Self-Inquiry as Existential Urgency 1. Why Bhaja Govindam Is Not Gentle Philosophy If Advaita Vedanta is a surgical textbook, Bhaja Govindam is an emergency siren. Adi Shankaracharya composed this work not for scholars in debate halls, but for seekers wasting their lives while believing they are progressing. The opening verse is famously blunt: Sanskrit भज गोविन्दं भज गोविन्दं गोविन्दं भज मूढमते । सम्प्राप्ते सन्निहिते काले नहि नहि रक्षति डुकृञ्करणे ॥ Transliteration Bhaja Govindaṁ bhaja Govindaṁ Govindaṁ bhaja mūḍhamate | Samprāpte sannihite kāle Nahi nahi rakṣati ḍukṛñkaraṇe || Meaning Worship Govinda, worship Govinda, worship Govinda, O fool! When the moment of death arrives, rules of grammar will not save you. This is not an attack on learning. It is an attack on misplaced identity. 2. The Hidden Question in Bhaja Govindam Bhaja Govindam does not explicitly ask "Who am I?" Instead, it relentlessly asks: Who are you NOT? • Are you your age? • Are you your body? • Are you your role? • Are you your desires? • Are you your fears? Each verse removes one false answer. 3. Identity as a Function of Time One of the most important contributions of Bhaja Govindam to self-inquiry is its exposure of time (Kāla) as the great revealer of false identity. Sanskrit बालस्तावत् क्रीडासक्तः तरुणस्तावत् तरुणीसक्तः । वृद्धस्तावत् चिन्तासक्तः परमे ब्रह्मणि कोऽपि न सक्तः ॥ Transliteration Bālastāvat krīḍāsaktaḥ Tarunastāvat taruṇīsaktaḥ | Vṛddhastāvat cintāsaktaḥ Parame brahmaṇi ko'pi na saktaḥ || Meaning As a child, one is attached to play. As a youth, one is attached to passion. As an old man, one is attached to anxiety. But hardly anyone is attached to the Supreme Reality. Self-Inquiry Insight Identity here is shown as stage-dependent. If "I" keeps changing with age, then: The changing identity cannot be the Self. Time quietly performs Neti-Neti for us— but we refuse to learn. 4. The Body: The Most Persistent Mistake Bhaja Govindam repeatedly humiliates bodily identification. Sanskrit अङ्गं गलितं पलितं मुण्डं दशनविहीनं जातं तुण्डम् । वृद्धो याति गृहीत्वा दण्डं तदपि न मुञ्चत्याशापिण्डम् ॥ Transliteration Aṅgaṁ galitaṁ palitaṁ muṇḍaṁ Daśanavihīnaṁ jātaṁ tuṇḍam | Vṛddho yāti gṛhītvā daṇḍaṁ Tadapi na muñcatyāśāpiṇḍam || Meaning The limbs have weakened, the head has turned white, teeth are gone, the mouth is sunken. The old man walks with a staff, yet desire does not leave him. Why This Matters for "Who Am I?" The body decays openly, visibly, undeniably. Yet the sense of "I" clings to it until the end. Shankaracharya forces the seeker to ask: If the body collapses and "I" still claims continuity, what exactly am I? 5. Desire as the Glue of False Identity Desire is not merely craving—it is identity reinforcement. As long as desire persists: • The ego survives • The body feels central • Time feels irrelevant Bhaja Govindam exposes desire as the last refuge of ignorance. 6. Wealth, Family, and Borrowed Selves Sanskrit यावद्वित्तोपार्जनसक्तः तावन्निजपरिवारो रक्तः । पश्चाज्जीवति जर्जरदेहे वार्तां कोऽपि न पृच्छति गेहे ॥ Transliteration Yāvad vittopārjana saktaḥ Tāvan nija parivāro raktaḥ | Paścāj jīvati jarjara dehe Vārtāṁ ko'pi na pṛcchati gehe || Meaning As long as one is capable of earning wealth, the family remains attached. When the body becomes old and worn out, no one even asks how one is doing. Self-Inquiry Insight Shankaracharya is not condemning family. He is exposing conditional identity. If "who I am" depends on usefulness, productivity, or status— then it is not the Self. 7. Time (Kāla): The Ultimate Teacher One of the most profound verses in the text: Sanskrit दिनयामिन्यौ सायं प्रातः शिशिरवसन्तौ पुनरायातः । कालः क्रीडति गच्छत्यायुः तदपि न मुञ्चत्याशावायुः ॥ Transliteration Dinayāminyau sāyaṁ prātaḥ Śiśira-vasantau punarāyātaḥ | Kālaḥ krīḍati gacchatyāyuḥ Tadapi na muñcatyāśāvāyuḥ || Meaning Day and night, evening and morning pass. Seasons come and go again and again. Time plays, life slips away— yet the wind of desire does not cease. Why This Is Central to Self-Inquiry Time destroys everything that belongs to time. If you believe: • "I am the body" • "I am the role" • "I am the achiever" Time will prove you wrong. Thus Kāla becomes the guru of discrimination. 8. Sexual Identity and the Body Illusion Shankaracharya attacks one of the strongest identity anchors—sexual attraction. Sanskrit काते कान्ता कस्ते पुत्रः संसारोऽयमतीव विचित्रः । कस्य त्वं कः कुत आयातः तत्त्वं चिन्तय तदिह भ्रातः ॥ Transliteration Kā te kāntā kas te putraḥ Saṁsāro'yam atīva vicitraḥ | Kasya tvaṁ kaḥ kuta āyātaḥ Tattvaṁ cintaya tad iha bhrātaḥ || Meaning Who is your wife? Who is your son? This world is indeed very strange. Who are you? Where have you come from? Reflect upon the truth, O brother. Notice Here Shankaracharya explicitly asks: Who are you? But not philosophically—existentially. 9. Govinda: The Answer Without Words Throughout the text, Shankaracharya repeats: Bhaja Govindam Govinda here is not merely Krishna as a form. Govinda symbolizes: • The timeless Self • The unchanging witness • That which remains when identity collapses Self-inquiry in Bhaja Govindam does not end in analysis— it ends in recognition and surrender. 10. Why Grammar, Logic, and Identity Fail at Death Shankaracharya's famous insult to scholarship is intentional. At death: • Titles fail • Roles dissolve • Memory disappears • Language collapses Only what you truly are remains. If you have never inquired into that— death becomes terror. 11. Bhaja Govindam vs Classical Advaita | Advaita Texts | Bhaja Govindam | | --------------- | -------------- | | Subtle analysis | Brutal clarity | | Philosophical | Existential | | Gradual | Urgent | | Scholarly | Universal | Bhaja Govindam exists for one reason: To force self-inquiry before time runs out. Conclusion: When Time Asks "Who Are You?" Bhaja Govindam teaches that self-inquiry is not optional. Time will ask the question for you: • Through aging • Through loss • Through decay • Through death The wise answer before that moment arrives. What you are seeking is not ahead of you— it is what remains when everything else falls away.