Bhaja Govindam

Bhaja Govindam Text: Verses 1 to4

Verse 1

Bhaja govindaM bhaja govindaM

govindaM bhaja muuDhamate .

saMpraapte sannihite kaale

nahi nahi rakshati DukR^iJN karaNe 

 

(Note: The Sanskrit text is written here in ITRANS format.  Readers are advised to use Devanagari text, if available.) 

 

(Bhaja = worship; govindaM = Govinda; (a name of Maha Vishnu, God); muuDhamate = OH fool; saMpraapte = (when you have) reached / obtained; sannihite = presence / nearness of; kaale = Time (Kala, Time, the great destroyer, Lord of Death, Yama); nahi = No; rakshati = protects; DukR^iJN karaNe = a formula of grammar (from Panini’s book)

 

(bhajagovindaM bhajagovindaM govindaM bhaja muuDhamate .= Worship Govinda, Worship only Govinda, oh fool!  sannihite kaale saMpraapte = when the time (for death) comes near; DukR^iJNkaraNe nahi nahi rakshati = the rules of grammar won’t save (you). )

 

Worship Govinda, worship Govinda, worship Govinda, oh fool! When the hour of death approaches, the formula of grammar will not save you.

 

Sri Sankara warns us that at the hour of death, "dukrin karane" (a formula from Panini's book of grammar) will not help us.  By "dukrin karane", not only the rules of grammar are meant, but also the whole of physical knowledge.  He urges us to close down the book of material knowledge such as art, science, etc. and turn the mind toward God.

 

Further, “dukrinj karane”  means “useless knowledge”.  He does not condemn all knowledge, but merely states that such knowledge will not be useful for God – realization, in case that is what you aim for.  Well, if you have not taken it in your agenda, the material knowledge may be useful to you - for a livelihood or for satisfying curiosity, for example; but the fact remains that the best of physical knowledge serves no purpose for a spiritual aspirant, though the story of the man who is still immersed in worldly pursuits, is different.  One whose mind is set on God realization will find all other knowledge quite useless: may it be mathematics, grammar, history or atomic science.  Because it doesn’t accompany him beyond the point of this life.  When the doors of death are suddenly opened, knowledge of God alone helps.  Nothing else.  So, what is knowledge ?  Knowledge is that which helps to realize God.  The rest is ignorance.  Hence Sri Sankara asks firmly to discard useless pursuits and set the mind to God.   

 

The above can be summarized with the following words of the great Swami Vivekananda:

“Spiritual knowledge is the only thing that can destroy our miseries for ever; any other knowledge satisfies wants only for a time. It is only with knowledge of the spirit that the faculty of want is annihilated for ever.”                        (Karma Yoga).

 

“He lives in vain who does not utilize the human birth which is very rare to obtain, for the attainment of Divinity”                                                                                                                                                                                                - Sri Ramakrishna.

 

“ Knowledge pertaining to Iswara is the real knowledge.  Branches of arts and sciences, logic, grammar – learning such as these usually confuse the understanding instead of clarifying it.  Sacred books often function as shackles that prevent freethinking.  All learning is good if it can ever guide man Godward”                                                                                  - Sri Ramakrishna.

 

Material science or knowledge indeed is great, but it is only a part of the Infinite knowledge of the Self.  For the man who wants to have the full knowledge which will solve ALL his problems, the limited knowledge of physical science is not critical.

(Readers can learn more on this in Raja Yoga by Swami Vivekananda). 

 

There are many people who believe in God, but consider it not necessary to follow the religious path now.  There is time, they say, till the old age. They could do all this in the retired life.  After retirement from occupation or active life, people have little to do and religion could be pursued as a hobby.  Till the hour of death, there is time.  Good idea! But this may not work well always.  Death may not wait till the old age.  Moreover, the body and mind will be weak during old age and it may not be easy to carry out sadhanas, even if one wishes to do so. 

 

Further, such people find solace in the famous sloka of Gita:

 

Anta kale cha mameva smaranmuktua kalevaram

Yah prayati sa madbhavam yaati nasty atra samshaya (Bhagavad Gita sloka 5, Chapter 8).

 

Swami Chidbhavananda comments:

 

“The essence of the sum total of the entire thoughts and feelings that have been taking place in the mind of man during the span of his life, stands condensed into a single state of mind at the time of his departure from the body.  To effect the thought of Lord at the last moment is therefore well nigh impossible.  Preparation for it has to go on all through the life.”  

 

Moreover, some commentators like Sri Sankara say, the ‘cha’ in the sloka after ‘anta kale’ is very important.  It means, “thought of the Lord, ALSO at the time of death” (during the whole life and also at the time of death, “poorvamapi anta kale cha”).  The next sloka of Gita explains what happens to the departing soul if it thinks of something else.  Lord cannot be reached with the thought of something else.  So it is essential to start following the path of God as soon as possible.

 

The desire to know the meaning of our existence should come from one’s own self.  The rest will follow. 

 

Now, what is “Bhaja”?  It is not the mechanical repetition of Lord’s name without the presence of mind.  Some people do it as a mere religious ritual or observance.  The Bhajan of Lord should come from the bottom of one’s heart.  It should be true love and devotion to Him; Calling on Him in that spirit is what is meant by “Bhaja Govindam”.  

 

It may not be a coincidence that Sri Sankara chose to name God by the word ‘Govinda’: His Guru’s name was Govindacharya.

 

Verse 2 

mUDha jahiihi dhanaagama tR^ishhNaaM

kuru sadbuddhiM manasi vitR^ishhNaam.h .

yallabhase nijakarmopaattaM

vittaM tena vinodaya chittam.h 

 

(mUDha = Oh fool!; jahiihi = jahi + iha, leave / give up + here (in this world); dhana = wealth; agama = coming / arrival; tR^ishhNaaM = thirst / desire; kuru = do; act; sadbuddhiM = sat.h + buddhiM, good + awareness (loosely speaking: mind); manasi = in the mind; vitR^ishhNaaM = a state without desires; yallabhase = yat.h + labhase, whatever + (you) obtain; nijakarma = nija + karma, one's + duty (normal work); upaattaM = obtained; vittaM = wealth; tena = by that; with that; vinodaya  = divert / recreate (be happy); chittaM = mind.)

 

(mUDha dhanaagama tR^ishhNaaM jahiihi = Oh fool, give up here the thirst to amass wealth; manasi vitR^ishhNaaM sadbuddhiM kuru = Getting rid of desire, fill (your) mind with good thoughts (on God); nija karmopaattam yad vittaM labhase = the wealth that is obtained as a result of one’s own karma; tena chittaM vinodaya = with that, entertain your mind.)

 

Oh fool! Give up now the thirst to amass wealth; Getting rid of vain desires, fill the mind with good and holy thoughts; Entertain it with the wealth you acquire by fair means. 

 

Again Sri Sankara calls a man ‘fool’: This time he addresses the man who is yearning for money!  Money itself is not bad.  But the ‘thrushna’, the relentless thirst for money could be a poison.  Such a man could be easily called a fool!  There is no harm in earning whatever money is obtained by doing honest work as per one’s dharma.  But one shouldn’t be greedy.  I believe, this is applicable to sadhakas as well as men of the world.  

 

It is an everyday affair: Killings for money, robbery, corruption and numerous financial crimes.  The reason is the insatiable thirst for money.  Man thinks that without money he cannot lead a reasonable life.  This is true also.  But when he finds his own means are limited, he tries to grab others’ property; if this is not easy, he even tries violent means. Sometimes he also ends up in trouble, along with his victim. Human mind refuses to set a limit for requirement of wealth. The shocking fact is that crimes are often committed not by poor people, but by well-to-do men who are not satisfied with their present position! 

 

The word ‘dhana’ here not only means money, but also all other human pursuits for enjoyment and collection of wealth. The important thing is to isolate our mind from material possession.  The materials of enjoyment are neither good nor bad.  But we should not attach ourselves to them.  This is the secret. The Acharya here doesn’t condemn money or wealth.  Neither does he differ with our fair means of acquiring it.  What is objectionable is the greed. There is no end to greed, if we give it a free hand.  Very few people are satisfied with what they get.  No amount will satisfy them.  So, for having a balanced mind and a peaceful life, there has to be a line marking the limit.  Sri Sankara nicely sets it here: Obtain your lot by fair means by doing your legitimate duties; but do not fall for greed.  Be happy with whatever you attain through your limited and fair means and lead a contented life.  This is the message.  The mind which is isolated from greed should be filled with good thought; i.e, turned towards God.  Mind being always in a restless state, needs something to entertain itself.  Good thoughts and love of God should fill the vacuum created by lack of greed for material enjoyments.  Wealth thus acquired without greed, through fair and legitimate means and meant for distribution to the needy, is good.

 

“Going after wealth in such a case is not bad, because that wealth is for distribution.  The householder is the centre of life and society.  It is a worship for him to acquire and spend wealth nobly, for the householder who struggles to become rich by good means and for good purposes is doing practically the same thing for the attainment of salvation as the anchorite does in his cell when he is praying.”                                                                                                                  - Swami Vivekananda (Karma Yoga).

 

Verse 3

naariistanabhara naabhiideshaM

dR^ishhTvaa maagaa mohaavesham.h .

etanmaaMsavasaadi vikaaraM

manasi vichintaya vaaraM vaaram.h 

 

(naarii = woman; stana = breasts; bhara =full; naabhiideshaM = nAbhI + deshaM, navel + region; dR^ishhTvaa = having seen; maagaa = mA + gaa, Don't + go; mohaaveshaM = infatuated state (moha + AveshaM - seizure); etan.h = this; maa.nsavasaadi = mAmsa+ vasa + Adi, flesh, fat, etc. vikaaraM = appearance (generally, grotesque / ugly); manasi = in the mind; vichintaya = think well; vaaraM = again; vaaraM = and again)

 

(naariistanabhara naabhiideshaM dR^ishhTvaa =  Seeing the full breasts and the navel area of women; mohaaveshaM maagaa = don’t lust after; etat maamsa vasaadi vikaaraM = these are mere derivatives of flesh, fat and the like; vaaraM vaaraM manasi vichintaya = think (this) again and again.)

 

Don’t get excited with desire seeing the full breasts and navel area of women.  Think of them again and again as mere flesh, fat and the like.

 

After tackling the issue of limiting the greed for wealth, Sri Sankara now turns his attention to the issue of sex.  Don’t be carried away by the sight of full breasts and the belly of a beautiful woman!  Think of it again and again as mere flesh, fat and the like covered in skin.  A very difficult advice indeed!  This perhaps would not be accepted by the worldly minded people.  But this advice is for sadhakas.  

 

Beauty is but skin deep.  The Acharya points to this fact.  If the sadhaka is stuck with such diverting things, his progress will be stalled.  So the caution.  The mental picture of such beautiful objects as mere combination of flesh, fat and other undesirable matter (for the sadhaka), will slowly develop a vairagya (renunciation) in the sadhaka’s mind.   The reality behind many attractive things in life will often be shocking.  This shock is necessary to develop ‘vairagya’ to cross the river of ‘maya’. But it is not easy.  Lust is not easy to give up, because it is our animal nature. Hence the thought as explained has to be reinforced again and again (vaaram, vaaram).

 

Sri Sankara has often been criticized for writing this verse; the sanyasi discusses explicit sexual details, they accuse.  But sex is part and parcel of life. It is a basic instinct of man, who is after all an animal. There is no escape from this fact.  Closing our eyes on it will not help.  Sexual urge is quite natural and it is hence very difficult to control it. The sadhaka needs solid advice to tackle the problem.  Hence Sri Sankara boldly attacks the subject and suggests solution also.  

 

It should be remembered that the Acharya doesn’t condemn either dhana or sexual urge. Objects are neither ugly nor beautiful; But the mind colours them as such; the trouble starts there. Sadhaka’s mind has to be free from attachment to such things.  He or she should see the truth and then turn their mind to the Real.

 

The sadhaka’s life is not an easy one.  He has to conquer the thirst for unlimited wealth and also his insatiable urge for the opposite sex.  It may sound very demanding.  True;  but to realize a higher truth and to reach a state of infinite pleasure in the discovery of the Self, this sacrifice is necessary.  The Acharya only tries to help the situation by offering practical suggestions.  (Readers who desire to know more why sexual feelings are to be controlled by the sadhaka, please refer Raja Yoga by Swami Vivekananda.)

 

Though the Acharya addresses men here, by explaining about female anatomy, the advice is, needless to say, for women also to think twice on attraction for men.  The Acharyas were certainly not biased against women.

 

Sri Ramakrishna often advised his devotees to slowly get rid of “kamini kanchana”.  The idea is the same. These two create the biggest obstacles for the sadhaka who wants to progress on the spiritual path.  Hence all saints have cautioned them on these.  

Sri Sankara, in these two slokas merely repeats the message of earlier seers.  

 

Verse 4 

naliniidalagata jalamatitaralaM

tadvajjiivitamatishayachapalam.h .

viddhi vyaadhyabhimaanagrastaM

lokaM shokahataM cha samastam.h 

 

(naliniidalagata = nalinI + dala + gata = lotus + petal + reached / gone; jalaM = water (drop); atitaralaM = ati + taralam, very + unstable; tadvat.h = like that; jiivitaM = life; atishaya = wonderful; chapalaM = fickle-minded; viddhi = know for sure; vyaadhi = disease; abhimaana = egoism; grastaM = having been caught / seized; lokaM = world; people; shokahataM = attacked (hata) by grief (shoka);

cha = and; samastaM = entire.)

 

(naliniidalagata jalamatitaralaM = The water drop trapped in a lotus petal is susceptible; tadvat.h = likewise; jiivitaM atishaya chapalaM = life is also wonderful and uncertain; samastaM lokaM, vyaadhyabhimaanagrastaM shokahataM cha viddhi = know that the whole world is seized by diseases and pride and devastated by grief)

 

Life is uncertain and unstable as a drop of water trapped in a lotus petal; Know that it is prone to various maladies like diseases and egoism and the entire worldly life of man is mostly grief-stricken.

 

The great poet in Sri Sankara here compares life with a drop of water trembling on a lotus petal.  It is so uncertain and unstable. The water drop trapped on a lotus petal is shaky and may fall any time.  Our life is no different.  It may come to end anytime.  Death comes without any forewarning.  Man should understand this truth and turn his attention to God, Sat- Chid – Ananda (Existence – Knowledge –Bliss).  

 

Life is not only unstable, but it is infected with the maladies like diseases and pride.  Pride or egoism is also considered a disease here. “Jnana and mukti cannot be had as long as egoism persists.  Birth and death also do not come to an end to him who is given to egoism.”, says Sri Ramakrishna. Hence it is really sorrowful.  There is more pain here than pleasure.  More troubles than fun.  This is the nature of life.  

 

There must also be a hidden meaning to this sloka.  Lotus grows in water. Hence the water drop which falls into the water again joins its original source; i.e, water.  If we think of the infinite Brahman as water and the Jeevatma as the water drop, the matter is clear.  From Brahman we come.  We remain in the lotus petal of life for a short while and then again merge in our original state.  While in this apparent state of isolation from the original place, like the water drop trapped in the lotus petal, our life is full of uncertainties.  Slightest wind will mean the downfall of the drop.  In life also, slightest mishap can mean disaster.  Hence the Acharya urges us to turn to God.