Pearls of Bhagavat Gita - Chapter 1.24

                                                       

Bg 1.24

sañjaya uvāca

evam ukto hṛṣīkeśo
guḍākeśena bhārata
senayor ubhayor madhye
sthāpayitvā rathottamam

Translation:

Sañjaya said: O descendant of Bharata, having thus been addressed by Arjuna, Lord Kṛṣṇa drew up the fine chariot in the midst of the armies of both parties.

Import:

There are 3 states of mind i.e Jagratha, Svapna and Sushupthi. Jagratha is the state where both the mind and the senses are active, Svapna is the state where the Mind is active but senses are inactive, Sushupthi is the state where both the Mind and the senses are Inactive. Arjuna is addressed here as guḍākeśa i.e one who has controlled sleep. It is not so easy to defeat sleep. 

Q) If Arjuna does not sleep and thus give rest to his senses then how could he get strength? 

Ans) Arjuna had the wisdom and strength to give rest to his indriyas (senses)  through his power of Dhyanam (meditation) and Yoga Balam (Strength of Yoga). Arjuna had great sense control that he even defeated the lure of Ramba and Urvasi when they approached him and called them his Mothers. Such was the mental strength of Arjuna that he was glorified by Sanjaya as guḍākeśa.

Pearls of Bhagavat Gita - Chapter 1.23

                                                       

Bg 1.23

yotsyamānān avekṣe ’haṁ
ya ete ’tra samāgatāḥ
dhārtarāṣṭrasya durbuddher
yuddhe priya-cikīrṣavaḥ

Translation:

Let me see those who have come here to fight, wishing to please the evil-minded son of Dhṛtarāṣṭra.

Import:

In our Lives we must always understand what is good and bad and be intelligent enough to clearly identify and differentiate them before we take any decision towards our goals. Our great preceptors and acharyas are so kind that they always speak the truth in an acceptable manner even though it may not be liked by the general populace. If someone is erring  in his path, we must be bold and explain to him and correct him. In Sri Ramayana, Sri Vibhishina explained the truth about the right conduct to Ravana even though he did not like it.

Pearls of Bhagavat Gita - Chapter 1.20

                                                         

Bg 1.20

atha vyavasthitān dṛṣṭvā
dhārtarāṣṭrān kapi-dhvajaḥ
pravṛtte śastra-sampāte
dhanur udyamya pāṇḍavaḥ

Translation:

At that time Arjuna, the son of Pāṇḍu, seated in the chariot bearing the flag marked with Hanumān, took up his bow and prepared to shoot his arrows.

Import

1) kapi-dhvajaḥ: a) Arjunas chariot had a flag of Hanuman. This is a sign of enthusiasim in doing things, energetic etc.

                           b) In addition, Arjuna had the Anugraham ( blessings ) of the great devotee of SriRam i.e Bhaktha Hanuman. Therefore victory in the side of Pandavas was guaranteed.

                        c) Just like how the Rakshasas became afraid after seeing Hanuman during his conquest of Lanka similarly all the Kauravas became afraid and filled with anxiety after seeing Arjuna.

 

Pearls of Bhagavat Gita - Chapter 1.19

                                                       

Bg 1.19

sa ghoṣo dhārtarāṣṭrāṇāṁ
hṛdayāni vyadārayat
nabhaś ca pṛthivīṁ caiva
tumulo ’bhyanunādayan

Translation:

The blowing of these different conchshells became uproarious. Vibrating both in the sky and on the earth, it shattered the hearts of the sons of Dhṛtarāṣṭra.

Import

1) The Supreme Lord Sri Hari reciprocates the way we approach him. The same divine sound of the Panchajanya was soothing and encouraging for the Lords's devotees but the same sound shattered and destroyed the hearts of his enemies namely the Kauravas.

2) In Ramayana, after Ravana defeated lakshmana, he tried to lift him with his 10 hands; but he was unable to accomplish this, but Hanuman belonging to ordinary Monkey Clan lifted Lakshmana easily.

3) Although the Supreme Lord deviced many incorrect ways to win for the Pandavas, one cannot question Sri Krishna, because, the Supreme Lord has taken the pratijnai to protect those who has surrendered to him. Therefore instead of questioning the lords mysterious and partial attitude towards his devotees; one must be intelligent enough to surrender to him and become his Bhaktha.

Pearls of Bhagavat Gita - Chapter 1.16

Bg 1.16

anantavijayaṁ rājā
kuntī-putro yudhiṣṭhiraḥ
nakulaḥ sahadevaś ca
sughoṣa-maṇipuṣpakau

Translation:

King Yudhiṣṭhira, the son of Kuntī, blew his conchshell, the Ananta-vijaya, and Nakula and Sahadeva blew the Sughoṣa and Maṇipuṣpaka

Import:

1) Greatness of Kunti: In Srimad Bhagagavatham we fine slokas where Kunti Devi prays to Sri Krishna for more difficulties and problems in life so that she could always remember and not forget the precious lotus feet of Sri Hari. Thus revealing her topmost bhakthi on the Supreme Lord Narayana.

2) Greatness of Yudhiṣṭhiraḥ:    a) Here  Yudhiṣṭhiraḥ is been addressed as Raja as he is always a Raja(King) in Dharmam (relegious principles). Hence his name is also called as Dharma Puthra.

                                      b) Yudhiṣṭhiraḥ was tested in Dharmic subject matters even just before he was departing to Swarga. Throughout the journey, there was a dog that accompanied him all the way. When the time came for Yudhistira to ascend to swarga,a  chariot came down, the charioteer refused to take the dog alone.Yudhistira steadfastly refused to go to swarga saying the dog had accompanied him throughout the journey. The dog again proved itself none other than Lord Yama who said it was a test of his Dharma. By showing that he was not willing to abandon people who had been with him all along, Yudhistira had once again proved his Dharmic nature.

                                              c) His name is called Yudhiṣṭhiraḥ as he is never shaken or afraid of war. Although others may speak a lot about glories of Arjuna, when it came to action, arjuna was bewildered and overwhelmed with anxiety when the war was about to begin, whereas Yudhistira was never shaken even in that situation.

Pearls of Bhagavat Gita - Chapter 1.15

Bg 1.15

pāñcajanyaṁ hṛṣīkeśo
devadattaṁ dhanañ-jayaḥ
pauṇḍraṁ dadhmau mahā-śaṅkhaṁ
bhīma-karmā vṛkodaraḥ

Translation:

Lord Kṛṣṇa blew His conchshell, called Pāñcajanya; Arjuna blew his, the Devadatta; and Bhīma, the voracious eater and performer of herculean tasks, blew his terrific conchshell, called Pauṇḍra.

Import:

hṛṣīkeśha: a) One who does niyamam unto the indriyas, also has control of the indriyas of his bhakthas.

               b) The divine form of the Lord is so beautiful that each anga of the form of his transcendental body captivates our senses and we fall victim to his beauty.

pāñcajanyaṁ : a) The sound from the divine conch of the supreme lord is Sri Hari vibrates the sound of omkara.

                    b) The divine conch of Sri Hari is so glorious that it always remains with the lord and never leaves the lord even for a second.

c) While blowing the conch, it comes in contact with the divine sweet lotus lips of Sri Hari, thus enhancing its glory.

Vedanta in Nature - A Dam

A Dam stores water in its reservoir. The water is distributed across the cities through its different outlets. Similarly every jivatmas has its original pure jnana with it. The jnana is outlet through different Karma Indriyangal ( work related senses )and Jnana Indriyangal (Knowledge aquiring senses) which is a part of the material body (shariram), and thus the material body engages in appropriate action. Based on the papa - punya karmas performed by the jivatma, it has  different proportion of Sattva, Rajas and Tamo Gunam associated with it. Thus before the jnana is outlet across the different indriyas(senses), the pure jnana of the jivatma mixes the different proportion of Sattva, Rajas and Tamo Gunam. When the jnana thus mixes with Sattva Guna; a person acts in a very pious way, when it mixes with Rajo Gunam; he acts in a very passionate way addicted to different material desires, when it mixes with Tamo Gunam; he actions are governed by sleep, laziness, lack of focus and concentration etc.