Hamsa Geeta

Swami Ishwarananda ji's talk on Hamsa Gita

Hamsa Gita is one of the last discourses between Sri Krishna and Uddava before Sri Krishna left his physicalbody. This text can be broadly divided into two sections. In the first section the dialogue consists of mindanalysis and the various factors that influence our thoughts. The second section addresses Krishna’s teachingto the Santa Kumars (mind born sons of Brahma) on how to separate the mind from the objects of theworld. Sri Krishna took the form of a “Swan” which has the discriminating capability of separating milk fromwater- to impart his teachings. Hence the name “Hamsa Gita”.

The mind is a flow of thoughts and it gains knowledge via the five sense organs (eyes, ears, nose, tongue,skin). The stimuli from the sense organs provide it with fuel from the external world to generate thoughts.These thoughts are nothing but impressions of objects from this external world. Objects could be persons,animate or inanimate things, experiences of situations (happy occasions, sad encounters) etc. In otherwords, the mind is reacting and generating thoughts based on the objects perceived through the senses. And since these external objects are temporary and constantly changing, the mind or the mood/thoughts alsokeep fluctuating. The only way to stabilize and calm the mind is by focusing or directing our sense organs predominantly towards something that is finite and constant.

Before we learn to shift this focus of the sense organs it is important to know what the current tendencies(strength and weaknesses) of our mind with the sense organs are. Sense organs are just tools but ourpreferences and likes and dislikes come from the mind’s attachments to the sense objects. For instance,some of us love sweets while others are predisposed to spicy food. Some of us are introverted while othersare extroverted. Some of them are more spiritually inclined whereas others are worldly. What causes such differences? Differences in our pre-dispositions are the result of the distribution of the three gunas- Sattvic,Rajasic and Tamasic. Sattvic gunas include devotion, compassion, and selfless service, and a liking for mildand fresh food. Rajasic gunas include the activities we perform, competitiveness, greed, liking for very spicyfood etc. Tamasic gunas include lethargy, laziness, dullness, and a liking for burnt/stale food. The three gunasare present in all of us, although in differing quantities and hence the differences in our predisposition.These gunas are present both at the gross body level as well as at the subtle mental level. Hence our actions(at the gross level) and our thoughts (at the subtle level) should both be conditioned to increase Sattvicgunas which will automatically reduce the Rajasic and Tamasic tendencies. The Rajasic and Tamasic tendencies cannot and should not be completely eliminated. Since some kind of activity (rajasic) and sleep(tamasic) is necessary to lead a Sattvic life that could facilitate inquiry and contemplation leading to Self-Realization.

In the second section, the question that the Santa Kumars raised was – (1) “How can we preventthe mind from going towards an object?” and (2) “How can we prevent the object from entering into ourminds?”Sri Krishna says that the mind can be prevented from entering into the objects by understanding thetransient nature of the happiness that the object gives us and consciously staying away from it or at least notbecoming dependent on it. However, this does not imply that our mind will not think about that object. The mind may still entertain the thoughts of that object due to vasanas that are at the causal level. So the treatment has to be at both levels – at the physical (gross) level which has a direct impacton the subtle body and at the causal level.

Understanding the nature and distribution of the gunas in us we can slowly work on reducing our tamasic and rajasic tendencies and increase the Sattvic gunas to the extent that it would not only address the deficiencies at the gross and subtle level but will eventually weaken the vasanas at the causal level. Channeling our rajasic tendencies towards Selfless service, cultivating devotionare just few ways of managing the gunas. Continuing further, Sri Krishna emphasizes that once we see thecommon thread (Existence) between the mind and the objects and reject the differences then there will beno need to make an attempt to differentiate between mind and objects.Note: The question was originally posed by Santakumars to their father Brahma. However, since Brahmajiwas busy- active creating the world (prominent rajasic quality), his mind was not subtle enough to answerthem. For the mind to have more sattvic qualities it is necessary to consciously curb and channel rajasic andtamasic tendencies else proper inquiry cannot be possible.

To conclude: Happiness is our true nature and yet we continue to be unhappy or discontented due to ourclose proximity and association with the non-Self sensory/subtleobjects due to our vasanas. In order torealize our true nature, we need to associate ourselves closely to the Self. The mind relies on knowledge communicated by the sensory organs and it exists and functions only to exhaust the inborn tendencies. We use our senses according to the distribution of the gunas. There is a need to rise above the gunas that arepresent at the physical and mental levels and know the real Self. Krishna advises that by consciously curbingthe rajasic and tamasic tendencies and inculcating sattvic tendencies one evolves. Hence by curbing andlimiting our external stimulus (gross), the internal stimuli (subtle) can be controlled and with added devotionand faith to counteract the vasanas, all the three bodies can be used for higher contemplation and truth.