Courtesy: Sri.Krishnamurthy Vaidyanathan
SHRI AADHI SHANKARA'S BHAJA GOVINDAM
MEANING & SUBSTANCE.
Seek or Worship Govinda, Seek Govinda, Seek Govinda, O Fool or ignoramus. When the death comes at the appointed time, grammar rules will not save or rescue you.
O Fool, give up your (insatiable) thirst or desire to possess or amass wealth and earthly objects, devote and develop your mind to thoughts of serenity, contentment and Reality, be happy and satisfied with whatever you get as a reward of your past actions and entertain your mind with such noble thoughts.
Do not fall prey to maddening delusion and get enticed at the sight of the physical glamour of women having full bosom of young maidens and their naval, as these are nothing but a modification of flesh and fat. Do not fail to remember this truth and think over and over again in your mind.
The water drop on the lotus-leaf is very unsteady and has extremely uncertain existence, so also is life. Understand that the world is equally unstable and it will be swallowed by disease and conceit. Life is ultimately nothing but worry, misery and grief.
As long as one is fit and able to earn and support one's family, all the kith and kin and dependents attached are affectionate to him, no sooner one becomes old and infirm and one's earnings cease, no one cares to enquire of his well-being even in one's own home.
As long as there is life in one's body, people enquire kindly about one's welfare and show concern, but when the soul departs from the body, even one's own wife runs away in fear of the same body (corpse).
The childhood is lost in sport and play. Youth flies off in pursuits of love-making (passion). Old age passes away on thinking over many past things and in worry about the security and future of one's wife and children (pang). And there is hardly any time left for contemplation on God, as at no stage one is lost in the thoughts of Parabrahman.
Who is your wife? Who is your son? Very strange is this family bond or samsaara. Of whom are you? From where have you come? O Brother, ponder over that Truth here.
The company of the good weans one away from false attachments; from non-attachment comes freedom from delusion, when the delusion ends, the mind becomes unwavering and steady and from an unwavering and steady mind comes Jeevat Mukti (liberation even in this life).
When youth is gone, where is the lust and its play? When water is evaporated, where is the lake? When the wealth is reduced, where are the relatives? When Truth is realised, where is the (snare of) Samsaara.
The pleasures of worldly life, such as wealth, friends and youth, are deceptive appearances. Do not boast of them. Understand that each one of these is destroyed within a minute by time. Be detached and dispassionate from the illusion of the world of Maya and cultivate renunciation and realise the state of Brahman.
Day and night, dawn and dusk, winter and spring come and depart again and again. Time thus frolics and plays and life ebbs away. Yet, one does not give up the storm of desires.
O Distracted one! why worry about wife, wealth, etc. Is there no one to guide you? Know that in the three worlds, only the association with good people alone can save you as a boat to cross the ocean of life (birth and death).
An ascetic with matted locks, a person with shaven head, one more with hair pulled or plucked out and another parading with ochre or any other colour robes, all these are for a livelihood. They all have eyes but yet do not see. All these are indeed disguises and deceptions for the sake of filling one's stomach.
The body has become worn out. The head has become bald or turned grey. The mouth has become toothless. The old man moves about with the support of crutches. Even then the attachment is so strong that he clings firmly to the bundle of (fruitless) desires
In front the ire, at the back the sun, at night he curls up the body, he receives alms in his own scooped palm and lives under the shelter of some tree, and yet he is a puppet at the hands of passions and desires.
One may go and take bath in the holy Ganges or even at the confluence of Ganga and ocean, or observe vows and perform many charities, yet devoid of jnana and unless one has the glimpse of Truth or God, one will not gain mukti or get released from the birth-and-death cycle even in hundred lives, according to all schools of thought
No one can disturb the peace of mind and vairaagya, if one is willingly taking shelter in some temples, under some trees, sleeping on the naked ground, wearing a deer skin, and thus renouncing all idea of possession and thirst to enjoy.
One may take delight or revel in Yoga or bhoga, may have attachment or detachment or in other words, let one seek enjoyment in company or in solitude, but only he whose mind revels in the bliss of Brahman, will enjoy and verily he alone enjoys
Even a little study and understanding of Srimad Bhagavad Gita, or sipping of even a drop of the waters of holy Ganges or even a little worship of Murari will surely save one from confrontation with Yama, the Lord of Death.
Undergoing the pangs of birth again and again, passing through the throes of death again and again, lying in the mother's womb over and over again, this process of samsaara is very hard to cross over without the Infinite Kindness of Lord (Murari). O merciful Father, kindly save me
Clad in stray rags, treading the path beyond good and evil or merit or demerit and whose mind is always in meditation, he revels in God-consciousness, having lost all outward norms and decorum, he behaves like a child or as a madman.
Who are you? Who am I? From where did I come? Who is my mother? Who is my father? Thus enquire, and you will realise that the entire world of experience -- all the worries and problems -- is but a dream, born out of imagination and delusion.
In you, in me and everywhere there dwells only one, the All-pervading Reality, i.e., Vishnu or Parabrahma Paramaatma. Getting impatient and angry with other is meaningless. Giving up all egoistic-feelings of duality completely and maintaining equal-minded in all circumstances, attain soon the Vishnu-status.
Do not waste your efforts to win the love of or to fight against friend or foe, son or relative. Seeking the Self everywhere, lift the sense of difference (or give up the feeling of duality completely) born out of ignorance and treat all alike.
Free yourself from desire (or lust), anger, greed, and delusion. Meditate on who you are. Ask of yourself, Who am I? The fools who fail to understand the self are caught even here in hell-fire and suffer torture
Regularly sing the glory of God as given in Srimad Bhagavad Gita and Sri Vishnusahasranamam, always meditate upon the form of Aadi Purusha Sri Mahavishnu, the Lord of Lakshmi, make every effort to take the mind towards the company of the good, noble and holy, and share the wealth with the poor and needy.
One indulges in carnal pleasures first and later on becomes prey to diseases (of the body). Though the death brings an end to everything, man does not leave his sinful behaviour.
Wealth is ruinous as there is no (real) joy in it. Reflect thus at all times. A rich man is frightened even by his own son. This is the way with wealth everywhere.
Regulated breathing or pranas and sense control or withdrawal (from their respective sense-objects), reflection or discrimination (of values between permanent and the impermanent or eternal and the transient) along with japa on the holy name of God and meditation to reach the inner-self or to silence the turbulent mind - one has to perform these with care and extreme care
O devotee of the lotus-feet of the teacher! may you become liberated soon from the samsaara through the discipline of the sense-organs and the mind. You will experience (behold) the Lord that dwells in your own heart
Therefore, O fool, at least now understand the purport of life and cross the life's ocean with the help of worshiping Govinda and reciting His sacred names with every breath that you take.
MEANING & SUBSTANCE.
Seek or Worship Govinda, Seek Govinda, Seek Govinda, O Fool or ignoramus. When the death comes at the appointed time, grammar rules will not save or rescue you.
O Fool, give up your (insatiable) thirst or desire to possess or amass wealth and earthly objects, devote and develop your mind to thoughts of serenity, contentment and Reality, be happy and satisfied with whatever you get as a reward of your past actions and entertain your mind with such noble thoughts.
Do not fall prey to maddening delusion and get enticed at the sight of the physical glamour of women having full bosom of young maidens and their naval, as these are nothing but a modification of flesh and fat. Do not fail to remember this truth and think over and over again in your mind.
The water drop on the lotus-leaf is very unsteady and has extremely uncertain existence, so also is life. Understand that the world is equally unstable and it will be swallowed by disease and conceit. Life is ultimately nothing but worry, misery and grief.
As long as one is fit and able to earn and support one's family, all the kith and kin and dependents attached are affectionate to him, no sooner one becomes old and infirm and one's earnings cease, no one cares to enquire of his well-being even in one's own home.
As long as there is life in one's body, people enquire kindly about one's welfare and show concern, but when the soul departs from the body, even one's own wife runs away in fear of the same body (corpse).
The childhood is lost in sport and play. Youth flies off in pursuits of love-making (passion). Old age passes away on thinking over many past things and in worry about the security and future of one's wife and children (pang). And there is hardly any time left for contemplation on God, as at no stage one is lost in the thoughts of Parabrahman.
Who is your wife? Who is your son? Very strange is this family bond or samsaara. Of whom are you? From where have you come? O Brother, ponder over that Truth here.
The company of the good weans one away from false attachments; from non-attachment comes freedom from delusion, when the delusion ends, the mind becomes unwavering and steady and from an unwavering and steady mind comes Jeevat Mukti (liberation even in this life).
When youth is gone, where is the lust and its play? When water is evaporated, where is the lake? When the wealth is reduced, where are the relatives? When Truth is realised, where is the (snare of) Samsaara.
The pleasures of worldly life, such as wealth, friends and youth, are deceptive appearances. Do not boast of them. Understand that each one of these is destroyed within a minute by time. Be detached and dispassionate from the illusion of the world of Maya and cultivate renunciation and realise the state of Brahman.
Day and night, dawn and dusk, winter and spring come and depart again and again. Time thus frolics and plays and life ebbs away. Yet, one does not give up the storm of desires.
O Distracted one! why worry about wife, wealth, etc. Is there no one to guide you? Know that in the three worlds, only the association with good people alone can save you as a boat to cross the ocean of life (birth and death).
An ascetic with matted locks, a person with shaven head, one more with hair pulled or plucked out and another parading with ochre or any other colour robes, all these are for a livelihood. They all have eyes but yet do not see. All these are indeed disguises and deceptions for the sake of filling one's stomach.
The body has become worn out. The head has become bald or turned grey. The mouth has become toothless. The old man moves about with the support of crutches. Even then the attachment is so strong that he clings firmly to the bundle of (fruitless) desires
In front the ire, at the back the sun, at night he curls up the body, he receives alms in his own scooped palm and lives under the shelter of some tree, and yet he is a puppet at the hands of passions and desires.
One may go and take bath in the holy Ganges or even at the confluence of Ganga and ocean, or observe vows and perform many charities, yet devoid of jnana and unless one has the glimpse of Truth or God, one will not gain mukti or get released from the birth-and-death cycle even in hundred lives, according to all schools of thought
No one can disturb the peace of mind and vairaagya, if one is willingly taking shelter in some temples, under some trees, sleeping on the naked ground, wearing a deer skin, and thus renouncing all idea of possession and thirst to enjoy.
One may take delight or revel in Yoga or bhoga, may have attachment or detachment or in other words, let one seek enjoyment in company or in solitude, but only he whose mind revels in the bliss of Brahman, will enjoy and verily he alone enjoys
Even a little study and understanding of Srimad Bhagavad Gita, or sipping of even a drop of the waters of holy Ganges or even a little worship of Murari will surely save one from confrontation with Yama, the Lord of Death.
Undergoing the pangs of birth again and again, passing through the throes of death again and again, lying in the mother's womb over and over again, this process of samsaara is very hard to cross over without the Infinite Kindness of Lord (Murari). O merciful Father, kindly save me
Clad in stray rags, treading the path beyond good and evil or merit or demerit and whose mind is always in meditation, he revels in God-consciousness, having lost all outward norms and decorum, he behaves like a child or as a madman.
Who are you? Who am I? From where did I come? Who is my mother? Who is my father? Thus enquire, and you will realise that the entire world of experience -- all the worries and problems -- is but a dream, born out of imagination and delusion.
In you, in me and everywhere there dwells only one, the All-pervading Reality, i.e., Vishnu or Parabrahma Paramaatma. Getting impatient and angry with other is meaningless. Giving up all egoistic-feelings of duality completely and maintaining equal-minded in all circumstances, attain soon the Vishnu-status.
Do not waste your efforts to win the love of or to fight against friend or foe, son or relative. Seeking the Self everywhere, lift the sense of difference (or give up the feeling of duality completely) born out of ignorance and treat all alike.
Free yourself from desire (or lust), anger, greed, and delusion. Meditate on who you are. Ask of yourself, Who am I? The fools who fail to understand the self are caught even here in hell-fire and suffer torture
Regularly sing the glory of God as given in Srimad Bhagavad Gita and Sri Vishnusahasranamam, always meditate upon the form of Aadi Purusha Sri Mahavishnu, the Lord of Lakshmi, make every effort to take the mind towards the company of the good, noble and holy, and share the wealth with the poor and needy.
One indulges in carnal pleasures first and later on becomes prey to diseases (of the body). Though the death brings an end to everything, man does not leave his sinful behaviour.
Wealth is ruinous as there is no (real) joy in it. Reflect thus at all times. A rich man is frightened even by his own son. This is the way with wealth everywhere.
Regulated breathing or pranas and sense control or withdrawal (from their respective sense-objects), reflection or discrimination (of values between permanent and the impermanent or eternal and the transient) along with japa on the holy name of God and meditation to reach the inner-self or to silence the turbulent mind - one has to perform these with care and extreme care
O devotee of the lotus-feet of the teacher! may you become liberated soon from the samsaara through the discipline of the sense-organs and the mind. You will experience (behold) the Lord that dwells in your own heart
Therefore, O fool, at least now understand the purport of life and cross the life's ocean with the help of worshiping Govinda and reciting His sacred names with every breath that you take.
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