Gita Satsangh: Chapter 7 Swami Dayananda Saraswati's Commentary Part II

[Guest guest]

Poojya Swami Dayananda Saraswati, the founder of Arsha Vidya Gurukulam studied

under the guidance of Swami Chinmayanandaji and he is a great Vedantin. Let

me take this opportunity to thank Swamiji for granting permission to post his

Homestudy Gita Notes to the list. The Gita Homestudy Gita Notes along with

chanting of the entire Gita verses are available at

Arshavidyagurukulam.(.http://www.arshavidya.org/)

 

Part II Gita Chapter 7 Verses 13 and 14

 

ISVARA'S SVARUPA

ETERNAL, ALWAYS PURE, ALWAYS ENLIGHTENED, ALWAYS FREE

Then what is parama, Isvara's svarupa? That alone is the thing that is to be

understood here. Therefore, Sankara says that Isvara's svarupa is

nitya-suddha-buddha-mukta-svabhava. This is an expression often used by

Sankara when he wants to reveal the svarupa of atma which is para. The word

para always qualifies either atma or Brahman.

The word nitya is an important word and it has to be understood properly. That

which always is, is called nitya. If it always is, it is outside the scope of

time. This is what we mean by eternal. Atma is nitya, eternal. The word nitya

alone points out the nature of atma and also accompanies all the other words

here. Nitya also serves as an adjective to suddha, pure. And suddha is the

svarupa of the atma, which is nitya. Because it is nitya, it doesn't become

pure nor is it subject to becoming impure. Therefore, he says nitya-suddha.

Suddha here means that which is free from bondage, free from samsara, free

from all punya-papa-karma.

Then he says nitya-buddha, always enlightened. In fact, nitya-buddha means

never bound at all. Buddha means the one who is enlightened. If we say he is

enlightened, it implies that there was a time when he was not enlightened. If

he got enlightened, it was an event that took place at a given time. But here,

atma is nitya-buddha. When a person says he is enlightened he only recognises

the fact that he is always enlightened. Therefore, the word nitya-buddha

expresses the fact that atma is always enlightened. Since the source of

bondage is ignorance one who is nitya-buddha is naturally nitya-mukta, always

free.

ARE THESE QUALITES?

If we look upon nityatva, suddhatva, muktatva as qualities, then the

enlightened person may be considered to have these qualities. Any object has

its own qualities because of which we call it an apple or by some other name.

Unlike atma, an object does not have nityatva, suddhatva and muktatva. If

these were qualities, then atma would be another object which has the

attributes of nityatva, suddhatva and muktatva. It would become another

substantive enjoying its own qualities. This is not the case. Atma is not a

locus in which qualities reside. When you identify an apple as sweet or red,

you recognise those qualities in the particular object which you call apple.

If you identify a green leaf, then the leaf is seen and its colour green is

seen abiding in or qualifying that leaf. Similarly, when you realise the atma,

will you see in the atma nityatva and so on, like you see the green in the

leaf? No, you will not see all these qualities. A word like nitya is not a

quality; it is a laksana.

LAKâANA — A WORD THAT NEGATES AND RETAINS PART OF ITS OWN MEANING

Nitya is used to reveal that the nature of atma is not time-bound, anitya.

Everything that we know is anitya; therefore, the word nitya becomes a laksana

to reveal the svarupa of atma. Atma being a self-evident, self-effulgent being

we only have to negate all the erroneously superimposed attributes like

anityatva, etc. And this is done by a word like nitya which becomes a laksana.

The meaning of the word is retained. But any attribute which is time-bound is

negated by the word nitya.

Similarly, the word suddha negates all impurities like raga-dvesas and

punya-papa-karmas. The word buddha negates ignorance as well as inertness.

Atma is not inert; it is consciousness. And bondage is negated by saying atma

is mukta.

Each word negates and also retains a part of its own meaning. It negates the

status of being a quality but retains the root meaning. This is what we call

laksana, and the words are given a context to reveal the nature of atma which

is free from attributes. It is our own svarupa and it is the svarupa, the atma

of all beings, sarvabhuta-atma.

Sankara says that the seed of samsara is nothing but ajnana, ignorance.

Therefore, knowledge of this nitya-suddha-buddha-mukta-svabhava-atma, is the

cause for the burning of all samsara. Any knowledge is not going to be

different from the very svarupa of the object. And so, here knowledge of atma

is not separate from the very svarupa of atma. Naturally then, the very

knowledge of atma becomes the cause for burning samsara.

Sankara continues to say that people do not know this ‘I,' Paramesvara, who is

the cause for burning the seed of the defect of the entire samsara. They know

Me in some form; but they do not know Me properly. They have some kind of

appreciation that there is a cause but even though I am themselves, they don't

know Me. In the following verse Bhagavan shows the cause of the ignorance of

the world.

tribhirgunamayairbhavairebhih sarvamidam jagat

mohitam nabhijanati mamebhyah paramavyayam Verse 13

ebhih — by these; bhavaih — things; tribhih guna-mayaih — that are the

modifications of the three gunas; sarvam — all, entire; idam — this; jagat —

world; mohitam — being deluded; mam — Me; ebhyah param — who is beyond,

distinct from these (gunas); avyayam — who is changeless; na abhijanati — does

not know

This entire world (of human beings), deluded by these things, which are the

modifications of the three qualities, does not know Me who is changeless,

distinct from, and beyond these (modifications of the gunas).

Maya¶ is a suffix which has two meanings — vikara, modification and pracurya,

predominance or saturation. Here it is used in the sense of modification. What

is modified is guna. Ebhih tribhih gunamayaih means by the modifications of

these three qualities — sattva, rajas, and tamas. The modifications of these

gunas, Sankara says, produce varieties of likes, dislikes, delusions and so

on.

MODIFICATIONS OF THE THREE GUNAS

Raga, is born of both rajas and sattva. There is a sattvika-raga, a desire

born of sattva and a rajasika-raga, a desire born of rajas. Suppose you want

to study Gita. It is a sattvika desire. Any desire for knowledge is sattvika.

A desire born of rajas, like ambition, is a rajasika-raga. Desire for name,

fame, power and so on are all rajasika-ragas.

Dislike, dvesa, is always born of rajas. Delusion, moha, is born of tamas.

Tamas is ignorance and moha is its product. It is responsible for all false

values. False values are born of delusion which in turn is born of tamas,

ignorance. So, the root of all non-thinking and false values is ignorance.

Later, in Chapter 14, we will discuss the three gunas, sattva, rajas, and

tamas, in detail.

PEOPLE ARE DELUDED BY MODIFICATIONS OF THESE THREE GUNAS

Sarvam idam jagat, this entire world, is mohita, deluded, by the modifications

of these three gunas. When Sankara talks of the whole world here, he does not

mean the various objects. They don't have these problems. Even though jagat

means the world, it has a restricted meaning here. Therefore, Sankara

immediately brings in the word prani-jata, the living beings, the human

beings.

Mohita means deluded, which here means lacking in discrimination. There is a

lack of discrimination between what is eternal and what is non-eternal which

is the basis of a lack of understanding about what I am seeking, purusartha.

There is also a lack of discrimination with reference to atma and anatma. So,

at every stage it is a problem of discrimination.

DELUDED, THEY DO NOT RECONGISE ISVARA AS THEMSELVES

Krsna says here, ‘Nobody understands Me — mam na abhijanati.' Being carried

away by all this, they don't recognise Me, even though I am not different from

them. Then what is the nature of that ‘I'? Krsna says further, I am param

avyayam. Para means the one who is distinct from all the gunas and in whom all

the gunas exist. He is the one because of whom the gunas have their status of

being gunas. People do not recognise Me, the one who is free from the three

gunas.

Avyaya means that which does not die. Here it also includes what is not born.

Therefore, Sankara says it is free from the six-fold modifications beginning

with birth and ending with death. If it does not die, it means that it is not

born. It means further that it is not a particular object existing now. And it

does not undergo growth, then metamorphosis and death. Vyaya, therefore,

includes death and all those things that take place between birth and death,

greying, ageing, wrinkling, and so on. And avyaya means the absence of all

these six-fold modifications.

Deluded by these three modifications of the gunas, people don't recognise

Isvara as the one who does not undergo any of these changes. In their delusion

they are busy trying to fulfil their desires all the while complaining about

their inadequacy. In fact, they recognise Isvara only as a cause

of complaint. They keep complaining, ‘You did not give me this or that. Why

did you do this? Why didn't you do this?' and so on. So, the Lord becomes an

altar of complaint. He is like the supreme court, the last place of appeal.

But he is not recognised as he is. He has pointed out the reason for this. And

in the next verse he will tell who is going to cross this maya made up of

these three gunas.

In the previous verse Krsna said, ‘This entire world, deluded by the

modifications of the three gunas does not know Me. Overcome by whatever

happens in the mind, one identifies totally with it and therefore, does not

recognise Me — even though I am there as the very atma of all beings,

independent of all the gunas and their modifications.'

Then how is one to be released from this delusion and recognise the Lord? How

do people cross this maya which belongs to Visnu, the Lord, if at all they can

cross it? This is answered here.

daivi hyesa gunamayi mama maya duratyaya

mameva ye prapadyante mayametam taranti te Verse 14

hi — indeed; esa — this; mama maya — My maya; gunamayi — which is in the form

of the modification of the gunas; daivi — that which belongs to the Lord;

duratyaya — is difficult to cross; ye — those; mam eva — Me alone; prapadyante

— who seek; te — they; mayam etam — this maya; taranti — cross

Indeed this My maya, which is in the form of the modification of the three

gunas, which belongs to Me, (the Lord), is difficult to cross. Those who seek

only Me, they cross this maya.