Ishwa helper Reged: 03/03/02 Posts: 553

Re: Gita: The eternal song of Love and Ultimate Wisdom [Re: sickofviolence] #18940 - 07/29/02 03:45 PM Edit Reply Quote

Hmm, SOV has detected a new toy, which is quoting from original works. This is the translation of the quoted verses on the site http://www.hinduwebsite.com/gita912.htm: 13. "Without any hatred towards all beings, friendly and compassionate, without any sense of possessiveness, without any egoism, equal in pleasure and pain and forgiving. 14. "The Yogi who is always contended, self-controlled, strongly determined, his mind and intelligence offered to Me, that devotee is dear to Me. I would rather quote also from a source which indeed has the Sanskrit original. In this case this site has an excellent word by word rendering: http://www.hinduwebsite.com/divinelife/prabhu_gita.htm TEXTS 13�14 advesta sarva-bhutanam maitrah karuna eva ca nirmamo nirahankarah sama-duhkha-sukhah ksami santustah satatam yogi yatatma drdha-niscayah mayy arpita-mano-buddhir yo mad-bhaktah sa me priyah SYNONYMS advesta�nonenvious; sarva-bhutanam�toward all living entities; maitrah�friendly; karunah�kindly; eva�certainly; ca�also; nirmamah�with no sense of proprietorship; nirahankarah�without false ego; sama�equal; duhkha�in distress; sukhah�and happiness; ksami�forgiving; santustah�satisfied; satatam�always; yogi�one engaged in devotion; yata-atma�self-controlled; drdha-niscayah�with determination; mayi�upon Me; arpita�engaged; manah�mind; buddhih�and intelligence; yah�one who; mat-bhaktah�My devotee; sah�he; me�to Me; priyah�dear. TRANSLATION One who is not envious but is a kind friend to all living entities, who does not think himself a proprietor and is free from false ego, who is equal in both happiness and distress, who is tolerant, always satisfied, self-controlled, and engaged in devotional service with determination, his mind and intelligence fixed on Me�such a devotee of Mine is very dear to Me. SOV forgot by the way the 12th verse of that same canto, which reads thus: 12. "Certainly knowledge is better than practice, but better than knowledge is meditation, superior to which is renunciation of the fruits of actions. Indeed after renunciation there is only peace." TEXT 12 sreyo hi jnanam abhyasaj jnanad dhyanam visisyate dhyanat karma-phala-tyagas tyagac chantir anantaram SYNONYMS sreyah�better; hi�certainly; jnanam�knowledge; abhyasat�than practice; jnanat�than knowledge; dhyanam�meditation; visisyate�is considered better; dhyanat�than meditation; karma-phala-tyagah�renunciation of the results of fruitive action; tyagat�by such renunciation; santih�peace; anantaram�thereafter. TRANSLATION If you cannot take to this practice, then engage yourself in the cultivation of knowledge. Better than knowledge, however, is meditation, and better than meditation is renunciation of the fruits of action, for by such renunciation one can attain peace of mind. So, SOV who's anytime preaching about 'practice' didn't actually read this verse, which says that knowledge or 'jnanam" is better than practice (abhyaasaat)! You have to use the critical, intellectual mind to understand that what's true or not. The Shlokas of the Giitaa are describing the Shreya Patha, which is the highest path to walk on, but we actually are surrounded and living by the Preya (comfortable and rajasika) and even Kreya Patha (competitive and tamasika). You cannot just ignore the many abuses, etc. in the world by just chanting or meditating to uplift these matters. Why is it that a relatively very few Shreya Yogis are directly and openly involved in the Preya and Kreya? Because the last two have their own laws. Shreya Yogis are unattached, but mostly also not IN society. That's why society needs Preya and Kreya Yogis, people who understand the the conditions in those paths. That means that one has to be very critical, a little attached so to speak, etc. Even if that involves a defensive war of words or action. Why was Krshna involved in the Bharata Battle? Why was he guiding Arjuna to kill? Why, why, why? Because that is the way the Kreya evil has to be neutralized, when every other mean hasn't been successful! It's the duty to defend what is attacked unjustified, that's the Karma Yoga of the Giitaa! A critical mind is a must, especially nowadays, where the Tamasika way of thinking and acting prevails in this KaliYuga. To end with the words of Shri Aravindo Ghosha, who speaks about India, but it could be interpreted in every field: �I believe that the main cause of India's weakness,� Sri Aurobindo observed in 1920, �is not subjection, nor poverty, nor a lack of spirituality or Dharma, but a diminution of thought-power, the spread of ignorance in the motherland of Knowledge. Everywhere I see an inability or unwillingness to think.� (Letter to Barin Ghose, April 1920, India�s Rebirth, p. 151, from http://www.bharatvani.org/michel_danino/indian_cult01.html)