Om!

The Bhaja-Govidam text written by Adi Sankara has two portions the first portion is Dwaadasa-
Mancharica Sthothram consisintg of 13 verses and the other is Charpata-Pancharica Sthothram
consisting of 20 verses. The whole text is based on two known verses in Kato-panishad. It is known
popularly as Bhaja-Govidam, because it begins with the words Bhaja-Govidam, meaning seek Govida,
the Lord, the eternal one. It has got another title also Moha-Mudgaraha. Mudgaraha means a hammer.
Mohaha means delusion; so Moha-Mudgaraha means a hammer which destroys our delusion by
repeated pounding. So the entire Baja-Govidam is an awakening text; a call for us to get out of
delusion and know the real purpose of life.

The following is the context in which, this book was written:

While Adi Sankara Sankara was in Kaashi, he is said to have met a very aged Sanskrit scholar, who
was learning by rote, the great Grammarian Paanini’s Daatu-paata; it is a book, which enlists the
various Sanskrit roots out of which the words in Sanskrit language have been derived. On that day the
aged scholar was getting by rote, a particular Daatu, Dukrin-karane. It described the root kru in
Sanskrit. Kru means ‘doing’; and from this kru root alone, several words have come; karothi,
kuruthaha, kurvanthi etc., in the verbal form and karma, kartha, kaaryam, karanam etc., the in noun
form. They are all the nominative and verbal forms derived from one root kru by the addition of
various suffixes. This aged scholar was learning the whole list by heart! Seeing this, Sankaracharya
felt a deep compassion for him; that, at the fag end of life, he should still be stuck in language and
grammar! No doubt they are important as mediums-of-communication; and as a Grammarian, teaching
them to students was the only means for his livelihood; but they cannot be taken as his life’s goal, the
end, in itself.

Just like the aged scholar, most of the human beings get into the delusion of taking the means itself as
the end; money is a means but often people take money itself as the end. Similarly, our own physical
body is a means to accomplish the eternal (Moksha), but often we take the body itself as ultimate and
spend the entire life by nourishing and beautifying it. Similarly here, grammer and language are only
saadanams (means); they are never the saadyams(goals). Mistaking the saadanam, the means, as the
end is mohaha delusion; and this aged scholar was caught up in this delusion. So Sankaracharya gives
a big discourse to him and through him to the entire humanity.

He started the discourse by saying Baja-Govindam, Baja-Govindam, Govindam-Baja-Moodamathe

(“O man of deluded intellect, know what is the real thing to be sought after, in this life).

So through out the 1st portion Dwaadasa-Mancharica, Sankaracharya was emphasizing a single point;
and that is, when one studies the entire worldly set up, whether individually (a house, a family or a
company )or collectively (the very world itself), one can discern the following truths about it:

1. The unpredictability of every thing in the world; what will happen tomorrow to this set up
whether it is my own body or the family or the surroundings; the future is unpredictable. Of course, we
may try through various methods to predict our future; we run to astrologers and naadi-josiyers. They
can at best read our past clearly, but no body can accurately predict the future; therefore the 1st
problem with the world-set-up, is its unpredictability.

2. The uncontrollability of all the factors in our life. Even though by the advances made in
Science and Technology, some of the factors are predictable, still we realize we are not totally in
control of all the factors in our life. E.g., we have got cyclone predicting satellites; they tell us that
there is a deep depression in the Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea and predict the onset of a cyclone, its
speed and other details; but can we control it? Can we change its direction for instance? Similarly, we
know, we are all going grow old, but we have no method of stopping it; cosmetics can make us look
young, but they cannot make us young; as somebody said, one can cheat the others by cosmetics, but
you cannot cheat the stair-case (laughter); can you understand? In fact after fifty, you even try to avoid
stair-cases. So the 2nd problem with the world-set-up is its uncontrollability.

3. The impermanence of all things in the world. Even the best set-up is subject to change; they
can not be held on to and sustained permanently. For instance, even with our best care, we are not able
to hold on to our hair or teeth permanently (laughter).

Lay off are the order of the day and hire and fire policy leaves people in a state of perpetual worry. So
as long as human beings depend upon an unstable set-up like a job or a relationship, for support,
naturally there will be a constant stress, strain and tension leading to emotional instability; and
bhayam, a sense of insecurity. Therefore an intelligent person just as he works for his financial
insurance by saving, investing in real estate, bonds and so on, should also invest his time and energy in
discovering a stable and permanent support for his emotional insurance.

Sankara wants us to remember that this instability is the intrinsic nature of all things in the world right
from out body up to the solar system and the galaxies. He says that there is only one thing, which is
totally stable, which is a permanent source of security, peace, happiness and on and which you can
always rely upon; and that is Govidaha.

So learn to depend upon this and be relaxed and comfortable though out your life. Enjoy the world for
fun, sport, for expressing your abilities and talents, for service to others and any other blessed thing
except for emotional security. For e.g. when you are organizing a big programme, and you know the
vagaries of the Corporation’s power supply; you will intelligently invest in a powerful UPS
(uninterrupted Power supply) to avoid that tension. Similarly, have Govinda, Bhagavaan, as your
UPS, your uninterrupted Pleasure supply to rid yourself of all tensions in your life.

If a person seeks permanent security from an impermanent set-up, it is called Mohaha, delusion. And
when a person seeks permanent security from a permanent source, it is called vivekaha; Together they
are called nithya-anithya-vasthu-vivekaha and through out the Dwaadasa-Mancharica, Sankara was
emphasizing this, and admonishing the scholar; and through him he was informing and educating the
rest of the humanity also.

In the olden days, the sanyasis were called parivrajakas (one who does not belong to any set-up);
because they did not stay in any place for more than 3 or 4 days, to avoid getting attached to it. His
disciples accompanied him where ever he went, and when ever they had time, they would sit under a
tree and have their lessons. They did not have any heavy text books to carry with them. They had to
carry all the teachings in their mind only. So when Sankara completed his teaching, all his disciples
who were accompanying him also got inspired, and each disciple came up with a sloka as an offering
at the feet of their Guru. These slokaas fell under two classifications: those which described the
virtues, sat-gunaaha, daivi-sampath that have to be carefully and diligently nourished; and those,
which described the weaknesses, negative trends, dur-gunaaha, Aasuri-sampath that have to be
carefully and diligently eschewed, discarded; so as to get o closer to Govinda.
The first sloka is from Padmapaada, a very great and popular disciple, who has written very many
great works; one of them is his sub-commentary on Sankara’s Brahma-Sutra-Bhaashyam.

Dreaming of artha-kaama,

why do you roam restless as the wind?

Is there none to take you in charge?
Know then my friend;
in all the three worlds,
the company of the good is
the only boat,
that can take you across,
the ocean that is samsaaraa

In this verse Padmapaada emphasizes the virtue of sat-sanga

Here, the word sat refers to the spiritual people, wise people, seekers who value spirituality (Say like
the people at the Chinmaya Mission Association). Sanga means companionship, association, with such
spiritually inclined people. It automatically implies gradual avoidance or reduction with the other
types of people who do not have much value for spiritual pursuits and are obsessed mainly with artha
and kama (material wealth and entertainment, sense- pleasures).

Initially we are spiritual babies; so it is natural for us to be obsessed with only artha and kama; but
veda expects us to gradually see their limitations, become mentally mature and grow out of that
obsessed, frenzied pursuit of artha and kama; gradually shift our focus and try to spend more time on
things eternal; in other words, gradually shift from artha-kaama to darma-moksha, ephemeral to
eternal, materialism to spirituality. Artha-kaama need not be totally neglected but gradually their
priority should come down and make sure that there is some time for the pursuit of darma-moksha
also. That is why the Hindu way of life has demarcated the whole life of an individual into four
aasramaas, namely Bhahmacharya, Grahastha, Vaana-prastha and Sanyaasa, through which an
individual can gradually mature spiritually.

Having understood thus far, one may wonder, what one should do to carry out this shift; and for that
Padmapada helps us through this verse. He advises that the easiest and the most effective way is Sat-
Sangha, the company of the Sat-purushaas, who will constantly educate us to relax our hold on
perishable artha-kaama and educate us to turn towards god, the imperishable. They will constantly din
this into our mind through their words and their way of life. Where the company of such mahathmas is
not available, we can enjoy their sat-sanga by regularly reading their teachings and biographies from
various books that are available.