भज गोविन्दं
भजगोविन्दं भजगोविन्दं गोविन्दं भजमूढमते ।
सम्प्राप्ते सन्निहिते काले नहि नहि रक्षति डुकृञ्करणे ॥ १॥
bhaja govindaṁ
bhajagovindaṁ bhajagovindaṁ govindaṁ bhajamūḍhamate |
samprāpte sannihite kale nahi nahi rakṣati ḍukṛñkaraṇe ||1||
Seek/attain the knowledge of the Lord, Govinda—the Divine Principle, O the unwary one.
Rules of Grammar will not save you at the time of your death.
The text Bhaja Govindaṁ is ascribed to Ādi Śaṅkarācārya (788-820AD), the greatest Indian philosopher. It is believed to be the summary of Advaita Vedānta teachings, the philosophy of non-duality—One, without a second. It is also known as Moha Mudgara [hammer (to shatter) illusion]. It is classified as a prakaraṇa grantha, a primer to the major works.
This text helps in determining the true purpose of life—puruṣārtha-niśceya. Why am I amassing wealth, but have no peace? Why am I chasing shadows? What is the Truth of my existence? What is the purpose of life? The person thus awakened through self-examination gets set on a path leading back to the God principle.
The story goes that when Śrī Śaṅkara was walking along the streets of Kāśī, the holy city, he was pained to observe an elderly person trying hard to learn Sanskrit grammar. At his advanced age, the remaining valuable little time of his life should have been devoted to contemplating on God, the Sat vastu, instead of wasting on learning the grammar rules. Out of his compassion, Śrī Śaṅkara burst out this composition, a sort of reproach to unwise way of living.
The harsh tone of the text is understandable, because such a treatment is required to awaken a person from the deep slumber. A milder approach would only delay the matter. The matter is urgent, as Śrī Śaṅkara explains in the next verses, for, when the hour of death approaches without any warning, the hard-learned rules of grammar are not going to save the poor soul. Hence the urgency in the refrain!
Grace Notes: The apparent meaning of the first verse is that one should worship (chant the Holy Names of) the Lord, for, no amount of scholastic learning will save one from the clutches of death. Clearly, the real intention of Śrī Śaṅkara was not to condemn grammar study. What type of knowledge will save, if the knowledge of grammar will not do so? The verse implies that one should seek the knowledge of the God principle. If “all that is, is Divine” (sarvam khalvidam Brahma सर्वं खल्विदं ब्रह्म ~Chāndōgya Upaniṣad 3.14) and “I am Brahma” (aham Brahmāsmi अहं ब्रह्म अस्मि ~ Bṛhadāraṇyakopaniṣat 1.4.10), what can one really “do” to attain to such knowledge? This point requires serious reflection.
If everything is God only (vāsudevaḥ sarvam iti: Gita 7.19) —the seeker, the sought, and the rest—knowing it as such is what seems to be the real import of Śaṅkara’s refrain in Bhaja Govindaṁ. This is exactly what we are told in the Gītā in its beginning (āsīta matparaḥ: 2.61), in the middle (manmanā bhava: 9. 34), and reminded at the end (manmanā bhava: 18.65).
For when everything has become Divine for a person, where else can such a person’s mind go? Yatra yatra mano yati, tatra tatra tava pāda paṅkajam: wherever my mind goes, there indeed is Your lotus feet!
According to the Gītā, such a person is rare indeed to come by: sa mahātmā sudurlabhaḥ 7.19.
Awakening to the knowledge of our universal Divinity—the Self in all and All in Self—is the teaching.
This is called Self-knowledge, the Brahma-vidya, Knowledge of the Absolute.
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