Bhaja Govindam

Bhaja Govindam

Bhaja Govindam was rendered extempore by Jagadguru Sri Adi Sankaracharya.

The story behind this great work is this. Sri Adi Sankaracharya came across an old grammarian who was strenuously memorizing all the complex rules of Grammar, instead of devoting his time in contemplating on God and meditating. Due to Sri Sankara’s compassion and kindness, then and there emerged this flow of beautiful but profound poetry from Him to lead the devotee in the right path.

Sri Ramana Maharshi tells his devotees that Abhyasa and Vairagya (Practice and Dispassion) are both important for spiritual advancement and self-improvement. Bhaja Govindam offers ample guidance in both these areas.

The English translations for the Verses provided here were rendered by Sri Swami Chinmayananda in his commentary on Bhaja Govindam. I have benefited very much from Swami Chinmayananda’s Works.

Bhaja Govindam is one of the minor compositions of Sri Sankara. It is classified as a a primer to the major Works. However, the depth of wisdom and practical advice offered in this great work is of immense value and help to any sincere spiritual seeker. Also sung as a Bhajan (devotional song), this poetic garland strewn with pearls of knowledge contains the essence of Vedanta. It implores a person to think about a higher goal in life, of lasting happiness. It reveals the hollowness of mere pleasure seeking, the misery of disease and old age and the typical selfish nature of people. It provokes wise thinking and asks men and women to enquire about important questions such as “Who am I ? Why am I here in this life ? Why am I acquiring wealth, family, fame, power etc., but end up not having any enduring peace of mind ? What is the Truth ? What is the purpose of life ?”

When one reads Bhaja Govindam, it may seem dismal, bleak, cheerless and gloomy for some. But it is not meant to depress anyone. It is meant to make people gradually understand the downside of over-indulging in things of the world, while stressing the importance of attaining Self-Realization. So if one continues to read Bhaja Govindam with this attitude and ponder over it, they may not even have to do anything; wisdom will dawn by itself; the disadvantageous qualities wil just drop off by themselves. Sri Ramana Maharshi said that even if one does not understand a scripture, they should still read it; it will have its beneficial effect on the reader.

A surgeon may appear ruthless when he performs a surgery on a patient, but he does so only to save the patient and offer him a better life. Similarly, great spiritual Scriptures and Sages never compromise from telling the Truth. They say it like they see it, sometimes bluntly and directly, in order to wake up one who is slumbering in ignorance.

It is said that Sri Sankara burst forth with the first 12 stanzas of Bhaja Govindam. Thus the garland of stanzas 1-12 are called dvadasa manjarika stotram. Inspired by the extempore recital by Sankara, each of his 14 disciples composed a verse, and the 14 verse garland is called chaturdasa manjarika stotram. Sankara added the finishing touches by adding five of his own stanzas at the end bringing the total to 31.

The stanzas may be arranged or classified differently from other sources of Bhaja Govindam you might have seen. The order really does not matter. Each verse stands on its own and is helpful on its own. To read these verses and to contemplate on them is Satsang, getting in touch with God, the Real Self of the nature of Being-Consciousness-Bliss. It is really very simple. If we keep thinking about a Dog, we get a Dog. If we keep thinking about God, we get God. The option is ours.

Below is the song of “Bhajan Govindam”, the musical version of the verses.
If you like, you can listen to the song while looking at the lyrics.

Bhaja Govindam – Song

Sung By: Vasundhara

 

 

Verse 1

Bhaja Govindam, Bhaja Govindam,
Govindam Bhaja mooDha mate;
Sampraapthe sannihite kaale
Nahi nahi rakshati Dukrunghkarane. – 1


भजगोविन्दं भजगोविन्दं
गोविन्दं भजमूढमते ।

सम्प्राप्ते सन्निहिते काले
नहि नहि रक्षति डुकृञ्करणे ॥ १॥

Worship God, Worship God,
Worship God, Oh deluded one.
When death, the appointed end of lifetime comes
Grammar rules will not save you. – 1

Verse 2

MooDha jaheehi danaagama trishnaam
Kurusadbuddhim manasi vitrishnaam;
Yallabhase nija karmopaattham
Vittham tena vinodaya chittham. – 2

मूढ जहीहि धनागमतृष्णां
कुरु सद्बुद्धिं मनसि वितृष्णाम् ।
यल्लभसे निजकर्मोपात्तं
वित्तं तेन विनोदय चित्तम् ॥ २॥

Oh deluded one ! Give up the thirst to possess wealth.
Create in your mind thoughts of the Reality, devoid of passions.
With whatever you obtained as results from your past actions,
entertain your mind and be content. – 2

Verse 3

Naaree sthanabhara naabi desam
Dristva maaga mohaavesam;
Yetan maamsaa vasaadi vikaaram
Manasivi chintaya vaaram vaaram. – 3

नारीस्तनभर नाभीदेशं
दृष्ट्वा मागामोहावेशम् ।
एतन्मांसवसादि विकारं
मनसि विचिन्तय वारं वारम् ॥ ३॥

Seeing a woman’s navel and chest, do not get carried away
by the storm of desires. These are only modifications of flesh.
Think well thus in your mind again and again. – 3

Verse 4

Nalinee dalagata jalamati taralam
Tadwajjeevitam atisaya chapalam;
Viddhi vyaadhyabhimaana grastham
Lokam sokahatam cha samastam. – 4

नलिनीदलगत जलमतितरलं
तद्वज्जीवितमतिशयचपलम् ।
विद्धि व्याध्यभिमानग्रस्तं
लोकं शोकहतं च समस्तम् ॥ ४॥

Just as a drop of water on a lotus leaf
has an extremely uncertain existence,
so also life is strange and uncertain.
Know that the whole perceived world is consumed
by disease, conceit (ego) and grief.
– 4

Verse 5

Yavadvittho paarjana sakta
Staavannija parivaaro raktaha;
Paschaat jeevathi jarjara dehe,
Vaartaam kopina prichchati gehe – 5

यावद्वित्तोपार्जन सक्त-
स्तावन्निज परिवारो रक्तः ।
पश्चाज्जीवति जर्जर देहे
वार्तां कोऽपि न पृच्छति गेहे ॥ ५॥

As long as there is the ability to earn and save,
so long all your dependents (family, relatives and friends)
are attached to you. Later on when you come to live
with an old infirm body, no one at home
cares to speak even a word with you. – 5.

Verse 6

yaavatpavano nivasati dehe
taavath prichchati kushalam gehe
gatavati vaayou dehaapaye
bharya bibhyati tasmin kaaye. – 6

यावत्पवनो निवसति देहे
तावत्पृच्छति कुशलं गेहे ।
गतवति वायौ देहापाये
भार्या बिभ्यति तस्मिन्काये ॥ ६॥

As long as there dwells life-breath in the body,
so long they enquire of your welfare at home.
Once the life-breath leaves, the body decays,
and even his wife fears the very same body. – 6

Verse 7

Baalastavat kreedasaktaha
tarunastavah tarunee saktaha;
Vruddha staavat chinta sakthaha
Parase brahmani kopi na sakthaha. – 7

बालस्तावत्क्रीडासक्तः
तरुणस्तावत्तरुणीसक्तः ।
वृद्धस्तावच्चिन्तासक्तः
परमे ब्रह्मणि कोऽपि न सक्तः ॥ ७॥

In one’s Childhood, one is attached to playing.
In one’s Youth, one is attached to one’s young woman.
In one’s Old age, one is attached to anxieties.
But there is no one who wants to be attached to Supreme Brahman (Almighty Self). – 7

Verse 8

Kaa te kantaa kaste putraha
Samsaaroya mateeva vichitraha;
Kasya twam ka kuta aayataha
Tattvam chintaya tadiha bhraataha. – 8

काते कान्ता कस्ते पुत्रः
संसारोऽयमतीव विचित्रः ।
कस्य त्वं कः कुत आयातः
तत्त्वं चिन्तय तदिह भ्रातः ॥ ८॥

Who is your wife ? Who is your son ?
Supremely wonderful is this Samsara*.
Of whom are you ? From where have you come ?
Ponder over this truth here, Oh Brother. – 8

* Pronounced Samsaara : (the perceived empirical world)

Verse 9

Satsangatve nissangatvam
Nissangatve nirmohatvam;
Nirmohatve nischala tatvam,
Nischala tatve jeevan muktihi. – 9

सत्सङ्गत्वे निस्सङ्गत्वं
निस्सङ्गत्वे निर्मोहत्वम् ।
निर्मोहत्वे निश्चलतत्त्वं
निश्चलतत्त्वे जीवन्मुक्तिः ॥ ९॥

From association with the Wise comes non-attachment.
From non-attachment comes freedom from delusion.
Through freedom from delusion comes abiding in the Self, the Immutable Reality.
From abiding in the Self comes the state of “Liberated in Life”. – 9

Verse 10

Vayasi gate ka kama vikaraha
Shushke neere ka kaasaaraha;
NashTe dravye ka parivaaraha
Gnathe tatve ka samsaaraha. – 10

वयसिगते कः कामविकारः
शुष्के नीरे कः कासारः ।
क्षीणेवित्ते कः परिवारः
ज्ञाते तत्त्वे कः संसारः ॥ १०॥

Where is passion when Youth has passed ?
Where is the lake when there is no water ?
Where are the relatives and retinue when wealth has diminished ?
Where is Samsara* when the Truth is realized ? – 10

* Pronounced Samsaara : (the perceived world of delusion)

Verse 11

Maa kuru dana jana youvana garvam
Harati nimeshaath kaalaha sarvam;
Maayamaya midamakilam hithwa
Brahmapadam tvam pravisa viditva. – 11

मा कुरु धन जन यौवन गर्वं
हरति निमेषात्कालः सर्वम् ।
मायामयमिदमखिलं हित्वा var बुध्वा
ब्रह्मपदं त्वं प्रविश विदित्वा ॥ ११॥

Do not get conceited of your wealth, your people and your youth.
Time destroys each one of these in a minute.
Knowing their illusory nature, leaving all these aside,
Realize the State of Brahman (Timeless Reality) and enter into it. – 11

Verse 12

Dinayaaminyou, saayam praataha
Sisira vasanthou punaraayatah;
Kala kreedati gachat yaayuhu
Tadapi na munjathyaasa vayuhu. – 12

दिनयामिन्यौ सायं प्रातः
शिशिरवसन्तौ पुनरायातः ।
कालः क्रीडति गच्छत्यायुः
तदपि न मुञ्चत्याशावायुः ॥ १२॥

Day and night, dusk and dawn,
Winter and spring come and go again and again.
Time sports with Life and Life ebbs away.
But one does not leave the storms of desires. – 12

Note:

द्वादशमञ्जरिकाभिरशेषः
कथितो वैयाकरणस्यैषः ।
उपदेशो भूद्विद्यानिपुणैः
श्रीमच्छन्करभगवच्छरणैः ॥ १२अ ॥


This bouquet of twelve verses was imparted to a grammarian
by the all-knowing Sankara, adored as the Bhagavadpada.

Verse 13

Kaate kaantaa dhana gata chintaa
Vaatula kim tava naasti niyantaa
Trijagati sajjana sam gatiraikaa
Bhavati BhavaarNava taraNe noukaa. – 13

काते कान्ता धन गतचिन्ता
वातुल किं तव नास्ति नियन्ता ।
त्रिजगति सज्जनसं गतिरैका
भवति भवार्णवतरणे नौका ॥ १३॥

Oh Distracted one! Why worry about wife, wealth etc. ?
Is there not for you the One who ordains?
In the three worlds, the “association with wise people” alone
can serve as a boat to cross the sea of change (birth and death). – 13

Above Stanza attributed to Padmapaada.

Verse 14

Jatilo mundee lunchita kesaha
Kaashayaambara bahu kruta veshaha;
Pasyannapi cha na pasyati mooDhaha
Udara nimithtam bahu krutha veshaha. – 14

जटिलो मुण्डी लुञ्छितकेशः
काषायाम्बरबहुकृतवेषः ।
पश्यन्नपि चन पश्यति मूढः
उदरनिमित्तं बहुकृतवेषः ॥ १४॥

One ascetic with matted locks, one with a shaven head,
one with hairs pulled out one by one, another parading
in ochre robes – these are fools who, though seeing, do not see.
Indeed these different disguises or apparels are only
for the sake of their stomach. – 14

Above Stanza attributed to Totakacharya.

Verse 15

Angam galitham palitham mundam,
Dasanaviheenam jatham thundam,
Vruddho yathi gruheetha dhandam,
Tadapi na munjathyaasa pindam. – 15

अङ्गं गलितं पलितं मुण्डं
दशनविहीनं जातं तुण्डम् ।
वृद्धो याति गृहीत्वा दण्डं
तदपि न मुञ्चत्याशापिण्डम् ॥ १५॥

The body has become worn out. The head has turned grey.
The mouth has become toothless. The old man moves about
leaning on his staff. Even then he does not leave the bundle of his desires. – 15

Above Stanza attributed to Hastamalaka.

Verse 16

Agre Vahni, prashte bhanu,
Rathrou chibuka samirpitha janu,
Karathala biksha taru thala vasa
Sthadhapi na munjathyasapasa. – 16

अग्रे वह्निः पृष्ठेभानुः
रात्रौ चुबुकसमर्पितजानुः ।
करतलभिक्षस्तरुतलवासः
तदपि न मुञ्चत्याशापाशः ॥ १६॥

In front the fire, at the back the Sun,
late at night he sits with his knees held to his chin.
He receives alms in this own scooped palm of the hand
and lives under the shelter of some tree.
And yet, the noose
of his desires does not spare him. – 16.

Above Stanza attributed to Subodha.

Verse 17

Kuruthe Gangaa sagara gamanam,
Vrutha paripaalana madhava dhaanam,
Gnana viheena sarvamathena,
Mukthin na bhavathi janma sathena. – 17

कुरुते गङ्गासागरगमनं
व्रतपरिपालनमथवा दानम् ।
ज्ञानविहीनः सर्वमतेन
मुक्तिं न भजति जन्मशतेन ॥ १७॥ var भजति न मुक्तिं

One may in pilgrimage go to where the Ganges
meets the ocean called the Gangasagar. Or observe vows.
Or distribute gifts away in charity. But if he is devoid of
first hand experience of Truth-Knowlege (Jnanam),
according to all schools of thought, he gains no Liberation
(Self-Realization), even in hundred lives.

Above Stanza attributed to vArtikakAra.

Verse 18

Sura mandhira tharu moola nivaasa,
Sayya bhoothala majinam vaasa,
Sarvapariguha bhoga thyaaga,
Kasya sukham na karothi viraaga. – 18

सुर मन्दिर तरु मूल निवासः
शय्या भूतल मजिनं वासः ।
सर्व परिग्रह भोग त्यागः
कस्य सुखं न करोति विरागः ॥ १८॥

Dwelling in temples, under some tree, sleeping on the bare ground,
wearing a cloth, and thus renouncing all ideas of possession
and thirst to enjoy, to whom will not dispassion bring happiness ? – 18

Above Stanza attributed to nityananda.

Verse 19

Yoga ratho vaa bhogaratho vaa,
Sanga ratho vaa sanga viheena,
Yasya brahmani ramathe chittam,
Nandathi nandathi nandathyeva. – 19

योगरतो वाभोगरतोवा
सङ्गरतो वा सङ्गविहीनः ।
यस्य ब्रह्मणि रमते चित्तं
नन्दति नन्दति नन्दत्येव ॥ १९॥

Let one revel in Yoga (mental contact with the Self),
or let him revel in Bhoga (enjoyment).
Let one seek enjoyment in company, or let him revel
in solitude away from the crowd. He whose mind revels in Brahman (Supreme Reality),
He enjoys… He enjoys… indeed He alone enjoys. – 19

Above Stanza attributed to anandagiri.

Verse 20

Bhagavad geetha kinchid adheetha,
Gangaajalalava kanikaa peetha,
Sukrudhapi yasya murari samarcha,
Tasya yama kim kuruthe charchaam. – 20

भगवद् गीता किञ्चिदधीता
गङ्गा जललव कणिकापीता ।
सकृदपि येन मुरारि समर्चा
क्रियते तस्य यमेन न चर्चा ॥ २०॥

To one who has studied the Bhagavad Gita even a little,
he who has sipped at least a drop of Ganges-water,
he who has worshipped at least once the Lord Murari
to him there is no dispute with Yama (Lord of Death). – 20

Note : Lord Murari : (Sri Krishna, the destroyer of the demon Mura)

Above Stanza attributed to dRiDhabhakta.

Verse 21

Punarapi jananam punarapi maranam,
Punarapi janani jatare sayanam,
Iha samsaare khalu dusthare,
Krupayaa pare pahi murare. – 21

पुनरपि जननं पुनरपि मरणं
पुनरपि जननी जठरे शयनम् ।
इह संसारे बहुदुस्तारे
कृपयाऽपारे पाहि मुरारे ॥ २१॥

Again and again one is born, again and again one dies,
Again and again one lies in the mother’s womb.
This Samsar (limitless Sea of Life) is very hard to cross over.
Please save me, Oh Lord Murari,

through Your Infinite Kindness. – 21

Note : Lord Murari : (Sri Krishna, the destroyer of the demon Mura)

Above Stanza attributed to nityanAtha.

Verse 22

Rathyaa charpata virachita kanthaha,
Punyaapunya vivarjitha panthaha.
Yogi yoganiyojitha chitto
Ramate baalonmattava deva.

रथ्या चर्पट विरचित कन्थः
पुण्यापुण्य विवर्जित पन्थः ।
योगी योगनियोजित चित्तो
रमते बालोन्मत्तवदेव ॥ २२॥

The Yogin who wears but a “godadi “*, who walks the path
that is beyond merit and demerit, whose mind is joined
in perfect Yoga with its goal, he revels (in God-consciousness),
and lives thereafter as a child or as a mad man. – 22

* godadi: A shawl made up of pieces of cloth rejected by others, picked up from the streets and stitched together.

Above Stanza attributed to surendra.

Verse 23

Kasthwam Ko aham kutha ayatha?
Kaa me janani ko me thatha.
Ithi paribhavaaya sarvamasaaram,
Viswam tyakthwa swapna vichaaram. – 23

कस्त्वं कोऽहं कुत आयातः
का मे जननी को मे तातः ।
इति परिभावय सर्वमसारम्
विश्वं त्यक्त्वा स्वप्न विचारम् ॥ २३॥

Who are you ? Who am I ? From where did I come ?
Who is my mother ? Who is my father?
Thus enquire, leaving aside the entire world of experiences (Viswam),
essenceless and a mere dreamland, born of imagination (swapna vicharam). – 23

Verse 24

Twayi mayi chaanya traiko vishnu
Vyartham kupyasi mayya sahishnu,
Bhava sama chitta sarvathra twam,
Vaanchasya chiraadhyadhi Vishnutwam. – 24

त्वयि मयि चान्यत्रैको विष्णुः
व्यर्थं कुप्यसि मय्यसहिष्णुः ।
भव समचित्तः सर्वत्र त्वं
वाञ्छस्यचिराद्यदि विष्णुत्वम् ॥ २४॥

In you and in me and and in all other places too,
there is but one All-Pervading Reality.
Being impatient, you are unnecessarily getting angry with me.
If you want to attain soon the Reality-State,
be equanimous and well-balanced under all circumstances. – 24

Above Stanza attributed to medhAtithira.

Verse 25

Sathrou mithre puthre bandhou,
Maa kuru yathnam vigraha sandhou,
Sarwasminnapi pasyaathmaanam,
Sarvathrothsyuja bhedaajnanam. – 25

शत्रौ मित्रे पुत्रे बन्धौ
मा कुरु यत्नं विग्रहसन्धौ ।
सर्वस्मिन्नपि पश्यात्मानं
सर्वत्रोत्सृज भेदाज्ञानम् ॥ २५॥

Do not strive or waste your energy to fight against,
or to make friends with your enemy, friend, children or relative.
Seeking the Self everywhere, lift the sense of difference,
the plurality born out of ignorance of the Truth. – 25

Verse 26

Kaamam krodham lobham moham,
Tyakthwaathmanam bhavaya koham,
Atma jnana viheenaa mooda,
Sthepachyanthe naraka nigooda. – 26

कामं क्रोधं लोभं मोहं
त्यक्त्वाऽऽत्मानं भावय कोऽहम्। var पश्यति सोऽहम्
आत्मज्ञान विहीना मूढाः
ते पच्यन्ते नरकनिगूढाः ॥ २६॥

Leaving desire, anger, greed and delusion,
the seeker sees in the Self – “He Am I”.
They are fools who do not have Self-Knowledge,
and consequently they are tortured in hell. – 26

Above Stanza attributed to bhArativamsha.

Verse 27

Geyam Githa, Nama sahasram,
Dhyeyam sri pathi roopamajasram,
Neyam sajjana sange chittam,
Dheyam deenajanaaya cha vitham. – 27

गेयं गीता नाम सहस्रं
ध्येयं श्रीपति रूपमजस्रम् ।
नेयं सज्जन सङ्गे चित्तं
देयं दीनजनाय च वित्तम् ॥ २७॥

Bhagavad Gita and Sahasranama (Thousand Names of God) should be chanted.
Always the form of God should be meditated upon.
The mind should be led towards the company of the wise.
Wealth should be shared with the needy.- 27

Above Stanza attributed to sumatir.

Verse 28

Sukhata kriyathe raamaa bhoga,
Paschaadanta sarere roga,
Yadyapi loke maranam sharanam,
Tadapi na munchathi paapacharanam. – 28

सुखतः क्रियते रामाभोगः
पश्चाद्धन्त शरीरे रोगः ।
यद्यपि लोके मरणं शरणं
तदपि न मुञ्चति पापाचरणम् ॥ २८॥

Readily one indulges in carnal pleasures.
Later on, alas, come diseases of the body.
Even though in the world the ultimate end is death,
still the man does not leave his sinful behaviour. – 28

Verse 29

Arthamanartham Bhaavaya nithyam,
Naasthi thatha sukalesa sathyam,
Puthraadhapi dhana bhaajam bheethi,
Sarvathraishaa vihitaareethi. – 29

अर्थमनर्थं भावय नित्यं
नास्तिततः सुखलेशः सत्यम् ।
पुत्रादपि धन भाजां भीतिः
सर्वत्रैषा विहिता रीतिः ॥ २९॥

“Wealth is meaningless (useless)”, thus contemplate constantly.
The truth is that there is no happiness at all to be obtained from it.
To the rich man, there is fear even from his own son.
This is the way of wealth everywhere.

Verse 30

Praanaayaamam prathyaahaaram,
Nithyaa nithya viveka vichaaram,
Jaapyasametha samadhi vidhaanam,
Kurvavadhaanam mahadava dhaanam. – 30

The control of all activities (of life’s manifestations in you),
the sense withdrawal (from their respective sense-objects),
the reflection (consisting of discrimination between the permanent
and the impermanent), along with Japa (chanting) and practice
of the reaching the Total Inner Silence (Samadhi) –
all these perform with care….with great care. – 30

प्राणायामं प्रत्याहारं
नित्यानित्य विवेकविचारम् ।
जाप्यसमेत समाधिविधानं
कुर्ववधानं महदवधानम् ॥ ३०॥

Verse 31

Gurucharanaambuja nirbhara bhaktha,
Samsarada chiraadbhava mukta,
Sendriya maanasa niyamaadevam,
Drakshyasi nija hrudayastham devam. – 31

गुरुचरणाम्बुज निर्भर भक्तः
संसारादचिराद्भव मुक्तः ।
सेन्द्रियमानस नियमादेवं
द्रक्ष्यसि निज हृदयस्थं देवम् ॥ ३१॥

Oh Devotee of the lotus feet of the Guru (Teacher) !
May you become liberated soon from Samsara* through the discipline
of the sense organs and the mind. You will come to
experience (behold) the Lord That dwells in your own Heart. – 31

* Pronounced Samsaara : (the perceived world of delusion)

Verse 32

Moodah kaschana vaiyyaakarno,
Dukrunkaranaa dhyayana dhurinam,
Srimad Sankara Bhagavad shishyai,
Bodhita aashishyodhitakarana. – 32

मूढः कश्चन वैयाकरणो
डुकृञ्करणाध्ययन धुरिणः ।
श्रीमच्छम्कर भगवच्छिष्यै
बोधित आसिच्छोधितकरणः ॥ ३२॥

Thus a deluded grammarian lost in grammar rules, cleansed of his
narrow vision was shown the Light by Shankara and His apostles. – 32

End of Bhaja Govindam By Sri Adi Sankaracharya.

———–

All actions will go on by themselves – Ramana

All actions will go on by themselves


D: Bhagavan said yesterday that while one is engaged in search of God ‘within’, ‘outer’ work would go on automatically. In the life of Sri Chaitanya it is said that during his lectures to students he was really seeking Krishna (Self) within, forgot all about his body and went on talking of Krishna only. This raises a doubt whether work can safely be left to itself. Should one keep part-attention on the physical work?
M: The Self is all. Are you apart from the Self? Or can the work go on without the Self? The Self is universal: so, all actions will go on whether you strain yourself to be engaged in them or not. The work will go on of itself. Thus Krishna told Arjuna that he need not trouble to kill the Kauravas; they were already slain by God. It was not for him to resolve to work and worry himself about it, but to allow his own nature to carry out the will of the higher power.

D: But the work may suffer if I do not attend to it.
M: Attending to the Self means attending to the work. Because you identify yourself with the body, you think that work is done by you. But the body and its activities, including that work, are not apart from the Self. What does it matter whether you attend to the work or not? Suppose you walk from one place to another: you do not attend to the steps you take. Yet you find yourself after a time at your goal. You see how the business of walking goes on without your attending to it. So also with other kinds of work.

D: It is then like sleep-walking.
M: Like somnambulism? Quite so. When a child is fast asleep, his mother feeds him; the child eats the food just as well as when he is fully awake. But the next morning he says to the mother, “Mother, I did not take food last night”. The mother and others know that he did, but he says that he did not; he was not aware. Still the action had gone on.

A traveller in a cart has fallen asleep. The bulls move, stand still or are unyoked during the journey. He does not know these events but finds himself in a different place after he wakes up. He has been blissfully ignorant of the occurrences on the way, but the journey has been finished. Similarly with the Self of a person. The ever-wakeful Self is compared to the traveller asleep in the cart. The waking state is the moving of the bulls; samadhi is their standing still (because samadhi means jagrat- sushupti, that is to say, the person is aware but not concerned in the action; the bulls are yoked but do not move); sleep is the unyoking of the bulls, for there is complete stopping of activity corresponding to the relief of the bulls from the yoke.

Or again, take the instance of the cinema. Scenes are projected on the screen in the cinema-show. But the moving pictures do not affect or alter the screen. The spectator pays attention to them, not to the screen. They cannot exist apart from the screen, yet the screen is ignored. So also, the Self is the screen where the pictures, activities etc. are seen going on. The man is aware of the latter but not aware of the essential former. All the same the world of pictures is not apart from the Self. Whether he is aware of the screen or unaware, the actions will continue.

D: But there is an operator in the cinema!
M: The cinema-show is made out of insentient materials. The lamp, the pictures, the screen etc., are all insentient and so they need an operator, the sentient agent. On the other hand, the Self is absolute consciousness, and therefore self-contained. There cannot be an operator apart from the Self.

D: I am not confusing the body with the operator; rather, I am referring to Krishna’s words in the 61st verse, Chapter XVIII of the Gita.
“The Lord, O Arjuna, dwells in the Heart of every being, and He by His delusive power spins round all beings set as if on a machine”.
M: The functions of the body involving the need for an operator, are borne in mind; since the body is jada or insentient, a sentient operator is necessary. Because people think that they are jivas, Krishna said that God resides in the heart as the operator of the jivas. In fact, there are no jivas and no operator, as it were, outside them; the Self comprises all. It is the screen, the pictures, the seer, the actors, the operator, the light, the theatre and all else. Your confounding the Self with the body and imagining yourself the actor, is like the seer representing himself as an actor in the cinema-show. Imagine the actor asking if he can enact a scene without the screen ! Such is the case of the man who thinks of his actions apart from the Self.

D: On the other hand, it is like asking the spectator to act in the cinema-picture. So, we must learn sleep-waking!
M: Actions and states are according to one’s point of view. A crow, an elephant, a snake, each makes use of one limb for two alternate purposes. With one eye the crow looks on either side; for the elephant the trunk serves the purpose of both a hand and a nose, and the serpent sees as well as hears with its eyes. Whether you say the crow has an eye or eyes, or refer to the trunk of the elephant as ‘hand’ or ‘nose’ or call the eyes of the serpent its ears, it means all the same. Similarly in the case of the jnani, sleep-waking or waking-sleep or dream-sleep or dreaming-wakefulness, are all much the same thing.

D: But we have to deal with a physical body in a physical, waking world! If we sleep while work is going on, or try to work while asleep, the work will go wrong.
M: Sleep is not ignorance, it is one’s pure state; wakefulness is not knowledge, it is ignorance. There is full awareness in sleep and total ignorance in waking. Your real nature covers both and extends beyond. The Self is beyond both knowledge and ignorance. Sleep, dream and waking states are only modes passing before the Self: they proceed whether you are aware of them or not. That is the state of the jnani, in whom pass the states of samadhi, waking, dream and deep sleep, like the bulls moving, standing, or being unyoked, while the passenger is asleep. These answers are from the point of view of the ajnani; otherwise such questions would not arise.

D: Of course, they cannot arise for the Self. Who would be there to ask? But unfortunately, I have not yet realised the Self!
M: That is just the obstacle in your way. You must get rid of the idea that you are an ajnani and have yet to realise the Self. You are the Self. Was there ever a time when you were not aware of that Self?

D: So, we must experiment in sleep-waking ….. or in day-dreaming?
M: (Laughs).

D: I maintain that the physical body of the man immersed in samadhi as a result of the unbroken ‘contemplation’2 of the Self, may become motionless for that reason. It may be active or inactive. The mind established in such ‘contemplation’ will not be affected by the movements of the body or the senses; nor is disturbance of the mind the forerunner of physical activity. Whereas another person asserts that physical activity certainly prevents samadhi or unbroken ‘contemplation’. What is Bhagavan’s opinion? You are the abiding proof of my statement.
M: Both of you are right: you refer to sahaja nirvikalpa samadhi and the other refers to kevala nirvikalpa samadhi. In the latter case the mind lies immersed in the light of the Self (whereas, the mind lies in the darkness of ignorance in deep sleep); and the subject makes a distinction between samadhi and activity after waking up from samadhi. Moreover, activity of the body, of the sight, of the vital forces and of the mind and the cognisance of objects, all these are obstructions for one who seeks to realise kevala nirvikalpa samadhi.

In sahaja samadhi, however, the mind has resolved into the Self and has been lost. The differences and obstructions mentioned above do not, therefore, exist here. The activities of such a being are like the feeding of a somnolent boy, perceptible to the onlooker but not to the subject. The traveller sleeping in the moving cart is not aware of the motion of the cart, because his mind is sunk in darkness. Whereas, the sahaja jnani remains unaware of his bodily activities because his mind is dead, having been resolved into the ecstasy of chidananda (bliss of the Self).
Note: The distinction between sleep, kevala nirvikalpa samadhi and sahaja nirvikalpa samadhi can be clearly put in a tabular form as given by Sri Bhagavan:

Bhagavan's Elucidation
Sleep Kevala Nirvikalpa Samadhi Sahaja Nirvikalpa Samadhi
Mind Alive Mind Alive Mind Dead
Sunk in Oblivion Sunk in Light Resolved into the Self
Like a bucket tied to a rope and left lying in the water in a well Like a river discharged into the ocean and its identity lost
To be drawn out by the other end of the rope A river cannot be redirected from the ocean

The mind of the Sage who has realized the Self is wholly destroyed. It is dead. But to the onlooker, he may seem to possess a mind just like the layman. Hence the ‘I’ in the Sage has merely an apparent ‘objective reality’. In fact however, it has neither a subjective existence nor an objective reality.

2 The word, contemplation, is often used loosely as referring to a forced mental process, whereas samadhi lies beyond effort. However, in the language of Christian mysticism “contemplation” is the synonym invariably used for samadhi, and it is in this sense the word is used above.

Maharshi’s Gospel
Work and Renunciation

Let go the passing thoughts – Ramana

Let go the passing thoughts and hold on to the Unchanging Self



Another pilgrim asked: I am a man with a family. Is it possible for those in a family to get release, and if so how?
M.: Now what is family? Whose family is it? If the answers to these questions are found the other questions solve themselves.
Tell me: Are you in the family, or is the family in you?

The visitor did not answer. Then Sri Bhagavan’s answer was continued: Who are you? You include three aspects of life, namely, the waking, the dream and the sleep states. You were not aware of the family and their ties in your sleep and so these questions did not arise then. But now you are aware of the family and their ties and therefore you seek release. But you are the same person throughout.

D.: Because I now feel that I am in the family it is right that I should seek release.
M.: You are right. But consider and say: Are you in the family or is the family in you?
Another visitor interposed: What is family?
M.: That’s it. It must be known.

D.: There is my wife and there are also my children. They are dependent on me. That is the family.
M.: Do the members of the family bind your mind? Or do you bind yourself to them? Do they come and say to you “We form your family. Be with us”? Or do you consider them as your family and that you are bound to them?

D.: I consider them as my family and feel bound to them.
M.: Quite so. Because you think that so-and-so is your wife and so-and-soare your children you also think that you are bound to them.
These thoughts are yours. They owe their very existence to you. You can entertain these thoughts or relinquish them. The former is bondage and the latter is release.

D.: It is not quite clear to me.
M.: You must exist in order that you may think. You may think these thoughts or other thoughts. The thoughts change but not you. Let go the passing thoughts and hold on to the unchanging Self. The thoughts form your bondage. If they are given up, there is release. The bondage is not external. So no external remedy need be sought for release. It is within your competence to think and thus to get bound or to cease thinking and thus be free.

D.: But it is not easy to remain without thinking.
M.: You need not cease thinking. Only think of the root of the thoughts; seek it and find it. The Self shines by itself. When that is found the thoughts cease of their own accord. That is freedom from bondage.

D.: Yes. I understand it now. I have learnt it now. Is a Guru necessary?
M.: So long as you consider yourself as an individual, a Guru is necessary to show to you that you are not bound by limitations and that your nature is to be free from limitations.

Talks With Ramana Maharshi
2nd October, 1938
Talk 524.

Get Hold of Yourself – Vivekananada

Get Hold of Yourself

Work and its secret

We are all the time, from our childhood, trying to lay the blame upon something outside ourselves. We are always standing up to set right other people, and not ourselves. If we are miserable, we say, “Oh, the world is a devil’s world.” We curse others and say, “What infatuated fools!” But why should we be in such a world, if we really are so good? If this is a devil’s world, we must be devils also; why else should we be here? “Oh, the people of the world are so selfish!” True enough; but why should we be found in that company, if we be better? Just think of that.

We only get what we deserve. It is a lie when we say, the world is bad and we are good. It can never be so. It is a terrible lie we tell ourselves.

This is the first lesson to learn: be determined not to curse anything outside, not to lay the blame upon any one outside, but be a man, stand up, lay the blame on yourself. You will find, that is always true. Get hold of yourself.

Is it not a shame that at one moment we talk so much of our manhood, of our being gods — that we know everything, we can do everything, we are blameless, spotless, the most unselfish people in the world; and at the next moment a little stone hurts us, a little anger from a little Jack wounds us — any fool in the street makes “these gods” miserable! Should this be so if we are such gods? Is it true that the world is to blame? Could God, who is the purest and the noblest of souls, be made miserable by any of our tricks? If you are so unselfish, you are like God. What world can hurt you? You would go through the seventh hell unscathed, untouched. But the very fact that you complain and want to lay the blame upon the external world shows that you feel the external world — the very fact that you feel shows that you are not what you claim to be. You only make your offense greater by heaping misery upon misery, by imagining that the external world is hurting you, and crying out, “Oh, this devil’s world! This man hurts me; that man hurts me! ” and so forth. It is adding lies to misery.

We are to take care of ourselves — that much we can do — and give up attending to others for a time. Let us perfect the means; the end will take care of itself. For the world can be good and pure, only if our lives are good and pure. It is an effect, and we are the means. Therefore, let us purify ourselves. Let us make ourselves perfect.

 

WORK AND ITS SECRET
Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda – Volume 2
(Lecture Delivered at Los Angeles, California, January 4, 1900)

Practice and Dispassion succeed gradually – Ramana

Practice and Dispassion succeed gradually – Ramana



Mr. B. C. Das asked why the mind cannot be turned inward in spite of repeated attempts.

M.: It is done by practice and dispassion and that succeeds only gradually. The mind, having been so long a cow accustomed to graze stealthily on others’ estates, is not easily confined to her stall. However much her keeper tempts her with luscious grass and fine fodder, she refuses the first time; then she takes a bit; but her innate tendency to stray away asserts itself; and she slips away; on being repeatedly tempted by the owner, she accustoms herself to the stall; finally even if let loose she would not stray away. Similarly with the mind. If once it finds its inner happiness it will not wander outward.

Talks With Ramana Maharshi
20th June, 1936
Talk 213.