Four types of blinds - न पश्यति जन्मान्धः

The birth-blind doesn't see (physical world), but the ones blinded by desire, intoxication or wealth don't see any flaws (in doing things to get their goals).   na pashyati janmAndhaH, kAmAndho naiva pashyati | na pashyati madonmatto, hyarthI doShAnna pashyati ||   न पश्यति जन्मान्धः कामान्धो नैव पश्यति । न पश्यति मदोन्मत्तो ह्यर्थी दोषान्न पश्यति ॥

One who is blind by birth is ridiculed for not being able to see the physical world. But there are greater blinds than him or her. There are people blinded by lust, ego, or avarice—three of the six internal enemies, Ṣhaḍripu (षड्रिपु—ṣhaṭ = six and ripu = enemy). The other three are krodha (anger), moha (delusion, [illusion of] attachment), and matsara (jealousy).

The blindness caused by burning lust, ego, greed (or anger, jealousy, attachment) makes us blind to what is good or bad, right or wrong. We don’t care about the means at all, nor even about the goal—whether our own goal is even a worthy one or not!

Indra, blind in lust, seduced Ahalyā. Rāvaṇa, blind in ego, kidnapped Sītā. Just as a glutton does not care about the quality of food but only about quantity, those blinded by lust, ego, or greed do not care whether their means or ends are right. It becomes a self-fanning fire that never subsides. No matter how much ghee (clarified butter) of gratification is poured into the fire of the senses, the fire only blazes more.

The third eye of Śhiva is the eye of awakening, of true knowledge, of truth. When we meet ourselves without the masks of social status or mutual egos, we are able to see the truth. Deep down, we all know what is ultimately right and wrong.

But without self-restraint, some people never meet themselves. They never find an appointment with the self in their busy days of running after blinding pursuits.

We have seen another śhloka with a similar meaning, which says that science (knowledge) is the true eye and that one without it is truly blind. Both knowledge of the outer world and the inner world are important—one without the other is incomplete.

Similarly, Śhiva’s third eye opens and removes all darkness caused by the six inner enemies. Pārvatī wanted to marry Śhiva and tried to woo him by working at his āśhrama as an attendant, hoping to find a place in his heart through dedicated service. Śiva, completely lost in penance after his first wife Satī’s death, paid little attention to her.

Tārakāsura waged war against the devas and unleashed havoc. That is what happens when the Lord closes His eyes to the world. The only solution was the son of Śhiva and Pārvatī, who could lead the gods to victory. But Śhiva remained aloof from the world.

Kāmadeva was sent by Indra to seduce Śhiva toward Pārvatī.

At the appropriate moment, when Pārvatī offered prayer flowers collected from the āśhrama nursery, Kāmadeva shot his arrow. For a moment, Śhiva admired Pārvatī’s beauty. But immediately, he realized a turbulence in his chitta (consciousness). Where did this come from?

The yoga authority Patañjali defines yoga as:

"yogaśh-chitta-vṛitti-nirodhaḥ"

"Yoga is the stopping of the fluctuations of consciousness."

And Śhiva is Yogīśhvara = yogī + īśhvara = Lord, Master of the Yogīs. (This should not be confused with Yogeśhvara; see language section.)

So, the Lord of the Yogīs wondered—how come there was vṛitti (change) in his chitta? In simple words—who broke his concentration?

Kālidāsa masterfully creates a profoundly dramatic, pathos-filled scene in his great work Kumārasambhavam. Śhiva sees Kāmadeva, hidden behind the bushes, with his friend Vasantā (spring), carrying a quiver of five arrows—each representing a different stage of the "love-flu" illness. Śhiva, realizing the cause of his distraction, opens his third eye and burns Kāmadeva to ashes.

Since that day, Kāmadeva is called Ananga (an + aṅga = "without body"). The Rati-Vilāpa (mourning of Rati, Kāmadeva’s wife) section of Kumārasambhavam is one of Kālidāsa’s most romantic and tear-jerking creations.

But here lies an important lesson in dealing with Sanskrit works, spirituality, and esoteric topics.

What does this ultimately mean? Did a body called Śhiva actually burn a body called Kāma by opening a laser-operated third eye? How does one interpret this?

We all have Śhiva-ness within us. We all have a third eye—the eye of knowledge and discrimination (viveka).

This alone can burn our desires—whether they be lust, ego, wealth, power, etc.

By presenting this wisdom in the form of a story, with real characters and detailed descriptions, Kālidāsa makes it a captivating read. But we must step back and understand the deeper meaning.

This kind of personification of internal concepts is abundant and must be understood—whether one follows the path of jñāna (knowledge) or bhakti (devotion) yoga.

So, whether you have physical eyesight or not, make sure your eyes of knowledge are 20/20!

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And now the language aspects of the shloka -

• na = न = not 
• pashyai = पश्यति = sees (third person, singular) 
• janmAndhaH = जन्मान्धः = janma (birth) + andhaH (blind) = blind by birth 
• kAmAndho = कामान्धो = kAma (desire, usually sexual) + andhaH (blind) = blinded by desire  
• naiva = नैव = na (not) + eva (also) = also (does) not (see) 
• madonmatto = मदोन्मत्तो = mada (intoxication of power, ego, alcohol etc) + unmatta (intoxicated) = totally intoxicated, insane in power/ego/alcohol etc. 
• hyarthI = ह्यर्थी = hi + arthI = one who has a self-interest (specially in wealth) 
• doShAnna = दोषान्न = doShAn + na = to the faults (doSha), flaws; 
• now additional words - yogeshwara = yoga + Ishwara = lord of yogas = kRiShNa, mAdhava, murArI
• yogIshwara = yogI + Ishwara = lord of yogIs =  shiva, mahAdeva, naTarAja
• kAma = god of desire 
• vasant = spring (his friend) 
• rati = carnal union (his wife)

kAmadeva

rati

kAma and rati are usually shown together, but in front of belur temple door, they are shown separated, as a reminder to leave all worldly desires outside.  





(c) Shashikant Joshi । शशिकांत जोशी । ॐ सर्वे भवन्तु सुखिनः ।

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