The Unique Faculty of Free Will: One of the unique features that differentiates human beings from other animals is the faculty of free will and choice. While animals live an instinctive, programmed life focused solely on survival without future plans, human beings possess the freedom to decide their goals.

The Destiny Argument: Even when people argue that everything is predestined, humanity remains divided into two groups: those destined to accept and exercise free will, and those destined to deny it.

The Definition of a Human Being: According to the śāstra, humans who do not exercise their free will are no different from animals. The very definition of a human being implies someone who accepts and uses their faculty of choice. The śāstra exclusively addresses those who acknowledge this free will.

Choosing Life’s Goals: Once free will is accepted, an individual faces innumerable possible goals. The śāstra steps in to support the human being in choosing the appropriate goal and deliberately working toward its fulfillment.

The Two Categories of Human Goals: Swamiji highlights two vital mantras from the kaṭhopaniṣat that address the critical choice of human goals:
अन्यच्छ्रेयोऽन्यदुतैव प्रेयस्ते उभे नानार्थे पुरुषगुं सिनीतः ।
तयोः श्रेय आददानस्य साधु भवति हीयतेऽर्थाद्य उ प्रेयो वृणीते ॥
anyacchreyo’nyadutaiva preyaste ubhe nānārthe puruṣaguṃ sinītaḥ |
tayoḥ śreya ādadānasya sādhu bhavati hīyate’rthādya u preyo vṛṇīte ||

श्रेयश्च प्रेयश्च मनुष्यमेतस्तौ सम्परीत्य विविनक्ति धीरः ।
श्रेयो हि धीरोऽभि प्रेयसो वृणीते प्रेयो मन्दो योगक्षेमाद्वृणीते ॥
śreyaśca preyaśca manuṣyametastau samparītya vivinakti dhīraḥ |
śreyo hi dhīro’bhi preyaso vṛṇīte preyo mando yogakṣemādvṛṇīte ||

Two Broad Varieties: The entire bhaja govindam text is built upon these two mantras, which classify all possible human goals into two broad varieties.

śreyas and preyas: One type of goal is infinite, limitless, eternal, and complete. Since there can only be one infinity, this goal is singular. The śāstra refers to this infinite goal by various synonymous names: bhagavan, īśvaraḥ, brahman, mokṣaḥ, or as it is called in the kaṭhopaniṣat, śreyas.

The Finite Goals: The other possible goals are finite. Anything other than the infinite—such as money, status, position, possessions, or relationships—is limited by time and space. The śāstra names these finite goals dharma, artha, and kāma. Collectively, the kaṭhopaniṣat refers to all of these as preyas.

The Wise and the Deluded: Every human being must choose whether to vote for the infinite (bhagavan) or the finite (the world) as their ultimate destination. The śāstra points out that those who use their discrimination to choose bhagavan are intelligent people, technically called vivekinaḥ.

The Deluded Choosers: Conversely, those who choose finite things in the world are referred to by the śāstra as avivekinaḥ, mandāḥ, or mūḍhāḥ.

Becoming a Spiritual Seeker: The goal of the śāstra is to educate individuals to convert from an avivekī (deluded person) to a vivekī (intelligent chooser). A person who intelligently chooses mokṣa or bhagavan as their destination earns the technical title of a mumukṣuḥ, marking them as a true spiritual person.

Three Types of People: Atheist, Religious, and Spiritual: Among those who do not prioritize spirituality, there are religious people who accept bhagavan but only use bhagavan as a means to achieve finite, worldly goals. They are religious, but not spiritual.

Rejecting bhagavan as a Destination: A purely religious person worships bhagavan for the grace to accomplish worldly ends. If offered the ultimate company of bhagavan in place of their worldly life, they would decline, preferring to maintain their worldly setup instead.

The Atheist: The third category consists of atheists who do not accept bhagavan either as a means or as a goal.

The True Spiritual Path: Spiritual people (mumukṣuḥ) form the most intelligent group because they accept bhagavan and explicitly choose bhagavan as their ultimate destination. Religious people and atheists, having voted for finite things, will inevitably face the varieties of problems collectively called saṃsāra.

The Aim of the Text and the Importance of Right Choice: ādiśaṅkarācārya aims to convert every human being into a mumukṣuḥ. He directly addresses the individual who has made the wrong choice as he mūḍhamate (one whose intellect is deluded or confused). Choosing the infinite is the only healthy choice that gives life true meaning.

Changing the Direction of Life: Across its verses, bhaja govindam details the suffering faced by those who make wrong choices. śaṅkarācārya does this not to paint a gloomy picture of life, but to change our hearts and the very direction of our lives.

Relevance of Scriptures: Only when a person becomes a mumukṣuḥ do the vedāntika scriptures (like the gītā and the upaniṣat) become relevant. First, one must become a mumukṣuḥ, and then use the scriptures to discover the infinite and achieve true happiness.

The Consequence of Choice: If you make the right choice, the whole world becomes a beautiful garden; if you make the wrong choice, the world becomes a hell. śaṅkarācārya beautifully describes the life of a fulfilled person who has made the right choice with this verse:
सम्पूर्णं जगदेव नन्दनवनं सर्वेऽपि कल्पद्रुमाः ।
गाङ्गं वारि समस्तवारिनिवहाः पुण्याः समस्ता इमे ।
वाचः प्रातन संस्कृताः श्रुतिशिरो वाराणसी मेदिनी ।
सर्वावस्थितिरस्तु वस्तुविषया दृष्टे परब्रह्मणि ॥
sampūrṇaṃ jagadeva nandanavanaṃ sarve’pi kalpadrumāḥ |
gāṅgaṃ vāri samastavārinivahāḥ puṇyāḥ samastā ime |
vācaḥ prātana saṃskṛtāḥ śrutiśiro vārāṇasī medinī |
sarvāvasthitirastu vastuviṣayā dṛṣṭe parabrahmaṇi ||

Delusion Breaking Hammer: The actual name of this text is mohamudgaraḥ. mohaḥ means delusion, confusion, or indiscrimination. Since the majority of humanity does not claim mokṣa as their destination, they remain tightly under the grip of this mohaḥ.

The Tragic Blindness of Humanity: To highlight this human foolishness, Swamiji quotes bhartṛhari from the vairāgyaśatakam:
अजानन्दाहात्म्यं पततु शलभस्तीव्रदहने ।
स मीनोऽप्यज्ञानाद्बडिशयुतमश्नाति पिशितम् ।
विजानन्तोऽप्येते वयमिह विपज्जालजटिलान् ।
न मुञ्चामः कामानहह गहनो मोहमहिमा ॥
ajānandāhātmyaṃ patatu śalabhastīvradahane |
sa mīno’pyajñānādbaḍiśayutamaśnāti piśitam |
vijānanto’pyete vayamiha vipajjālajaṭilān |
na muñcāmaḥ kāmānahaha gahano mohamahimā ||

Lacking Intelligence: An insect falls into the fire because it doesn’t know its burning power, and a fish bites a bait because it lacks discrimination. This is understandable as they only possess animal intellects.

The Paradox of Human Intellect: Humans, however, possess intelligence. It does not require super-intelligence to know that a perishable, finite thing cannot give lasting security. Yet, in spite of knowing this (vijānanto’pi ete), humans refuse to let go of finite things and continually pursue new ones when the old ones crumble. This happens because human intelligence is covered by a very powerful, thick delusion.

Hitting Hard with the Hammer: Because the human skull is thick and reaching the brain is difficult, the śāstra and śaṅkarācārya take a hammer (mudgaraḥ) to hit our intellects hard. Thus, the text is properly called mohamudgaraḥ, though it gained the popular name bhaja govindam from its famous opening words.

The Meaning of Bhaja Govindam: govinda means the infinite one, and bhaja means to seek or choose. The simple, profound translation of this text’s title is: “choose the eternal, choose the infinite, and discover lasting security, discover lasting peace, discover lasting happiness, and make your life a successful one.”