THE HOLY GITA
CHAPTER NUMBER 12
VERSE NUMBER 15
BHAKTI YOGA OR THE YOGA OF DEVOTION:
TEXT IN TRANSLITERATION:
yasmaan no ‘dvijate loko lokaan no ‘dvijate cha yah
harshaamarshabhayodvegair mukto yah sa cha me priyah
SANSKRIT WORDS AND PHRASES AND THEIR MEANING IN ENGLISH:
Yasmaat = from whom: na = not: udvijate = is agitated: lokah = the world: lokaat = from the world: na = not: udvijate = is agitated: cha = and: yah = who: harsh amarsa bhaya udvegaih = by (from) joy, envy, fear and anxiety: muktah = freed: yah = who: sah = he: cha = and: me = to me: priyah = dear.
TEXT IN ENGLISH:
He by whom the world is not afflicted and whom the world cannot afflict, he who is free from joy, anger, fear and anxiety—he is dear to Me.
COMMENTARY BY SRIMAT SWAMI CHIDBHAVANANDA:
The life of a devotee causes harm to nobody in the world. Directly or indirectly, everything good emanates from his life and nothing evil. Some of his doings may sometimes seem painful to others, but even in such actions intrinsic good alone prevails. What the surgeon does to the patient and the teacher to the pupil may appear hurtful, but in effect they are wholesome. A devotee in the position of Arjuna is obliged to bring about a carnage. But ultimate good to the world is contained in that seeming evil. Again, whatever harm befalls a devotee from the world is not viewed by him as an injury. Sterling is his mind which accepts all afflictions as blessings in disguise come from the Highest. Prahlada is the model of the super-devotee.
What is the sort of self-culture that brings forth this genuine frame of mind in the devotee? The rest of this stanza gives the answer to this question. One should not feel joyous when one comes at things pleasant; for, that mind which is a victim of joy is also a potential victim of misery. A strong mind, on the other hand, remains unaffected by joy and sorrow. A devotee is he who conquers anger and envy which are his twin enemies. Every time he is overcome by either of these, the stamina of his mind declines. The wind of anger or envy may toss the creeper of the mind of the ordinary man, but the mind of the devotee stands like a stalwart tree unperturbed by it. He is too strong to be affected by such petty feelings. Fear is worse than death, which can only rob a man of his body; whereas the former wrecks the entire personality. The frightened man is a heap of empty sensation; nothing worthy emanates from him. The devotee knows no fear and so divinity beams out of him. Anxiety is another mental disease which eats into the stamina of a man. The devotee takes all happenings as divine dispensation and there is nothing to be disturbed about. The devotee who is made up of such sterling qualities is claimed by the Lord as His own.
SRIMAT SWAMI RAMAKRISHNA PARAMAHAMSA AS QUOTED BY SRIMAT SWAMI CHIDBHAVANANDA
That man wastes his own time and energy who always engages himself in recounting the worth of the others. For, in doing so, he neither gains in building his own character nor in getting fixed in the glory of the Lord.
COMMENTARY BY DR.S.RADHAKRISHNAN:
He is not a source of grief to any; no one can make him feel grief.
COMMENTARY BY SRIMAT SWAMI SIVANANDA:
Harsha: Joy, the exhilaration of the mind when one obtains an object of desire. This is indicated by hair standing on end, tears flowing down the face, etc.
Amarsha: Anger. Some say that it is a mixture of jealousy and anger.
Udvega: Anxiety, worry, sorrow, discomfiture.
The knower of Brahman or the devotee of the Lord never injures any creature in thought, word and deed. He gives security of life to all creatures. Therefore, no creature is afraid of him. The sage feels that the world is his body, his own Self. How can he be afraid of the world then? He never hurts others and is not hurt by the words or deeds of others.
The mental modifications of joy, envy, fear and anxiety leave the sage or devotee of their own accord, just as the beasts and birds leave the forest when it is on fire.
Such a sage or devotee is dear to Me. How can I describe him?
Comments by the blogger:
The Poet Rabindranath Tagore was known for his love of nature. But his father was beyond any compare. It is said the birds did not fly away from him. Moreover, he would feed the birds as a daily ritual and the birds would fly down the branches of trees to eat grains off his extended hand! The very beasts did not have any problem with him!
The author of ‘An Autobiography of a Yogi’, Srimat Swami Yogananda describes two occurrences in his life with his guru or Master: one day both the Guru and the disciple were sitting on the bank of a river and as usual Yoganandaji would put questions and the Master would explain and answer his cheela’s questions. At that time, a cobra came slithering towards them! The snake passed between them unagitated even as the Master clapped his hands above the head of the venomous creature! Yogananda describes that the cobra would strick at anyone making the slightest move. But his Master was clapping his hands rhythmically! There is a comfort zone for any wild creature. It depends upon the size and stature of the particular beast. For example, a tiger or a lion would attack a human being if he happens to be within the zone of comfort, say fifty yards. If the person happens to be within the comfort zone of the tiger or the lion the beast would feel threatened and attack the human being mostly in self-defence. Otherwise, if the particular man was standing well out of its comfort zone, the beast would like to escape from the man! For a cobra which must be six foot long would strick at anyone within say three metres. I have had an anecdote to describe: when I was a small boy I was walking on the top of the bund of a big reservoir. On either side were prickly bushes and trees. I was going singing a song, quiet carefree and just half a metre from my left foot there was a terrible cobra coming from one side of the bank and crossing over to the other side. I had happened to be well within its comfort zone and my reflexes saved me, for I had turned and started to run away from the cobra. But after taking several quick steps I turned to look at the snake. I will never forget the experience; for, the lengthy best had risen up with its hood a full one and half a metre from the ground level. But seeing me turning to see him, the snack made a dash FOR LIFE to the other side of the bank of the reservoir! I was a small boy, but the snake was afraid of me! But in the episode described by Srimat Swami Yogananda, his Guru clapped his hands over the passing head of the mighty cobra. Obviously, the beast did not feel threatened in the presence of the great Master, Srimat Swami Yukteshwarar Giri. And in the same Autobiography another episode is described by the hermit: as it had happened one night the Master asked his disciple to lie with him in his own bed. It was a great privilege for Yoganandaji. But there was no peace of mid as mosquitoes were droning near the ears of the disciple and would not let him fall asleep. The disciple did not dare make a move and try to swipe the blood-suckers for he did not want to disturb his Master. When it became increasingly impossible to withstand the pricks of the mosquitoes the disciple wondered how came his Master did not make a move. Was he actually sleeping? But no snoring sound came from the Master! So the disciple decided to touch the Master’s hand to verify if he had fallen asleep. Well, the Master did not make any movement. This made the disciple check whether the Master was sleeping or not. So he touched the Master’s nose and there was no breathing sound and the gushing of the air from the nostrils of the Guru was completely absent! The agitated disciple went to the extent of doubting if the Master was alive or not. So he touched the nose of the Master once again! This time lots of air came out of the nose and mouth of the Guru! For, the Master started to laugh like anything! When inquired by the disciple whether the mosquitoes had not worried him, the Master laughed even more and said that he had gone into Samadhi and as such was not bothered by the mosquitoes! Obviously, the Master had wanted to teach the disciple that if one entered into Samadhi no worldly afflictions would bother him!
Mr Morarji Desai, the former Prime Minister of India had been interviewed by the English Weekly, namely, The Week. In the interview the late PM of India described his experience with the Maharishi, namely Sri Ramana Maharishi: according to the former PM, he was sitting with the Great Master under a tree and talking about exalted things when a sparrow almost fell on the lap of Sri Ramana Maharishi and started to cry out its grief. The former PM was sitting there bewildered by the incident. The Maharishi did not utter any word but gently took hold of the sparrow and held it in His hands. And then He turned up to see the branches of the tree and then the bird left Him. When the bewildered Mr.Morarji Desai asked for an explanation, the Magarishi explained that the sparrow was disturbed by a kite and once it fell down on His lap the kite had flown away! Winding up the episode, Mr Morarji Desai said that it showed that the Great Magarishi knew the language of the birds!
Likewise, in one of His jaunts into the forest, Srimat Swami Vivekananda had an experience with a grisly tiger which had been coming his way at the twilight and the Swami continued to sit unperturbed. A thorny bush was between the tiger and the Swami. The wildcat had come up so near to the Swami that he could see the flashing of the eyes of the beast. But the Swami did not try to escape from the wildcat. And the tiger, which had seen the Swami only when it had come very near to the Swami stood a while staring at the Swami and then TURNED AND WALKED SILENTLY BACK!
So the real sages and seers were completely in union with Nature that they do not pose any danger even to the wild beasts let alone the fellow human beings! Thus he who is not afraid of the world and whom the world is not afraid of is very dear to the Lord. Such sages are always free from the illusory pulls of Nature and as such are freed from worldly joy, anger, fear and anxiety!
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