Verse 28
सुखतः क्रियते रामाभोगः पश्चाद्धन्त शरीरे रोगः ।
यद्यपि लोके मरणं शरणं तदपि न मुञ्चति पापाचरणम् ॥२८॥
Sukhataḥ kriyate rāmābhogaḥ
paścāddhanta śarīre rogaḥ,
yadyapi loke maraṇaṁ śaraṇaṁ
tadapi na muñcati pāpācaraṇam.
Very readily one indulges in carnal
pleasures; thereafter, alas, come diseases of the body. Even though the
ultimate end is death in this world, man does not give up his sinful behavior.
The worldly man wants to seize with all his
might, every pleasure that the world might offer him and he readily chooses to
revel in the frivolous, driven by the animal instincts in him.
He stoops lower than an animal in his mad
rush for sense gratification.
Pleasures of the senses do not bring real
happiness. In fact, they only bring misery and ruin.
Those who indulge in such excessive
self-dissipating acts are unwillingly marching towards a bitter end. With the
draining of all vitality and energy, the body becomes a prey to all sorts of
illness, diseases, afflictions and sufferings.
The temporary nature of all sense objects,
and therefore all sensual pleasures, is brought out in this verse.
Sankara points out that even though man sees
so many death all around him and is well aware that he has to die one day, still,
he is not willing to give up worldly pleasures and hold on to the feet of
Vishnu!!
If we do take the warning about approaching
death serious enough, we will use every moment of our life carefully. We will
prioritize our daily routine, do that which has to be done and leave out the
unnecessary things. There will be no time to spend in sensual indulgence.
Therefore, Sankara advises,
“Resist the temptation of the senses,
overcome their attractions and realize the truth. Conquer the mind and the sense
lures and be a heroic soul.
“Aim only at immortality. Live for it. Exert
yourself ceaselessly to reach and exist as IMMORTAL SELF”.
“Let divine thoughts alone flood your heart
at all times.”
Dear readers,
Bhakti yoga is not as ancient as the path of
Jnana which is the subject matter of our vedantic treatise, our Upanishads.
Much after the Upanishads came into
existence, sages and saints later on discovered man’s despair for sense
gratification, for earning love, to love and be loved.
This despair, this hunger for love which
takes him to lower sensual cravings, was beautifully channelized to Love for
God.
Saints like Meera bai, Jayadev, Tyagaraja,
Kabir, Tulsidas, Tukaram etc. give to this world, through their own life, the
message that all the love one has for this world, for sensual pleasures can be
channelized wholly. Towards love for God and man can liberate himself through
this PREMA YOGA.
Love.
