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Bhagavad Gita: 6: Dhyana Yoga (Atma-samyama Yoga)

Posted by kathavarta on November 5, 2008

LORD KRISHNA SAID:
1. He who, without depending on the fruits of action, performs hisbounden duty, he is a Samnyasin and a Yogin: not he who is without fireand without action.
2. Do thou, O Pandava, know Yoga to be thatwhich they call renunciation; no one, verily, becomes a Yogin who hasnot renounced thoughts.
3. For a devotee who wishes to attain to Yoga, action is said to be the means. For the same (devotee), when hehas attained to Yoga, quiescence (Sama) is said to be the means.
4. When a man, renouncing all thoughts, is not attached to sense-objects and actions, then he is said to have attained to Yoga.
5. Let a man raise himself by himself, let him not lower himself; forhe alone is the friend of himself, he alone is the enemy of himself.
6. To him who has conquered himself by himself, his own self is the friend of himself, but to him who has not (conquered) himself, his ownself stands in the place of an enemy like the (external) foe.
7. The self-controlled and serene man’s Supreme Self is steadfast in cold and heat, in pleasure and pain, as also in honour and disgrace.
8. The Yogin whose self is satisfied with knowledge and wisdom, whoremains unshaken, who has conquered the senses, he is said to be asaint – for whom a lump of earth, a stone and gold are equal.
9. He is esteemed, who is of the same mind to the good-hearted, friends, foes, the indifferent, the neutral, the hateful, relatives, therighteous and the un-righteous.
10. Let the Yogin try constantly tokeep the mind steady, remaining in seclusion, alone, with the mind andbody controlled, free from desire and having no possessions.
11. Having in a cleanly spot established a firm seat, neither too high nor too low, with cloth, skin and Kusa grass thereon.
12. Making the mind one-pointed, with the actions of the mind and thesenses controlled, let him, seated there on the seat, practise Yoga for the purification of the self.
13. Holding erect and still the body, the head and the neck, firm, gazing on the tip of his nose, without looking around;
14. Serene-minded, fearless, firm in the vow of godly life, having restrained the mind, thinking on Me and balanced let him sit, lookingup to Me as the Supreme.
15. Thus always keeping the mind balanced,the Yogin, with the mind controlled, attains to the Peace abiding inMe, which culminates in Nirvana (moksha).
16. Yoga is not possible for him who eats too much, nor for him who does not eat at all, nor for him who is addicted to too much sleep, nor for him who is (ever) wakeful, O Arjuna.
17. To him whose food and recreation aremoderate, whose exertion in actions is moderate, whose sleep and wakingare moderate, to him accrues Yoga which is destructive of pain.
18. When the well-restrained thought is established in the Self only, without longing for any of the objects of desire, then he is said to bea Saint.
19. ‘As a lamp in a sheltered spot does not flicker’ –this has been thought as the simile of a Yogin of subdued thought,practising Yoga in the Self.
20. When thought is quiescent,restrained by the practice of Yoga; when, seeing the Self by the self,he is satisfied in his own Self;
21. When he knows that Infinite Joy which, transcending the senses, can be grasped by reason; when, steady (in the Self), he moves never from the Reality;
22. When, having obtained it, he thinks no other acquisition superior to it; when, therein established, he is not moved even by a great pain;
23. This severance from union with pain, be it known, is called union (Yoga). That Yoga must be practised with determination and with un-depressed heart.
24. Abandoning without reserve all fancy-born desire, well-restraining all the senses from all quarters by the mind;
25. Little by little let him withdraw, by reason (buddhi) held infirmness; keeping the mind established in the Self, let him not think of anything.
26. By whatever cause the wavering and unsteady mind wanders away, from that let him restrain it and bring it back direct under the control of the Self.
27. Supreme Bliss verily comes to this Yogin, whose mind is quite tranquil, whose passion is quieted, who has become Brahman, who is blemishless.
28. Thus always keeping theself steadfast, the Yogin, freed from sins, attains with ease to the infinite bliss of contact with the (Supreme) Brahman.
29. The Selfabiding in all beings and all beings (abiding) in the Self, sees hewhose self has been made steadfast by Yoga, who everywhere sees thesame.
30. He who sees Me everywhere and sees everything in Me, to him I vanish not, nor to me does he vanish.
31. Who so, intent on unity, worships Me who abide in all beings, that Yogin dwells in Me, whatever his mode of life.
32. Who so, by comparison with himself, sees the same everywhere, O Arjuna, be it pleasure or pain, he is deemed the highest Yogin.

ARJUNA SAID:
33. This Yoga in equanimity, taught by Thee, O Destroyer of Madhu – I see not its steady continuance, because of the restlessness (of themind).
34. The mind verily, is, O Krishna, restless, turbulent, strong and obstinate. Thereof the restraint I deem quite as difficultas that of the wind.

LORD KRISHNA SAID:
35. Doubtless, Omighty-armed, the mind is hard to restrain and restless; but bypractice, O son of Kunti and by indifference it may be restrained.
36. Yoga, me thinks is hard to attain for a man of uncontrolled self; but by him who (often) strives, self-controlled, it can be acquired by (proper) means.

ARJUNA SAID:
37. He who strives not, but who ispossessed of faith, whose mind wanders away from Yoga – having failedto attain perfection in Yoga, what end, O Krishna, does he meet?
38. Having failed in both, does he not perish like a riven cloud,supportless, O mighty-armed and perplexed in the path to Brahman?
39. This doubt of mine, O Krishna, do Thou dispel completely; for none other than Thyself can possibly destroy this doubt.

LORD KRISHNA SAID:
40. O Partha, neither in this world nor in the next is there destruction for him; none, verily, who does good, My son, ever comes to grief.
41. Having attained to the worlds of the righteous and having dwelt there for eternal years, he who failed in Yoga is rebornin a house of the pure and wealthy.
42. Else, he is born in family of wise Yogins only. This, verily, a birth like this, is very hard to obtain in this world.
43. There he gains touch with the knowledge that was acquired in the former body and strives more than before for perfection, O son of the Kurus.
44. By that very former practice is he borne on, though unwilling. Even he who merely wishes to know of Yoga rises superior tothe Word-Brahman.
45. Verily, a Yogin who strives with assiduity, purified from sins and perfected in the course of many births, thenreaches the Supreme Goal.
46. A Yogin is deemed superior to men of austerity and superior to even men of knowledge; he is also superior to men of action; therefore be thou a Yogin, O Arjuna.
47. Of all Yogins, whoso, full of faith, worships Me with his inner self abiding in Me, he is deemed by Me as most devout.

Translated by Alladi Mahadeva Sastry; Published by Samata Books, Chennai for www.celextel.org.
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Bhagavad Gita: 5: Samnyasa Yoga

Posted by kathavarta on November 5, 2008

ARJUNA SAID:
1. Renunciation of actions, O Krishna, Thou praisest and again Yoga. Tell me conclusively that which is the better of the two.

LORD KRISHNA SAID:
2. Renunciation and yoga through action both lead to the highest bliss: but, of the two, Yoga through action is esteemed more than renunciation of action.
3. He should be known as a perpetual renouncer whoneither hates nor desires: for, free from the pairs of opposites, Omighty-armed, he is easily set free from bondage.
4. Children, not the wise, speak of Sankhya and Yoga as distinct. He who is rightly devoted to even one obtains the fruits of both.
5. That state which is reached by Sankhyas is reached by Yogins also. He sees, who sees Sankhya and Yoga as one.
6. But renunciation, O mighty-armed, is hard to attain except by Yoga; a sage equipped with Yoga before long reaches Brahman.
7. He who is equipped with Yoga, whose mind is quite pure, by whom theself has been conquered, whose senses have been subdued, whose Self has become the Self of all beings – though doing, he is not tainted.
8-9. ‘I do nothing at all’ – thus would the truth-knower think, steadfast – though seeing, hearing, touching, smelling, eating, going, sleeping, breathing, speaking, letting go, seizing, opening and closingthe eyes – remembering that the senses move among sense-objects.
10. He who does actions, offering them to Brahman, abandoning attachment, is not tainted by sin, as a lotus leaf by water.
11. By the body, by the mind, by the intellect, by mere senses also,Yogins perform action, without attachment, for the purification of theself.
12. The steady-minded one, abandoning the fruit of action,attains the peace born of devotion. The unsteady one, attached to thefruit through the action of desire, is firmly bound.
13. Renouncing all actions by thought and Self-controlled, the embodied one rests happily in the nine-gated city, neither at all acting nor causing toact.
14. Neither agency nor objects does the Lord create for theworld, nor union with the fruits of actions. But it is the nature thatacts.
15. The Lord takes neither the evil nor even the good deed of any; wisdom is enveloped by un-wisdom; thereby mortals are deluded.
16. But to those whose un-wisdom is destroyed by wisdom of the Self, like the sun wisdom illuminates that Supreme.
17. With their consciousness in That, their Self being That, intent on That, with That for their supreme goal, they go never again to return,their sins shaken off by means of wisdom.
18. In a Brahmana endued with wisdom and humility, in a cow, in an elephant, as also in a dogand in a dog-eater, the wise see the same.
19. Even here birth is overcome by them whose mind rests on equality. Spotless, indeed andequal is Brahman; wherefore in Brahman they rest.
20. He who knows Brahman can neither rejoice on obtaining the pleasant, nor grieve onobtaining the unpleasant – steady-minded, un-deluded, resting inBrahman.
21. With the self unattached to external contacts, he finds the joy which is in the Self; with the Self engaged in the contemplation of Brahman he attains the endless joy.
22. For, those delights which are born of contacts are only generators of pain, having a beginning and an end, O son of Kunti; a wise man rejoices not in them.
23. He that is able, while still here, to with-stand, before liberation from the body, the impulse of desire and anger, he is a Yogin, he is a happy man.
24. Who so has his joy within and his pastime within and who so has his light within only, that Yogin attains Brahman’s bliss, himself becoming Brahman.
25. The sages attain Brahman’s bliss – they whose sins have been destroyed and doubts removed, who are self-controlled and intent on the welfare of all beings.
26. To the devotees who are free from desire and anger, who have controlled their thought and who have known the self, Brahman’s bliss exists everywhere.
27-28. Shutting out all external contracts and fixing the sight between the eye-brows, equalising the out-going and the in-going breaths which pass through the nostrils, controlling the senses, mind and intellect, having moksha as his highest goal, free from desire, fear and anger – the sage who ever (remains thus) is verily liberated.
29. On knowing Me – the Lord of all sacrifices and austerities, the Great Lord of all Worlds, the Friend of all beings – he goes to Peace.

Translated by Alladi Mahadeva Sastry; Published by Samata Books, Chennai for www.celextel.org.
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Bhagavad Gita: 4: Jnana Yoga

Posted by kathavarta on November 5, 2008

LORD KRISHNA SAID:
1. I taught this imperishable Yoga to Vivasvat (Sun); Vivasvat taught it to Manu; Manu taught to Ikshvaku.
2. This, handed down thus in succession, the King-sages learnt. This yoga, by long lapse of time, has been lost here, O harasser of foes.
3. That same ancient Yoga has been to-day taught to thee by Me, seeing that thou art My devotee and friend; for, this is the Supreme Secret.

ARJUNA SAID:
4. Later is Thy birth and prior the birth of Vivasvat; how am I to understand that Thou taughtest this Yoga in the beginning?

LORD KRISHNA SAID:
5. Many births of Mine have passed, as well as of thine, O Arjuna; all these I know, thou knowest not, O harasser of foes.
6. Though I am unborn, of imperishable nature, and though I am the Lordof all beings, yet ruling over My own nature, I am born by My own Maya.
7. Whenever there is a decay of religion, O Bharata and an ascendency of irreligion, then I manifest Myself.
8. For the protection of the good, for the destruction of evil-doers, for the firm establishment of religion, I am born in every age.
9. Who so knows thus My divine birth and action in truth is not born again on leaving this body; he comes to Me, O Arjuna.
10. Free from passion, fear and anger, absorbed in Me, taking refuge in Me, purified by the fire (tapas) of wisdom, many have reached My being.
11. Howsoever men approach Me, even so do I reward them; My path do men follow in all things O son of Pritha.
12. They who long after success in actions sacrifice here to the Gods: for, soon in this world of man accrues success from action.
13. The fourfold caste has been created by me according to the distribution of energies and actions; though I am the author thereof, know Me asnon-agent and immutable.
14. Actions pollute Me not, nor have I a desire for the fruit of actions. He who knows Me thus is not bound by actions.
15. Thus knowing, men of old performed action in the hope of liberation: therefore do thou also perform action as did the ancientsin the olden time.
16. What is action? What is inaction – As to this, even the wise are deluded. I shall teach thee such action, by knowing which thou shalt be liberated from evil.
17. For, thou has to know something even of action, something to know of unlawful action, and something to know of inaction; hard to understand is the nature of action.
18. He who can see action in action, he is wise among men, he is devout, he is the performer of all action.
19. He whose engagements are all devoid of desires and purposes and whose actions have been burnt by the fire of wisdom, him the wise call a sage.
20. Having abandoned attachmentfor the fruits of action, ever content, dependent on none, thoughengaged in actions, nothing at all does he do.
21. Free from desire, with the mind and the self controlled, having relinquished all possessions doing mere bodily action, he incurs no sin.
22. Satisfied with what comes to him by chance, rising above the pairs of opposites, free from envy, equanimous in success and failure, thoughacting he is not bound.
23. Of the man whose attachment is gone,who is liberated, whose mind is established in knowledge, who acts for the sake of sacrifice – his whole action melts away.
24. Brahman is the offering, Brahman the oblation; by Brahman is the oblation poured into the fire of Brahman; Brahman verily shall be reached by him who always sees Brahman in action.
25. Other Yogins resort to sacrifices to Gods; In the fire of Brahman others offer the self by the self.
26. Others offer hearing and other senses in the fires of restraint;others offer sound and other objects in the fires of the senses.
27. And others sacrifice all the functions of the senses and thefunctions of the vitality in the wisdom-kindled fire of the Yoga ofSelf-restraint.
28. Others are sacrificers by their wealth, sacrificers by austerity, sacrificers by yogas, sacrificers by readingand knowledge, ascetics of rigid vows.
29. Others offer prana (outgoing breath) in apana (incoming breath) and apana in prana, restraining the passages of prana and apana, absorbed in Pranayama (restraint of breath).
30. Others, with regulated food, offer life-breaths in life-breaths. All these are knowers of sacrifice, whose sins are destroyed by sacrifice.
31. Eating of ambrosia, theremnant of the sacrifice, they go to Eternal Brahman. This world is notfor the non-sacrificer; whence the other? — O best of Kurus.
32. Thus manifold sacrifices are spread at the mouth of Brahman. Know the mall as born of action. Thus knowing, thou shalt be liberated.
33. Superior is wisdom-sacrifice to the sacrifice with objects, O harasser of thy foes. All action, without exception, O son of Pritha, is comprehended in wisdom.
34. Know this: by long prostration, by enquiry, by service, those men of wisdom who have realised the truthwill teach thee wisdom.
35. Knowing which, thou shalt not againthus fall into error, O Pandava; and by which, thou wilt see all beingsin thy Self and also in Me.
36. Even shouldst thou be the most sinful of all the sinful, thou shalt verily cross all sin by the bark of wisdom.
37. As kindled fire reduces fuel to ashes, O Arjuna, so does wisdom-fire reduce all actions to ashes.
38. Verily, there exists here no purifier equal to wisdom. He who is perfected by Yoga finds it in time in himself by himself.
39. He obtains wisdom who is full of faith, who is devoted to it and who has subdued the senses. Having obtained wisdom, he before long attains to the Supreme Peace.
40. The ignorant, the faithless andone of doubting self, is ruined. There is neither this world, nor theother, nor happiness, for one of doubting self.
41. Him who hasrenounced actions by Yoga, whose doubts have been cloven asunder by wisdom, who is self-possessed, actions bind not, O Dhananjaya.
42. Therefore with the sword of wisdom cleave asunder this doubt of the Self lying in the heart and born of ignorance and resort to Yoga. Arise, O Bharata.

Translated by Alladi Mahadeva Sastry; Published by Samata Books, Chennai for www.celextel.org.
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Bhagavad Gita: 3: Karma Yoga

Posted by kathavarta on November 5, 2008

ARJUNA SAID:
1. If it be thought by Thee that knowledge is superior to action, O Janardana, why then dost Thou, O Kesava, direct me to this terrible action?
2. With anapparently perplexing speech, Thou confusest as it were my understanding. Tell me with certainty that one (way) by which I may attain bliss.

LORD KRISHNA SAID:
3. In this world a twofoldpath was taught by Me at first, O sinless one: that of Sankhyas by devotion to knowledge and that of Yogins by devotion to action.
4. Not by abstaining from action does man win actionlessness, nor by mere renunciation does he attain perfection.
5. None, verily, even for an instant, ever remains doing no action; forevery one is driven helpless to action by the energies born of Nature.
6. He who, restraining the organs of action, sits thinking in his mind of the objects of the senses, self-deluded, he is said to be one off alse conduct.
7. But whoso, restraining the senses by mind O Arjuna, engages in Karma-Yoga, unattached, with organs of action, he isesteemed.
8. Do thou perform (thy) bounden duty; for action issuperior to inaction. And even the maintenance of the body would not bepossible for thee by inaction.
9. Except in the case of action for Sacrifice’s sake, this world is action-bound. Action for the sake Thereof, do thou, O son of Kunti, perform, free from attachment.
10. Having first created mankind together with sacrifices, the Prajapati said, “By this shall ye propagate; let this be to you the cow of plenty.
11. With this do ye nourish the Gods and the Gods shall nourish you; thus nourishing one another, ye shall attain the supreme good.
12. Nourished by the sacrifice, the Gods shall indeed bestowon you the enjoyments ye desire.” Whoso enjoys – without offering toThem – Their gifts, he is verily a thief.
13. The righteous, whoeat the remnant of the sacrifice, are freed from all sins; but sin dothe impious eat who cook for their own sakes.
14. From food creatures come forth; the production of food is from rain; rain comes forth from sacrifice; sacrifice is born of action;
15. Know thou that action comes from Brahman and that Brahman comes from the Imperishable. Therefore, the all-pervading Brahman ever rests insacrifice.
16. He who follows not here the wheel thus set in motion, who is of sinful life, indulging in senses, he lives in vain, O son of Pritha.
17. That man, verily, who rejoices only in the self,who is satisfied with the Self, who is content in the Self alone – for him there is nothing to do.
18. For him, there is here no interestwhatever in what is done or what is not done. Nor is there in all beings any one he should resort to for any object.
19. Therefore, without attachment, constantly perform the action which should be done;for, performing action without attachment, man reaches the Supreme.
20. By action only, indeed, did Janaka and others try to attain perfection. Even with a view to the protection of the masses thoushouldst perform (action).
21. Whatsoever a great man does, that alone the other men do; whatever he sets up as the standard, that the world follows.
22. I have nothing whatsoever to achieve in the three worlds, O son of Pritha, nor is there anything unattained that should be attained; yet Iengage in action.
23. For, should I not ever engage in action, unwearied, men would in all matters follow My path, O son of Pritha.
24. These worlds would be ruined if I should not perform action; I should be the cause of confusion of castes and should destroy thesecreatures.
25. As ignorant men act attached to work, O Bharata, so should the wise man act, unattached from a wish to protect the masses.
26. Let no wise man cause unsettlement in the minds of the ignorant whoare attached to action; he should make them do all actions, himself fulfilling them with devotion.
27. Actions are wrought in all cases by the energies of Nature. He whose mind is deluded by egoism thinks ‘I am the doer’.
28. But he who knows the truth, O mighty-armed, about the divisions ofthe energies and (their) functions, is not attached, thinking that the energies act upon the energies.
29. Those deluded by the energies of Nature are attached to the functions of the energies. He who knows the All should not unsettle the unwise who know not the All.
30. Renouncing all action in Me, with thy thought resting on the Self, being free from hope, free from selfishness, devoid of fever, do thou fight.
31. Men who constantly practise this teaching of Mine with faith and without cavilling, they too are liberated from actions.
32. But those who, carping at this, My teaching, practise it not – know them as deluded in all knowledge, as senseless men doomed to destruction.
33. Even the man of knowledge acts in conformity with his own nature; (all) beings follow (their) nature; what shall coercionavail?
34. Love and hate lie towards the object of each sense; let none become subject to these two; for, they are his enemies.
35. Better one’s own duty, though devoid of merit, than the duty o fanother well discharged. Better is death in one’s own duty; the duty of another is productive of danger.

ARJUNA SAID:
36. But by what dragged on, O Varshneya, does a man, though reluctant, commit sin, as if constrained by force?

LORD KRISHNA SAID:
37. It is desire, it is wrath, born of the energy of Rajas, all-devouring, all sinful; that, know thou, is the foe here.
38. As fire is surrounded by smoke, as a mirror by rust, as the foetus is enclosed in the womb, so is this covered by it.
39. Covered, O son of Kunti, is wisdom by this constant enemy of thewise, in the form of desire, which is greedy and insatiable.
40. The senses, mind and reason are said to be its seat; veiling wisdom through these, it deludes the embodied.
41. Therefore, O lord of the Bharatas, restrain the senses first, dothou cast off this sinful thing which is destructive of knowledge and wisdom.
42. They say that the senses are superior; superior to the senses is mind; superior to mind is reason; one who is even superior toreason is He.
43. Then knowing Him who is superior to reason, subduing the self by the self, slay thou, O mighty-armed, the enemy inthe form of desire, hard to conquer.

Translated by Alladi Mahadeva Sastry; Published by Samata Books, Chennai for www.celextel.org.
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Bhagavad Gita: 2: Sankhya Yoga

Posted by kathavarta on November 5, 2008

SANJAY SAID:
1. To him who was thus overcome with pity and afflicted and whose eyes were full of tears andagitated, the destroyer of Madhu spoke as follows:

LORD KRISHNA SAID:
2. Whence in (this) perilous strait has come upon thee this weakness cherished by the unworthy, debarring from heaven and causing disgrace,O Arjuna?
3. Yield not to unmanliness, O son of Pritha. It does not become thee. Cast off this base weakness of heart and arise, Otormentor of foes.

ARJUNA SAID:
4. O slayer of Madhu, how shall I assail in battle with arrows Bhishma and Drona, who are worthy ofworship, O slayer of enemies.
5. Better indeed in this world to live even upon alms than to slay the teachers of high honor. But, wereI to slay these teachers, I should only in this world enjoy the pleasures of wealth, delights stained with blood.
6. And we know not which is the better alternative for us; nor do we know whether we shall conquer them or they will conquer us. Even the sons of Dhritarashtra, after killing whom we do not wish to live, stand arrayed against us.
7. My heart contaminated by the taint of helplessness,my mind confounded about Dharma, I ask Thee: tell me what is absolutely good. I am Thy pupil. Instruct me, who have sought Thy grace.
8. I do not indeed see what can dispel the grief which burns up my senses, even after attaining unrivalled and prosperous dominion on earth oreven lordship over gods.

SANJAY SAID:
9. Having spoken thus to Hrishikesa, Gudakesa, the tormenter of foes, said to Govinda, ‘I will not fight’ and verily remained silent
10. To him who was grieving in the midst of the two armies, O descendant of Bharata, Hrishikesa asif smiling, spoke these words:

LORD KRISHNA SAID:
11. For those who deserve no grief thou hast grieved and words of wisdom thou speakest. For the living and for the dead the wise grieve not.
12. Never did I not exist, nor thou, nor these rulers of men; and no one of us will ever hereafter cease to exist.
13. Just as in this body the embodied (Self) passes into childhood andyouth and old age, so does He pass into another body. There the wiseman is not distressed.
14. The sense-contacts it is, O son of Kunti, which causes heat and cold; pleasure and pain; they come and go,they are impermanent. Them endure bravely, O descendant of Bharata.
15. That wise man whom, verily, these afflict not, O chief of men, towhom pleasure and pain are same, he for immortality is fit.
16. Of the unreal no being there is; there is no non-being of the real. Of both these is the truth seen by the seers of the Essence.
17. But know that to be imperishable by which all this is pervaded. None can cause the destruction of That, the Inexhaustible.
18. These bodies of the embodied (Self) who is eternal, indestructible and unknowable, are said to have an end. Do fight, therefore, Odescendant of Bharata.
19. Whoever looks upon Him as the slayer and whoever looks upon Him as the slain, both these know not aright. He slays not, nor is He slain.
20. He is not born, nor does He everdie; after having been, He again ceases not to be; nor the reverse. Unborn, eternal, unchangeable and primeval, He is not slain when thebody is slain.
21. Who so knows Him as indestructible, eternal,unborn and inexhaustible – How, O son of Pritha, and whom does such aman cause to slay and whom does he slay?
22. Just as a man castsoff worn-out clothes and puts on others which are new, so the embodied(self) casts off worn-out bodies and enters others which are new.
23. Him weapons cut not, Him fire burns not and Him water wets not; Him wind dries not.
24. He cannot be cut, nor burnt, nor wetted, nor dried up. He is everlasting, all-pervading stable, firm and eternal.
25. He, it is said, is unmanifest, unthinkable and unchangeable. Wherefore, knowing Him to be such, thou hadst better grieve not.
26. But even if thou thinkest of Him as ever being born and ever dying, even then, O mighty-armed, thou oughtst not to grieve thus.
27. To that which is born, death is indeed certain; and to that which is dead, birth is certain. Therefore, about the unavoidable thing, thou oughtstnot to grieve.
28. Beings have their beginning unseen, their middle seen, and their end unseen again. Why any lamentation regarding them?
29. One sees Him as a wonder; and so also another speaks of Him as awonder; and as a wonder another hears of Him; and though hearing, none understands Him at all.
30. He, the embodied (Self) in every one’s body, can never be killed, O descendant of Bharata. Wherefore thououghtst not to grieve about any creature.
31. Having regard tothine own duty also, thou oughtst not to waver. For, to a Kshatriya,there is nothing more wholesome than a lawful battle.
32. Happy Kshatriya, O son of Pritha, find such a battle as this, come of itself, an open door to heaven.
33. Now if thou wouldst not fight this lawful battle, then having abandoned thine own duty and fame, thou shalt incur sin.
34. People, too, will recount thy everlasting infamy; and to one who has been esteemed, infamy is more than death.
35. The great car-warriors will think thou hast withdrawn from thebattle through fear; and having been hitherto highly esteemed by them,thou wilt incur their contempt.
36. Thy enemies, too, scorning thy power, will take many abusive words. What is more painful than that?
37. Killed, thou wilt reach heaven; victorious, thou wilt enjoy the earth. Wherefore, O son of Kunti, arise, resolved to fight.
38. Then, treating alike pleasure and pain, gain and loss, success anddefeat, prepare for the battle and thus wilt thou not incur sin.
39. This, which has been taught to thee is wisdom concerning Sankhya. Now listen to wisdom concerning Yoga, which possessing thou shalt castoff the bond of action.
40. There is no loss effort here, there is no harm. Even a little of this devotion delivers one from great fear.
41. Here, O son of Kuru, there is one thought of a resolute nature. Many-branched and endless are the thoughts of the irresolute.
42-44. No conviction of a resolute nature is formed in the mind ofthose who are attached to pleasures and power and whose minds are drawnaway by that flowery speech which the unwise – enamoured of Vedicutterances, declaring there is nothing else, full of desire, havingsvarga as their goal – utter, (a speech) which promises birth as thereward of actions and which abounds in specific acts for the attainmentof pleasure and power, O son of Pritha.
45. The Vedas treat of thetriad of the gunas. Be, O Arjuna, free from the triad of the gunas, free from pairs, free from acquisition and preservation, ever remainingin the Sattva and self-possessed.
46. What utility there is in areservoir by the side of an all-spreading flood of water, the same(utility) there is in all Vedas for an enlightened Brahmana.
47. Thy concern is with action alone, never with results. Let not the fruit of action be thy motive, nor let thy attachment be for inaction.
48. Steadfast in devotion do thy works, O Dhananjaya, casting offattachment, being the same in success and failure. Evenness is called Yoga.
49. Verily action is far inferior to devotion in wisdom(buddhi-yoga), O Dhananjaya. In wisdom (buddhi) seek thou shelter. Wretched are they whose motive is the fruit.
50. He who is enduedwith wisdom casts off here both good deeds and bad deeds. Wherefore apply thyself to devotion. In regard to actions devotion is a power.
51. For, men of wisdom cast off the fruit of action; possessed of knowledge (and) released from the bond of birth, they go to the placewhere there is no evil.
52. When thy mind shall cross beyond themire of delusion, then wilt thou attain to a disgust of what is yet tobe heard and what has been heard.
53. When thy mind, perplexed by what thou hast heard, shall stand firm and steady in the Self, then wilt thou attain Yoga.

ARJUNA SAID:
54. What, O Kesava! Is the description of one of steady knowledge, whois constant in contemplation ? How does one of steady knowledge speak, how sit, how move?

LORD KRISHNA SAID:
55. The Lord said: When a man, satisfied in the Self alone by himself, completely casts off allthe desires of the mind, then is he said to be one of steady knowledge.
56. He whose heart is not distressed in calamities, from whom alllonging for pleasures has departed, who is free from attachment, fearand wrath, he is called a sage, a man of steady knowledge.
57. Who so, without attachment anywhere, on meeting with anything good orbad, neither exults nor hates, his knowledge becomes steady.
58. When he completely withdraws the senses from sense-objects, as thetortoise (withdraws) its limbs from all sides, his knowledge is steady.
59. Objects withdraw from an abstinent man, but not the taste. On seeing the Supreme, his taste, too, ceases.
60. The dangerous senses, O son of Kunti, forcibly carry away the mind of a wise man, even while striving (to control them).
61. Restraining them all, a man should remain steadfast, intent on Me. His knowledge is steady whose senses are under control.
62. When a man thinks of objects, attachment for them arises. From attachment arises desire; from desire arises wrath.
63. From wrath arises delusion; from delusion, failure of memory; fromfailure of memory, loss of conscience; from loss of conscience he isutterly ruined.
64. He attains peace, who, self-controlled, approaches objects with the senses devoid of love and hatred andbrought under his own-control.
65. In peace there is an end of all his miseries; for, the reason of the tranquil-minded soon becomes steady.
66. There is no wisdom to the unsteady, and no meditation to theunsteady, and to the un-meditative no peace; to the peaceless, how canthere be happiness?
67. For, the mind which yields to the roving senses carries away his knowledge, as the wind (carries away) a ship on water.
68. Therefore, O mighty-armed, his knowledge is steady whose senses have been entirely restrained from sense-objects.
69. What is night to all beings, therein the self controlled one isawake. Where all beings are awake, that is the night of the sage whosees.
70. He attains peace, into whom all desires enter as watersenter the ocean, which, filled from all sides, remains unaltered; butnot he who desires objects.
71. That man attains peace, who, abandoning all desires, moves about without attachment, without selfishness, without vanity.
72. This is the Brahmic state, O son of Pritha. Attaining to this, noneis deluded. Remaining in this state even at the last period of life, one attains to the felicity of Brahman.

Translated by Alladi Mahadeva Sastry; Published by Samata Books, Chennai for www.celextel.org.
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Bhagavad Gita: 1: The Despondency of Arjuna

Posted by kathavarta on November 5, 2008

DHRITARASHTRA SAID:
1. What did Pandu’s sons and mine do when they assembled together on thesacred plain of Kurukshetra, eager for battle, O Sanjay?

SANJAY SAID:
2. Having seen the army of the Pandavas drawn up in battle-array, prince Duryodhana then approached his teacher and spoke (these) words:
3. “O teacher, look at this grand army of the sons of Pandu, marshalled by thy talented pupil, the son of Drupada.
4. “Here are heroes, mighty archers, equal in battle to Bhima andArjuna; Yuyudhana Virata, and Drupada, the master of a great car(maharatha).
5. “Dhrishtaketu, Chekitana, and the valiant king of Kasi, Purujit and Kunti Bhoja, and that eminent man Saibya;
6. “The heroic Yudhamanyu and the brave Uttamaujas; the son of Subhadraand the sons of Draupadi, all masters of great cars (maharathas).
7. “But know, O best of the twice-born, who are the most distinguishedamong us, the leaders of my army; these I name to thee by way ofexample.
8. “Thyself and Bhishma, and Karna, and also Kripa, thevictor in war, Asvathaman and Vikarna, and also Jayadratha, the son ofSamadatta.
9. “And many other heroes who have given up their lives for my sake, fighting with various weapons, all well-skilled in battle.
10. “This army of ours protected by Bhisma is inadequate, whereas thatarmy of theirs which is under the protection of Bhima is adequate.
11. “And therefore do ye all, occupying your respective positions in the several divisions of the army, support Bhisma only.”
12. His mighty grandsire, (Bhisma), the oldest of the Kauravas, inorder to cheer him, sounded on high a lion’s roar and blew his conch.
13. Then, all at once, conches and kettle-drums, cymbols, drums andhorns were played upon, and the sound was a tumultuous uproar.
14. Then, too, Madhava and the son of Pandu, seated in a grand chariot yoked to white horses, blew their celestial conches.
15. Hrishikesa blew the Panchajanya; and Arjuna blew the Devadatta.Bhima, (the doer) of terrible deeds, blew his great conch Paundra.
16. Prince Yudhishthira, the son of Kunti, blew the Anantavijaya, whileNakula and Sahadeva blew the Sughosha and the Manipushpaka.
17. The King of Kasi, an excellent archer, Sikhandin, the master of a greatcar, Dhrishtadyumna and Virata, and the unconquered Satyaki;
18. Drupada and the sons of Draupadi, O Lord of earth, and the son ofSubhadra, of mighty arms, all together blew their respective conches.
19. That tumultuous sound rent the hearts of (the people) of Dhritarashtra’s party, making both heaven and earth resound.
20-22. Then seeing the people of Dhritarashtra’s party regularlymarshalled, while the discharge of weapons began, Arjuna, the son ofPandu, whose ensign was a monkey, O King of earth, took up his bow andsaid thus to Krishna:
O Achyuta (Immortal), place my chariotbetween the two armies, that I may just see those who stand heredesirous to fight, and know with whom I must fight in this strife ofbattle.
23. “I will observe those who are assembled here and areabout to engage in battle desirous to do service in war to theevil-minded son of Dhritarashtra”.

SANJAY SAID:
24-25. Odescendant of Bharata, Hrishikesa (Krishna) thus addressed by Gudakesa(Arjuna) stationed that excellent car between the two armies in frontof Bhisma and Drona and all the rulers of earth, and said: “O son ofPritha, look at these assembled Kauravas.”
26-27. Then the son of Pritha saw arrayed there in both the armies fathers and grandfathers, teachers, maternal uncles, brothers, sons, grandsons and comrades, father-in-law and friends.
27-28. When the son of Kunti saw all the kinsmen standing, he was overcome with deepest pity and said thus in sorrow:

ARJUNA SAID:
28-29. Seeing these kinsmen, O Krishna, arrayed and desirous to fight,my limbs droop down, and my mouth is dried up. A tremor comes on mybody and my hairs stand on end.
30. The Gandiva slips from my hand,and my skin is intensely burning. I am also unable to stand and my mindis whirling round, as it were.
31. And, O Kesava, I see omens foreboding evil. Nor do I see any good from killing my kinsmen in battle.
32. I desire not victory, O Krishna, nor kingdom, nor pleasures. Ofwhat avail is dominion to us, O Govinda ? Of what avail are pleasuresand even life ?
33-34. They for whose sake dominion, enjoyments andpleasures are sought by us are here standing, having staked their lifeand wealth; teachers, fathers, sons as well as grandfathers; maternaluncles, father-in-law grandsons, brothers-in-law as also (other)relatives.
35. These, O slayer of Madhu, I do not wish to kill,though they kill me, even for the sake of dominion over the threeworlds; how much less, for the sake of the earth!
36. O Janardana,what delight shall be ours after killing the sons of Dhritarashtra? Onkilling these felons, sin only will take hold of us.
37. We hadthen better not slay our own kinsmen, the sons of Dhritarashtra; for,how can we be happy, O Madhava, after slaying our own people?
38-39. Though these, whose intelligence is stricken by greed, perceiveno evil in the extinction of families and no sin in treachery tofriends, yet, O Janardana, should not we, who clearly see evil in theextinction of a family, learn to refrain from this sinful deed?
40. On the extinction of a family, the immemorial dharmas of thatfamily disappear. When the dharmas disappear, impiety (adharma)overtakes the whole family.
41. By the prevalence of impiety, O Krishna, the women of the family become corrupt. Women corrupted, therewill be intermingling of castes (varna-samkara), O descendent ofVrishnis.
42. Confusion of castes leads the family of thesedestroyers of families also to hell; for, their forefathers fall (downto hell), deprived of the offerings of pinda (rice-ball) and water.
43. By these evil deeds of the destroyers of families, which cause theintermingling of castes, the eternal dharmas of castes and families aresubverted.
44. We have heard, O Janardana, that necessary is the dwelling in hell of the men whose family dharmas are subverted.
45. Alas! We have resolved to commit a great sin, inasmuch as we areendeavouring to slay our kinsmen out of a craving for the pleasures ofdominion.
46. It would be better for me, if the sons of Dhritarashtra, with arms in hand, should slay me unarmed andunresisting in the battle.

SANJAY SAID:
47. Having said thus, Arjuna, sorrow-stricken in mind, cast aside his bow and arrows in themidst of the battle and sat down in the chariot.

Translated by Alladi Mahadeva Sastry; Published by Samata Books, Chennai for www.celextel.org.
Visit www.eTirth.com for more religious Kathas.
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Posted in Hindu story, Katha, Moral story, Religious, Story for Adult | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

 
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