essential verses of bhagavad gétä chapter 13

Essential Verses of Bhagavad Gétä – Chapter 13

By Swami Viditatmananda Saraswati

Presented by Arsha Vidya Center Monday, June 23rd to Friday, June 27th

Souvenir 2014

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Swami Viditatmanandaji’s 2014 visit Page 1

sdaizvsmarMÉam!

sadäçivasamärambhäm

z»racayRmXymam!

çaìkaräcäryamadhyamäm

ASmdacayRpyRNtam!

asmadäcäryaparyantäm

vNde guéprMpram!

vande guruparamparäm

I salute the lineage of teachers, beginning with Çiva, the Lord, (linked by)

Çaìkaräcärya in the middle, and extending down to my own teacher.

Arsha Vidya Center


Arsha Vidyä (Knowledge of the Åñis) Center, aims to bring through live teaching, the sacred,

authentic and traditional texts of Vedänta to the Bay Area.

Vedänta is part of the Vedas, aimed at mature minds that seek unconditional freedom from

limitations. Says Çré Vyäsa in the very first verse of the epic Brahma Sütras: Awatae äü ij}asa, translated as, ‘After seeing that the commonly known methods of attaining happiness, such as

money, friends, fame etc. are not lasting, may a thinking person inquire, with the help of a

knowledgeable teacher, the possibility of gaining absolute freedom, here and now, not

hereafter’.

This involves unfolding the unchanging and free nature of a person by an informed, skilled

teacher who has undergone the discipline of learning Vedänta directly from his or her guru,

and can show this to a mature, inquiring student, willing to learn.

Other Activities of AVC Adult Classes (Vedänta, Bhagavad Gétä & other texts, Sanskrit)

Recordings of classes and discourses

Children’s classes

Gétä Home Study groups

Celebration of special occasions

Annual visits of Swamijis to the Bay Area

Annual trip to the äçrama in Saylorsburg, PA

Annual trip to the äçrama in Rishikesh, India

AVC Website: http://www.arshavidyacenter.org

AVC Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ArshaVidyaCenter

Arsha Vidya Center (AVC)

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Table of Contents

Çänti Päöhaù/Guruvandanam/Gétä Dhyänam ............................................................................... 4

Bhagavad Gétä – Introduction to Chapter 13 .................................................................................... 6

Excerpt from Gétä Home Study Course By Swami Dayananda Saraswati

Bhagavad Gétä – Chapter XIII (Verses 7 to 11) ................................................................................. 8


Bhagavad Gétä Home Study Course ...............................................................................................10


Ecology & Bhagavad Gétä ................................................................................................................12

By Swami Dayananda Saraswati

Remain In Tune With The Harmony of The Universe ..................................................................19


AIM for Seva ......................................................................................................................................20

Swami Viditatmanandaji with Püjya Swami Dayanandaji

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zaiNt paQ> Çänti Päöhaù

` s/h na?vvtu, s/h naE? Éun´u, s/h vI/y¡? krvavhE, te/j/iSvna/vxI?tmSt/u, ma iv?iÖ;a/vhEš.

` ZaaiNt/> ZaaiNt/> ZaaiNt?>.

Oà sa/ha nä?vavatu, sa/ha nau ? bhunaktu, sa /ha vé/ryaà ? karavävahai, te/ja/svinä/vadhé ?tamastu /,

mä vi ?dviñä/vahai š. Oà çänti/ù çänti /ù çänti?ù

May the Lord indeed protect both of us. May He indeed nourish both of us. May we together

acquire the capacity (to study and understand the scriptures). May our study be brilliant.

May we not disagree with each other. Oà peace, peace, peace.

` pU[R/md/> pU[R/imd/< pU[aR/TpU[R/mud/Cyte pU[R/Sy pU[R/mada/y pU[R/mevaviz/:yte,

` za/iNt> za/iNt> za/iNt>.

Oà pürëa/mada/ù pürëa /mida/à pürëä/t pürëa /muda/cyate, pürëa /sya pürëa /mädä/ya pürëa /mevävaçi /ñyate

Oà çä/ntiù çä/ntiù çä/ntiù

That (Brahman) is fullness. This (apparent creation) is fullness. From fullness this full

(apparent creation) comes about. Bringing (out) this full from fullness, fullness alone remains.

Oà peace, peace, peace.

guévNdnm! Guruvandanam

ïuitSm&itpura[anam! Aaly< ké[alym!, nmaim ÉgvTpad< z»r< laekz»rm!. 1.

çrutismåtipuräëänäm älayaà karuëälayam, namämi bhagavatpädaà çaìkaraà lokaçaìkaram

I salute Çaìkarabhagavatpäda, the abode of çruti (Vedas), småti (Gétä, etc.), and puräëas (epics

like Rämäyaëa, Mahäbhärata, etc.), the repository of compassion, the one who bestows

happiness on the world.

z»r< z»racay¡ kezv< badray[m!, sUÇÉa:yk&taE vNde ÉgvNtaE pun> pun>. 2.

çaìkaraà çaìkaräcäryaà keçavaà bädaräyaëam, sütrabhäñyakåtau vande bhagavantau punaù punaù

I salute, again and again, Çaìkaräcärya who is Lord Çiva, and Bädaräyaëa who is Lord Viñëu,

the venerable ones who wrote the aphorisms (Brahmasütras) and the commentaries (bhäñyam

to the Brahmasütras).

$Zvrae guéraTmeit mUitRÉedivÉaigne, Vyaemvd!VyaPtdehay di][amUtRye nm>. 3.

éçvaro gururätmeti mürtibhedavibhägine, vyomavadvyäptadehäya dakñiëämürtaye namaù

Salutations to Lord Dakñiëämürti, who is all-pervasive like space, but who appears (as

though) divided as the Lord, the teacher, and the Self.

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gukarSTvNxkarae vE ékarStiÚvtRk>, ANxkarinraeixTvad! guéirTyiÉxIyte. 4.

gukärastvandhakäro vai rukärastannivartakaù, andhakäranirodhitväd gururityabhidhéyate

The letter ‘gu’ stands for darkness (of ignorance), and ‘ru’ represents its destruction. A guru is

so called because he destroys the darkness (of ignorance).

sdaizvsmarMÉa< z»racayRmXymam! , ASmdacayRpyRNta< vNde guéprMpram!. 5.

sadäçivasamärambhäà çaìkaräcäryamadhyamäm, asmadäcäryaparyantäà vande guruparamparäm

I salute the lineage of teachers, beginning with Çiva, the Lord, (linked by) Çaìkaräcärya in the

middle, and extending down to my own teacher.

gIta Xyanm! Gétä Dhyänam

` pawaRy àitbaeixta< Égvta naray[en Svy< Vyasen ¢iwta< pura[muinna mXyemhaÉartm!,

AÖEtam&tvi;R[I< ÉgvtImòadzaXyaiynIm! AMb TvamnusNdxaim ÉgvÌIte ÉvÖei;[Im!.

oà pärthäya pratibodhitäà bhagavatä näräyaëena svayaà

vyäsena grathitäà puräëamuninä madhye-mahäbhäratam

advaitämåtavarñiëéà bhagavatémañöädaçädhyäyiném

amba tvämanusandadhämi bhagavadgéte bhavadveñiëém

Oà. O Goddess Mother, O Bhagavadgétä, (you who were) taught by Bhagavän Näräyaëa

himself for the sake of Arjuna, the son of Påthä (Kunté), (who was) faithfully collected and

reported by the ancient Sage Vyäsa, (and placed) in the middle of Mahäbhärata, (who is) in

eighteen chapters, who showers the nectar of non-duality, and who is the destroyer of the life

of becoming (saàsärä), again and again I invoke you.

y< äüa vé[eNÔéÔmét> StuNviNt idVyE> StvE-vRRedE> sa¼pd³maepin;dEgaRyiNt y< samga> ,

XyanaviSwttÌten mnsa pZyiNt y< yaeignae ySyaNt< n ivdu> surasurg[a devay tSmE nm>.

yaà brahmä varuëendrarudramarutaù stunvanti divyaiù stavair-

vedaiù säìgapadakramopaniñadairgäyanti yaà sämagäù

dhyänävasthitatadgatena manasä paçyanti yaà yogino

yasyäntaà na viduù suräsuragaëä deväya tasmai namaù

My salutations unto the Lord about whom Brahmä, Varuëa, Indra, Rudra, and the Maruta-

devatäs praise with divine hymns, the one whom the singers of Sämaveda praise by singing

with full complement of the limbs (of singing) in the order of pada and krama and the

Upaniñads, the one whom contemplative people see with minds resolved in him in a state of

meditation, whose nature the celestials and demons do not know.

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Bhagavad Gétä – Introduction to Chapter 13

Excerpt from Gétä Home Study Course by Swami Dayananda Saraswati

The Nature of the Knower and the Known

The tradition looks upon the entire Gétä having its subject matter in the Upaniñad

mahäväkya – “tat tvam asi, you are that”, a statement which contains the whole teaching.

“You” means the person who is addressed, the jéva who wants to be enlightened. “That” is

Éçvara, the Lord, to whom the individual is equated in this statement tat tvam asi.

In the first six chapters, the Gétä çästra unfolds the meaning of “you”, tvam. The first chapter

reveals Arjuna’s sadness. The individual, jéva, is always sad, sometimes acutely, otherwise,

chronically. Chronic sadness is managed through various escape routes like dance, music,

movies, accomplishments, exhibition skills, and so on. But sometimes it becomes acute as it is

for Arjuna. He no longer wants to resort to any mode of escape but wants to address the

problem. Thus, in the second chapter we saw Arjuna discovering in Kåñëa a teacher and

seeking a solution, placing himself at the Lord’s feet as a disciple. And Lord Kåñëa accepted

and began teaching him, not simply advising him. Thus the teaching began. Knowledge of the

real meaning of the word tvam, the pratyagätmä, was unfolded as avinäçé, not subject to

destruction; nitya, eternal; ajam, the one who is unborn; not subject to change, avyayam, who

cannot harm nor be harmed, that is, who is neither subject nor object, (veda avinäçinaà

nityaà ya enam ajam avyayam । kathaà sa puruñäù pärtha kaà ghätayati hanti kam.)

Weapons do not cut him; fire does not burn him (na enaà śastrān i na enaà dahati pāvakah .)

In these various väkyas the nature of the pratyagätmä, which is equated to Éçvara, was

unfolded.

Though they are one, there is a seeming contradiction between the jévä and Éçvara. Éçvara is omniscient, sarvajïa, and the cause of everything, sarva käraëam, whereas the jéva is

alpajïa, of limited knowledge and bound by the various laws, and so on. How are these to be

equated? You have to understand what is meant by the word ‘you’ and therefore Bhagavän

unfolds the pratyagätmä, as the real meaning of the word ‘you’.

In the second chapter Lord Kåñëa presents the means, karmayoga, that will aid in

gaining this knowledge. Then Arjuna expressed a doubt in the third chapter about whether he

should adopt a life of sannyäsa, or continue with karmayoga, both of which are for the jévä.

Then the fourth chapter unfolds the real nature of sannyäsa as the giving up of action

through knowledge, jïänakarmasannyäsa, again revealing that the pratyagätmä is not an

agent of any action, akartä. The one who sees inaction in action and action in inaction is the

http://vedabase.net/s/sastrani

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http://vedabase.net/p/pavakah

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one who has discrimination, who is united (to ”me”) and has done all is to be done, (karmaëi

akarmayaù paçyet akarmaëi ca karma yaù । sa buddimän manuñyeñu sa yuktaù

kåsnakarmakåt. )

In the fifth chapter sannyäsa is further unfolded showing that the pratyagätmä is not a

doer, akartä, or enjoyer, abhoktä. Even seeing, hearing, touching, smelling, eating, going,

sleeping, letting go, grasping, winking, and so on, the knower of the self does not perform any

action, (paśyaï śṛṇvan spṛśaï jighrann aśnan gacchan svapaï śvasan pralapan visṛjan gṛhṇan

unmiṣan nimiṣan api, indriyāṇi indriyārtheṣu vartanta iti dhārayan. naiva kiñcit karomi iti

yukto manyeta tattvavit.) In the sixth chapter contemplation upon the pratyagätmä is advised:

“Having made the mind alive to the self, one should not dwell upon anything else as separate

from the self)” – (ätma – saàasthaà manaù kåtvä na kiïcidapi cinayet ). This again is predom-

inantly tvam padärtha even though the equation is shown. Thus the first six chapters are cen-

tered on the word “you” in the sentence “That you are”.

The whole emphasis changed dramatically even in the initial verses of the seventh

chapter where Bhagavän talks about Éçvara, the meaning of the word “that,” tatpadärtha, as

the cause of the entire world, jagat. In the tenth chapter he talks of the glories, vibhütis of

Éçvara; in the eleventh chapter he shows the cosmic form, of the Lord, viçvarüpa, and the

twelfth chapter Lord Kåñëa talks about üpäsanas. When Éçvara is discussed, the jéva becomes a

devotee. Thus the second group of six chapters, ñaökam deals predominantly with Éçvara.

The third ñaöka, the last six chapters, of Gétä, talk about the identity of the jéva and

Éçvara and the means, upäya, for achieving that identity. Accordingly, certain values and

attitudes are going to be discussed in these chapters. Çaìkaräcärya’s long introduction to the

thirteenth chapter is an indication of the importance of this chapter in Bhagavad Gétä.

àk«it< pué;< cEv ]eÇ< ]eÇ}mev c,

@tt! veidtum! #CDaim }an< }ey< c kezv. BG 13 - 1.

This I wish to know: Keçava (what is) nature and

indeed the person, the field and indeed the knower

of the field, the means of knowledge and what is to

be known?

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Bhagavad Gétä – Chapter XIII (Verses 7 to 11)

- - - (Kñhetra - Kñetrajïa – Vibhäga - Yogaù)

The Nature of the Knower and the Known

śrībhagavānuvāca

1)

॥ ७॥ amānitvamadambhitvamahiṁsā kṣāntirārjavam

ācāryopāsanaṁ śaucaṁ sthairyamātmavinigrahaḥ Verse 7 amānitvam – humility; adambhitvam – absence of hypocrisy; ahiṁsā

– nonviolence; kṣāntiḥ - forgiveness; ārjavam – straightforwardness; - ācārya-upāsanam – service of the teacher; śaucam – cleanliness; sthairyam – steadfastness; - ātma-vinigrahaḥ - self-control

Humility, absence of hypocrisy, nonviolence, forgiveness, straightforwardness, service of

the teacher, cleanliness, steadfastness, self-control… 2) ए

॥ ८॥ indriyārtheṣu vairāgyamanahaṅkāra eva ca

janmamṛtyujarāvyādhiduḥkhadoṣānudarśanam Verse 8

indriyārtheṣu – with reference to sense objects; vairāgyam – dispassion; anahaṅkāraḥ – absence of egotism; ए eva ca – and indeed; - - - - - - janma-mṛtyu-jarā-vyādhi-duḥkha-doṣa-anudarśanam - seeing clearly the evils of

pain in birth, death, old age and disease

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… dispassion with reference to sense objects and indeed absence of egotism and seeing

clearly evils of pain in birth, death, old age and disease …

3)

॥९॥ asaktiranabhiṣvaṅgaḥ putradāragṛhādiṣu

nityaṁ ca samacittatvamiṣṭāniṣṭopapattiṣu Verse 9 asaktiḥ - nonattachment; anabhiṣvaṅgaḥ - absence of excessive affection; - - putra-dāra-gṛhādiṣu – regarding son, wife, house, etc., ; nityaṁ ca – and

always; - sama-cittatvam – evenness of mind; - - iṣṭa-aniṣṭa-upapattiṣu – regarding the gain of desirable and the undesirable

… nonattachment, absence of excessive affection regarding son, wife and house, and always evenness of mind regarding the gain of desirable and undesirable …

4) ॥ १०॥ mayi cānanyayogena bhaktiravyabhicāriṇī

viviktadeśasevitvamaratirjanasaṁsadi Verse 10 mayi ca – and in me; avyabhicāriṇī bhaktiḥ – an unswerving devotion; - ananya-yogena – not connected to anything else; - - vivikta-deśa-

sevitvam – the disposition of repairing to a quiet place; aratiḥ - no longing for; - jana-saṁsadi – in the company of people

… and an unswerving devotion to me that is not connected to any thing else; the

disposition of repairing to a quiet place, no longing for company of people …

5)

ए ॥ ११॥ adhyātmajñānanityatvaṁ tatvajñānārthadarśanam

etajjñānamiti proktamajñānaṁ yadato'nyathā Verse 11

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- - adhyātma-jñāna-nityatvaṁ - steadfastness in the knowledge centered on the

self; - - - tatva-jñāna-artha-darśanam – keeping in view the purpose of the

knowledge of the truth; ए etat jñānam iti – this is knowledge; proktam – told; ajñānam – ignorance; yat anyathā – what is opposite; ataḥ - to this

… steadfastness in the knowledge centered upon the self, keeping in view the purpose of

the knowledge of the truth - (all) this, that was told is the means of knowledge. What is

opposite to this is ignorance.

` . 13 .

om tatsaditi çrémadbhagavadgétäsüpaniñatsu brahmavidyäyäà yogaçästre çrékåñëärjunasaàväde

kṣetrakṣetrajñavibhāgayogo nāma trayodaśo'dhyāyaḥ || 13||

The Bhagavad Gétä Home Study Course Swami Viditatmananda Saraswati

Question: Swamiji, which book would you suggest for the study of the Bhagavad Gétä?

Answer: The best book, of course, is the Bhagavad Gétä Home Study Program by our Püjya

Swamiji. However, it is not concise. It is a very elaborate in-depth study of the Gétä. Swamiji

taught a three-year residential course here in Saylorsburg and conducted classes on various

topics including the Bhagavad Gétä. There are 312 lectures in 312 cassettes on the Bhagavad

Gétä, which was taught along with Çré Saìkaräcärya’s commentary on it. It was this material

that was transcribed, edited, and published as the Bhagavad Gétä Home Study Program. The

reason for bringing it out in this form was that Swamiji wanted even those who did not have

the benefit of attending a full time course to gain the benefit of the study of the Bhagavad Gétä

in the same way. It is called a ‘home study’ in as much as the Gétä can be studied at home.

The Bhagavad Gétä Home Study Program is a very elaborate book of almost 2000

crown-size pages. It is now published in four volumes. If one wants an in-depth study that

would be an appropriate text. If you want a very short text of the Bhagavad Gétä just to get an

overview of it, there is another small book called The Teaching of the Bhagavad Gétä, which is

compiled from Püjya Swamiji’s public talks. Many years ago, in 1978, Püjya Swamiji gave a

series of 19 public evening talks, which were transcribed, edited, and published as a book.

That is a very concise book of about 170 pages. One can study it and get an idea of the overall

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teaching of the Bhagavad Gétä. Other than these, there are a number of other books available. I

would only prescribe these two books because, in our opinion, they are authentic. It is

important that the one who writes a book have clarity regarding the text, the teaching, and its

purport.

What does the Gétä teach us? What is the subject matter or the purpose of the Bhagavad

Gétä? The purpose of the teaching is to help us discover the fact that we are truly limitless.

Thus, the purpose of the teaching is mokña. As a result of the knowledge of the Bhagavad Gétä

one should become free.

My sense of sorrow or unhappiness arises from my thinking that I am a limited being.

Therefore, discovering the fact that I am limitless makes me free. The similarity between the

self and Brahman, knowing which one gains liberation, is the subject matter of the Gétä. What

do we need to do to gain liberation after gaining this knowledge? Nothing; the knowledge is

itself the direct means of liberation. Nothing more need be done. Who is the one qualified to

gain this teaching? One who has an intense desire for this knowledge gains it.

The subject matter of the Bhagavad Gétä is a consistent revealing of the fact that the one

who looks upon oneself as a jéva or a limited individual is, in fact, limitless. Some preparation

of the mind is necessary to be able to see this fact when it is taught. That is called the

purification of the mind. The Bhagavad Gétä presents karma-yoga as a means to self-

purification in preparing for this knowledge. Jïäna-yoga is presented as a means to liberation.

The Bhagavad Gétä is to be studied with clarity regarding its purpose and teaching.

There is great clarity and consistency in Püjya Swamiji’s treatment of the Bhagavad Gétä in

unfolding its teachings, or, for that matter, his treatment of any other Vedäntic text. There will

be no confusion in the mind of the student only if there is clarity and consistency in the

teaching.

A number of new Bhagavad Gétä Home Study Groups in Milpitas,

Fremont, South San Jose, Saratoga/Los Gatos/Cupertino, and

Dublin/Pleasanton/San Ramon have been formed this year. Please

contact Durga Krishnamoorti at [email protected] for details.

Website: http://www.arshavidyacenter.org/ghsx.html

Download Bhagavad Gétä Home Study Course material from:

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/qqwbc66aduacqpq/CcT42w3U3S.

[email protected]%20

http://www.arshavidyacenter.org/ghsx.html

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/qqwbc66aduacqpq/CcT42w3U3S

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Ecology and the Bhagavad Gétä

Swami Dayananda Saraswati

There are people who are highly concerned that humanity is in danger. They warn that

if conditions continue like this, if people don’t care, the ozone hole will become so huge that

people will have a radiation problem. For some, the whole concern is for the life of human

beings and the suffering that they will have in the long run. Therefore, they say that in order to

protect human life, we have to protect the environment, maintain the ecological balance—save

the trees, save the rainforest and create green lungs everywhere.

While we agree with this, the Gétä has a wider perspective that includes all forms of life.

Why don’t all forms of life deserve protection? Why only human life? What is distinct about

human beings and why do we place human worth above that of other creatures? What is the

sanctity of human life? In which way are the lives of other creatures on this planet less sacred

than human life?

In the third chapter, verse 11 of the Gétä, we have:

devaNÉavytanen te deva ÉavyNtu v>, prSpr< ÉavyNt> ïey> prmvaPSyw.3-11॥

devānbhāvayatānena te devā bhāvayantu va । parasparaà bhāvayanta śreya paramaväpsyatha

Propitiate the deities with this (yajïa). May those deities propitiate you. Propitiating one another, you

shall gain the highest good (mokña). (BG 3.11)

The perspective offered by this verse is not even limited to life on this earth—its scope

is cosmic. The Gétä here is talking about an awareness of all the forces. In this vision, the

natural forces of the universe are not separate from Éçvara, the Lord, for the universe is a

manifestation of Éçvara, the Lord. We can look at this Lord from the standpoint of a given

force. As such, any phenomenon, any force, is considered a devatä, a deity. This entire jagat—

the world of names and forms, including natural forces—is a manifestation of the Lord. It is

not that Éçvara at a certain time created the jagat as separate from himself. Although we may

refer to the jagat as a ‘creation’ from the standpoint of the Lord as a conscious, all-knowing

being, this is not ‘creationism’. We may use the word ‘creation’, but we follow it by the word

‘manifestation.’ Why?

In the view of creationism, the creator is separate from his creation. Since the creator

must have a place, where, then, does he reside? If he is a distinct entity, where will he be? He

would have to be located in space. But space itself is a part of the whole space/time creation.

Where was the creator when he created space? The creator cannot be in space and create space,

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http://vedabase.net/b/bhavayantah

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for if he is in space, space has already been created. If he is inside space, who created space? It

is also not possible for him to be outside space, spatially. The Lord cannot be an individual

located outside space, because which is the space that is outside space? Both ‘inside’ and

‘outside’ refer to space. The only real possibility is that space is not separate from the Lord.

Only if we conceive of space/time as absolute is the creationism model feasible. But

modern physics, consistent with the vision of Vedänta, has shown that space/time is not

absolute. It has been proven that space and time are collapsible and that they come to manifest

along with the other things. If that is so, space is more a manifestation of whatever was the

unmanifest cause. ‘Creation’ is the formful aspect of the unmanifest— nothing new has been

‘created’. Space and time and everything in space and time—the whole thing—is a

manifestation of Éçvara. Therefore, space itself cannot be separate from the Lord.

If that is so, then an awareness on the part of human beings that they are not isolated

entities and that the entire jagat is a manifestation of Éçvara, is in order. With this awareness,

we can strike harmony with the world; without or against this awareness, we can constantly

rub against our world. The truth of rubbing is the one who rubs, who creates disharmony, gets

rubbed. You cannot rub against something without getting rubbed in the process. That is the

truth. And we are rubbed all the time, because we keep rubbing against the order of things.

We rub each other and we rub other life forms and matter. And then we say that the world is

inimical to us, and want to save ourselves from the world.

Our foolishness is that we rub and then complain that the world rubs us. “Why me?” is

a common expression. “Why me?” Everybody asks the same thing. Nobody is exempt from

asking, “Why me?” “Why me?” In everybody’s life, there are innumerable occasions to ask,

“Why me?” In the morning getting up you may ask, “Why me?” Although you may use

different words, the equivalent forms are constantly being murmured. This is due to not being

in harmony with what is. In order to be in harmony with the world, you have to change the

whole picture. You must have a bigger picture. Without a bigger picture, small things become

big things. With a bigger picture, small things become smaller. The bigger the picture is, the

smaller is your problem. The big picture really resolves problems, and Vedänta gives you the

biggest picture possible. In this discussion, however, I am not talking of the biggest picture—

just a bigger picture. The amazing fact is that even the bigger picture is enough to free you

from a lot of rubbing.

The Gétä says that your awareness should not fall short of covering, of recognizing,

Éçvara as the force because of which all life forms and matter are possible. The reverence for

forms is a very, very important thing. Unfortunately, in many theologies, this reverence has

been destroyed. Some theologies prohibited worship of any form made of hands or by nature,

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and located God somewhere far away from us. It was assumed that by doing so, they were

updating tribal religion. In fact, in the process, theologies have lost their reverence for forms.

Such reverence, as expressed in the Gétä and other works, is an essential part of Hindu

culture. When, as a child, I kicked the ground, my mother would say, “Hey, don’t kick the

ground. That is mother earth.” “What mother earth? It’s dirt”, I said. “No! It’s mother earth,

påthivé mätä.” Then I would think, “Oh, this is mother, mätä.”

I come from an agricultural family. During a particular month, the water would flow in

the river and the agricultural operation would begin. The first thing was to sow the seeds, the

paddy seeds. Then, after a few days or a month, they would remove the seedlings and

transplant them in the fields. This operation was done by all the villages. Before sowing,

although each villager would sow on his own piece of land, all the villagers would come and

do püjä to a piece of land that belonged to the temple. They would do püjä to the earth. Seeing

this as children, we naturally developed a reverence for the earth. That shows a concern not

for my life alone—but for the one that bears the life. Mother earth is not just something inert.

Inert is a point of view. For instance, when you dream, you dream mountains and you

dream mountain lions. In the dream, the mountain lions are sentient and the mountains are

inert. But you, the dreamer, are not inert, and the dream universe is nothing but you. It is you

who are the dream characters and scenery. You are the creator and you are the manifestation

of the dream world. So when the dream character thinks that the dream mountain is inert, it’s

purely a point of view. You may say one—the dream mountain—is insentient, and the other—

the dream mountain lion—is sentient. But really, both of them are not separate from you—the

sentient you who is dreaming. It is the same with Éçvara, the Lord. Everything we see in

‘creation’—other beings, as well as what we consider ‘inert’ material—is not separate from the

Lord. That is why we don’t take mother earth for granted. The same is true for the other

natural elements. Water is called Varuëa. The air that you breathe in is Väyu. Tvam eva

pratyakñaà brahmäsi. “You alone are the perceptible Brahman.” In fact, we don’t even need a

form to evoke reverence. Väyu, Air, is enough for us. Space is enough. Time is also revered by

us.

Time is generally the one that people are afraid of, except when it is Fourth of July and

you have a holiday. Otherwise, time is the one that frightens everyone. That is because time

levels everybody. It is just with you, silent—a silent assassin. A silent destroyer, it changes the

hair of all—the black haired-one, the blonde-haired one—into what we call gray. That, of

course, is assuming that any hair is still there! Time is ubiquitous. It doesn’t spare anybody or

anything. Empires crumble in its wake. But for Hindus, time is an object of worship. Is there

another culture where death itself can be considered God? Death is not an ordinary thing.

Hindus worship Måtyu—Dharmaräja. So that we have no fear of death, we worship. Suppose

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you see Mr. Death coming? You have to acknowledge him with reverence, you do namaste. He

may even spare you for some time, because he has to reciprocate your namaste. Because death

is considered a natural part of the whole process, the fear of death goes away.

Similarly, every phenomenon, every force that is here, from the standpoint of Éçvara, the

Lord, is not inert because it is a manifestation of that Lord. The awareness of forms being not

separate from Éçvara makes you aware of your environment cosmically. Our environment

doesn’t stop with the atmosphere. The ‘environment’ has an extending radius. To begin with,

the environment is your neighborhood. Then, extend that to the county, the state, the country,

the continent, the globe, the system, the galaxy and the universe—that’s our environment. It is

not an ordinary one, really. It’s an amazing one, having so much to offer in terms of your own

intellectual adventure—so much to offer. We make inroads into Éçvara’s mind when we

explore and understand a particular subject matter. Therefore, we don’t consider any

knowledge to be secular. It is all Éçvara’s knowledge.

To be in harmony with the environment, the Gétä tells us to simply do what we have

got to do every day, with a certain awareness. Let all the devatäs, the deities, do their jobs. Let

the sun shine. Let the air blow, and let it not get stuck in one place. Väti iti väyuù, “Air is that

which moves.” We need all the natural forces. Let every one of them function. In fact, we don’t

call them ‘forces’; we call them devatäs, because we are not referring to some merely material

force. ‘Force’ is Éçvara, the Lord, a singular noun that means all the forces together. All the

forces are one force. Otherwise, they would be in conflict with one another. They form one

singular force, which we call çakti. In Star Wars we heard, “May the Force be with you.” May

çakti be with you, the çakti of the Lord. That’s the force.

If I am aware of the bigger picture, how can I ever do anything inimical to this planet

and to any life form that is here? How can I eat an animal? It is very difficult. How can I harm

anybody? How can I harm anything—even the minerals? In other words, how can I abuse

them? I can use them, because we are all mutually dependent. I contribute, I consume. I am

not merely a consumer—I am a contributor, too.

Sometimes the contribution is to create what I had to destroy. For instance, I am told in

our Dharma Çästra that if you must cut a tree, then you should plant some also. It is not an

easy thing for a tree to grow to full height. It may take twenty years or thirty years—then in a

few moments it is cut down. The tree has survived storms, cyclones, and more. When it was a

small plant, in order to grow it had to survive the stray goat, the hungry cow, and the idiotic

human being. Once it finally became a tree, someone may have cut it down with a chain saw.

In earlier times, using a handsaw, it took some time to finish cutting down the tree. In the

process, the person may wonder, “Should I cut this tree?” He may discover, “No, I should not”

and go away. These days, however, it takes only a few minutes to fell a tree. So one does not

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have the time to reflect upon and change the action. If it is a whole day’s work, then you may

be able to change your mind. Even if during one hour you don’t change, at least there is the

possibility that in next hour you may, so that not much damage is done to that huge tree. Still

it will survive. It may have survived twenty-five years to become this big tree. Some trees have

even taken a hundred years, two hundred years, to grow. The coastal redwood trees in

California have survived five hundred years or even a thousand years or more. Still the trees

are there. And you go and cut them? It is an idiotic thing to do. But people do that. Sometimes

you have to cut a tree. The Dharma Çästra tells me that when I cut a tree, it is a päpa, a wrong

action that has undesirable consequences. Therefore, it tells me I should plant ten trees

somewhere. Sometimes you fell a tree because you want timber. Or, it is in a wrong place,

according to you, because you have decided to put a house there. In fact, it is in the right place.

It is standing there, poor thing, never knowing that you would come there. Had it known, it

would have grown somewhere else. But the tree, unfortunately, cannot walk around. It is

supposed to be so. If the trees and plants were to walk around, you couldn’t get your salad

because when you went to pick the vegetables, they would all run away. You would find the

spinach running away, all the mango trees running away. Already we have traffic problems.

That’s why they are sthävara, stationary. They have to be what they are. They have to provide

you with food.

All food is vegetarian. You can have a non-vegetarian meal, but food is basically

vegetarian. When I say that you can have a non-vegetarian meal, I am not giving a sanction for

that. I don’t want to disturb you, that’s all. You can have a non-vegetarian meal but food is

vegetarian, because if you eat a goat, a cow, or any animal, it has to first find food to give you

food. To give itself as food, it has to find food. Where does it find food? In the same plants and

trees alone. Oñadhibhyaù annam, “From the plants comes food.” Therefore, food is vegetarian.

You can have a non-vegetarian meal by making that cow eat the grass—the vegetarian food—

and then eating the cow. That is not environmentally healthy, really. Eating the cow is neither

healthy for you nor is it environmentally healthy. In fact, I would say it is wrong. It is wrong in

the sense that I can live without eating the cow. When I can live without it, why disturb the

cow? That is why the cow has been given four legs and the trees are not given legs—they are

sthävara, stationary. My food is outside, and it is vegetarian. “What is eaten is food,” adyate iti

annam and “Food is from the plant kingdom,” oñadhibhyaù annam. I’m sorry, but that is the

truth. All the proteins, all the carbohydrates, have to come from vegetarian food. So, although

you can have a non-vegetarian meal, all food is vegetarian because there is no other source. On

this planet there is only one source of food, and that is vegetarian.

When I cut a tree, I have to plant ten trees. Thereby, I protect. I am asked to do that by

the çästra. Otherwise, it’s a päpa. There is also awareness, not only of the life forms, but even

of the so-called ‘inert’ matter, such as minerals, that are here. All of these are not to be taken

for granted. They are here; I am here. I am a consumer; I also contribute to their welfare. Even

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an acknowledgment of the devatäs is expected of me. It’s not that the devatäs won’t function

without that reverence, but my awareness of their contribution makes the environment, the

cosmic environment, different. That is so because I am not totally programmed. I am a person,

endowed with choice. And I have to exercise my choice; I have no choice in exercising my

choice. What choice do I have to not exercise my choice? I have no choice. Because I can

choose, I have to be aware of the whole cosmic environment, and choose to do what is

required in a given situation. You do what is proper, what is the least hurtful. When you must

hurt, you do the least hurtful thing. And be aware of the forces, letting those forces, those

devatäs —Éçvara—bless you. You are aware of them, and you invoke their grace.

By being reverentially aware of all the life forms and minerals that are here, you can

deal with the more topical environmental problems. This ‘cosmic awareness’ precludes your

destroying anything. We protect as well as we can. And the forces will protect us. That’s how

it is. You have to protect what is to be protected. What is to protect you, you should protect.

You can’t lose that. If you have armor, you should maintain it properly. When you are fighting

with bows and arrows, your armor can’t be full of holes. If you are a right-handed tennis

player at Wimbledon, you have to protect your right hand properly because it blesses you. The

whole thing is in your hand—all the monies you’ve earned are all in one hand. If you are a

right-hander, it is only in one hand. If you are a double-hander, it is in two hands. And so, you

have to protect those hands properly. The whole cosmos is an environment that protects us.

We are beholden to protect it. And that environment also includes fellow human beings.

That’s why the goal of environmentalism cannot be merely to protect human beings as

an end in itself. It is not sound to simply try to protect human beings while justifying their

destruction of the other life forms and matter, on the basis that humans are a more complex

life form. I don’t find that human life is more sacred than the life of a bird or a worm—that is

also life. If you argue that it is only a simple form of life, I say that a simple life form is more

sacred because it is in harmony with its environment. It is this complex life form that is a

problem. A simple life form at least does not go about destroying everything else. Its behavior

is programmed.

The more complex the life form is, the more aware you have to be. As a human, you are

a self-aware being; that is your distinction. Naturally, you have to be aware of everything else.

If you are aware of everything else, then I would say human life is really something special.

For unlike the cow, you have been given a tremendous freedom—the special capacity to

choose your actions based on your awareness. This freedom stems from the very self that you

are conscious of. It comes from there, because that self you are aware of is the plus you have.

In that plus is your freedom. Although the self is there for a cow, too, it doesn’t seem to be

totally aware of the self. If it were, it would have complexes like you have. This self that I am

aware of gives me a freedom to choose to do or not to do.

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You can choose to have a couple of months out of the year to hunt deer. For two

months, during ‘deer hunting season’, you are free to hunt the deer. Why not also give the

deer a chance to hunt you? Suppose the deer population decided, “Human beings are too

numerous these days, and that is not good for us. I think for two months we will hunt them.”

Then we are in the same boat. Then it’s fair, a free-for-all—survival of the fittest. I don’t agree

with the justification that, “Swamiji, at this rate, the deer population will increase.” Let them

increase. Why do you bother about that? Let them take care of it. We take on responsibilities

that we are not supposed to assume. It is like someone losing sleep, worrying, “What should I

do to make the sun rise in the morning?” If he considers this to be his problem, what can you

do? We carry too many things that we need not. It is like a lady on the early morning train,

which is empty, who is carrying a big basket of vegetables on her head. When she was asked,

“Why are you carrying that on your head? Why don’t you put it down?” she replied, “I don’t

want to load down the train.” We have too many loads like this. Think about all the loads you

believe you are carrying, which you are not really carrying, which, in fact, somebody else is

carrying. Yet we worry about what will happen tomorrow if we don’t carry these loads. What

will happen tomorrow? Exactly what happened yesterday. Tomorrow the sun will rise. You

are worried about the weather, so you check the forecast—what will the temperature be

tomorrow? All right, now that you know the temperature, what are you going to do? Are you

going to change it? If the forecast says that tomorrow will be 98 degrees, from now on, you

worry about how hot it is going to be.

We create problems. We are funny people, really. We say we are evolutes of monkeys,

but you should talk to the monkeys. I can imagine a conversation with a monkey, “You know,

human beings are evolutes of you fellows.” The monkey said, “What?!! They are evolutes? If

that is the case, we don’t want to evolve!” What kind of evolutes are we? If you have a bigger

picture, however, then you can enjoy what the monkeys cannot. Otherwise, monkeys are

better off. They don’t destroy the environment as we do. If we leave them alone, they just fall

into their slots in the scheme of things. Every snail, every oyster, falls into its own slot. It

doesn’t really transgress it, but rather, does exactly what is expected of it. We have to learn

that so that we don’t rub against our environment and so that we avoid getting rubbed. That is

real ecology.

.

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Remain in Tune with the Harmony of the Universe

Swami Viditatmananda Saraswati

Universe is a marvelous creation. There is a certain order and harmony about it. It

reminds us of an orchestra playing a harmonious melody. This orchestra of the universe has

sentient and insentient objects as performers playing their unique instruments. God is the

master conductor of this orchestra directing all the performers to remain in tune and rhythm

with the harmony of the universe.

Besides the elements of nature such as sun, moon, stars, air, fire, water, earth, trees, and

sentient beings such as animals, birds, insects etc, human being is also one of the performers in

the orchestra of the universe. In fact, he is one of the most blessed performers in as much as it

is only he who has been endowed with the free will to play his instrument as he wishes.

Freedom can be a great blessing if employed with discretion but it can also prove to be

a curse if abused. Therefore there is the need to instruct or guide the human being to remain

in concord with the prevailing harmony.

Lord Kåñëa says in the Bhagavad Gétä that the universe is sustained by yajïa. Any

selfless action or action imbued with spirit of reaching out is what is meant by the word yajïa.

Lord Kåñëa says it is this spirit of offering or yajïa which harmoniously moves the cosmic

wheel. Sun offers itself to form clouds, clouds offer themselves to form rains, rains offer

themselves and grow as food. In this manner, all the members of the universe offer themselves

at the altar of the macrocosm and thereby help move the cosmic wheel.

Human being is also a cog in the wheel and therefore, he is expected to do his part. He

is indebted to each and every member of the universe such as elements, trees, animals, sages,

parents, teachers, ancestors, scientists etc; for what he is today. Lord Kåñëa says in the

Bhagavad Gétä that one who enjoys the favors from the universe but does not return is a thief.

By adopting selfish and violent attitude he may profit externally but by rubbing against the

order of the universe he winds up with conflicts and turmoil within.

It is therefore becoming of a human being to return the favor with a sense of gratitude.

How should he do that?

Everybody is assigned a certain role in life. May that role be performed to the best of

one’s ability, not for a personal gain but for the well-being of the macrocosm. All the duties

and actions that one has to perform may be looked upon as an opportunity to serve the

universe. Thus, when the spirit of offering, the spirit of contributing permeates the life of the

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individual he has struck the fine chord of harmony playing in the universe.

The result is that he is at peace with himself. The spirit of offering, the attitude of

serving or reaching out is such a catalyst that it purifies his heart of selfishness, greed,

aggression, violence, usurpation and other such self-centered tendencies and makes it pure

and divine. Purged of these discordant tendencies he is free from anxieties and conflicts. It is

this free mind that experiences happiness. He is no more dependent on external paraphernalia

to make him happy.

In nutshell, selfishness is equal to unhappiness and selflessness and reaching out is

equal to happiness and peace.

Besides gaining composure, living in harmony with the universe is being one with God

for, Vedas reveal that the spirit of offering itself is Lord Viñëu meaning, the immanent. Let us

by offering ourselves at the service of the universe merge ourselves in God and fulfill the goal

of our life.

Regarded as one of the most profound thinkers of our time, Swami Dayananda Saraswati is a

world-renowned spiritual leader and an authority on Vedanta. AIM for Seva

was born out of his vision to bring value-based education and health care to

the least privileged sections of society. He is also the founder-chairman of the

Swami Dayananda Educational Trust (SDET), which aims to bring high quality

education to rural India, starting with his birthplace, Manjakkudi, in Tamil

Nadu. Know more about Swamiji, his teachings and programs from

http://www.swamidayananda.org.

Swami Dayananda Saraswati (Founder-Chairman)

You came into the world, you left the world.

In between you make the world look brighter, cleaner and richer.

-Swamiji

http://www.sdet.in/

http://www.swamidayananda.org/

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The All India Movement (AIM) for Seva educates and empowers lesser privileged

children across 15 states of rural India through a unique concept of Free Student Homes (FSH),

enabling access to value education.

Our story began with a deep understanding of rural India's problems: be it the commute to

schools, domestic pressure or lack of extra-curricular activities in education. We thus proposed

a solution that has now brought the school to the child's doorstep: providing access, enhancing

the quality of education, providing life skills and an environment that's conducive to learning:

AIM for Seva Free Student Homes (FSH). An FSH is an activity center, a classroom and a

learning institute, all rolled into one.

Our Vision

To transform society through a network of seva, of caring, to help each child to contribute to

the progress of the nation.

Our Mission

To reach education to every child across the nation through the concept of a Free Student

Home.

Website: http://www.aimforseva.org

http://www.aimforseva.org/

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Concept & Production Cleveland Cultural Alliance

An exiled man, pining for his wife, calls upon a passing cloud to carry his message of love. Cleveland Cultural Alliance brings to stage this sublime classic by the celebrated fifth century Sanskrit

poet Kälidäsa, in the form of an operatic ballet. http://www.dancecca.com/meghadootam

An All India Movement for Seva Benefit Program Educating rural India through Free Student Homes

An Operatic Ballet Extraordinaire Kälidäsa’s

MEGHAD ÜTAM The Cloud Messenger

Music Director: Oscar-nominated artist Smt. Bombay Jayashri Ramnath

Script Adaption & Choreography: Shijith Nambiar & Parvathy Menon

Saturday, August 23 at 7 PM Chabot College Performing Arts Center

25555 Hesperian Blvd Hayward, CA 94545

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or visit our website http://www.aimforsevabayarea.org AIM for SEVA

All India Movement

http://www.dancecca.com/meghadootam

http://www.aimforsevabayarea.org/

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Swami Viditatmananda Saraswati Çré Swami Viditatmananda Saraswati, a disciple of Püjya

Swami Dayananda Saraswati, is an outstanding teacher of

Vedänta. He expounds Vedänta with a simplicity and directness

that make it easy to assimilate. Having studied and worked in the

United States prior to becoming a sannyäsi, Swami

Viditatmananda is familiar with the lifestyles of India as well as

the West. With this insight, he reaches out to students across

both cultures with equal ease.

Swamiji is traditional in his teaching and preserves the

entirety of the age-old wisdom of the Upaniñads. He takes a

contemporary approach in his lectures, which enables the

student to relate to his teaching and imbibe this knowledge

without effort. Swami Viditatmananda is the resident äcärya at

Tattvatértha, which is situated in the western outskirts of

Ahmadabad in Gujarat. As the name suggests, it is a center for

learning the tattva, or truth, as revealed in the Upaniñads and

the Bhagavad Gétä. Apart from English, Swamiji teaches and

writes in Gujarati as well. He also conducts management

seminars with a view to illustrate the relevance of Vedänta in

modern management. Swamiji visits the Arsha Vidya

Gurukulam at Saylorsburg, PA every year, to conduct Vedänta

classes and camps from spring through summer. During this

time, he also travels all over the US and Canada delivering

lectures.

Swamiji is an ideal guru, who imparts the core wisdom

of the scriptures and explains each point in detail until he is

sure that each person in front of him has understood. The depth

of Swamiji’s wisdom, compassion, and kindness brings great

joy to his disciples and to all who come in contact with him.

gukarSTvNxkarae vE ékarStiÚvtRk>, ANxkarinraeixTvad! guéirTyiÉxIyte .

The letter ‘gu’ stands for darkness (of ignorance), and ‘ru’ represents its destruction.

A guru is so called because he destroys the darkness (of ignorance).

essential verses of bhagavad gétä chapter 13

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