Gita Satsang - Chapter 5 Conclusion by Swami Dayananda Saraswati

[Guest guest]

Namaste:

 

First I want to once again thank Swamini Brahmaprakashanandaji of Arsha Vidya

Gurukulam for providing me with the electronic file of this chapter for the

general benefit of the list members. These concluding remarks come from

Swamiji' Homestudy Course of Bhagavad Gita (over 1200 pages in two bound

volumes along with a tape containing recitation by Swamiji). The remarks from

Swamiji is quite elaborate and will be quite helpful for those who are not

familiar with Sanskrit terms and advaita terminology. His notes contain an

ocean of rich literature spelled out very clear English with compelling logic

along with profound thoughts.

 

warmest regards,

 

Ram Chandran

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Swami Dayananda Saraswati' (Acharya of Arsha Vidya Gurukulam) Concluding

Remarks

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HOW DOES ONE BECOME A SAGE?

How did they become rsis? Once again we find that Krsna gives a complete

description of the wise man within the verse itself. First of all, they are

ksina-kalmasah, those for whom all impurity, kalmasa is destroyed, ksina.

Impurity here means one's raga-dvesas. By living a life of karma-yoga and

inquiry, the impurities are gone.

They are also described here as sarva-bhuta-hite ratah, those who joyously

engage themselves for the good of all beings. This is a very important

qualification for the one who wants to gain knowledge. Afterwards, of course,

acting in this way becomes natural to the person. Such people observe ahimsa,

non-violence, with great alertness and sensitivity. They do not hurt other

persons or beings in any way — by word, action, or even by thought. In fact,

the vow of ahimsa not to hurt another, is the main vow a person takes when he

or she takes to the life of sannyasa. This is why sannyasis give up all

competitive activities. For, in order to win or compete in anything, injury to

another person or living being is inevitable; it is inherent in competition of

any kind. By taking the vow of ahimsa, the sannyasi announces to all beings

that they have nothing to fear from him or her.

ALL DOUBTS ARE RESOLVED FOR GOOD

The word yatatmanah, in verse 25, refers to those who have control or mastery

over the organs of action and organs of perception. Such people are also

chinna-dvaidhas. Dvaidha means samsaya, doubt, and chinna means resolved,

removed, uprooted. For these people, all doubts are gone. In this pursuit,

doubts can take many forms such as: Is atma limitless or limited? Is atma

eternal or non-eternal? Is atma one or many? Is the individual, jiva,

different from Isvara? Is the world real or unreal?

The wise are free from all such doubts, which means a lot of inquiry has been

done. All the concepts have been carefully analysed and the knowledge has been

freed of all possible doubts.

SADHANAS FOR A SEEKER

While the qualifications given in this verse are natural to a wise person,

they are means or sadhanas for the one who wants to gain self-knowledge.

Enjoying these virtues, people become rsis and gain the freedom they are

seeking.

Further, Krsna says:

kamakrodhaviyuktanam yatinam yatacetasam

abhito brahmanirvanam vartate viditatmanam Verse 26

kama-krodha-viyuktanam — for those who are free from desire and anger;

yatacetasam — for those whose mind is under control; viditatmanam — for those

who know the self; yatinam — for the sannyasis; abhitah — both here and in the

hereafter; brahma-nirvanam — liberation; vartate — there is

For sannyasis, those who are free from desire and anger, whose mind is under

control, (and) who know the self, there is liberation, both here and in the

hereafter.

 

Throughout the Gita there is a repeated mention of kama and krodha and the

need to become free of them. Those who have freed themselves from kama-krodha

are referred to here as kama-krodha-viyuktah.

Kama, as we have seen, is desire born of one's likes and dislikes,

raga-dvesas, and krodha, anger, is born of desire. These two, kama and krodha,

hold people under their control. And those who have freed themselves of them

are the subject of this verse. There are a few more words in this verse

qualifying those who are wise.

Yati means a person who is a mumuksu, who has a desire for moksa. Such a

person makes proper effort, which implies yoga. In common parlance, yati means

a sannyasi but, in its true sense, it includes the karma-yogi also. Anyone who

is engaged in a well-directed pursuit or inquiry into the nature of oneself is

a mumuksu and therefore, a yati, whether the person lives the life of a

sannyasi or a karma-yogi.

Such a person who has his or her mind under control is called a yata-cetas.

Because these people are also described here as viditatmas, those who know the

atma, in this compound the word yata indicates that they are

sarva-karma-sannyasis, those who have given up all action in terms of

knowledge of the actionless self. Not only are they totally free from kama and

krodha, they are also free of all action because of the knowledge of atma.

If all that is required is knowledge of atma, why worry about kamas and

krodhas? Is it not a waste of time to get rid of desire and anger? Why not

pursue atma-jnana straightaway? The answer is that unless kama-krodha is

addressed, you cannot know the atma. Once again, then, what is implied here is

the need for a certain level of maturity and a commitment to the knowledge.

Once the commitment is total, you will gain the knowledge, you will be a

viditatma. Then there is nothing for you to worry about because knowing atma

and gaining moksa are one and the same. Because of the knowledge of the self

that is ever free, you are liberated.

ONCE LIBERATED ALWAYS LIBERATED

The word abhitah, in the verse, is explained as ubhayatah, meaning ‘in both

ways.' Here, while living, there is moksa for these people and, later, in the

hereafter, also there is moksa. Knowing you are free is the greatest freedom.

While living you are liberated; you are free. This is one freedom. The second

freedom is called ‘after-death' freedom, in that there is no coming back to

this bondage because you are free, once and for all.

Some people worry about what happens after death, saying, ‘I take all this

effort and gain liberation here, but suppose I come back?' Any supposing with

reference to coming back, having gained liberation by knowledge, is totally

irrelevant. There must be a nucleus of some kind for there to be any coming

back. The nucleus is the jiva, the individual, and that is what is falsified.

Who or what, then, is there to come back? Liberation having been gained, there

is no one any more to come back. Thus, Krsna says that in both ways, here and

hereafter, those who know the atma gain moksa. Although a two-fold moksa is

talked about in terms of a here and a hereafter, in fact, there is only one

moksa. A two-fold moksa is mentioned only with reference to this question of

coming back.

There are, on the other hand, people who are afraid that they will not be able

to come back; they want to come back to this world. ‘What for?' I ask. ‘So

that I can accomplish something more or do something better next time,' they

say. This means they have already concluded that they are not going to make it

in this life! First, let us take care of this life. Then the next life will

take care of itself!

INTRODUCTION TO MEDITATION

There are two types of sadhana — bahiranga-sadhana, or external means; and

antaranga-sadhana, or internal means. Doing karma is doing what is to be done

by you with the right attitude and following proper values. In other words,

karma-yoga is called bahiranga-sadhana. Meditation, dhyana, wherein the mind

alone is involved, is called antaranga-sadhana. It can be a prayer, a

contemplation, or any inner discipline, but it is purely internal. No limbs

are involved, nor is the organ of speech. Therefore, one type of sadhana is

external and the other is internal, both of which we should follow.

The external means, bahiranga-sadhana, take care of your likes and dislikes

because these can only be worked out through your interactions with the

external world. For gaining steadiness of mind and the composure necessary to

gain self knowledge, there is the inner discipline of meditation,

antaranga-sadhana, which is also very important. Thus, Krsna first gives a

brief account of dhyana-yoga, meditation, in the next three verses and then

discusses it at length in the next chapter.

sparsan krtva bahirbahyamscaksuscaivantare bhruvoh

pranapanau samau krtva nasabhyantaracarinau Verse27

yatendriyamanobuddhirmunirmoksaparayanah

vigatecchabhayakrodho yah sada mukta eva sah Verse 28

bahyan — external; sparsan — objects; bahih krtva — shutting out; ca — and;

caksuh — eye; ()bhruvoh antare eva (krtva) — placing between the eyebrows

alone; nasa-abhyantaracarinau — moving inside the nostrils; prana-apanau —

exhalation and inhalation; samau krtva — keeping them rhythmic; yah munih —

the contemplative person, who; yata-indriya-mano-buddhih — (is the) one who

has mastered his (or her) organs of action, senses, mind, and intellect;

moksa-parayanah — (is the) one for whom moksa is the ultimate end;

vigata-iccha-bhaya-krodhah — (is the) one who is free from desire, fear, and

anger; sah — that person; sada — always; muktah — is liberated; eva — indeed

Shutting out the external objects and keeping the eyes between the two

eyebrows, (closed), keeping the movement of the exhalation and inhalation in

the nostrils equal, (rhythmic), the contemplative person, who has mastered his

(or her) organs of action, senses, mind, and intellect, for whom moksa is the

ultimate end, who is free from desire, fear, and anger, that person is always

liberated indeed.

Here, Krsna gives out the small tips that would be of help in the preparation

for meditation. We have already seen that anything that comes in contact with

a sense organ is called sparsa, object. And because they are external, bahya,

to the body, they are called bahya-sparsa. The sense organs are exposed to the

sense objects, meaning the world. The eyes are exposed to colours and forms;

the ears are exposed to sounds; the nose is exposed to smells; the tongue is

exposed to tastes; and the sense of touch is exposed to the textures of

various sense objects.

HOW THE SENSE OBJECTS ARE KEPT OUTSIDE

In his commentary, Sankara explains that all the sense objects — sound, etc. —

enter your mind through the gates of the sense organs — ears, etc. In

meditation, all of the external objects are to be kept outside, meaning you

leave them alone for the time being. You simply stop thinking about them. You

turn your mind to something else. You do not need to turn these sense objects

away from yourself, nor do you have to turn away from them. You just have to

leave them right where they are.

The sense objects enter your mind in the first place by your thinking about

them. Therefore, you cannot blame the sense objects for being in your head. Do

not think about them, Sankara said, and they will not be there. The sense

objects are already external and by not dwelling on them, they remain

external. This, then, is how the sense objects are kept outside.

The eyes are generally kept closed. You can meditate with your eyes open, but

keeping the eyes closed makes it easier for the mind to think about the object

of meditation. If your eyes are open, your mind may wander to what is in front

of you. Therefore, we close the eyes to eliminate distraction from this one

particular sense perception. The expression, caksusca bhruvoh antare krtva,

used in this verse, means, ‘keeping the eyes between the eyebrows,' meaning

that the eyeballs are kept inside the eyelids. In other words, the eyes are

kept closed.

WATCHING THE BREATH

Then, breathing is mentioned — prana-apanau samau krtva,

nasaabhyantaracarinau. Here, prana and apana mean exhalation and inhalation,

respectively. How is this breathing to be done? Moving inside the nostrils,

nasaabhyantaracarinau, the incoming air and the outgoing air should be kept

rhythmic. By making the inhalation and exhalation rhythmic, you become

conscious of the breathing process and, by watching the breath, the breathing

becomes quiet, thereby relaxing the body and quietening the mind.

Doing all this the person becomes one who has mastered the senses, organs of

action, mind, and intellect, yata-indriya-mano-buddhi. This person is called

muni, meaning one who has done a lot of listening, sravana, and analysis,

manana. For the muni, moksa is the ultimate end — he is moksa-parayana. The

knowledge is relieved of all doubt and the person is freed from all problems,

meaning that he or she is always liberated.

FREEDOM FROM FEAR

There is one more qualification describing such a person which serves to

repeat what has been said before — vigata-iccha-bhaya-krodha — meaning the

person is free from desire, fear, and anger. Previously, Krsna said that the

wise person is freed from kama and krodha. Here, he added one more word —

fear, bhaya. The person is emotionally mature in the sense that he or she is

not under the spell of desire, fear, or anger. Such a person is a sannyasi. He

or she is indeed always liberated because of self-knowledge.

As an introduction to the next verse, Sankara refers to the person who is

totally committed to knowledge, meaning one who has done a lot of sravana and

manana, as samahita-citta, meaning one whose mind is steady and well absorbed

in oneself and who is more or less satisfied with himself or herself.

Krsna concludes this chapter with the next verse revealing the identity

between the individual, jiva, and Isvara, the Lord and what any one gains

knowing this identity.

bhoktaram yajnatapasam sarvalokamahesvaram

suhrdam sarvabhutanam jnatva mam santimrcchati Verse 29

yajna-tapasam — of rituals and disciplines; bhoktaram — the sustainer;

sarva-loka-mahesvaram — the Lord of all worlds; sarva-bhutanam — of all

beings; suhrdam — friend; mam — Me; jnatva — knowing; santim — peace

(liberation); rcchati — gains

Knowing Me as the sustainer of rituals and disciplines, the Lord of all the

worlds, friend of all beings, he (or she) gains peace (liberation).

Krsna is talking here as Isvara when he uses the word mam, Me. He says,

‘Knowing Me, the person gains Me — jnatva mam santim rcchati.' Here gaining

santi means gaining Isvara, that is, by understanding the identity between

oneself and Isvara, one becomes Isvara as we shall see.

Generally, by knowing something, you do not become that thing. By knowing it,

you only know it. It can become an object of your desire. You can appreciate

it, but you cannot become the object. Here Krsna says that by knowing him, the

absolute peace santi that is one's nature, is gained.

The santi that is centred on oneself, that is one's svarupa, is gained by

knowing Me. Now, who is this Me? Is it Krsna, the son of Devaki? No, the verse

says ‘Me,' the sustainer of rituals and disciplines, the Lord of all worlds,

and the friend of all beings.

The word, yajna, in the compound yajna-tapas stands for all actions that are

performed by you, as well as the rituals enjoined by the Vedas. Tapas refers

to all forms of meditation and forms of discipline also. There are, of course,

many forms of exercise that can also be considered disciplines, such as

jogging, walking, cycling, and so on. There is, however, an important

difference here.

For example, yogasanas are much more than exercise; they are a form of prayer

also. For every asana there is a devata. Originally, every asana was performed

as a prayer to its presiding devata. Thus, there is a certain attitude

involved on the part of the person, a prayerful attitude. Only prayerful

disciplines are called tapas.

THE JIVA AND ISVARA ARE ONE

The one who sustains all yajnas and who enjoys them is called bhokta. Who is

the one who enjoys the results of them all? The doer, karta, the enjoyer,

bhokta — the jiva, in other words. But then it is said here that the bhokta is

the Lord of all worlds.

The word mahesvara is an important word because Isvara can be used in a

relative sense too. Any boss can be considered Isvara, as can a king or

devata; in their own domains, they are Isvara. Thus, anyone who is lord in his

or her domain can be called Isvara. When the word mahesvara is used however,

any chance of a local person being mistaken for Isvara is eliminated.

Mahesvara means one who does not have a superior or an equal. The two words —

mahat and Isvara — are in apposition with each other, meaning that they enjoy

the same status. They both qualify the same object; they reveal the same

object. The object they reveal is mahan, one without equal; Isvara, the Lord,

is the mahesvara of all worlds, worlds here including all living beings also.

The one who is the Lord of all worlds is the karta, the doer, and he is the

bhokta, the enjoyer of all the karmas. When, a ritual is performed there is

always a doer involved, who is Isvara, and also a deity involved, who is also

Isvara. Thus, the karta is Isvara, the devata is Isvara, and the enjoyer of

the results of the karma is also Isvara, meaning there is no jiva at all. The

one who is the karta and bhokta is Isvara alone. The one who enjoys the

results of action is Paramesvara and the one who performs the action is also

Paramesvara. This means that doership, kartrtva, and enjoyership, bhoktrtva,

are false.

FRIENDSHIP WITHOUT EXPECTING A RESULT

The word ‘Me' in this verse is also qualified by the expression suhrdam

sarva-bhutanam, the friend of all beings. A friend is someone who helps you.

Help can be extended for a number of reasons. Someone may help you because he

or she expects something from you in return. This is generally the case. A

return can be in any form — simple thanks or some other expression of

gratitude, or it may be the nice feeling you receive from being able to help

someone — all of which is related to ego. Some parents, even when their

children are grown up, like to be asked for help now and then so that they can

still have that feeling of being parents, of helping their children. When they

are asked for help, they feel they are wanted. This is one kind of help.

There is also the help that is given without the person expecting any kind of

result. Without so much as an introduction or without there being any

friendship or affection involved, one may help someone out of empathy alone.

One who gives such help, even to a stranger, without expecting any type of

return, is called suhrd, different from a mere mitra, friend.

We all need a friend who will be able to do things for us. Due to friendship,

affection, sneha, then, one's help is extended. This kind of friend is called

mitra, whereas suhrd is one who extends his or her help without even knowing

the person or expecting any result. The Lord is also called suhrd. He is a

friend to all beings, suhrd sarva-bhutanam, and the giver of the fruits of

action, karma-phala-data. You perform the action and he gives the result

without getting involved. His nature is to give according to what you do.

If you want to think, you can. If you want to sleep, you can. If you want to

daydream, you can. He never says, ‘No!' Sometimes even your own mind will say,

‘No!' If you want to think, the mind may say, ‘No, let's go to sleep!' If you

want to eat, the stomach says, ‘No, I can't eat anymore!' If you want to walk,

the legs may say, ‘No, we have had enough!' Everyone says, ‘No!' sometimes.

The liver says, ‘No'; the kidneys say, ‘No'; everything says, ‘No,' except the

atma. Even if you say, I want to keep the ignorance going,' the atma will say,

‘No problem!' It simply illumines the ignorance.

And ultimately, he is the end, Narayana, that all human beings seek. Knowing

Narayana, meaning Isvara, the ‘Me – mam' in this verse, the person gains

santi. Santi here does not mean simple peace. It is the point where all forms

of samsara resolve. It is a santi that amounts to the resolution of samsara,

of doership and enjoyership.

ATMA IS UNOPPOSED TO EVERYTHING

The atma is not opposed to anything; it is unopposed to everything. But this

does not mean that atma is a ‘yes-man!' A ‘yes-man' says ‘Yes!' only when it

is convenient, when it serves his ends. Here, ‘yes' is absolute. Why is that?

Atma is that without which no action is possible, no enjoyment of the results

of action is possible. Therefore, the enjoyer is nothing but Paramesvara,

whereas Paramesvara is not the enjoyer. Paramesvara is not the doer, but the

doer is Paramesvara. B is A, but A is not B.

The teaching, that is self-knowledge, is for the doer/enjoyer alone, the jiva

— and the jiva is Paramesvara. Thus there is an equation between the jiva and

Isvara. By understanding this equation and by appreciating the identity that

obtains between the jiva, the individual, and Isvara, the Lord, the person

gains the santi, santim rcchati — gains the santi, that is the resolution of

samsara. The result of this knowledge of the identity between jiva and Isvara

is what is called moksa. This moksa, this santi is gained by one who has this

knowledge.

Again, the fifth chapter concludes with the words that we have seen at the end

of each of the four chapters that have gone by.

om tatsat. iti srimadbhagavadgitasu upanisatsu brahmavidyayam yogasastre

srikrsnarjunasamvade karmasannyasayogo nama pancamo'dhyayah

‘Om tat sat,' as we have seen before, is a statement made at the end of the

teaching, meaning, ‘That alone is Brahman.' Om is the name for Brahman,

Paramesvara, the Lord. That Brahman alone is satya. The karta is not satya;

karma is not satya, karma-phala is not satya; the karmaphala-bhokta is not

satya; the devata is not satya; the world is not satya; the body is not satya;

the mind is not satya. But Brahman alone is satya. They are all Brahman, but

Brahman is none of them.

Then what is satya? Om alone is satya. That Paramesvara, param brahma, the

cause of the world, jagat-karana, the cause of everything is satya. Therefore,

the effect becomes mithya. If the effect is mithya, the causal state is also

mithya, whereas the svarupa, the essence of the cause, is satya. The causal

state is mithya because the effect is mithya. For example, clay is the cause

for the pot. The pot being mithya, the causal state for the clay is also

mithya because, if you look into the clay, there is no cause; there is only

clay. Thus, the cause and the effect are equally mithya and the svarupa, the

essence of the cause, is called satya. Everything else being mithya, Om alone,

the Om that is Brahman, jagat-karana, is satya.

 

The following is always the conclusion.

When all is said and done, it is all Om tat sat. In the Bhagavadgita — in the

Gita of Bhagavan or in the Gita whose topic is Bhagavan — which contains the

teaching that is called Upanisads whose subject matter is the knowledge of

Brahman which is also the karma-yoga-sastra, in the dialogue that took place

between Krsna and Arjuna there is the topic, yoga, called ‘renunciation,'

sannyasa-yoga, which is the fifth chapter, pancamo'dhyaya, is concluded.