Bhaj Govindam little by little

So we have been studying deep truths in Vedanta during our study of Yog Vashishta…click:

I feel a little confused as to what to share with you next. Do you know about Adi Shankar Acharya? He was one of the greatest Vedantists. As a very young boy he wanted to leave home in search for the Truth and meditate. Very soon in his life his father died. And his mother would not let him leave. One day as the little boy was bathing in the river a crocodile caught his leg. The distraught mother prayed and said that if the boy survived she would let him leave and lead the life of a mendicant. The child miraculously survived. He went on to comment , interpret and revive the Vedas. And he also compiled the poem Bhaj Govindam .
In the Bhaj Govindam he urges mankind to chant the Lord’s name… I shall share the first verse with you tomorrow. Would you like that?

Before we enter the ‘Bhaja Govindam’
I would like to share with you about another composition of Adi Shankar Acharya.
In Samskrit it says: Mano Buddhi Ahankara Chitta Ninaham
Nacha Shrotra Jihve Na Cha Ghrana Netre
Nacha Vyoma Bhoomir Na Tejo Na Vayu
Chidananda Rupa Shivoham Shivoham
Meaning :
am not mind, nor intellect, nor ego,
    nor the reflections of inner self (chitta).
I am not the five senses.
I am beyond that.
I am not the ether, nor the earth,
    nor the fire, nor the wind (the five elements).
I am indeed,
    That eternal knowing and bliss, Shiva, love and pure consciousness.

I say: We are roles that we play and Salome says:
I am a different person in different roles Daughter sister wife mother friend employee employer Etc
Different masks for different situations and yet that part of me which is unique is That which is constant I have to be aware that praise or censure should not affect me!
And in continuing with the discussion about being criticised though being s good person , Salome has the following to say:
…about being disliked, it’s the conditioning that we have grown up with… the idea that we must excel …the sense of competition of wanting to be the favourite. This feeling, I feel brings out the worst in us we have to recondition ourselves to doing things purely for our selves and not to be validated
Tough thoughts
Easier said than done!
I say : once one has started upon the spiritual journey one has to try in the least …
So if all the above difficult concepts do not work… here is the first verse of the
Bhaj Govindam:

Bhaja Govindam
Bhaja Govindam, Govindambhaja mūḍhamatē । samprāptē sannihitē kālē nahi nahi rakṣati ḍukṛṅkaraṇē ॥ 1 ॥

Meaning
Worship Govinda, worship Govinda, worship Govinda, Oh fool!
Rules of grammar ( or other mundane activities) will not save you at the time of your death.
🙏🙏🙏

The verses that I shared with you yesterday, before the BhajGovindam are called the Nirvana Shatakam or the Atma Shatakam.
(Do look it up on YouTube, it is beautifully sung by various artists)
The story is that as Adi Shankara when he was roaming when he was eight years old in the forest, he met a mendicant who asked him who are you? And that is when Adi Shankara burst into the verses of Nirvana Shatakam , which I would say belong to the Neti Neti philosophy of I am neither this, nor this… but the curious thing to observe here is that the Great philosopher realised that the high philosophy of Vedanta is not for the common man, hence he urged that we chant the Lord’s name… Guru Nanik also urged mankind to constantly chant the Lord’s Name…
The phrase “Kalyug Kewal Naam Adhara, Simar simar nar utarayi paara’ is attributed to Goswami Tulsidas and it means : In the Age of Kali, the Name of the Lord is the only mainstay, which will take you across the Ocean of Sansara! Think about it!

So the second verse in Bhaj Govindam urges us to give up our thirst to amass wealth…
I say: Come to think of it, why do we need more than is necesarry …
One is going to live for at the most a century or a little more… I can understand wanting for calamities , sickness of oneself or family… but what does one do with thousands of crores?
Once one reaches that level , first of all comes the fear of losing it… losing the power that comes with it… controlling the ego that comes with it…
Once I was taking a Swamiji for a drive…
I showed him the Taj Mahal Hotel. I also told him about how much we paid for the night only to sleep on the bed. No breakfast lunch or dinner included. So the Swamiji said:
If you are paying so much only to sleep at night, they must be guaranteeing sleep!
And I laughed and said: No! probably the beggar on the street sleeps a better sleep !strange but true isn’t it? Think about it!
The second verse of Bhaj Govindam continues to state: Be content with what comes through actions which karmas which come from your past lives, (or for what you have striven in your present one)
And devote your mind to what is real !
In the Guru Granth Sahib there is a verse that states : ‘chinta taki keejiye jo unhone hoye, yeh marg sansaar da Nanak thir nahin koye!
I like to interpret it like this: ‘Worry about that which is ‘Unhoni’ ( always remains , always True, Always permanent) Why worry about something which is always changing , no one and nothing ever remains the same, money , health comes and goes! Think about it!

Some of the scriptures claim that Women is the downfall of men. But is it? It is the man’s lust for a woman’s body that is his down fall… in the third verse of the Bhaj Govindam, it says :
‘Do not get drowned in delusion by going wild with passions and lust by seeing a woman’s navel and chest. These are nothing but a modification of flesh. ( that she is only made up of flesh and bones) Fail not to remember this again and again in your mind.’
I say: Maybe the above verse is addressed to a rapist , or to help men and women so obsessed with ‘sex’ that they can’t think beyond it…

The 4th verse of the Bhaj Govindam is a little depressing to think about , but absolutely true…
It says …
‘The life of a person is as uncertain as rain drops trembling on a lotus leaf. Know that the whole world remains prey to disease, ego and grief.’
I say: Disease , grief Yes! But why ego?
Disease and grief is not in our hands, most of the time… but ego and delusion is, what we may have a little control over, though limited … and people who practice ‘mind over matter’ rarely go through too much ‘grief’ as they know about the impermanence of life , joy , sorrow …
And I have heard that often diseases are psychosomatic …
I often say , we criticise the ‘mind’ for all our problems… but to befriend the mind or to make it our enemy is in our hands… to open or close a lock don’t we use the same key? Think about it!

How do i befriend my mind? The way I do it, is to treat it like a child… I scold it sometimes , I pamper it sometimes … I remember when I lost my husband , I said to my mind, be grateful for the years that you had, I can’t get back my husband in his physical form back , but I will pamper you ( my mind) in different ways… so I travelled more, learned to play bridge , mahjong and my mind got too busy to trouble me too much … 😊🙏

So Aasha’s sweet message says:
🙏🙏 v positive vibes and energy, great way to samjhao the chanchal mann 👌
Nisha says: Good attitude to have ,
your attitude is your altitude …always soar high, don’t let anything bring you down, keep pulling up your laces 😄
And I says: got so many thumbs up for my last note… but no one noticed the technique that I used to ‘samjhao my chanchal mann’
I used ‘my mind’ as someone outside, my true Self… I became a witness to what my mind was cribbing about…
Now do you see it ! I now I understand what Swamiji insisted when he told me: You are not ‘attached’ the mother in you is attached to your children …

Poonam sums all that we have learned beautifully , she says: Yes ! one must keep the monkey mind busy & try to be Happy . Don’t be Sad, time changes everything, Things will get better IF U want. Better days ahead will come Remember no Storm lasts forever..😊
And wise Mani says : Be the Silent Witness. That is the ultimate truth. This one sentence has immense depth of meaning, which has to be unravelled continuously till you reach the level of being the silent witness.
I , Shakun say: I just watched a video of Raman Maharishi …a disciple says to him : I have done all there is to do , to reach the Enlightened State, but have not succeeded. What do I do? Raman Maharishi said: ‘do nothing … only know that you are already THAT which you seek , you believe yourself to be the wave, Which goes up and down and are afraid to die , to suffer? When you actually ARE the OCEAN! 🙏

The fifth verse of the Bhaj Govindam says:
So long as a man is fit and able to support his family, affection is poured upon him by all those around him…But no one cares to even have a word with him when his body totters due to old age.’
The above verse teaches us about ‘Vairagya’ I wouldn’t know how to translate it literally into english… but it is a kind of disappointment , dejection with life … maybe the feeling is, that we wasted so much time on accumulations , attachments , ego games… and when old one feels defeated…and this kind of feeling of ‘vairagya ‘ mostly comes when one ages… playing the game of life one needs to play it, but at the same time chant the ‘Bhaj Govindam’ which I know, that all of you have come this far with me, are doing … live your life to the best of your capacity but give a little time to learning about what the scriptures tell us…
i often say we find time to go to the parlour, the dentist, why not devote a little time to what the Masters teach us…I shall tell you a story tomorrow which influenced my quest for this knowledge ! 😊

So yesterday we spoke about ‘Vairagya’ and giving some time to Spiritual practices…
I shall share what readers spoke about Vairagya , but before that I shall share a story that inspired me to devote time to spiritual readings and practices…so here is the story:
Once a traveler was travelling through a thick forest in the dark of night… suddenly, he heard a thundering voice that said: Ruko! (Stop! ) and then the voice said ‘’Jhuko’ ( Stoop down) the voice continued … pick up some stones and place them in your pockets and hand bags , tomorrow morning some of you will laugh and some of you will cry!
Some were afraid so some picked up a few stones , some picked up more, some less and some none at all … thinking that they were so brave as to not pay heed to the voice… the following morning, in the light of day , they saw that the stones were precious stones … got the analogy? The voice was the Masters urging us to do good karmas , spend some time on spiritual practice … the ‘morning ‘ is our time after physical death, all we take with us is the gems of spirituality and good karmas that we accumulated during our lifetime !

And about ‘Vairagya’ Roshni says: One person described vairagya as being disenchanted with life and that propels one to look for a deeper meaning of life.
Aasha says:
Vairagya almost means to renounce worldly life, the pleasures of life. After that comes Sanyas when you totally give up on all family ties and go into solitude . My interpretation 🙏
My, Shakun, take on above, I say:
Sri Ram had Vairagya at an early age , ( Yog Vashishta) and his guru urged him not to go to the forest . Arjun also had a sort of Vairagya, but Krishna urged him to fight the battle or/play the game of life… in old age people generally would go to the forest but not always because of Vairagya but because it was customary ( remember Brahmacharya , Grahastha, Vana prastha and
Vanvaas)
But yes there are some genuine ones in early age who forsook their life and comforts like Buddha or Meerabai!
PS: Four stages were prescribed to humans by the Rishis of yore:
1) Brahmacharya , the life of a student
2) Grahastha , the married life, a time to have children, profession etc
3) Vanaprastha: when one starts preparing for the forthcoming life in the forest, one starts giving up responsibility to children , and starts to practice detachment ( this practice in Kaliyug is almost totally non existent 😊
4) Vanvaas) when you are ready to physically move to the forest and continue your spiritual sadhanas preparing for death!
I think that it is a perfect system … We can still practice the above, if not physically at least mentally… at around the age of 50, 60 years, start to detach and give responsibility to children and around the age of 70 totally let go of interference, except for advice when needed… tough isn’t it?

Shanti asks: What spiritual sadhanas preparing to death, kindly elaborate, as I don’t think we wd go into the forest…
And I reply: I honestly do not believe that any one in this chat group at least, would literally go to a forest and that includes me 😊 I think that in today’s age, what would suffice is to live a ‘Forest like life’ with less needs, less desires, less ego, less attachments , less interference … our scriptures claim that whatsoever you think of at your time of death , that is where you will go ( or in my mind , take another birth to continue with whatever was paramount in your mind ,at your time of death… scriptures say if you think of gold , you will become a snake 😱
Maybe because a snake lives where gold resides… so I guess the spiritual practices would be to continue practicing whatever spiritual practices you are following with an addition of practicing more and more and getting less involved in conflicts one can do nothing about !

So today let us look into what the 6th verse of Bhaj Govindam states :
When one is alive, his family members enquire kindly about his welfare. But when the soul departs from the body, even his wife runs away in fear of the corpse.
This is again addressed to most of us who are ‘lost’ in our attachments… the verse reminds us that no body is truly attached to you …
I would add , that we who ‘worship’ our body … and which body is ‘loved’ eventually no one really ‘loves’ the body … yet we continue to love what was ‘real ‘ and loving about the soul that lived in the body… isn’t it… don’t they say do not neglect the body because it is the temple of God … but don’t be overly attached to it either…

Sapna says: So true ! A healthy body helps one to pray better…also
We need to look after the body as this is HIS TREASURE ( Gift) TO US … but sometimes the healthiest body also lands up with issues, but At least we tried to keep it healthy .
We should not be obsessed with it …
Biggest wealth is health and our spirituality!
Vanisha says:
Yes we get so overly attached to our body that we go overboard trying to beautify it, like doing botox etc and sometimes we don’t age gracefully.We feel the body will never age and keep pushing it.
Not realising in the process that it is only causing harm to the body and mind which believes that you are not perishable.
We have to leave everything behind so why so much attachment to this body that one starts to live away from reality.
And I Shakun say: True! Balance is the key!
We Must look after our body and try to look the best we can … Why not? But I got a note today which said:
‘It’s insane how many people are insecure about their appearance but not
about their character.’
Meera sings: kharche na khootey,
Chor na lootey ,
Din din badhat savaayo!
Main to Ram Ratan dhan paayo’
Meaning : I have achieved the wealth of ‘Ram Ratan’ which does not diminish by spending , and thieves cannot steal it… ‘
See the analogy with what I said earlier?

Vanisha says : True! 🙏🙏He is the ultimate….search Him and you will achieve all.
Once we become one with Him, you don’t need anyone.
You achieve moksha😇which is not easy with so many distractions in this day and age..Discipline and Devotion with ultimate faith are the keys.
Hare Krishna 🙏🌸🙏
Deepika says:
Body is your secret place
Body is your home.
Always keep it pure its mind, body and soul. Body is sacred,
Treat it as your temple!
I, Shakun , agree with the above but yet, talking about the body, I often wonder, why does everyone want to be young and live forever , when at the same time we constantly complain about how life brings with it so many hurdles and difficulties…and then though I have lived s reasonably good life, would I like to turn back the clock and be young again ? I don’t really think so … so I guess the wise ones are right when the constantly say : Live in the moment , live one moment at a time and the next moment , will take care of itself ! 😊

Poonam says: Yes Shakun’
Live today freely, Tomorrow will sort out by itself.
We Must not miss a moment , looking young, we all like to ( look young)
B….t feeling young is something that’s me!
I say : I so agree ! While ‘living… live’ but just give a little time to do some sadhana , which I can say all of you are doing…
The 8th verse of Bhaj Govindam states:
The childhood is lost by attachment to playfulness. Youth is lost by attachment to woman.
Old age passes away by thinking over many things. But there is hardly anyone who wants to be lost in parabrahman.
I, Shakun say: Have you heard a bhajan which states :
Tune raat gavaayee soyke,
Divas gavaya khaye …
Your life was consumed , by eating during the day , and the night by sleeping… and then he goes on to say: you were given this priceless life which you sold for a few pennies … think about it!

Nisha says : The key reason to feel you have not led your life to full potential is because of our tricky mind, it is always oscillating between the past & the future …being anxious about the future & regretting about the past …when you are grateful for your present moment & realise that this is Gods ‘present’ to you and do your sadhana’s and carry out your responsibilities & live in gratitude you are living a priceless precious life God blesses you for 🙏

Aasha says: 🙏🙏 We waste precious moments in this precious Life by thinking and worrying about the future of what will happen with our our precious Family!
And I Shakun reply: Turn chinta into Chintan
Meaning convert ‘worry’ into ‘prayer’

Roshni says: There is a tuk ( a verse in the Gurbani is referred to as ‘tuk’ ) by Sheik Farid which says:
Char gavaya hund mein
Char gavaya sam
Lekha Rab mangasiya
Tu aaho kaire kam?
Which translates to:
The first quarter of life went in play
The second quarter in sleep
When God asks for your account on this earth
He will question of what use you were in this life.
And I Shakun reply : I believe that all of us are born with a gift… that gift need not be a lofty one, but through that ‘gift’ we are meant to serve… my friends have said that I have the ‘gift’of making complex study, a little simpler to understand.
And so I say that while I write my notes to you every morning… whatsoever, I am sharing with you. I share with myself too. I try to walk the talk ! I am not always successful …but I do my best, and leave the rest 😊🙏
Shanti says:
Just as sandalwood is too pure and precious to be wasted as ordinary firewood, this human body—rare and divine—is not meant to be consumed in the flames of endless material ambitions. Its real purpose is far more sacred: to carry the fragrance of devotion, humility, and service to the lotus feet of Śrī Kṛṣṇa. When we live with this understanding, every breath becomes worship, every action becomes an offering, and our life itself becomes a gentle aroma rising toward the Lord.
.Thought of the Day Sunday !

Viveeta says : It’s so true we all just go through our daily motions in life be it eating or sleeping and life goes by ! Hence meditation helps us look at our inner selves and live a more meaningful life .
Think about it!

Verse 8 of the Bhaj Govindam says:
Who is your wife? Who is your son? Strange is this samsara, the world. Of whom are you? From where have you come? Brother, ponder over these truths.
I Shakun say : Have your read ‘The Prophet’ by Kahlil Gibran?
It is one of the most beautiful books that I have read.
It speaks of marriage, children and other topics. About children it says.
Your children are not your children,
They are sons and daughters of life’s longing for itself,
They come through you but not from you,
And though they are with you, they belong not to you…
Dear Readers, the book ‘The Prophet’ is definitely worth a read and pondering over, specially what he says about Marriage too…
Will share with you tomorrow what it says about Marriage! Ok?

Did you ponder upon ‘your children come through you but not from you? ‘
The minute we put up a ‘My’ in front of children , we feel that we ‘own’ them … yes! We are responsible for them… but I have read that you have only an influence upon them until the age of 13… I was shocked to read this… I thought at least upto the age of 18 we can have an influence upon them … so just like I am telling you now, I also tell myself … whatever one can do, one has done… now one can only advise … they have their karmas they have their life… they have their lessons to learn ….what do you say?

Huri says: Yes AND ACCEPT BECAUSE WE HAVE NO CHOICE
Aasha says: Yes it’s true, all of us have taken this birth to complete and fulfil past karmas , so say the scriptures. 🙏🙏

Nisha says: yes absolutely …just like we had parents who advised us and then we took on life with courage & strength …and here we are today …we can continue to advise our children as long as they need it and always bless them from near or far ❤️

Malu says: I think a lot about all that Khalil Gibran says .
The more I reflect…,
I can drop.
Going back to old patterns is slower ..
Reflection is a must I feel.
Maya says: It is true Shakun. Nothing and nobody belongs to us including our loved ones. The sooner we realise this, the better it is for all of us.
Sunita says: That’s true. Dada once told us that children are like sponges until the age of 7 they absorb readily everything until then and after that it becomes more difficult.
Shanti says: Looks like we are all playing roles according to our sanskars in this drama called life.

Salome asks: So everything is pre ordained or is there Free Will?
Choices which door do we walk into?
I , Shakun believe that ( though one school of thought believes that we have no choice whatsoever)
I believe that genetics , birth are pre determined , however we do exercise a certain amount of free will, by choosing how to react to different circumstances.
The choice is however very limited…
Eg : A goat is tied to a pole by a rope inside a fence , its free choice is what it does within the fence , tied by the rope…
Coming back to humans , sanskars play a big role here to determine ones choice of actions …
Therefore since the choice of reaction is so limited , it is important that it becomes natural for us to walk into the right door of choice …it is often explained this way : we are dealt certain
Cards, that is our destiny … how we play those cards is our free will… that free will becomes our ‘future Karma’ to deal with and learn from .

Mani says : … we have to handle and negate baggage of past karmas !
Poonam says: Peace comes when you realize that everything that’s out of your control, should be out of your mind too….
Every situation/ circumstance is different…..
everyone is playing out their Karma and will face the consequences.
Sapna says : I had once asked this question frm Sri Ravi Shankar .. how much free will do we have ?
His reply was
You can’t change your height but you can change your weight …😊 certain things we can’t change as you said Didi but we have limited choice ….
Personally I feel that it depends on the choices we make
But sometimes in that also I feel because it had to happen, that’s why the mind worked like that .. that at times it tells us whether it is the right or wrong decision, which was made . As no one would like to make wrong decision..
Huri says: I FEEL WE HAVE CHOCES AND WE MAKE THEM ACCORDING TO OUR WANTS AND NATURE…
I , Shakun say:
But those choices may or may not be the correct ones…
I have read, when confused about making a choice, refer to the scriptures, what your guru says, and your conscience, ie your gut instinct.
If all three have a different answer then refer to your guru. I asked what if your guru is not truly enlightened? And the reply is, that if one is an honest seeker then the universe, call it God will see that that reply is the correct one for you and delivered to you 🙏