Gita Satsang - Chapter 5 : Verse 16-20 - Jan. 29, 2001

[Guest guest]

Namaste,

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mat chittaaH mat gata-praaNaaH bodhayantaH parasparam.h .

kathayantaH cha maa.n nitya.n tushhyanti cha ramanti cha ..

shriimad-bhagavad-giitaa 10:9

 

'With their thought on Me, with their life absorbed in Me,

instructing each other, and ever speaking of Me,

they are content and delighted.'

Ch.10:v.9.

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cotd. Ch. 5 : v. 16-20 [with Shankara-Bhashya, tr. Sw.Gambhirananda]

 

sa.nnyaasa-yogaH . The Way to Renunciation of Actions.

 

GYaanena tu tad aGYaanaM yeshhaa.n naashitam aatmanaH .

teshhaam aadityavaj GYaanaM prakaashayati tat param.h .. 16..

 

16. But in the case of those of whom that ignorance of theirs becomes

destroyed by the knowledge (of the Self), their Knowledge, like the

sun, reveals that supreme Reality.

 

tu, but; yeshhaam, in the case of those creatures; of whom tat

aj~naanam, that ignorance; aatmanaH, of theirs-being covered by which

ignorance creatures get deluded-; naashitam, becomes destroyed;

j~naanena, by knowledge, by discriminating knowledge concerning the

Self; teshhaam, their; j~naanam, knowledge; aadityavat, like the sun;

prakaashayati, reveals, in the same way as the sun reveals all forms

whatever; tat-param, that supreme Reality, the Reality which is the

highest Goal, the totality of whatever is to be known.

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tad buddhayas tad aatmaanas tan nishhThaas tat paraayaNaaH .

gachchhanty apunaraavR^itti.n GYaana-nirdhuuta-kalmashhaaH .. 17..

 

17. Those who have their intellect absorbed in That, whose Self is

That, who are steadfast in That, who have That as their supreme Goal-

they attain the state of non-returning, their dirt having been

removed by Knowledge.

 

tat-buddhayah, those who have their intellect absorbed in That, [Here

Ast. reads 'tasmin brahmani, in that Brahman'.-Tr.] in the supreme

Knowledge which has been revealed; tat-aatmanah, whose Self is That,

who have That (tat) supreme Brahman Itself as their Self (aatma); tat-

nishhthaaH, who are steadfast in That-nishhthaa is intentness,

exclusive devotion; they are called tat-nishhthaaH who become

steadfast only in Brahman by renouncing all actions; and tat-

paraayaNaaH, who have That as their supreme (para) Goal (aayana), who

have That alone as their supreme Resort, i.e. who are devoted only to

the Self; those who have got their ignorance destroyed by Knowledge-

those who are of this kind-, they gachchhanti, attain;

apunaraavR^ittim, the state of non-returning, non-association again

with a body; j~naana-nirdhuuta-kalmashhaH, their dirt having been

removed, destroyed, by Knowledge. Those whose dirt (kalmashha), the

defect in the form of sin etc., which are the cause of

transmigration, have been removed, destroyed (nirdhuta), by the

aforesaid Knowledge (j~naana) are j~naana-nirdhuuta-kalmashhaaH, i.e.

the monks.

 

How do those learned ones, whose ignorance regarding the Self has

been destroyed by Knowledge, look upon Reality? That is being stated:

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vidyaa-vinaya-saMpanne braahmaNe gavi hastini .

shuni cha eva shva-paake cha paNDitaaH samadarshinaH .. 18..

 

18. The learned ones look with equanimity on a Brahmana endowed with

learning and humility, a cow, an elephant and even a dog as well as

an eater of dog's meat.

 

paNDitaaH, the learned ones; sama-darshinaH, look with equanimity;

braahmaNe, on a Brahmana; vidyaa-vinaya-sampanne, endowed with

learning and humility-vidyaa means knowledge of the Self, and vinaya

means pridelessness-, on a Brahmana who has Self-knowledge and

modesty; gavi, on a cow; hastini, on an elephant; ca eva, and even;

shuni, on a dog; ca, as well as; shvapaake, or an eater of dog's meat.

 

Those learned ones who are habituated to see (equally) the

unchanging, same and one Brahman, absolutely untouched by the

qualities of sattva etc. and the tendencies created by it, as also by

the tendencies born of rajas and tamas, in a Brahmana, who is endowed

with Knowledge and tranquillity, who is possessed of good tendencies

and the quality of sattva; in a cow, which is possessed of the

middling quality of rajas and is not spiritually refined; and in an

elephant etc., which are wholly and absolutely imbued with the

quality of tamas-they are seers of equality.

 

Objection: On the strength of the text, 'A sacrificer incurs sin by

not adoring equally one who is an equal, and by adoring equally one

who is an equal, to himself' (Gau. Sm. 17.20), are not they sinful,

whose food should not be eaten?

 

Reply: They are not open to the charge.

 

Objection: How?

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iha eva tair jitaH sargo yeshhaa.n saamye sthitaM manaH .

nirdoshha.n hi samaM brahma tasmaad.h brahmaNi te sthitaaH .. 19..

 

19. Here [i.e. even while living in the body.] itself is rebirth

conquered by them whose minds are established on sameness. Since

Brahman is the same (in all) and free from defects, therefore they

are established in Brahman.

 

iha eva, here itself, even while they are living; is sargaH, rebirth;

jitah, conquered, overcome; taiH, by them, by the learned ones who

see with equanimity; yeshhaam, whose; manah, minds, the internal

organs; are sthitam, established, made steadfast; saamye, on

sameness, in Brahman that exists as the same in all beings. It is

nirdoshham, free from defects. Because of Its existence in such mean

objects as an eater of dog's meat, etc., though It is supposed by

fools to be affected by the defects of those (objects), still It

remains untouched by those blemishes; hi, because It is free from

defects. Nor even is It differentiated by Its qualities, since

Consciousness is free from qualifications. And the Lord will speak of

desires etc. (cf. 13.6 etc.) as the attributes of the aggregate of

body and organs, and will also say, 'Being without beginning and

without qualities' (13.31). Nor even are there the ultimate

distinctions which can create differentiation in the Self,

[According to the Vaisesikas, everything is possessed of not only

qualities but also of antya-visheshha (ultimate distinction), which

is a category like substance, quality, action, etc. This distinction

makes every entity different from other entities. Thus, individual

souls have their own ultimate distinctions by the very fact that they

are individuals.

 

Vedanta denies such a category. Besides, the Self is one and

omnipresent. Therefore there is nothing else from which It can be

distinguished.-Tr.] because there is nothing to prove that these

ultimate distinctions exist in every body.

 

Hence, samam brahma, Brahman is the same and one. tasmaat,

therefore; te, they; sthitaaH, are established; brahmaNi, in Brahman

Itself. As a result, not even a shade of defect touches them. For

they have no self-identification in the form of perceiving the

aggregate of body etc. as the Self.

 

On the other hand, that statement (Gau. Sm. 17.20) refers to the man

who has self-identification in the form of perceiving the aggregate

of body, (organs) etc. as the Self, for that statement-'A sacrificer

incurs sin by not adoring equally one who is an equal, and by adoring

equally one who is not equal to himself, pointedly refers to persons

who are the objects of adoration. It is indeed seen that in worship,

charity, etc. the determining factors are the possession of such

special qualities as being 'a knower of Brahman', 'versed in the six

auxiliary branches of Vedic learning', and 'versed in the four

Vedas'. But Brahman is bereft of association with all qualities and

defects. This being so, it is logical that they are established in

Brahman. And 'adoring an equal, ....an unequal,' etc. has reference

to men of action. [Those engaged in actions with a sense of

agentship, etc.-Tr.] But this subject under consideration, beginning

from 'The embodied man...having given up all actions mentally' (13)

to the end of the chapter, is concerning one who has given up all

actions.

 

Since the Self is Brahman which is without blemish and is the same

(in all), therefore-

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na prahR^ishhyet priyaM praapya nodvijet praapya cha apriyam.h .

sthira-buddhir asaMmuuDho brahmavid.h brahmaNi sthitaH .. 20..

 

20. A knower of Brahman, who is established in Brahman, should have

his intellect steady and should not be deluded. He should not get

delighted by getting what is desirable, nor become dejected by

getting what is undesirable.

 

brahmavit, a knower of Brahman, as described; sthitaH, who is

established; brahmaHi in Brahman- who is not a performer of actions,

i.e. one who has renounced all actions; sthira-buddhih, should have

his intellect steady-the man of steady intellect is one who has the

unwavering, firm conviction of the existence of the one and the same

taintless Self in all beings; and further, asammuDhaH, he should not

be deluded, he should be free from delusion. na prahR^ishhyet, he

should not get delighted; praapya, by getting; priyam, what is

desirable; na ca udvijet, and surely, neither should he become

dejected; praapya, by getting; apriyam, what is undesirable-because

the acquisition of the desirable and the undesirable are causes of

[Ast.'s reading is 'harshha-vishhaadau kurvate, cause happiness and

sorrow' in place of 'harshha-vishhada-sthane, sources of happiness

and sorrow', which (latter) reading occurs in G1. Pr. and A.A.-Tr.]

happiness and sorrow for one who considers the body as the Self; not

for the one who has realized the absolute Self, since in his case

there can be no acquisition of desirable and undesirable objects.

 

 

[to be cotd.

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For Gita Dhyana Shlokas/Mantras and Mahatmya

/message/advaitin/6987

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Adi Shankara's commentary, translated by Swami Gambhirananda, at URL:

[kindly supplied by Madhava-ji]

advaitin/Gita/Shankara1/gmbCH5.htm

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Adi Shankara's commentary, translated by Shri Varriar, at URL:

[kindly supplied by Shankara-ji]

advaitin/GCh5SYAABV1-24

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[Guest guest]

Verse 16

In the early morning, the rise of the self revealing sun dispels the

darkness. Similarly, the vision of True Divine Nature appears after

destroying the darkness of ignorance and revealing the light of True

Knowledge. The analogy of the sun is to illustrate that those who have

attained real knowledge will in no circumstances will fall a victim to

delusion. Now Lord Krishna proceeds to explain the nature of the

Jnani in the next four verses:

 

Jnanis have intuited the essential nature of Atman or the Self and

have their mind focused on Him only. For them there is no other thing

greater than Atman. In the world all the Jevas, who are seen

differently as Sattvic, Rajasic and Tamasic because of their different

gunas, are seen (by the Jnanis) as of the form or essence of

Parabrahma (the Absolute Reality) alone. In this manner as they have

seen everything to be alike, neither the defect of considering higher

people to be lower not the defect of considering lower people as

higher will affect them; because, they have realized the truth that

Brahman alone who is without defects is there in the forms of all

Jevas (souls) as well as their own (essential) form. As from this

Jnana whatever is seen has become Brahman alone, there is no

possibility at all of their getting overjoyed by seeing anything that

is pleasing nor their getting dejected or depressed by seeing anything

displeasing. To them happiness means Atman alone; that happiness has

no end at all.

 

Dr. Radhakrishnan emphasizes three essential qualities of the Sage

(Jnani) in his book using three Sanskrit words: (The Bhagavadgita,

page181)

 

vidyAvinayasampanne: great learning brings great humility. As our

knowledge increases we become increasingly aware of the encircling

darkness. It is when we light the candle that we see how dark it is.

What we know is practically nothing compared to what we do not know. A

little knowledge leads to dogmatism, a little more to questioning and

a little more takes us to prayer. Besides, humility comes from the

knowledge that we are sustained in existence by the love of God. The

greatest thinkers of all ages were deeply religious men. A Quotation

from Newton: "I do not know what I may appear to the world; but to

myself I seem myself in now and then finding a smmother pebble or

prettier shell than ordinary, while the great ocean of truth lay

undiscovered before me."

 

vinaya: humility or rather modesty which is the result of cultivation

or discipline. The first division of the Buddhist Tipitaka is called

vinaya or discipline. Vinaya is the opposite pride or insolence. The

recognition of dependence on non-human factors produces cosmic piety.

The truly learned are humble.

 

samdarsinah:

See with an equal eye. The Eternal is the same in all, in animals, as

in men, in learned Brahmins as in despised outcasts. The light of

Brahman dwells in all bodies and is not affected by the differences in

the bodies it illumines.

 

regards,

 

Ram Chandran

 

 

Note: When great calamities such as the recent earthquake in India

occur, all human beings suddenly get the vision of `samdarsinah.' All

differences suddenly disappears and the light of Brahman dwells in the

minds and hearts of the entire humanity and everyone come forward to

help the victims without any discrimination whatsoever. Though such

natural calamities, the Almighty wants to inject kindness and

compassion and His True Intention wants to reinstate His presence in

our hearts. This is Game, He is the player and he is the referee and

we are just the spectators and let us not become the judges!!

[Guest guest]

Some thoughts on BG V. 16 - 20.

 

1. ajnaanena aavR^itam jnaanam tena muhyanti jantavaH.

 

Jnaanam is viveka jnaanam - knowledge which discriminates between aatmaa

and anaatmaa

This aatma- jnaanam is shrouded by ajnaanam. As a result the

beings

are deluded (muhyanti) into thinking "We work and cause

others to work, we enjoy the fruits and cause others to enjoy". They

identify

themselves with the body and not with the aatman. They are samsaari-s

trapped in samsaara ( cycles of birth and death).

2. Dedicated practice of karmayoga leads to chitta-shuddhi. When the

mind

is pure, jnaanam ( the discrimination of aatma from anaatma) dawns.

The shroud of ajnaanam that was covering the jnaanam is destroyed

(naashitam).

The atma-jnanam then shines bright and clear. Like the Sun

(aaditya-vat) ,

it illuminates (prakaashayati) everything (leads to knowledge of

everything).

It also leads to jnaanam of the paramaartha tatvam ( the Supreme Truth

that Atman and Brahman are one and the same).

The reference to the Sun has to be carefully understood. It is not as if

aatmajnaanam has to be brought to light by an external illuminator like

the Sun.

Brahman/aatman is svayam-prakaashaH (self effulgent), and does not

require an external illuminator. Only the ajnaana aavaraNam (the veil of

ignorance) has to be removed. aadityavat is mentioned to mean - just

as the Sun

illuminates all the objects, the unveiled aatma jnaanam illumines

everything

 

 

3. The wise ones remain totally absorbed in Brahman. Before gaining

jnaanam,

their mental impurities (kalmashaH), like papa (sins) would have

necessitated

their taking more births to work out their karma-vaasanaas. Jnaanam now

gained by them destroys these kalmasha-s and they become

jnaana-nirdhuuta-

kalmashaaH - those whose impurities have been destroyed by jnaanam.

Therefore they reach a status whence they do not need to re-enter the

cycle

of birth and death. (apunaraavR^ittim gacchanti).

 

 

--- vms.