Bhagavad Gita - 4

The Essence of the Gita

In the fourth chapter of the Gita happen the two verses that is quoted often as the essence of the Bhagavad Gita. They are:

Yada Yadahi Dharmasya Glanir Bhavathi Bharatha

Abhyuthanam Adharmasya Tadathmanam Srijamyaham.

The second is the even more famous verse which follows and which everyone holds on to as a divine prophecy:

Parithranaya Sadhunam Vinashayacha Dushkritam

Dharma Samsthapanarthaya Sambhavami Yuge Yuge.

The literal meanings for the verses will go like this: Oh leader of the Bharata race! Wherever there is a decline of righteousness and adharma or injustice raises itself, my spirit will appear.

The second verse: To protect the good and destroy evil, for establishing righteousness, I will appear time after time through every age.

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These two are the most popular, yet the most misunderstood verses of the Bhagavad Gita too.

The dharma that gets destroyed is not to be understood in a people-centric manner. Even for an atom, as well for a universe, there is something called a sustainability quotient for its existence in that particular form to fulfill its purpose in life. Until that purpose is fulfilled, a misalignment of the energies can cause damage. The consciousness manifests at these points, or rather the ever present consciousness is available for a support to fall back on when there is such a shake in the balance. This in essence is the meaning of the verse where Sri Krishna says my spirit will be sent.

And again, Parithranaya Sadhunam Vinashayacha Dushkritam is not about the God being partial and protecting some do-gooders and hating those who are otherwise! Such a partial god is no god. It rains the same over good and bad. The wind blows alike for the good and bad. So does the sun shine or the waters of the ocean touch the feet alike to the good and the bad. And in reality, these two polarities do not exist as there is no one yardstick to understand the good and the bad. Yet, for some discipline and balance in society, some order to run day-to-day life of the plants, animals, humans and all the other species and inhabitants of the Earth and the rest of the Universe, there is a common principle of sustenance called Dharma. When there are forces of energy that swell to destroy this principle of sustenance, the excesses are absorbed readily in consciousness and life begins afresh. The truth of the Divine law of peaceful co-existence and harmony is established.

- Swahilya Shambhavi

Picture: The unseen principle that forms the backdrop for the delicate balance in nature is Dharma. Consciousness is the bedrock of Dharma. This is the law of nature.

Bhagavad Gita - 3

Your actions and thoughts dissolve in Consciousness

If Krishna tells Arjuna to fight, in common parlance, it means action. Arjuna is a warrior and hence is job - Swadharma is to fight. For the rest of us, it is what we do - moment to moment. It is just about 100 per cent action, performed in the peak of consciousness. When a painting is being done, a poster is being crafted, a statue is being sculpted - all that the creator knows is the one stroke that he is working on at that moment. And that action springs from the consciousness and is dedicated to consciousness. There is no sculptor, artiste or craftsperson there. The energy in the cosmos flows through the mind and the body and creates the piece of art, the sculpture, the poem, the music, the drama or sends the ball in the cricket field flying over the boundary for a sixer.
The Bhagavad Gita is just about 100 per cent action. And this verse in Chapter Three sums it up.

Mayi Sarvani Karmani Sanyasyadhyatma Chetasa
Nirashir Nirmamo Bhuthwa Yudhyaswa Vigathajwaraha.

Krishna - the Consciousness, commands to Arjuna - the confused mind. United with the one Consciousness, you give yourself fully and fight as all actions finally rest in Me (Consciousness). Fight without desire. Fight without thinking that you are fighting. Put all your energies into that fight. Now in this moment, be.

This attitude is not just for the battlefield, but in our day to day life. Being there, where one is, waking, looking into the mirror, smiling, eating, playing, talking, sleeping....as if one was doing it all in a battlefield when alertness and awareness needs to be at one's peak for mere survival.

- Swahilya Shambhavi.

Bhagavad Gita - 2

Work - but in Yoga

If there is something that is most relevant to the struggle up the ladder in the corporate world, it is the words of Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita. When there are manipulations galore, happening all around to get the results one expects and one is lost if they don't behave similarly and follow the rat race, these words are difficult indeed to implement. But there is no other way as this is certainly Yoga and the essence of the Bhagavad Gita too.


Krishna has managed to get the attention of Arjuna in the battle field and now it is time to give in those words of power which will sink right into him. These words are more for us who read it today after so many centuries, as much as it was for a confused Arjuna, seeking clarity on the battle field.




Yogasthah Kuru Karmani Sangam Tyaktva Dhananjaya
Sidhya Sidhyoh Samo Bhuthwa Samathwam Yoga Uchyate

Do your action, using your mind of course. But the mind here is united with the cosmic mind - the larger scheme of things. With this unity of mind, may the body function, abandoning its attachment to success or failure which will be the result of the work.


In just three words - Samathwam Yoga Uchyate - Krishna condenses the essence of Yoga. Yoga is not twisting the body in eight directions, nor is it about inhaling and exhaling breaths in a particular measure, nor anything else for that matter. The equanimity of the mind is called Yoga.


When action happens in this equanamous state of mind - it is done in Yoga and happens in the present moment. It can be shooting a picture with a camera, it can be a signature in an important official document, it can be digging the ground in the garden, it can be boarding a plane....the actions may vary, but the unity of mind is the one thing required and at all times. That is Yoga.
- Swahilya Shambhavi.

Bhagavad Gita 1

The Song of Consciousness

Sri Krishna seems to be the greatest hynotherapist of all!. For that's how the process begins. The patient who is already saddled with problems of the mind is brought to a state of high anxiety. His conscious mind is numbed and in the sub-conscious mind the healer probes through the original cause of the problems. Removes it gently and fills up the space with a more positive thought.

Arjuna standing in the battlefield in tears, not knowing whether to fight or not, finds himself in a similar state of anxiety. He has expressed umpteen number of doubts to his friend and charioteer Krishna. His mind is so burdened with questions that he simply drops down, bow, arrows and body - in a state of total surrender, not knowing what else to do. Just like the mind that cannot go anywhere when it reaches the peak of anxiety or stress, but has to break down to either cry or pray.

He has asked, what use is the fight, how he can fight his relatives, won't it affect the women and the future generations - just like a mind that tries to find an escape route from a crisis. But Sri Krishna just watches him. Sanjaya who narrates the story to the blind King Dhritarashtra says:

Evamuktvarjunah Samkhye Rathopastha Upavishath

Visrujya Sasharam Chapam Shoka Samvighna Manasaha.

Arjuna poured out all his questions and doubts, expressed his grief in the form of tears. But Sri Krishna is unmoved. Arjuna goes on and on with his doubts about the need to fight the war. Ultimately, he has nowhere to go and just drops down with all his belongings and sits near his chariot, overcome with grief and in a thoroughly disturbed state of mind. Just pointing the way to a confused seeker that the end of tears marks the beginning of the road to clarity and universal consciousness.

- Swahilya Shambhavi.

Vignana Bhairava Tantra - 10

Chance, not choice!

The Vignana Bhairava Tantra - 10 has been published by chance in the other blog that I write, Cosmic Consciousness. Please check it out. May be I'll begin another series on some other text here!
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Vignana Bhairav Tantra - 9

When thought clouds rain as tears....

Adhareshwathava Shakthya Gnanathchittha Layena Va

Jathashakti Samavesha Kshobhanthe Bhairavam Vapuh.

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The expanse of the Vignana Bhairav Tantra in using life as a university to teach meditation, never ceases to impress. Here is yet another.

There are times in stressful circumstances, events happening in life are beyond one's understanding. Especially in a volatile corporate set up, decisions made or misconceptions not revealed can really shake up long standing erroneous notions.

When the individual self can sometime think no end of itself, especially when it tastes success, spiritual or material, just a statement coming from where it matters can serve to be that rusted pin that pricks the ego's balloon. The upheaval that follows can be phenomenal.

It doesn't matter, says the Vignana Bhairav Tantra. It doesn't matter what you think, even if it is wrong. When the thoughts, conceptions and ideas that one holds on too is given a rough shake up - there is an emotional turmoil, a bursting of feelings and a suppressed volcano of the whys and the how comes - Be with it. There is tranquility at the end of it. There is serenity that runs through the fabric of the outburst.

The experience is just like immersing one's soiled self in the cleansing waters of a quiet stream. The one who emerges out is the tranquil being, shedding the dirt and grime of erroneous perceptions. - Swahilya Shambhavi.

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Vignana Bhairava Tantra - 8

Swing and dance with Joy

Chalasane Sthithasyatha Shanairva Deha Chalanath

Prashanthe Manase Bhave Devi Divyaughamapnuyath.

We did it as kids, didn't we - holding a partner's hand and swinging round and round till the sky above began spinning and we fell down. Then it happened in the park when there would be a queue for a wooden swing. Rocking from one end to another, in space that did not move. There was bliss in the game. There was bliss in the swinging. That bliss of a tranquil mind in a swinging body is the divine that you have always been looking for. Be with that experience of the stillness between the swinging from one end to another, the quietude that has always been through the dancing movements of the body. That tranquility is the meditative state of mind and it is as simple as watching it while we walk, run, bend, stretch, swing, swim, dance, play games. So next time you feel like letting loose on the dance floor, or rocking a baby on the cradle or just catching hold of a vacant swing - jump in and be with the movement. It's as simple as that! - Swahilya Shambhavi.

Vignana Bhairava Tantra - 7

Being with the joy of the mind

Yatra Yatra Manasthushtihi Manastatraiva Dharayeth

Tatra Tatra Paramanandaswaroopam Sampravartate.

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The mind finds joy in simple things. It can be the fragrance of the flowers. It can be the wispy clouds passing through an azure blue sky. It can be in moments of love. It can be while watching a beautiful picture or listening to one's favourite music. There are many ways that bring happiness to the mind.


Wherever the mind experiences joy on experiencing something, focus on that object, person or situation. In that place, the form of the supreme bliss manifests. It can be while seeing, hearing, touching or tasting, smelling a pleasant aroma or recalling and remembering joyous moments - there is a surge of energy within. This reveals to us the bliss within. Just be with that joy. It is nothing else but the form of the supreme joy of consciousness that manifests through even the momentary and fleeting moments of bliss of day to day life. - Swahilya Shambhavi.

Vignana Bhairava Tantra - 6

Contemplating on the elements of nature

Maya Vimohini Nama Kalayah Kalanam Sthitham

Ithyadi Dharmam Tatwanam Kalayanna Prithagbhavet.

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All forms and activities of the nature around us are a combination of the different elements - Earth, Water, Fire, Air and Space - in different consistencies. This includes man, animal and tree. The different essences combine in different ways to manifest in various forms. What we call Maya or illusion is the feeling that some object is different from us and the objects are themselves different from each other and have different names and forms.
But this Tantra gives us an opportunity to meditate upon different forms of nature, dissolving the differences and becoming one with the consciousness that exists in all.
There are different kinds of human beings, thinking and acting differently. But they all breathe the same air and survive on the same water, sunlight and earth, as do the plants and animals do.
But the consciousness within, that makes one to see the different names and forms, is equally present in those names and forms too. When you feel the earth beneath your feet, meditate. When you drink a glass of water to quench your thirst, meditate. When the cool air blows gently against your face, meditate. When you see the flames of the fire that burns - meditate. When you feel the space around you that lets you go wherever you want to, meditate.
These will lead you to the eternal one that is Consciousness. - Swahilya Shambhavi.

Vignana Bhairava Tantra - 5

Where there is pain, there is Shiva

Kinchidangam Vibhidyadau Teekshnasoochyadina Tataha

Tatraiva Chetanam Yuktva Bhairave Nirmala Gatihi.

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If someone had the experience of having acupuncture needles running through the body, connected to electric impulses, then this Vignana Bhairava Tantra may have some meaning to them already! This Tantra is not entreating you to invite pain and suffering upon yourself.
But when there is a prick of a needle, there is a point in the body where it pains. Draw your attention to that spot. The pain is nothing but a pure and fresh movement in the consciousness called Bhairava. Be there and experience it in the moment.
It is not just about experiencing the physical pain. It can be an inexplicable pain in the heart too, when one experiences suffering born out of separation of a loved one, dejection, depression, sadness. When such heaviness of the heart happens, be there in that moment without comment or judgement. You experience Consciousness. The pain can liberate too. A word of caution! There is no need to wish for pain and suffering. But experiencing it when it visits is what this verse of the Vignana Bhairava Tantra conveys.


Picture: A memorial for the many children who lost their lives at the Madavamedu village off Nagapattinam coast in Tamil Nadu when the tsunami struck. The little children who died where those who were washed away while they were blissfully watching the television at home. - Swahilya Shambhavi