Bhaja Govindam – Introduction

Waking Up to your Potential

September 8, 2024

Joyous Vinayaka Chaturthi to all!

Vinayaka Chaturthi is celebrated as the day, as the period when Bhagavan Vinayaka becomes more accessible to us. In a katha like way, it is the time when He comes to earth. However, isn’t Bhagavan Vinayaka always on earth, always with us? He is ever accessible. Are we ever available? That is the question. Being in this course, in this community is so important as we become available. Now, how does one train become available?

Meaningful application of the prayer “Vakratunda Mahakaya” 

Vakratunda – One with a curved trunk – For us to prioritize self development. Mahakaya – One who is big-bodied – who has the whole multiverse in Him – For us to absorb more whatever we experience. Suryakoti samaprabha – One who has the shine of 10 million suns collectively – For us to feel the Light, Awareness. Whenever we have a thought, what is beyond that is Light or Awareness. We can invoke this at a tactile level by sleeping early and waking up early.

Nirvighnam kurumedeva – We are praying to Bhagavan Vinayaka to remove obstacles and make our lives easier – Whenever we do what is right, life becomes easier, and whenever we do what is wrong, life becomes more challenging. So it is us who is adding and removing obstacles – For us to be reflective

Sarva karyeshu sarvada – In All contexts – We can invoke this by not siloing our lives like Sunday for the Mission, Monday for a particular course, etc. Swami Tejomayananda has shared – See life as a whole and live a whole life. Anything that is context dependent is less natural and anything that is content dependent is more natural.

This prayer has become our path now. Let us offer our prayer to Bhagavan Vinayaka for us to become humble enough to lead ourselves as only then will we become courageous enough to lead others. Now transitioning to our course “Waking up to our potential” – This course is going to push us, to prove to us that we are more than our present identity, that we are more than our present reality. There will be training involved to continue to disprove ourselves.

When we reflect on maps, maps are to be followed as they are documentation of those who have found what we want to find. Maps provide precedent for us to feel that if we follow them, we, like the Rshis, will find this Independent Joy (content dependent joy, not context dependent joy).

Story Time: 1500 years ago in the city of Varanasi, Acharya Shankara was walking with his disciples, and while crossing an alley, he heard an old man reciting Sanskrtam grammar rules. He felt pity and started to offer Upadesha or advice to this person. His advice, this text, was initially titled Moha Mudgara. Mudgara means a hammer. Moha means confusion or not feeling our potential. We are all struggling with Moha, whether we know it or not. We have to, with an open mind, reflect on our own identity and reality. An open mind helps us build our respect for someone or something, and the more we respect, the more we will receive. We may not feel confused about our identity. However, if we recall a time when we were really angry, we didn’t remember where we were, who we were or what we were saying. Our identity changes when we are really mad. Our scriptures state that anger makes us forget our relationship even with our Guide and parents. So, is this our identity then? Or could we be more?

When we are awake, we feel this is our only reality. When we dream, we feel exactly the same, that this is our reality. The same happens in the sleeping state. There is no such thing as a waking, dreaming or sleeping state. We are constantly transitioning between states, but they are not mutually exclusive. So could we be more than this reality?

Our whole life we have disproven ourselves and we are going to continue to do so with our identity and reality. How? We are going to follow the precedent of Acharya Shankara who has changed his identity and reality. He has provided us with a path called Moha Mudgara. It is a hammer to transform confusion into clarity. This text is more popularly called Bhaja Govindam.

Bhaja also means Bhakti (devotion or dedication). Dedication is more practical and can be cultivated. How? Here is how it evolves

– Sit – Sing – Seek (think about this here, in this context and elsewhere, outside of this context)

– Support (giving resources)

– Serve (give time)

– Surrender (the finality of bhaja = give effort, by starting to give up the identity, the reality that we are the doer)

Govinda – Go, from farthest to closest, means – Go means Earth, Go means cows, Go means senses, Go means Veda or changing our inner world. So Bhaja Go means to be dedicated to the Earth (animals, plants, stone), closer than that is to be disciplined with our senses on what we input and output, but most personal is to transform our identity, our reality. Vin means to gain or guide. In Shrimad Bhagavata, Mother Earth in the form of a cow came and made Shri Krshna Govinda, the One who has gained the love of cows / Earth, the One who guides cows / Earth.

Verse 1:

bhaja gōvindaṃ bhaja gōvindaṃ gōvindaṃ bhaja mūḍhamatē । samprāptē sannihitē kālē nahi nahi rakṣati ḍukṛṅkaraṇē ॥ 1 ॥

Acharya Shankara is symbolically speaking to that old man who is chanting grammar rules, as 1500 years later, he is also speaking to us. Everyone of us is dying as well. What are we doing to age and die graciously, rather than fearfully?

Chanting grammar rules symbolizes IQ or worldliness. That is not going to help us to go from being fearful to being gracious. It is by being dedicated – Earth, cows, senses, inner world – that is what a dying person should do. We are all going to die on a certain day of the week, like Raja Parikshita in Shrimad Bhagavata or this old man. It is for us to reflect – So what are we doing as we age and die?

Discussion: What are ways we deflect? What are ways to change deflecting into reflecting? Vivekji shared that he deflects by allowing himself to be tired. When our body becomes tired, it becomes heavier and when it’s heavy, it weighs the mind down and the mind gets frustrated. When the mind becomes heavy and frustrated, it weighs down the intellect and we become confused. The moha becomes more real. So the solution is to not let the body be tired. That is why we need disciplines like sleep early, wake early, walk early, which have an efficacy of not letting the mind be frustrated, nor the intellect being confused.

RAW: Do not waste time.