THE HOLY GITA, CHAPTER 08, VERSE 14, AKSHARA BRAHMA YOGA OR THE YOGA OF THE IMPERISHABLE BRAHMAN

THE HOLY GITA

CHAPTER NUMBER 08

AKSHARA BRAHMA YOGA OR THE YOGA OF THE IMPERISHABLE BRAHMAN:

VERSE NUMBER 14

Text in Transliteration:

Ananyachtaah satatam yo maam smarati nityasah

Tasyaa ‘nam sulabhah paartha nityayuktasya yoginah

Text in English:

I am easily attainable, O Partha, by that ever-steadfast yogi, who constantly remembers Me daily and thinks of none else.

COMMENTARY BY SWAMI SIDBHAVANANDA:

Just as material wealth gets added only to those who already own it,  so the grace of the Lord is ever on the increase to those yogis who have made themselves worthy of it. The Lord is ever available to those who seek Him. It is the ignorant man that alienates himself from the Lord.

SRI RAMAKRISHNA AS QUOTED BY SWAMI SIDBHAVANANDA:

When we take one stride towards the Lord, He takes ten strides towards us.

COMMENTARY BY SWAMI SIVANANDA:

Constantly remembering the Lord throughout the life is the most easy way of attaining Him.

Ananyachetah: He has no attachment for any other object. He will not think of any other object save his Ishta Devata or tutelary deity.

Nityasah: For a long time, i.e., till the end of life.

He who remembers the Lord by fits and starts or he who remembers Him for six months and then leaves the practice and then again remembers Him for six months and so on cannot attain Him.        

Comments by the blogger:

What the Lord of Gita advances here is for those only who have taken to Him as a sanyasin or an ascetic. For others, this kind of remembering the Lord to the total exclusion of otherworldly things is not possible. The Lord Himself knows that. That was why He stated in the previous chapter that out of one thousand who have taken to Him, hardly one tries hard to attain Him and out of a thousand such devotees hardly one crosses the sea of Samsara over to Him.

Still, the Lord calls Arjuna as, O Partha. This and Kaunteya means one and the same thing. That is ‘the average man born of a womb of a woman,’ by which He invariably means all Tom Dick and Harry can do this yoga or always remembering Him to the total exclusion of all other things and people, men and matter. Yes, we saw the example of a Jain couple, only a few days back. Both of them were in the prime of their youth, with a baby girl who is hardly one year old. They have taken to monkhood. It is possible to all.

But that is not the question. The question is if it becomes the order of the world, who would feed the Sanyasins or Hermits or monks or ascetics? The whole world cannot script its salvation one and at the same time. The Lord Himself counsels Arjuna to fight which is his swadharma or self-ordained duty! And we all have to fight our individual battles. That’s what He wants us to do. He comes down heavily upon squeamishness. He heavily chides Arjuna when He says he would rather eat beggar’s bread than having to kill his own kith and kin!

So we must have the strength and faith not to turn away from Gita and the Lord of Gita in the face of such verses which might have been put there by the Lord to test our deservedness. You see, even now not all Hindus are reading Srimad Bhagavad Gita as they do the Epic, Ramayana! Because there is a misconception among the mass that Gita is for those who want to renounce the world or whoever peruses the incomparable Book would take to sanyasa or monkhood!

Another misconception is that Gita is a book one should read after one’s retirement.

Gosh! Let nobody come under such misconception, My Lord!

Gita, on the contrary, should be introduced at the elementary school level. Modi Government is trying to do it. But all even Hindu Tom, Dick, and Harry cry hoarse and accuse Modi of saffronisation of education. We all must strengthen Modi’s hands when he takes measures like this. We must write, every one of us, letters to the editor of the newspapers and magazines who cry and shed crocodile tears over such vital thing and measure on behalf of the minorities. When the constitution itself allows propagation of their religion, it is at the cost of our religion, whose forefathers found the truth in its fulsome and wholesome. We must become, not strident, but argumentative when these editors take up the pen to lash Modi and accuse him of saffronisation. It is a misnomer. Out of 125 plus crore people, just fifteen crores are the minorities. For their sake should our children be robbed of the early opportunity of exposure to Gita?

We are digressing.

I mean to say that the Lord of Gita is no politician and He is not concerned about the vote bank politics. While these puerile and so-called secularists are senseless, Gita and the Lord of Gita are for all time and make eminent sense for always.

So only to test us the Lord comes out with such statements here and there and now and again.

See, He is not afraid of our opinion and He does not stand to gain anything by mollycoddling us.

The Lord of Gita always calls a spade a spade.

Yes, there is a chance for some people to give themselves up even when they are quite young and energetic to the Lord to the total exclusion of all. Even if there is a single person with that mindset then the Lord of Gita wants to tell that person that he is indeed a blessed one. To say this he need not select another text and choose another context.

But, He knows, we the people, having been tossed into the ocean of Samsara which gives us kama or desire and induces towards action, and it is not possible for us to all at once take to Sanyasa. Even He does not expect us. Like Arjuna He wants us to fight our righteous war. And that’s what we’re doing. And we shall do more. And that’s what, in the ultimate analysis, the Lord of Gita wants of us.