Panchajanyam Hrishikesah_3-the real 'I '

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Now what is the nature of the real `I' ? Najaayate mriyate

vaa  kadhachit naayam bhootva bhavita va na  bhooyaha .  Never is it

born or dies nor does it have `being' after it is born. Its nature is

indicated as ajah, nityah, saswatah, puranah . It is

unborn ,eternal ,everlasting and ancient and is not destroyed when he

body is killed. When it could simply be termed as permanent or

eternal why does Krishna employs so many epithets? In Sanskrit

literature not a single word is tautologous but carries different

implications A thing may be unborn but it may have an end. A

classical example given for this in Vedanta is that of prior non-

existence or praagabhaava. Before something ,say, a pot, is created,

there was its non-existence which is known as its praagabhaava. This

can be termed as unborn as it has no beginning. But it has an end

when the pot comes into existence .So it is not eternal or

everlasting An example of something which has a beginning but no end

is what is known as posterior non-existence or dwamsa. When the pot

is destroyed it is its dwamsa or destruction which has a beginning

but no end. So it is said to be born but deathless. .Nityah is

eternal while saaswata means without decay. The self which is the

real `I' remains always as it is .But it is also puraana ancient.

Hence the self or Atman cannot be destroyed by natural elements like

water fire etc., nor by destructive weapons sastra because it is

nithya and sarvagatah all pervading. Krishna uses two more

adjectives ,namely,sthaanu and achala ,steady and immovable. Again we

see that the words sthaanu and achala are not synonymous as the word

sthaanu denotes something stable like a tree which , however, may be

moving or chala. So the adjective achala is used to denote immobility

which is obvious of something that is all pervading as it has nowhere

it can move to.

 

Something that is eternal, immobile is commonly

understood to be a perceivable entity. But this is denied of the self

by saying that it is avyakta unmanifest .It is not something that

can be experienced through the senses. Perhaps that it could be

intellectually understood is also dismissed by the expression

achintyoayam  unthinkable or beyond the comprehension of the

intellect " . Therefore , " Krishna tells Arjuna , " You should not

grieve. "

Bhagavatgita is like milk which is easily digestible for

infants while Upanishads are like food for adults which is not so

easy to digest , which is why the former is called Dugdham gitamritam

mahat .Highest  vedanta is administered in easy doses by mixing it

with brutal commonsense. For instance , after describing the nature

of atman now Krishna comes down to the mundane affairs and says "

Even if you do not understand the nature of the self and still think

that people die when their bodies are destroyed even then you should

not grieve because jaathasya hi dhruvo mrityuhu dhruvam janma

mritasyacha. Death is certain for those who are born and birth is

certain for those who die .What we understand as life is therefore a

very small section of the whole existence of which both the

beginning and the end are not perceived  except the middle , which we

understand as the life of an individual. So, says Krishna tatra kaa

paridevana " Why lament about it?

In accordance with the trend of the Gita , Krishna again

ascends the pinnacle of wisdom and says-Aascharyavat pasyati

kaschidenam aascharyavat vadati thathaiva chaanyaha ;

aascharyavatchainam anyahsrunoti srutvaapyenam veda nachaiva kaschit

Krishna explains that the self in incomprehensible. Some see it as

something of a wonder some speak of it as a wonder, others hear

about it as something wonderful, but even after hearing about it no

one understands. The rare ones who have experienced Atman or Brahman

view it as a great wonder in the sense that it is something beyond

perception, being  beyond the comprehension of the sense organs.

Among those, only few are able to tell others about it , and when

they do they refer to it as something wonderful because it exceeds

verbal description. Those who listen about it are also wonderstruck

on hearing about it and it is still more difficult to find one who

understands this as it really is.

Perhaps thinking that Arjuna may find all this

perplexing , Krishna lapses back to the worldly expression by

reminding him that, being a kshatriya, it is his duty to fight a

righteous war as only a fortunate few get this sort of an

unsolicited opportunity. Krishna further adds that if Arjuna turns

away from such a duty not only he will incur sin but also earn

infamy, which is worse than death for a hero like him The Mahaarathas

like Bhishma will despise him while his enemies like Duryodhana will

ridicule him.

It will be interesting to note that both the wise and

the wicked have no doubts about what they want to do. Only the

average man who is averse to wickedness but lacks the courage to do

good is perpetually in doubt! Arjuna represents an average human

being , that is , people like us! So what Krishna tells next applies

to all of us whenever we are in a dilemma, to do or not to do

anything. He says , Sukhaduhkhe same kritva  laabhalaabhau jayaajayau

tatho yudhdhaaya yudhyasva, hinting at karmayoga which He is going to

elaborate in the subsequent chapter .Karmayoga is termed as selfless

action .This  path is praised by Krishna as being without pitfalls by

saying nehaabhikramanasoasthi pratyavaayo na vidyate because even a

little of karmayoga practised diligently produces result in the

form of freedom from the perils of samsara.

 

The essential condition for practising karmayoga is an

intellect directed towards one ideal with determination. Otherwise

thoughts run in all directions dragged by desires towards innumerable

goals. Such people even if they are well versed in Vedas look upon

the scriptural texts only as the gateway to heaven or to a better

life on this earth and exhaust their intellectual skills in flowery

speeches to prove their ends. That is why Krishna calls the Vedas as

being  traigunyavishayaaha and asks Arjuna to transcend the three

gunas because they are of as much use to one with  enlightenment

as a small reservoir of water , when the whole area is flooded This

can be construed in two ways .To an enlightened one the karmakanda

of the veda which is the ritualistic portion that secures

enjoyment in this world and the next is like water in the well when

the whole area is flooded. But if we take veda to mean the entire

scripture including wisdom of Upanishads it may be interpreted

thus: Even when the entire land is flooded the well can contain only

as much water as it can hold .So too one can comprehend only as much

as his intellect can grasp, which fact has been proved by the

controversies in interpreting the vedantic passages. This may very

well be the meaning of the term vedavaadharathaah.

 

Karmayoga or selfless action is now explained by Krishna

who says karmanyevaadhikarasthe maapaleshu kadachana , maakarma

palaheturbhooh maate sangoasthu akarmani " You have right over action

only and not the fruit of action. Your action should not be

motivated by desire for fruit ,nor should you be attached to

inaction. " Swami Vivekananda said `work for work's sake duty for

duty's sake' meaning that one should do work for its own sake and not

out of desire to get the result .But the question is ,Will anyone do

anything unless he wants the result? Certainly not! There is nothing

wrong in starting a work with a specific result in mind but

Karmayoga  consists in not getting attached to the result. This is

not as pessimistic as it seems to be but sheer common sense. When we

begin a work we cannot help fixing a goal to achieve as otherwise we

would not have started at all. But once started we should concentrate

on the action only without worrying about the result constantly as

the anxiety will reduce our efficiency .On the other hand , if we put

our heart and soul into the work we are doing, the result will

automatically follow, and even if it does not, due to some factor on

which we have no control, we will not feel frustrated as we have

already had the satisfaction from the work itself .This is what Swami

Vivekananda meant by `work for work's sake.' To give up the

attachment to the fruit of action is Karmayoga as advised in the

Gita .It applies not only to the mumukshu,. one who aims for

realization but also to the man of the world ,wherein lies the value

of Gita The work which is assigned to you in this birth in accordance

with your karma is your duty that has to be discharged. This is what

Krishna means when He says Maa te sango astu akarmani, " You should

not give up work altogether. " This provides the answer to the

question " If I should give up the result why should I act in the

first place?

 

Then comes the question , " How should I act in order to

follow the path of Karmayoga? " Pat comes the answer Yogasthah kuru

karmaani sangam tyaktwaa. Sangam,  attachment towards the fruit of

action brings the attitude of samatwa in which one becomes neutral

towards success as well as failure, siddhi and asiddhi. So Krishna

asks Arjuna to have equipoise of mind. Skill in action lies in the

practice of Karmayoga Yogahkarmasu kausalam  endowed with which the

wise get free from shackles of birth and attain

immortality `Janmabhandhavinirmuktah padam gachchantyanaamayam. When

the mind gets free from delusion which is the cause of joy and sorrow

by wrong identification of oneself with the body there is no more

confusion of conflicting thoughts and the intellect comes to rest,

steady, and with no distractions, in the absolute reality and one

attains Samaadhi realization. Krishna has thus skillfully maneuvred

the conversation to a point in order to make Arjuna ask the question

Sthithaprajnasya kaa bhaasha. Then He starts the description of the

man of realization.