Gita Satsangh: Chapter 7 Swami Dayananda Saraswati's Commentary

[Guest guest]

Namaste,

 

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 I Gita Chapter 7 Verses 8 to 11

 

Now he shows how each and every thing is non-separate from him because he is

the essence of everything. That particular essence he points out here in order

to reveal that the world is sustained by him. One can ask Bhagavan, ‘What is

the essence of each thing by which you sustain it? What are the

characteristics you have with which you sustain everything?' A few more verses

elaborate this.

raso'hamapsu kaunteya prabhasmi sasisuryayoh

pranavah sarvavedesu sabdah khe paurusam nrsu Verse 8

kaunteya — O Son of Kunti!, (Arjuna); aham asmi — I am; apsu — in the water;

rasah — taste; sasi-suryayoh — in the moon and sun; prabha — light;

sarvavedesu — in all the Vedas; pranavah — Om; khe — in space; sabdah — sound;

nrsu — in human beings; paurusam — strength

O Kaunteya, I am the taste in the water; I am the light in the moon and the

sun; I am Om in all the Vedas; I am sound in the space; and I am the strength

in human beings.

O Kaunteya (Arjuna), raso'ham apsu — I am the taste in the water. I am the

essential characteristic of water which you experience in the form of taste. I

am the subtle element of this gross element which you experience, the cause

for water to be water. In other words, I am the essence of water. Essence here

means taste because the taste of water is its unique property. If water has a

quality of its own it is rasa, taste. Because of which water is water, that

indeed I am. I am the truth of water. What makes the water distinguishable as

an element from everything else? That is Me, the taste in water.

Prabha asmi sasi-suryayoh — I am the light in these famous luminaries, sasi,

the moon and surya, the sun,' says the Lord. There is no sun without light and

without the sun's light the moon also would not be visible. I am the light in

the sun; I am the light in the moon. Once you are the light in the sun then

naturally you are the light in the moon because moonlight is nothing but the

reflection of sunlight. That sunlight itself is Me. I am the essence of the

sun, the light because of which the sun is sun. And the reflected light

because of which the moon is moon, that is also Me, prabha, the light that

shines, aham asmi, I am.

Pranavah sarva-vedesu — in all the Vedas I am pranava. The Vedas discuss

varieties of things. And all those things can be reduced to one thing — Om. In

Ka¶hopanisad it is said, ‘I will tell you briefly that one thing that is

talked about by all the Vedas desiring which people take to a life of

brahmacarya, study, etc. — Om ityetat – it is this Om.' Pranava, Om is a well

known symbol for Brahman and also the whole Veda can be reduced to Om. I am

that Om.

‘Sabdah khe' means, I am the sabda, the sound, in space. Sound is not

experienced by any other sense organ except the ears. To reach the ears sound

has to travel in space, so, the sound is manifest in space. Also, ‘sound'

stands for the subtle element of space which sustains the gross element space

as its cause.

Then again I am paurusam nrsu — in human beings I am paurusa, the strength. In

the human physical body, whether it is a male or a female body, there is a

certain strength. That strength I am. The body has got the capacity to do, to

walk, even the capacity to procreate; that is all paurusa. Whatever strength

or capacity the body has, that paurusam aham asmi.

Two elements, water and space, are covered. Now the earth and the fire that

lends its heat are dealt with in the next verse. All the elements are not

named here. Four are mentioned and the fifth, vayu, we have to add. The idea

here is not to enumerate everything but to mention a few things to prove that

anything that is here is Me. Anything that has a form, a particular quality is

Me. It doesn't gain its uniqueness by anything else. It is my creation,

non-separate from Me. In each and every thing, that which makes it so

distinct, so different from everything else is all Me. And therefore,

everything is Me.

punyo gandhah prthivyam ca tejascasmi vibhavasau

jivanam sarvabhutesu tapascasmi tapasvisu Verse 9

prthivyam ca — and in the earth; punyah gandhah — the sweet

fragrance;vibhavasau ca — and in the fire; tejas — the brilliance and the

heat; asmi — I am; sarvabhutesu — in all the beings; jivanam — the life

itself; ca — and; tapasvisu — in the ascetics; tapas — the ascetic disciplines

and their results; asmi — I am

And I am the sweet fragrance in the earth and the brilliance and heat in the

fire. I am the very life in all beings and the ascetic disciplines and their

results in the ascetics.

Krsna continues to say that the essence of each object is himself. All have

come from Me; they are non-separate from Me. I am, punyah gandhah prthivyam,

the sweet fragrance in the earth. Because earth has the special quality of

smell, all fragrance is from prthivi. Krsna mentions the sweet fragrance

because that is the special fragrance which attracts people, like the sweet

fragrance in a flower. That sweet fragrance, even though it is manifest in

various things, has its source only in prthivi. And therefore, in the prthivi

I am in the form of sweet fragrance. That is the suksma aspect of prthivi.

Tejas ca asmi vibhavasau — vibhavasau – in the fire, tejah asmi – I am the

brilliance. Tejas can also mean heat. The heat as well as the brilliance in

the fire are Myself.

Jivanam sarva-bhutesu — sarva-bhutesu – in all the beings, I am jivana – the

life that is there. Jivana if taken as that which makes life possible will

mean anna, the food because of which the growth and sustenance of the physical

body is possible. That anna, jivana, is Myself. Or we can take jivana as the

life that is present in all living beings; that life, that very prana is

Myself. Both prana and anna are jivana — they make life possible.

So far Bhagavan has been speaking of the essence of things. Now he cites

certain qualities. He says, ‘tapas ca asmi tapasvisu — I am the austerity in

the ascetics.' Tapasvins are the ascetics, those who follow a life of

prayerful disciplines. Tapasvisu, in these tapasvins, in these ascetics who

live a life of discipline, prayer, and meditation, I am the very tapas. I am

that quality that makes them ascetics, tapasvins. That means any

accomplishment, even in terms of tapas, is non-separate from Isvara. All the

powers that one can accomplish — the power of concentration, power of

absorption, power of a purified heart — are called tapas. A tapasvin's power

is nothing but the manifestation of what is already possible in an unmanifest

form because we can only tap what is available as a potential; we cannot

create anything that is not there. These tapasvins only tap the potential

which is Isvara. Once a potential is tapped, it manifests. The discipline is

born of the free will of the jiva, but when it manifests, the power enjoyed by

the tapasvin is Isvara. If that result were not there, nobody would do tapas.

Like anything else, one does it for the karma-phala, the result. The tapas is

the means for the result, which is already locked up as a potential in the

jiva. That is what comes to manifestation. That is Myself.

The power because of which a person becomes a tapasvin is also Myself. Unless

the means is there, no end can be accomplished. And the means to become a

tapasvin, like all means and ends are according to the laws. Those laws are

Myself. Therefore, the tapas in every tapasvin, because of which he is a

tapasvin is also Myself. So, I can't say I am the tapasvin, unless the I is

Paramesvara. And when I am borrowing the tapas from Isvara, I cannot say I am

the tapasvin.

Sankara says here, ‘In the tapas that is Me all the tapasvins are woven.' We

can keep on extending this. I am the voice in the musician. I am the sound in

all the musical instruments. I am the very quality in the creation because of

which a thing is a thing, a violin is a violin, a guitar is a guitar, a vina

is a vina. That because of which all these are what they are is myself.

bijam mam sarvabhutanam viddhi partha sanatanam

buddhirbuddhimatamasmi tejastejasvinamaham Verse 10

partha — O Son of Prtha!, (Arjuna); mam — Me, the Paramesvara; sarvbhutanam —

in all beings; sanatanam bijam — as the eternal seed; viddhi — understand;

buddhimatam — of those that have the capacity to discriminate, i.e. human

beings; buddhih — the intellect; tejasvinam — in the brilliant; tejas — the

brilliance; aham asmi — I am

O Partha, (Arjuna), understand Me as the one who is the eternal seed in all

beings. I am the intellect of those that have the capacity to discriminate; I

am the brilliance in the brilliant.

Viddhi – understand, mam – Me, Paramesvara, as the bija – seed sarva-bhutanam

– in all living beings. The sense in which bija is used here is different from

the sense in which yoni was used previously when Bhagavan said, etad-yonini

bhutani sarvani, this prakrti of Mine is the cause of everything. Here bija is

the seed form of any living being. Each tree has its own seed which is the

essence that makes it a given tree and not any other. Similarly, each animal,

each human being is what he is because of a particular seed. That biological

source is myself. Again it is the laws that make all this possible and those

laws are Isvara. When a seed is planted, it sprouts within a given time. The

biological law that causes the sprouting of the seed is Myself. As it was

pointed out earlier, here Krsna is not talking about the general cause for the

creation. Within the creation there is a further cause for creation. That

final cause is also Me.

Then he says sanatana, eternal. Sanatana can go with mam, Me, the one who is

eternal, the seed of all the beings. It can also be an adjective to bija but

that would make it the general cause which cannot be the meaning here. Even

though that meaning is possible, it is not appropriate in the context.

Therefore, the meaning is ‘please understand that the eternal Me, Paramesvara,

is indeed the bija, the seed, of every living being.' This is in keeping with

the flow of the unfoldment.

Similarly the statement, ‘buddhih buddhimatam asmi.' This removes all

ahankara. Buddhimats are those who have the capacity to discriminate. Not all

living beings have an intellect; so, the word buddhimatam means, ‘among the

human beings.' Each one has an intellect, a buddhi because of which he is

called buddhimat. That buddhi, the rational capacity or the free will is the

Lord. Therefore, if there is a person who can think properly, that

accomplishment in terms of intellectual discipline, is Me. That buddhi, that

capacity itself is Me. Therefore, nobody can say that I am buddhimat. That

aham can only be Paramesvara.

Tejas tejasvinam aham — Tejas means the shine of health or brilliance. ‘Among

the brilliant people, I am the brilliance.' He has already said ‘I am the

buddhi, intellectual capacity, in the human beings who are capable of

thinking.' If so, why do only some become brilliant? It is true that everybody

is buddhimat but the person who makes an effort is the one who becomes

brilliant, who becomes educated. The brilliance that he is able to tap within

himself is also Myself.

balam balavatam caham kamaragavivarjitam

dharmaviruddho bhutesu kamo'smi bharatarsabha Verse 11

ca — and; bharatarsabha — O foremost in the clan of Bharata! (Arjuna);

balavatam — of the strong people; kama-raga-vivarjitam — that which is free

from kama, desire, and raga, attachment; balam — the strength; bhutesu — in

the beings; dharma-aviruddhah — that which is not opposed to dharma; kamah —

desire;aham asmi — I am

And in the strong, I am the strength that is free from desire and attachment.

In all beings, I am the desire that is not opposed to dharma, O the foremost

in the clan of Bharata!

‘Balam balavatam asmi' — I am the strength of all people who are strong.

Developing physical strength requires dedication because strength is a

potential which can be brought to manifestation. And what is potential is

Isvara. So, the strength that is developed is Bhagavan. People are not born

with large biceps; they work for them. Even the free will required to

accomplish this is Bhagavan. Therefore, that strength which is latent in all

people and is manifest in the balavat, the strong person, the strength because

of which he is called balavat, that strength I am. So, the person who is

strong cannot say, I am strong, unless that ‘I am' is Isvara.

Isvara is not simply any bala but a bala that is devoid of kama and raga —

kama-raga-vivarjitam balam aham asmi. Generally, kama is a word that covers

raga and dvesa. But here kama and raga are mentioned separately; so, we have

to look at the meaning a little differently. Here, kama is a desire to

accomplish what you don't have and raga is an attachment to what you have. In

his commentary on this verse, Sankara says that, kama is a longing for objects

which are not with you, which are away from you and therefore, to be

accomplished by you. Raga is attachment to objects which are already gained by

you.

Here Bhagavan is saying, ‘The strength in the strong that is without kama and

raga is Me.' This has to be mentioned with reference to strength. Earlier he

has said, I am the buddhi of the buddhimat, the tejas of the tejasvin, the

tapas of the tapasvin.' But unlike here, there he did not qualify those with

any adjective. But when it comes to strength, a condition is mentioned because

where there is strength, there can always be abuse. Kama and raga signify

ahankara. Therefore, it is a strength which is free from ahankara.

Even though it is not specifically mentioned, this can apply everywhere. If

somebody has brilliance, it should also be kama-raga-vivarjitam. Kama and raga

are centred on ego, ahankara, so, what is there without the misappropriation

of the ahankara, is naturally Bhagavan. When ego is present, it sullies the

whole thing. If Bhagavan is not appreciated, the person with strength becomes

a source of fear. If he has strength and also kama and raga, he is no longer

Isvara; he becomes a ruffian. If there is really a strong man who doesn't have

kama and raga, you will see only Isvara.

It is true even in music. If someone has a gift for music but has the sense

that ‘I am a musician,' then you can't enjoy his music. The ahankara vitiates

the beauty. And to the extent that he doesn't have ahankara, you can enjoy his

music.

Here Bhagavan says, understand Me to be the very strength in the people who

are strong and free from ahankara. Even in the people who have ahankara the

strength is Myself, but it is not visible. A strong person can be a great

support because if you have the protection of a strong man, you are fearless.

But if he has kama and raga, he becomes a source of fear. Therefore, strength

with ahankara is dangerous. That is why he tells all this here. In fact the

whole thing is to remove the ahankara.

‘Dharma-aviruddhah bhutesu kamo'smi bharatarsabha' — In the living beings I am

the desire that is not against dharma,' said Krsna. This is another beautiful

thing. We always hear it said that desires should be removed. That is

nonsense. ‘Oh Bharatarsabha, the foremost in the clan of Bharata, listen, aham

kamah asmi — I am desire.' I am the very desire because kama is a sakti, a

power. Without that desire, there would be no creation. Therefore, I am that

very form of desire, kamo'smi bharatarsabha. And what should this desire be

like? It should be dharma-aviruddha, unopposed to dharma. There you can see

Isvara. Suppose a person is free from ahankara. He has a lot of talents,

skills, wisdom and so on, but no desire to do anything. Then it all just

remains inside. He doesn't have a desire to talk; he doesn't have a desire to

write; he doesn't have a desire to share. Suppose he doesn't have those

desires — because he need not have desires — then Bhagavan has to say, I am

the silence in the silent people.

But he can also have desires because desire itself does not bind. Therefore,

he says that he is dharma-aviruddha kama. Dharma is in keeping with the sastra

and in keeping with the universal order of ethics. And the desire that is in

keeping with dharma is the beauty of Bhagavan. It is the expression of

Bhagavan. Anything beautiful has come out of such a desire. This is what we

call iccha-sakti, the power of desiring which is a part of maya-sakti. So, in

all beings, any desire that is unopposed to dharma is Myself.

Previously he indicated the jnana-sakti when he said, I am the buddhi in the

buddhimat and the tejas in the tejasvi. That jnana-sakti is Bhagavan. He also

said that I am the bala in the balavat. This bala indicates the kriya-sakti

which is also Bhagavan. Here, iccha-sakti is referred to and that is also

Bhagavan.

Since Krsna has said that I am the desire which is not against dharma, if a

desire is against dharma, it belongs to the jiva. Even though the jiva is

non-separate from Isvara, since for the time being we are giving the jiva a

free will, those desires and desire prompted activities which are against

dharma definitely belong to the jiva. They are not Isvara.

Concluding this particular section using ca to connect, Krsna says:

ye caiva sattvika bhava rajasastamasasca ye

matta eveti tanviddhi na tvaham tesu te mayi Verse 12

ye ca — and those; eva — indeed; sattvikah — born of sattva; bhavah — beings

and things; ye ca — and those; rajasah — born of rajas; (ca — and;) tamasah —

born of tamas; tan — them; mattah eva — from Me alone; iti — thus; viddhi —

may you know; te mayi — they are in Me; tu — but; na aham — I am not; tesu —

in them

And those beings and things which are indeed born of sattva, rajas, and tamas,

may you know them to be born from Me alone. They are in Me but I am not in

them.

Ye ca eva sattvikah bhavah — those things which are born purely of sattva.

Desires which are sattvika in nature, like a desire to know, are born of

sattva. If the antah-karana consists of three qualities, sattva, rajas and

tamas, sattva accounts for anything noble, anything in keeping with dharma.

Even experiences like happiness, sukha, and tranquillity, santi, are born of

sattva. Right attitudes, devotion, prayer, are all sattvikah bhavah.

Then those things which are born of rajas like ambition, dislike, anger and so

on, are all rajasa. And those things, which are tamasa in nature are born of

tamas.

Or we can take it this way. Ye bhavah can mean those living beings, and

sattvikas, can mean those who are born of sattva, like the devatas. In this

case it would mean predominantly sattva. And all the raksasas and so on are

born of predominantly rajas. Similarly, tamasas can mean those who are born of

predominantly tamas, such as the animals. Then we have the human beings who

are sattva, rajas, and tamas put together. This accounts for all types of

beings.

Or we can take ‘ye bhavah' as those people who are predominantly sattvika, or

rajasa or tamasa. Such people, all these various beings are all born out of

their own karma. That being so, they are all born of Me because the very karma

is Me, the law of karma itself is Me. And further, the cause for everything is

Me; so, nothing is separate from Me. To be born you require a physical body

and for that you require all five gross elements. These are all Me. And you

require subtle elements because without the subtle elements there would be no

subtle body nor would there be any gross elements. And the subtle elements are

also born of Isvara. Therefore, there is nothing that is away from Me. To be

born with a given body, all these ingredients are required. All of them are

Me. I provide the upadana, I am the material for all of them. So, according to

one's own karma, whatever form one takes, whether it is a tamasa or a sattvika

form, that form is non-separate from Me.

Even though they are born of Me, na tu aham tesu — I, however, am not in them.

This means I am not under their control, I don't depend upon them. Since they

are born of Me, I do not depend upon their existence. This is similar to how

the existence of the clay does not depend on the existence of pot. But they

are in Me — all of them, sattvika, rajasa, tamasa, all depend entirely upon

Me, upon My laws. According to My laws they are born and the laws are Me. And

everything is Me, so, to exist they entirely depend upon Me. To breathe they

require air which is Me; they require water which is Me; they require fire

which is Me; they require earth, food that is Me. They all depend entirely

upon Me. But I am not in their hands.

Here Sankara gives an introduction to the next verse. Even though this is how

it is, even though I am the taste in water, I am the strength in the strong, I

am the desire itself, I am the one from whom all of the sattvika, rajasa and

tamasa are born and even though nothing is separate from Me; even then, the

world of people does not recognise Me, Paramesvara. Who is that Paramesvara?

Sankara tells here that he is parama as well as Isvara. Parama indicates the

svarupa of Isvara. Whenever we use the word Paramesvara, it covers both the

svarupa of the Lord as well as his status of being sarva-karana, the cause of

everything.

Why do we say sarva-karana? In the world we draw a line and delineate

different causes. Physical bodies are born of the physical elements.

Therefore, the physical elements are the cause for the physical bodies. Then,

the physical elements themselves are products of the subtle elements and so,

the subtle elements become the causes. In this way, we can keep on tracing the

cause. From the standpoint of a product we can trace the cause elsewhere, and

that cause again is a product for which the karana, cause is elsewhere. Since

there are many karanas in this world we have to use the word sarva-karana for

the cause of all. Sarva-karana is called Isvara.