Bhagavad Gita

[madanmohandas]

The yogin with his mind thus pacified,
And with supreme bliss highly gratified,
Undisturbed by passion through discipline,
Attains to Brahman, purified of sin. 27

The yogin thus self disciplined will be,
Free from the stain of all iniquity,
And touched by transcendental happiness,
In supreme joy revels and endless bliss. 28

All beings in the self, whoever sees,
And the self dwelling in all entities;
Who thus behold all with an equal view,
He is a yogin, well attuned and true. 29

Whoever so perceives me everywhere,
Also observes all things in me inhere;
To him I cannot ever cease to be,
Nor can that one be ever lost to me. 30

The yogin thus who worships me always,
Who all with singular vision surveys;
Who sees how all things within me abide,
That yogin does always in me reside. 31

Who sees, as with himself, in others too,
Everywhere with an equanimous view;
Their joys and pleasures are with his the same,
Is worthy of a perfect yogin's name. 32

Arjuna said;
This yoga, Madhusudan, you now teach,
Of equanimity, in your fair speech.
How I might practise this I do not see,
Because of mental instability. 33
The mind, O Krishna, is a restless thing,
Obstinate, strong, and always wavering,
To curb its impetuousness I find,
Harder than to contain the wayward wind. 34

The Blessed Lord said;
O mighty armed, the mind is certainly
Hard to subdue, O dear son of Kunti,
But by right practice the mind can be tamed,
And by habit of dispassion restrained. 35

But he to yoga struggles to attain,
Who does not his mind and senses restrain,
Yet he who strives by means appropriate,
And self controlled, achieves the blissful state. 36

[madanmohandas]

Well, here concludes Canto VI

Arjuna said;
Who has faith, but whose mind is turned away
From yoga practices, has he no stay?
Who perfect in yoga has failed to be,
O Krishna, what will be his destiny? 37
And having failed in both, is he deprived
Of the good that from practice is derived,
O mighty armed, like a cloud blown away,
And from the path of Brahman led astray? 38
May you, O Krishna, graciously dispel,
This doubt that does within my bosom dwell,
For none other than you, O Lord divine,
Can dissipate this gnawing doubt of mine. 39
The Blessed Lord said;
In this life or the next, O Pritha's son,
He suffers neither loss nor destruction,
He never to an evil fate proceeds,
Who has performed auspicious pious deeds. 40
The yogin who had failed to perfect be,
Attains realms of pious felicity,
And dwelling there for a protracted span,
Is born again into a noble clan. 41
Or haply he may take again his birth
In a family of yogins on earth,
A birth like this, however, I declare,
Here in this world is exceedingly rare. 42
And there when such a birth again he takes,
His previous intellection awakes;
And then, O Kuru's joy, he strives amain,
For that perfecton which he sought to gain. 43
By that same former habit he is led,
And involuntarily attracted;
And by eager inquiry he knows,
The word of Brahman, and to Brahman goes. 44
The yogin thus engaged assiduously,
Is utterly cleansed of impurity;
Perfection gains when many births have passed,
And reaches the transcendent state at last. 45
The yogin has achieved a greater height,
Than the man of wisdom and anchorite,
And excels the man of activity,
Therefore, O Arjuna , a yogin be. 46
Among all these yogins he far excels,
Whose dedicated soul upon me dwells;
Who in worship of me with faith is blest,
I ween he is the most attuned and best. 47
Om, yea That Truth,
In the Srimad Bhagavad Gita,
The beautiful Upanishad of wisdom,
Consisting of the knowledge of Brahman,
The Yoga scripture,
Forming a dialogue between Krishna and Arjuna,
This was the sixth Canto,
Entitled
The Yoga of Meditation.

[madanmohandas]

Hail to Shri Krishna!
Gita VII, 1-10

The Blessed Lord said;
Attached to me, O Partha, in your mind,
And to the practice of yoga resigned,
Without a doubt, and comprehensively,
This learn in full, and hear of it from me. 1

I shall of knowledge and wisdom declare,
In general and in particular;
And knowing this, as you may well discern,
There is nothing in this further to learn. 2

Out of thousands of men, haply may one,
Sincerely strive to attain perfection;
But even one who may perfected be,
Hardly can have a true knowledge of me. 3

The earth, the water, fire, sky and wind,
The intellect, the ego-sense and mind;
These are the distinctive elements eight,
Of which consists my nature separate. 4

These constitute my lower nature, know
As superior, O mighty armed hero,
The very life, integral with the whole,
Subsisting in the world as living soul. 5

From these two sources, when combined, there springs
The great elements and all living things,
From me indeed the universe evolves,
And into me, by my power dissolves. 6

There is nothing higher in dignity,
O winner of wealth, or greater than me,
Upon me all this world is garlanded,
As precious gems are strung upon a thread. 7

I am in water taste, O Kunti's son,
I am the radiance of moon and sun,
In all the Vedas, pranava I am,
Sound in the sky, and manliness in man. 8

In earth I am the holy fragrance rare,
I am of the fire the heat and glare,
I am the life in every entity,
And of ascetics strict austerity. 9

O Partha, you should know, I am indeed,
In all beings the perennial seed,
The intellect of the wise, also know,
The splendour I of who with splendour glow. 10

[madanmohandas]

Continuing with Canto VII of the Gita, slokas 11-14

The puissance of the puissant, void of ire,
Forsaking all passion and all desire;
O Bharat's prince, in every entity,
I am love, not opposed to piety. 11

Indeed by me all natures are sustained,
Be they pure, mixed, or with ignorance stained,
They spring from me and in me they exist,
Not I in them, since I alone subsist. 12

Infatuated by these gunas three,
All this world remains ignorant of me,
My supreme state they fail to comprehend,
Immutable, who the gunas transcend. 13

This nature of three attributes of mine,
Is difficult to o'ercome, and divine;
But whoso themselves to me dedicate,
Can cross beyond this illusory state. 14

[madanmohandas]

Gita, VII, 15-17

The wicked, the base, and the idiot,
And those who are ungodly seek me not;
Robbed of knowledge, my power does delude,
Those who have a demonic attitude. 15

There are four types of men who me adore,
The pious, Arjuna, who grace implore;
The grief stricken, who knowledge seek, or gain,
And the wise, Bharat's prince. I thus maintain, 16

The wise with singular devotion blest,
Always attuned, is of all these the best;
The wise deem me most dear exceedingly,
And they, the wise, are as dear unto me. 17

[madanmohandas]

All these as pious souls are to be seen,
But the wise even as myself, I ween;
For he is steadfast and attuned with me,
And proceeds to the highest destiny. 18

When many births in this world he has passed,
The wise attain to my shelter at last;
Sees Vaasudev as all, and every where;
Indeed such a great soul is very rare. 19

[madanmohandas]

But whose wisdom has been lost thro' desire,
Will to the worship of the gods aspire,
With varied rites, observances, and forms,
To which their inherent nature conforms. 20

Whichever of the gods a devotee
Worships, with his hopes in conformity,
With firm and steadfast faith, yet you should know,
It is myself who that faith does bestow. 21

With faith such as this on him thus bestowed,
He seeks the worship of his chosen god;
With hopes, to worship he himself commits,
Yet only from me reaps the benefits. 22

Still the fruits gained thus are impermanent,
By those who are of little discernment;
Who thus worship the gods diligently,
Go to gods, my devotees come to me. 23

[madanmohandas]

Concluding now with Canto VII of the Bhagavad Gita. To avoid the anticipation of Lord Krishna's definitions in the ensuing Canto VIII, I have left untranslated the terms expressed at the end of this Canto. Arjuna will himself ask Krishna what these terms mean.

The unmanifest as manifest seen,
The foolish, me thus in their folly ween;
My supreme state by them cannot be grasped,
Immutable, peerless and unsurpassed. 24

For I am not to all alike revealed,
By my illusory power concealed;
I am to fools thus inconceivable,
Since I am birthless and immutable. 25

I know, Arjuna, all that there may be,
The past, the present and the future see;
All creatures and beings to me are known,
But I to all creatures remain unknown. 26

All beings are born to desire and hate,
Bemused, Bharat, in the dualistic state,
And in delusion thus all creatures go
Thro' transmigration, Scorcher of the foe! 27

But those who have been of their sins absolved,
In performance of pious works resolved,
Free from delusion of duality,
With firm and steadfast vow they worship me. 28

Those who from birth and death would freedom gain,
And who to seek refuge in me are fain;
Such persons are in knowledge of the facts
About Brahman, the Adhyatman, and Acts. 29

Who knows the Adhibhuta principle,
Adhidaiva, Adhiyajna, as well,
They even in the hour of death attain
Knowledge of me, and communion maintain. 30

Om yea, That Truth,
In the Srimad Bhagavad Gita,
The beautiful Upanisad of wisdom,
Consisting of the knowledge of Brahman,
The yoga scripture,
Forming a dialogue between Krishna and Arjuna,
This was the seventh Canto,
Entitled,
The Yoga of Knowledge and Wisdom

[madanmohandas]

Now commencing Canto VIII of the Gita, 1-7

Arjuna said,
What is that Brahman, and the Adhyatman?
And what is meant by 'action', Supreme One?
And that which has been called Adhibhuta,
And what is this known as Adhidaiva? 1

And Adhiyanja, Madhusudan, tell,
And how does he within the body dwell?
And how are you by those who are restrained
Even in the hour of death attained? 2

The Blessed Lord said,
Brahman is the supreme immutable,
And Adhyatman is the indwelling soul;
And that by which beings subsist is shown,
As work performed, and here as 'action' known. 3

Adhibhuta is the perishable,
And Adhidaiva is the supreme male;
And I am within all bodies installed,
Hence I myself am Adhiyajna called. 4

Who at the time of death remembers me,
When he departs his physical body,
Thence to my divine state he does attain,
Let there not any doubt of this remain. 5

Whatever thoughts at life's end are retained,
Forsaking the body, that state is gained;
On whatever, O Kunti's son, he dwells
Always, the thought to that object compels. 6

Therefore, upon me always contemplate,
And fight, while you upon me meditate;
Your mind and intellectual faculty
Offer, and you shall doubtless come to me. 7

[madanmohandas]

Who himself to yoga habituates,
Whose conscious faculty ne'er deviates;
The Supreme Lord divine he soon attains,
O Partha, who meditation maintains. 8

Meditate on him as the ancient sage,
Your thoughts on the mighty ruler engage;
Smaller than atom, and who all sustains,
Whose form is ineffable, and remains
Transcending darkness by his own pure light,
Radiant as the sun, Aditya, bright. 9

And when death's hour arrives, with constant mind,
The devotee, by yoga's strength refined,
His gaze held 'twixed the middle of the brows,
To the Supreme Divine, Eternal goes. 10

Those who are knowers of the Vedas say,
That is imperishable, sans decay;
Attained by yogins, free from all desire,
To which the good and continent aspire;
Who righteousness and good conduct maintain,
Of that I shall to you briefly explain. 11

[madanmohandas]

Here is a nice little digression from Gita to Caitanya Caritamrta, Madhya 9

There was a brahman Vaisnav dwelling there,
Who, seated in the holy fane, with care
The Gita's eighteen Cantos would recite,
Engrossed in ecstasy and pure delight.
His recitation was not pure and clear,
At which the people there would smirk and jeer,
Some there would laugh and chide at him for this,
But he the Gita read, absorbed in bliss.
So long as he would read the text sublime,
He shook and wept in ecstasy divine;
And by his reading was so much inspired,
His hair stood up and his body perspired.
The Great Master was overjoyed to see,
And of that brahman made inquiry,
"O great one, what purport do you contrive,
"Since I see you such happiness derive?"
"I am a fool, and little understand,"
The vipra said, " only on the command
"Of my preceptor, do I thus recite,
"But I know not the meaning, wrong or right.
"There Arjuna on his car I behold,
"With Krishna, who the horses rein does hold,
"And in his hand a whip; while this I see,
"The charm of his dark limbs and rare beauty,
"And how he advises Arjuna there,
"With beneficial speech for his welfare;
"And so long as I read I behold this,
"I become immersed in ecstatic bliss.
"And therefore I the Gita always read,
"And cannot give it up at all, indeed."
"You are," the Master said, "a worthy one,
" And know the meaning by recitation,
"To you the essence of Gita is known."
And saying so his loving arms were thrown
Around the brahman, in a warm embrace,
Who held the Masters feet and sued for grace,
He said, "By seeing you my joy does grow,
Redoubled, that you are Krishna, I know.........

[madanmohandas]

Leaping forward to Canto X of the Gita, due to impatience, here are what many regard as the four cardinal stanzas or Chatuh Sloki. Hail to Shri Krishna!

I am the primal source, from me evolve
All things created, thus the wise resolve,
With love and intellectual faculty,
To contemplation in worship of me. 10.8

Their minds absorbed, their lives to me resigned,
And always of me each other remind;
Talking of me again and yet again,
They true delight and satisfaction gain. 10.9

To those always attuned with loving zeal,
And worship, I myself the truth reveal;
That wisdom do I grant that sets them free,
Whereby they easily attain to me. 10.10

To those engaged, because I love them well,
And in their eager hearts forever dwell,
I light the lamp of wisdom from within,
Dispelling darkness, absolving all sin. 10.11

Then taking an even huger leap, like Maruti flying o'er the deep, another four stanzas from Canto XVIII,

Of mysteries this is the mystery;
This knowledge that I have revealed to thee;
Deliberation on this wisdom make,
And in what seemeth best firm action take. 18.63

This secret of all secrets I proclaim,
Unto my supreme word give ear again,
Because you are my loving friend most true,
I shall declare what would be best for you. 18.64

Your mind devote, your love on me bestow,
In homage and in worship, bowing low,
You shall to me attain by my decree,
For you are very dear and loved by me. 18.65

Having renounced all duties for my sake,
In me alone exclusive refuge take;
For I from all your sins accruing here,
Shall set you free from bondage, have no fear. 18.66

[madanmohandas]

Ok, retracing the way back to Canto VIII, here are 12 and 13 which form one sentence, and are thus made contiguous. followed by the well known verse 14 which begins, 'ananya-cetasaah' ...etc. then upto 19

With bodily orifices all closed,
The mind and heart diligently reposed,
In meditation thus dedicated,
With soul and vital air fixed in the head; 12
Articulating 'Om' repeatedly,
The Brahman, while always thinking of me;
Who thus his mortal body here forsakes,
To the supremest end his way betakes. 13

Who exclusive contemplation maintains,
And who recollection of me retains;
That yogi, O Partha, my devotee,
Always attuned, with ease attains to me. 14

And those great souls who have to me attained,
Are no more in this home of woe constrained,
Who have eternal perfection secured,
Are never to be born again inured. 15

All realms even upto Lord Brahma's sphere,
O Arjuna, appear and disappear;
But who, Kunti's son, does to me attain,
Is not subjected to be born again. 16

Those who the great day and night calculate,
Of Brahma's life time, figures tabulate;
The duration of his night and his day,
Are each a thousand ages, the wise say. 17

When Brahma's day begins are manifest
All things defined, from the unmanifest;
When Brahma's night arrives, all that evolved,
Is into the unmanifest dissolved. 18

These hoards of creatures ever thus emerge,
Again and yet again, only to merge,
At dawn, O Pritha's son, of Brahma's day,
And night, impelled by arbitrary sway. 19

[madanmohandas]

But higher than both the unmanifest,
And manifest, as greater I attest,
When all creatures have to destruction gone,
A state perpetual subsists alone. 20

That state unmanifest, is said to be
Imperishable high divinity;
Whence none return who have that state attained,
That is indeed my supreme region named. 21

That Lord Supreme, O Partha, is attained,
By loving faith singularly maintained;
In whom all creatures and beings reside,
And who pervading all 'this' does abide. 22

Now, best of Bharat's, what time, I shall say,
When yogins from the body pass away,
Whether they from bondage release attain,
Or elsewise, if they must be born again. 23

Who in the fire and day and fortnight bright,
The six months when the sun the north does light;
Such yogin when he dies, who Brahman knows,
To the supreme eternal Brahman goes. 24

Who in the smoke and night and dark fortnight,
The six months when the sun the south does light;
The region of the moon is thus attained,
But is to take birth here again constrained. 25

The Vedas thus this two fold path indite,
This one of darkness, and that one of light;
By the one he is never more compelled
To birth, t'other is to return impelled. 26

O Pritha's son, the yogin knowing this,
Is not confused and does not go amiss;
Therefore in all respects and constantly,
Engaged in yoga, O Arjuna, be. 27

Whatever is by Vedic study gained,
By sacrifice and penances ordained,
By giving in largesse of charity,
And whatever pious fruites there may be;
The yogin finds these easily bestowed,
And repairs to my supernal abode. 28

Om, yea, That Truth,
In the Srimad Bhagavad Gita,
The beautiful Upanisad of wisdom,
Consisting of the knowledge of Brahman,
The yoga scripture,
Forming a dialogue between Krishna and Arjuna,,
This was the eighth Canto,
Entitled,
The Yoga of Imperishable Brahman.

[Nitaidas]

Amazing. Madanmohan dasji! I am inawed by your ability to turn these verses into rhymed couplets. They sound delightful when recited.