Gita Dhyanam

The ' ( sa, गीता ध्यानम्), also called the ''Gītā Dhyāna'' or the ''Dhyāna Ślokas'' associated with the Gītā, is a 9-verse Sanskrit poem that has often been attached to the '' Bhagavad Gita'', one of the most important scriptures of Hinduism. In English, its title can be translated literally as "meditation on the Gita," and it is also sometimes called the ''Invocation to the Gita''.

The nine ''Gita Dhyanam'' verses offer salutations to a variety of sacred scriptures, figures, and entities, characterize the relationship of the ''Gita'' to the ''Upanishads'', and affirm the power of divine assistance. Although differing accounts are given of its origins, the poem is widely circulated in India, and its verses have been quoted by many Hindu leaders.

Verses

The ''Gītā Dhyānams first verse opens by affirming an act of meditation (''anusandadhāmi''): "Om. I meditate on the ''Bhagavad Gītā'', which gave enlightenment to Arjuna... by the Lord himself"(italics added) The corresponding Sanskrit reads: "Om pārthāya pratibodhitāṃ bhagavatā nārāyaṇena svayaṃ... tvam anusandadhāmi bhagavad-gite" (See Easwaran, 1975, p. 394, or Chinmayananda, 1998, pp. 1-2). The ''Gītā'' is also affirmed as a mother (''bhagavatīm'', ''amba'') who rescues from ceaseless change (''bhava dveṣiṇīm''). The next verse offers salutations to Vyāsa, the traditional recorder of the ''Gītā''. Several additional verses offer salutations (''namaḥ'', bowing down) to Kṛṣṇa (verses 3, 5, 8), or to the supreme Godhead (''devāya'', verse 9About verse 9, Chinmayananda (1998) comments that "The invocation of the Supreme-most is undertaken here through a peculiar literary trick. The extent of the Infinite cannot be comprehended by anyone and therefore, it can only be indicated by suggestive terms. Even the Creator and the ''Vedik'' Deities representing the phenomenal powers must be praying to and invoking their own glorious powers only at the altars of the Infinite and so it is said that we invoke Him, whom the deities of the ''Vedik'' period invoke by their Divine hymns" (p. 26).).

The commonly quoted fourth verse characterizes the '' Gītā'' as a distillation of the wisdom of the ''Upanishads''. It uses the image of the ''Upanishads'' as like cows, and Arjuna (the person to whom the ''Gītā'' is told) as like a calf who is receiving their milk. This and another selected verse are shown in the table at right, in English translation, Sanskrit original, and romanized transliteration.

The eighth verse affirms faith that God (represented in the '' Gītā'' as Kṛṣṇa) can work benevolent miracles, such as giving speech to the dumb. This verse, shown in the table, is also commonly quoted.

The remaining ''Gītā Dhyānam'' verses extoll the virtues of the '' Mahābhārata'', the larger scripture in which the ''Gītā'' is embedded, or describe the challenges and foes overcome by Arjuna, to whom Kṛṣṇa spoke the ''Gītā'' (verses 6 and 7).

Sources

Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan and Nataraja Guru each stated that the ''Gītā Dhyānam'' is from the '' Vaiṣṇavīya Tantrasāra''. Swami Chinmayananda wrote that the ''Gītā Dhyānam'' was "attributed traditionally to the pen of Madhusudana Sarasvati." Swami Ranganathananda wrote that the ''Gītā Dhyānam'' verses

are current all over India, and now, in foreign countries also. We don't know who composed them. Some people believe it was Sridhara Swami, a commentator on the Gita and on the Srimad Bhagavatam, who lived about three or four centuries ago.

Influence

Nataraja Guru stated that the ''Gītā Dhyānam'' "is found prefixed to most Indian editions of the Gita." Swami Ranganathananda stated that in studying the ''Gita'', "generally, before commencing the study of the text, we study what are called ''Gita Dhyana Slokas'', 'the nine Meditation Verses on the ''Gita''.'"

Hindu leaders have quoted or alluded to verses from the ''Gītā Dhyānam''. Swami Vivekananda wrote from Chicago, following his attendance at the 1893 World Parliament of Religions, that "I am doing the Lord's work, and wherever He leads I follow. मूकं करोति वाचालं etc. - He who makes the dumb eloquent and the lame cross a mountain, He will help me." (pp. 68-71). Letter to Dewanji Saheb, Chicago, 15 November 1894(3?) ic/ref>

Mahatma Gandhi, when praising work done at a school for orphans, wrote that "Seeing the school, I bowed my head in reverence and wondered what love could not do. It can make the dumb speak and the lame climb a mountain."Gandhi (18 February 1932), ''Collected Works'', vol. 55, p. 22.

Swami Ranganathananda wrote with regard to the 8th verse that "Many saints and sages in India have used this verse again and again to express the power of Divine Grace."

Translations

Swami Chinmayananda has published a word-for-word English translation of the ''Gītā Dhyānam'', along with extensive commentary:
* (pp. 1-27)
Other translations into English include:
* (pp. 393–399)
* (pp. 7–8).
* (pp. xxxii-xxxiii).

The ''Gītā Dhyānam'' has also been translated into Italian:
* (pp. 32–33)

References

External links

Audio recitation of ''Gita Dhyhanam''

*Sanskrit text and transliteration
ver. 1ver. 2
(Chinmaya Mission)

{{Hindu deities and texts

Sanskrit poetry
Bhagavad Gita