THE HOLY GITA, CHAPTER NUMBER 06, DHYANA YOGA OR THE YOGA OF MEDITATION, VERSE NUMBER 32

THE HOLY GITA

CHAPTER NUMBER 06

DHYANA YOGA OR THE YOGA OF MEDITATION:

VERSE NUMBER 32

Text in Transliteration:

atmaupamyena sarvatra samam pasyati yo ‘rjuna

sukham vaa yadi vaa duhkham sa yogee paramo matah

Text in English:

The yogi, O Arjuna, is regarded as the supreme, who judges pleasure or pain everywhere, by the same standard as he applies to himself.

COMMENTARY BY SWAMI SIDBHAVANANDA:

Man does not differentiate between the limbs of his own body as high and low. They are all of equal importance to him. The harm done to any limb is the harm done to himself, because he and his limb are one and the same. An ordinary man is unassailable in this conviction of his. The yogi, in his turn, beholds the cosmos as the body of the Paramatman and himself a limb of that Cosmic Personality. One limb in a body does not hurt another; all the limbs function for mutual welfare. The yogi knows that he and his neighbours are not different; they are all limbs of the same Iswara. So he works for the general welfare of all. That yogi is supreme who has this cosmic outlook.

SRI RAMAKRISHNA AS QUOTED BY SWAMI SIDBHAVANANDA:

A few holy men were living in an Ashrama in the outskirts of a township. While the oldest of them was passing through the main street of that village, he chanced to see a landlord mercilessly belabouring a tenant of his. The holy man intervened on behalf of the helpless victim. But the landlord now directed his fury on the holy man and thrashed him to the point of making him fall down unconscious. Coming to know of this mishap the inmates of the Ashrama hastened to the spot and carried the holy man back, lying yet unconscious. When, after a long nursing, the saint opened his ehes, a tending man put the question, “Revered one, do you recognize who I am?” in gentle but clear voice came the unexpected answer, “The hand that beat then is now nursing.” He is so because he saw the same Brahman manifestating as the many. The feeling of the offender and offended was not in the saint.

COMMENTARY BY DR.S.RADHAKRISHNAN:

Aatma-aupamya means equality of others with oneself. Even as he desires good to himself, he desires good to all. He embraces all things in God, leads men to divine life and acts in the world with the power of Spirit and in that luminous consciousness. He harms no creature as, in the words of Shankara, “he sees that whatever is pleasant to himself is pleasant to all creatures, and that whatever is painful to himself is painful to all beings.” He does not any more shrink from pleasure and pain. As he sees God in the world, he fears nothing but embraces all in the equality of the vision of the Self.

COMMENTARY BY SWAMI SIVANANDA:

He sees that whatever is pleasure or pain to himself is also pleasure and pain to all other beings. He does not harm anyone. He is quite harmless. He wishes good to all. He is compassionate to all creatures. He has a very soft and large heart. He sees thus equality everywhere as he is endowed with the right knowledge of the self, as he beholds the Self only everywhere, and as he is established in the unity of the Self. Therefore he is considered as the highest among all Yogis.

Comments by the blogger:

        This body, other human bodies, all the flower and fauna of the world, the millions of suns and their families the whole Universe is interconnected with each other. Not even a beggarly beggar is an unwanted commodity to this world. Not even a single cockroach is unwanted in this world. The virus, though they live and die in the course of a week when medically treated are important for the revolving earth. There are some beings that are born one moment and die the other, they are as important to this world and we all, all the sentient and insentient notions in this Universe have a stake in their fulfillment. My sense of fulfillment is as important to this world as the staunchest of my enemy’s. Every being and every thing in the Cosmos is important to it. We all have a stake in an ant’s daily life. We are unbelievably and ineffably related to each other. If there is a mighty eruption in our sun it is important to the whole Universe. If there is a tornado for half an hour it is as important as the placid sea waters. Each of the known and unknown heavenly body and their orderly movement is as important as the ripple in a pond made by a diving fish’s movement. Every atom is important. One thing can be changed into the other. But fundamentally matter is eternal. Everything can be reduced to ash and ash cannot be changed. Thus every matter even in this fluxing Universe is important and eternal. All the things, mighty and small, all the beings great and huge like a whale and infinitesimally small as a viral being is important to this world! Everything has an interrelated connection in this Universe and one influences the other. The Vedic Seers had understood this interrelation and that was why they worshipped heavenly bodies like the sun and the moon knowing full well they affect our daily individual life. Out of this notion and crystal clear understanding was born the science of foretelling the future of the individuals. The lines in our palms are enough for the truly learned person to foretell the future of the individual. Writing down the horoscope is based on the places of the heavenly bodies occupy when one takes birth and comes into this world! Reading and writing of horoscope and palm reading are sciences. They are very accurate. But today they are in a shambles because too many crooks have started to strut as experts. Foretelling the life of people should not be for any consideration including money. This is part of the science. But today it is a flourishing business. And that’s how all and sundry have come into the field to pollute it.

As we have seen, every person and thing are important for this Universe and its stay. Man cannot make or create or manufacture an atom. Likewise, man cannot take an atom out of this Universe. When a person is ill he is administered saline water. Saline water injected at one point enures to the benefit of the whole body, and a life is saved. Even the components of the dead body stay in this Universe. Man can only change matter. Neither he can produce an atom nor can he demolish an atom in the sense the atom ceases to exist.

That is why at the time of the World’s annihilation, at the time of Kalki avatar God is said to be coming astride on a white horse. All He needs is to take an atom out of the flux of this Universe, and it would import the irregularity to the regularly coursing planets and the entire world will find a final annihilation. Why a white mount? Because the atoms personality is that of the Sky! Each atom has particles and one of them constantly streaking round within the atomic wall. And it looks like a point of light. And if the atom is magnified into a circus tent, according to the late Tamil writer, Sujatha, these particles would look like a mustard seed. The entire thing inside the atom is void or like the white sky. Since the sky is white to the naked eye or since the day is white in comparison to the night, an atom is called the White horse by the Vedopanishadic Seers. And at the time of the Ultimate Annihilation Iswar just demolishes an atom or take an atom out of the orb of the Universe!