BHAJA GOVINDAM

BY JAGATGURU ADI SANKARACHARYA

ABOUT SANKARA:

Jagatguru Adi Sankaracharya is undisputably the greatest philosopher that India, or the
world, has ever produced. He is unique in the history of the world as he combined in himself
the attributes of a philosopher, a devotee, a mystic, a poet and a religious reformer. Though
he lived twelve hundred years ago, India and the world feels the impact of the life and work of
this spiritual genius even today.

As per the promise given in the Gita that God would descend on earth whenever
righteousness and all that is dependent upon Dharma is on the decline, Sankaracharya
appeared on the Indian scene at a time when moral and religious chaos had overtaken the
country.

Sankaracharya was born during the 8th century. By those times, Buddhism was widely
spread in the country, but in a very much changed form from that of the pure and simple
ethical teachings of the Master; Jainism also had its influence and a wide following. Both the
religions, as per common comprehension, i.e. as per lay men's understanding, were bereft of
the concept of God, with the result that atheism was becoming vogue and the general creed of
the people. Hinduism itself was broken up into numberless sects and denominations, each
opposed to and intolerant of the other. The religious coherence in the land was lost and,
besides, many unwholesome excrescences such as the vows of the Saivas and the vamachara of
the Saktas, Ganapatyas, Sauras and Bhagawatas which crept in, were corrupting the purity
and spirit of religion. What the times needed was an integration of all thought so as to stop
the waning of the eternal principles of Dharma, to arrest the religious decadence,
disharmony, and discord mounting up among the various sects of the Hindus, and bringing
about a moral, religious and spiritual harmony, integration and renaissance in the land. Such
a mighty and stupendous task only God could do.... and Sankara came, undertook it and
accomplished it too! ......

During the brief span of 32 years of life, Sankara established firmly the Advaita Vedanta
philosophy as the essential unifying basis of the Hindu religion. He brought about religious
harmony, spiritual coherence and moral regeneration of the country.

SANKARA'S LIFE PROFILE

Sankaracharya was born towards the end of the eighth century A.D., at Kaladi, a village in
Central Kerala. He was the only son of a devout Nambudiri Brahmin couple, Sivaguru and
Aryamba. It is believed that he was born as a result of their long prayers to Lord Siva of the
famous Vrishabhachaleswara temple at Trichur. He was an infant prodigy and completed his
Vedic studies by the age of eight. His father died when was still young and it was his mother
who brought him up with loving care as he was her only source of consolation and support
now. The boy exhibited ascetic tendencies and mother felt very upset. Yet, the divine mission
for which that great genius had been born had to be fulfilled, and so something of miracle had
to happen to set Sankara free from worldly ties. So once when the son was bathing in the
nearby Purna river, while the mother was standing on the bank, a crocodile caught hold of
the boy's leg and was dragging him into deeper waters.

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When death was (seemingly) near, Sankara asked permission of the mother to enter the last
ashrama of Sanyasa, which every Hindu was supposed to enter before his death. Formal
renunciation at such a critical situation, Apat-Sanyasa, was a common practice. Very
reluctantly, Aryamba gave her consent and lo, mysteriously the crocodile let go the boy !
Emerging from the river, the bala-sanyasin decided to become a wandering monk and soon
left his village after consoling and assuring his mother that he would be at her side during her
last days and even perform her funeral rites. Thus, Sankara set forth on his divine mission at
the very young age of eight, when most of the boys would not have even left their toy-trinkets.

After leaving Kaladi, the young sanyasin scholar wandered through South India and
ultimately reached the banks of Narmada in search of a Guru. There, he met Govinda
Bhagavatpada, a prominent disciple of the great Gaudapada of Mandukya Karika
reputation. Govindapada welcomingly accecpted this boy sanyasin as his disciple and
initiated him into the intricacies of Vedanta. After about seven years, when Sankara had
completed his Vedantic studies and Sadhana, his guru told him to proceed to Kasi, the ancient
city of learing and spirituality, and spread the message of Advaita Vedanta from there by
writing commentaries on the Brahma Sutras, the Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita.

As instructed, he proceeded to Kasi and there, within a short time, established himself as the
greatest champion of Vedanta philosophy. He won many debates; and disciples came to him in
large numbers. Padmapada, Hastamalaka and Totaka were the chief among them. Thus, by
the age of sixteen, Sankara had established himself as a great philosopher in the city of
Varanasi, then the very heart of the intellectual and spiritual movements in India.

After establishing himself at Kasi as the invincible champion of Vedanta philosophy, Sankara
started on tour of this vast country for a Dig-Vijaya or spiritual conquest, under specific
instruction from sage Veda Vyasa who blessed him with a vision while Sankara was writing
the Brahma Sutra Bhashya. Wherever he went, he won over eminent leaders of the other
existing systems of philosophy and firmly established Advaita Vedanta. None could stand
against his vast erudition, dialectical skill and spiritual insight. Amongst these debates, the
one which was of great importance was his encounter with Mandana Misra, the great disciple
of Kumarila Bhatta, a staunch protagonist of ritualism. The Karma Kanda portion of the
Vedas had much hold on Hindu religion at that time and this was largely due to the
philosopher-leaders and religious authorities like Kumarila Bhatta and Mandan Misra. In
order to establish the truths of Jnana Kanda, Sankaracharya had to defeat and win over these
two intellectuals. Due to unavoidable circumstances, Kumarila Bhatta could not undertake a
debate with Sankaracharya and directed the Vedantin to meet his disciple Mandan Misra.
The debate with Mandan Misra took place with Ubhaya Bharati, scholarly wife of Mandana
Misra, acting as the Judge. After many days of discussion, Mandana Misra accepted defeat.

The condition of the debate was that he who would be defeated would become the other's
disciple and take up the victor's way of life. Thus, Mandana Misra became a Sanyasi and was
given the name Sureswara. This victory gave a new impetus to Sankara's spiritual conquest.
Sri Sankara and his disciples travelled all over the land refuting false doctrines and purifying
objectionable practices which were in vogue in the name of religion. He also established
Maths in four places; in Sringeri in th south; Badri in the north, Dwaraka in the west and
Jagannath Puri in the east. He chose these places of beauty of their natural environments
amidst snow-clad mountains, forests and rivers or on the shores of the ocean, places where
heaven and earth meet and transport man's thoughts to sublime heights. He placed Sri
Sureswaracharya at the head of the Math in Sringeri, Sri Padmapada in Dwaraka, Sri
Totaka in Badri and Sri Hastamalaka in Puri. The establishing of these Mathas indicate Sri
Sankara's realisation of the physical and spiritual unity of India. He wrote in Sanskrit, the
lingua franca of cultured India of those times, which alone could appeal to all the intellectuals

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all over the land.

After a pretty long stay in Sringeri, he hastened to the bed-side of his dying mother in his
ancestral home at Kaladi and sped her soul to the 'immortal realms of light' to the strains of
mellifluous hymns in praise of Siva and Vishnu. Undeterred by the opposition of his
pharsaical (religious formalist) kinsmen, he cremated his mother's body on the river bank
behind the house and the spot had since become hallowed as a place of pilgrimage.

He visited all the sacred shrines of the land around which have gathered the cultural
traditions of the people, purifying the forms of worship and establishing the Sri Chakaras in
many of them such as Kamakshi temple of Kanchi, Nara Narayana temple of Badri and
Guhyesvari temple in Nepal, etc.

This "best of peripatetic teachers" (Paramahamsa Parivrajakacharya) crowned his triumphal

tours by vanquishing the great scholars of Kashmir, and ascended the sarvajnapitha as the
symbol of recognition by the world of his scholarship and undisputed mastery in all the (then
known) branches of learning.

During his last visit to Nepal, he had a vision of Sri Dattatreya and from there he went to
Kedarnath at which place, at the age of thirty two, he said to have disappeared from his
mortal existence. A spot not far from the shrine of Kedarnath is said to be the place of his
disappearance. ( One version, however, is that he merged in Mother Kamakshi at the Holy
Kanchi, thus ending his earthly career).

Sankara made the edifice of Hindu religion strong by his rational and scientific exposition of
the Upanishadic philosophy so that Sanatana Dharma could face all the challenges during the
vicissitudes of history till modern times. His contribution to Indian philosophy is so great and
lasting that all the later philosophers have only tried to refute him or to elucidate his ideas. In
foreign countries, Indian philosophy has always come to be identified with Sankara's Advaita.

Sankara symbolises the great Rishi culture whose greatest exponent he was. The message of
Sankara is a message of hope and optimism. He says that man is not a finality, a finished
product; he has divine potentiality in him which is to be discovered through self-conscious
evolution. The kingdom of peace, fullness and joy are within each one of us, says Advaita. We
will have to realise it. As his very name suggests (Sam karoti iti Sankara -- " He who blesses is
Sankara").

Sankaracharya was one of the greatest benefactors of mankind because he expounded the
Advaita Vedanta philosophy which is the essence of Vedas and which is a pathway to Bliss and
Immortality.

ABOUT BHAJA GOVINDAM

Bhaja Govindam is one of the minor compositions of Jagatguru Adi Sankaracharya,

compared to his monumental works called Bhashyas, commentaries on Indian Scriptures.
Bhaja Govindam, along with Atma Bodha, etc., comes under the category of Prakarana
Granthas, introductory manuals for spiritual studies. They are like primers, explaining the
philosophical terms etc., for the spiritual initiates. The elementary spiritual truths are
brought to the fore in these booklets and make man think, " Ah, this is life; I must seek escape
from this prison-hole and may God guide and help me". Man is thus drawn out of miry
bylanes of life in which he is stuck up and put onto the royal road of spirituality, on the
pathway to God !

A popular story describes the circumstances in which this great poem burst forth the lips of

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Sankara. It is said that once in Banaras when he, together with his fourteen disciples, was
going along on his daily rounds, he overheard a very old Pundit cramming Panini's grammer
rules. Sankara was touched with pity at the ignorance and folly of the man to be wasting
away the most precious 'dusk hours' of his life for a mere intellectual accomplishment instead
of spending them in contemplation on the Lord, praying for spiritual enlightenment and for
release from the bondage of Samsara. He knew that this was not the state of that particular
old man only, but was the general state of most of the men.

Men waste and while away their lives in many (or most) futile ways, grovelling in the mire of
earthly attachments forgetting God who is the only goal in life. In compassion for man's
plight, he burst forth into these stanzas, famous as MOHA MUDGARA, now popularly known
by the refrain of the song, which is BHAJA GOVINDAM.

"Oh, Mudha! Oh, ignoramus ! Grammer rules (in fact all your secular learning) will not
come to your rescue when death knocks to snatch you away. Instead of wasting away the
precious span of your life in a futile manner, turn to and seek Govinda, who alone can save
you from the jaws of life and death".

In thirty-one simple, sweet and lucid Slokas, giving homely analogies and illustrations for our
easy understanding, Sankara tells us about the fallacy and futility of our life; and sloka by
sloka he removes veil after veil, dispelling our ignorance, illusions and delusions (moha) and
showing us where the remedy for all our misery lies. The poem is, therefore also called Moha
Mudgara. He touches all aspects of our life, how these blind and bind us, plunging us deeper
and deeper into the abyss of ignorance and misery. He wants each one of us to cultivate a
discerning and discriminating eye (viveka) to distinguish the permanent from the transitory,
the real from the unreal, to practice dispassion (vairagya) for worldly attractions and
distractions, to cultivate devotion for realising Govinda, the abiding Truth and thus getting
released from the misery and bondage of this phenomenal existence.

1. Bhaja Govindam, Bhaja Govindam

Govindam Bhaja Mudhamate
Sampraapte Sannihite Kale
Na Hi Na Hi Rakshati Dukrinkarane

Seek Govinda! Seek Govinda! Seek Govinda! Oh ignoramus, at the time of death the
rules of grammer, which you are trying to cram and master, will not be able to rescue
you at all. (Grammer rules mean all secular knowledge and earthly acquistitions.
Mudhamati means a materialist, wholely worldly-minded, who does not believe in God
or the spiritual entity that is in man, i.e., Nastika or Anatmavadi

2. Moodha Jaheehi Dhanaagamatrishnaam

Kuru Sadbudhim Manasi Vitrishnaam
Yallabhase Nijakarmopaatham
Vitham Tena Vinodaya Chitham
(Bhaja Govindam, Bhaja Govindam..........)

Oh, Fool! give up your insatiable desire for earthly possessions; be sensible and develop
serenity and contentment. Be satisfied and happy with whatever you may earn by the

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 sweat of your brow and whatever has destiny marked for your lot.

4. Naaree Sthanabhara Nabheedesam

Dhrishtwa Maa Gaa Mohavesam
Yetan Maamsavasaadi Vikaaram
Manasi Vichinthaya Vaaram Vaaram
(Bhaja Govindam, Bhaja Govindam..........)

Enticed by the physical glamour of a woman, do not lose your senses; the body is
nothing but a conglomeration of flesh, do not forget this any time.

5. Nalineedalagatha Jalamatitharalam
Tadwajjeevitamathishaya Chapalam
Viddhi Vyadhyabhimaanagrastam
Lokam Shokahatam Cha Samastham
(Bhaja Govindam, Bhaja Govindam..........)

The water droplet on the lotus leaf is tremulous and unsteady. So too is life which is as
uncertain. Know the body to be in the claws of disease, which may swallow it at any
moment. Life is ultimately nothing but worry, misery and grief.

6. Yaavadvittopaarjana Sakthah
Taavannijaparivaaro Rakthah
Paschaajjeevati Jarjaradehe
Vaartham Kopi Na Prichchathi Gehe
(Bhaja Govindam, Bhaja Govindam..........)

As long as you are fit to make an earning, so long will your kith and kin be solicitous
about you, but no sooner your limbs become infirm and your earnings cease, none will
care for you, not even your own home-folk.

7. Yaavatpavano Nivasati Dehe

Taavatprichchati Kushalam Gehe
Gatavati Vaayo Dehaapaaye
Bhaarya Bibhyati Tasminkaaye
(Bhaja Govindam, Bhaja Govindam..........)

As long as there is life in your body, your people may have concern for you, but once
the life-breath ebbs out of your body, even your own wife will run away from you.

8. Baalastaavat Kreedaa Sakthah

Tharunastaavat Tharuneesakthah

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 Vriddhastaavat Chinthaasakthah
Parase Brahmani Kopi Na Sakthah
(Bhaja Govindam, Bhaja Govindam..........)

Childhood skips off on sport and play. Youth flies off in pursuits of love-making. As one
grows older he is drowned in worry about the security and future of his wife and
children. One's whole life gets spent in some kind of worry or other. And at no stage
does man find time to lift his thoughts to God.

9. Kaa Te Kaantaa Kaste Puthrah

Samsaroyamateeva Vichitrah
Kasya Twam Kah Kutha Aayaatah
Tatwam Chinthaya Tadiha Bharatah
(Bhaja Govindam, Bhaja Govindam..........)

Who indeed is your beloved and who indeed is your son? Strange indeed are these
family bonds; who belongs to you and to whom you belong? whence did you come, Oh
brother! Reflect on the truth of it all.

10. Satsangatwe Nissangatwam

Nissangatwe Nirmohatwam
Nirmohatwe Nischalatatwam
Nischalatatwe Jeevanmukthih
(Bhaja Govindam, Bhaja Govindam..........)

The company of the good weans one away from false atttachments; when attachment is
lost, delusion ends; when delusion ends, the mind becomes unwavering and steady. An
unwavering and steady mind is merited for Jeevan Mukti (liberation even in this life).

11. Vayasi Gate Kah Kamavikarah

Shushke Neere, Kah Kaasaarah
Ksheene Vithe Kah Parivaro
Gynate Tatwe Kah Samasarah
(Bhaja Govindam, Bhaja Govindam..........)

When youth is gone, where is lust and its play? Where is the lake when its waters have
dried up? Where are the kinsfolk when riches are gone? When Truth is realised, where
is the snare of Samsara?

12. Maa Kuru Dhanajanayouvanagarvam

Harati Nimeshaatkaalah Sarwam
Maayaamayamidamakhilam Hithwa
Brahmapadam Twam Pravisha Viditwa

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 (Bhaja Govindam, Bhaja Govindam..........)

The pleasures and riches of worldly life are deceptive appearances. Understanding that
they are all but a passing-show, be detached and dispassionate, cultivate renunciation
and seek Brahman.

13. Dinayaaminyou Saayam Praatah

Shishiravasantow Punaraayaatah
Kaalah Kreedati Gachchatyaayuh
Tadapi Na Munchathyaasaavaayuh
(Bhaja Govindam, Bhaja Govindam..........)

Day and night, dawn and dusk, winter and spring, all these are flitting across the stage
of the world. While time thus is frolicking and befooling us, our life span is also running
out; yet we do not, even a little, give up the clinging to our desires, nor do we let the
desires loosen their grip on us.

14. Kaa Te Kaantaa Dhanagatachintaa

Vaatula Kim Tava Naasti Niyantaa
Trijagati Sajjanasangatirekaa
Bhavati Bhavaarnavatarane Noukaa
(Bhaja Govindam, Bhaja Govindam........)

Crazy man ! Why do you worry so much about your wife and property? why don't you
seek out the Truth ? Know that in these three worlds it is only the association with the
good and holy that can help you in crossing safely the ocean of life.

15. Jatilo Mundi Lunchitakeshah

Kaashaayaambara Bahukritaveshah
Pasyannapi Cha Na Pasyati Moodho
Hiudaranimitam Bahukritaveshah
(Bhaja Govindam, Bhaja Govindam........)

The ascetic with matted locks, the man with the shaven head or one with hair pulled
out, or the man parading in the ochre robes -- they all have eyes but yet do not see. All
these are but deceptions for cheating the world, for filling their bellies. (Renunciation
does not lie in external appearance, but in inward thought, attitude and feeling).

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17. Angam Galitam Palitam Mundam
Dasanaviheenam Jaatam Tundam
Vridhdho Yaati Griheetwa Dandam
Tadapi Na Munchatyaashaapindam
(Bhaja Govindam, Bhaja Govindam........)

The body has become decrepit, the hair on the head has turned completely gray; the
mouth has become totally toothless; the back is bent down and the old man cannot take
even a step witout the aid of his stick; yet he does not loosen even a bit, his hold on the
bundle of desires.

18. Agre Vahnih Prishte Bhaanuh

Raathrow Chubukasamarpitajaanuh
Karatalabhikashas Tarutalavaasah
Tadapi Na Munchatyaashaapaasah
(Bhaja Govindam, Bhaja Govindam........)

Homeless he is; his back is bent down with age. His body has lost its heat and he has to
warm himself before a fire or in the sun. Tree is his only shelter; he lives by begging and
by the crumbs thrown into his palms by others; in the night he sleeps by holding his
chin on his knee ( because the back is bent and he cannot stretch himself and lie down).
Yet, he does not let and allow the grip of desires on him loosen even a bit.

19. Kurute Gangaasaagaragamanam

Vrataparipaalanamathavaa Daanam
Jnanaviheenah Sarvamatena
Muktim Na Bhajati Janmasatena
(Bhaja Govindam, Bhaja Govindam........)

One may have bathed in the holy Ganges or even in the Ganga Sagar; he may have
performed many charities and observed many vows; yet unless one has glimpsed the
Truth ( God), he will not gain release even after a hundred lives. (note: this is the
warning of all the religions)

20. Suramandira Tarumoola Nivaasah

Saiyaa Bhootalamajinam Vaasah
Sarvaparigraha Bhogatyaagah
Kasya Sukham Na Karoti Viraagah
(Bhaja Govindam, Bhaja Govindam........)

Who can disturb the peace and happiness of a man if he has the true spirit of
renunciation and has controlled his desires, even if he be the poorest, sleeping only in
the temple halls and choultries or under trees or on the bare ground and just with a

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 deer skin to cover.

22. Yogarato Vaa Bhogarato Vaa

Sangarato Vaa Sangaviheenah
Yasya Brahmani Ramate Chitham
Nandati Nandati Nandatyeva
(Bhaja Govindam, Bhaja Govindam........)

Whether one is immersed in yoga or is revelling in bhoga (i.e, outward enjoyment),

whether he is enjoying himself in social company or has retired into solitude, true
happiness certainly cannot be his; but who alone is revelling inwardly in Brahman,
(wherever he be), he alone will be truly happy and will verily enjoy.

23. Bhagavadgeeta Kinchidadheetaa

Gangaajalalavakanikaa Peetaa
Sakridapi Yena Murarisamarchaa
Kriyate Tasya Yamena Na Charcha
(Bhaja Govindam, Bhaja Govindam........)

Even a little study and understanding of the Bhagawad Gita, or sipping of even a tiny
drop of the waters of the holy Ganges or even a little worship of Murari -- these will
surely save one from confrontation with death !

24. Punarapi Jananam Punarapi Maranam

Punarapi Jananee Jatare Sayanam
Iha Samsaare Bahudustaare
Kripayaa(a)paare Paahi Murare
(Bhaja Govindam, Bhaja Govindam........)

Undergoing the pangs of birth again and again, passing through the throes of death
again and again, lying in the mother's womb over and over again, this process of
samsara is hard to cross over. Save me from it, Oh merciful Lord !

25. Rathyaacharpata Virachitakanthah

Punyaapunya Vivarjitapanthah
Yogee Yoganiyojitachitho
Ramate Baalonmattavadeva
(Bhaja Govindam, Bhaja Govindam........)

Clad in stray rags, treading the path beyond good and evil, caring for neither earning
merit by taking to good deeds nor stooping to do any evil, and lost in meditation the
yogi revels in the Supreme always, lost to all outward norms and decorum -- his
behaviour may look prankish like that of a child or may be even queer like that of a

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 lunatic.

27. Kastwam Koham Kuta Aayaatah

Kaa Me Jananee Ko Me Taatah
Iti Paribhavaya Sarvamasaaram
Viswam Tyaktwaa Swapnavichaaram
(Bhaja Govindam, Bhaja Govindam........)

Who are you ? Who am I ? From Where did I come ? Who is my mother, who is my
father ? -- enquire thus and you will, then realise that the entire world of experience,
all the worries and problems are but a dream, a mere hallucination, born of
imagination and delusion. With such a realisation, you will be freed from the delusions
of the world.

28. Twayi Mayi Chaanyatraiko Vishnuh

Vyartham Kupyasi Mayyasahishnuh
Bhava Samachittah Sarvatra Twam
Vanchhasyashiraadyadi Vishnutwam
(Bhaja Govindam, Bhaja Govindam........)

In you, in me and everywhere, there is but the one Vishnu, Mistakenly viewing me with
a sense of difference, you are ill-disposed towards me. Try to see in all beings only the
Vishnu who is your own self. Give up your false and egoistic sense of separateness from
other beings. Cultivate a sense of kinship, unity and oneness with all.

29. Satrou Mitre Putre Bandhou

Maa Kuru Yatnam Vigrahasandhou
Sarvasminnapi Pasyaatmaanam
Sarvatrotsrija Bhedaajnyanam
(Bhaja Govindam, Bhaja Govindam........)

Do not look at anybody in terms of friend or foe, brother or cousin; do not fritter away
your mental energies in thoughts of friendship or enemity. Seeking the Self everywhere,
be amiable and equal-minded towards all, treating all alike.

30. Kaamam Krodham Lobham Moham

Tyaktwaa(a)tmaanam Pashyati Soham
Aatmajnana Viheenaa Mudaah
Te Pasyante Narakanigoodaah
(Bhaja Govindam, Bhaja Govindam........)

Free yourself from lust, anger, greed and delusion. Contemplate on 'who you are'.
Enquire within yourself, who am I ? The fools who fail to apprehend the Self are caught

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 in hell-fire even here and now itself and suffer torture.

32. Geyam Geetaanaamasahasram

Dhyeyam Shreepatiroopamajasram
Neyam Sajjanasange Chittam
Deyam Deenajanaaya Cha Vittam
(Bhaja Govindam, Bhaja Govindam........)

Recite the Gita; chant the thousand Names of the lord (Vishnu Sahasranama), meditate
ceaselessly on the Consort and Lord of Lakshmi, lead the mind towards association
with the good. Give away your wealth in charity to those in need and who are poor.

33. Sukhatah Kriyate Raamaabhogah

Paschaddhanta Shareere Rogah
Yadyapi Loke Maranam Saranam
Tadapi Na Munjchati Paapaacharanam
(Bhaja Govindam, Bhaja Govindam........)

As readily as one takes to indulging in carnal pleasures, with the same readiness alas!
he is taken over by disease too. Even seeing death as the inevitable and only end of all,
man does not refrain from sinful ways.

34. Arthamanartham Bhaavaya Nithyam

Naasti Tatah Sukhalesah Sathyam
Puthraadapi Dhanabhaajaam Bheetih
Sarvatraisha Vihita Reetih
(Bhaja Govindam, Bhaja Govindam........)

It is wealth only that causes all harm and brings about one's ruin. Bear this truth in
mind always. Know that the pursuit of wealth does not lead one to happiness at all. The
rich fear and are afraid of their own sons even. This is the outcome of riches anywhere
and ever.

35. Praanaayaamam Pratyaahaaram

Nityaanitya Vivekavichaaram
Jaapyasameta Samaadhividhaanam
Kurvavadhaanam Mahadavadhaanam
(Bhaja Govindam, Bhaja Govindam........)

Regulated breathing and sense control, discrimination between the Enduring and the
fleeting, the eternal and the transient, Japa and meditation, and submerging of the
bodily and mental consciousness in the Consciousness of the Spirit, merging oneself into
the total Inner Silence -- one must practice these with unrelenting fervour.

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36. Gurucharanaambuja Nirbharabhakthah
Samsaaraadachiraadhava Mukthah
Sendriya Maanasa Niyamaadevam
Drakshyasi Nijahridayastham Devam
(Bhaja Govindam, Bhaja Govindam........)

Surrender yourself to the Lotus Feet of the Teacher; with your senses and mind
disciplined, and freed from the shackles of Samsara you will behold the Lord who is
seated in your heart.

"Seek Govinda, Seek the God, Bhaja Govindam", in this refrain comprising of two words, Sri
Sankara Bhagavatpada, has summed up in a nutshell as it were, the entire preaching of
Vedanta and religion for the redemption of mankind. It gives us the key for entering into the
realm of Bliss, the abode of Govinda and for terminating the misery of life we are in at
present.

[Note : This article has been compiled from Sri Satya Sai Pre Sevadal Course Material].

[Article provided by: Bhaskar Iyer, SaiNet]

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