Gita Satsang: Pujyaswami DayanandaSaraswati's Commentary Part 2

[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/)

warmest regards,

 

Ram Chandran

 

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Part 2 Gita Chapter 7 Verses 17 to 20

 

THE JNANI IS ALWAYS UNITED TO ISVARA

Tesam jnani nitya-yuktah — among these four devotees, the jnani is

always united to Isvara. Jnani means the one who has immediate

knowledge of the truth of Isvara. He is a knower of the truth,

tattvavit. Because of this knowledge, he is always united to Isvara,

nitya-yukta. This is a very important word here.

As long as Isvara is remote, paroksa, one has to make a connection

with him. If one has a certain recognition of Isvara, one connects

oneself by some prayer, a thought, a mantra, some meditation, or some

act like a ritual. If the connection is for redemption from some

distress, it is the connection of an arta-bhakta, but it is not

permanent, nitya. He is united for now; later he will not be. It is

the same for the artharthi. When he undertakes something important, he

thinks about Isvara and then begins that action. At this time he is

united to Isvara. The jijnasu is more or less always united because

his whole mind is consumed by the desire to know the truth. And the

truth is Isvara. Therefore, his mind is more often than not connected.

As a mumuksu, he is a karma-yogi and therefore, has prasada-buddhi.

His attitude is, `Whatever action I do, it is all offered to you — yat

yat karma karomi tat tat tava aradhanam. He conforms to dharma because

that is Isvara for him. Therefore, he is more or less nitya-yukta.

More or less because he does not yet know Isvara's truth, tattva. So

too, a renunciate, sannyasi, seeking moksa is more or less a

nitya-yukta.

The jnani, however is nitya-yukta. There is identity between Isvara

and jiva and he recognises that. This fact is revealed by the sastra

which he exposed himself to as a jijnasu. Because of his desire to

know, he inquired into the meaning of the mahavakyas like tat tvam

asi. And in these, the identity is revealed. The one who understands

that revelation is called the tattvavit, the knower of the truth. And

he is always united to Isvara, nitya-yukta.

Further, he is eka-bhakti. For him there is only atma. Previously he

was also a devotee, but now his very devotion resolves into one atma.

The difference between jiva and Isvara is resolved and in his

understanding of the identity between jiva and Isvara, there is

resolution of his devotion. His devotion to inquiry, etc., all

resolves into that. Therefore, he's called eka-bhakti. And he is

visisyate, distinguished as the most exalted among the four.

THE JNANI IS DISTINGUISHED

All of them are devotees but the jnani has a special feature that

makes him stand out. This is told here not to set the jnani apart as

someone extraordinary. What is pointed out is the extent to which our

devotion has to mature. It has to mature in a knowledge by which one

becomes always united to Isvara, nitya-yukta. All the devotion should

resolve in that knowledge. Therefore, the one who knows is

distinguished, jnani visisyate.

Bhagavan started off this chapter saying jnanam savijnanam vaksyami, I

will tell you about knowledge along with vijnana. Here he says that

the one who has that knowledge is a jnani, the most exalted among the

four types of devotees. Why is he so exalted?

WHY IS THE JNANI DISTINGUISHED?

When someone is in distress, he calls upon Me and for the time being

he is one with Me. At that time he considers Me to be his only refuge.

But it is only when he is in distress. So, what is he really

interested in? Is he interested in Me or is he interested in getting

relief from his distress?

He is not interested in Me, really. He wants to make use of Me like

any other commodity. Because there is no other commodity that will

release him, he resorts to Me. For him I am another source of help

that he makes use of, all for release from his plight. Being a samsari

he is subject to getting into one difficulty after another, and then

he has to make use of all the help available, local as well as

non-local. The non-local help is Myself, Isvara.

Therefore, Bhagavan continues and says, it is not exactly that I am a

value for him. The value is to get out of trouble. My value is that I

am useful for that. I am a common tender, like money. For all the

devotees for whom I am paroksa, I am not truly beloved, priya. Even a

jijnasu has not understood Me; so, I am not totally priya for him

either. For him what is priya is moksa. He wants release from bondage

and therefore, he invokes Me.

Only for the jnani, am I the most beloved — priyah hi jnaninah

atyartham aham — because only he knows Me as atma, the object of all

love. Atma is ananda, the only value in the whole creation. It

therefore, becomes the object of all love. Here Krsna uses the word

atyartha – absolutely. So, for the jnani, I am totally beloved. Atma

is known to him as sat-cit-ananda-atma and all love resolves into that

atma. Ananda, the fullness which is the nature of atma, becomes love

whenever there is a relationship. If the object to which he is related

happens to seek a certain redress, then the love becomes service or

compassion. The same love keeps on changing into various forms.

Emotionally, atma, being ananda and I being known to him as atma, I am

the most beloved for the jnani.

And that jnani is also the most beloved to Me — atyartham sa ca mama

priyah. Atyartha is used for both Isvara and the jnani. Therefore, the

Lord says that he, the jnani, is the most beloved for Me because he is

Me. In the next verse he says this — jnani tu atmaiva me matam. He is

My most beloved because he is Myself, sat-cit-ananda-atma. Priya is

atma. Why? Because atma is the most beloved. So, sah – he, is mama –

My (the Lord's) priyah i.e., atma.

In these two verses, Krsna has shown that four types of people worship

him. They are, arta, a devotee in distress, the artharthi, the one who

invokes him not only in distress but also when he wants to accomplish

something, the jijnasu who wants to know the svarupa of Bhagavan, and

the jnani who knows the svarupa of Bhagavan and knows that essentially

he is not different from Bhagavan. Among these four, the jnani is the

most exalted. Even though they are all devotees, the Lord singles out

the jnani as the one who has accomplished what devotion can

accomplish. All the others are united to him whenever they pray, but

the jnani is always united to him because he is a tattvavit; he knows

the truth of Isvara as not separate from himself. Naturally he is

always united. Because of this knowledge — that I am the atma, and

atma, being ananda-svarupa, the object of absolute love — the Lord

says, `I am the most beloved to him and he the most beloved to Me.'

Now if this is so, what about the other three devotees? Are they not

beloved to Bhagavan?

udarah sarva evaite jnani tvatmaiva me matam

asthitah sa hi yuktatma mamevanuttamam gatim Verse 18

sarve eva ete — all these indeed; udarah — are exalted; jnani tu — but

the one who knows (Me); atma eva — is Myself alone; ( ) (iti) me matam

— this is My vision; hi — because; sah — he; yukta-atma — the one

whose mind is absorbed in Me; mam eva — Me alone; anuttamam gatim —

the end beyond which there is no end; asthitah — abides in (has

reached)

All these indeed are exalted, but the one who knows (Me) is myself

alone. This is My vision. Because he, the one whose mind is absorbed

in Me, has reached Me alone, the end beyond which there is no end.

ALL DEVOTEES ARE EXALTED

Sarve ete udarah — all of these devotees are exalted. All of them

recognise Me; so, from the standpoint of those who do not recognise me

at all, they are exalted. They are all mature people because they

recognise Me. This is what Krsna says. But Sankara takes it slightly

differently. He takes the word ete, these, to mean the other three

devotees because Bhagavan has already singled out the jnani as the

most beloved.

BUT THE JNANI IS MYSELF

The Lord said, `I consider the jnani as Myself — jnani tu atmaiva

(iti) me matam.' If they are all exalted, why is the jnani

distinguished as the most beloved? Sankara says that there is no

devotee of Isvara, who is not beloved to him. Each one becomes the

recipient of his grace. But the jnani is the most beloved, because,

the Lord says, `He is Myself alone. He is not separate from Me.

Therefore, he is definitely different. The others are also not

different from Me. But they have not recognised the fact. I have no

partiality because I am already everyone. It is not that only the

jnani's atma is My atma. The fact remains for all. But because of the

jnani's recognition that atma, is Paramesvara, he becomes Me and I

become him. `Me matam' means `that is My vision.' The word mata used

in the sense of `an opinion.' It is a very clear vision for Krsna.

What he means by this is that the jnani's atma, is not different from

Krsna, the Lord. Therefore, the jnani is the most beloved for the

Lord.

WHY IS THE JNANI NOT DIFFERENT FROM BHAGAVAN?

Why is this so? In answering this he defines the jnani — sa hi

yuktatma mam eva anuttamam gatim asthitah. He is the one whose mind is

absorbed in Me — sa hi yukta-atma. For that jnani, the most exalted

end is Me. Anuttama gati means an end beyond which there is nothing

greater. In other words, there is no other end. And the jnani, the one

who accomplishes that end, who reaches Me, is indeed the most exalted

because he is Myself. We can also take anuttamam gatim asthitah as the

one who remains in this end of all ends, the one who is established in

this knowledge, who has jnana-nis¶ha. That jnani, is indeed the most

exalted because he is not other than Isvara.

The praise of the jnani here is to point out that devotion is meant

only for this knowledge. There is a claim that jnana is for devotion.

The thinking is that you must know Isvara, so that you can have

devotion for him. But if I know atma, as Isvara, the devotion

resolves. Till then it is devotion; its culmination is knowledge. So,

it is clear that devotion is not after knowledge; it is before.

Devotion is for the sake of knowledge and knowledge itself is

devotion.

The definition of bhakti is — parama-prema-svarupa. Prema means love;

so, parama-prema-svarupa is absolute love. Between the object of love

and the one who loves there is no difference whatsoever. When there is

a love which there is no other, ananya, the devotee and the altar of

devotion are one and the same. That devotion is nothing but knowledge,

jnana. Expressing the same thing another way, this is sadhya-bhakti,

an end in itself, the fulfilled devotion of the jnani.

In the next verse, the jnani is again praised.

 

bahunam janmanamante jnanavanmam prapadyate

vasudevah sarvamiti sa mahatma sudurlabhah Verse 19

bahunam janmanam — of many births; ante — at the end; jnanavan — the

one who has knowledge; vasudevah sarvam iti — `Vasudeva is everything'

thus; mam prapadyate — reaches Me; sah mahatma — that wise man;

sudurlabhah — is very rare

At the end of many births, the one who has knowledge reaches Me by

knowing, `Vasudeva is everything.' That wise man is very rare.

At the end of many births – bahunam janmanam ante, the wise man –

jnanavan seeks Me, mam prapadyate. Does this mean that if you begin in

this life, you will become a jnani only after a number of births? No.

Sankara says here that, the word bahunam indicates a number of births

wherein one had gathered enough punya conducive to knowledge. One has

any number of births before one begins to recognise the fundamental

problem and seek a solution.

The word jnanavan can be taken in two ways. He can be the one whose

mind, at the end of many births, is mature enough to gain this

knowledge. Because of his maturity, he seeks Me, mam prapadyate. Such

a person alone becomes a jnani. Or jnanavan is the one who has the

knowledge. He reaches Me.

EVERYTHING IS VASUDEVA

How does he reach Bhagavan? Because of his knowledge, he understands

Vasudeva alone is everything, as himself — vasudevah sarvam. Vasudeva

is non-separate from atma. So the gain is a recognition of the

identity between the `I' of the jiva and the `I' of Isvara and sees

that all that is here is Vasudeva. Everything is non-separate from

that cause. And the product, the creation is mithya. It has no

existence apart from its cause which he recognises as satya. And he

sees very clearly that the only satya is atma, which is Brahman and

recognises therefore, that everything is Vasudeva. In this knowledge

he reaches Me.

This makes it very clear that devotion after knowledge is not what is

meant here. If Vasudeva is everything, he cannot be separate from Me.

If he is minus Me, he is not everything. And he would also be anatma,

which, as we have seen, would mean he is inert, jada. If Isvara is

inert, he depends entirely upon Me to be known, like any other inert

object. But it is not so. Everything depends on atma, the only thing

that is real, the satya-vastu. And atma, happens to be Isvara.

Therefore, you can say `I am all this —aham idam sarvam.'

This is what the sastra says throughout in various ways. All this is

Brahman alone; there is no multiplicity here at all — sarvam khalu

idam brahma neha nana asti kincana. And further, without the world,

atma is whole, purna, and with the world, it is whole — purnamadah

purnamidam. Wholeness is not going to be improved upon. Therefore, the

world, being mithya is not an addition to Brahman; it is dependent on

and non-separate from Brahman. And Brahman itself has not undergone

any change whatsoever to become the world. Without Brahman there is no

world either. Without a reality, there is no mithya.

HOW THE SASTRA REVEALS IDENTITY

BADHAYAMSAMANADHIKARANYAM

To reveal this, sastra uses a linguistic method called badhayam

samanadhikaranyam. The word samana means `the same.' The word

adhikarana means `locus.' When two things have the same locus, then

one is said to be a samana-adhikarana with reference to the other. The

condition in which two objects enjoy the same locus is called

samanadhikaranya. There are two types of samanadhikaranya. In a blue

pot, both the blue colour and the pot are in the same locus; they have

the same adhikarana. Similarly, when you say, `Rama is a musician,'

both Rama and the property of being a musician reside in the same

locus. Rama is the musician and the musician is Rama. A is B and B is

A. Therefore, there is samanadhikaranya between A and B.

But when we say the world is Brahman, the situation is different. The

world is Brahman alright but Brahman is not the world. A is B but B is

not A. This kind of samanadhikaranya is called badhayam

samanadhikaranyam. To illustrate, let us consider the following

situation. Suppose a stump of a tree is mistaken for a person. Then

someone who knows that it is not a person, points out that it is not a

person but a stump of a tree. He says, `sthanuh ayam purusah — this

person is a stump of a tree.' It means — what you see as the person is

a stump of a tree. In Sanskrit, both the word `person,' purusa, and

the word `stump,' sthanu, have the same case ending. This indicates

that they have the same locus. But are there two things here? No. What

is referred to as a person, purusa, is the stump of a tree, sthanu.

First you see it as the person and then the person resolves into the

stump. The person does not qualify the stump, like blue qualifies the

pot; the person resolves into the stump. This kind of samanadhikaranya

in which one is negated, that is, one resolves in to the other is

called badhayam samanadhikaranyam. And the sastra uses this technique

of badhayam samanadhikaranyam to explain the fact that what we

perceive as the pluralistic world is in fact one non-dual Brahman.

This is what is said here by the statement, vasudevah sarvam. The word

Vasudeva we have seen is the one in whom everything has its being and

who is in the form of consciousness, caitanya. Vasu is the one in whom

everything exists, by whom everything is sustained. It causes every

thing to exist in itself and is the basis of every existence. And vasu

is deva. Its own nature is pure consciousness, deva. From the

standpoint of the world, it is vasu, the cause of everything and from

its own standpoint it is in the form of consciousness,deva. This

vasudeva itself is Vasudeva.

That is why it is only oneself, the conscious being, pratyagatma.

Therefore, his knowledge is, `I am everything — aham idam sarvam or

Vasudeva is everything — vasudevah sarvam. In this way he reaches Me.

THE ONE WHO HAS THIS KNOWLEDGE IS VERY DIFFICULT TO FIND

Sa mahatma sudurlabhah. Such a jnani is sudurlabha, very hard to come

by. He recognises Me as the atma, of all beings; so, his atma, is

mahan, great, limitless. One who has that knowledge is called mahatma.

Generally the word mahatma, is used for any sadhu, any saint. In that

case, the word atma refers to the antah-karana and the word mahatma

indicates a person whose mind or heart is very big. But here, because

of the context, mahatma is the one whose atma is Brahman. There is no

one equal to that mahatma because you cannot improve upon

limitlessness. He is a mahatma. And he is very difficult to find. This

is why, even though all are beloved, the jnani is distinguished.

In this verse Krsna has said that it is very difficult to find a

mahatma, who knows everything is Vasudeva. Even though only devotees

are being discussed here, all of them are not able to recognise

Vasudeva as atma. Why is it so difficult to recognise that the Lord is

everything? This is the reason.

kamaistaistairhrtajnanah prapadyante'nyadevatah

tam tam niyamamasthaya prakrtya niyatah svaya Verse 20

taih taih kamaih — by those particular desires; hrta-jnanah — whose

discrimination is robbed away; tam tam niyamam — whatever are the

stipulations for that; asthaya — following; prakrtya svaya — by their

own dispositions; niyatah — driven; anya-devatah — other (lesser)

gods; prapadyante — they worship

Those whose discrimination is robbed away by their own particular

desires, driven by their own dispositions, worship other gods

following what is stipulated.

DESIRES ROB ONE OF DISCRIMINATION

Hrta-jnanah — are those whose discrimination is robbed away. Hrta

means robbed, taken away, and what is robbed is jnana, discrimination.

If they do not have discrimination between atma, and anatma, what they

want will not be very clear to them.

How have they been robbed of their discrimination? Kamaih taih taih —

by those desires. Because desires differ from person to person, the

plural is used here. Each person has his own unique desires and by

those he is robbed of his discrimination. Without an object you cannot

have a desire. So, Sankara says here that their discrimination is

robbed away by objects like son, wealth, heaven and so on

—putra-pasu-svargadi visayaih. Putra is son. If one has money, one

wants a heir. If he has no money, even though he has nothing to give,

he still wants a son. Perhaps the hope is that the son will improve

his lot. Each one wants to continue to live in the form of his son. A

man also wants a son to continue the family name. And every woman has

an inbuilt desire to have a child because there is a natural

fulfilment there. If she chooses not to, it is because of other

problems. In Indian society there is also a religious reason to have a

son. Only a son can perform the funerary rites of a parent. Putra also

stands for kama, all forms of pleasure. This desire for progeny is one

of the most powerful desires and is therefore, mentioned separately.

Pasu, cattle, is the symbol for all forms of wealth. In an

agricultural society, the number of cattle a person had indicated the

amount of land he owned. Svarga is heaven. The word adi meaning etc.,

indicates power, fame, and so on.

By these various objects of desire, people are hrta-jnanas, those who

are robbed of their discrimination. Because of the predominance of the

desires for various things, discrimination between atma, and anatma,

or between nitya and anitya does not arise in such people. They are

too busy fulfilling their desires.

THEY IMPLORE OTHER GODS

Anya-devatah prapadyante — they propitiate other devatas. In doing so,

they meet with a number of obstructions. To ward these off and enhance

the results of their efforts, they invoke Isvara in the form of

different devatas. They implore – prapadyante, other gods –

anya-devatas. There are prayers to invoke a specific devata for a

specific result and for certain results there are certain specified

rituals. So, to fulfil their desires they invoke various other

devatas.

All the devatas they worship are looked upon as other than atma, which

is Vasudeva. They do not think about atma, being Vasudeva and that

they have to gain this knowledge. The desire for knowledge, jijnasa,

does not arise in them.

EACH IS IMPELLED BY HIS OWN DISPOSITION

Driven by their own dispositions — svaya prakrtya niyatah— they

approach other devatas for what they want or they go to deva-loka and

become devatas themselves as a result of their worship. When the same

result can be achieved by worshipping any deity why should one choose

a given deity? It all depends upon his own samskara, tendency. Perhaps

he had worshipped that deity in his previous life, or in this life.

Because of what was done before, certain things attract, certain

things do not. Even though they may not have prejudices against other

deities, still, one attracts. So, they follow that particular form of

worship — all for the fulfilment of their own unique set of desires.

[Guest guest]

>

BUT THE JNANI IS MYSELF

> The Lord said, `I consider the jnani as Myself — jnani tu

atmaiva

> (iti) me matam.' If they are all exalted, why is the jnani

> distinguished as the most beloved? Sankara says that there is no

> devotee of Isvara, who is not beloved to him. Each one becomes the

> recipient of his grace. But the jnani is the most beloved, because,

> the Lord says, `He is Myself alone. He is not separate from Me.

> Therefore, he is definitely different.

>From Sri Madhusudana Saraswati's Gudharta Dipika:

 

It has indeed been said 'According to the manner in which they

approach Me, I favor them in that very manner' (4.11). Therefore,

jnani, the man of knowledge, who has realized Me as his own Self; is

atma eva, none other than the Self; he is not different from Me, but

is surely what I am. this is My matam, firm conclusion. The word tu,

but, is to show the distinction of (the man of Knowledge endowed

with) desirelessness and non-perception of differences as compared

with the three who have desires and perceive differences. Hi, for;

sah, he, the man of knowledge; yuktatma, with a steadfast mind, with

his mind constantly absorbed in me; asthitah, has accepted; eva,

only; mam, Me, the Lord, the Infinite, the absolute Bliss, the Self;

as the anuttamam, superexcellent; gatim, Goal, the highest reward. On

the other hand, he does not think of any reward other than Myself.

This is the idea.

 

Sundar Rajan