Scripture Gist
भज गोविन्दम् Bhaja Govindam
|
$ पुरुषार्थ - पुरुषेण अर्थ्यते
(purushartha - purushena arthyate) Pursuits of a human being
(1) भज (bhaja) - सेवा (sewa - Service) or worship
$ Various derivations of गोविन्द (govinda) |
(2) Give up artha purusharta
(3) Give up kaama purusharta
- नारी nari (woman) indicates not just the attraction
of the opposite sex but also all that causes desires to rise in mind.
See the terrible pain in the embodied condition - दुःखदोषानुदर्शनम्
dukkhadoshanudarshanam
(4) Observe the fleeting nature of all life
(5) & (6) Selfish nature of worldly relations; ephemeral nature of physical appearance
(7) Waste of time in various attractions at different stages of life
(8) विचित्र vichitra - strange nature of relationships; how associations are formed
and separations ensue
(9) Key to Liberation; सत्सङ्ग satsanga (association with Holy) leads to detachment,
which in turn clarifies and purifies बुद्धि buddhi (mind/heart/intellect); pure mind
experiences peace and tranquility of Self; abiding in Self always in जीवनमुक्ति
jivanamukti
(10) Self-Knowledge alone destroys संसार samsara
(11) Don't be proud of wealth, family, youth etc.
(12) Day after day, time and life flies away, but desires don't leave the mind! This leads to taking up another body which leads to
further transmigration and samsara. Only Knowledge of infinite real Self can cut this chain.
- (Here ends the original 12 verses composed by Adi Shankara. Following fourteen are by his disciples.) -
(13) This verse is attributed to Padmapada; he was from Srirangam and was given the charge of Govardhan Math at Puri by Adi Shankara.
His famous text पञ्चपादिका panchapadika - commentary on
Brahmasutra-Bhashya of Shankara - propounds the विवरण vivarana school of Advaita Vedanta.
(14) This verse is attributed to Totakacharya; he was given the charge of Jyotir Math at Badrinath. He composed तोटकाष्टकम्
totakashtakam and श्रुतिसारसमुद्धरणम्
shrutisarasamuddharanam.
(15) This verse is attributed to Hastamalaka; he was from Sribali near Gokarna and was given the charge of Dwaraka Peetha. He composed हस्तमलकिय
hastamalakiya.
(17) This verse is attributed to Sureshwaracharya; he was earlier known as Mandan Mishra and was defeated by Shankara in शास्त्र-वाद
(shastra-vada - scriptural debate); then he became disciple of Shankara and later composed वार्तिक
(vartika) on बृह्दारण्यक-भाष्य
(brihadaranyaka-bhashya) of Shankara, hence he is also known as वार्तिककार
(vartikakara). He also composed the Advaitic text नैष्कर्म्यसिद्धि
(naishkarmyasiddhi).
(19) योगरतः yogaratah - engaged in Yoga (here it refers to Karmayoga as enjoined in Gita)
(20) All the great elements like Space, Air, Fire, Water, and Earth act as purifiers. River Ganga stands for Self-Knowledge.
(21) Enemy of असुर asura called 'Mura' i.e. Sri Krishna
(24) विष्णु vishnu - सर्वम् व्याप्नोति
sarvam vyapnoti - All pervading Brahman
(26) For certain hardened mindsets, fear of hell is required to bring them to path of morality.
(29) Worthlessness of wealth and the ill-effects it brings even on relatives!
(30) Perform sadhana diligently.
---------------------------------------------------------------
(Notes from study of the text at Sri Swami Chidbhavananda Ashramam, Vedapuri, Theni
from 04-12-2014 to 15-12-2014 under Acharya Swami Sarvananda Saraswati)
The pdf for the text can be downloaded from Scripture PDFs
****************************|| ॐ तत् सत् ||****************************
