Gita Satsangh, Chapter 9 Verses 4 to 6 - Swami Venkatesananda on Verse 5.

[Guest guest]

Namaste.

 

I quote below Swami Venkatesananda’s commentary on Verse 5.

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“Measure not the immeasurable in words”, warned Lord Buddha.

Dakshinaamurti indicated it by silence and the symbol of wisdom

(cin-mudrA). The vedic seers exclaimed “havuha, havuhavu”

unable to find words to express their vision. Sage Yajnavalkya

declared that all positive definitions are distractions and that

the reality can only be approached by the total negation of all

names and forms, thoughts and concepts – neti, neti, not this,

not this.

Yet, if no one said anything, no one (except the rarest few to

whom silence is meaningful) could learn. Here we are, on the

horns of a dilemma! The method adopted by the Indian sages to

overcome this is paradoxical. Every thesis is immediately

opposed by its antithesis and the resultant inexpressible

synthesis is the nearest point which human intellect can reach

before awakening to the reality (an event which the Zen

Buddhists call ‘satori’) which is enlightenment.

The previous verse said ‘all beings exist in me’ and here we are

told ‘nor do beings exist in me’! Deep meditation on this

conundrum will remove the suggestion of duality and plurality

implied in the first statement. It is not like saying “sweets

are in the tin” but rather “vapour is pervaded by water”. Vapour

and water are not two different things, but one is just the

manifestation of the other. Thus the reality is there,

everywhere, all the time, in not-so-obvious a manner.

God is the creator and sustainer of all beings, yet not outside

them. God dwells in all beings, yet is not limited to them. All

beings are pervaded by him, yet not as ‘all beings’ (diverse and

different) but in a mysterious manner all are forever one with

him, without in any way affecting him, tainting him, limiting

him or conditioning him. This indeed is the divine yoga; and the

Lord explains it further in the subsequent verses.

A novel method for self-realisation is suggested by the Lord.

Other methods had been suggested before him. There were those

who wanted us to close our eyes to the world, go into seclusion

and by a process of introverted mental gaze, perceive the light

of the self within. Others insisted on our doing our duties and

serving humanity with the sole intention of self-purification,

but refused to discuss the next step.

Krishna is a genius. He discloses that the very duties and the

services that we are compelled to perform daily, contain in

themselves, not only agents to purify us but to reveal (unveil)

God for us to see! But how?

We should see the world, but not as the world. We should see it

as the manifestation of God, his power, his glory. In other

words this is as if we were sitting in the cinema with wide open

eyes and not only seeing the moving figures, but the screen on

which they are projected. Try it!

The essence of this method is to be able to perceive the

substratum (God) even though looking at the name and form. When

you look at a wise man, you immediately remember that the wisdom

in him is God. You learn to abstract that from the name and form

(and other such factors), perceive that alone to the exclusion

of everything else and realise that it is the manifestation of

God.

This demands rigorous preliminary discipline and training; the

training was prescribed and described in chapter six. Modern

Zen Buddhism too, leads its adherents along this royal road to

self-realisation. First you see the tree; then you see the

void; and then again you see the tree! But the second time,

though the tree is the same, you are quite different and your

inner vision is enlightened. That is the difference between the

layman and a sage – the latter is enlightened. May you shine as

an enlightened sage!

 

praNAms to all advaitins

profvk

 

 

 

=====

Prof. V. Krishnamurthy

My website on Science and Spirituality is http://www.geocities.com/profvk/

You can access my book on Gems from the Ocean of Hindu Thought Vision and

Practice, and my father R. Visvanatha Sastri's manuscripts from the site.

 

 

 

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