Words are often multivalent — they have many meanings, sometimes widely differing meanings.
When confronted with such multivalent words during a conversation, how do we know which meaning is being implied? By considering the context. For example, if we hear during a forest trek, ‘Don’t hit the bat with a bat,’ we infer that the first bat refers to the mammal and the second to a physical object.
Similarly, during his Bhagavad-gita discussion with Krishna, Arjuna infers from context which word means what. While the Gita’s Sanskrit vocabulary is itself not tough, the discussion is itself philosophical and philosophy is frequently characterized by the use of multivalent words. One multivalent word common in the Gita is ‘yoga’: Krishna uses it generically to refer to any process for spiritual connection. Let’s see how context shapes the meaning of yoga or its variants such as ‘yogi’.
In the fifth chapter, Krishna contrasts yoga with sankhya (05.03-04): here, because the entire chapter is about karma-yoga, yoga herein refers to karma-yoga.
In the sixth chapter, when Krishna states that the yogi sits in a secluded sacred place and strives for detachment (06.10), the context indicates that this yogi is a dhyana-yogi.
In the eighth chapter’s conclusion (08.28), Krishna declares that the yogi attains the highest results. This verse is preceded (08.27) and succeeded (09.01-03) by verses describing bhakti-yoga. Moreover, the eighth chapter essentially recommends bhakti-yoga over dhyana-yoga and the ninth chapter is about bhakti-yoga — thus, both the section and chapter contexts indicate that yoga in 8.28 refers to bhakti-yoga. This inference is substantiated by Krishna’s previous declaration (06.47) that the topmost yogis are bhakti-yogis.
One-sentence summary:
When Krishna uses multivalent words like yoga, we like Arjuna need to consider their context to know their implied meaning.
Think it over:
- Why is context necessary for understanding the meaning of words?
- During your daily conversations over the coming week, note how many multivalent words come up and how they are understood based on context.
- Why does yoga refer to different paths in different Gita chapters? Explain with an example.
08.28: A person who accepts the path of devotional service is not bereft of the results derived from studying the Vedas, performing sacrifices, undergoing austerities, giving charity or pursuing philosophical and fruitive activities. Simply by performing devotional service, he attains all these, and at the end he reaches the supreme eternal abode.
To know more about this verse, please click on the image
Yoga bears many meanings