yajvan
18 April 2011, 03:58 PM
hariḥ oṁ
~~~~~~
namasté
Some advanced concepts we can view in the bhāgavad gītā ( this is why it is in the uttara folder)...
If one reads chapter 6, 13th śloka of the bhāgavad gītā there is an instruction that is offered from kṛṣṇa-ji for meditation.
If one reads several translations you will see a difference of opinion on one word, nāsikāgraṁ. This makes a substantial difference on where one puts their attention.
Lets take a look at the śloka and then this one word.
samaṁ kāyaśirogrīvaṁ dhārayann acalaṁ sthiraḥ |
saṁprekṣya nāsikāgraṁ svaṁ diśaś cā navalokayan ||
dhārayan- holding ; from dhāra meaning holding , supporting , containing
kāya - body
śira - head
grīvam- neck
samaṁ -straight
acalam- still; (and) sthiraḥ = steady, fixed
anavalokayan - not looking
diśaḥ - in all directions; from diś meaning quarter or region pointed at , direction , cardinal point
ca - and
saṁprekṣya - looking at
nāsikāgraṁ - the point of the nose ?
This then says,
Version one
Holding the body, the neck and the head straight, still, and steady and not looking in all directions, looking at the tip of one's nose
Version two
Steady, keeping the body, head and neck upright/straight and still, having directed his gaze to the front of his nose, without looking in any direction
So, the key word here is nāsikāgraṁ. Lets take a deeper look:
nāsika +agraṁ with attention on nas ,ka and agra.
nas नस् - 3rd derivative , means the nose. The 2nd derivative is defined as 'join'.
nāsika नासिक - 'of a place' ; A name of a of a town in Western India on the godāvarī, called nasik, because lakṣmaṇa
cut off the nose of rāvaṇa's sister, the rākṣasa śūrpa-ṇakhā, at this site.
ka क - 3rd derivative is 'the head' ; yet too this ka is defined as of brahman or of viṣṇu agra अग्र - this is a key word in this discussion because it can be defined a few ways:
uppermost part , top , summit
tip
the nearest end
the beginning So when we take apart this word we can also see a different idea emerging other then 'the tip of the nose'. We have the upper most part (agra) , joining ( nas) the head (ka) as brahman or viṣṇu (ka)
This suggests not the tip of the nose, but where the nose meets the head. The 'nearest end' not the furthest end ( the tip). Some call this the summit (agra).
Yet we know this location by other names:
ājñā - command , direct ; the command center (cakra)
bhrūmadhya = bhrū ( the brow) + madya (middlemost , central, the space between) or between the brow
bindu = spot or dotHence we can read this śloka in the following way:
Version 3
Steady, keeping the body, head and neck upright/straight and still, having directed his gaze to the space between the brow,
(to ka, brahman) without looking in any direction.
praṇām
words
for those that prefer saṃskṛtam of this verse:
समं कायशिरोग्रीवं धारयन्नचलं स्थिरः ।
सम्प्रेक्ष्य नासिकाग्रं स्वं दिशश्चानवलोकयन् ॥
~~~~~~
namasté
Some advanced concepts we can view in the bhāgavad gītā ( this is why it is in the uttara folder)...
If one reads chapter 6, 13th śloka of the bhāgavad gītā there is an instruction that is offered from kṛṣṇa-ji for meditation.
If one reads several translations you will see a difference of opinion on one word, nāsikāgraṁ. This makes a substantial difference on where one puts their attention.
Lets take a look at the śloka and then this one word.
samaṁ kāyaśirogrīvaṁ dhārayann acalaṁ sthiraḥ |
saṁprekṣya nāsikāgraṁ svaṁ diśaś cā navalokayan ||
dhārayan- holding ; from dhāra meaning holding , supporting , containing
kāya - body
śira - head
grīvam- neck
samaṁ -straight
acalam- still; (and) sthiraḥ = steady, fixed
anavalokayan - not looking
diśaḥ - in all directions; from diś meaning quarter or region pointed at , direction , cardinal point
ca - and
saṁprekṣya - looking at
nāsikāgraṁ - the point of the nose ?
This then says,
Version one
Holding the body, the neck and the head straight, still, and steady and not looking in all directions, looking at the tip of one's nose
Version two
Steady, keeping the body, head and neck upright/straight and still, having directed his gaze to the front of his nose, without looking in any direction
So, the key word here is nāsikāgraṁ. Lets take a deeper look:
nāsika +agraṁ with attention on nas ,ka and agra.
nas नस् - 3rd derivative , means the nose. The 2nd derivative is defined as 'join'.
nāsika नासिक - 'of a place' ; A name of a of a town in Western India on the godāvarī, called nasik, because lakṣmaṇa
cut off the nose of rāvaṇa's sister, the rākṣasa śūrpa-ṇakhā, at this site.
ka क - 3rd derivative is 'the head' ; yet too this ka is defined as of brahman or of viṣṇu agra अग्र - this is a key word in this discussion because it can be defined a few ways:
uppermost part , top , summit
tip
the nearest end
the beginning So when we take apart this word we can also see a different idea emerging other then 'the tip of the nose'. We have the upper most part (agra) , joining ( nas) the head (ka) as brahman or viṣṇu (ka)
This suggests not the tip of the nose, but where the nose meets the head. The 'nearest end' not the furthest end ( the tip). Some call this the summit (agra).
Yet we know this location by other names:
ājñā - command , direct ; the command center (cakra)
bhrūmadhya = bhrū ( the brow) + madya (middlemost , central, the space between) or between the brow
bindu = spot or dotHence we can read this śloka in the following way:
Version 3
Steady, keeping the body, head and neck upright/straight and still, having directed his gaze to the space between the brow,
(to ka, brahman) without looking in any direction.
praṇām
words
for those that prefer saṃskṛtam of this verse:
समं कायशिरोग्रीवं धारयन्नचलं स्थिरः ।
सम्प्रेक्ष्य नासिकाग्रं स्वं दिशश्चानवलोकयन् ॥