that humans are born with. How a person acts is conditioned by these modes of nature. 

Our nature is a mix of all three gunas .

Gods are purely sattva, demons are purely tamo. However, we humans are a mix of all three in varying proportions. Each one of us has unique traits because the mix of the gunas is the not the same in each one of us. If a person has more of sattva guna, they act in the mode of goodness - serene, wise, caring, joyful. A person having more of rajo guna acts in the mode of passion - ambitious, workaholics, aggressive, greedy, full of desires. A person with predominant tamo guna acts in the mode of ignorance - laziness, confusion, delusion, negligent, dull. 

A story from the Srimad Bhagavatam - the story of Vena and Pruthu.

King Vena was born in the royal lineage of the great King Dhruva. Yet he was arrogant and tyrannical. He banned all religious rituals and charitable acts. He wanted his subjects to worship him and none else. Vena's atrocities caused his subjects to live in constant fear. Most occupations, especially agriculture, declined. His inherent strong tamo guna, and a destructive rajo guna, were visible in his cruelty towards his subjects, ignorance of dharma, and disrespect of sages. 

Ushering a new rule under King Pruthu.

The sages, seeing the suffering of the people, eventually intervened and ended Vena’s rule by killing him. They then churned the dead Vena’s arms, and the part manifestation of Vishnu himself, Maharaja Pruthu, emerged. Pruthu was guided by sattva guna with a rajas properly aligned.  

At the beginning of his rule, the Earth, refused to yield resources due to Vena’s previous misrule. The Earth took the form of a cow and ran away. Pruthu reined her in and convinced her to provide all resources to nourish humanity. This was on account of his well-balanced rajo guna purified by sattva.

Pruthu was a great king. He ruled with justice, brought back worship and religious rituals, took care of the elderly as an affectionate son and the women and children as a caring father and respected the sages. People followed his guidance. He was the first to create a planned living arrangement for his subjects and the Earth was named ‘Prithvi’ after him. Under his leadership, the earth prospered and people lived in harmony.

The competition for supremacy.

The gunas in us keeping competing for supremacy. Sometimes when sattva becomes prominent, we find ourselves inclined towards worship, helping others, being joyful and calm. When rajo guna dominates, we become competitive, workaholics, aggressive, angry, feel more powerful or ambitious. When tamo guna dominates, we tend to feel lazy, sleepy, make careless mistakes, or are confused. 

We might wonder why we don't feel active all the time, or why our devotion keeps swaying and the peace we find in worship is not the same on all days. The reason is our nature or guna. Whichever guna dominates on a particular day is how we act on that day.

Is it possible to stay balanced or situated in one guna? 

It is not entirely in our hands to balance our gunas. However, being in constant remembrance of Krishna can help us align more and more in the mode of sattva and rajas purified by sattva. 

  

M for Mind

The Bhagavad Gita is a treasure trove of knowledge - all that you need to be is an inquisitive student, because only when the student is ready, the master appears! Join me this month in the 'April A to Z challenge,' as I take you through selected verses of this monumental scripture, and try to decipher the amazing lessons it has in store for us.                  

 

Translation

Krishna says that the mind (manas) can be the best of friends (bandhur) for the one (atmanah) who has conquered (jitah) it, but it can become the greatest enemy (satru- vat) for him who fails to do so (anatmanah).

Arjuna’s predicament is the same as ours.

While Krishna speaks about controlling the mind, Arjuna says what we have been thinking. He says,

चञ्चलं हि मन: कृष्ण (my mind is very fickle, Krishna) प्रमाथि (agitated) बलवद्दृढम् (and strong willed/obstinate)।
तस्याहं निग्रहं (to control this mind) मन्ये वायोरिव सुदुष्करम् (is more difficult than controlling the wind) ॥ 

(BG 6.34)

A story from Srimad Bhagavatam - King Ambarisha and Sage Durvasa.

King Ambarisha was a ruler in the lineage of the royal Ikshavaku clan. He was a powerful ruler of the entire world with great control over his mind and senses. He dedicated his actions to Lord Narayana and lived a life of discipline and devotion.

He had observed a scared fast on Ekadashi and was about to break his fast on Dwadashi when sage Durvasa came to his palace. He received the sage with a lot of respect and invited him to have food. Durvasa accepted the invitation and went to the Yamuna River to bathe. Absorbed in samadhi, he lost track of time.

Ambarisha breaks the fast and incurs the wrath of the sage.

The time to break the fast was about to pass, but the king could not eat before offering food to the sage. So, on the advice of the learned brahmanas, Ambarisha sipped a little water to signify breaking the fast so that both dharma and hospitality could be preserved.

When Durvasa returned, he was very angry. He considered even sipping of water as having eaten without feeding the guest. His mind, unrestrained and quick to anger, saw insult where there was none. To punish the king, he took a strand of his hair and created a demon which appeared like the fire of death.

Lord Narayana always protects his devotees.

Lord Narayana not only vanquished the demon immediately and protected his devotee but also released his Sudarshan chakra to pursue Durvasa.  Neither the demigods, nor Brahma and Rudra could protect him. Lord Narayana also could not excuse his offense and asked him to seek forgiveness from Ambarisha himself. Finally, he returned to Ambarisha and begged forgiveness.

The mind can be an enemy or a friend.

Ambarisha, whose mind was his friend, harboured no resentment. He prayed to the Sudarshan chakra for Durvasa’s safety, and the danger subsided. Durvasa, on the other hand, on account of his own uncontrolled mind, which had become his enemy, was chased across worlds.

Let Krishna control our mind.

Krishna says that 'of the senses, he is the mind' - ‘Indriyanaam manaschasmi  - इन्द्रियाणां मनश्चास्मि’ (BG 10.2)

It means that if our mind is engaged in his devotion, our mind can become our greatest ally, guiding us towards clarity and peace. When it is not, it creates suffering even in the absence of any real enemy.

 

 

L for Leadership

The Bhagavad Gita is a treasure trove of knowledge - all that you need to be is an inquisitive student, because only when the student is ready, the master appears! Join me this month in the 'April A to Z challenge,' as I take you through selected verses of this monumental scripture, and try to decipher the amazing lessons it has in store for us.                  

Read K for Karm here.

Translation 

Krishna says that whatever a leader (sresta) does, the common men (jana) follow. The standards that he sets by his exemplary acts (pramanam) is followed (anuvartate) by everyone (loka).  

A leader worth emulating.

The onus or responsibility on someone who is in a leadership role is immense. Their behaviour, endorsements, and words carry great weight. People are influenced by them and will follow the leader. 

A story from the Ramayana - The exceptional leadership of Janaka Maharaj.

King Janaka was the ruler of Mithila. He is known not just as a ‘raja’ (king) but as a ‘rajarshi’ (a philosopher-king). He showed that it was possible to be surrounded by opulence and yet be completely detached from it. Through his own example he showed that it was not necessary to abandon worldly duties to be a seeker of truth.

A ruler guided by wisdom.

King Janaka was full of wisdom and as described in the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, his court was always a place for philosophical discussions. Great sages like Yajnavalkya and even female sages like Gargi and Maitreyi were welcome in his court for discussions and debates. He believed that men and women were equally capable and wise. The kingdom and its people thrived in such an environment.

A king who followed his dharma.

Janaka’s actions were guided by righteous duty and sincerity. Seeing the king follow his dharma, the subjects lived a principled and rich life guided by moral responsibilities. He wasn’t attached to wealth and power and performed his duties selflessly. His subjects admired his fairness, and generosity and were propelled to be like him.

A balanced leader.

Rajarshi Janaka showed that it was possible to maintain the balance between being a ruler and being spiritual enlightened. This balance made his leadership both practical and inspiring.

 

 

K for Karm

The Bhagavad Gita is a treasure trove of knowledge - all that you need to be is an inquisitive student, because only when the student is ready, the master appears! Join me this month in the 'April A to Z challenge,' as I take you through selected verses of this monumental scripture, and try to decipher the amazing lessons it has in store for us.     

    

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Read J for Judge Well here.

 

Translation

Karm here does not refer to results of our actions. Here it refers to work. The result of our actions is karma. 

Krishna says that work is of three types – karm (action), akarm (inaction) and vikarm (forbidden action). We must be aware of all three to understand what karma (result of our action) we will accumulate.

Karm is auspicious action, recommended by the scriptures. These actions purify our mind and senses. They bring good karma or results.

Vikarm, on the other hand, is inauspicious action prohibited by the scriptures. They are detrimental to our spiritual growth. They bring bad karma.

Akarm is the action performed for the pleasure of God, without any attachment to results. They have no karma attached and lead to liberation. Akarm or inaction should not be misunderstood as not performing any action. It simply means 'nishkama karm' - performing the action as expected, yet dedicating the fruits to Krishna – Sarvam Shri Krishnarpam Astu.

 

There is another very famous verse in the Gita –

Karmanye vadhikaraste Ma Phaleshu Kadachana,

Ma Karma phala hetur bhur ma Te Sangostv akarmani

Here too, it is specified that you have the right to action (Karmanya eva adhikarah te) but not to the fruits of actions (ma phaleshu kadachana)

When we give up the fruits of our action, Krishna blesses us with much more than we could ever have asked for.

 

The story of Samudra Manthan.

The demigods had been cursed by Durvasa Muni and as a result they kept losing to the Asuras, the demons. Guided by Lord Brahma, the demigods prayed to Maha Vishnu.

Lord Brahma said, ‘People perform actions expecting great results yet their hard work results in frustration. But the one who has dedicated all his actions to the Supreme, gets results that far exceeds his endeavours.’    

Churning the Ocean of Milk.

Maha Vishnu in his form as Ajita, the unconquerable, advised the demigods to make a peace proposal to the demons. They were to formulate a truce, and churn the Ocean of Milk together. Vasuki, the biggest serpent served as the rope, the Mandara mountain served as the churning rod. To keep the mountain from slipping, Vishnu himself took the form of a tortoise – the ‘Kurma avatara’ and held up the mountain.

The Lord cautioned the demigods to work hard to churn the ocean but not be captivated by the bountiful things that would emerge from it.

What emerged from the churning?

The first to emerge was the halahala or kālakūṭa poison. This was followed by a wish yielding cow (Surabhi), a celestial horse (Uccaihsrava), a celestial elephant (Airavata), Kaustubha gem, Lakshmi, the goddess of fortune, and finally Dhanvantari (a manifestation of Lord Vishnu himself). Dhavantari carried a pot of nectar, but the demons snatched it immediately and ran away with it.

Mohini tricks the demons.

 Vishnu took the avatara as Mohini – the most beautiful woman in the universe – and offered to distribute the nectar to the demons herself. The demons were so captivated by her beauty that they could not refuse and handed over the pot of nectar to her. However, she tricked the demons and distributed the nectar to the demigods making them immortal. This way, they would never lose against the demons again.

Shri Krishna arpanam – all fruits surrendered to him.

Both, the demons and demigods had work hard to achieve the same result. But the demons performed the actions for their personal gratification while the demigods performed the same action for the Lord’s satisfaction. The Lord not only protected them from all difficulties (the poison – halahala), but also bestowed them with results they could never expect (the nectar).

 

Read L for Leadership here.

J for Judge well (discernment)

The Bhagavad Gita is a treasure trove of knowledge - all that you need to be is an inquisitive student, because only when the student is ready, the master appears! Join me this month in the 'April A to Z challenge,' as I take you through selected verses of this monumental scripture, and try to decipher the amazing lessons it has in store for us.      

Read I for Ignorance here.

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Translation.

This is one of my favourite verses. After presenting the entire Bhagavad Gita to Arjuna, Krishna tells him, 'Deliberate (vimrsya) on what I have spoken thus far, and then do what ‘you’ wish to do (yathecchasi tatha kuru), be a judge of your own decisions.'

Do as you deem fit!

We often give suggestions or advice to someone and expect them follow our decision. Conversely, we also tend to follow someone without using our own judgement. 

But here is Krishna, doing the opposite. The situation is urgent – there’s a war about to begin. Arjuna has been reluctant to fight – an entire Gita has been advised to him to make him see things clearly. Yet far from asking him to buckle up and get going, Krishna gives him the freedom to deliberate on what he had advised and make a choice based on his wisdom and understanding – ‘yethecchasi thatha kuru’ – do as you deem fit! How freeing that must have been - no pressure to listen to Krishna, and the choice to reflect and make your own judgement! 

 

    

The story of Nachiketa from the Kathopanishad.

Long ago, a sage named Vajashrava performed a grand sacrifice. As part of the ritual, he was supposed to donate cows. But when his son Nachiketa saw him donating old, weak, and useless ones, he questioned his father about his intentions and asked him whom he would donate his son to? When his father angrily replied that he would donate him to Yama, the god of death, Nachiketa took it seriously and went to Yama.

Waiting at Yama’s door.

Nachiketa was granted three boons by Yama. For his third boon, Nachiketa wanted to know what happened to a person after his death. Yama did not want to answer it and instead of answering, asked him choose between the ultimate truth (preya) and material pleasures – wealth, long life, power, pleasures, and heavenly enjoyments (shreya).  

Yama left the choice to Nachiketa.

Nachiketa reflected carefully and realised that ‘preya’ was temporary and will eventually fade away. With clarity and firmness, Nachiketa chooses ‘shreya’ – knowledge of the ultimate truth.

Be your own judge.

There’s a certain responsibility on us when we are told to be our own judge. In today's world of social media, where people blindly copy each other, or follow the latest trend, being your own judge really matters. Thinking for oneself and choosing what best fits us, is more likely to bring success rather than blindly following someone. 

Can we stop for a moment, deliberate and think before we act, rather than being blindly influenced by other voices?