Bhagwan Shri Krishna Loves You 0611202018.23

|| जय श्री कृष्ण ||

॥ श्रीमद्‍भगवद्‍गीता ॥ 18.23॥

_नियतं सङ्‍गरहितमरागद्वेषतः कृतम।_

_अफलप्रेप्सुना कर्म यत्तत्सात्त्विकमुच्यते॥_

भावार्थ :

जो कर्म शास्त्रविधि से नियत किया हुआ और कर्तापन के अभिमान से रहित हो तथा फल न चाहने वाले पुरुष द्वारा बिना राग-द्वेष के किया गया हो- वह सात्त्विक कहा जाता है ॥२३॥

Meaning:

That action prescribed by scripture which is performed without attachment, without like or dislike, by one without hankering for reward, that is said to be saattvic.

Explanation:

We came across three types of knowledge or world-view in the prior three shlokas. Now we come to the topic of the karma, the action itself. Knowledge is the main instigator of any action. So if the knowledge is saattvic, the action will be saattvic and so on. A simple way to differentiate between the three types of knowledge is the gauge the severity of the likes and dislikes, the raaga and dvesha, that the knowledge creates. When we only see unity and harmony, without any likes or dislikes, that is saattvic knowledge. When we have strong likes or dislikes for this object or that person or that situation, it is raajasic knowledge. When we have a extreme or perverted like or dislike, it is taamasic knowledge.

 

Imagine that you are a guest at a friend’s house. A group of young children are playing a game of monopoly that they ask you to join. Some children want you to win, since you are in their team. The other team wants you to lose. At the conclusion of the game, you end up losing all your monopoly money. But you do not harbour any feelings of resentment or anger towards the children. Why does this happen? You have no attachment to the monopoly game, the money or property that you have acquired, since you know that it is not real.

 

Shri Krishna says that any action performed without attachment, without like or dislike towards any part or character in the action, without hankering for the reward of the action, such an action is a sattvic action. In other words, while commencing the action, our intent and our state of mind is saattvic. We will only be able to perform such an action if we have reduced our likes and dislikes towards material objects to a great extent. This happens only if we see the world as illusory and ephemeral, either through seeing everything as Ishvara’s Prakriti or through meditation upon the hollowness of Maaya.

Chant The mantra you have faith in 

Bhagwan Shri Krishna Loves You 06112020

|| जय श्री कृष्ण ||

॥ श्रीमद्‍भगवद्‍गीता ॥ 18.22॥

_यत्तु कृत्स्नवदेकस्मिन्कार्ये सक्तमहैतुकम्‌।_

_अतत्त्वार्थवदल्पंच तत्तामसमुदाहृतम्॥_

भावार्थ :

परन्तु जो ज्ञान एक कार्यरूप शरीर में ही सम्पूर्ण के सदृश आसक्त है तथा जो बिना युक्तिवाला, तात्त्विक अर्थ से रहित और तुच्छ है- वह तामस कहा गया है ॥२२॥

Meaning:

But, that by which one clings to a single object as if it were everything, without logic, unconcerned with truth and trivial, that is called taamasic.

Explanation:

A teenager will not eat food unless her parents agree to let her go to a late night party. A businessman is so keen on protecting his profits that he will stop to physically harming his competitors. A politician is so keen on lining his pockets that he will sell state secrets to the enemy. A hospital will order unnecessary and even potentially harmful tests on its patients in order to increase its bottom line. We read such stories everyday in the newspapers. Unfortunately, they are all too common these days.

 

There is a common theme in all these stories. A person is holding onto something trivial and giving it so much importance that they will stop at nothing to get it. The logic used to justify such actions is perverted. Such people have an extremely narrow vision, and are not at all concerned with any the bigger picture. Shri Krishna says that a worldview, a knowledge that displays such characteristics is considered taamasic. He hesitates to even use the word knowledge here, using a pronoun instead.

 

Let us compare the types of knowledge we have seen so far. A saattvic knowledge reports that there is one eternal essence, one aatmaa, one self in all. Raajasic knowledge reports that there is a different self in each body. Taamasic knowledge reports that the body itself is the aatmaa. Furthermore, anything is justified for ensuring the integrity of the body, including causing physical harm to others. Such people will never accept any other viewpoint, and hold on to their perverted viewpoint ceaselessly.

Chant The mantra you have faith in