Gita Dhyanam - 9

 

यं ब्रह्मा वरुणेन्द्ररुद्रमरुतः स्तुन्वन्ति दिव्यैः स्तवैः वेदैः साङ्गपदक्रमोपनिषदैः गायन्ति यं सामगाः ।

ध्यानावस्थिततद्गतेन मनसा पश्यन्ति यं योगिनः यस्यान्तं न विदुः सुरासुरगणाः देवाय तस्मै नमः ॥ ९॥

Yam brahmA varunendrarudramarutaH stuvanti divyaiH stavaiH vedaiH sAngapadakramopaniShadaiH gAyanti yam sAmagAH.

dhyAnAvastitatadgatena manasA pashyanti yam yoginaH yasyAntam na viduH surAsuragaNAH devAya tasmai namaH..9..

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यं                                  - Whom

वरुण इन्द्र रुद्र मरुतः         - Varuna, Indra, rudra , marut

स्तुन्वन्ति                          - Praise

दिव्यैः                             -with divine

स्तवैः                              - hymns

वेदैः                               -with Vedas

स अङ्ग पद​-क्रम                - along with the Vedangas, in proper pada-krama

उपनिषदैः                        - along with Upanishads

गायन्ति                           - Sing

यं                                  -whom

सामगाः                           - the vedic scholars

ध्यान अवस्थित                  - in the state of meditaion

तत् गतेन​                         - having absorbed in it

मनसा                             - with the mind

पश्यन्ति                          - see

यं                                  - whom

योगिनः                           - the yogis

यस्यान्तं                           - whose end

न                                  -is not

विदुः                              -known

सुर असुर गणाः                 - to the suras and asuras

देवाय                             - to that Lord

तस्मै                               - to him

नमः                               -Salutations

Meaning :

Salutation to him, who is worshipped by Brahma, Varuna, Indra , Rudra, Marut with divine chants; Who is pleased by scholars who recite Vedas along with vedangas, Upanishads following the word sequence, Who is seen by yogis who are absorbed in him, with their mind merging in him, And whose end is not known even by the devas and Asuras.

Significance :

                      In this verse we render our Salutations to the Supreme God before beginning the study of Gita. The Supreme is worshipped by all beings and it is beautifully explained in this verse. The Supreme is the Supreme knowledge who is beyond our perception. The word ‘div’ means to shine, to light, giving, spreading light . It is the Supreme God spreads the light of knowledge in our hearts which is filled with darkness of ignorance. When one realises this Supreme Consiousness, he experiences Bliss. The Supreme which is described in this verse is pure consciousness which is devoid of any form, ‘shuddha chaitanya’.

                          The Supreme consciousness is worshipped by the ‘devas’, which imply the upasana of Nirguna parabrahmam. The term ‘sAmagAH’ include the scholars who recite the Vedas , not restricted only to the scholars of sAma veda. A veda hymn can be recited in 10 ways like – pada , krama, jatA, Gana,Rekha, dhanda, ratha,etc. While the Devas and Vedic Scholars praise the Supreme aloud, He is seen by the Yogis, who has stable mind. The Supreme is beyond the perception of ‘Suras and Asuras’, the term sura – can be perceived as those who go behind materialistic happiness in a right way and Asuras – as those who go behind the same in a wrong way. He is beyond the perception of both!

                        

Gita Dhyanam - 8

 

मूकं करोति वाचालं पङ्गुंलङ्यते गिरिम् ।

यत्कृपा तमहं वन्दे परमानन्द​ माधवम् ॥ ८ ॥

mUkaM karoti vAcAlaM paNgumlaNyate girim .

yatkRipa tamahaM vande paramAnanda mAdhavam .. 8 ..

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मूकं                 -Dumb

करोति             -does

वाचालं             -speak

पङ्गुं            -lame

लङ्यते          -crosses

 गिरिम्             -the mountain

यत्कृपा             -whose compassion

तम् - अहम्     -to him, I

वन्दे                  - Salute

परमानन्द​          - Supreme bliss

माधवम्          -MAdhava

Meaning:

I bow down to Krishna, who is the Supreme bliss, whose compassion makes the dumb to speak and lame to cross the mountains.

Significance:

Whatever we may have in our life, how rich we may be , the happiness and peace is what counts. To attain that, we need to make our innerself pure. In this Kaliyuga the means by which we can make our inner self pure is Bhagawan nama Keerthana and complete Surrender. To reach the Supreme we need a Guru who showers His grace upon us , helps us to nullify our karma, helps us to meditate upon the Supreme and attain the state of bliss. Not everyone has the karma of identifying a Guru or being identified by a Guru. So Krishna Himself descends down as the Guru of the complete Universe , as the personification of the Supreme happiness .

                                        The words ' dumb, lame' does not here mean the physically challenged , but - the people who do not speak of the Supreme and the People who's legs do not go in search of Him. Our soul gets the human birth ,  with the Lord's Grace, after so many struggles and wait . Attaining Him should be the sole purpose of our birth, but we forget that and run behind the Material things. Amidst our busy schedule lets try to devote atleast few minutes to say His name, the least we can do, He says He is waiting for us to call His name and HE comes and rescues us from this samsara sagara.

                                        MAdhava, is one of the names of Lord Narayana. The word “Madhava” interestingly has many meanings. It is derived from the root ‘madhu’ that means honey, thus giving the meaning ‘one who is so sweet to His devotees’. AdiShankaracharya in his commentary to Vishnu Sahasranama explains the name as the ‘person who holds Mother Lakshmi in His Heart or one who is the consort of Mother Lakshmi’. Madhu was a king in the yadhava clan, thus as Lord Rama is known as Raghava as he was born in the race or Raghu, Lord Narayana is known as mAdhava as he is born in Madhu’s clan. The name also means ‘one who attracts everyone ‘ , as the root ‘dha’ also means ‘dhaj – to attract’. The name also means the Supreme light, as the  root ‘mA’ also means light. Lord Krishna is the Supreme light who could show us the right path.

Gita Dhyanam - 7

 

पाराशर्यवचः सरोजममलं गीतार्थगन्धोत्कटं नानाख्यानककेसरं हरिकथा- सम्बोधनाबोधितम् ।

लोके सज्जनषट्पदैरहरहः पेपीयमानं मुदा भूयाद्भारतपङ्कजं कलिमल- प्रध्वंसिनः श्रेयसे ॥ ७॥

PArAsharayavachaH sarojamamalam GItartha gandothkatam, NAnAkhyAnakakesaram harikathA sambodhanAbodhitam.

Loke sajjana-shat-padairaharaha pepIyamAnam mudA, BhUyAd BhArata-pankajam kali-mala pradhvamsinah-shreyase..7..

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पाराशर्यवचः            - words of Parashara’s son

सरोजममलं             - lotus , clean

गीतार्थ                   - meaning of Gita

गन्ध                      - fragrance of

उत्कटं                   - filled with  

नाना                     - different

आख्यान                -stories

केसरं                    - filaments

हरिकथा                - story of Krishna

सम्बोधन                - rejoicing

आबोधितम्            - imparted

लोके                    -in this world

सज्जन                   -good heart people

षड् पदैः                -by bees

अहरहः                  - everyday

पेपीयमानं              -drunk

मुदा                     -happily

भूयात्                   -be

भारत                    - Bharatam

पङ्कजं                    - lotus

कलिमल-               - ill effects of kali yuga

प्रध्वंसिनः                - destroyer of

श्रेयसे                    - for benefit

Meaning :

May this lotus of the Mahabharata, born in the lake of the words of Vyasa (Son of Parashara), with intense sweet fragrance of the essense of Gita, with many stories as its stamens, fully opened by the discourses on Hari, the destroyer of the effects of Kaliyuga, and drunk joyously by the bees of good men in the world, day by day become the bestower of good to us.

Significance :

Lineage is one important thing which is recorded in all our Indian texts. Knowing our ancestors, knowing their value, following their words are held high in Indian tradition. Authenticity of a statement, of words are measured with the authencity of the source. Statements of vedas are authentic, words from the mouth of rishis are considered authentic. Mahabharata is told by Sage Vyasa, the text is considered as the fifth veda, each and every word is authentic, to substantiate this here the name of father of Sage vyasa is mentioned. Sage Vyasa is the son of Sage Parasara. Parasara is a great sage who is a great seer, who is the grandson of sage Vashishta,who inturn is created by Brahma himself. Parasara is the author of great Indian texts like VrukshAyurveda, who is praised in many verses in Rigveda.

Mahabharata is not just the story of war Pandavas and Kauravas, but it is a repository of information. Ramayanam, Nalopakhyanam, Vishnu Sahasranamam, Vidura Neeti are in the great Indian Epic. Mahabharata came from the the sage Vyasa and Gita is told by the Lord Himself. Those words which came from the mouth of God Himself serves as the means to remove the sufferings we undergo in this Kali yuga. Kali yuga is the 4th yuga ( Satya yuga, treta yuga , dwapara yuga and Kali yuga), where the world is filled with adharma. Dharma when symbolised as a cow, it stands with one leg. It is said the punya acquired by doing penance in satya yuga can be acquired by uttering the nAma of the Supreme in kali yuga. to ward off all the illeffects of Kali yuga we need to think of Krishna and utter His name alone. Krishna showers His mercy on us by giving the complete guide on how to lead our life and cross this and attain Bliss. 

Gita Dhyanam - 6

 

भीष्मद्रोणतटा जयद्रथजला गान्धारनीलोत्पला शल्यग्राहवती कृपेण वहनी कर्णेन वेलाकुला ।

अश्वत्थामविकर्णघोरमकरा दुर्योधनावर्तिनी सोत्तीर्णा खलु पाण्डवै रणनदी कैवर्तकः केशवः ॥ ६॥

Bheeshma drone-taTA jayadratha-jalA , GandhAra-nIlothphalA, Shalya-grAhavatI , kripena vahanI , karNena VelAkulA

AswathAma-Vikarnaa-ghora-Makaraa DuryodhanAvarthinI, SothIrno khalu Pandavai , rana nadhI kaivarthakah KeshavaH.

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भीष्म-द्रोण – Bhishma and Drona

तटा            - Banks

जयद्रथ        -Jayadratha

जला - river

गान्धार         - Gandhara

नीलोत्पला    - Blue Lotus

शल्य           - Shalya

ग्राहवती       - Shark

कृपेण          -Kripa

वहनी          - flow

कर्णेन          - Karna

वेलाकुला     - mighty wave

अश्वत्थाम-विकर्ण      - AshwatthAma and vikarna

घोर-मकरा   - dangerous Alligators

दुर्योधनावर्तिनी        - Duryodhana-whirlpool

सोत्तीर्णा                 - crossed

खलु                     - indeed

पाण्डवै                  - by Pandavas

रणनदी                 - war like river

कैवर्तकः                - boatman

केशवः                  - Krishna

Meaning :

BhIshma, Drona were the two banks , Jayadratha was the water, Shakuni (GandhAra) was the blue lotus, Shalya was the shark , Kripa was the flow , Karna was the mighty wave.

AshwatthAma and Vikarna were the dangerous alligators, Duryodhana was the whirlpool, this river of war was crossed by the Pandavas with Krishna as their boatman.

Significance :

                          This verse brings out the true essence of Bhagavad Gita. Our vedas, Upanishads are teaching us to lead a righteous life , to attain the four purusharthas – dharma , artha , kama and moksha. Of the four,Moksha , the attainment of the feet of the Supreme, is the ultimate goal of our soul. We, who in this material world – samsara sAgara , inturn are caught in the cycle of birth and death. We need to cross this sagara to reach the Supreme Lord.

                              This sea or river is not an easy one, we are facing many ups and downs, many happy moments and unpleasant moments, we have many friends and foes. We need to break all the bondage in order to get the ultimate happiness. We need a guide to show us the right path. We need a person who can give us moral and physical strength to face all the hurdles. We face many threats in the form of both pleasure and pain. We need to break the chain which has its root in the attachment of our senses with objects. The only person to destroy the root cause of pain is Krishna himself. The characters of Mahabharata are none other than our own qualities. It is Krishna who destroys them all and takes us safely to His feet. Lets pray to Him to be our boatman to cross this samsara Sagara.

Gita Dhyanam - 5

 

Gita Dhyanam - 5

वसुदेवसुतं देवं कंसचाणूरमर्दनम् ।

देवकी परमानन्दं कृष्णं वन्दे जगद्गुरुम् ॥ 5

Vasudevasutam devam kamsacAnUramardanam .

devakI paramAnandam krishnam vande jagadgurum .. 5 ..

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वसुदेवसुतं                to the Son of Vasudeva

देवं                            to the Supreme Lord

कंस – चाणूर             Kamsa and ChAnUra      

मर्दनम्                       to the destroyer of

देवकी                        mother Devaki

परमानन्दं                   to the bliss of

कृष्णं                         to Krishna

वन्दे                           Salutations

जगद्गुरुम्               to the Guru of the entire Universe         

Meaning:

Salutations to Krishna, who is the son of Vasudeva, who is the Supreme Lord, who is the destroyer of Kamsa and ChAnUra, who is the bliss of mother DevakI, who is the Guru of the entire Universe.

Significance:

In this verse we come across three names - Kamsa , chAnUra and Krishna. Krishna is the destroyer of Kamsa and Chanura. All the Indian texts convey great messages in the form of stories. Each story can be related to our day to day life. Here the three characters are our own characteristics . Kamsa is the epitome of greediness. Due to greediness he imprisoned his own father, he troubled his own sister, he killed infants and what not. ChAnUra is an epitome of injustice. He is a well known wrestler , but he always broke the rules for Kamsa. He fed his greediness by killing innocent people.    

                          Krishna the Supreme Lord destroyed both of them, the first one to fall is the one who went in the path of injustice. We should always follow the path of righteousness. Else it will lead to greed and eventually to destruction. It is said rightly said - अतितृष्णा विनाशाय​ by our ancestors. To destroy our wrong thoughts, intentions and to help us to lead a life in the path of Dharma , we all need a Guru. Thus the Lord himself took an avatara as Jagat-Guru , the Guru of the Universe. Guru of not one person but for the entire universe which is constantly moving , in which change is the only thing that doesn’t change. It is always a tough task for a teacher to handle a kid who keeps moving in the class. Krishna comes to us, whose minds are preoccupied, whose minds are constantly moving towards worldly pleasures as our Guru . He helps us to take the path of Dharma by destroying the greediness and adharma in us.

Mother Devaki is the personification of love when we nurture love, when we show love to everyone around us , the divinity grows within us. We can see God in everything . Krishna when seen as a threat to kamsa he is the bliss for mother Devaki. Happiness , Which is the ultimate goal of human life, is given as the constant state of mind by Him, for who spreads love wherever he goes.