Bhaja Govindam: Advice to a Fool Caught in Samsara of Life
Bhaja Govindaṃ was written by Jagadguru Adi Shankaracharya. Bhaja govindaṃ is one of the minor compositions of the spiritual giant, Adi Shankaracharya.
It is classified as a prakaraṇa grantha, a primer to the major works. Though sung as a bhajan, it contains the essence of Vedanta and implores the man to think,
“Why am I here in this life? Why am I amassing wealth, family, but have no peace? What is the Truth? What is the purpose of life?”
The person thus awakened gets set on a path to the inner road back to the God principle.
The background of Bhaja govindaṃ is worth examining. During his stay in Kashi, Adi Shankaracharya noticed a very old man studying the rules of Sanskrit by Panini.
Shankara was touched with pity at seeing the plight of the old man spending his years at a mere intellectual accomplishment while he would be better off praying and spending time to control his mind.
Shankara understood that the majority of the world was also engaged in mere intellectual, sense pleasures and not in the divine contemplation.
Seeing this, he burst forth with the verses of Bhaja govindaṃ. In 31 verses, he, like no other, explains our fallacies, our wrong outlook for life, and dispels our ignorance and delusions. Thus bhaja govindaṃ was originally known as moha mudgāra, the remover of delusions.
Shankara explains, nay chides, us for spending our time in useless trivia like amassing wealth, lusting after (wo)men and requests us to discriminate and cultivate the knowledge to learn the difference between the real and the unreal.
To emphasise that, he concludes that all knowledge other than the Self-Knowledge is useless, Shankara makes the person realize how foolish he/she is in the conduct and behaviour by these verses, and shows the purpose of our worldly existence, which is to seek Govinda (Brahman, Consciousness) and “attain” Him.
Bhaja govindaṃ is divided into dvādashamanjarikā stotram and chaturdashamanjarika stotram.
At the end of composing the first stanza, it is said that Shankara burst forth with the next 12 stanzas of bhaja govindaṃ. Thus stanzas 2-13 with 1st as refrain are called dvādashmanjarika stotram.
Anyone who listens to the music of Bhaja govindaṃ is attracted to it. However, the significance of the text goes much deeper and contains a well defined philosophy of attaining salvation.
Shankara's words seem to be quite piercing and seem to lack the softness and tenderness often found in his other texts, thus addressing directly.
The reason is that this was an extempore recital to an old man. His words can be compared to a knife of a surgeon. The surgeon's knife cruelly removes the tumor with much pain, but removing the tumour ultimately restores good health in the patient.
So are Shankara's words, which pierce and point out our ignorance. It is a knife into the heart of worldliness, and by removing this tumour of ignorance, we can attain everlasting bliss with the grace of Govinda.
May the Achāryā guide us from ignorance to truth.
Verse 1
भज गोविन्दं
भज गोविन्दं भज गोविन्दं
गोविन्दं भज मूढ मते ।
सम्प्राप्ते सन्निहिते काले
न हि न हि रक्षति डुकृङ् करणे ॥ १॥
bhaja govindaṃ
bhaja govindaṃ bhaja govindaṃ
govindaṃ bhaja mūḍha mate |
samprāpte sannihite kāle
na hi na hi rakṣati ḍukṛṅ karaṇe || 1||
Translation: Worship Govinda, worship Govinda, worship Govinda, Oh fool! Rules of grammar will not save you at the time of your death.
Verse 2
मूढ जहीहि धन आगम तृष्णां
कुरु सत् बुद्धिं मनसि वितृष्णाम् ।
यत् लभसे निज कर्म उपात्तं
वित्तं तेन विनोदय चित्तम् ॥ २॥
mūḍha jahīhi dhana āgama tṛṣṇāṃ
kuru sat buddhiṃ manasi vitṛṣṇām |
yat labhase nija karma upāttaṃ
vittaṃ tena vinodaya cittam || 2||
Translation: Oh fool! Give up your thirst to amass wealth, devote your mind to thoughts to the Real. Be content with what comes through actions already performed in the past.
Verse 3
नारी स्तन भर नाभी देशं
दृष्ट्वा मा गा मोह आवेशम् ।
एतत् मांस वसा आदि विकारं
मनसि विचिन्तय वारं वारम् ॥ ३॥
nārī stana bhara nābhī deśaṃ
dṛṣṭvā mā gā moha āveśam |
etat māṃsa vasā ādi vikāraṃ
manasi vicintaya vāraṃ vāram || 3||
Translation: Do not get drowned in delusion by going wild with passions and lust by seeing a woman's navel and chest. These are nothing but a modification of flesh. Fail not to remember this again and again in your mind.
Verse 4
नलिनी दल गत जलम् अति तरलं
तद्वत् जीवितम् अतिशय चपलम् ।
विद्धि व्याधि अभिमान ग्रस्तं
लोकं शोक हतं च समस्तम् ॥ ४॥
nalinī dala gata jalam ati taralaṃ
tadvat jīvitam atiśaya capalam |
viddhi vyādhi abhimāna grastaṃ
lokaṃ śoka hataṃ ca samastam || 4||
Translation: The life of a person is as uncertain as rain drops trembling on a lotus leaf. Know that the whole world remains a prey to disease, ego and grief.
Verse 5
यावत् वित्त उपार्जन सक्तः
तावत् निज परिवारः रक्तः ।
पश्चात् जीवति जर्जर देहे
वार्तां कः अपि न पृच्छति गेहे ॥ ५॥
yāvat vitta upārjana saktaḥ
tāvat nija parivāraḥ raktaḥ |
paścāt jīvati jarjara dehe
vārtāṃ kaḥ api na pṛcchati gehe || 5||
Translation: So long as a man is fit and able to support his family, see what affection all those around him show. But no one at home cares to even have a word with him when his body totters due to old age.
Verse 6
यावत् पवनः निवसति देहे
तावत् पृच्छति कुशलं गेहे ।
गतवति वायौ देह अपाये
भार्या बिभ्यति तस्मिन् काये ॥ ६॥
yāvat pavanaḥ nivasati dehe
tāvat pṛcchati kuśalaṃ gehe |
gatavati vāyau deha apāye
bhāryā bibhyati tasmin kāye || 6||
Translation: When one is alive, his family members enquire kindly about his welfare. But when the soul departs from the body, even his wife runs away in fear of the corpse.
Verse 7
बालः तावत् क्रीडा सक्तः
तरुणः तावत् तरुणी सक्तः ।
वृद्धः तावत् चिन्ता सक्तः
परमे ब्रह्मणि कः अपि न सक्तः ॥ ७॥
bālaḥ tāvat krīḍā saktaḥ
taruṇaḥ tāvat taruṇī saktaḥ |
vṛddhaḥ tāvat cintā saktaḥ
parame brahmaṇi kaḥ api na saktaḥ || 7||
Translation: The childhood is lost by attachment to playfulness. Youth is lost by attachment to woman. Old age passes away by thinking over many things. But there is hardly anyone who wants to be lost in parabrahman.
Verse 8
का ते कान्ता कः ते पुत्रः
संसारः अयम् अतीव विचित्रः ।
कस्य त्वं कः कुतः आयातः
तत्त्वं चिन्तय तत् इह भ्रातः ॥ ८॥
kā te kāntā kaḥ te putraḥ
saṃsāraḥ ayam atīva vicitraḥ |
kasya tvaṃ kaḥ kutaḥ āyātaḥ
tattvaṃ cintaya tat iha bhrātaḥ || 8||
Translation: Who is your wife? Who is your son? Strange is this samsāra, the world. Of whom are you? From where have you come? Brother, ponder over these truths.
Verse 9
सत् सङ्गत्वे निस् सङ्गत्वं
निस् सङ्गत्वे निर् मोहत्वम् ।
निर् मोहत्वे निश्चल तत्त्वं
निश्चल तत्त्वे जीवन् मुक्तिः ॥ ९॥
sat saṅgatve nis saṅgatvaṃ
nis saṅgatve nir mohatvam |
nir mohatve niścala tattvaṃ
niścala tattve jīvan muktiḥ || 9||
Translation: From satsanga, company of good people, comes non-attachment, from non-attachment comes freedom from delusion, which leads to self-settledness. From self-settledness comes Jīvan muktī.
Verse 10
वयसि गते कः काम विकारः
शुष्के नीरे कः कासारः ।
क्षीणे वित्ते कः परिवारः
ज्ञाते तत्त्वे कः संसारः ॥ १०॥
vayasi gate kaḥ kāma vikāraḥ
śuṣke nīre kaḥ kāsāraḥ |
kṣīṇe vitte kaḥ parivāraḥ
jñāte tattve kaḥ saṃsāraḥ || 10||
Translation: What good is lust when youth has fled? What use is a lake which has no water? Where are the relatives when wealth is gone? Where is samsāra, the world, when the Truth is known?
Verse 11
मा कुरु धन जन यौवन गर्वं
हरति निमेषात् कालः सर्वम् ।
माया मयम् इदम् अखिलं हित्वा/बुध्वा
ब्रह्म पदं त्वं प्रविश विदित्वा ॥ ११॥
mā kuru dhana jana yauvana garvaṃ
harati nimeṣāt kālaḥ sarvam |
māyā mayam idam akhilaṃ hitvā/budhvā
brahma padaṃ tvaṃ praviśa viditvā || 11||
Translation: Do not boast of wealth, friends, and youth. Each one of these are destroyed within a minute by time. Free yourself from the illusion of the world of Maya and attain the timeless Truth.
Verse 12
दिन यामिन्यौ सायं प्रातः
शिशिर वसन्तौ पुनः आयातः ।
कालः क्रीडति गच्छति आयुः
तत् अपि न मुञ्चति आशा वायुः ॥ १२॥
dina yāminyau sāyaṃ prātaḥ
śiśira vasantau punaḥ āyātaḥ |
kālaḥ krīḍati gacchati āyuḥ
tat api na muñcati āśā vāyuḥ || 12||
Translation: Daylight and darkness, dusk and dawn, winter and springtime come and go. Time plays and life ebbs away. But the storm of desire never leaves.
Verse 13
का ते कान्ता धन गत चिन्ता
वातुल किं तव न अस्ति नियन्ता ।
त्रि जगति सज्जन सङ्गतिः एका
भवति भव अर्णव तरणे नौका ॥ १३॥
kā te kāntā dhana gata cintā
vātula kiṃ tava na asti niyantā |
tri jagati sajjana saṅgatiḥ ekā
bhavati bhava arṇava taraṇe naukā || 13||
Translation: Oh mad man! Why this engrossment in thoughts of wealth? Is there no one to guide you? There is only one thing in three worlds that can save you from the ocean of samsāra, get into the boat of satsanga, company of good people, quickly.
Final Verse
द्वादश मञ्जरिकाभिः अशेषः
कथितः वैयाकरणस्य एषः ।
उपदेशः अभूत् विद्या निपुणैः
श्रीमत् शङ्कर भगवत् शरणैः ॥ १३अ ॥
dvādaśa mañjarikābhiḥ aśeṣaḥ
kathitaḥ vaiyākaraṇasya eṣaḥ |
upadeśaḥ abhūt vidyā nipuṇaiḥ
śrīmat śaṅkara bhagavat śaraṇaiḥ || 13a ||
Translation: This bouquet of twelve verses (2-13) was imparted to a grammarian by the all-knowing Shankara, adored as the bhagavadpada.
– Source
