Bhagavad Gita - Daily - II 2:69 II

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|| Shree Hari ||Ram Ram

Link: — What is the difference between a striver whose senses are completely restrained from their objects, and an ordinary man? Here is the answer.

yaa nishaa sarvabhootaanaam tasyaam jaagarti samyami

 

yasyaam jaagrati bhootani saa nishaa pashyato muneh || 69 ||

 

 

That, which is night to all beings, in that state (of Divine Knowledge and Supreme Bliss) an emancipated person keeps awake. And that (the everchanging worldly happiness), in which all beings keep awake, is night, to the enlightened seer. || 69 ||

Comment: —

'Yaa nishaa sarvabhootaanaam—Those worldly people whose senses and mind are uncontrolled and who are immersed in pleasure are asleep towards Paramatma (They are in the dark as they never think that the aim of human life, is emancipation or salvation ). 'What is Paramatma (God)?' 'What is Self-realization?1 'Why are we suffering?' 'Why are there all these burning sensations?' Where will our misdeeds take us?' - they never think about these things. Turning away from these thoughts, is the night (complete darkness), for the worldly people.

Here the term, "bhutaanaam", has been used to explain the fact that human beings who hanker after pleasures and prosperity (wealth), and are immersed in them, are like other beings, such as birds and beasts etc., because both have no inclination for God-realization. If there is any difference between the two, it is that discrimination (vivek). Human being is much more developed than beasts and birds, and therefore, by using discrimination, they can serve others and attain salvation or God-realization, while birds and beasts cannot. On the other hand, if they misuse this discrimination in hankering after pleasures and prosperity, they can be more harmful to the society, than even wild beasts. Animals and birds eat food, only to sustain their life, they never hoard. But human beings are given to hoarding, whatever they get. Therefore, they create obstacles to the utilization of those things by others.

'Tasyaam jaagarti samyami'—When the worldly people remain asleep in the dark, having no inclination for God-realization, the seer who has controlled his senses and mind and who has no attachment for pleasures and prosperity and whose aim of life is only God-realization, remains wakeful because his intuition, his concepts and precepts are all filled with Divinity.

'Yasyaam jaagrati bhootaani'—The worldly people who want to accumulate wealth, by means fair or foul, and who hanker after transient sensual pleasures, honour and praise etc., are wakeful of mundane affairs.

'Saa nishaa pasyato muneh'—The worldly people, feel very happy and deem themselves very wise, in enjoying and hoarding worldly pleasures. These, a seer, in the state of Divine Knowledge and Supreme Bliss, perceives as dark.

As children, while playing marbles attach great importance to small balls of glass or clay, so people attach importance to worldly prosperity and pleasure and for gaining these they employ all sorts of means, fair or foul. But a self-controlled seer, knows that all mundane pleasures, prosperity and praise etc., are transient, illusory and changing, while God and his own self, are eternal, real and permanent. He also knows, how the best use of mundane objects can be made, and how far they can be utilized, for the welfare of others. He uses them in the service of others.

In spite of the manifest appearance of the world to the mind and senses, he has a firm conviction that the world is a mere illusion, and has no real existence at all. So wakefulness of the worldly people, is just like a dark night for him.

Appendix -

The worldly people remain busy in hoarding wealth and enjoying pleasures and value them. They are very clever and expert in worldly affairs. They learn different types of arts and crafts, make several inventions, regard the worldly achievements as their progress, glorify worldly things, perform austere penance in order to enjoy pleasures by living forever, worship gods, and recite (sacred text) incantation etc. But an enlightened liberated exalted soul and strivers perceive all this as dark, they don't attach the least importance to such a progress, because from their view-point the entire world upto the abode of Brahma has no existence at all—'naasato vidyate bhaavah' (GIta 2/16), 'abrahma bhuvanallokah punaravartino'rjuna' (Gita 8/16).

The worldly people remain engrossed in worldly affairs and think that there is nothing besides these pleasures—nanyadastiti vadinah' (Gita 2/42), 'kamopabhogaparama etavaditi niscitah' (GIta 16/11). Spirituality is beyond the access of then - intellect. But a striver following the spiritual path besides knowing spirituality also knows the world. Therefore the term 'pasyatah' has been used for them. The worldly people perceive only the night (they remain asleep in the dark), they don't perceive the day (Divinity), but a 'Yogi' perceives the day as well as the night (the worldly pleasures and prosperity as dark)—this is the difference between the two. For example a child has perceived only childhood, not youth, but an old man besides perceiving the old age has also perceived childhood and youth. A hoarder of wealth doesn't know renunciation while a renunciate who has renounced the mundane wealth knows the value of collection of wealth and also its renunciation. This is a rule that a man engrossed in worldly affairs cannot know the reality about the world. By keeping himself aloof from the world, he can know the reality about the world because in fact he is separate from the world. Similarly a person can realize God by identifying himself with God, because in reality he (the self) has his identity with God.

He who is established in 'Is' knows both 'Is' and 'not'; but he who is established in 'not' does not know (perceive) even 'not' in its reality as ever non-existent, then how will he know 'Is' (the real)? He can't know. He has no capacity to know them. He who knows 'Is' does not bear ill will with the person who assumes the existence of 'not', but the person who assumes the existence of "not" bears ill will with the persons who knows "Is".

 

From "The Bhagavadgita - Sadhak Sanjivani" in English, page 227 - 231 and in Hindi pg 133 -135 by Swami Ramsukhdasji

To read online in hindi - please visit :

http://www.swamiramsukhdasji.org/swamijibooks/pustak/pustak1/html/SadhakSanjeevni/main.html

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|| Shree Hari ||

Ram Ram

 

yaa nishaa sarvabhootaanaam tasyaam jaagarti samyami

yasyaam jaagrati bhootani saa nishaa pashyato muneh

 

|| 69 ||

 

“That, which is night to all beings (who are turned away from God), in that

state the disciplined Yogi keeps awake. And that in which all beings are awake

(enjoying the worldly pleasures and prosperity), is night to the enlightened

seer.â€

 

Comment:

 

Now, Lord is saying from the point of view of Samkhya Yoga (Discipline of

Knowledge); because in the final stage, Karma Yoga and Samkhya Yoga are the same

(Gita: 5/ 4 & 5). About awareness of God, the worldly people are asleep but the

realized sages and the true spiritual seekers are very much awake. They are

aware of God just like we are aware of the sun light in the day time. The

worldly people may have animosity toward spiritual aspirants but the realized

sages and true spiritual aspirants do not harbor animosity towards anyone. Sri

Goswami Tulsidasji says in Ramcharitmanas -

 

Nija prabhumaya dekhahi jagat, kehi sana karahi birodha (Uttar, 112-B)

 

“Those who look upon their Lord pervading this whole creation then how can

they harbor animosity against any being? The worldly people have only seen the

world but the spiritual aspirant knows the world as well as God. The people who

are of the world, after attaining worldly objects think that they have made so

much progress but in the eyes of sages and true spiritual seekers this

achievement is like the darkness of the night, indeed very insignificant.

 

From " Gita Prabodhani " in Hindi pg 62 by Swami Ramsukhdasji

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Chapter 2, Verse 69 is as follows;

 

Yaa = which

Nishaa = night

Sarva-bhootaa-naam = of all beings

Tasyaam = in that

Jaagarti = wakes

Saiyamee = the self-controlled

Yasyaam = in which

Jaagrati = wake

Bhootaani = all beings

Saa = that

Nishaa = night

PashyataH = of seeing

MuneH = of Muni

 

English translation:-

 

What is a normal night time for all beings, it is the time of waking for the

self-disciplined spiritual aspirant; and on the contrary what is the time of

waking for all beings, it is the night time for the sage with Aatman-cognising

vision.

 

Comment:

 

The word 'Samyami' in this verse refers to te Yogi who having controlled the

mind has realized God, and who has been referred to in this chapter as the Yogi,

one having a steady wisdom. This is borne out by the fact that in the second

half of the verse he has been spoken of as 'Pasyatah', which means one who is

illumined, a seer.

 

`Whatever glitters must be gold'; it is a common perception. When all beings are

attracted by glitter of sense objects, the sage with steady intellect is first

and foremost interested in deciphering the real significance behind them. He is

wakeful to the nature of reality to which the unwise is asleep or indifferent.

Similarly, what is day time or condition of activity for the unenlightened one;

for the wise, it is the night time or condition of restraint or refrain.

 

It reminds me of a quote by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, the famous German

Philosopher, " An Error stand in same relation to a truth, as state of sleeping

is to state of waking " .

 

The same mortal world generates different perceptions that lead to different

avenues to different people; in accordance with their mental dispositions and

intellectual frameworks.

 

In this verse, two opposite points of view namely that of the ignorant and of

the wise are contrasted.

 

" With the realisation of God, everything undergoes transformation to a Jnani. It

is the God Himself that has become the phenomenal universe and all the beings in

it. The son is then perceived as Bala-Krishna. Father and mother undergo

metamorphosis as the Divinity. The wife is no more his pleasure-mate, he sees

the Cosmic Mother in her. Recognising God in all, adoration to Him, takes place

through the worshipful service to all. " … Shri Ramakrishna Paramahansa

 

The majority of people are attracted by the continuous play of `Prakruti' or

`Maayaa'. They are enchanted by the sense objects and they spend the entire life

span in self-indulgent behaviour. They are wakeful to the mundane and are

indifferent to the Divine. On the contrary, a person who has conquered his

sensory organs, he is wakeful to the Divine and indifferent to the mundane. His

intuition, his concepts, his perceptions and his thought processes are in tune

with the Divinity in every living beings and non-living objects.

 

This has been very nicely portrayed in the verse 12 of chapter 9 in Shreemad

Bhagawad Geeta, wherein Lord Krishna proclaims, " The Raakshasim i.e. the

fiendish who are dominated by Tamas GuNa and who indulge in the acts of cruelty

as well as the Aasurim i.e. the demoniac who are dominated by Rajas GuNa and who

are driven by blinding ambition, unworthy pride and avarice; their aspirations,

actions and knowledge are all vain and they are devoid of real judgement as they

completely disregard the Divinity around them as they have become victims of

the deceitful nature i.e. Mohini Prakruti " .

 

Lord Krishna has indeed made a profound statement in this verse. The perceptions

and experiences of an ignorant person and an enlightened person are

diametrically opposite as night and day. What is night to all beings is a day to

a Self-realised sage. What is day to all beings is a night to a Self-realised

sage.

 

A Self-realised sage, who is ever awakened to the Supreme Consciousness, leads a

life with the knowledge of the Self replete with infinite bliss. Most of the

ordinary beings have no clue about it at all. Instead, they are caught up in the

web of conflicting perceptions and actions of physical body, random vacillations

of the impetuous mind and wavering thoughts and ideas of unsteady intellect.

Such an infatuation with deep involvement in the external world, they suffer

from constant agitation of mind and it binds them to the cycles of deaths and

rebirths in this mortal world replete with finite, ever changing and perishable

nature.

 

On the other hand, a Self-realised sage does not face any such shortcomings. He

experiences the infinite, imperishable and changeless Supreme peace and bliss.

 

Thanks & Best Regards,

Shrikant Joshi

 

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|| Shree Hari ||

Ram Ram

 

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