Bhagavad Gita - Chapter 6 Koramangala

14 Sept '11 Continuing from the last class

There are situations where one requires help and someone can help him. There can be situations where no one will be able to help. One such is where one wants to grow spiritually. Only the person has to try for it. One should not be a slave of one's own body,mind complex but should be the master. Since there is no clarity between self (atma) and one's body-mind complex (anatma), one gets into the problem of self serving the body and mind.

Sloka 7 Divinity is very close to one who has conquered the anatma. He is not affected by the changes- cold & hot; happiness and sadness; glory & disgrace; ups & downs, since nothing is permanent. The closest possession of one (self) is the body which also changes in course of time.  "The wild animals desert the forest, when there is fire. Like that, one's faculties go away when the body gets older" - says Bhartruhari. Use the faculties while they are available, without developing a dependency on them.

Sloka 8 The real strength of spirituality is in managing the present life. Our wrong expectations are due to our wrong understanding. One who has good control over his senses, does not see any difference in a lump of clay, stone or gold.( He does not depend on anything). It is a general tendency to blame the world or others , for one's unhappiness.(Avivasta). One sloka says  " one, whose mind is dis-organised, cannot go well with anything, anybody or anywhere".

21 Sept '11-- Sloka 9   One , who has the same attitude towards well wishers, friends ( who have mostly give & take attitude), enemies, indifferent people, mediators, hating persons, loving persons, sadhus  and crooks, is a yogi. Yogi does not differentiate any of them.

Sloka 10  This sloka talks about the frame of mind for meditation. We want to be happy always, without getting disturbed.The person should be doing meditation alone, without anything around and without any expectations.

Sloka 11  This sloka gives the basic essential instructions for meditation. The place should be clean ( both inside and outside) including religious cleanliness. Puja room is better than a clean kitchen for this purpose. Seating should be separate for each person. It should not be too high or too low. It should be made of three layers- darba grass, deer skin and cloth. These are mentioned for people living in a forest or in a natural surrounding. Darba grass prevents the insects crawling up, deer skin with its smell acts as a repellent for many insects and cloth for comfort. In our present day situation,one should have a comfortable asanam in a clean and non disturbing place for meditating.

28 Sept '11 Sloka 12  After seating comfortably, the mind should not wander. The mind should be focused  on single thought  of Ishta devata. Even though 

Grama devata,kula devata  are to be worshipped, Ishta devata is the deity you worship most. The place should not only be clean but free from any disturbances to all senses. The aim of meditation is only to get chitta suddhi not any siddhis ( powers).

Sloka 13 This sloka tells about the control of the body. Dhegam, head & neck should be straight in one line, without any movement like a statue. To concentrate one should look at the tip of own nose, without looking anywhere else.

Sloka 14  The time should be selected such that there is no disturbance. In the early morning,the mind will be calm and the body fully relaxed. The calm mind , without any fear or anxiety, with discipline should be fixed on the Ishta devata.( Krishna in case of Arjuna)

Sloka 15 In this manner, the person who is doing dhyanam with concentration will achieve Moksham.Many steps are not mentioned here. Yoga will lead only through steps.

Sloka 16  Two words are introduced here.first is 'ati' - ( extreme). It may be in any field. Anything extreme is not desirable. Extremely rich as well as extremely poor persons have their own problems. But the problems are not the same for both. the second word is 'yukta'( moderate)

Bhagavad Gita - Ch 6 Koramangala

24 Aug 2011

Sloka 1 & 2 form a continuation of fifth chapter only.

Real sanyas is inside and not in the external changes. One can be a sanyasi in his own place. This is emphasised throughout the 5th chapter. Karya karma represents the svadharma.Life is full of duties(karma). Depending on the role, karma varies.

Sanyasi is one, who does his karma, without expecting any benefits out of it. Agni holds a lot of importance in all rituals of gruhastashrama. Only Agni Deva has rupam. A lighted lamp is considered as a witness  for all religious functions. Agnihotram of gruhastashrama can be left only when one dies or becomes a sanyasi. Sukastakam says that one, who is treading the path of sanyasa, has no duties to be done or forbidden.By not doing his duties or agnihotram, one will not become a sanyasi.

When one is called as 'karmayogi',(doing his duties  without expecting phalam) he is a sanyasi. A person who has not given up 'sankalpa'( attachment to karma phalam) is not a sanyasi in true sense. Sankalpa is a subtler form of desire(kama). A thought is also sankalpa, but it does not affect much.Sankalpa is a seed from which kama grows. 

31 Aug 2011

Sloka 3 &4  Karma yoga  and jnana yoga are both necessary to be followed in one's life. Generally one begins with karma yoga. The purpose of karma yoga is to gain chittasuddhi (getting a clean mind). For jnanam, a clean mind is a must. Karma yoga has to be practised by one, till he / she is ready for jnanayoga. This is similar to rubbing the vessel, till the dirt is removed. Continuing with Karma yoga is not needed once one is ready for jnanayoga. The scaffolding (karma yoga) has to be removed, once the roof (jnanayoga) is ready.

Karma yoga is very useful for one who wants to move forward in jnanayoga. Once one becomes a jnani, he is free from all karmas. When one loses interest in worldly pleasures,he loses his liking for achievements and doing things. One who has dropped all his thoughts for karma (sankalpa sanyasi),he is known as yogarudah.

7 Sept 2011

Sloka 5 &6 When one can help oneself, then he should not wait for some one's help. But when required , help should be taken. But sometimes even when someone is willing to help and you are ready to accept, it may be beyond his ability. Even when someone provides the food, only one has to eat himself to overcome his hunger. If one wants to grow spiritually, only he has to do the necessary practice. It is this, one's own effort or not, makes him a friend or enemy of oneself. This point is emphasised in vivekachudamani by Sankaracharya.

One should not be a slave of body-mind complex, but be the master.Since there is no clarity between self (Atma) and one's body-mind complex (Anatma), one gets into the problem of self serving the body-mind. One can be friend of one's Atma, when he has conquered one's self (knowing self) and has control over his body-mind. One, who has no control over body-mind, becomes an enemy for self.

Bhagavad Gita-Chapter 5 Koramangala

Sloka 25

Rishis are those who have gained self knowledge. It does not refer to any ashrama (life style). The earlier karmas have helped them to get rid of impurities. One sloka says that in kali yuga people are with lot of impurities in their minds.Mind once exposed to the external world, is bound to get impurities. But in other yugas, there were means to remove them.Shastra tells the way to cleanse the mind.In kaliyuga, one does not use this means to clean the mind.Most of the people in this yuga, live for others' opinions, not for themselves.Bhagavadam mentions about Krishna dhanam (black money) which affects one's mind.Rishis,committed for the welfare of all beings, attain the brahma nirvanam.

Sloka 26

Kama, krodha and other emotions affect the intellect by their strong presence and blind a person from doing right things.Conquering these emotions depends on one's efforts and not on his previous karmas (Prarabda). Person  (rishi) who is not affected by kama, krodha and has control over his mind, gets Brahma Nirvanam in this life and after. Planning for the future is required but worrying about future  is not needed.

Slokas 27-29

The benefits of karma are always after one's death.When one plants a tree, he can get the fruits only after few years.There is a difference between spiritual (vedanta) sadhanas and other sadhanas.Karma phalam of vedanta sadhanas is immediate. Vedanta considers Moksha in three levels.- Krama Mukti, Jivan Mukti and Videha Mukti. Krama Mukti is like buying in instalments. Punyam earned by all good karmas will give you Brahmaloka. As per shashtras, Brahmaloka has the option of studying self-knowledge in addition to all other comforts. Jivan Mukti is better than Krama Mukti. The clarity of self-knowledge gives one to experience Mukti while he is living. Jivan muktah is like a lotus leaf, which is not affected by the water (samsara), while being in it. Prarabda is like the oil in a lighted lamp.The flame (life) will go once the oil (prarabda)is exhausted.

For a matured person, nothing is a problem, it is only a situation. For a confused one, everything is a problem. Pujya Swami Dayanandaji  was once asked " Is marriage  a word or "sentence"?  ". , This question drives the above point.

Shashtras ( in Shivaabarada Stotram),   says that samsara is created only to develop vairakyam  and not for suffering. Bhagavan Krishna has  two types of baktas- with expectations (artharti) and without expectations (Jnani). Once Lord Krishna visited two baktas, one is very rich and doing dhanas and worship with a wish to become  more rich; the other is poor living with a cow to earn. The rich one wished Bhagavan to give him more wealth and he granted his wish. The poor wished that he should always have His grace and Bhagavan told that his cow would die soon. When asked for reason, Bhagavan told the rich would be in Samsara with all his wealth while the poor bakta would reach him soon.

It is important to learn to manage one's life rather trying to manage the external things of his life. Generally mind has a tendency to remember the negatives while forgetting the positives. It is better to forget the negative things to keep the head clean.

The last two slokas are introductory to the next chapter 'Dyana Yoga". Desire, fear  and anger are not fixed and permanent. once encouraged will get bigger and bigger. One who controls these, can attain mukti. Bhagavan is always  a well wisher of all beings. One who understands this, will be at peace ( Shanti).

Bhagavad Gita Chapter 5-Koramangala

Sloka 18 was explained on 22 June'11.

People use the word "pandit' to refer to knowledgeable or scholarly person. But in Vedanta, this word has a different and fuller meaning. Pandit is one who has a vision to see the  atma tatvam in all living beings. Each living being is unique. Vedanta points out that atma chaitanyam in all living beings is the same. Only at body mind level, they differ.

Manu Smruti says - All are born as sudras (as they are not refined); Samskara (upanayanam) refine them to dvija (second born); education (learning) makes them vipra (knowledgeable person); One who understands oneself becomes a brahmana.

One Niidhi sloga says - more prosperous (either internally or externally) one is, more humble one becomes like the tree with more fruits bend more.

A Pandit sees the atma in well learned humble brahmin, cow, elephant , dog or dog eater.Thus he sees the same atma in the  highest to the lowest beings. The dog eater is significant. The dog is always loyal to his master. By referring to dog eater, it means those who cheat the persons who trusted them.

Sloka 19

No two living beings are same in various aspects. Atma in all beings is same, but at individual level each living being has different values and views. Anatma is constantly changing and not reliable whereas Atma is constant and reliable. Samsara is excellent in providing the worldly existence but does not give a permanent happiness (ananda). Uttara Gita was taught by Bhagavan to Arjuna after the war was over. This shows that the changes are ever happening. Jnani knows that the changes are inevitable , hence he does not resist them

Sloka 20

Jnani is referred as stirabuddhi, one who has the clarity of brahman. In life one expects to get some thing,but some times he does not get. Jnani is neither too much happy with his expectations fulfilled nor he is too sad when he has not achieved his desires. In life, one follows the other,like failure followed by success, happiness followed by sadness etc.

Sloka 21

Scriptures advise us to use anatma for life but not to depend on it. Jnani knows that vishya sukam is not dependable and atma sukam is dependable. Ajnani develops fear and anxiety due to his dependence on worldly things.

Once a great king, who was a devotee of a mahatma, requested him to come to his palace from his place in the forest. Mahatma agreed and moved to the king's palace. The king served him with lot of devotion and royal things. After some days, the king asked the sage as to how he felt about the change. The sage replied that he would tell during their evening walk. That evening, the sage continued his walk towards the forest, instead of turning back to palace. Then the king asked the sage for the reason for continuing his walk. Then the sage replied that the answer for his question was there; he was not depending on the luxury offered by the king, even though he accepted it.

Thus a Jnani knows that happiness is not coming from outside world.One who understands "Aham Brahma Asmi"enjoys the eternal happiness.

Sloka 22

All the material enjoyment is the root cause of all miseries. All material things have a start and  an end.Knowing this fact, Jnani does not seek sukam in material things while the people search the happiness in the worldly things. Sant Tukaram said that dukham is like a mountain, while the sukam is like a mustard seed.

Once a person went to the forest for firewood. He was chased by a tiger  and he ran blindly . He was tripped by the root of a tree and was about to fall inside a dry well. He caught the root and was hanging .Then he saw a cobra inside the well.While the tiger was waiting at the edge of the well, he tasted the honey dripping from the beehive on the tree. This story symbolises the honey drops for the sukam and all other dangers to dukham.

Sloka 23

Anger and lust greatly pressurises one.One, who can tolerate these pressures, gets well equipped to be a happiest person in his life. By realising the consequences of losing temper, one can overcome the difficulties that follow. One sloka says- one can have many friends and well wishers with a sweet and cultured tongue. One can earn well with a good tongue. ( Successful businessmen never lose temper).

Anger is an emotion that cannot be controlled always, but expressing that anger is in one's control.

Sloka 24
 'antararaamah' is one who depends on the inner self for happiness, 'antarjyotihi' is one who is with self knowledge. Such a person is referred by Bhagavan as a yogi. One who depends on atma, for his happiness (yogi) and enjoys the atma and sees the light of atma lives as Brahman in the existing life and becomes one ultimately

Bhagavad Gita -Chapter 5 Koramangala

Continuing on 25 May’11

In the two slokas 14&15, Bhagavan removes the big misconception. People think there is no freedom and everything is done by god. As per our scripture, we have shaped our present  and our future is also shaped by us ( by our actions). Whatever we do, God blesses and HE does not  interfere. It is similar to  the light. Everyone does whatever he likes under the light and the light does not interfere with one’s actions. What one does with his life is not influenced by Bhagavan and He only blesses.

Bhagavan does not create the karmas and its fruits for anyone. Everyone has one’s freedom or choice for doing things they like. The greater the devotion one has, the greater is his misconception that  everything in his life is guided by Bhagavan. Many devotees consider the misconception as a great glory. The success or failure of one’s action depends on his earlier karmas and is not decided by Bhagavan. When the karmas are favourable, one’s actions will be successful and vice versa.

Suppose a great devotee commits some paapam, Bhagavan does not nullify it. When one does not own the result of his actions, Bhagavan does not influence its effect, either punyam or paapam. Because of ignorance of this , people have a the misconception about Bhagavan’s  role. This lead to confusion and delution.

This is understood with the story of great Valmiki  Ratnakara ( valmiki’s original name)was of the opinion that his family would share his paapam since they shared his wealth etc. He had an argument with Narada Rishi, about this. He approached all his relatives  and asked them to share his sins. But no one was prepared for sharing. No well wisher can share other’s karma and its phalam.

Continuing on 8 June’11

Knowledge is always with everyone, but it is covered with misunderstanding (ajnanam). Guru does not impart any knowledge but he removes the ajnanam. If one is hungry, only he has to eat, other’s eating will not remove one’s hunger. One whose ajnanam has been destroyed by jnanam  will have clarity which will shine like the sun. Having expectations is not wrong, but expecting Bhagavan to fulfill any desire (good or bad) is wrong. Anything contrary to dharma is a wrong expectation.

Continuing on 15 June ‘11

All confusions in day to day life is only due to ajnanam. This ajnanam is not limited to spiritual or religious matters. All  the knowledge with a person is covered by ignorance. For example, Karna called Radha as his mother, because of his ignorance about Kunti as his mother. Person with self knowledge  is committed to it and he is free from re-births.

Shashtra advises to keep learning  (remove ignorance ) even if one gets old. This learning does not add anything new to the brain it only removes the ignorance about it. If learning adds new thing which is not there with one, then the head should get bigger and bigger as one learns new  new  subjects, just like a balloon .

Swamiji Answers

Sharmaks asks

What exactly is meant by Ishwararpana Buddhi and Prasada Buddhi, if we are not the Karta or the Bhoktha respectively?

Karmas are part and parcel of one's life. When one does karmas with some expected results, then he or she does karma. When the same karmas are done and the results (desired or otherwise) are accepted ,then it becomes karma yoga. Karmas done with this attitude are meant as done with aparna buddhi  and accepting any result of that karma is prasada buddhi. One, who is a Jnani (having the self knowledge) is neither a kartha nor a boktha , while a karma yogi, who is still an Ajnani, will have karthirthvam and bokthirthvam.

Lokanathan asks

Why is death painful for the survivors of the dead person?

When a dear and near is dead, the feeling of the surviving members comes out in crying or beating the chest or in some form. It is  universally accepted that venting out the feeling On the loss of a close friend or relative as good. Otherwise, the bottled up pain will harm the person both physically and mentally.

During Mahabharata war,when Abhimanyu was killed, Subhadra wept over his body. Lord Krishna tried to console her. Being a brave kshtriya lady, she was boasting  that her son would get veer swargam, if he was not successful. Bhagavan reminded her words and told her not to weep over the loss.Then Subhadra replied that it was not the Kshtriya lady  weeping, but the mother.

Exhibiting the grief by the surviving family members is natural and is accepted in our tradition and culture.

In some places, why do people dance and have music in funeral procession? Is death a happy event?

The music and dance in a funeral procession is definitely not acceptable (not in scriptures). It gives a wrong signal as though the people are happy for the departed soul. Perhaps this custom is present only in some communities in south India. This is not found in north India.

Gita Yagna 2011

The annual Gita Yagna function of Arsha Vidya Sevashram started on 8 May '11 at R.V.Teacher's College auditorium. After the customary introduction and lighting of lamp, Swami Paramarthanandaji started his discourse on Bhagavad Gita-chapter 8. It is known to all spiritual students the lucid way Swamiji deals the subject.The hall was over flowing on all days and people preferred to sit on the floor to hear Swamiji's talk Akshra Brahma Yoga chapter of Gita was completed on 14 May'11.

Pujya Swamiji was giving talk on "Jiva Yatra" at M.E.S.Kishore Kendra School, Malleswaram from 9 May to 14 May '11 in the mornings.This talk was well attended, in spite of rainy condition on some days.

All , who attended the discourse or talk, were given Yagna Prasadam ( Is desire an evil - book by Pujya Swamiji).

The conclusion of Yagna was with RudraAbhishekam of Lord Arunachaleswara at the ashram. More than 200 people attended the abhishekam, during when Rudram, Chamakam were chanted by some of the students. After the Abhishekam, Pujya Swamiji answered the questions from the  students for one hour. Swamiji appreciated the efforts by the volunteers in conducting the Yagna  As you know, there were many questions, which could not be covered in the limited time. Pada puja for Swamiji was performed by Ramamurthi family. 

Bhagavad Gita Chapter 5- Koramangala

On 4 May '11, Swamiji continued  with Sloka 8 / 9

"I", as Chaitanyam,do not do anything, even when the body does many things. Jnani, with 'Aham Brahma Asmi' knowledge, is not affected by the actions. "I" existed even before "I" gets a body and  "I"will exist even after the body goes. Jnani feels as though he does nothing, even when he is seeing, hearing,talking, smelling, drinking , sleeping etc.The famous story of Durvasa rishi of declaring that he had not eaten anything after a feast and that of Lord Krishna declaring himself as a Nitya Bramhachari, are the examples of Jnani's attitude. This is possible only with a vedantic approach of dissociating oneself from anatma.

In sloka 10, Bhagavan lowers the level of teaching. One should do all his karmas as offering to Bhagavan without any expectations and he is not affected by his actions, just like the lotus leaf. Even though it is in water, the lotus leaf is not affected by the water.One should have samarpana buddhi and prasada buddhi.

Sloka 11 Mind, which requires no energy , is always active irrespective of age or place.Body is not able to cope up but mind is hyper active.On the other hand Buddhi (Intellect) which is to be active,  is lethargic.Karma yogi does all karmas with the body, mind,senses and intellect, without bothering about the end result. He does it only for the freedom from raga and dvesha ( likes & dislikes).

Sloka 12 Reality can be pleasant or unpleasant.When one is not ready for reality, he becomes sad. When there is a scope for change,it should be attempted whole-hearted. At the same time, one should be prepared for any result. If one wants to keep cobra as a pet, it is possible after removing its fangs.

By detaching oneself from doer-ship (Kartrithvam) and enjoyer-ship (boghthitvam) ,no karma will affect. Karma yogi enjoys shanti, by not expecting any particular result, while samsari loses his peace, by attaching himself to a desired result of his karma.

Continuing on 18 May '11

Karma yogi does all his karma, but renounces everything by mind.The pet dog barks at someone, which is not one's wish. similarly the body ,mind  do some karmas, which are not really yours. The owner of a house is not the house. Again dehi is in the degam but he is not the degam.The body is like a city with nine gates. In Katopanishad, the body is said to have eleven gates.One is Brahma randram, a fine hole on the top the skull and the other is naval. One who has done a lot of upasanas, exits through Brahma randram, when he leaves the body. Karma yogi stays in the nine gated body without doing anything or getting anything done.

In the following slokas, Bhagavan removes the misconception that everything is done by Him. If anything unpleasant happens in one's life,most of the people start asking as to why god has given that unpleasant experience to him.He feels that God is interfering , which is a big misconception of Astikas.(believer of God).

Aparoksha Anubhuti -May 2011

As there was a long gap of 4 months , swamiji gave a concise recap of the Anubhuti.

Acharya discusses - "sarvam kaluvidam brahman". Abhinna nimitta upadhana kaaranam is brahman.The difference between jiva and ishwara is in shrishti. To create anything, jiva requires two things- material and maker.In case of ishwara shrishti,both material and maker are one and the same. One jiva has this ability; the spider is one, which makes the web with its own material (refer Mundaka Upanishad). Ishwara has not created the world, but He is manifesting as world.

Praying for impossible things , which are not in one's prarabda, to Bhagavan and then blaming Him for not acheiving them, is not right. For example, asking to separate the chain from the gold , is a wrong request, as the chain cannot exist without gold. Similarly seeing Bhagavan and world as two different things is not correct.

Idols of God are made of different material (granite, marble, brass) , but there is no difference in them as He is manifested in all.Only selected forms are worshipped. Only an immature person (ajnani) will see the creations different from the creator.

Acharya gives a number of examples to make this aspect clear from sloka 69 onwards.

Jar is nothing but clay. Similar to this, there are no two things as Atma and Anatma.Only ignorant person talk in these lines. Next Acharya gives the example of person and shadow. Shadow cannot be separated .Then he quotes about mistaking a rope as a snake. This ignorance is because the real thing cannot be seen. In full darkness, one does not see anything to mistake for a snake.In full brightness, one can see the rope and no mistake is done.  It is said ignorance is bliss but half knowledge (ignorance) is dangerous. Again, a sea shell is mistaken for silver piece, due to ignorance. The first example (rope & snake) drives one away (nivirthi) while the second one (shell & silver) attracts (pravirthi). Both are due to ignorance.

More examples are - no cloth without threads; no waves without water. The post (stump of the tree ) is mistaken for a ghost and mirage is taken as water. Searching happiness in material things  by human beings is just like trying get water from the mirage. Further examples given are - block of wood is mistaken for house ( in olden days, houses are built entirely of wood ) and iron is mistaken for sword. Swamiji told that in Chandokya Upanishad reference has been made to nail cutter and iron.

Further the class will be continued in next month on 5 June 2011,Sunday. All are welcome to attend the class at Ashram, Ramanashree Nagar. The class will start at 10-30 A.M sharp

Viveka Chudamani- 24 April '11

Even if you want to become a brahmachari, only your karma should favour you. Your paapa and punya should be in equal measures. It is not in Bhagvan's hands or yours.We already have a rarest of rare janmas. Getting  this janma is like a blind man trying to catch a crow. It is just accidental if a blind man catches a crow. Neither it has happened in the past nor will it happen in the future.That is why it is said "Jantunam nara janma durlabham"

Swamiji continued with the 3rd sloka :Durlabham trayamevaitad deva anugraham" There are 4 types of human beings

1."janmana jaayate shudraha" Any child born is a shudraha.This means the child is unrefined,uncultured and insensitive.Every new born is to be made better like gold ore needs to be refined to get a polished finish.

Those days we had "sodasha samskaras" to convert the child from shudra to "dvijaha" ie: twice born refined purusha.Now by vidya, dvijaha becomes "vipraha"- adhyayanath bhaveth vipraha - well equipped mature person,self sufficient in field of dharma /adharma.A vipraha need not be guided.He knows brahman - Aham Brhmasmi Then he can declare himself to be a Brahmana

Swamiji narrated the story of Vishwamitra - a raja rishi and Vashishta- a brahma rishi.How vishwamitra wanted to become a brahma rishi like Vashishta and how long he had to do tapasya to attain that stateand accepted by Vashishta. A right frame of mind is needed to become a Brahmana."Krupakara - one who has not understood what is Brahman. Sage Yagnavalkya  describes it is waste of life if one does not understand brahman. If one has managed to understand oneself you have done what you are supposed to do.All of us have no choice  to be born as a shudra but dying as a shudra is great loss waste of life.So let us not die as shudra. All of us should aspire to become a brahmana.

Sunday Programme of May 2011

Hari Om
The monthly programme for the month of May is on 1 May 2011.Swamiji will be continuing the class on Aproksha Anubhudhi. As usual, the class will start at 10-30 A.M sharp.After the class there will be Arti for lord Arunachaleswara , followed by Maha prasada.

This month's maha prasadam is given by the participants of Tirtha Yatra 2011. All are welcome for the class. The Yatrikas are specially reminded to be positively present .
Yatrikas who has taken photos on the trip are requested to forward the photos to avstblr@gmail.com, so that the same can be published.

Bhagavad Gita Chapter 5 - Koramangala

On 27 April ’11, Swamiji continued further with the sloka 6.

Everything in this universe is good or beautiful, only when it is in the right place. One of the slokas refers to this aspect, which says – Every alphabet has the possibility of being a mantra, every plant has the possibility of a medicine, no one is useless, in other words, every person has a quality (yogkyada), but the person who connects the things rightly is rare. Bija mantras such as hrim, klim, and gam are more powerful than expanded mantras. Anything which is not in its place becomes garbage. For example, hair, nails are all beautiful as long as they are in their respective places.

No action can be said as good or bad, it depends on the person concerned. Good / bad tags are added only by the people, not by the creator (Bhagavan).It is said that one’s food is poison for another. Only right combination is important.

Unless one has gone through the karma yoga, he cannot succeed in sanyasa yoga. One, who does karma yoga, attains Brahman (Moksha) very soon.

 Jnani, who is full of actions (karma), is not bound by these actions. Karmas are necessary for attaining chittashuddhi - freedom from likes (raga) and dislikes (Dvesha). Mastery over senses does not mean restricting them. Closing the eyes to avoid seeing anything is not mastery. Having control over senses without preventing is the real mastery

Viveka Chudamani- 17/04/11

Acharya wants to highlight the various things that are not being taken care of by humanbeings.They should understand that getting Nara Janma is not as easy as one thinks.”Jantunam Nara Janma Durlabham”.Anyone subject to birth and death is a Jantu including devas.The only difference between devas and us is that the gap between birth and death is longer in devas.To get Nara Janma papa and punya should be in equal measures.

Manusmruti says more Punya – Deva yoni, more Paapa – all other than humanbeings. Manusha yoni is called Mishra yoni – mixture of papa and punya in equal measures.

Punya Sukha kaaranam, Paapa Dukha Kaaranam. Here Dukha means dependence on others – Paravasham as sashtra says. Example elephants and lions –Though they are big and ferocious in their own way they have to depend on others for survival.

As human beings, we all are subject to punya and papa or sukha and dukha.Each one have their own set of dukhas and sukhas at their own level rich or poor, literate of illiterate.

Exceptions are
1.Jnani – because of his Purushartha 
2.Balaha – Child  
3.Unmattaha – mentally retarded or a mad

Of these three which is a better option? 1.Balaha – not in our hands 2.Unmattaha – one would not like to be. 3. Jnani seems desirable . so seek to be one.

Hence put your effort to be a jnani which is a state of mind. Mind is governed by Purushartha

and body is governed by Prarabda. Purushartha – means manliness not the physical entity .It is a quality where thinking dominates life.Lack of manliness means one is dominated by emotions-Heart.

Head represents thinking – Viveka and Heart represents emotions.

Emotions darken our thinking Viveka takes charge of our life.Thus head should rule our life.In general a female is led by emotions and male by viveka

Thus human being with purushartha quality is difficult but not impossible.

S.K.Lokanathan.

Bhagavad Gita Chapter 5- Koramangala

On 20 April'11, Swamiji continued  with the next slokas (5/6).

Both Karma Yoga and jnana yoga achieve the same result for the people who follow them truly.The person who understands this, sees the truth.

Anyone ,who wants Moksha,should go through karma yoga and jnana yoga just like one goes to college after schooling. Both are equally important and one is incomplete without the other.But there are exceptions.There are many cases where one has gone straight to jnana yoga from ancient times. Sukhamaharishi is a great example from puranas. Again, Vamadeva rishi, was a jnani even when he was in his mother's womb. In recent times, Ramana maharishi never did any karma yoga.

Shastra explains that the sequence of karma yoga and jnana yoga need not be completed in one janma.Also it is said that the sadhanas done in one janma is not lost and one starts from that level achieved in the earlier janma, in the subsequent birth. Going back to our earlier example,  This is similar to a student ,who has completed his schooling in Mumbai, starts his college education at Bangalore, when he shifts himself there.He does not ( need not) repeat his schooling again. 

Karma yoga prepares one for Jnana yoga.But one cannot really find out when he has completed his karma yoga  and qualified  for taking up jnana yoga. Without karma yoga, Samyasa (jnana ) yoga will be torturous. Anyone who is not qualified will never enjoy his job for which he is not suited. for example , a person who is very kind in nature, can never fit to be a butcher. 

In this world , there is nothing really good or bad. Only the combination makes any thing one way or other.While we can never tolerate the gutters, a pig will enjoy that surrounding , not a rose garden

Maandukya Upanishad

Maanduukya Upanishad comes under Atharva veda. This is one of the major Upanishads, credited to Maanduukya Rishi, (son of Manduka rishi). A number of commentaries (bhashyams) are written on this.

Swamiji started with explanation on word UPANISHAD

Upa + ni= shad
upa and ni form preposition - meaning going closer to guru or shastras
Shad is root (Dhatu) carrying three meanings

Visharanam  - Loosening – to destroy ignorance which is like a hard rock or a concrete block. We need to hammer continuously to loosen the rock.

Avasanam  - destruction - removing the Ajnana after loosening.

Ghathi – Saadya Prapti. Reaching the goal 

Saadyam means Goal - Aham Brahamasmi which is to be realised by human being

Then started the sloka  Om ityetad aksharam idam

Here Omkara is chosen as a means to explain how Brahman is all pervasive.

Thru Omkara vichara we enquire the phrase" Sarvam khalvidam Brahma"

Omkara is comprised of 3 letters Aa + Au + Ma

As per Panini Aa is the first letter. When one opens the mouth Aa is the first sound that comes out. Similarly Ma is the last sound that closes the mouth. like Ramam and Krishnam. Au kara represents all other in between letters. Thus in Aum all alphabets are included.

Thus saying Aum in front of deity with bhava and shraddha is like providing raw materials to Bhagvan and asking to compose a prayer to any form. Thus Aum becomes the best name to remember God.

Much thought and work has been done by the great grammarian Panini in structure of alphabets in the form of 14 Sutras..Thus in some temples in the north India you may hear prayers in form of only alphabets where these 14 sutras being chanted. Like whole prapancha can be divided into 3 Kalas – Past, present and future omkara also has 3 Matras  Aa represents the Past, Au represents present and Ma represents the future.

For any Nami to be in existence Nama should be there. Thus Bhagavan is inseparable from his Nama. While whole Universe is created by Him. It is to be understood He is the Creator as well as Creation Himself. Thus both are one and same. He is manifesting as Jata. Thus Bhagavan is in form of Bhuta Bhavishya Atma tattvam which is beyond time and space So also is Omkara.

The class on Maandukya Upanishad started on 6 April ’11. As this requires detailed explanations, the weekly bulletin on this topic will Not be there any further. Those who are interested are welcome to attend the classes at Jnana Sanjeevani Medical Centre, 1^st “A” cross, Marenahalli, J.P.Nagar 2^nd Phase. on Wednesdays evening 6-30 P.M

Sender - S.K.Lokanathan

Bhagavad Gita Chapter 5 - Koramangala

Swamiji has recently started with the fifth chapter -"Samyasa Yogah".

Bhagavan has given His full advice to Arjuna in the second and third chapter. Had Arjuna understood that, then Bhagavad Gita would have ended there. As Arjuna was not convinced fully , he raises a question so that he could run away from the war.

His question was " When Jnana Yoga is the best, why do you ask me  to do Karma Yoga, Oh Krishna? "

Bhagavan said that even though both were considered good, Karma Yoga was better. One who is above the likes (Raga) and dislikes (Dvesha)  is called Nitya Sanyasi and he easily gets out of samsaram. Bhagavan explains further.

On 13 April '11, Swamiji taught the meaning of sloka  3 & 4.

Samyasa  is the fourth ashrama in the vedic system, which aims at a high goal (Moksha). Other Ashramas aim at Dharma,Artha, Kama, purusharthas, which have their limitations. Arjuna  wanted to avoid day to day unpleasant duties ,and did not aim at Moksha in taking to Samyasa. This was not encouraged  by Bhagavan. He wanted Arjuna to adopt internal Samyasa , while doing his duty and not running away. Shastra does not approve the external show, Ravana adopted the role of sanyasi only to get Sita out of the hut. One who polishes his/ her likes  and dislikes and not affected, is a nitya sanyasi.

Sankyam,Jnana yogam, sanyasam are all synonymous. Jnanayoga and karma Yoga cannot be compared as they are different in nature. Karma yoga is the stepping stone for Jnanam. Swamiji  told about the story which Pujyasri  Dayananda Saraswati used in his lectures. A miser who went to a hotel for the 'vadai' , about which everybody was praising. As the vadai was tasty and he was hungry, he ordered seven vadais , one after the another. He was fully satisfied with the last one and he was no more hungry. He got the bill for what he ate. But he argued with the cashier, that he was satisfied only with the seventh one and he would pay only for that.

Just like this story, one cannot get  to Sanyasa (Moksha) without going through the Karma yoga .

The class is held every Wednesday from 11-30 A.M to 12-30 P.M at 453, 8th Main, 4th Block Koramangala, Bangalore-560034. All are welcome to attend

Viveka Chudamani

After completing the classes on Bhagavad Gita, Swamiji started the class on Viveka Chudamani at Jnana Sanjivini Medical centre, J.P.Nagar..The gist of the class of 4th April 2011  is given by Sri. S.K Lokanathan.

The class began with the invocation Sloka of Viveka Chudamani.

समाप्ति कामो मंगलं आचरेत्

samāpti kāmo maṁgalaṁ ācaret

In any venture , we start with mangalam. In marriages, mangala dwani is in playing Nadaswaram. The mangala dwani of war is in blowing conches and beating of drums. Mangalam is in trusting the unknown power to shower his  grace for the occasion.

In this invocation, Shankaracharya invokes the blessings of his guru, Govinda Bhagavadpada as well as the grace of Lord Govinda. He salutes Lord Krishna, the parambrahma  who is both accessible  and inaccessible – gocharam & agocharam. God is to be known through the scriptures (Vedas). One’s mind cannot grasp the Atma Tatvam, without the blessing of Chaitanyam.

Sadguru is Brahma Vidya Pradaata and he teaches the Brahma Vidya.

Viveka Chudamani class is held every Sunday between 9-30 A.M. to 10-30 A.M at Jnana Sanjeevani Medical Centre, 1^st “A” Cross, Marenahalli, J.P.Nagar 2^nd phase. The gist of the class will be given in this bulletin every week. However, those who are interested to attend the class are most welcome.

Devayajna -Offering to God

Today , being the Janma day of Lord Rama, We give the details of formal announcement of Deiva yajna made on 3 April'11.
This is regarding the Anna neivedyam to Lord Arunachaleswara at our Ashram.
Swamiji told about the importance of Pancha yajna.   In this present day situation, where people are regulated by their office duty timings., it is a bit difficult to perform the Deiva yajna without fail. Based on the "Pidi Arisi " scheme of Maha periaval Sri Chandrasekara Saraswati, Swamiji has introduced this.
Everyday, before you cook the rice, one handful of rice is put separately in a bag, chanting the following Sloka.
OM Naha: Shivaya
Annam dadaami te sambho Arunachalavaasine!
Ambikesa prasaadena annapurna prasidatu!!
Om Arunachalaswamine namah Annam samarpayaami ! Om Tat Sat
Also one coin to be offered along with the rice.
Whenever the bag is full, it can be given to the temple. the rice will be used for daily neivedyam.
For this, the sloka booklet along with a bag is available at the ashram. All are invited to do the Deivayajna.  The bag full rice can be offered at the temple when you come for  the first Sunday class at the ashram. In case , you are not able to come to ashram , it can be given to your area volunteer.
All, who wish to participate in this, can write their wish in the comments column below. This way it is easier for us to co-ordinate.
Also you can contact Sri. Ramesh Saraf ( 26642713 / 9343831722 )
                                  Sri. V.Krishnamurthy ( 23313898 / 9902919611)

                                  Sri.N.D.Subramanian ( 23410493 / 9916087519 )

                                  Smt. Gita Kalyanasundaram (25504931 / 9902253184 )
Hari Om.

Rudraabhishekam on 3 April '11

The Tirtha yatra concluding puja and rudraabhishekam to Lord Arunachaleswara  was done on 3 April ’11. The abhishekam started at 10-30 A.M. Rudram and Chamakam were recited by many of the devotees . After the alankara to Lord, Swamiji read ashtrota namas and all repeated. After this, Swamiji gave his anugraha bhashanam, the gist of which is given below. After the mangala Arti and
theertha prasadam, all had the maha prasadam.

अन्यक्षेत्रे कृतं पापं तीर्थक्षेत्रे विनश्यति।

तीर्थक्षेत्रे कृतं पापं वज्रलेपो भविष्यति॥

anyakṣetre kṛtaṁ pāpaṁ tīrthakṣetre vinaśyati|

tīrthakṣetre kṛtaṁ pāpaṁ vajralepo bhaviṣyati||

This nice sloka tells the importance of tirtha yatra – Any paapam committed in other places is totally destroyed by visiting theertham but anyone in the theertha place commits paapam, it sticks like glue (vajra).

The tirtha yatra concept is an ancient practice in our society. This can be seen by the “kasi yatra” ritual in the marriages. In this connection, Swamiji mentioned the rajput marriage custom, where the mother of the groom vanishes after the Bharaat, only to get the promise from her dear son, that she will get her due respects and care from her son, after his marriage.

Himalayas and Uttarkhand are always referred as Deva Bhumi and Swamiji feels that the Thanjavur district Is a Devalaya Bhumi, with so many temples. He also expressed concern about the condition of the temples. Neglect of such great treasures will be great loss for the future generations. He concluded saying that temples are important for the society and society is equally important for the temple. He quoted Vidhura sloka which says that if tigers are not there, the forest will vanish and if the forest is not there, there will be no tigers.

Last but not the least, he mentioned that many yatrikas were not present and that one should consider that the yatra as completed only with the prayer to the Lord- as per our convention, with abhishekam to lord Arunachaleswara.

On-coming Events

Arsha Vidya Sevashram, Bangalore

Our tirtha yatra to the temples of Thanjavur district, tamilnadu was completed without any problems to any of the sadhakas, by the grace of Lord Arunachaleswara.
All of us know that we complete our sadhana camp by having Rudraabhishekam and puja to lord Arunachaleswara. So we have the abhishekam and puja on 3 April 2011, Sunday.
 The programme is as follows
Rudraabhishekam starts  at 10=30 A.M.followed by Anugraha Bhashanam by Pujya Swamiji.
Then the mangala arti and maha prasadam.

All the participants of tirtha yatra make note of this and be present for the abhishekam.

All the students and disciples of Pujya Swamiji are requested to view this blog page regularly to know about the activities of the Ashram.