1 Gita Sloka Every Day - Chapter 17 - Shraddhatraya Vibhaga Yoga - Sloka 5 & 6

The entire content of this mail is from Shri V N Gopala Desikan's  Srimad Bhagavad Gita, published by Vishishtadvaita Research Centre, Chennai and The Bhagavad Gita by Swami Chidbhavananda published by Ramakrishna Mission

Confidence Graded  1-7

1 Gita Sloka  Every Day - Chapter 17 - Shraddhatraya Vibhaga Yoga - Sloka 5

Ashastra vihitam ghoram tapyante ye tapah janah I

Dambha ahamkara samyuktah kama raga balanvitah II Sloka 5 

Karshayantah sharira stham bhuta gramam achetasah I

Mama cha eva antah sharira stham taan viddhi asura nischayan II Sloka 6

अशास्त्र विहितम् घोरम् तप्यन्ते ये तपाः जानः I 

दम्भ  अहंकार संयुक्तः काम राग बलान्वितः II  श्लोक 5

कर्षयन्तः शरीर स्थम् भूत ग्रामं अचेतसः I 

मम च एव अन्तः शरीर स्थम् तान् विद्धि असुर निश्चयन् II श्लोक 6

Those men who practise violent austerities not enjoined by the scriptures,given to hypocrisy and egosim, impelled by the force of lust and attachment.

Fools that they are, they are, they torture their bodily organs, and Me too, who dwell within the body - knew that they are asurika in their resolve. 

The austerities practised by the asurikas people are in no way pleasing to themselves. Bare bodied they lie on spikes. While keeping one hand always lifted up, they try to stand on one leg only hoping to acquire mystic powers thereby. They keep gazing at the sun unmindful of the harm done to their eyes.Their attempts are as much painful to the beholder as to the performers themselves. The lord residing in the heart as conscience is denied by these demoiac people. He who is beyond happiness nad misery seems subjected to misery at the hands of these crude people. Their so called self culture is in no way tune with the path followed by the holy men. It runs counter to the teachings of the scriptures. They seem to be endowed with shraddha but actually their practices are derogatory.

What are the other practices by which the attainments of men may be sorted out/ The answer comes in the next sloka

Panguni Revati on March 21st - Thirunakshatram of Ranganathar

Panguni Revati - Thirunakshatram of Ranganathar

Salutations to Revathi Naathan, SrI RanganAtha

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21st March was the blessed day of Panguni Revathi .We celebrate the birth day of Lord RanganAtha on this day. In a few days time , in Panguni , we will celebrate SrI RanganAyaki's avathAra dinam .

The word Revathi has  many meanings . Wealthy or Splendid is the meaning that is given by the VedAs. Lord RanganAtha is ubhaya VibhUthi Naathan. He is the Master/owner of this leela vibhUthi and SrI Vaikuntam, His eternal VibhUthi (Nithya VibhUdhi) . Therefore , there is no one equal to or greater than Him n splenderous wealth in all the fourteen worlds . He is thus the embodiment of Revathi or splenderous wealth ! 

Some links

http://ramanuja.org/sri/Journal/ASrirangamSaga

https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/Srisathyanarayanaperumal/conversations/topics/8284

http://www.ibiblio.org/sripedia/oppiliappan/archives/apr07/msg00177.html

http://sripedia.appspot.com/group/ramanuja/archives/oct2012/00144

http://www.ramanuja.org/sv/bhakti/archives/apr97/0013.html

1 Gita Sloka Every Day - Chapter 17 - Shraddhatraya Vibhaga Yoga - Sloka 4

he god The entire content of this mail is from Shri V N Gopala Desikan's  Srimad Bhagavad Gita, published by Vishishtadvaita Research Centre, Chennai and The Bhagavad Gita by Swami Chidbhavananda published by Ramakrishna Mission

Confidence Graded  1-7

1 Gita Sloka  Every Day - Chapter 17 - Shraddhatraya Vibhaga Yoga - Sloka 4

Rama giving his padukas to Bharata

Yajante sattvikah devan yaksha rakshamsi rajasah I

Pretan bhuta ganan cha anye yajante tamasa janah II sloka 4

यजन्ते  सात्त्विकाः देवान्  यक्षा रक्षांसि राजसः I 

प्रेतान् भूत गणान् च अन्ये यजन्ते तामसाः जनाः II श्लोक 4

Sattvika men worship the devas; Rajasika the yakshas and the rakshasas; the others - the tamasika men - the pretas and hosts of bhutas

Men comingle with men in accordance with the their temperament and disposition. It is but natural that the good associate with the good, and the bad with the bad. This classification goes on in the realm of worship as well. The sattvika group takes on the adoration of the Paramatman The Rajasia type attribute to the deity characteristics of their own. Revenge, wrath and vandalism - these are the traits attirbuted by Rajasika men to their gods whom they worship ardently/ The tamasika men  are lazy and ignorant. Theri concept of godhood is in tune with their disposition. The god they worship is a wild deity that delights in hurting and teasing people.

The sattvika men are few in number. The others are in a majority. Their ways are described in the next sloka

1 Gita Sloka Every Day - Chapter 17 - Shraddhatraya Vibhaga Yoga - Sloka 3

The entire content of this mail is from Shri V N Gopala Desikan's  Srimad Bhagavad Gita, published by Vishishtadvaita Research Centre, Chennai and The Bhagavad Gita by Swami Chidbhavananda published by Ramakrishna Mission

Confidence Graded  1-7

1 Gita Sloka  Every Day - Chapter 17 - Shraddhatraya Vibhaga Yoga - Sloka 3

Sattva anurupa shraddha bhavati bharata I

Shraddha mayah ayam purushah yah yad shraddhah sah eva sah II sloka 3

सत्त्व अनुरूप श्रद्धा भवति भारत I 

श्रद्धा मयः अयं पुरुषः यः यद् श्रद्दः सः एव सः ईई श्लोक 3

The shraddha of every man, O Bharata is in accordance with his natural disposition. Man is of the nature of his shraddha; what his shraddha is, that he verily is.

Free will comes increasingly into play as beings evolve in existence. The higher the being, the more its free will is in evidence. At the human level it comes into bold relief. The destiny of man is shaped by theuse to which this faculty is put. We call it shraddha when the free will is all directed to self emulation. This endeavour in particular is the prerogative of man. The attitude assumed by the mind characterises its shraddha. It is awake to the reality of things and alert to play its part efficiently. In the discharge of duty, it is given to zeal and not sloth and ease. The man of shraddha has confidence in himself, faith in the ideal he has chosen and reverence for the person who guides him. The means that he adopts is always pure and praiseworthy. He is ever calm and composed while translating his ideal into practise.

The youth Nachiketasof the Kathopanishad fame is a model for shraddha. The visvajit yagna performed by his father Gautama was found by him to be defective and devoid of the required earnestness. The faithful son therefore offered himself to be given away as a giftto somebody, hoping that this act would be atleast a partial atonement for the parsimonious way of the father. But the unwilling father became annoyed and blurted out that he would hand the lad over to Yama, the God of death. The dutiful son wedded to truth felt that no word of his father should ever pass off as empty utterance devoid of intent. He not only made the parent's pronouncement meaningful but also gained in karma and jnana by his duty bound departure to the domains of Yama. The all inclusive of his shraddha is evniced by his choice of the three boons bestowed on him by the lord of death. For the first boon, he sought the pacification of his father, as a lovign and dutiful son. For the 2nd boon, he sought the ways and means  of earning all earthly prosperity and enjoyment. As the third boon he obtained supreme knowledge from Yama. The selection of boons indicates the lad's exemplary character and awareness to the ideals in life.

A stone soars up in the sky to the extent momentum is imparted to it. A tree grows up in tune with its inherent vitality. A lotus shoots up along with the rise in level of the water in the pond. Similarly man rises in his worth and attainments corresponding to the shraddha with which he is endowed. He is nothing more and nothing less than what his shraddha is. 

The shraddha in a man manifests itself in various channels. One among them is in the adoration of the almighty. Its worth is as follows in the next sloka.

1 Gita Sloka Every Day - Chapter 17 - Shraddhatraya Vibhaga Yoga - Sloka 2

The entire content of this mail is from Shri V N Gopala Desikan's  Srimad Bhagavad Gita, published by Vishishtadvaita Research Centre, Chennai and The Bhagavad Gita by Swami Chidbhavananda published by Ramakrishna Mission

Confidence Graded  1-7

1 Gita Sloka  Every Day - Chapter 17 - Shraddhatraya Vibhaga Yoga - Sloka 2

Sri Bhagavan Uvacha

Trividha bhavati shraddha dehinam sa svabhavaja I

Sattviki rajasi cha eva tamasi cha iti tam shrunu II sloka 2

श्री भगवान उवाच 

त्रिविध भवति श्रद्धा देहिनाम् स स्वभावजा I 

सात्त्विकी राजसि च एव तमसि च इति तं शृणु II श्लोक 2

The Blessed Lord said

The shraddha of the embodied  is of three kinds, born of their nature - the sattvika, the rajasika, and the tamasika. Hear now about it.

The doings of the jivatman get embedded in his mind as impressions which do not perish along with the death of the gross body. They are latent in the mind stuff to remanisfest themselves as tendencies in the next birth. The continuity of his disposition is kept up in this way. By observing his inclinations and doings from birth onwards, the gunas predominant in him can be detected. The intrinsic make up of a jivatman reveals itself in the manner described next. 

1 Gita Sloka Every Day - Chapter 17 - Shraddhatraya Vibhaga Yoga - Sloka 1

The entire content of this mail is from Shri V N Gopala Desikan's  Srimad Bhagavad Gita, published by Vishishtadvaita Research Centre, Chennai and The Bhagavad Gita by Swami Chidbhavananda published by Ramakrishna Mission

Confidence Graded  1-7

1 Gita Sloka  Every Day - Chapter 17 - Shraddhatraya Vibhaga Yoga - Sloka 1

Arjuna Avacha

Ye shastra vidhim utsrujya yajante shraddhaya anvitah I

Tesham nishta tu ka krishna sattvam aho rajah tamah II sloka 1

अर्जुन उवाच 
ये शास्त्र विधिं उत्सृज्य यजन्ते श्रद्धया अन्वितः I 
तेषां निश्त तु क कृष्ण सत्त्वं अहो रजः तमः II श्लोक 1

Arjuna said

What is tha nture of devotion of those, O Krishna, who tough disregarding the ordinance of the shastras, perform sacrifice with shraddha?Is it one of sattva, rajas or tamas?

Arjuna is obliged to raise this question for obvious reasons. There are people who are very earnest about pursuing the path of self-perfection. To that extent therefore, they are free from lust, anger and greed. They are not of the demoniacal type. Their knowledge of the scriptural ordinances is very meagre, though they are not antipathic to it. Circumstances do not permit their acquiring accurate and elaborate knowledge of the scriptures.They pursue the right path being propmted by their pure motive. Is their earnestness to be regarded as sattvik which takes them upward, or as rajasik which keeps them as they are, or Tamasik which pushes them downward?