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

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7. matthaH paratharam na anyath kimchith asthi Dhananjaya

mayi sarvam idham protham soothre maNiganaa iva

 

There is nothing higher than Me, Arjuna, (Dhananjaya) all this is strung in Me like the beads in a thread.

Since He is the cause of everything, from which all beings came about , there is nothing higher or beyond . The upanishadic statement 'sadhEva soumya idhamagra Aseeth EkamEva adhivitheeyam ,' denotes that Brahman is both the material and efficient cause of the world, because of the words 'one only , without a second.' All beings are supported by Brahman like the string that supports the beads strung on it. Since He alone is the cause of the world all beings and the entire world is strung , woven or held together as a cloth by the threads or by the string which holds the cluster of gems together. In BrahdhAraNyaka upanishad Yajnavalkya is asked by Gargi that by which all these beings are pervaded like the warp and woof of a cloth and He replies that it is Brahman.

 

But the analogy of beads strung in a thread is to be understood properly. The thread is different from the beads and it performs the function of holding them together only. But the Lord is both the thread and the beads, that is, transcendent and imminent. The beads represent the names and forms of the beings, sentient and insentient and the string that goes through is the inner self of all , Brahman. But the names an forms are not different from Brahman as the pots of different shapes are not different from the mud, which is the basis of them all. The upanishadic declaration is that the warp and woof of a cloth which pervades throughout is the Brahman. As the threads give shape and colour to the cloth the Lord enters into all beings to give them name and form. Anena aathmanaa anupraviSya naamaroope vyaakaravaaNi (Chandhogya Upanishad) meaning, " I will enter into these as the self and give them name and form. This can be understood better by the subsequent slokas.

 

8. raso aham apsu kountheya prabhaa asmi saSisooryayoH

 

praNavaH sarvavedheshu SabdhaH khe pourusham nrshu

 

I am the taste in water, oh son of Kunti, the light of the moon and the sun , the praNava of all the Vedas, the sound in the space and manliness in men.

 

Next Krishna explains the traits by which the Lord is distinguished in the world which is woven on Him, that is, how can one understand that He supports everything through perception and inference. Krishna says that He is the taste, the essence of water, the light in sun and the moon, He is the praNava, the source of all the Vedas and the sound which is the essence of AkAsa and the manhood in men.

 

 

 

9. puNyo ganDhaH prThivyaam cha thejaschaasmi

vibhaavasaam

 

I am the pure smell of the earth, luminosity of fire.

 

The five elements have one quality peculiar to them besides others. The earth has smell as its essential quality that distinguishes it from others, water has taste, fire has form denoted by its brilliance, air has touch and space has sound.

 

This is explained as follows. The space is evolved from the sabdhathanmathra and has only sound as its quality as sound needs space to travel. To this the sparsathanmathra(touch) is added and the gross element of air is evolved. Hence the special quality of air is touch. Air combining with tejas thanmathra produces fire which has al the three qualities but thejas is its special quality. When Tejas with rasathanmathra(taste) the gross element of water evolves .Hence the essence of water is taste. Finally the earth is evolved by combining water with ganDha thanmathra, which is its essential quality.

 

It is said puNyoganDhaH here because the earth has only good smell and the other kinds of smell arises by impurities that contaminates it.

 

 

jeevanam sarvabhootheshu thapaschaasmi thapasvishu

 

I am the life of all beings and the austerity of the austere.

 

10.beejam maam sarvabhoothaanaam viddhi paarTha

sanaathanam

budDhirbudDhimathaam asmi thejasthejasvinaam aham

I am the eternal seed of all beings, oh Partha, the intellect of the intelligent, splendour of the splendid.

 

Krishna gives more examples as a teacher does to illustrate a point well. In short, the Lord is the essence of everything, the dharma, without which anything ceases to be what it is. The light is the dharma of fire, without which it cannot be called so. Similarly it is so in all the examples given. The word dharma actually means the essential nature of a thing or an activity.

 

11. balam balvathaam cha aham kaamraagavivarjitham

 

DharmaavirudDho bhootheshukaamo asmi bhratharshabha

 

I am the might of the mighty, devoid of desire and attachment, and the desire unopposed to dharma, oh the bull among kurus.

 

When Krishna says that the Lord is the strength of the strong he qualifies it with the adjective kaamraagavivarjitham, without desire and attachment. The real strength is that which comes out of moral courage and not the one which is shown by bullying. It is like the strength of Rama which is divine as that mentioned here as against that of Ravana., induced by desire and attachment. Desire is the wish to acquire something and attachment is the reluctance to let it go.

 

Similarly the word kaama is qualified by dharmaavirudDhaH, desire not opposed to dharma. The four purusharThas, namely dharma, arTha, kaama and moksha are sanctioned in the sasthras but arTha and kama should be in accordance with dharma so that they lead one to moksha finally. It means that earning wealth, arTha or satisfying desire, kaama , is not forbidden but the wealth must be earned following dharma and the desires should be in accordance with dharma, with the final goal in mind , namely moksha. In other words, wealth must be earned in order to utilize it for dhaarmik purpose and the desire must be to for things which are conducive to the activities of dharma. Then the mind becoming free from attachment it progresses towards the path to moksha.