THE HOLY GITA
CHAPTER NUMBER 09
RAJAVIDYA RAJAGUHYA YOGA OR THE YOGA OR THE SOVEREIGN SCIENCE AND SOVEREIGN SECRET:
VERSE NUMBER 33
Text in Transliteration:
Kim punar braahmanaah punyaa bhaktaa raajrasayas tathaa
Anityam asukham lokam imam praapya bhajasva maam
Sanskrit words and phrases and their meaning:
kim punah = how much more; braahmanah: = Brahmanas; punhaah = holy; bhaktaah = devoted; rajarsayah = royal saints; tathaa = also; anityam = impermanent; asukham = unhappy; lokam = world; imam = this; praapya = having obtained; bhajasva = worship; maam = me;
Text in English:
How much more then the holy Brahmanas and devoted royal saints! Having come into this transient joyless world, do worship Me.
COMMENTARY BY SRIMAT SWAMI CHIDBHAVANANDA:
Punya is in contrast with paapam already mentioned. A Brahmana is one who is perfect in mind and completely given over to spiritual life. The Kshatriya comes next to him and he is also entirely devoted to God. These two types of highly evolved people can easily attain Godhood.
What is sought as a fragrant and fresh flower today is cast aside as rubbish tomorrow. This is the case with everything in the world. Its transitoriness is self-evident. Misery is the counterpart of every earthly joy. Sorrow is ingrained in happiness. The highly evolved souls, the discerning ones should therefore take to the worship of Iswara so that they may transcend this relative existence.
SRI RAMAKRISHNA AS QUOTED BY SRIMAT SWAMI CHIDBHAVANADA:
How shall we attain the Lord?
Can you with a distressed heart pray to Him for His grace and revelation? You shed pots full of tears for the sake of your wife, children and property. Have you ever shed a drop of tear seeking the Lord? As long as the baby is interested in toys, the mother minds her own business. But when the baby throws away those things and screams, the mother rushes to attend on it. You behave likewise towards God; and He will reveal Himself to you.
COMMENTARY BY DR.S.RADHAKRISHNAN:
In other word, even those who, on account of their past births, suffer from many disabilities, and are given to worldly pursuits can overcome their weakness and attain the highest. The path is easier for those Brahmins and royal sages who are spiritually disposed.
Anityam asukham lokam: impermanent sorrowful world. To the orphics life in this world is pain and weariness. We are bound to a wheel which turns through endless cycles of births and deaths. Only by purification and renunciation can we escape from the wheel and attain to the joy of union with God. John Burnet refers to the striking similarity between the Orphic beliefs and those prevalent in India at about the same time. Early Greek Philosophy (1930), p. 82. The teaching of the Buddha has for its starting point these features of the universe, its impermanence, and pain. (Cp. VIII.8.) There is a Persian saying attributed to Jesus, “The world is a bridge, pass over it but do not build upon it.” Not merely the world but every phase of the cosmic process, every aspect of human history, every stage of man’s life—the freshness of infancy, the crudeness of boyhood, the idealism of youth, the hot passions of adolescence and the ambitions of manhood are all bridges, meant for transit and not permanent habitation. Modern science demonstrates how miserably conditioned human life is. Jean-Paul Sartre’s theory of existentialism assumes that human existence is subject to certain permanent conditions. Each of us is born, is implicated in a reality which is not dependent on him, acts on other people and is exposed to action on their part. He cannot escape from death. These conditions taken together make of human existence tragic reality. Each of us, in this desperate condition, has to work out his salvation by the effort of his will. For the existentialist, man is left to his own resources. He has no faith in the saving grace of God. The teacher of the Gita shows us a way out of the transitoriness of things, the curse of age and death, jaraamaranamokshaaya (VII, 29). He asks us to take refuge in the Divine.
COMMENTARY BY SRIMAT SWAMI SIVANANDA:
Rajarshis are kings who have become saints while discharging the duties of the kingdom.
It is very difficult to get a human birth which is the means of attaining the goal of life. Being born in this human body you should lead a life of devotion to the Lord. In the human body alone will you have the power to reflect (Vichara-Sakti), discrimination and dispassion. Even the gods envy the human birth.
This body is impermanent. It perishes soon. It brings pain of various sorts. So give up the efforts for securing happiness and comfort for this body. If you do not aim at Self-realisation even after attaining a human birth, you live in vain; you are wasting your life and you are a ‘slayer of the self’. You will again and again be caught in the wheel of birth and death.
Comments by the blogger:
If the Lord says that this world is transient, we can understand it to a certain extent. But why joyless is this world? Would any of us live in this world if it is really joyless? See, if you think of it, the world is full of joy. Eating the favourite food is joyful. Sex life is utterly joyful. Begetting children is joyful. Seeing them grow day by day is utterly joyful. Dressing in beautiful and costly clothes is joyful. Endlessly partying is joyful. Telling small and non-serious lies is joyful. The sun-up and sun-down are joyful. To come to think of it, there are many an occasion which is joyful; many a thing which is enjoyable. But still, the Lord says this world is joyless. If this world is utterly joyless, everyone will either commit suicide or turn theist.
Is this world transient? Yes, something like that. We are born and grow up and age in this world. But Death is lurking throughout our life here and finally, we are consumed. So this worldly life is not permanent. That much is assured and proved. It’s a proven fact. For everybody knows that. There is an old Tamil Cine song that goes like this: ‘The pall-bearers of the dead are dead too, and this fact is not thought of by those living!’
So this world is only a transient place, not permanent. But is it joyless? Yes!
How come!
We think of this world’s happiness as blissful. But all our blissful moments taken together cannot stand comparison to the real Bliss and Beatitude those who attained the Lord enjoy.
We have elsewhere seen what a Bliss of a Brahman in comparison to a human bliss.
So when compared to the joy and bliss of Godhood the earthly joy and bliss are almost painful!
And this verse must be read in conjunction with the previous verse.
There the Lord said even Women, Vaisyas and Sudras can attain the supreme Goal if they take refuge in Him. Here in verse 33, he says, if that were the case, think of the assured way of Godhood eminently reachable by Brahmins and Rajarshis or kingly saints like Janaka.
Whether we like it or not the Brahmins have the benefit of the genetic excellence. Even an impoverished Brahmin can easily excel his counterpart or even a rich non-Brahmin in certain traits. For example, learning comes easily to them. This does not mean Non-Brahmins as a whole cannot exceed Brahmins. But such cases are few and far between. An average Brahmin enjoys thousands of years of evolving speaking in a genetic way. So the spirituality comes naturally to them. Devotion comes naturally to them. There may be and are exceptions. But as a rule, even an impoverished Brahmin is a staunch devotee of the Lord.
In Tamil Nadu, famous for its Rulers’ avowed notion of Rationalism, Bhakti Cult has increased many folds under the God-denying Dravida Rulers! So also in India. Some people speak coarsely about re-converting the Muslims and the Christians. They feed the 24*7 News Channels. We need not re-convert them. We must treat our poor brethren on a par without caste or community notions. That is the crying need of the hour.
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