Bhagavatgita- a detailed study-chapter 7-knowledge and experience

[Guest guest]

4. bhoomiH aapo analo vaayuh kham mano budDhih eva cha

ahamkaara ithi iyam me bhinnaa prkrthiH ashtaDhaa

 

My nature is manifest as eightfold prkrthi, namely, earth, water, fire, wind, space , mind , intellect and ego.

 

5. aparaa iyam ithah thu anyaam prakrthim vidDhi me paraam

 

jeevabhoothaam mahaabaaho yayaa idham Dhaaryathe

 

My higher prakrthi is different from this lower prakrthi and it is the inner self by which all this is sustained.

 

6.ethath yoneeni bhoothaani sarvaaNi ithi upaDhaaraya

 

aham krthsnasya jagathaH prabhavaH pralayah thaThaa

 

Know that these two are the source of all beings. I am the origin and the end of the whole universe.

 

Then Krishna starts elaborating on His nature as Brahman transcendent and imminent. The unmanifest Brahman becomes manifest as stated in the upanishad 'sadhEva soumya idham agra Aseeth EkamEva advitheeyam, thadhaikshatha bahusyAm prajAyEya,' that there was only 'sath' Brahman in the beginning ,one only, without a second and it willed to become many. So Krishna says my nature , that is, the divine manifestation into universe is eightfold. ' mE bhinnA prakrthirashtaDHA.' The manifest nature consisting of earth, water, fire, air and the space along with mind and intellect , is the lower nature, aparA prakrthi. Here the elements mentioned do not denote the gross form but the subtle elements, thanmathras and the mind and intellect likewise denote their cause, the ahamkara, which is the effect of mahath, the first evolute of prakrthi.

 

"Apart from this lower prakrthi," says the Lord ,"is My higher nature. ".The higher self, the essential nature by which the universe is supported.. The lower nature is the field or kshethra, elucidated in a later adhyaya while the higher nature is the kshethrajna, the knower of the field, knowing which nothing else need be known as all beings originate from and dissolve into it. 'yathO vA imani bhoothAni jAyanthe yEna jAthAni jeevanthi yasmin abhisamvisanthi thadhvijinjAsava thdhbrahma,' (Taitt-III-1-1) know that to be Brahman from whom all beings originate, by whom they are sustained and into which they merge back.' Therefore ,' says the Lord, 'aham krthsanasya jagathah prabhavah pralayah thaTHA, I am the source of the world and into Me they enter in dissolution.'

 

The evolution of prakrthi as detailed by the school of sankhya deserves mention here.

The evolutes of Prakrthi are as follows. Prakrthi or the primordial matter is constituted of three gunas, satthva, rajas and thamas. When the gunas are in equilibrium there is no evolution and no creation. When the gunas start combining influenced by the presence of purusha, the sentient soul, the evolution starts. First evolute of prakrthi is mahath or budDhi, which in its turn gives rise to ahankara, which is of three kinds according to the three gunas, sathvik, raajasik and thaamasik. The saathvik ahankara gives rise to the ten subtle indhriyas and manas. The gross indhriyas evolve from subtle indhriyas. From the thamasik ahankara the thanmathras of sound, touch, form, taste and smell emerge. From the thanmathras which are subtle elements, the gross elements of akasa, vayu, fire, water and earth evolve.

This manifest prakrthi is termed as lower prakrthi here. Te higher prakrthi is of the Lord Himself, which Krishna elaborates in the subsequent slokas. sarvam khalu idham brahma thajjalaan, says the Upanishad, meaning all this is Brahman, because of creation, sustenance and annihilation are by Brahman. This is the transcendence and the declaration ayam aathmaa brahma denotes the imminence of Brahman. These aspects are elaborated in this chapter.