Bhaja Govinda Stotram
Day 1, July 17
M.S. Subbulakshmi has made it very famous. Her Guru encouraged her to popularize Stotras, instead of only singing Carnatic music in concerts. By Guru’s grace she became more famous for the Stotras she rendered in her unique and beautiful style. E.g. Bhaja Govindam, Venkateswara Suprabhatam, etc. If Guru’s advice is heeded the results are wonderful. Service to Guru is to follow in his footsteps. No need to pave a new path.
Sri Shankara Bhagavatpada recommends the path of devotion as the greatest and the easiest path to reach God. Bhajans can be sung while doing any chores. God listens.
Bhaja Govindam has many names, and consists of 31 verses. It has 12 originally composed by Adi Sankara, and the rest by his close disciples. The total number accepted varies between 27 and 31. Dwadasa Manjarika plus Chaturdasa Manjarika. 26 plus Phala Shruti is 27. Moha Mudgara – the destroyer of illusion is an accepted descriptive name for this collection of verses. Charpata Manjarika is another name, meaning this body is as fragile as a papad and is not to be attached to. Illusion is seeing truth as what it is not. To see a rope as a snake and feel fear is a common example given in Vedanta. Everything in this world causes fear, anything other than oneself.
Govinda is a title given by Indra to Sri Krishna when he protected the residents of Gokula by lifting the Govardhana mountain with his little finger to protect from a violent cloudburst sent by Indra to destroy the village.
We don’t know what we should remember and what we should forget. We remember what we should forget, and forget what we should remember. So, Guru keeps reminding us of God, who is our sole refuge. Nothing of this world is of any enduring value. Nothing of this world can protect us or shield us from sorrow. It is very important to remember God and serve Him by chanting His names and following the path shown by Him.
A well-known story that occurred in the city of Kasi, where Sri Bhagavatpada resided. He bathed in the Ganga and was going up the steps to visit the temple on an auspicious festival day. A noted scholar was teaching grammar to his disciple and emphasizing on the rules, oblivious that it was a special day. A brass water pot kept next to him was accidentally knocked over and it came tumbling down the steps, making the sound, “dukrinkarane dukrinkarane dukrinkarane.” Sri Bhagavatpada sang spontaneously these verses, indirectly chiding the scholar that his grammar lessons will not protect him and he had better spend his time praising and serving God with piety. Because God alone removes sorrow and grants enduring happiness. Who protects us while we sleep? Do we even know whether we will wake up?
Kasi is the only sacred spot that remains unsubmerged when the final deluge drowns everything else in Creation. It is hence called Avimukta Kshetra.
Once, a king tested his three sons to see which one qualified to inherit the kingdom. He gave a certain amount of cash and told each one to completely fill a room given to each, with something. One filled it with some cheap junk he could purchase with the given amount. Another filled it to the ceiling with stinking garbage. The king saw these two and was disappointed. The third son filled the room with bright light using many lamps. He explained that he could think of nothing greater than light to fill the room with. The king was impressed with his wisdom and crowned him the future king.
Many people wish to know how long they will live. All honorable astrologers are under an oath not to disclose this information. Knowing one’s lifespan does not give anyone happiness. It is only a cause for distress. It is best not to know and to live each day to the fullest, making the best use by performing good deeds. One must make a habit of constantly remembering God, because at the time of death, one is more likely to think of relatives, financial documents, and so on, or their own aches and pains. What one remembers at death is what they become, or get in their next life.
Once, a man was told that he only had three days to live. He got worried and asked the astrologer to suggest a way of tricking Yama, the god of Death. It was suggested that the man prepare 100 dolls in his likeness and surround himself with those, to confuse Yama. He followed the advice and lay down amidst those one hundred likenesses of his. Sure enough, Yama came, and honestly, he was puzzled as to which the real victim was. He spoke out aloud, “The man has done a fantastic job of confusing me, but he has made one small mistake.” At this, the man jumped up, and asked,” What? Where did I go wrong? ”Yama quickly tied the man with ropes and dragged him away. Moral is, no one can outsmart death.
To have the realization of God, one must turn the eye inward. God cannot be found in the world. Worldly knowledge is like a gem in a crown. But when the crown is taken down, it does not stay with the individual. Real wisdom stays in the heart and leads to Self-realization. It cannot be taken away. To grow a flower, one must plant a seed, water the plant, fertilize it, and wait for the right time for the plant to mature and produce a flower. Wisdom is like that. It must be cultivated with care. A flower or fruit occurring out of season is shunned for fear of causing disease. Similarly, wisdom must rise by natural growth. Untimely questions and statements are dangerous.
Verse 1.
bhajagovindam bhajagovindam
govindam bhaja moodhamathe
samprapte sannihite kaale
nahi nahi rakshati dukrinkarane
The phrase is repeated three times to denote the three stages of life: childhood, youth, and old age. It means that one should learn to remember God from childhood onward. One who does not remember and serve God is a fool, although he may be a great scholar in the worldly sense. When death approaches, God alone protects, not the rules of grammar.
Verse 2:
moodha jaheehi dhanaagamatrishnaam
kuru sadbuddhim manasi vitrishnaam
yallabhase nijakarmopaattam
vittam tena vinodaya chittam
Give up the thirst for amassing wealth and acquiring possessions. Remember the difference between a legitimate desire, greed, and disappointment. Greed always leads to disappointment and misery. To live, one needs minimal desires. But when desires go to excesses, one become demonic. Without selfish motives, do your duties. Minimal selfishness is natural. It is okay to wish to be well. But wish also that everyone around you should be well. Never wish that you alone should be well, but all others should be miserable. That is wrong. That is the highest form of wickedness. Whatever comes to you as per you karma, be satisfied with it. Do not expect to get more than what you deserve. Do not gain wealth by immoral means.
Verse 3:
naaree sthanabhara naabheedesam
drishtvaa maa gaa mohaavesam
etan maamsavasaadi vikaaram
manasi vichintaya vaaram vaaram
Many people are shocked that a yogi should speak of a woman’s body. They attribute to Sri Bhagavatpada a dislike or disrespect towards women. That is far from the truth. Such people are ignorant.
Sri Bhagavatpada had the greatest respect for women. He became a sanyasi only after his mother gave him consent. He promised her that he would return to her whenever she called. He kept his word. At her death, although it was against the rules, he performed her funeral rites.
It was an old impecunious woman who was blessed with wealth by the now famous Kanakadhara Stotram chanted by Sri Bhagavatpada. He went to her home begging for alms. All she had to offer him was a dried up gooseberry. That is what she gave him. At once, the yogi prayed to Goddess Lakshmi to relieve the woman of her poverty and it rained gold in her home.
During his debate with another great scholar, by mutual consent, the scholar’s wife was appointed as the judge.
In this verse, Sri Shankara Bhagavatpada is giving upadesha that lustful thoughts should be expressed only where allowed, within the limits of marriage, and not towards any other women. The youth should never look upon women with a lustful eye. Society needs this teaching and training to avoid and prevent abuse of women, which is so rampant today. The curves of a woman’s body are made of nothing but flesh, pus, blood, and other substances. This should be kept in mind, to keep infatuation away.
It is important to impress upon the youth that all women must be looked upon as mother. That is the command given to Sri Swamiji by his mother and Guru Sri Jayalakshmi Mata. She said to the boy, “In every woman, see only me.” Desire for woman is natural in a man. But it should be expressed only in a dharmic way, towards his wife. During student days, the mind must be restrained from lustful thoughts. After completing education, a man may marry and enjoy conjugal pleasures as law allows. It is wrong to desire other women. All other women should be regarded as one’s own mother.
It is important to talk to teenagers openly about their thoughts of physical desires and attractions. It is important to give them proper guidance about what is right and what is wrong. Many people think wrongly that such topics should not be discussed openly. But children need parental and adult guidance and counseling.
Jada Bharata, who behaved like a dud deliberately, was made to beg for food, although he owned land and was entitled to wealth. One day, when he stood at the door to receive alms, a woman brought him food. He looked up and saw a woman’s figure for the first time. In surprise, innocently he asked her, “Why is your body shaped differently from mine?” The woman freaked out and ran inside and told her mother-in-law that a madman was at the door. Hearing of the question posed, the old lady knew that the man is a yogi. She went to the door and explained to him, “Anticipating the needs of a newborn infant, God has arranged for its food from the mother’s body. That is why a woman’s body is different.” Jada Bharata realized at once the great love and compassion God has towards all beings, that anticipating the birth of children, and their needs, He has arranged for their food well in advance. He decided from then onward that he would not beg for food and would trust God to supply his needs. He moved to a forest and just waited for food to come to him. If food failed to show up, he was going to just die from starvation. That was his resolve.
Verse 4:
nalineedalagata jalamatitaralam
tadvajjeevitamatisaya chapalam
viddhi vyaadhyabhimaanagrastam
lokam sokahatam cha samastam
Life is very volatile. The way a drop of water does not remain on a lotus leaf but is very unsteady and falls off, this body also is undependable and might drop off at any moment. This is true of everyone. It is nothing to be afraid of. Everyone has to face death. This verse helps to dispel the fear of death. This body is susceptible to diseases. It is ridden with ego. The world is filled with sorrow. To escape from the troubles of the world, praise and serve God. That is the only way.
Once, while Yudhishthira was engaged in a friendly game of dice, a gambling event, which one should not get involved in, a poor man came begging for alms. Yudhishthira, not desiring to be interrupted from the game, told the man to come the following day and promised him that he would certainly fulfill his wish for whatever he wanted. At this, Yudhishthira’s brother Bhima laughed out loud, clapping his hands. Stunned, Yudhishthira asked the reason for this outburst. Bhima said he was impressed that Yudhishthira knew for certain that he would be alive the following day to fulfill his promise to the beggar. Realizing his folly, Yudhishthira at once summoned the beggar and gave him all that he wished for. Moral is, no one knows when death will come knocking.
Unexpectedly circumstances change. Rama, on the eve of his coronation, after all the preparations were in place, and all the guests and priests had arrived, was banished to the forests for 14 years. Rama readily agreed to go. In all history, except for Rama, no one else could have done what he did. Dasaratha, his father begged him to stay one extra night with him, since he could not live without Rama. But Rama declined. He said, his decision might change, if he postponed his journey.
That is why, when one is prompted by instinct to do a good thing, it is best to do it right away, and not to postpone it.
Sri Guru Datta