Reinvent The Self!

Yoga-Kshemam Vahamyaham

This is perhaps one of the most cited and recited emphatic proclamations in Gita. And there are many commentaries and viewpoints associated with this stanza. Here, I would like to discuss 2 of the most commonly held viewpoints.

Materialistic viewpoint:

To those who are always absorbed in and continuously concentrate on only one thing, by forgetting all the rest, I give them what they don’t have (excellence, recognition, reward, fame, fortune, or long life). And at the same time, I protect what they have (curiosity, energy, perseverance, patience, health, intelligence, passion, etc.)

It means we need to concentrate on one thing, like playing football, or studying science. If I continue to direct all my energy and efforts in that one direction, to learn the football, I become a great football player and get all the things which I don’t have like fortune, fame, etc. which are required to live a good quality life.

Spiritual viewpoint:

To men who meditate on Me as their very Own, ever united to Me by incessant worship, I supply their deficiencies and make permanent their gains.

This translation is from the book, Bhagavad Gita by Shri Paramahansa Yogananda. This means a yogi, by continuously focusing his undivided attention on God, the Brahman, or the One Truth, attains Him. And this is Yoga, a Union with God. A yogi realizes his own self. God protects the means a yogi uses, to keep sadhana, or meditation, alive, and intact. In a way, He protects the spiritual qualities, like surrender, faith, concentration, and love that are required to be cultivated to attain Him. He ensures every act emanating from the yogi, is flawless, perfect!

Yoga is getting what I don’t have or what I need, while Kshema is protecting what I have.To a karma yogi, He becomes his karma. To a jnana yogi, He becomes his jnana and to a bhakti yogi, He becomes his love. In every case, He continues to inspire a yogi to do the acts which are bound to be flawless, thereby achieving a union with Him. That inspiration needs to be protected. Also, He protects the state of his mind which is composed of contentment, and peacefulness. He provides him with the necessary experiences, reasoning ability required to properly discriminate between what’s right and what’s wrong, what’s real and what’s unreal. He provides him with a good company of people around him that acts as an environment that controls the actions emanating from him. These are 4 gatekeepers mentioned in the Yoga Vasishtha, the Great Ramayana.

After all His provisions and securities, a devotee naturally becomes an embodiment of love, forgiving, full of everlasting gratitude and compassion. Ultimately, he becomes free! A Jivanmukta!

There’s one more which I like to share.

Probabilistic viewpoint:

Those who honor the Uncertainty by completely surrendering to it, while always remaining curious to learn the certainty, to them I provide with pleasant low probability experiences like Serendipity, and Synchronicity that act as catalyst towards their growth. I protect them from high probability dangerous situations that could permanently damage their prospects, through Providence, and Mercy.

In Swami Tarak Mantra, one stanza says:

कितीदा दिला बोल त्यांनीच हात ।

नको डगमगू स्वामी देतील साथ ।।

Loosely translating to suit the context:

recollect how many times you have been given a helping hand to achieve what you don’t have. So do not fear, Swami will always save you from losing what you have!

Isn’t God truly loving? 🙂