Chapter 2 Sangya Yoga

Bg. 2.1

सञ्जय उवाच
तं तथा कृपयाविष्टमश्रुपूर्णाकुलेक्षणम् ।
विषीदन्तमिदं वाक्यमुवाच मधुसूदनः ॥ १ ॥

sañjaya uvāca
taṁ tathā kṛpayāviṣṭam
aśru-pūrṇākulekṣaṇam
viṣīdantam idaṁ vākyam
uvāca madhusūdanaḥ

மனிதன் துயருறும் காரணம் நான், எனது, உற்றார், உறவினர் எனப் பற்றுடையவர்களாய் தான் யார் எனும் உண்மை உணராததால் தான்.   உண்மை உணரும் பட்சத்தில் இன்பம் ஏது?  துன்பம் ஏது?  ஆன்ம நிலையிலேயே பலன் கருதாது  பணியாற்ற வேண்டியதின் அவசியத்தை பகவான் கிருஷ்ணன் மனம் கலங்கி கண்ணீர் மல்கிய அர்ஜுனனுக்கு உண்மை எடுத்து இயம்பும் வண்ணம், பகவத் கீதை அத்யாயம் 2 ஸாங்கிய யோகா துவங்குகிறது.

The reason why man suffers is because he does not realize the truth of who he is, as he is attached to things like "I", "mine", "my relatives", "my friends". If he realizes the truth, there is neither pleasure nor suffering. Bhagavad Gita Chapter 2 Sankhya Yoga begins with Lord Krishna explaining the necessity of working without regard for the result remaining fully conscious - the Awarness state-  to Arjuna, who was deeply moved and in tears.

Gita.....after looooooooooooooooooooooong gaaaaaaaaaaaaap.....

 

Bg. 1.42

दोषैरेतैः कुलघ्न‍ानां वर्णसङ्करकारकैः ।
उत्साद्यन्ते जातिधर्माः कुलधर्माश्च शाश्वताः ॥ ४२ ॥

doṣair etaiḥ kula-ghnānāṁ
varṇa-saṅkara-kārakaiḥ
utsādyante jāti-dharmāḥ
kula-dharmāś ca śāśvatāḥ

The swadharmic activities are so designed that one attains one’s liberation through the enjoined activity.  When evil forces destroy these traditions, such devils bring chaos to the society.  Such devils camouflage as leaders.  How can then those following them be free of chaos.

 

The last few stanzas are so heartrending that I stayed away sharing leaving a gap. But message of Gita is to be shared.   Not to fail, tried my best to give the verse in as euphemistically as possible.  Bear with me, if interpretation goes awry.

 

Apt here to invoke Mahatma on Gita:

“When disappointment stares me in the face, and all alone, I see not one ray of light, I go back to the Bhagavat Geeta, I find a verse here and a verse there and I immediately begin to smile in the midst of overwhelming tragedies – and my life has been full of external tragedies – and if they have left, no visible, no indelible scar on me, I owe it all to the teachings of Bhagavad Geeta.”

 

Bg. 1.42

தோஷைரேதைঃ குலঘ்நாநாம் வர்ணசங்கரகாரகைঃ ।

உத்ஸாদ்யந்தே ஜாதிধர்மாঃ குலধர்மாஶ்ச ஶாஶ்வதாঃ ॥ 42 ॥

தோஷைர் எட்டை குல-ஞானம்

varṇa-saṅkara-kārakaiḥ

உத்ஸாத்யந்தே ஜாதி-தர்மா

kula-dharmāś ca sāshvatāล

ஸ்வதர்ம நடவடிக்கைகள் மிகவும் கவனமாக சமுதாய நலன் கருதி ஏற்படுத்தப்பட்டிருக்கக் கூடும்.  இவைகளை புறந்தள்ளுவது நலன் பயக்காது. செயலாற்ற வேண்டிய செயல்பாட்டின் மூலம் ஒருவர் தனது விடுதலையை அடைகிறார். தீய சக்திகள் இந்த மரபுகளை அழிக்கும்போது, ​​அத்தகைய வர்கள் சமூகத்தில் குழப்பத்தை ஏற்படுத்துகின்றனர். அத்தகையவர்கள்கள் தலைவர்களாக மாறுவேடம் போடுகிறார்கள். பின்னர் அவர்களைப் பின்பற்றுபவர்கள் எப்படி குழப்பத்திலிருந்து விடுபட முடியும்.

 

முதல் அத்தியாயத்தில் கடைசி  சில ஸ்லோகங்கள் மிகவும் மனதைப் பிளக்கும் வகையில் இருப்பதால், ஒரு இடைவெளி விட்டுப் பகிர்ந்து கொள்வதைத் தவிர்த்துவிட்டேன். ஆனால் கீதையின் செய்தியைப் பகிர்ந்து கொள்ள வேண்டும். தோல்வியடையக்கூடாது என்பதற்காக, முடிந்தவரை மனம் அதிகம் கஷ்டம் கொள்ளாத  வகையில்  ஸ்லோகங்களை வழங்க என்னால் முடிந்த அனைத்தையும் முயற்சித்தேன். விளக்கம் தவறாகிவிட்டால் பொறுத்துக்கொள்ளுங்கள்.

 

கீதையின் மீது மகாத்மாவின் அனுபவத்தை நினைவுகூர்வது   இங்கே பொருத்தமானது:

"ஏமாற்றம் என் முகத்தில் உற்றுப் பார்க்கும்போது, ​​தனியாக, ஒரு ஒளிக்கதிர் கூட எனக்குப் புலப்படாமல் போகும்போது, ​​நான் பகவத் கீதைக்குத் திரும்புகிறேன், இங்கே ஒரு ஸ்லோகத்தையும் அங்கே ஒரு ஸ்லோகத்தையும் காண்கிறேன், பெரும் துயரங்களுக்கு மத்தியில் நான் உடனடியாக சிரிக்கத் தொடங்குகிறேன் - என் வாழ்க்கை வெளிப்புற துயரங்களால் நிறைந்துள்ளது - அவை என் மீது எந்தத் தெளிவான, அழியாத வடுவையும் விட்டுச் செல்லவில்லை என்றால், நான் பகவத் கீதையின் போதனைகளுக்குக் கடமைப்பட்டிருக்கிறேன்."

 

Disclaimer:  Tamil version courtesy: Google translation.  Tried my best to fill the gaps and refine as far as possible.  Still organic is organic.  Nothing substitutes the original verse.

Gita, week 1 a recap

Here in this piece I'm neither repeating the verses just we saw in the last week, nor the transliteration.

We began with the 🙏 prayer, Gita Dhyan and have seen first six verses in Chapter 1, viz., Arjuna Vishada Yoga. Though we Bharatheeya have heard our grandmothers, parents and elders narrating epics, Ramayana, Maha Bharath, not in many numbers that we would have turned to read them verse by verse, leave alone scholars who are well versed in them.

This piece is to recap what we have gone through in first five verses. Chapter begins with the King Dratrashtra asking his unbiased, straightforward Minister Sanjaya to narrate what precisely was happening in Kurukshetra battle between his son Duryodana's Gaurav side and the other Pandava's side.

The king Dratrashtra was visionless and also not visionary. Because Kurukshetra was holy place, saturated with many Yajnas having happened there, the blind king had an illusion. That in the divine Kurukshetra Darma wouldn't like to wage a bloody war but would retreat. Then it would be easy and no blame of waging a war would fall on Gaurav's side. And it would clear the path to usurp Pandava's rightful space.

Why Sanjaya?
For, in recognition of Sanjaya's honest character, Ved Vyas endowed him with intuitive abilities to narrate flawlessly what was happening in battlefield. This was the very same reason, the King Dratrashtra chose Sanjaya over others to convey happenings at the war front.

In Sanjaya's narration, he refers to Duryodhana's rushing to Acharya Drona. He chides Acharya for having trained Son of Drupada in aechery. Duryodana went on to explain who were all gathered on Pandava's side to fight against Gaurava. Duryodana got shivering seeing the army of Pandava. His mental agony was prelude to his entailing defeat.

Are we ageing?

Old age homes mushroom everywhere.

Old age home running commercial centres go on air selling their ware uninhibitedly.

An aged super senior client, a lady used to visit our office for her tax return compliances. She was very religious, pious and philanthropic. When she went on banking work, visiting, touring to Temples - mostly to Tiruchendur - and visiting us, she regularly hired one cab. Cab driver was very helpful. Though she had children - one son an IITian and a daughter well settled in US.

The super senior client never visited her children, children to mom are always children regardless of their age. The son and daughter themselves are senior citizens.

Suddenly one day she came asking my father in law to help her accompany to Ramakrishna Math. He did. She drew out a big cheque favouring the Math. Whenever she visited our office, my father in law persuaded her to visit children and stay with them. She quietly would smile and from it we can't gather what she was thinking.

A week later, to the shock of my better half, the senior client asked my wife take her to a few old age homes.  

On first visit to one particular home, the blatantly told the lady she had to wait and she would be informed about when vacancy arose. Vacancy because of some inmate passing away.   

Then she decided not to visit old age homes at all.

After her passing away, her children still visit us. So nice like the super senior Mother. We still couldn't see a reason why the super senior client was sticking her gun to live all alone.

With world going nucleus families, joint family system slowly fading away, fancy for single child, wedlocks skidding, wish, dream, pray a renaissance of all good things olden, golden time,

- time for love, peace, affinity - come about.

Maharishi Ved Vyas trying apace...with Maha Ganapati

Maharishi Ved Vyas trying apace...with Maha Ganapati

நதீஜலம் கேசவநாரி கேது: நகாஹ்வயோ நாம நகாரிஷூநு: |

ஏஷாங்கநா வேஷதர: கிரீடி ஜித்வா வயம் நேஷ்யதி சாத்ய காவ: ||

It's one of the slokas Maharshi Ved Vyas did it in most complicated way.  Why he chose to have such a complicated slokas in the whole gamut of nearly one lakh slokas in the stupendous treatise, viz., Maha Bharata. There's an interesting prelude to it 

When Ved Vyas set out to write Maha Bharat, - all slokas were his conception but he chose Maha Ganapati to write them out -, Maharshi made a condition. That Maha Ganapati has to keep up with the flow and pace of Maharshi. What happened was totally reverse. Maharshi couldn't keep up to the speed of Maha Ganapati. So Maharshi made yet another stipulation that not only should Maha Ganapati write it fast but also Ganapati should grasp the sloka while writing it. Such a sport Maha Ganapati became and accepted the challenge.

The Maharshi so as to have a breathing space after dictating every thousand slokas,  he deliberately ended the 1000th verse so cumbersome.  One can't read it verbatim to get the meaning word by word of the sloka.  It's like a jigsaw puzzle.  The words have to be rearranged to get to the correct meaning of the sloka. It would take sometime to understand even for such a genius, Maha Ganapati. In the interregnum, Maharshi could relax before he proceeded again.

The sloka in the beginning is from the canto, viz., Virata Parva in Mahabharata. The backdrop is the Pandavas were to observe one year incognito in the fourteen years of exile. They sought refuge in Virata kingdom in different avatars not revealing their real identity.  To cut it short, Duryodhana did all tricks and engaged spies to find out Pandavas and expose them.  The condition to return the usurped kingdom back to Pandavas was they should not fail during the one year to remain incognito.  Coveatus Duryodhana entertained notions defeat Pandavas in this excercise of remaining incognito.  When Duryodhana 's tricks failed to fetch any yield, he resorted to wage war against Virata Kingdom. Duryodhana thought that Pandavas would venture out to defend fragile Vrat in the battle. Hence their identities could easily be exposed.  Arjuna donning a female role by name Bruhannalai and as a chauffeur took to driving the Ratha from which the Prince of Vrat would fight. At the battlefield, as was expected by Duryodhana, the Prince got scared seeing the mighty army of Duryodhana and instructed the chauffeur to retreat.  But valour of Arjun didn't go with the Prince. He advised and motivated the Prince to bravely fight out and defeat Duryodhana.

Maha Swami narrates this under the sub-title பாரதக் குட்டு, chapter kavi சாதுர்யம் in தெய்வத்தின் குரல் vol 3.

Balakumaran wrote this Virata Parva as a story under the title, தனிமைத் தவம்.

Gita, the Gospel of the World

https://www.newindianexpress.com/sport/olympics/2024/Jul/28/karma-gita-and-the-legend-of-manu-bhaker

कर्मण्येवाधिकारस्ते मा फलेषु कदाचन।

मा कर्मफलहेतुर्भूर्मा ते सङ्गोऽस्त्वकर्मणि॥ 

श्रीमद्भगवद्गीता 2.47

There's a saying in Tamil,

"ஒரு பானை சோற்றுக்கு ஒரு சோறு பதம்".

This one sloka suffices that Bhagavad Gita is Gospel of this Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam, वसुधैव कुटुम्बकम् ॥, the World, the one family.

Kudos to Manu Bhaker, not just for her winning in Parry's Olympics but also for her quoting the exhorting Karmanya Vadhikaraste from the Srimad Bhagavad Gita. Lord Krsna,  bless her and all sports participants in Olympics from Ma Bharath.

Here's Manu's quoting,

"Karma pe dhyan do, aur phal ke chinta mat karo,  - focus on the work but don't worry about the reward."

கீதை 11.55 - குறள் 204

11.55: Those who perform all their duties for My sake, who depend upon Me and are devoted to Me, who are free from attachment, and are without malice toward all beings, such devotees certainly come to Me.

Bg. 11.55

मत्कर्मकृन्मत्परमो मद्भ‍क्त: सङ्गवर्जित: ।
निर्वैर: सर्वभूतेषु य: स मामेति पाण्डव ॥ ५५ ॥

mat-karma-kṛn mat-paramo
mad-bhaktaḥ saṅga-varjitaḥ
nirvairaḥ sarva-bhūteṣu
yaḥ sa mām eti pāṇḍava

மறந்தும் பிறன்கேடு சூழற்க சூழின்

அறஞ்சூழம் சூழ்ந்தவன் கேடு.

சாலமன் பாப்பையா விளக்கம்:

மறந்தும் பிறர்க்குத் தீமை செய்ய எண்ணாதே; எண்ணினால் எண்ணியவனுக்கு அறக்கடவுளே தீமையைத் தர எண்ணும்.

In life 

When we have

To deal with 

Umpteen other humans -

Be they from

One's own family,

Relations,

Friends

Or from 

Work spaces -

There may arise

An occasion whence

One may not be

Able to 

Please all 

Due to 

Legitimate reasons.

Hence we may

Hurt, incur 

Wrath of

Others.

Should it 

End up having a

Life long grudge 

And spoil

One's peace?

Forgive.

Don't let your

Ego deter you

From saying 

Sorry 

When you have to.

For, the heaviest 

Burden to carry

Is grudge.

Be in peace.

Be Blissful.