Sunday, December 14, 2025

Why do we always make the same mistakes?


In the Gita, after Krishna explains to Arjuna the secret of doing every action as one's offering to Existence, Arjuna asks a very interesting question:

Why do we keep making the same mistakes, knowing full well they are wrong and pull us down? 

Krishna gives a most insightful amswer. 

Thw two things that make ua repeat mistakes are:

Lust and Anger

They are so powerful that we have to fight them aa our worst enemies. And like the Trojan horse, they are already within us!!! 

Lust is not only about sex but also about all uncontrollable cravings for all sensual and material and even mental stimulations. It can never be satisfied as new cravings spring constantly. Cravings mute or destroy our good sense about what ia right and wrong! 
The only way to deal with Lust is to watch over our mind, nip such cravings in the bud, and humour the mind to develop self-control.

What about Anger? 

Anger is more inflammatory, and generally comes from thwarted expectations. That is really Maya because we expect the world to run according to our beliefs and notions whereas the only thing the world follows is the Eternal Principle of Existence. 

When anger explodes, it is like blowing up a car from within. There is damage all around but the biggest loser is the angry man. He can lose friends, confidence, respect, and even life. The rule to deal with anger is to watch over oneself and take a deep breath before reacting... Often this simple technique puts out such explosions. 

Both lust and anger are our enemies lurking in the basement of our mind. We have to pray to get rid of them! 

हरिः ॐ तत् सत् 



Thursday, December 4, 2025

Learn Sanskrit through Shlokas! -12




करचरणकृतं वाक्कायजं कर्मजं वा 
श्रवणनयनजं वा मानसं वापराधम् ।
विहितमविहितं वा सर्वमेतत् क्षमस्व
जय जय करुणाब्धे श्रीमहादेव शम्भो ॥   

karacaraṇakṛtaṃ vākkāyajaṃ karmajaṃ vā
śravaṇanayanajaṃ vā mānasaṃ vāparādham 
vihitamavihitaṃ vā sarvametat kṣamasva
jaya jaya karuṇābdhe śrīmahādeva śambho 


Oh, the Auspicious Great God Shiva, the Ocean of Mercy, Glory, glory to you! Kindly forgive my wrongs, committed with hands and feet, through words and actions, my misdeeds, transgressions committed by my ears and eyes, even my wrong thoughts, those done deliberately or even inadvertently, all my misdeeds, oh Lord!

karacaraṇakṛtaṃ committed with hands and feet
vāk-kāyajaṃ through words and actions
karmajaṃ vā or misdeeds, transgressions
śravaṇanayanajaṃ committed by my ears and eyes
vā mānasaṃ or my wrong thoughts
or
aparādham misdeed
vihitam done deliberately
avihitaṃ inadvertently
or
sarvametat all my misdeeds
kṣamasva Kindly forgive
jaya jaya Glory, glory to you!
karuṇābdhe the Ocean of Mercy!
śrīmahādeva śambho Oh, the Auspicious Great God Shiva!


This prayer to Shiva comes in a famous stotra Shiva Manasa Puja composed by Jagadguru Adi Shankara.
 
When something is done, e.g. भुक्तम् bhuktam meaning "eaten", in Sanskrit, we use a form called क्त कृदन्तप्रत्यय kta kṛdantapratyaya. Some examples are used here - कृतम् , विहितम्, kṛtam and vihitam

Vande mātaram ! Vande samskṛtam !

Wednesday, December 3, 2025

Learn Sanskrit through Shlokas! -11




मृत्युञ्जयाय रुद्राय नीलकण्ठाय शम्भवे ।
अमृतेशाय शर्वाय महादेवाय ते नमः ॥ 

mṛtyuñjayāya rudrāya nīlakaṇṭhāya śambhave ।
amṛteśāya śarvāya mahādevāya te namaḥ ॥



Oh Lord Shiva, the Great God, the Destroyer, the Lord of the Immortals, the Auspicious One, the Blue-throated One, the Fierce One, and the one who helps conquer death itself, obeisances to you!

mṛtyuñjayāya The one who helps conquer death itself
rudrāya The Fierce One
nīlakaṇṭhāya The Blue-throated One
śambhave The Auspicious One
amṛteśāya The Lord of the Immortals
śarvāya The Destroyer
mahādevāya The Great God
te to you,
namaḥ Obeisances!

This prayer to Shiva is ancient and lists all the attributes of the God who dwells in 12 sacred places across India in the form of the Jyotirliṅga or the Luminous Lingam.

The word namaḥ has already occurred in many shlokas. It means Obeisances, Prayers, and so on. Interestingly, the Vibhakti used for the person being worshipped is the Fourth Vibhakti, or the Dative Case. All the attributes of Shiva here are in the Dative case. All except śambhave have the form similar to Rāmāya, Ganeśāya, Kṛṣṇāya. That is because the root noun ends in a. śambhu, guru and such words end in u. So we say śambhave, gurave, ... in the Fourth Vibhakti.


Vande mātaram ! Vande samskṛtam !

Tuesday, December 2, 2025

Learn Sanskrit through Shlokas! -10



आपदां अपहर्तारं दातारं सर्वसम्पदाम् । 
लोकाभिरामं श्रीरामं भूयो भूयो नमाम्यहम् ॥

āpadāṃ apahartāraṃ dātāraṃ sarvasampadām । 
lokābhirāmaṃ śrīrāmaṃ bhūyo bhūyo namāmyaham ॥

I bow down repeatedly to Lord Sri Rama, who is the remover of all difficulties ans dangers, the giver of all riches, and the supreme delighter of all creation! 

āpadāṃ of difficulties and dangers
apahartāraṃ the remover 
dātāraṃ the giver
sarvasampadām of all riches
lokābhirāmaṃ the supreme delighter of all creation
śrīrāmaṃ to Lord Sri Rama
bhūyaḥ bhūyaḥ again and again
namāmi aham I bow down.

This verse is recited during every Ekadashi in several prayer meetings. It is a sincere prayer of a devotee who has absolute faith in the godly glory of Sri Rama - omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent and supreme in compassion!

The Sanskrit is quite simple, and has Samasa-s to create compound words and compact the verse.



Vande mātaram ! Vande samskṛtam !

Monday, December 1, 2025

Learn Sanskrit through Shlokas! - 9



यत्र योगेश्वरः कृष्णो यत्र पार्थो धनुर्धरः ।
तत्र श्रीर्विजयो भूतिर्ध्रुवा नीतिर्मतिर्मम ॥

yatra yogeśvaraḥ kṛṣṇo yatra pārtho dhanurdharaḥ ।
tatra śrīrvijayo bhūtirdhruvā nītirmatirmama ॥


This is the final shloka in the Śrīmadbhagavadgītā, often referred to as 'The Gita". The Gita is the greatest scripture for all mankind, and is a direct dialogue between God and man, who is sincere about getting ahead. Today is the holy day when the Gita was taught by Bhagavān Śrīkṛṣṇa to Arjuna. It is celebrated as Gita Jayanti all over the world.

Here, the narrator, Sanjaya, states:
"Wherever there is the great Master of Yoga, Krishna, and also the famed and righteous archer Arjuna, there will be prosperity, victory, great powers and gifts, as well as enduring righteousness - that is my firm conviction."

This shloka conveys the essence of Sanatan Dharma, that God always works as a collaborator in and through a righteous man for his betterment.

yatra wherever
yogeśvaraḥ the great Master of Yoga
kṛṣṇo Krishna (is)
yatra and wherever (i.e. also)
pārtho Arjuna
dhanurdharaḥ the famed and righteous archer (is)
tatra there
śrīḥ prosperity
vijayaḥ victory
bhūtiḥ powers and gifts
dhruvā enduring
nītiḥ righteousness (rule of goodness) (are)
matiḥ conviction
mama my (this is)


Many of the attributes and qualities listed here are in the feminine gender.
All nouns in Sanskrit have gender. The gender of any word is not based merely on a biological attribute, but on deep insights beyond logic. Qualities listed here in the feminine are
śrīḥ prosperity, bhūtiḥ powers and gifts, nītiḥ righteousness (rule of goodness), and matiḥ conviction.

Vande mātaram ! Vande samskṛtam !