THE HOLY GITA
CHAPTER NUMBER 13
VERSE NUMBER 24
TEXT IN TRANSLITERATION:
dhyaanenaa ‘tmani pasyanti kechid aatmaanam aatmanaa
anye saamkhyena yogena karmayogena chaa ‘pare
SANSKRIT WORDS AND PHRASES AND THEIR MEANING IN ENGLISH:
dhyaanena = by meditation: aatmani = in the sef: pasyanti = behold: kechit = some: aatmaanam = the Self: aatmanaa by the self: anye = others: saamkhyena yogena = by the yoga of knowledge: karma yogena = by Karma yoga: cha = and: apare = others.
TEXT IN ENGLISH:
By meditation some behold the Self in the self by the self, others by the yoga of knowledge and yet others by karma yoga.
COMMENTARY NOTES BY SRIMAT SWAMI CHIDBHAVANANDA:
Of the four universally accepted yogas, the Raja Yoga, the Jnana Yoga and the Karma Yoga are mentioned in this stanza. Here the self refers to the Jivatman and the Self to Paramatman.
COMMENTARY NOTE BY DR.S.RADHAKRISHNAN:
Saamkhya here stands for jnaana.
COMMENTARY BY SRIMAT SWAMI SIVANANDA:
There are several paths to reach the knowledge of the Self according to the nature or temperament and capacity of the individual. The first path is the Yoga of meditation taught by Maharshi Patajnjali. The Raja Yogins behold the Supreme Self in the self (Buddhi) by the self (purified mind). Meditation is a continuous and unbroken flow of thought of the Self like the flow of oil from one vessel to another. Through concentration, hearing and the other senses are withdrawn into the mind. The senses are not allowed to run towards their respective sensual objects. They are kept under proper check and control through the process of abstraction. Then the mind itself is made to abide in the Self through constant meditation on the Self. The mind is refined or purified by meditation. The mind that is rendered pure will naturally move towards the Self. It is not attracted by nor is it attached to the sensual objects.
Sankhya Yoga is Jnana Yoga. The aspirant does Vichara (analysis, reflection) and separates himself from the three qualities of Nature, the three bodies and the five sheaths and identifies himself with the witness (Self). He thinks and feels, “I am immortal, eternal, self-existent, self-luminous, indivisible, unborn and unchanging”.
The Karma Yogi surrenders his actions and their fruits to the Lord. He has Ishvarararpana Buddhi (intelligence that offers everything to God). This produces purity of mind which gives rise to knowledge of the Self. Karma Yoga brings about the concentration of the mind through the purification of the mind. It leads to Yoga through the purification of the mind and so it is spoken of as Yoga itself.
Those who practise Sankhya Yoga are the highest class of spiritual aspirants. Those who practise the Yoga of meditation are aspirants of the middling class. Those who practise Karma alone are the lowest class of spiritual aspirants. The aspirants of the middling and lowest class soon become aspirants of the highest class through rigorous Sadhana or spiritual practices. (Cf. V.5; VI.46)
Comments by the blogger:
Raja Yoga, Jnana Yoga and Karma Yoga are described by the Lord of Gita. And He leaves out the fourth form of Yoga, namely, Bhakti yoga. It is intentional. It might be due to the fact that the Karma Yoga cannot be practised in isolation like Raja Yoga or Jnana Yoga, and Bhakti Yoga and Karma Yoga go hand in hand. We need not go too far in search of an example. The 20th Century Prophet, Mahatma Gandhi was a vigorous practitioner of both Karma Yoga and Bhakti Yoga. His end, incidentally, came when he was coming to practise Bhakti Yoga or to the Daily Prayer Meeting in the evening. The proof of the pudding is in the eating. When the fool, Nathooram Godse, came up to him and after saluting the Mahatma shot at the 20th Century Prophet three times in the chest, Gandhiji fell down, but according to those people who were close to him in the crowd, Mahatma Gandhi was continuously mumbling, “He Ram! He Ram! He Ram!” till his death! In the Gita, Sri Bhagavan Krishna says that those who think of Him or say His Name at the time of death would come to Him only! Mahatma Gandhi was continuously chanting the Name of the Lord till his last breath. This is the culmination of Karma Yoga and Bhakti Yoga! You can’t practise Karma Yoga in isolation. It is not possible.
Some twenty-five years ago, I had a personal experience of chatting up a Yogin in Tiruvannamalai, the Holy Abode of Lord Shiva in His Linga Form. The temple and the place are well-known for the immortal saint, Sri Ramana Maharshi. I had been returning from another Holy Hill, Tirupati, after worshipping Lord Venkatachala; inside the temple, I offered worship both to the presiding Deity Annamalai, a Form of Lord Shiva, and Sri Ramana Maharshi. Then I entered the huge hall where chanting the Names of the Lord and singing songs were going on. Near that place, by the side of a wall, an American Lady was practising Meditation. I had heard and read about the kind of Meditation Sir Ramana Maharshi had taught to his disciples. Sri Ramana Maharshi, in the beginning, had started to meditate on the Lord and various aspects of the Lord. But nothing would work for him! So he tested all the methods of meditation and vichara or analysis or reflection. None would seem to work for him! Like Lord Buddha, Ramana Maharshi also experimented many forms of concentration and meditation. At long last, he came upon with the one simple way of inquiry. “Who Am I?” This simple question seemed to be appropriate for the young saint and soon he continued to practise meditation and his continuous thought was this simple question, “Who Am I!” And this was how Sri Ramana Maharshi became a fully God realized Soul!
We have distracted from the subject, the American Lady, we were talking about. She was seated in the perfect yogic pose, namely, Padhmasana. She was a sight to behold! For many foreigners sitting on the floor in Cross-legged posture is very difficult, not to speak of assuming the Lotus Posture! And here she was, seated in the perfect yogic posture and with the eyes closed, silently and inwardly asking the question, “Who Am I?”. As a matter of fact, she was meditating continuously on that ineffable question, Who Am I?. I could see and tell, from the restful posture and breathing very much in a regulated manner, that this lady had gone deep in her daily meditation. I felt a keen attraction to the Lady, the Yogin. So I selected a place some ten feet away from her and kept listening to the music and songs that were going on without a break. I had to wait for more than half an hour before the American Lady would stop with her meditation. I wondered how long she had been meditating like that before I chanced on her. After assuming the Sukasana, she kept sitting there for five minutes listening to the songs going on there on the stage. Then she rose slowly and made her way out of that huge hall. And I rose to my feet and made a beeline toward the doorway following her closely. I lost no time and quickly went up to her and introduced myself. At first, she frowned at me and tried to avoid me. This was the time for me to show her that I knew something about Sri Ramana Maharshi and his way of meditation. And I asked her if she had been armed with a rosary or a chain or necklace made of strung beads. She, for the first time, smiled at me. “No, I don’t keep count of the times I ask the question!” she said. Then, with the ice having been broken, I spoke to her about Bhagavad Gita. She showed great interest in what I was speaking about. “Are you an accomplished Yogi?” She could very well ask me that question, for even then, I had lost much of the hair on my head which gave, at that time, an aura to me! “No, I haven’t read Bhagavad Gita, as yet!” I told her. She found it difficult to digest this. “At your age, one would assume that your inner heart is turned to God!” Then I spoke to her about my real age, which was on the right side of thirty. This time she was really shocked. “One would think you would be above fifty!” she said in answer. “Yes, that’s right,” I continued without any inhibition and further said “I purchased one of the famous Commentaries on Gita which was authored by a great Swami, Sivananda. But I am at a loss to understand both the verses and the commentary on them!” Thus we were speaking for some time, still standing outside the huge hall we had emerged from. In the course of our conversation, I had come to know something about her past. That she was twenty-six and unmarried. That, after much-reading books on The Indian Philosophy and the main Scriptures of the Hinduism she developed a keen interest in the Hinduism. That she had always been attracted to Hinduism ever since she could remember and she at last read about Sri Ramana Maharshi in Tamil Nadu, India. She paid a visit some five weeks ago. And she had been initiated by a monk at the Ashrama there and she was already enjoying the daily sessions of Meditation! And I asked her if she remained a faithful Bible Reader and Church-goer. With a laugh, she said she was very devout to the Lord Jesus Christ and a regular reader of the Holy Bible! That she never missed attending the Church on Sundays and all that.
The reason why I related to you about the story of that American Lady is to demonstrate to you that people belonging to other religions can take to Meditation and become a practising yogi without, shall we say, betraying their religious Faiths and worship. Even Bhakti Yoga can be practised by folks belonging to other religions with the devotion to their personal religious Faith remaining intact! Not only the Hindus but anyone in the world, may practise any form of the four Yogic Systems and become enlightened in due course! But the same could not be said about the Scriptures and Practices of other religions. A Christian and a Muslim are of the deep conviction that his own religion is the right path to God-realization and all other religions are inspired by Saturn! But only the Hindu religion has come up with the ways of God-realization which any person in the world including a Christian and or a Muslim and become enlightened without losing faith in his or her own religion!
But the irony is that both the Christians and Muslims are hell-bent to convert the hapless Hindus in economically poor areas by giving them money and other things, by corrupting their minds that the Hinduism is unfit for the realization of God, and only unenlightened persons would remain faithful to the Hinduism!
Swami Vivekananda went to America and became famous instantly when he addressed the audience of the religious congress in Chicago and then gave lectures all over America and by his speeches about Hinduism and Hindu way of life which made even the Clericals of the American Church to think that India is safe and its religion is not Satanic in nature!
The Indian Prime Minister, Mr Narandra Modi persuaded the UNO to observe a day every year dedicated to Yoga! Bhagavad Gita has been inspiring many a Christian and other peoples belonging to the Protestant church and the general people owing allegiance to the Holy Bible.
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