"Is Ignorance really bliss?" (Part 9): Essay on VII.15 of Bhagavath-Gita

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(continued from Part 8)

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Let us now turn to the expression

"Asuram-bhAvam-AsritAh" in the Gita. It is useful to

study it as if it were composed of 3 elements:

 

(1) "asura"

(2) "asura-bhAva"

(3) "Asuram-bhavam-asritAh"

 

(1) In the "pUrAnA-s" of our ancient tradition, we

come across many archetypes of the "asura" -- e.g.

Hiranyakasipu, the pre-eminent one amongst all

"God-antagonists" or "bhagavath-dvEshi-s".

 

What distinguishes the "asura" is that not only does

he deny the idea and reality of the Almighty (Ultimate

Cause, "para-tattva"), he is also openly antagonistic

to Him. This makes the "asurA" both Ignorant and

foolish: Firstly, he states God does not exist --

which is an admission of personal ignorance (as the

Taittiriyam reveals above) and not revealed truth. And

secondly, for some absurd, irrational reason, he goes

on to then despise that God he says does not exist!

Now, why hate something if it does not exist? Why

should the non-existent arouse any feelings of

hostility or otherwise? The answer is: Foolishness

(another form of "mUdamata"!).

 

(2) "bhAva" means "nature", "character" or "likeness".

He who is not an archetypical "asura", but who is by

nature almost one i.e. he has strong likeness to an

"asura"... such a man is said to have "asura bhAva".

 

Such men do not generally deny the existence of an

Almighty but are terribly antagonistic to Him. In the

"purANa" once again, we find many revealing portraits

of "asura-bhAvam" as might be found amongst the men of

this world too.

 

DuryOdhana, for instance, was not an "asura" but a

"manushya" (Man) in the mould of an "asura". The

"asura-bhava" in him did not really come in the

way of his tacitly accepting Krishna's presence as God

incarnate. But, on the other hand, it made DuryOdhana

deeply and violently hostile towards God.

 

The man of "asura-bhava", while not outright denying

God's existence, nevertheless openly defies God's

purpose. DuryOdhana's overbearing selfishness knew no

bounds. He wanted to achieve his worldly ends at any

cost -- and would not let God Almighty even get in the

way!

 

Such unmitigated hostility to God ("asura-bhAva")

arises because of Ignorance again. As long as Man

cannot realize that God's purpose and Man's own ends

in life are not at variance; but that, in fact, Man's

principal goal in life -- "purushArtha", is the

Vedantic word for it -- is verily to realize God's

purpose... And as long as Man remains blind to such

knowledge, Ignorance combining with all-consuming

human selfishness -- as in DuryOdhana's case -- will

always render the man of 'asura-bhAva' at deep odds

with the reality of God.

 

(3) Finally, "asritah". This means "he who aids or

abets"; it also means "a sympathizer" or "one who

encourages" God-antagonism. The man who is a

"sympathizer" of "asura-bhAva" thus becomes

"asura-bhAvam-Asritah" i.e. "he who -- directly or

indirectly, willingly or otherwise, for good reason or

bad -- abets or encourages anti-godliness",

"bhagavath-dvEsha".

 

This man neither denies God's reality (like a true

"asura"); nor does he openly defy God's purpose (like

a man of "asura-bhAva"). But this man indeed does far

worse! He sympathizes, aids, abets, endorses and

vigorously promotes "asura-bhAva". He therefore ends

up perpetrating not only Ignorance

(i.e."agnyAna"/"avidya") but foolishness and

unrestrained human selfishness too in all others

around him -- the same foolishness which earlier we

saw the Gita describe as "mUda-mata", and the same

vileness of human selfishness as found in a

"narAdhama".

 

In the Mahabharata, the best example of the

"Asuram-bhAvam-asritAh" is found in the character of

King DhritarAshtra.

 

He was no "asura". Nor was he a man of "asura-bhAva".

DhritarAshtra and Krishna were never open antagonists.

But alas, DhritarAshtra remained until the very end, a

hapless but active "Asuram-bhAvam-asrita"! As King of

Hastinapur, he aided, abettedd and sympathized with

all kinds of "mudAmata-s", "naradhAma-s" and

"mayaya-apahruta-gnyAni-s" in his royal court...

Karnan, DussAsanan, Dronar et al! And above all,

DhritarAshtra kept encouraging his son, the Prince of

"asura-bhAva", DuryOdhanan, all through his reign of

misdeeds and "dhvEsha"...

 

Indeed, DhritarAshtra was the King of Ignorance, the

Emperor amongst "asuram-bhAvam-asrtita-s"! That is the

reason why, in recognition of his great

Ignorance("agnyAna"), the Mahabharatha thought it most

fit to

portray DhritarAshtra's character as an "andham-Atma"

-- a monumentally blinded soul -- symbolizing the

Blindness of Dark Nescience into which Man ever risks

sinking in life...

 

The blind, ignorant souls of the 4th (or the

"dhritarAshtra") type are verily "born to bring ruin

to the world", says the Gita in a later chapter

(XVI.9). They are 'lost souls" --- "nashta-AtmAna:".

Writing in his "gita-bhAshya", Sri RamanujAchArya also

said:

 

"...jagatha: kshyAya prabhavanti".

 

A blinded soul like DhritarAshtra -- the Mahabharata's

metaphor for supreme Ignorance -- brings epic ruin

upon himself and the ruination of everyone and

everything around him as well...

 

*********

(to be concluded)

 

Regards,

 

dAsan,

Sudarshan

 

 

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