Shri Krishna Loves You: Spiritual Advancement

 

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॥ श्रीमद्‍भगवद्‍गीता ॥ 17.25॥ 



_तदित्यनभिसन्दाय फलं यज्ञतपःक्रियाः ।_ 

_दानक्रियाश्चविविधाः क्रियन्ते मोक्षकाङ्क्षिभिः॥_ 



भावार्थ : 

इस प्रकार मोक्ष की इच्छा वाले मनुष्यों द्वारा बिना किसी फल की इच्छा से अनेकों प्रकार से यज्ञ, दान और तप रूपी क्रियाऎं "तत्‌" शब्द के उच्चारण द्वारा की जाती हैं। (२५) 



Meaning: 

With (chanting of) Tat, without aiming for reward, are the various acts of sacrifice, penance and charity performed by the seekers of liberation. 



Explanation: 

Karmayoga suggests that we should perform our duties in order to exhaust all of our vaasanaas, our latent desires, so that our mind becomes pure and fit for spiritual advancement. The primary obstacle in karmayoga is attachment at two levels. We are attached to the personal reward of an action. We are also attached to the act itself. For instance, a musician may become attached to the royalties promised to him in his recording contract. He may also become attached to the unique style of music that he has developed. 

Shri Krishna says that chanting the word "Tat" when performing any saattvic action has the effect of removing these two kinds of attachment. Tat means "that" in sanskrit. It is a pointer to the eternal essence in its transcendent aspect, also known as Ishvara. Using the word Tat, we can dedicate our actions and results to any deity that we like. The act is performed by Ishvara, therefore the reward goes to Ishvara. I am only the instrument of Ishvara. This is the attitude developed when Tat is chanted with faith. 

How does this work? Imagine that you are going overseas for closing a business deal. If you go with attitude that you are doing this deal for yourself, then you have to take on the associated stress that comes with the deal. But if you go with attitude that you are closing the deal for your boss or your company, your stress will significantly reduce. You are just carrying out instructions given by your boss. If the deal works out, great, otherwise there will always be another opportunity.

Chant the mantra you have faith in

Hare Krishna

The Hare Krishna maha-mantra is composed of three Sanskrit words, which are “Hare”, “Krishna” and “Rama”. According to the scriptures “Obstruction or problem can’t come into their lives, who do chant this mantra continuously”. The Great Mantra is:

Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare

Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare

हरे कृष्ण हरे कृष्ण , कृष्ण कृष्ण हरे हरे |

हरे राम हरे राम , राम राम हरे हरे ||

Shri Krishna Loves You: Taamasic Charity, respect guru

 

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॥ श्रीमद्‍भगवद्‍गीता ॥ 17.22॥

_अदेशकाले यद्दानमपात्रेभ्यश्च दीयते ।_
_असत्कृतमवज्ञातं तत्तामसमुदाहृतम्॥_

भावार्थ :

जो दान अनुचित स्थान में, अनुचित समय पर, अज्ञानता के साथ, अपमान करके अयोग्य व्यक्तियों को दिया जाता है, उसे तामसी (तमोगुणी) दान कहा जाता है। (२२)

Meaning:

That which is donated at an incorrect place or time, to wrong persons, without respect and out of ignorance, that charity is called taamasic.

Explanation:

Having covered the nature of saatvic and raajasic charity, Shri Krishna now describes taamasic charity. He says that charity performed without considering a proper time and place is considered taamasic. If we donate on a whim rather than doing so on an auspicious day, for instance, we introduce a tinge of our ego into the donation. Also, gifts that trouble the recipient, gifts given out of complete ignorance, are taamasic as well. Donating an expensive TV to a person who is struggling to eat does not make sense.

Many people nowadays take pleasure in insulting their priest or their teacher while giving them a gift, simply because they are drunk with power and money. Such charity in which an insult, a slur or a taunt is given along with the gift also becomes taamasic. If we disrespect the recipient of our charity, we are harming ourselves and the recipient instead of performing an auspicious act. A gift should always be given with politeness and humility. Furthermore, gifts should never be given to unworthy persons such as robbers and criminals.

We should be careful, however, to use our judgement and our discretion while performing charity, and not abstain for charity just because we are worried about going against the rules prescribed here. There are millions of people around the world that struggle to survive, that are in need of food, water, clothing and medicine. If we donate money to any institution that provides needy people with these amenities, we may not have control over the time and place of the donation, but that should not stop us. More broadly, there are instances where our acts of sacrifice, penance and charity may have a defect in them. Shri Krishna gives us a formula to deal with them next.

Chant the mantra you have faith in

Hare Krishna

The Hare Krishna maha-mantra is composed of three Sanskrit words, which are “Hare”, “Krishna” and “Rama”. According to the scriptures “Obstruction or problem can’t come into their lives, who do chant this mantra continuously”. The Great Mantra is:

Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare

Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare

हरे कृष्ण हरे कृष्ण , कृष्ण कृष्ण हरे हरे |

हरे राम हरे राम , राम राम हरे हरे ||

Shri Krishna Loves You: Raajasic Charity

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॥ श्रीमद्‍भगवद्‍गीता ॥ 17.21॥



_यत्तु प्रत्युपकारार्थं फलमुद्दिश्य वा पुनः ।_

_दीयते च परिक्लिष्टं तद्दानं राजसं स्मृतम्॥_



भावार्थ :

किन्तु जो दान बदले में कुछ पाने की भावना से अथवा किसी प्रकार के फल की कामना से और बिना इच्छा के दिया जाता है, उसे राजसी (रजोगुणी) दान कहा जाता है। (२१)



Meaning:

And that which is donated for repaying an obligation, or with the intent of a reward, and also reluctantly, that charity is called raajasic.



Explanation:

Let me give something to this politician’s charitable organization, so that at a later stage I will be able to use him to further my business. Let me give something to this doctor’s son on his birthday, so that I will be taken care of in a medical emergency. Let me give a new year gift to to my neighbour, so that he will come to my aid if I am in trouble and so on. In all these thoughts, a tinge of selfishness has crept in. Shri Krishna says that the giving of charity, and gifts in general, while expecting something in return, is raajasic charity.

Furthermore, charity is also performed to repay a favour or an obligation to someone else. This is referred to as “pratyupkaara” in the shloka. For instance, repaying a favour with cash sometimes is frowned upon socially. We may then think about repaying the favour through a charitable donation or a gift in kind. Such charity is also considered raajasic, because a business mindset, a transaction oriented mindset has come into the picture. We are not really performing charity, we are doing a business deal.

The most raajasic form of charity is when we donate something with the feeling of “pariklishtam”. It means doing something reluctantly, unwillingly, with a heavy heart, with a feeling of sadness. We are so attached to the money or goods being donated that we cannot bear to see them separated from us. We will think hundred times before donating anything. What will happen if I donate this? How will I replace it? Will I need it again? Our mamatva, our sense of mine-ness is quite strong, and needs to be examined.

Chant the mantra you have faith in

Hare Krishna

The Hare Krishna maha-mantra is composed of three Sanskrit words, which are “Hare”, “Krishna” and “Rama”. According to the scriptures “Obstruction or problem can’t come into their lives, who do chant this mantra continuously”. The Great Mantra is:

Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare

Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare

हरे कृष्ण हरे कृष्ण , कृष्ण कृष्ण हरे हरे |

हरे राम हरे राम , राम राम हरे हरे ||

Shri Krishna Loves You: Saattvic Charity

That which is donated knowing that charity is duty, to whom one is not obliged, in the right place and time, to a worthy person, that charity is called saattvic.

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॥ श्रीमद्‍भगवद्‍गीता ॥ 17.20॥



_दातव्यमिति यद्दानं दीयतेऽनुपकारिणे ।_

_देशे काले च पात्रे च तद्दानं सात्त्विकं स्मृतम्‌॥_



भावार्थ :

जो दान कर्तव्य समझकर, बिना किसी उपकार की भावना से, उचित स्थान में, उचित समय पर और योग्य व्यक्ति को ही दिया जाता है, उसे सात्त्विक (सतोगुणी) दान कहा जाता है। (२०)



Meaning:

That which is donated knowing that charity is duty, to whom one is not obliged, in the right place and time, to a worthy person, that charity is called saattvic.



Explanation:

So far, Shri Krishna described the three types of food, sacrifice and penance. Food gives us energy to serve the world, to perform sacrifice. Penance enables us to conserve and channel that energy towards sacrifice. Sacrifice results in a result that is received by the recipient of the sacrifice as well as to us, the performers of the sacrifice. Accumulating results beyond what we need to support ourselves and our family can result in greed. To check this greed, we need to perform daanam or charity.



Now, even the attitude towards charity can reveal a lot about the texture of our faith. Shri Krishna described the characteristics or conditions of charity performed with a saattvic attitude. Conducting charity out of a sense of duty is the first condition. It should come naturally to us, and not because someone has asked us to do it. Charity should never be treated as a business deal. For instance, if someone has done us a favour, we should not give him something in the guise of charity. Furthermore, we should not donate something expecting something in return.



Charity is a sacred act, therefore it has to be performed thoughtfully. Tossing a coin to a beggar on the street may be a noble act, but it does not quality as an act of saattvic charity. It has to be done at the right place and during an auspicious occasion. It also has to be directed towards a worthy person. Shri Shankaraachaarya in his commentary gives the example of the occasion of Sankraanti, the beginning of the month, as an auspicious occasion. He also gives the example of a learned teacher as one who is worthy of receiving a charitable donation.

Chant the mantra you have faith in

Hare Krishna

The Hare Krishna maha-mantra is composed of three Sanskrit words, which are “Hare”, “Krishna” and “Rama”. According to the scriptures “Obstruction or problem can’t come into their lives, who do chant this mantra continuously”. The Great Mantra is:

Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare

Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare

हरे कृष्ण हरे कृष्ण , कृष्ण कृष्ण हरे हरे |

हरे राम हरे राम , राम राम हरे हरे ||

Shri Krishna Loves You: Taamasic Penance

That which is performed out of a foolish notion, causing pain to oneself, or for ruining others, that penance is called taamasic.

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॥ श्रीमद्‍भगवद्‍गीता ॥ 17.19॥



_मूढग्राहेणात्मनो यत्पीडया क्रियते तपः ।_

_परस्योत्सादनार्थं वा तत्तामसमुदाहृतम्॥_



भावार्थ :

जो तप मूर्खतावश अपने सुख के लिये दूसरों को कष्ट पहुँचाने की इच्छा से अथवा दूसरों के विनाश की कामना से प्रयत्न-पूर्वक किया जाता है, उसे तामसी (तमोगुणी) तप कहा जाता है। (१९)



Meaning:

That which is performed out of a foolish notion, causing pain to oneself, or for ruining others, that penance is called taamasic.



Explanation:

The story of a any captured terrorist is all too familiar. At some point in their life, they start holding on to an idea or a notion which ends up becoming their mission in life. They then spend a long time, sometime years, learning all kinds of tactics and techniques that are usually reserved for the military. Eventually, they carry out their mission, in which a great deal of harm is caused to others, and to themselves as well. Either they get captured or they harm themselves in the process.

Shri Krishna describes taamasic penance in this shloka. He says that penance based on a foolish notion, a misconception or an infatuation comes out of the minds of taamasic individuals. The end goal of such penance is to cause great harm to others or to oneself. We can always refer to the Puraanas for the fate of individuals who conduct severe penance just to bring about the downfall of someone else. So called “black magic” is also conducted for harming someone.

We may look at this and dismiss it, since it sounds so extreme and not applicable to our daily lives. But many of us sometimes perform actions with a malicious intent. Politics sometimes becomes a venue for one party to perform actions simply for bringing the other party down, and not for the welfare of the country. Similarly, many people run businesses based on a personal vendetta. For instance, a person fired from a business may join a competitor just to get back. Any action performed for bringing someone else down usually backfires.

Chant the mantra you have faith in

Hare Krishna

The Hare Krishna maha-mantra is composed of three Sanskrit words, which are “Hare”, “Krishna” and “Rama”. According to the scriptures “Obstruction or problem can’t come into their lives, who do chant this mantra continuously”. The Great Mantra is:

Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare

Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare

हरे कृष्ण हरे कृष्ण , कृष्ण कृष्ण हरे हरे |

हरे राम हरे राम , राम राम हरे हरे ||

Shri Krishna Loves You: Penance For Boosting Ego

That which is performed for praise, honour, worship and ostentation, that praise is called raajasic, is said to be of this world, and is unstable and temporary.

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॥ श्रीमद्‍भगवद्‍गीता ॥ 17.18॥



_सत्कारमानपूजार्थं तपो दम्भेन चैव यत्‌ ।_

_क्रियते तदिह प्रोक्तं राजसं चलमध्रुवम्॥_



भावार्थ :

जो तप आदर पाने की कामना से, सम्मान पाने की इच्छा से और पूजा कराने के लिये स्वयं को निश्चित रूप से कर्ता मानकर किया जाता है, उसे क्षणिक फल देने वाला राजसी (रजोगुणी) तप कहा जाता है। (१८)



Meaning:

That which is performed for praise, honour, worship and ostentation, that praise is called raajasic, is said to be of this world, and is unstable and temporary.



Explanation:

The Puraanaas are filled with stories of all kinds of demons who performed extremely severe penance and austerities. It is said that Raavana chopped off each of his ten heads until Lord Shiva granted him a boon. Hiranyakashipu performed such severe penance that his entire flesh dropped off and only his bones remained. However, none of these demons desired self-realization or liberation as the outcome of their penance. They wanted some boon, some power such that they could vanquish their enemies.

Shri Krishna says that whenever we conserve our energy and put in a lot of effort towards any material goal, any goal which is "of this world", such type of penance will be called raajasic. This penance could be for boosting our ego, in other words, for praise, honour, worship or for showing off. People spend years working extremely hard so that they can buy a fancy house or a car that can be shown off. Dictators do everything they can to ensure that people fall at their feet and worship them.

Ultimately, any effort that is expended towards an earthly goal will be temporary. A simple illustration to explain this notion is that of a ball thrown by a person in the air. No matter how hard the throw is, the ball will eventually fall down and stop moving. Furthermore, any result that we see in the world is also unstable. Several people go on crash diets that, in addition to giving temporary results, may actually harm the body. Any result in the material world is subject to the laws of Prakriti, to the three gunaas themselves, which are inherently unstable.

Chant the mantra you have faith in

Hare Krishna

The Hare Krishna maha-mantra is composed of three Sanskrit words, which are “Hare”, “Krishna” and “Rama”. According to the scriptures “Obstruction or problem can’t come into their lives, who do chant this mantra continuously”. The Great Mantra is:

Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare

Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare

हरे कृष्ण हरे कृष्ण , कृष्ण कृष्ण हरे हरे |

हरे राम हरे राम , राम राम हरे हरे ||

Shri Krishna Loves You: Sattvic Penance

This threefold penance, performed by balanced people with supreme faith, without expectation of reward, is called sattvic.

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|| जय श्री कृष्ण ||

॥ श्रीमद्‍भगवद्‍गीता ॥ 17.17॥



_श्रद्धया परया तप्तं तपस्तत्त्रिविधं नरैः ।_

_अफलाकाङ्क्षिभिर्युक्तैः सात्त्विकं परिचक्षते॥_



भावार्थ :

पूर्ण श्रद्धा से युक्त होकर मनुष्यों द्वारा बिना किसी फल की इच्छा से उपर्युक्त तीनों प्रकार से जो तप किया जाता है उसे सात्विक (सतोगुणी) तप कहा जाता है। (१७)



Meaning:

This threefold penance, performed by balanced people with supreme faith, without expectation of reward, is called sattvic.



Explanation:

So far, we saw that tapas or penance comprises three aspects. Bodily or shaaririka tapas, speech or vaangmaya tapas, and mental or maanasika tapas. Tapas is used to conserve and channel our energy in the pursuit of a goal or objective, whether it be material or spiritual. Shri Krishna now describes three types of tapas, and how they can be used to assess the texture of our faith. He first describes the conditions under which penance is revealed to be sattvic.

The unique nature of sattvic tapas is that it is performed in the pursuit of the highest possible goal, which is self realization. It is not performed for any material gain, or the pursuit of physical or mental powers. Furthermore, it is performed with the utmost faith in the statements of the scriptures. Shri Krishna uses the word naraha or human in this shloka, and not in the shlokas that described the other two types of penance. He implies that only humans have the ability to perform penance without expectation of material gain.

Who has the ability to perform this highest level of penance, this sattvic penance? It is one who is yukta, one who has integrated his mind with his intellect, one who can remain balanced in success and failure. Only such a person is able to incorporate all the three aspects of penance, physical, mental and speech, referred in the shloka as three fold. Even if one of these is missing, the tapas loses its sattvic aspects. Mental penance is the toughest of all the three, since it is hardest to conquer the mind.

Chant the mantra you have faith in

Hare Krishna

The Hare Krishna maha-mantra is composed of three Sanskrit words, which are “Hare”, “Krishna” and “Rama”. According to the scriptures “Obstruction or problem can’t come into their lives, who do chant this mantra continuously”. The Great Mantra is:

Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare

Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare

हरे कृष्ण हरे कृष्ण , कृष्ण कृष्ण हरे हरे |

हरे राम हरे राम , राम राम हरे हरे ||

Shri Krishna Loves You: Penance Of Mind.

Mental cheerfulness, kindness, silence, self-control, purity of intent, this is called penance of the mind.

Hare Krishna! If you want "Shri Krishna Loves You" daily post
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|| जय श्री कृष्ण ||

॥ श्रीमद्‍भगवद्‍गीता ॥ 17.16॥



_मनः प्रसादः सौम्यत्वं मौनमात्मविनिग्रहः ।_

_भावसंशुद्धिरित्येतत्तपो मानसमुच्यते॥_



भावार्थ :

मन में संतुष्टि का भाव, सभी प्राणीयों के प्रति आदर का भाव, केवल ईश्वरीय चिन्तन का भाव, मन को आत्मा में स्थिर करने का भाव और सभी प्रकार से मन को शुद्ध करना, मन सम्बन्धी तप कहा जाता है। (१६)



Meaning:

Mental cheerfulness, kindness, silence, self-control, purity of intent, this is called penance of the mind.



Explanation:

So far, we came across the qualities needed for penance of the body and speech. Shri Krishna now lists the qualities that indicate penance of mind, maanasika tapas. He begins with prasaadaha, a cheerful, joyful attitude towards situations in life. It comes from maintaining our balance and composure in troublesome as well as in happy situations. Saumyatvam refers to developing a gentleness and gracefulness when dealing with people. It requires us to remain free from negative attitudes towards people that manifest as jealousy, violence, cruelty and so on.

The next quality is maunam. Literally, maunam mean silence, but here it means silence that comes out of contemplation. Now, we cannot stop negative thoughts from arising in our mind, but we can always control how much time and attention we give to such thoughts. Whenever such negative thoughts arise, we have to be able to switch to a positive thought immediately. Doing so requires high levels of self control or aatma vinigrahaha, also known as shamaha. If we do not learn how to do this, the mind will hold onto a negative thought and get swept away in a mental whirlpool of negativity.

When we constantly maintain all the above mentioned qualities, our mind will automatically begin to harbour good intentions, even against so-called evil people and tough situations. The key to do this comes back to our outlook towards the world. We need to do one of two things. If we have faith in Ishvara, we need to surrender to him and reduce our dependence on the perishable material world. Alternatively, we treat the entire world as mithyaa, as an illusion, and negate everything in it. As long as we give absolute reality to the world, mental penance is next to impossible.

Now, many of us have an urge to say something when we are by ourselves. Here, Shri Krishna suggests that we recite scriptures daily, like chanting the second chapter of the Gita, for instance. Doing so satisfies our urge of speaking, and also forces the mind to contemplate the Gita teaching rather than stray here and there. In fact, it becomes a form of meditation as well. Once we memorize the shlokas, we can contemplate upon them whenever we want, without having to rely on a book.

Chant the mantra you have faith in

Hare Krishna

The Hare Krishna maha-mantra is composed of three Sanskrit words, which are “Hare”, “Krishna” and “Rama”. According to the scriptures “Obstruction or problem can’t come into their lives, who do chant this mantra continuously”. The Great Mantra is:

Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare

Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare

हरे कृष्ण हरे कृष्ण , कृष्ण कृष्ण हरे हरे |

हरे राम हरे राम , राम राम हरे हरे ||

Shri Krishna Loves You: Penance of the body

Penance of the body begins with bowing down to, respecting, and serving our deities, our elders and our teachers

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|| जय श्री कृष्ण ||
॥ श्रीमद्‍भगवद्‍गीता ॥ 17.14॥

_देवद्विजगुरुप्राज्ञपूजनं शौचमार्जवम्‌ ।_
_ब्रह्मचर्यमहिंसा च शारीरं तप उच्यते॥_

भावार्थ :
ईश्वर, ब्राह्मण, गुरु, माता, पिता के समान पूज्यनीय व्यक्तियों का पूजन करना, आचरण की शुद्धता, मन की शुद्धता, इन्द्रियों विषयों के प्रति अनासक्ति और मन, वाणी और शरीर से किसी को भी कष्ट न पहुँचाना, शरीर सम्बन्धी तप कहा जाता है। (१४)

Meaning:
Worship of the deities,, teachers and the learned, purity, straightforwardness, chastity and non violence, these are called penance of the body.

Hare Krishna

Explanation:

So far, Shri Krishna described the three types of food and worship so that we can use them to analyze the texture of our faith. He now begins the topic of tapas, which means penance or austerity. Through tapas we ensure that the energy that we derive from consuming food can be conserved and channeled into our actions. This tapas or penance is also of three types, saattvic, raajasic and taamasic. But penance itself needs to be broken down into its three main components first. Here, we examine the first component which is bodily or physical penance, shaaririka tapas.

Penance of the body begins with bowing down to, respecting, and serving our deities, our elders and our teachers. Deities also means the gods representing elemental forces such as Varun, lord of the seas. This means that we should worship and take care of all the natural resource this world has to offer. Offering service to something greater than us also has the effect of checking our aham, our ego, our illusory notion of who we are. It increases our humility and decreases our individuality.

Shaucham refers to the purity of our body and our surroundings. If we keep our room unclean or cluttered, it is an indication that our mind is also unclean, or is cluttered with useless thoughts. Aarjavam or straightforwardness refers to our posture. We will not be able to meditate unless we are able to maintain an erect posture. 

This straightforwardness of the body is also a pointer to making our thinking straightforward, without any trace of deceit. Brahmacharyam refers to stopping our checking the excessive straying of our sense organs into their respective objects, like watching too much TV or consuming a lot of rich food. Ahimsa or non-violence prevents us from harming anyone or anything using our body.

Chant the mantra you have faith in

Hare Krishna

The Hare Krishna maha-mantra is composed of three Sanskrit words, which are “Hare”, “Krishna” and “Rama”. According to the scriptures “Obstruction or problem can’t come into their lives, who do chant this mantra continuously”. The Great Mantra is:

Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare

Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare

हरे कृष्ण हरे कृष्ण , कृष्ण कृष्ण हरे हरे |

हरे राम हरे राम , राम राम हरे हरे ||

Shri Krishna Loves You: Attitude Of Taamasic Individuals

The main problem with the taamasic attitude is that all actions are performed with lack of faith

|| जय श्री कृष्ण ||



॥ श्रीमद्‍भगवद्‍गीता ॥ 17.13॥



_विधिहीनमसृष्टान्नं मन्त्रहीनमदक्षिणम्‌ ।_

_श्रद्धाविरहितं यज्ञं तामसं परिचक्षते॥_



भावार्थ :

जो यज्ञ शास्त्रों के निर्देशों के बिना, अन्न का वितरण किये बिना, वैदिक मन्त्रों के उच्चारण के बिना, पुरोहितों को दक्षिणा दिये बिना और श्रद्धा के बिना किये जाते हैं, उन यज्ञ को तामसी यज्ञ माना जाता हैं। (१३)



Meaning:

They call that sacrifice to be taamasic which is contrary to scripture, in which no food is distributed, without chanting of hymns or donations to priests, and performed without faith. 

Hare Krishna

Explanation:

Here, Shri Krishna describes the attitude of taamasic individuals towards action, using the symbolism of a sacrificial ritual once again. He says that taamasic attitude towards action totally disregards shaastra or scripture. Scripture refers to a higher law, any notion of ethics or morality. There is no thought as to the consequence of the action to oneself and to other individuals whatsoever. Any task done without proper planning or performed haphazardly falls into this category.

Next, Shri Krishna says that there is no distribution of food in the sacrifice. In the taamasic attitude, the person not only claims the results of the action as their own, but goes to great lengths to ensure that no one else gains the benefit of the action, even if it is their due. For instance, if a business has a good year, the owner may hoard the profits instead of giving employees a bonus. Furthermore, the taamasic attitude does give respect or listen to advice of senior people, referred to as "priests" in this shloka.

The main problem with the taamasic attitude is that all actions are performed with lack of faith. In other words, actions are performed for all the wrong reasons - someone else told us to perform the action, we are just doing it for the sake of doing it, we are doing it grudgingly, we are not putting our heart into it, we are not involved in it and so on. The performance of actions is as if it is being done by a lifeless entity, a corpse.

Chant the mantra you have faith in

Hare Krishna

The Hare Krishna maha-mantra is composed of three Sanskrit words, which are “Hare”, “Krishna” and “Rama”. According to the scriptures “Obstruction or problem can’t come into their lives, who do chant this mantra continuously”. The Great Mantra is:

Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare

Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare

हरे कृष्ण हरे कृष्ण , कृष्ण कृष्ण हरे हरे |

हरे राम हरे राम , राम राम हरे हरे ||

Shri Krishna Loves You: Actions Performed For Name And Fame Are Raajasic

The businessman’s profit motive should only be restricted to business deals. A transaction mindset creeps into interactions with friends and family, it ends up causing trouble

Hare Krishna! If you want "Shri Krishna Loves You" daily post
in your WhatsApp or to be sent to your near and dear ones
write your/their WhatsApp number in the
Comment Section. It's a free service!

|| जय श्री कृष्ण ||
॥ श्रीमद्‍भगवद्‍गीता ॥ 17.12॥


_अभिसन्धाय तु फलं दम्भार्थमपि चैव यत्‌ ।_
_इज्यते भरतश्रेष्ठ तं यज्ञं विद्धि राजसम्‌॥_


भावार्थ :
परन्तु हे भरतश्रेष्ठ! जो यज्ञ केवल फल की इच्छा के लिये अहंकार से युक्त होकर किया जाता है उसको तू राजसी यज्ञ समझ। (१२)


Meaning:
That which is performed with the intent of reward and for ostentation alone, know that such a sacrifice is raajasic.




Explanation:

Our attitude towards our actions determines the texture of our faith. Continuing with this theme, Shri Krishna describes the attitude with which a raajasic person performs his actions. He says that such a person constantly thinks "what is in it for me" in each and every action he performs. Personal gain is paramount, anyone else’s gain is secondary or even overlooked. Such a person is also constantly interested in the impression created by his action in the minds of others, and how will it benefit him. In other words, his actions are only performed for name and fame, for show and display. There is always an ulterior motive.


So far we have heard about the attitudes of saattvic and raajasic people towards action. This may raise several questions with respect to our life. We may say, I am a businessman, how can I not think what is in it for me? To answer this, we need to go back to the notion of our svadharma, our chosen career path. As long as ethics and laws are observed, a businessman should absolutely be focused on maximizing profits, otherwise, he is not performing his duty. However, the businessman’s profit motive should only be restricted to business deals. A transaction mindset creeps into interactions with friends and family, it ends up causing trouble.


Now, we may be tempted to point our fingers at those who spend a lot of time and energy in maintaining their appearance. We may also say, when others make negative comments about our appearance, we do not get stressed. All this is well and good. However, we may get insulted or stressed when someone comments upon our intellect or our competency in our job. This means that we harbour a strong sense of aham, a strong sense of the "I" notion with our intellect. This stress is also an indicator that somewhere within us, the texture of our faith is tinged with rajas.



Chant the mantra you have faith in

Hare Krishna

The Hare Krishna maha-mantra is composed of three Sanskrit words, which are “Hare”, “Krishna” and “Rama”. According to the scriptures “Obstruction or problem can’t come into their lives, who do chant this mantra continuously”. The Great Mantra is:

Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare

Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare

हरे कृष्ण हरे कृष्ण , कृष्ण कृष्ण हरे हरे |

हरे राम हरे राम , राम राम हरे हरे ||