GITA 5.28

GITA 5.28

sarvopanishado gavo dogdha gopala-nandanah
partho vatsah sudhir bhokta dugdham gitamritam mahat

It is said that Sri Krishna gave us the milk of Gita [using Arjuna as a calf]. The Lord graces the devotees in many temples and today [25th December 2007] we are at the hills in Thirukkurungudi. We are able to worship the Lord on top of the hills as Sri Malaimel Nambi. River Sindhu nadhi, also called Nambiaru, flows from here. It is surrounded by the Mahendra Giri mountain. It is at the tip of Podhigai malai or Western Ghat hills range. This hills range will end if we go further another 20 miles. Beyond that, is the Cape Kanyakumari. This spot is connected with Srimad Ramayana. Sri Anjaneya was to go to Lanka in search of Divine Mother Sri Sita. From this Mahendra giri only, he jumped to cross the ocean and reach Lanka. There are seven peaks around this hill. From one of those peaks Sri Hnauman, chanting Sri Rama's name and growing gigantically in size, jumped. A bath in this river and worshiping the Lord here will be a great relief from the mechanical life we are having in cities.

 Even a trip to this place in picnic, with a bath in the river and eating well prepared tiffin and worship the Lord, can be a memorable experience. With some difficulty if we can cross a rock nearby, we can see a beautiful temple of Sri Rama with Sri Sita, Sri Lakshmana and Sri Hnauman. After a successful mission to locate Sri Sita, Sri Hanuman returned here to join others and all of them went to Kishkinda, where Sri Rama, along with Sugriva, was waiting. Kishkinda is present Hampi, in Karnataka. Sri Rama then proceeded to Lanka travelling over this Western Ghat hill range, as Sri Rama did not want to enter any city and disturb people with His huge monkey army. By the side of Hampi is Sahyadri mountain and starting from the western side of it Sri Rama and the army of monkeys travelled to Lanka. They crossed Kudagu [Coorg], where river Kaveri starts, then Nagarhole National Park, which is a tourist spot, and Lakshmana theertham and then through the forests of Mysore, then west of Nilgris [Ooty], reached Mahendra giri. Here Sri Rama and the monkeys crossed the mountains to come on the eastern side.They came to Kanyakumari and Thiruchendur and finding the places not suitable for crossing the ocean, they all came to Rameswaram. These details are available in Srimad Valmiki Ramayana. This place is called Sri Varaha Kshetram and so it is connected wit Sri Varaha Avatar of the Lord. Sri Parashu Rama, after losing to Sri Rama, did meditation here to gain His lost power. The Lord here is Sri Vamana and Sri Trivikrama. Thus this mountain is associated with many avatars of the Lord. Now we come to the 29th and the last sloka of Chapter 5:

bhoktaram yajna-tapasam
sarva-loka-maheshvaram
suhridam sarva-bhutanam
jnatva mam shantim rcchati
The sages, knowing Me as the ultimate purpose of all sacrifices and austerities, the Supreme Lord of all planets and demigods and the benefactor and well-wisher of all living entities, attain peace from the pangs of material miseries.

"A person in full consciousness of Me, knowing Me to be the ultimate beneficiary of all sacrifices and austerities, the Supreme Lord of all planets and demigods, and the benefactor and well-wisher of all living entities, attains peace from the pangs of material miseries."

Arjuna asked in the beginning of Chapter 5, after mentioning that he was confused with the words Karma sanyasam and Karma yoga, that is Gyana yoga and Karma yoga, which was beneficial to him. Sri Krishna in reply has been advising that Karma yoga was good for him as it was easy and yielded result quickly. To top the advantages of Karma yoga, Sri Krishna tells a very important message in this sloka. This is the only sloka in this Chapter, wherein He mentions His connection with the Karma yoga. He says that Karma yoga is Aradhanam [pooja] for Him. In this world all Yajna = yagna or homam or yagam, tapasam = meditation, performed, bhoktaram = objective or beneficiary, is Sri Krishna. Here we may have a doubt, that Hiranyakasipu and Ravana did tapas and propitiated Brahma to grant deathless life. Bot here we are talking about the meditation and yagna for attaining Moksham, and in such cases, the ultimate beneficiary is Sri Krishna. Now He mentions three things. Many perform yagna in many places, but all finally reach Sri Krishna. Why? Sarva = all, loka = worlds and the people residing in all these worlds, Maheshvaram = the greatest Isvara, is Sri Krishna. So, who ever does any yagna to propitiate any god, the Lord, as the Antaryami or Inner power in all of them and commanding them, gets the offerings and so is the Ultimate beneficiary in all poojas performed. Ishvara means, Isha = commanding power, vara = that is natural . So the Lord has the natural commanding power. He is the Lord of all and commands all. Sarvabhutanam = for all creatures or living beings, suhridam = welfare. Sri Krishna does good only for all. Mam = [such] I [Sri Krishna]. The 'I' here denotes the great Commander He is and the great Donor He is capable of granting anything to anyone. Jnatva = understanding [Sri Krishna], rcchati = attains, shantim = peace. Person who understands Sri Krishna [ as the Ultimate beneficiary, as the One who is for the welfare of all living creatures and as the Greatest among all] and performs pooja, will attain peace. Normally, when we do a work we get tired. Then, how by doing Karma yoga will get peace? Yes, it will give peace if we dedicate it to Sri Krishna. He is our Lord and so we can never grudge to serve Him. He says He is for our welfare. So, we also feel happy to serve Him. He is the greatest Donor and is prepared to grant whatever we wish, including Moksham. This also makes us to serve Him happily. All these induce us to serve Him happily and we get peace. Our duties to our children are not burden to us. A mother does not hesitate for the labor pain. We are happy to undergo medical treatments so that we can be healthier. So also Karma yoga, recommended by the Lord, will never make us tired, rather it will give us peace and happiness.

                                                                                                  (continued)