The verses and the meanings......1st Stanza

bhaja govindam bhaja govindam
bhaja govindam müãhamate
samprápte sannihite kále
na hi na hi raksati dukrnkarane.....

The precise meaning of this verse is "Adore the Lord, adore the Lord, adore the Lord, O fool! when the appointed time (for departure) comes, the repetition of grammatical rules will not, indeed, save you."

This verse is interesting and is probably the trigger of the sloka recited by the guru. It is believed that shankara saw a learned man teaching the pupil in kashi and emphasizing on the grammatical rules. There are other thoughts and interpretations for this as well (this one is mine).

Grammar is the building block of any language. It emphasizes on the formation of words/sentences/pronouniciations/usage and construction. The end result is nothing but a sequence of words conveying a certain meaning. Sometimes, it could be that the tone/pronouniciatio may change the meaning and emotion conveyed. But in the case of spirituality, there could be multiple paths. In the universal emotions like sympathy, happiness, sorrow ,anger and love there is no grammar. They can be realised without words and formations. The path taken by several people to self realization and realization of the supreme master (be it god/soul or faith) could be different. Some people do it through relegion, some do it under the guidance of some guru, some learn it from common people and friends, some use science....but the realization is what is important, not the path. Same as in what shankara says that the grammar is not important, but the message that needs to be conveyed is and as far as you are successful in conveying the message, thats fine.....

In many scenarios we see this in day to day life. For more than once, i have been in situation where i havent known some local language but still manage to convey the message. Emotions like love and happiness can be conveyed through just your eyes. Other qualities like affection, respect and devotion are shown through your actions. There is no specified way to do it, but you choose the way. The end result is what that matters......

Literally speaking, shankara says that reaching the supreme (could be god or your guardian angel) will happen during the time you depart your physical self. At this juncture, if at all there is something that you can carry off with you, its not your material wealth. At this juncture, what you learnt, did and earned(good deeds) in your life, which is buried deep into your subconcious mind becomes a part of your soul and is carried to the next plane. The soul is nothing but your existence in a different plane or dimension. That has no physical form, but you exist as a cloud of thoughts and values based on which you are categorized and defined.

Some prior readings....

As i discussed before this, i have started reading some litreture about the great guru. I will be posting the links (so that i dont miss them). Its very interesting to learn about sankara and his life. At the same time, it has been enlightening to know about my own relegion, beliefs and spiritual self....

http://satyamyoga.com/adishankaracharya.htm
http://www.advaita-vedanta.org/avhp/sankara-life.html
http://www.astrojyoti.com/AdiShankaracharya.htm

good reads...

Bhaja Govindam.....The first attempt....

As all of you would know, this was written by one of the greatest teachers of vedanta of all times. Adi shankara, who was believed to have written this hymn during his visit to varanasi along with his disciples.

We shall try to understand the different aspects of bhaja govindam. In the begining, we shall try to analyze the mood/thought/situation and ambience while this hymn was written. Secondly, we shall go through the meaning of each of these hymns. Thirdly, i shall compare my beliefs and disbeliefs alongside the passages.

Why Write This Hymn at all? Why try to enlighten people? What triggered this writing? What did he achieve? What was the situation when he wrote it? So many more questions.....

After quite some time, i convinced myself that the above questions should be attempted before proceeding to the actual hymn and its meaning. The reasoning was actually triggered last week when i was having an intense conversation with a friend gaurav during a week end get together. The question was, why would someone spend a huge amount of money (say 20,000$ or whatever) to buy a piece of painting. For one, these paintings are most of the time so abstract, so much different than a scenary or photo or a live theme....Then why should someone spend so much money on it.

The reasoning given was that the guys who purchase these paintings (apart from those who buy it for prestige/show off etc etc) have seen something that you /i and the normal cannot see. It could be anything, it could be very well that the buyer is seeing the same emotion/tension/thought/belief/passion/anger/mood....of the person who painted it. The buyer can feel the painting would be a better way to put it. He can relate to the painting just like the painter related to it. You see through what the eye shows you and you see what the painters eye wanted to see.....Thats when you are convinced, you probably want to spend a small portion of your immense wealth to feel it and discover what the other soul sees.....In other words, 2 somewhat different souls want to relate to each other through a common medium...in this case being a painting....Think of it this way, a painter saw an entire plethora of emotions and feelings. He couldnt describe what he saw, because they were too much to be said....You have to experience it, feel it....He dint want to be the only guy to experience it....So, what could he do? He was a painter, and he created a painting which was the key to opening his door of thought. A person who sees the painting the same way as he did would discover the key to this door. In turn the the buyer not just gets the painting, but gets a key to whole new world of thoughts and feelings............

So, i still believe its important for us to relate to this process in a more serious way than just learning and reciting the hymn. We need to feel the hymn, in other words, you shoul have some kind of pain in your heart when you recite or listen to it. That means, your non physical self is realising the hymn and its meaning and that will ensure that the meaning is preserved at a subconciously level than just the brain or physical self.