विवेचन सारांश

39 qualities that makes us dear to Bhagavān

In the Shlokas, we discussed in previous session, Bhagavān Śrī Krishna had given us a list of ways through which one could reach him and become his favorite devotee like Practice, Knowledge, Meditation and forsake expectations from our actions.

In this Shloka Bhagavān says that Knowledge triumphs Practice and Dhyana or Concentration triumphs Knowledge. However, what triumphs all is the ability to not expect anything from our actions.

When we learn something new, we sometimes memorize it by repeating it over and over again, that is by practicing. Now memorizing will not give us the knowledge of what's happening. Like we learn the formula for calculating area. However, this knowledge is of no use if we don’t know how to implement that practically. When we get the knowledge of what we learnt by practice, then we are said to have acquired the Gyana or Knowledge. So, while Practice is good, but gaining the true knowledge behind what we practice is better. Now what is better than Gyana? It is Dhyana or Meditation. Deeply focusing and concentrating on the knowledge helps us to remember it. Like deeply meditating on Bhagavān helps us come closure to HIM.

But, giving up the fruits of our Karma or Action is above all other. Let us try to understand what giving up the fruits of our karma mean through an example.

We study hard for our exams. We expect to get good marks in the exam because we work so hard to study well. Bhagavān says that we should not worry too much about the outcome of our efforts, that is the marks we get in the exam. Our job is to set a target, study well towards it and give the exam to the best of our ability. We should not worry too much about what marks we will get after that.

From this Shloka onwards, Bhagavān starts opening the 39 Papers and tell is about the qualities in a Bhakta that HE loves.

The first one HE talks about is Dwesh - is grudges or spiteful thoughts. Bhagavān tells us to be adveṣhṭā  or free of malice. HE says we should not have Dwesh in our minds and never think ill or harbour any hatred under any circumstance against others.

The second quality Bhagavān talks about is Maitri which means Friendship. In school don’t we often form groups with our best friends and then sometimes we get into fights with other groups, or even stop talking to some groups. Bhagavān advises us to not do such a thing as groupism but remain friends with everyone and be cordial to all people. Those who study Bhagavadgītā like our young Sadhaks of course will be very strong on this trait and likely to be on Bhagavān’s favorite list.

Bhagavān tells us the third quality we all must try to develop is Karuna which means Compassion or Kindness towards all living beings. We should never irritate those who are younger to us by maybe pulling their hair or snatching their bags, which we sometimes do. Bhagavān also tells us that we should not hurt any animals like killing mosquitos and other insects that irritate us. HE says they too are living beings and hence entitled to our kindness.

The fourth quality we all should imbibe is Nirmama that is to conduct ourselves with Humility at all times. We should not be proud of our capabilities or what we have and should be always Humble. We should shun the habit of saying 'This is mine’ or ‘I have it’!

As Bhagavān said earlier, we should be caring, and we should be sharing also. We should never be selfish and share what we have with others, be it our brothers and sisters or our classmates in school.

Bhagavān tells us the fifth quality is nirahankāraḥ or absence of pride and ego. Pride is a bad quality, and we should never ever show it to anyone. We should be Ahankar-rahit which is devoid of pride. So, if we come first in class or win a competition, we should definitely feel happy, but we should not show any pride for our achievement to others.

The sixth important quality to become Bhagavān’s favorite is sama-duḥkha-sukhaḥ. This quality gives us the capability of equanimity or the ability to not become very happy or too sad under any circumstance. It is to remain calm and composed, whatever be the situation. If we do very well in a competition, we can be happy but not become wildly happy. Also, if we don’t do so well, we should not become very sad and discouraged. We should accept the outcome and move on. 

The seventh and a very important quality is Kṣhamī – or the ability to forgive. If our friends or siblings make a mistake, we should have the ability to forgive them, even if they don’t say sorry. If we remain angry with them, and sulk and frown, we will only feel miserable because of that. So, not only should we always forgive but we should also forget the mistake of others.

We now look at the eighth quality of a true devotee. That quality is Santuṣhṭaḥa. Being Santusta means to be ALWAYS satisfied with whatever Bhagavān has given us. 

Say for instance, at the start of every school year we should not ask our parent for new school bags and shoes and so forth. If they are not torn or broken and in good working condition, why should we ask for new ones? We should always try to be happy with what we have.

We all know about Rajendra Prasad Ji who was our first President. He had the habit of using his things till they were totally unusable. We should also imbibe such good habits of efficient usage and stopping unrequired expense.

Bhagavān then explains the ninth quality which is yatātmā or self-control. It often happens when we want to watch Doraemon, and our sister or brother wants to watch Barbie. This may lead to a fight over which channel to watch. We should not do this but be sharing and caring in such cases. Sometimes we will watch our favorite program and sometimes our siblings will. Right?

We should never ever lose control on ourselves and behave in an unworthy manner. 

The tenth quality is dṛiḍha-niśhchayaḥ which means Determination and Resolution. When we decide to do something or achieve something, we should work towards achieving it with firm resolution.

Many a times, we plan to do something like learn Yoga for being healthy. While for the first few days, we do it very diligently but slowly we become careless and maybe eventually totally stop doing it. As per Bhagavān, his favorite devotee cannot be like this. HIS favorite devotee, once decided to do something, will do it with full determination and best of his ability.

There is quote that goes ‘zameen tallath zamaa tallath magar banda nahi tallath’ which means the ground may shake, the crowds may move but determined persons like our young and brilliant Sadhaks will remain firm and resolute in their action and goals.

A famous Saint once said that we must Two-Marro (to give two tight slaps) to those who procrastinate and leave everything to do tomorrow. We should be always resolute in achieving our goals. 

Bhagavān says, mayy arpita-mano-buddhir yo mad-bhaktaḥ sa me priyaḥ.

In this Charan or line HE explains the eleventh and twelfth quality that all of us should strive to have.  It is complete dedication from the mind and from the intellect towards Ishwar, the Supreme Being.  Thoughts about HIM should always be dwelling in our heart and in our mind with complete dedication. This will help us to get neared to Bhagavān and become his favorite disciple.  

We need to note the thirteenth quality carefully and imbibe it in our lives. Bhagavān says yasmān nodvijate loko lokān nodvijate cha yaḥ wherein HE declares a true devotee will never agitate any being nor would be agitated by anyone. Sometimes, some naughty students in class may ridicule us by calling names or saying we look funny. We should not get agitaged by that and start a fight but should remain calm and ignore such provocations.

The fourteenth quality is Harshrahit. While this word may mean devoid of happiness, it doesn’t mean that one can’t be happy or rejoice for a happy event. What it means is a true devotee will not get over excited but will remain calm and be happy in moderation. 

Next comes the fifteenth quality which is being Irsharahit or someone who has control over jealousy and is unenvious of others.

The sixteenth quality is Bhayrahit or the absence of fear, being unafraid. Being Bhayrahit doesn’t of course mean to go and stand in front of the tiger to prove you are fearless. It is to not be afraid of those things that can’t harm us. Like we should not become afraid and start shouting if power goes off in our house and it becomes totally dark. 

Some of us are very afraid of cockroaches or lizards. Now let us imagine a lizard who has a nice black cap on its head with brown sunglasses on its eyes and bright red lipstick and wearing a nice pink skirt. Now when you imagine that, can you ever be afraid of the lizard because it would be looking so cute. The answer is surely, NO. So that’s what we should do, when we are very afraid of something, we should try to imagine something positive and nice about it and we will find our fear go away. 

Udvegrahit  or free from any kind of anxiety and aggression are the seventeenth and eighteenth quality. When one possesses these qualities, one will not be perturbed by anything and will not turn aggressive in our behavior.

The nineteenth quality of a true devotee is anapekṣhaḥ or having moderate expectation from others as well as from one’s actions.  As we discussed earlier, this devotee while will set goals for himself, will not hanker for unrealistic outcomes from their actions and performance. His expectations from others will also be in moderation. By doing so he will be able to control his elation as well as his disappointment and will be able to remain peaceful.

Bhagavān emphasizes that we should maintain cleanliness within our inner self as well as our bodies. And this is the twentieth quality of the true Bhakta which is called śhuchiḥ.

When we say cleanliness of our inner self, it means that we should not be thinking or wishing ill for others. The thoughts in our mind should always be pure, positive and good by always meditating on Ishwar and not thinking poorly of others.

We should maintain proper hygiene of our body and ensure we maintain good cleanliness habits like washing our hands properly before meals, taking regular bath and so forth. We must also ensure that we keep our environment clean by not throwing garbage on the street and not littering our homes. Bhagavān loves those who exhibit such good habits.

Dakṣa or being skillful and expert is the twenty-first quality Bhagavān now explains to Arjuna. Like some of us have very good handwriting means we are Dakṣa in handwriting. Those of us who don’t have very good handwriting can always practice and become Dakṣa or an expert. This can be applied to any of things that we do like, drawing, painting etc.

Being Udāsīna or neutral is the twenty-second quality that Bhagavān advises us to cultivate within ourselves. This is like our sixth quality when we neither become overjoyed nor very disappointed. We should remain neutral to what happens and to the results of our actions.

We should also try to be gata-vyathaḥ or Byatharahit. With this twenty-third quality, one wouldn’t be bothered or be easily troubled when something goes wrong. A little unhappiness will not frustrate this devotee. He would have control over his frustration his anger and his depression. Have we not sometimes picked up a fight with someone because he got what we wanted? Instead of enjoying what we got, we become sad and make others sad too by doing this. Bhagavān tells us that a good Sadhak will never do such a thing but be happy with what he has.

The twenty-fourth quality is an interesting one. Bhagavān says sarvārambha-parityāgī which means we should not initiate an action. Now that doesn’t definitely mean that we will not take any initiative to study. It means we will not initiate some small or wrong things like immediately going off to the Sweetmeat shop to buy some Rasgulla just because we want to eat it.

A poll asking the name of Chapter-12 was launched at this time and 96% of the Sadhaks gave the correct answer as Bhakti Yoga, thus proving their attention to learning Bhagavadgītā.

In the twenty-fifth and twenty-sixth quality, Bhagavān reiterates that one should not be overly happy (hṛiṣhyati) in a happy situation nor be too despaired (dveṣhṭi) in unpleasant situations.

Twenty-seventh and Twenty-eighth qualities says we should not do too much śhochati that is lament too much for something that we didn’t get or an event that didn’t go as per what we had hoped for. We should not also hanker too much for something meaning we should not have intense desire or Ākāṅkṣā for something and have a long wish-list. Bhagavān loved those children who are mindful to not have such intense desires.

We should always try to inculcate all the qualities that Bhagavān is telling us about and do things as HE wants us to do. That will make us HIS favorite devotee.

Bhagavān now says we need to become śhubha-aśhubha-parityāgī. We should anyways renounce our bad habits like hurting other living beings, telling lies, littering our neighborhood etc. We should not be doing an excess of anything that is not bad too.

Like we should not sleep excessively for 12 hours though adequate sleep is necessary for our good health. We should also not overindulge in eating our favorite food like chocolates. There is nothing wrong in eating chocolates, but if we eat too much of that then we will get worms in our stomach which is going to make us sick. So even if something is not bad, we should not overindulge in it. This was Bhagavāns advise for the twenty-ninth and thirtieth qualities

Bhagavān now tells us how to behave with others as the thirty-first quality of a good devotee. HE says we should be friendly with all and should never show animosity towards anyone. For example, it’s your birthday and your parents are making a list of the guests to invite. We sometimes say we don’t want to call a particular Uncle or Aunty whom we don’t like, maybe because they ask us too many questions about our studies. That is not right. We should have an amicable disposition for all and not dislike anyone or consider anyone as an enemy.

We always like it when someone praises us for something done well and dislike it if we are punished or insulted. Maybe, one day we forgot to complete our homework and the teacher made up stand outside the class. We hate that and sulk over it for days. In the thirty-second quality, Bhagavān is telling is to not be too affected by māna-apamānayoḥ that is either praise or by insult.

The next or the thirty-third quality Bhagavān explains is Śītoṣṇa which talks about how we should conduct ourselves in cold and warm climate. We should not become very impacted by the outside weather and accept them as they are. There is a nice trick called Rain-Clap on how not to feel too hot. You and your friends can rhythmically clap and it will seem as if its raining on the roof and you will not feel so hot.

Bhagavān tells us to be saṅga-vivarjitaḥ or not have any attachment to material things. We should not be so addicted to watching cartoons or playing on the mobile that we become sad and start crying if we can’t do that on a particular day. And that is the thirty-fourth quality, Bhagavān wants us to have to be his favorite.

Bhagavān already told us to remain equally composed and in control of our behavior if we are praised or insulted. Bhagavān reiterates this in the thirty-fifth quality and says we should remain equipoised whether praised or scolded.

The thirty-sixth and the thirty-seventh quality that Bhagavān loves to see in all his favorite devotees are positiveness and the ability to remain happy. HE wants us to have the ability to think positively even if the circumstance is demanding. We should not lose our ability to be happy even in the face of adversities.

Like the thirty-fourth quality, the thirty-eighth quality tells us not be too attached to a particular place. We should be aniketaḥ which means without attachment to the place of residence. For example, we sometimes don’t want to go to school and want to stay at home, because we like to be at home.

The thirty-ninth and the last quality which Bhagavān advises us to have is the ability to remain focused. When we sit down to do our homework, we shouldn’t get distracted and start watching TV. Bhagavān loves those who have the ability to remain focused and are sincere in their action.

In the end Bhagavān Śrī Krishna tells us through Arjuna that he loves those who follow his teachings and try to imbibe the 39 good qualities with unwavering faith and sincerity.

Only with such a character and disposition does one become dear to Ishwar.

With this, Bhagavān completes explaining the Bhakti Yoga to Arjuna.

The name of the topper performer in last week’s Kaun Banega Gyanpati quiz was announced. It was clarified that while most children did very well in the quiz with many scoring a perfect 100, the ranking was done based on the time taken to complete the quiz.

The Topper for last week’s Kaun Banega Gyanpati is: Gahana HL who scored 100/100 in 11 minutes and 6 seconds. Other participants have also done very well and a Big Congratulations to this wonderful group of super intelligent Sadhaks. 

The session concluded with Hari Nama Sankirtana, followed by a Questions and Answers session and chanting of Hanuman Chalisa.

Questions and Answers

Utkarsh Chaudhuri Ji

Q: What is the meaning of Upaniṣatsu?

A: It means ‘in the Upanishad’.

Rakshita Ji

Q: When will the next quiz questionnaire come?

A: It will come sometime later in the week probably around Tuesday or Wednesday. It will come in your group with the title Kaun Banega Gyanpati. You will need to login with your PRN and last name in small letters.

Gaurav Iratkar Ji

Q: I tried to login on time for the quiz, but it was not allowing me to login. What Should I do?

A: You will need to login with your PRN and last name in small letters. If you still face challenges, tell your GC or TA Didi or Bhaiya and they will help you.

Avni Sharma Ji

Q: I don’t know my PRN. How can I find that out?

A: You can find our PRN by logging into https://learngeeta.com/ prn. You can also write in your WhatsApp group also and someone will help you.

 Aarya Ji

Q: What is the use of Pushpika?

A: Pushpika is the conclusion of a Chapter in Bhagavadgītā. It gives an introductive summary of the chapter with the Chapter number and name.

Utsav Singhania Ji

Q: Why is Swami Vivekananda Ji the logo of Geeta Pariwar?

A: That is because Swami Vivekananda possessed all the good qualities that Param Pujya Swamiji want all of us in Geeta Pariwar to have like Bhagavad Bhakti, Bhagavadgītā, Bharat Bhakti and Scientific temperament.

Q: I missed the last Vivechan session. Where can I find the interpretation?

A: You can find it in https://vivechan.learngeeta.com/ or in Youtube.

Rahini Parikh Ji

Q: What is the meaning of

Purvardh and Uttarardh? 

A: Purvardh means the first half and Uttarardh means the last half.

Ananya Sahu Ji and Tanya Ji

Q: Why do we learn Chapter-12 first?

A: That is because it is the smallest and the easiest chapter to understand.

Radha Rani Ji

Q: How many Shlokas do we need to chant for the video?

A: you need to chant all the 20 Shlokas in the chapter for the video.

Hansika Kabra Ji

Q: Which Shloka in Chapter-12 can we imbibe in our student lives?

A: Any one of the Shlokas can be imbibed in our lives. However a great one is Shloka-14

santuṣhṭaḥ satataṁ yogī yatātmā dṛiḍha-niśhchayaḥ
mayy arpita-mano-buddhir yo mad-bhaktaḥ sa me priyaḥ

Aradhya Ji

Q: How many chapters are there in Bhagavadgītā?

A: There are 18 chapters containing 700 Shlokas in Bhagavadgītā.