January 2, 2011
Just back from a camp at Chinmaya Vibhooti. Pujya Guruji, Swami Tejomayanandaji taught from the text Yoga Vasistha Sara Sangrah. Those who have heard Guruji know the high that one gets from listening to his teaching. I am on that nasha and my mind keeps going back every now and then.
There are numerous interesting parallels between the Gita and Yoga Vasishtha. I have time only to discuss a couple of them:
1. Arjuna as Shri Krishna's disciple v/s Śri Rāma as Vasishtha's disciple. Guruji pointed out that in the case of the Yoga Vasishtha, the seeker is an avatara of the Lord himself and the Guru is the Rishi Vasishtha whereas in the Gita, Arjuna is the seeker and the Lord is the Guru.
2. The state of a "Man-of-Realization"
In the 54th verse of Chapter 2 in the Gita, Arjuna asks Shri Krishna
स्थितप्रज्ञस्य का भाषा समाधिस्थस्य केशव |
स्थितधीः किं प्रभाषेत किमासीत व्रजेत किम् ||२-५४||
sthitapraGYasya kaa bhaashhaa samaadhisthasya keshava .
sthitadhiiH kiM prabhaashheta kimaasiita vrajeta kim.h .. 2-54..
What, O Keshava, is the description of him who has steady Wisdom and who is merged in the Superconscious state? How does one of steady Wisdom speak, how does he sit, how does he walk? (2-54)
In his commentary, Pujya Gurudev Swami Chinmayananda, says that, "Arjuna is asking a forked question: (a) a description of the state of mind in a man-of-realisation merged in Self-experience and, (b) an explanation as to how that experience will influence his actions in the outer world, when he emerges from that Transcendental experience." Krishna, indeed, proceeds to answer the question by first describing the mind-set of a man of Realization.
In the Yoga Vasistha SaraSangrah, Guruji has condensed the Yoga Vasishtha into 86 shlokas arranged in 7 chapters. Right upfront, we have Bharadwāja rishi asking his Guru, the sage Valmiki,
भगवन् ज्ञातुमिच्छामि कथं संसार-संकटे ।
रामो व्यवह्ृतो ह्यस्मिन् कारुण्याद् ब्रूहि मे गुरो ।।
bhagavan gnaatumichchhaami katha.m sa.msaara-sa.nkaTe |
raamo vyavahrto hyasmin kaaruNyaad brUhi me guro ||
Translation by Guruji: "I desire to know how Śri Rāma conducted himself in this difficult course of worldly existence. O teacher! Please tell me that!"
Guruji in his commentary states, "Bharadwāja asks the teacher to explain how the great Śri Rāma face life with equanimity." Guruji in his talk made it clear that in the Ramayana, Śri Rāma was able to withstand the opposites of being told that he would be coronated as crown prince one day and then told the very next day that he was to go and live in exile in the forest. Only one endowed with dispassion and one who had realized his own true Self, could live through these experiences with equanimity.
Hari Om and Namaskar till the next post.
Just back from a camp at Chinmaya Vibhooti. Pujya Guruji, Swami Tejomayanandaji taught from the text Yoga Vasistha Sara Sangrah. Those who have heard Guruji know the high that one gets from listening to his teaching. I am on that nasha and my mind keeps going back every now and then.
There are numerous interesting parallels between the Gita and Yoga Vasishtha. I have time only to discuss a couple of them:
1. Arjuna as Shri Krishna's disciple v/s Śri Rāma as Vasishtha's disciple. Guruji pointed out that in the case of the Yoga Vasishtha, the seeker is an avatara of the Lord himself and the Guru is the Rishi Vasishtha whereas in the Gita, Arjuna is the seeker and the Lord is the Guru.
2. The state of a "Man-of-Realization"
In the 54th verse of Chapter 2 in the Gita, Arjuna asks Shri Krishna
स्थितप्रज्ञस्य का भाषा समाधिस्थस्य केशव |
स्थितधीः किं प्रभाषेत किमासीत व्रजेत किम् ||२-५४||
sthitapraGYasya kaa bhaashhaa samaadhisthasya keshava .
sthitadhiiH kiM prabhaashheta kimaasiita vrajeta kim.h .. 2-54..
What, O Keshava, is the description of him who has steady Wisdom and who is merged in the Superconscious state? How does one of steady Wisdom speak, how does he sit, how does he walk? (2-54)
In his commentary, Pujya Gurudev Swami Chinmayananda, says that, "Arjuna is asking a forked question: (a) a description of the state of mind in a man-of-realisation merged in Self-experience and, (b) an explanation as to how that experience will influence his actions in the outer world, when he emerges from that Transcendental experience." Krishna, indeed, proceeds to answer the question by first describing the mind-set of a man of Realization.
In the Yoga Vasistha SaraSangrah, Guruji has condensed the Yoga Vasishtha into 86 shlokas arranged in 7 chapters. Right upfront, we have Bharadwāja rishi asking his Guru, the sage Valmiki,
भगवन् ज्ञातुमिच्छामि कथं संसार-संकटे ।
रामो व्यवह्ृतो ह्यस्मिन् कारुण्याद् ब्रूहि मे गुरो ।।
bhagavan gnaatumichchhaami katha.m sa.msaara-sa.nkaTe |
raamo vyavahrto hyasmin kaaruNyaad brUhi me guro ||
Translation by Guruji: "I desire to know how Śri Rāma conducted himself in this difficult course of worldly existence. O teacher! Please tell me that!"
Guruji in his commentary states, "Bharadwāja asks the teacher to explain how the great Śri Rāma face life with equanimity." Guruji in his talk made it clear that in the Ramayana, Śri Rāma was able to withstand the opposites of being told that he would be coronated as crown prince one day and then told the very next day that he was to go and live in exile in the forest. Only one endowed with dispassion and one who had realized his own true Self, could live through these experiences with equanimity.
Hari Om and Namaskar till the next post.
Comments
Post a Comment