Bhagwad Gita – Chapter 1, Verse 15
Bhagwad Gita – Chapter 1, Verse 15
TRANSLATION
TRANSLATION
Hrishikesh blew his conch shell called Pancajanya, Dhananjaya blew his, the Devadatta and Bhima, the voracious eater and performer of herculean tasks, blew his terrific conch shell, called Paundra.
Hrishikesh blew his conch shell called Pancajanya, Dhananjaya blew his, the Devadatta and Bhima, the voracious eater and performer of herculean tasks, blew his terrific conch shell, called Paundra.
PARAPHRASE
PARAPHRASE
In this verse of the Bhagwad Gita, Sanjaya uses Hrishikesh to refer to Lord Krishna because He is the owner of all senses. All the living entities are His part, and hence the senses of these entities are also a part of His senses. In this way, Krishna is situated in the hearts of all living beings and can direct their senses in case of complete surrender of the beings. And when it comes to a pure devotee, he directly controls those senses.
While Dhananjaya here is used as another name for Arjuna because he was the reason behind fetching and accumulating the wealth of Indraprastha, his elder brother’s kingdom. He did so because a newly appointed king was expected to perform various sacrifices which required gold. Similarly, Vrikodara is used for Bhima, known for eating as voraciously as he could perform herculean tasks.
In this verse of the Bhagwad Gita, Sanjaya uses Hrishikesh to refer to Lord Krishna because He is the owner of all senses. All the living entities are His part, and hence the senses of these entities are also a part of His senses. In this way, Krishna is situated in the hearts of all living beings and can direct their senses in case of complete surrender of the beings. And when it comes to a pure devotee, he directly controls those senses.
While Dhananjaya here is used as another name for Arjuna because he was the reason behind fetching and accumulating the wealth of Indraprastha, his elder brother’s kingdom. He did so because a newly appointed king was expected to perform various sacrifices which required gold. Similarly, Vrikodara is used for Bhima, known for eating as voraciously as he could perform herculean tasks.
Modern Interpretation of Chapter 1, Verse 15
Modern Interpretation of Chapter 1, Verse 15
Did you ever hear this inner voice that speaks to you whenever you are faced with extreme circumstances?
I think we all do. Sometimes, we are about to do something wrong, or we are required to make a hard choice. During such trying times, we witness our brain playing its trick on us. It likes to present us with choices that are an easy way out of the situation, however wrong they are. But amidst all the wrong thoughts, there is this once voice that you hear whispering. That is certainly not your brain. That is something else.
Lord Krishna is mentioned situated in the hearts of all beings in this verse of the Bhagwad Gita. But getting everyone to wrap their heads around this concept is rather difficult in this era. But Shrimad Bhagwad is for all ages. So, let us try to bring out a different perception to this paraphrase.
Did you ever hear this inner voice that speaks to you whenever you are faced with extreme circumstances?
I think we all do. Sometimes, we are about to do something wrong, or we are required to make a hard choice. During such trying times, we witness our brain playing its trick on us. It likes to present us with choices that are an easy way out of the situation, however wrong they are. But amidst all the wrong thoughts, there is this once voice that you hear whispering. That is certainly not your brain. That is something else.
Lord Krishna is mentioned situated in the hearts of all beings in this verse of the Bhagwad Gita. But getting everyone to wrap their heads around this concept is rather difficult in this era. But Shrimad Bhagwad is for all ages. So, let us try to bring out a different perception to this paraphrase.
The Bandwidth of Human Consciousness
We are a part of this infinite cosmos, and there are certainly infinite “unknown unknowns” that we aren’t aware of. Let us consider consciousness, for example. Sigmund Freud has defined three levels of consciousness of our material brain – conscious, subconscious, and unconscious. But doubtlessly, these levels can be interacted with and thus can be explained. What of the consciousness that lies beyond?
The Vedic scriptures and the Bhagwad Gita call it Krishna Consciousness. This is the state of another dimension (maybe 4th or 5th, we simply do not know). It is said that the general laws of nature or Newtonian Physics aren’t applicable there. Perhaps, time also has no existence there. Do we not already know of such a realm or concept but cannot explain it?
The answer is ‘yes.’ And the realm is within the scope of Quantum Physics where no Newtonian Laws are applicable. Perhaps this is why Krishna mentions himself as the owner of all the senses and consciousness. And through this unknown dimension, Krishna or our higher self can sometimes interact with our own consciousness. Guiding us in times of need and, more importantly, constantly watching out for us if we let Him do so.
We are a part of this infinite cosmos, and there are certainly infinite “unknown unknowns” that we aren’t aware of. Let us consider consciousness, for example. Sigmund Freud has defined three levels of consciousness of our material brain – conscious, subconscious, and unconscious. But doubtlessly, these levels can be interacted with and thus can be explained. What of the consciousness that lies beyond?
The Vedic scriptures and the Bhagwad Gita call it Krishna Consciousness. This is the state of another dimension (maybe 4th or 5th, we simply do not know). It is said that the general laws of nature or Newtonian Physics aren’t applicable there. Perhaps, time also has no existence there. Do we not already know of such a realm or concept but cannot explain it?
The answer is ‘yes.’ And the realm is within the scope of Quantum Physics where no Newtonian Laws are applicable. Perhaps this is why Krishna mentions himself as the owner of all the senses and consciousness. And through this unknown dimension, Krishna or our higher self can sometimes interact with our own consciousness. Guiding us in times of need and, more importantly, constantly watching out for us if we let Him do so.
