Bhagavad Gita Chapter 4 Verse 10 — Jnana Karma Sanyasa Yoga
Sanskrit
वीतरागभयक्रोधा मन्मया मामुपाश्रिताः | बहवो ज्ञानतपसा पूता मद्भावमागताः ||४-१०||
Transliteration
vītarāgabhayakrodhā manmayā māmupāśritāḥ . bahavo jñānatapasā pūtā madbhāvamāgatāḥ ||4-10||
Hindi Meaning
।।4.10।। राग भय और क्रोध से रहित मनमय मेरे शरण हुए बहुत से पुरुष ज्ञान रुप तप से पवित्र हुए मेरे स्वरुप को प्राप्त हुए हैं।।
English Meaning
Being freed from attachment, fear and anger, being fully absorbed in Me and taking refuge in Me, many, many persons in the past became purified by knowledge of Me – and thus they all attained transcendental love for Me.
Commentary
As described above, it is very difficult for a person who is too materially affected to understand the personal nature of the Supreme Absolute Truth. Generally, people who are attached to the bodily conception of life are so absorbed in materialism that it is almost impossible for them to understand how the Supreme can be a person. Such materialists cannot even imagine that there is a transcendental body which is imperishable, full of knowledge and eternally blissful. In the materialistic concept, the body is perishable, full of ignorance and completely miserable. Therefore, people in general keep this same bodily idea in mind when they are informed of the personal form of the Lord. For such materialistic men, the form of the gigantic material manifestation is supreme. Consequently they consider the Supreme to be impersonal. And because they are too materially absorbed, the conception of retaining the personality after liberation from matter frightens them. When they are informed that spiritual life is also individual and personal, they become afraid of becoming persons again, and so they naturally prefer a kind of merging into the impersonal void. Generally, they compare the living entities to the bubbles of the ocean, which merge into the ocean. That is the highest perfection of spiritual existence attainable without individual personality. This is a kind of fearful stage of life, devoid of perfect knowledge of spiritual existence. Furthermore there are many persons who cannot understand spiritual existence at all. Being embarrassed by so many theories and by contradictions of various types of philosophical speculation, they become disgusted or angry and foolishly conclude that there is no supreme cause and that everything is ultimately void. Such people are in a diseased condition of life. Some people are too materially attached and therefore do not give attention to spiritual life, some of them want to merge into the supreme spiritual cause, and some of them disbelieve in everything, being angry at all sorts of spiritual speculation out of hopelessness. This last class of men take to the shelter of some kind of intoxication, and their affective hallucinations are sometimes accepted as spiritual vision. One has to get rid of all three stages of material consciousness: attachment to material life, fear of a spiritual personal identity, and the conception of void that arises from frustration in life. To get free from these three stages of the material concept of life, one has to take complete shelter of the Lord, guided by the bona fide spiritual master, and follow the disciplines and regulative principles of devotional life. The last stage of the devotional life is called bhāva, or transcendental love of Godhead. According to Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu (1.4.15–16), the science of devotional service: ādau śraddhā tataḥ sādhu- saṅgo ’tha bhajana-kriyā tato ’nartha-nivṛttiḥ syāt tato niṣṭhā rucis tataḥ athāsaktis tato bhāvas tataḥ premābhyudañcati sādhakānām ayaṁ premṇaḥ prādurbhāve bhavet kramaḥ “In the beginning one must have a preliminary desire for self-realization. This will bring one to the stage of trying to associate with persons who are spiritually elevated. In the next stage one becomes initiated by an elevated spiritual master, and under his instruction the neophyte devotee begins the process of devotional service. By execution of devotional service under the guidance of the spiritual master, one becomes free from all material attachment, attains steadiness in self-realization, and acquires a taste for hearing about the Absolute Personality of Godhead, Śrī Kṛṣṇa. This taste leads one further forward to attachment for Kṛṣṇa consciousness, which is matured in bhāva, or the preliminary stage of transcendental love of God. Real love for God is called prema, the highest perfectional stage of life.” In the prema stage there is constant engagement in the transcendental loving service of the Lord. So, by the slow process of devotional service, under the guidance of the bona fide spiritual master, one can attain the highest stage, being freed from all material attachment, from the fearfulness of one’s individual spiritual personality, and from the frustrations that result in void philosophy. Then one can ultimately attain to the abode of the Supreme Lord.
Hinglish Commentary
Bhai, samajhna thoda mushkil hai ki jo log materialism mein itne doobe hue hain, unke liye Supreme Absolute Truth ki personal nature ko samajhna kaisa hai. Aam tor par, jo log apne sharir ki soch se juda hain, wo itne materialistic hote hain ki unhe yeh sochna bhi mushkil hota hai ki Supreme ek vyakti bhi ho sakta hai. Unka dimaag sirf is baat par chalta hai ki sharir to khatam hone wala hai, ignorance se bhara hai aur sirf dukh hi dukh hai. Jab unhe Bhagwan ki personal form ke baare mein bataya jata hai, toh wo isi sharir ki soch ko apne dimaag mein rakhte hain. Unhe lagta hai ki jo kuch bhi hai, wo sirf material manifestation hai, isliye wo Supreme ko impersonal samajhte hain. Jab unhe bataya jata hai ki spiritual life bhi individual aur personal hai, toh unhe dar lagta hai ki wo phir se vyakti ban jayenge, aur isi wajah se wo impersonal void mein merge hona pasand karte hain. Wo is tarah se jeevan ko samjhte hain jaise samundar ke bubbles, jo samundar mein mil jaate hain. Yeh unki spiritual existence ki sabse unchi perfection hai, lekin bina individual personality ke. Aur kitne log hain jo spiritual existence ko samajh hi nahi paate. Bahut saari theories aur philosophical contradictions se pareshan hoke, wo ya toh nafrat karte hain ya gusse mein aakar yeh sochte hain ki koi supreme cause nahi hai aur sab kuch ultimately void hai. Yeh log ek beemar stithi mein hain. Kuch log itne materialistically attached hain ki wo spiritual life par dhyan nahi dete, kuch merge hona chahte hain supreme spiritual cause mein, aur kuch sab kuch par shak karte hain, spiritual speculation se nafrat karte hain kyunki unhe umeed nahi hoti. Yeh log kabhi kabhi kisi tarah ki intoxication ka sahara lete hain, aur unki hallucinations ko kabhi kabhi spiritual vision samjha jata hai. Humein in teen stages se chutkara paana hoga: material life se attachment, spiritual personal identity ka dar, aur frustration se jo void ka concept banta hai. In teenon se mukt hone ke liye, humein Bhagwan ki poori sharan leni hogi, ek bona fide spiritual master ke guidance mein, aur devotional life ke niyam aur principles follow karne honge. Devotional life ka aakhri stage bhāva hota hai, yaani God ka transcendental love. Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu ke anusar, shuruaat mein humein self-realization ki ichha rakhni hoti hai, jo humein spiritually elevated logon ke saath judne ki taraf le jaati hai. Phir humein ek elevated spiritual master se initiation milta hai, aur unki guidance mein hum devotional service shuru karte hain. Is prakriya se, hum sabhi material attachment se mukt hote hain, self-realization mein steadiness prapt karte hain, aur Bhagwan Śrī Kṛṣṇa ke baare mein sunne ka taste prapt karte hain. Yeh taste humein Kṛṣṇa consciousness ki taraf le jaata hai, jo bhāva mein mature hota hai, yaani God ke transcendental love ka pehla stage. Bhagwan se asli prem ko prema kaha jata hai, jo jeevan ka sabse uncha perfectional stage hai. Prem ke stage mein, hum Bhagwan ki loving service mein constant engaged rehte hain. Is tarah se, devotional service ke slow process se, ek bona fide spiritual master ke guidance mein, hum sabhi material attachment se mukt hote hain, apni individual spiritual personality ke dar se chutkara paate hain, aur frustration se jo void philosophy banti hai, usse bhi door hote hain. Tab hum ant mein Supreme Lord ke abode tak pahunch sakte hain.
Chinmaya Commentary
इस श्लोक में अध्यात्म साधना एवं साध्य दोनों को ही स्पष्टरूप से बताया गया है किसी भी साधक के लिये राग और उसके कार्यों का त्याग किये बिना कोई उन्नति करना संभव नहीं क्योंकि वे सदैव उसके मार्ग में बाधा उत्पन्न करते रहते हैं। एक बार मन इनसे उत्पन्न विक्षेपों से रहित होकर शान्त और स्थिरचित्त हो जाता है तब पूर्णत्व की स्थिति उसके जीवन का एक मात्र लक्ष्य होती है जो उसे आगे बढ़ने के लिये उत्साहित करती है। आत्मविकास की इस स्थिति पर पहुँचने पर उस साधक को शास्त्राध्ययन की योग्यता प्राप्त होती है।उपनिषदों में वर्णित आत्मप्राप्ति की साधना इस प्रकार है क गुरु के चरणों के पास बैठकर वेदान्त का श्रवण ख श्रवण किये हुए विषय पर युक्ति पूर्वक मनन और ग इस प्रकार जाने हुए आत्मतत्त्व का निदिध्यासन अर्थात् ध्यान। वेदान्त के सिद्धान्त का अध्ययन और उस ज्ञान के अनुसार जीवन में आचरण करने को ही इस श्लोक में ज्ञानतप कहा गया।कुछ व्याख्याकारों के मतानुसार इस श्लोक में कर्म भक्ति एवं ज्ञान इन तीनों योगों के समुच्चय का उपदेश दिया गया है। कैसे उनके अनुसार कर्मयोग की भावना से अपने कार्य क्षेत्र में कर्म किये बिना राग भय और क्रोध निवृत्ति नहीं हो सकती। मन्मया और मामुपाश्रिता अर्थात् मुझमें स्थित और मेरे शरण हुए इन शब्दों में भक्तियोग का संकेत है क्योंकि ईश्वर की शरण में गया हुआ भक्त भगवान् के साथ में एकरूप हो जाता है। आत्मानात्मविवेक करके आत्मा के साथ तादात्म्य रखने के प्रयत्न को ज्ञानयोग कहते हैं जिसे यहाँ ज्ञानतप कहा गया है। इन सबका निष्कर्ष यह है कि भिन्नभिन्न प्रतीत होने वाले साधना मार्गों का अनुसरण करने पर साघकगण मुझ परमात्मा को ही प्राप्त होते हैं।वास्तव में देखा जाय तो ये समस्त साधनामार्ग मन को साधन सम्पन्न बनाने के लिये ही हैं जिसे शास्त्रीय भाषा में अन्तकरण शुद्धि कहते हैं। हममें से कुछ लोगों का अपनी देह के साथ अत्यधिक तादात्म्य होता है। कुछ व्यक्ति अधिक भावुक होते हैं तो अन्य लोग बुद्धिवादी। इन सबके लिये एक ही प्रकार के साधन का उपदेश करने पर इस बात की सम्भावना रहती है कि उसे सार्वभौमिक स्वीकृति न मिले तथा सबके लिये उसकी उपयोगिता सिद्ध न हो सके।यह स्पष्ट है कि साधना मार्गों में विविधता होने पर भी सभी साधकों का आत्मानुभव एक ही है। यह एक विवादरहित तथ्य है क्योंकि विश्व के आध्यात्मिक साहित्य के अध्ययन करने पर ऐसा प्रतीत होता है मानो प्रत्येक सन्त ने अपने पूर्वकालीन साहित्य से विचारों को लेकर उनकी नयी प्रति प्रस्तुत कर दी हो इसका अर्थ यह हुआ कि भगवान् रागद्वेषवान् हैं क्योंकि वे किसी को मोक्ष प्रदान करते हैं और अन्यों को नहीं। इस पर कहते हैं