Getting to the right mindset- Gita Dhyana - Meditation on Gita
Till now in the previous posts here, we covered the three prerequisite concepts for our study namely, Yoga, Karma and Dharma. Now we start with a traditional prayer to Bhagavad Gita - the text itself.
These chants are attributed to Swami Madhusudhana Saraswati, and not part of the original work. But the greatness of this poetry and the similes used are in no way less than the original work itself.
Below I will give a English translation of the nine meditative verses along with a simple commentary interlaced between them.
1. O mother Bhagavad Gita ! you were taught by Narayana, the Lord himself, to the son of Kunti- Arjuna, The great seer Vyasa composed you as eighteen chapters amidst the great epic Mahabharata, we meditate upon thee.
This verse stands as the context to Bhagavad Gita. It conveys that Bhagavad Gita is placed in the central chapters of Vyasa's great epic Mahabharata and its given by Krishna to disillusion Arjuna - who is one of five Pandavas
2. O Vyasa, The One with wide range of wisdom, The one who has eyes akin to a lotus petal, we Salute you - For you have lit this light of self knowledge, in the oil of your epic called Mahabharata
3. O Krishna, The one like the wish bestowing tree of heaven- the Paarijatha, With the gyana mudra, the symbol of wisdom in one hand and the whip in another, you are the milker of this great wisdom of Bhagavad Gita- we Salute thee.
Next two verses salutes Krishna and Vyasa with beautiful allegories.
4. All Upanishads are like Cows, O Krishna , you are the cow herd, Arjuna is the Calf, you bestowed the milk that is Gita for us seekers to drink.
Here the greatness of Gita is conveyed. It is like a milk to earnest seekers. It is not something that's invented but its the essence of all Upanishads, which are part of Vedas- the Hindu book of knowledge.
5. I Salute you, the son of Vasudeva, The killer of daemons like Kamsa and Chanura. For- You the son of Devaki is the teacher of the world - The Jagat Guru.
This verse again offer obeisance to Lord Krishna
6. The Mahabharata war, between Pandavas and Kauravas is like a rana Nathi, a gushing river, which had Bhisma and Drona as the banks, Jayatradha as the water, Sakuni, the king of Ganthara as blue lilies in the water. Salya was like a crocodile, Kripa its current, Karna is like a huge wave. Asvattama and Vikarna are like huge Sharks and Duryodhana, the Kuru Prince is the whirpool. O Kesava, don't the Pandavas Cross this dangerous river only because you are their helmsman?
Here the entire setting of the Mahabharata war is allegorically expressed, the war itself is like a river full of dangers like whirlpools and sharks. The Pandavas were only victorious because they had Krishna at their helm. The import is any number of skill or riches can't lead to victory unless we bestow the helmsmanship to God.
Well, Pandavas needed Krishna to cross the dangerous war river, how is it useful to us? The next verse answers:
7. May the lotus of Mahabharata, which is standing in the waters of the words of maharishi Vyasa, who is the son of Parasara. Which contains many stories as its pollens, which contains the sweet fragrance of Bhagavad Gita, which is fully flowered by Hari the Lord, Your honey is drunk joyously by the seekers who want to avoid the dangers of the age of Kali- where Dharma is deteriorated
How can I be sure of deliverance? well, :
8. O The bestower of eternal bliss -O Madhava , your grace can make a dumb eloquent, a cripple scale a mountain, (meaning- can't it deliver me from my sorrows?), I Salute Thee.
So, I salute you who id revered by the Gods themselves as such:
9. Greetings to that One whom Brahma, Indra, Varuna, Rudra, and the Maruths extol with sacred hymns, whom the Sama-chanters glorify through the Vedas and their Angas (using the Pada and Krama methods), and whom the Upanishads also praise; the deity whom the Yogis perceive with their minds completely absorbed in meditation, and whose ultimate nature remains unknown to both the celestial beings and the demons.
---Om Tat Sat---
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