Mohamudgara-BajagovindamMOHAMUDGARAORBAJAGOVINDAMOF SANKARAMoha mudgara, popularly known as Bajagovindam,is a short lyric, high in poetic excellence and magnificent in philosophical content. Hence this is an important work of Sankara, though a short one . The lilting verses set to music makes it easy to remember thus enhancing the quality of poetry and the selected verses of this lyric have been immortalized by the divine music of the great M.S.Subbhalakshmi.The incident that inspired Sankara to break out into these verses was described as follows:When he was walking in the city of Varanasi, with fourteen of his disciples he heard an old man trying to memorise a sutra, aphorism, of Panini, the grammarian. Sankara was moved with pity that in his old age this man was wasting his time when he should be spending it in spiritual pursuits. Sankara sang the refrain verse beginning with ‘baja govindam baja govindam govindam baja moodamathe,’ and followed it with twelve more verses, which have the power to instigate the worldly men into spiritual \knowledge by portraying the futility of worldly pursuits.The next fourteen verses are attributed to his disciples who had been inspired by the words of their guru to add an their own thoughts to his. The last four however are supposed to have been uttered by Sankara himself as benediction. But as the whole work is called generally as that of Sankara and that is the line of thought adopted in this commentary.The opening verse itself is a jolt to the man of the world by denouncing all secular knowledge as being futile. All the learning which is to be utilized for material welfare is not going to help when the time comes for one to leave this world, sampraapthe sannihithe kale nahi nahi rakshathi dukrnjkarane.Sankara pointed out to the old man that the aphorism, durnjkarane, will not come to his rescue when the death comes. Only Brahmavidya, knowledge of Brahman will help him to cross over the transmigratory existence, samsara.Here it should not be mistaken that Sankara was against other branches of learning like grammar or logic, which are very essential for the study of Vedanta and hence the great acharya would not have undermined the study of these. The real implication is that those who are not able to master these branches of learning need not waste their entire life doing so but should concentrate on Brahman through faith and devotion since all learning should culminate in the final goal of emancipation. Sankara advises such people to seek Govinda whose grace will give them the wisdom as Krishna says in Gita, ‘dhadhaami buddhi yogam tham’ “ I give them the required jnana.”However learned a man is his learning will not stand in his stead at the time if his death but only the grace of God will help him through. This is what Krishna stresses in Gita when He says ‘One who leaves this body thinking of Me alone comes to Me and never returns to samsara.The term Govinda which has been given several meanings by the commentators of Vishnusahasranama is significant here as its etymological meaning can be traced to Brahman. The word is derived as gaam vindhathi or vindhayathi . The word gam has several meanings such as earth, speech, veda, cattle and so on and can be construed to mean all the ten avataras of Narayana which is perhaps why the name has been chosen by the acharya. As Brahman is the substratum of everything, source of speech, essence of all indhriyas which are compared to cattle since they graze along the pastures of sense objects and lastly because Brahman is known through scriptures, the word Govinda is taken to mean Brahman. Thus the lyric inspires both jnana and bhakthi.Rajaji our national leader and a great scholar says in his commentary on Bajagovindam that when the wisdom is assimilated in the mind it is jnana and when it merges with our life and is transformed into action it is bhakthi. Jnana without bhakthi is dry. Jnana cannot arise in the mind without detachment and discrimination The Tamil saint Thiruvalluvar says, ‘ pattruga pattrattraan pattrinai appattrai pattruga paatru vidarku.’ In order to detach ourselves from the world we have to attach ourselves to God. Sankara has combined jnana with bhakthi in this lyric as a guideline to spiritual progress.The purpose of this work being mohamudgara, destroying the illusion, Sankara expounds the transitory nature of the worldly experiences like suka and duhkha, in order to divert the attention from them to the everlasting bliss through brahmajnana. That is, the bhramajnana, knowledge of the illusory nature of the universe will lead to brahmajnana, knowledge of Brahman. This is achieved by showing that nothing in this world is permanent and the objects of desire cherished to be of value are not worthy of pursuit.The example of sutra of Panini includes all learning which is not useful for spiritual uplift. Even to learn the scriptures is not beneficial if it only makes one arrogant of his knowledge and to flaunt himself as a scholar. All learning must be offered to the feet of the Lord because without His grace nothing can be achieved. Those who are really wise are humble and simple as we can see in the works of all great masters. It is said that the arrogance due to knowledge is the most difficult to eradicate as it stays till the end while the arrogance due to wealth, beauty, or power will vanish when the cause is no more.The next verse deals with the greed for wealth. One gets what is his due according to his karma. It is wise to be contented with what you have instead of pining for something you do not or cannot have. Sankara says ‘mooda jahihi dhanaagamathrshnaam, give up the desire for accumulating more, and more wealth and be satisfied with what you have as the result of your karma, yallabhase nija karmopaaththam viththam thena vinodhaya chiththam.’ Desire for wealth here means all possessions man hankers for.After warning against greed for money and possessions Sankara cautions man on the gratification of sensual pleasures like lust. The beauty is skin deep under which there is nothing like flesh. So, says Sankara, develop dispassion, Vithrshna.But how to achieve this vithrshna, freedom from desire? Sankara gives a positive suggestion as to how this can be achieved. He says ‘kuru sadbuddhim’ fill up the mind with thoughts about Brahman which will bring to light the transitory nature of all worldly possessions. Coaxing the mind to cling to something higher will make it give up what is lower. In order to achieve this it is necessary to show that the most cherished desires of the mind are worthless. This Sankara accomplishes through a beautiful analogy.A drop of water which finds its way on a lotus leaf trembles, runs hither and thither ‘ nalinidhalagathajalam athi tharalam,’ only to fall back into the lake. Sankara compares it to human life, which is as fickle and as agitated. This is due to the abhimana, ego which makes a man to identify himself with body, mind and intellect and undergoes suffering.Like a drop of water on a lotus leaf he imagines that he has an independent existence and runs here and there seeking happiness without realizing that his life is extremely fickle and short, ‘ thadvath jeevitham athisaya chapalam’ compared to his whole existence as a part of the infinite, which is like the water in the lake. The drop of water came from the lake and after a very short stay on the leaf goes back to the lake to merge with it. So too, the span of one life is short and transitory. Even the short duration is not peaceful but wrought with disease and other afflictions due to ego-centric desires, ‘viddhi vyaadhyabhimaanagrastham.’ Thus the life in the world is caught in the jaws of suffering and agony, ‘ lokam soka hatham cha samastham,’ which makes man run from pillar to post like the drop of water on the lotus leaf.Sankara then elaborates on the sad aspect of life namely, old age. The futility of spending one’ s life in the pursuit of wealth and power is poignantly brought out in a portrait of an old man who is neglected when he is no more the breadwinner of the family. As long as he was the provider of the needs of the family , ‘ yaavath vitthoparjana sakthah,’ by earning money, the family and the relatives respect him and cling to him, ‘ thaavath nija parivaro rakthah. ’ But when he lives in his shattering old age, yaavath jeevathi jajaradehe, his plight is pitifully described by Sankara as ‘vaarthaam kopi na prchchathi gehe,’ no one even bothers to enquire about him.Sankara further points out that even the wife shrinks from the body she has hitherto loved once the life has gone out of it. ‘ Gathavathi vaayou dhehaapaaye bhaaryaa bibhyathy thasmin kaaye.’ It should not be misconstrued that Sankara asks one to relinquish his wife. He only condemns the moha or illusion that the family attachments are real and permanent. The relationship between husband and wife or parents and children lasts only as long as there is life in the body, yaavath pavano nivasathi dhehe.But the sad truth is that, says Sankara, the whole life is spent in caring for something which is transitory and provides only fleeting happiness instead of trying to attain everlasting joy by seeking the infinite. Baalasthaavath kreedaasakthah, in childhood man is engrossed in play, tharunasthaavath tharuneesakthah, in youth he is interested in damsels, vrddhasthaavath chinthaasakthah, even in old age man spends his time ruminating over the past. Alas, exclaims Sankara, no one turns to Brahman even in his last days.Granted that the life is short and the relations and possessions will last only for one life span only, how to free oneself from attachment ? In order to do this Sankara asks men to contemplate on the questions, ‘Who am I’ and ‘Where did I come from?’ Every one comes into this world alone goes out of it alone. No one is dependent on another nor belongs to another. Wife, children and possessions are placed in the custody of man for the time being and taken away after a while. He does not own them. Pondering on this brings detachment. ‘kaa the kaanthaa kasthe puthrah, kasya thvam kah kutha aayaathah, who is your wife and who is your son, whom do you belong to and where did you come from?’ asks Sankara and tells us to dwell on this truth. The attachment comes from dhehaathmabuddhi, identification with the body. When one has discrimination that he is the eternal Self and not the perishable body, he gets detached from the world and enjoys the show, that is presented before him by the world, as an onlooker. As Sankara points out he perceives the samsara as being atheeva vichithrah, full of wonder and beauty but illusory like a drama that opens up in front to entice him.But how to bring about this detachment? Sankara, the practical philosopher points out the way. The first step advised by him is satsanga, the good association or company of the spiritual seekers or failing which , acquaintance with the spiritual texts. This leads to detachment, nissangathvam. Through detachment one is freed from delusion, nirmohathvam. When the mind is freed from the delusion which is the cause of identification with the body, it becomes clear waking up to the real nature of things and becoming aware of the immutable reality. This awareness culminates in jeevanmukthi, Self-realisation. Here Sankara describes the ladder of ascension while Krishna elaborates on the path of decline in the second chapter of Bhagavatgita in the verse ‘ dhyaayatho vishayaan pumsah,’ (BG-2-62), which clearly illustrates that attachment is the road to destruction. Here Sankara indicates that the same attachment when controlled and directed towards right channel leads to immortality.Sankara cites three examples to show that absence of attachment secures release from samsara. The lustful desire, kamavikara, vanishes with youth, vayasi gathe , when the water is dried up, sushke neere, there is no lake, kah kaasaarah andWhen the wealth is gone, ksheene viththe, the people around leave you kah parivaarah. So too when the knowledge of Reality dawns, jnaathe thaththve, there is no samsara. It is significant that Sankara has chosen the illustrations in such a way as to show the transitoriness of the worldly matters in contrast to the knowledge of Reality.The life ebbs away carrying all that which is cherished by man, harathi nimeshaath kaalah sarvam may it be wealth or power or youth. One should not have conceit over these fleeting possessions, maa kuru dhanajanayouvanagarvam. The whole world is maayaamaya nothing but a delusion. Therefore Sankara implores mankind to understand this and take steps to acquire brahmajnana, brahmapadham thvam pravisa vidhithvaa.It is not possible for all to renounce the world and follow mukthimarga even if they understand that the worldly joys are short lived and always mixed with sorrow. But Sankara does not advise renunciation for everyone. Unless one acquires discrimination and detachment, samatva, equanimity, necessary for entering Brahmapada will not arise in the mind. Before that one must cultivate patience, thithiksha considering the fact that both joy and sorrow are unavoidable as Krishna says in the 2nd chapter of the Gita, ‘ maathraasparsaasthukountheya seethoshnasukhaduhkhadhaah aagammaapaayio anithyaah thaan thithikshasva bharatha.’ Contacts of senses with the objects cause cold and heat, joy and sorrow. These are fleeting , as they come and go. Endure them’ So the advise of Sankara given in this work is essential even to lead normal life.As and when we observe the beauty of the dawn and dusk we should bear in mind that it signifies the passing of each day which brings the end of this life nearer and nearer. Days and nights, morning and evening pass by and so do the seasons, spring and winter, which recur every year. ‘Dinamapi rajani saayam praathah sisiravasanthou punaraayaathah. But, says Sankara, man does not give up his desires thinking that he is eternal, and not realizing that ‘kaalahkridathi gachchathyayuh’ , the time goes by and his life is getting shorter by each year. Thadhapi na munchathyaasa vayuh Even seeing this the desire does not leave a man till the end of life.Sankara feels sorry for the ignorant man who is carried away by his attachments and says “ Is there no limit for your folly? ‘ vathula kim thava nasthi niyantha’ There is no connection whatsoever between man and his relations ,may it be his wife, or his possessions because they do not follow him once he leaves this life .’ Ka the kantha dhangatha chintha’Here it is relevant to refer to a story on Bhagavatha where a king is sorrowing for the death for his son and sage Narada comes to him and makes the dead son appear before him and asks the son to comfort his parents. The jeeva which was the son in his previous life asks the sage as to which of his parents he has to feel for, since he has had so many parents in so many births. Then the king is comforted that death is something as natural as life.So, says Shankara, the only means of getting out of attachment and the subsequent sorrow is to cross the sea of samsara through the boat of the association with the wise and the good. ‘kshanamapi sajjanasanghathirekaa bhavathi bhavaarnavatharane noukaa.’Shankara describes the plight of a man who is under the sway of the senses in the next three slokas. ‘Jatilo mundee lunchitha kesah kaashaayaambhara bahukrthaveshah pasyannapi na pasyathi moodah udharanimiththam bahukrthaveshah.’ One does not become a sannyasi just by wearing saffron clothes or by shaving his head or by having long hair and beard. If he is not renounced in his mind he is only putting on these costumes for filling up his stomach. That is, these are pseudo sannyasis.This reflects the words of Krishna in Gita ‘Karmendriyani samyamya ya aasthe manasa smaran indhriyaarthaan vimoodaathma mithyaachaarah sa uchyathe.’ Controlling the organs of action he, who lets his mind dwell on their objects has a confounded mind and he is a hypocrite. Thiruvalluvar says in his thirukkural, ‘maziththalum neettalum vendaa ulagam paziththadhu oziththu vidin.’ Which means that there is no need of shaving your head or long hair if you give up the desires of the world.Rajaji in his commentary says that there are so many sannyasis who use their saffron robes only to achieve their ambition and craze for power. If it were true even in his days how much it is so now!If this is the condition of pseudo sannyasis the plight of the householders is even more pitiable in old age. The limbs are shaky, angam galitham, the hair has gone completely grey, phalitham mundam, the mouth has lost its teeth, dhasanaviheenam jaatham thundam, and the old man walks with the aid if a staff in hand, vrdhdho yaathi grhe ethvaa dhandam.’ Even then the desires do not disappear, thadhapi na munchathi aasaapindam.’ That is not all. The old man cannot bear the cold at night and sits near the fire with his chin on his knees during the night and in the sun during the day. He has no abode but resides under a tree getting his food by begging.’ Agre vahnih prshte bhanuh rathrou chubukasamarpitha januh karathalabhikshastharuthlvaasah.’ Even then ,says Shankara, his craving for sensual pleasure is not extinct. ‘thadhapi na munchathyaasaapaasah.’There is no guarantee that desires will cease to exist just because one is too old to indulge in fulfilling them. Desires unsatisfied torment in old age when the body is not strong enough to pursue the sense gratification.Similarly by dipping oneself in the holy water of the Ganges and by observing the vows of austerity and giving away things in charity ‘Kuruthe gangaasaagaragamanam vrathparipaalanam athavaa dhaanam,’ do not bestow liberation. Shankara says without jnana one cannot hope to get salvation even in a hundred lives. ‘ jnanaviheenah sarvamathena mukthim bhajathi na janmasathena.’Then as a contrast comes the description of a real sannyaasin who is sarvaparigrahathyagi, one who has given up all possessions and their enjoyment. Such a person lives under a tree outside a temple, suramandhiratharumoolanivasah, he sleeps on the ground and wears a skin sayyaa bhoothalam ajinam vaasah, yet he is full of joy because he has no desires. Shankara asks kasya sukham na karothi viragah, where is the unhappiness when one is detached? Thiuvalluvar says, ‘vendaamai anna vizuchchelvam eendillai aandum ahdhoppadhil, ‘ there is no greater wealth than contentment. Has there been any example for this? There were many as we see the saints like Ramakrishna and Ramana in all ages. Even in the west we read about people such as Diogenes who, when asked by Alexander the great to express his wish , said that he wished only that Alexander would move away as he was obstructing the Sun. Such was the inner joy experienced by the realized masters‘Yogaratho vaa bhogaratho vaa sangaratho vaa sangaviheenah yasya brahmani ramathe chiththam nandhathi nandhathi nandhathyeva.’ Whether he is seen practicing yoga or seemingly indulgent in bhoga his inner bliss remains unalloyed. He is always happy because his mind is revels ever in Brahman. Sankara repeats the word nandhathi three times to emphasize the eternal and continuous nature of bliss. Also it implies that the happiness is experienced at all three levels of body, mind and intellect.Is there no hope then till one reaches the stage of a jeevanmuktha? Do not despair, says Sankara, ‘Bhagavatgeethaa kimchidhadheethaa gangaajalalava kanikaa peethaa sakrdhapi yena muraari samarchaa kriyathe thasya yamena na charchaa.’ Even a little knowledge of Bhagavatgita, drinking a few drops of the ganges water or even once worshipping Lord Hari will protect from the fear of death.This has to be carefully analyzed and understood properly. Learning a little of Bhagavatgita means learning at least one verse of gita and contemplating on its meaning and applying it in our life, is beneficial rather than memorizing the whole text without understanding and application. Few drops of Ganges water drunk implies that even a little sipped with full faith is better than plunging into the river without faith. Worshipping Hari even once refers to total surrender which is done only once as after that one belongs to the Lord.Here we are reminded of the words of Rama at the instance of the surrender by Vibheeshana. He said,. when questioned by Sugriva and others regarding the fitness of Vibheeshana to be given refuge, ,Skrdheva prapannaanaam thavaasmi ithi vaadhinaam abhayam sarvabhoothaanaam dhadhaami ithi vratham mama.’ “It is my vow to give refuge to all beings who come to me once and says “I am yours.”The realized master is not always understood by the world which often mistakes him as a madman or an idiot. But he moves on , taking the barest minimum, only what is needed to maintain his body and soul together, from the society which fails to understand him due to ignorance. ‘Rathyaakarpatavirachitha kanthah , wears only a cloth thrown away as garbage, he is punyaapunyavivarjitha panthah, interested neither in acts of merit or sin, because his mind is always engrossed in the bliss of brahman, yogi yoganiyojitha chiththah, such a man appears to the world as a child or a madman.The mind of the child is guileless and a madman does not care about the world. This is the state of a yogi. Rshabhadeva , who left his kingdom and roamed about the world like a madman and Jadabharatha who was like an imbecile to the people around and Yogiram Suratkumar in our own times are examples of such great souls.Sankara emphasizes the futility of the life on this earth and says sarvam asaaram all that you cherish in this world ,even your close relations like wife and parents are as valueless as in a dream. To think about them is svapnavichaara only. Raga, attachment and the subsequent anger and hatred is due to ignorance of our real nature of the self which is the same in others. To get angry with someone is therefore like becoming angry with our own self. If you wish to attain vishnuthvam, that is , mukthi, says Sankara, cast off the attitude of difference , the effect of ignorance and see yourself in all, bhavasamachiththah sarvathra thvam. Think about the real you without getting under the sway of the inner enemies of man, namely kamakrodhalobhamoha, desire anger, avarice and delusion. Only those devoid of the knowledge of the self experience hell on earth. Even though the Acharya is enumerating the four foes of man the desire is the prime enemy and the others are its followers. As Krishna says in the Gita the desire is mahaasano mahaapapma, all-devouring and most sinful and advises Arjuna to kill this perpetual enemy of jnana by selfcontrol, samsthabhyaathmaanamaathmana jahi shathrum mahaabhaaho kaamaruoam dhuraasadham.Finally the Acharya bestows his blessing on the spiritual aspirant in the concluding verses. Chant the Gita and the sahasranama of the Lord and meditate always on His form, geyam githaanamasahsram dhyeyam sripathi rupam ajasram. This will be possible only if we seek the company of the good . Arjuna says ‘indhriyaani pramaatheeni haranthi prasabham manah, the senses are mighty and pull the mind by force,’ which fact is also confirmed by Krishna who says ‘‘asamsayam mahabaho mano dhurnigraham chalam, ofcourse the mind is fickle and difficult to control. In order to do that one should avoid the worldly and associate with the saintly, says Sankara. Neyam sajjanasange chiththam and dheyam dheenajanaaya cha viththam, Think high and consider the lowly also by sharing your wealth with the poor. This shows that ‘Bajagovindham’ is for the householders and not sannyaasis. Sankara does not advocate renunciation of the world but only renunciation of the desires. Sympathize with the poor and try to alleviate their suffering, associate with the good and cleanse your mind of impure thoughts,The sensual pleasures are attractive in the beginning but brings misery in its wake. The raamaabhoga results in sariraroga. Over indulgence in joys of the flesh 4nds in misery due to disease. Though all know that death is a certainty no one gives up the sinful life and resort to spirituality. Sankara calls all arthas, sense objects anartha cause of sorrow, and do not produce any joy. The rich seem to fear even from their own sons because the money breeds evil.Sankara thus invites the attention of a seeker of spiritual progress o the hazards of the sensual pleasures and warns him against the play of maaya imploring him to rise above that through spiritual practices like pranayama and prthyaahaara, breath control and control of the mind. This accompanied with nityaanaityavasthu viveka, discrimination regarding which is permanent and which is not, leads one to Samadhi in which the intellect is firmly established in Brahman. Sankara gives a final assurance that the devotion to the guru will lead to a quick deliverance from the samsara.’Gurucharanaambujanirbharabhakthah samsaaraath achiraath bhava mukthah.’ The final salvation comes from witnessing the lord residing in the heart, ‘drsyasi nijahrdhayastham dhevam.This work of Sankara contains the essence of Gita and is aptly called Mohamudgara as it brings to the mind vividly the travails of samsara and opens up the eyes of the man of the world to reality. The description of the illusoriness of the worldly pleasures is brought out in a picturesque manner. But for the refrain that goes throughout, namely ’Bajagovindam’ the contents are not strictly devotional but primarily philosophical. These verses are verily a shock treatment administered to the materialistic intellect and shakes it from the stupor of ignorance.
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