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Bhagavad gita II: shloka 55
lchiluku@ucsd.edu writes:
>BG AS IT IS:
>sri-bhagavan uvaca:
>prajahat yada kaman
>sarvan partha mano-gatan
>atmany evatmana tustah
>sthita-prajnas tadicyate
>Questions and comments:--------------------------
>>"when a man gives up all varieties of desire for sense gratification" --
>Is it not true that desire for wealth-progeny-fame is more entrenched
>than sense-gratification. Often sense-gratifications can be almost
>forgotten (even overcome), in the pursuit of fame and other egoistic
>desires.
I think it would be more appropriate to say that desires for wealth,
progeny, and fame are also different types of sense gratification. That
is, they are all desires for some temporary, material thing.
>Giving up desires does not mean not having objectives or goals. Perhaps a
>sthita prajna is free of expectations and attachment to the goal (as in
>karma yoga or in devotional service).
One can have the goal, for example, of pleasing God. This kind of desire
should not be given up. But goals that involve some kind of material
arrangement for sense gratification should.
>contentment in the self by the self --- It is easy to interpret this in
>light of advaita, since the sthita prajna is full (poorna) and hence
>really cannot "gain" anything.
Many Gita verses, when taken out of context, can be interpreted in the
context of Advaita. As you rightly pointed out, we should evaluate the
verse within its context.
>Sankara uses the phrase "contrentment that is independent of external
>gains". There is no "external" for a sthita prajna, and hence no
>"external gain".
If by the word 'external' he means material, then I suppose his point
is essentially correct.
>Prabhupada says "remains satisfied in himself by realizing himself to be
>the eternal servitor of the Supreme Lord". I know that it is wrong to
>take a shloka out of context, but it is difficult to see how this
>particular shloka implies service to Krishna.
By itself, it may be hard to see how this implies devotional service to
Krishna, but later verses do confirm it. The pure state of the soul is
to be Krishna's servant. We can see this in verses like 18.54-55, which
clearly state that attaining the Supreme results in devotional service.
Prabhupada probably added 'eternal servitor of the Supreme Lord' because
many people do tend to quote verses like this one out of context to
propagate their own ideas. His translation still remains faithful to the
meaning of the verse.
>Ramanuja introduces a fresh concept: "Steady understanding. This is ther
>climax of firm devotion to knowledge". Perhaps he intends to signify the
>Supreme (Brahman or Krishna) with the word "Knowledge".
I imagine he means devotion to knowledge about the Supreme Lord. I looked
at the Sanskrit and confess that I find it hard to see how he came up with
this. Maybe there is a problem with the scholar who translated it into
English.
>How can a sadhak apply this shloka in his daily life? Through devotional
>service or karma Yoga?
This shloka gives the characteristics of the person situated on the
transcendental platform. That's what the last part of chapter 2 is about.
Ultimately, the process for getting to this point is bhakti yoga. If bhakti
yoga is not possible, then karma yoga is recommended. And if not that, then
jnana yoga, and so on (this is discussed in chapter 12).
>It sure is difficult to give up desire!
It sure is!
The living entity by its very nature will always have desires. What should
be given up is the desire to lord it over material nature. The desire to
serve God should be all that remains, as i'm sure will be evident as this
Gita discussion progresses.
Yours,
-- HKS
------------------------------------------------------------------------
- H. Krishna Susarla - "Religion without philosophy is sentiment, or -
- susarla@rice.edu - sometimes fanaticism, while philosophy without -
- Rice University - religion is mental speculation." -
- Class of 1995 - -- Swami Srila Prabhupada -
------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Unintelligent men, who do not know Me perfectly, think that I, the
Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krsna, was impersonal before and
have now assumed this personality. Due to their small knowledge,
they do not know My higher nature, which is imperishable and supreme."
- Bhagavad-Gita 7.24
