Gita Satsangh Chapter 12 Verses 3 to 4

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Gita Satsangh Chapter 12 Verses 3 to 4

 

Ye twaksharamanirdeshyamavyaktam paryupaasate;

Sarvatragamachintyam cha kootasthamachalam dhruvam. Verse 3

 

Sankara Bhashya (Swami Gambiranda's translation)

3. Those, however, who meditate in every way on the Immutable, the

Indefinable, the Unmanifest, which is all-pervading,

incomprehensible, change-less, immovable and constant.-

 

Ye, those; tu, however; who, pari-upasate, meditate in every way;

aksaram, on the Immutable; anirdesyam, the Indefinable-being

unmanifest, It is beyond the range of words and hence cannot be

defined; avyaktam, the Unmanifest-It is not comprehensible thrugh any

means of knowledge-.

 

Upasana, meditation, means approaching an object of meditation as

presented by the scriptures, and making it an object of one's own

thought and dwelling on it uniterruptedly for long by continuing the

same current of thought with regard to it-like a line of pouring oil.

This is what is called upasana.

 

The Lord states the characteristics of the Immutable [Here Ast.

adds 'upasyasya, which is the object of meditation'.-Tr.] :

Sarvatragam, all-pervading, pervasive like space; and acintyam,

incomprehensible-becuase of Its being unmanifest. For, whatever

comes within the range of the organs can be thought of by the mind

also. Being opposed to that, the Immutable is inconceivable. It is

kutastham, changeless. Kuta means something apparently good, but evil

inside. The word kuta (deceptive) is well known in the world in such

phrases as, 'kuta-rupam, deceptive in appearance,' 'kuta-saksyam,

false evidence', etc. Thus, kuta is that which, as ignorance etc.,

is the seed of many births, full of evil within, referred to by such

words as maya, the undifferentiated, etc., and well known from such

texts as, 'One should know Maya to be Nature, but the Lord of Maya

to be the supreme God' (Sv. 4.10), 'The divine Maya of Mine is

difficult to cross over' (7.14), etc. That which exists on that kuta

as its controller (or witness) is the kuta-stha. Or, kutastha may

mean that which exists like a heap [That is, motionless.].

 

Hence it is acalam, immovable. Since It is immovable, therefore It is

dhruvam, constant, i.e. eternal.

 

THE DEMAND OF THE DISCIPLE IS DESCRIBED IN THE FOLLOWING VERSE:

 

Samniyamyendriyagraamam sarvatra samabuddhayah;

Te praapnuvanti maameva sarvabhootahite rataah.

 

4. By fully controlling all the organs and always being even-minded,

they, engaged in the welfare of all beings, attain Me alone.

 

Samniyamya, by fully controlling, withdrawing; indriya-gramam, all

the organs; and sarvatra, always at all times; sama-buddhayah, being

even-minded-the even-minded are those whose minds remain equipoised

in getting anything desirable or undesirable; te, they, those who are

of this kind; ratah, engaged; sarva-bhuta-hite, in the welfare of all

beings prapnuvanti, attain; mam, Me; eva, alone. As regards them it

needs no saying that they attain Me, for it has been said, '.....but

the man of Knowledge is the very Self. (This is) My opinion'

(7.18). It is certainly not proper to speak of being or not being

the best among the yogis with regard to those who have attained

identity with the Lord.

 

Swami Chinmayanda's Commentary: (3 and 4 combined)

In the previous stanza, the essential conditions under which alone a

devotee can practice contemplation upon a Manifest-Form of the Lord

to become a steadfast Yogi were described. In these two stanzas, Lord

Krishna is trying to describe those who meditate upon the Unmanifest-

Form of the Lord.

IMPERISHABLE (Akshara) --- All those that have forms and qualities

are substances and all substances are perishable. The Imperishable

is, therefore, that which has no qualities. Qualities alone can be

perceived, and it implies that it is impossible for the sense organs

to perceive the Imperishable.

 

INDEFINABLE (Anirdeshyam) --- Definitions are always in terms of

perceived experiences and when a thing is imperceptible, naturally,

it cannot be defined and distinguished from other things.

ALL-PERVADING (sarvatra-gam) --- The Infinite that has no qualities,

that is not manifest, that which is, therefore, Indefinable, should

necessarily be All-pervading and existing everywhere. If the Supreme

can be indicated as not existing in any place, then the Supreme will

have a particular shape. And that which has a shape will perish.

UNTHINKABLE (Achintyam) --- That which can be conceived of by a human

mind will immediately become the object of feelings and thoughts and

since all objects are perishable, the Imperishable must necessarily

be Inconceivable, Incomprehensible, and Unthinkable.

 

UNCHANGING (Kootasthah) --- The Self, the Consciousness, remains

unchanged even though it is the substratum on which all changes

constantly take place. ' Koota' in Sanskrit, is an " anvil. " Just as

the iron block in a smithy's workshop, without itself undergoing any

change, allows other pieces of iron to be beaten out on it, and

changed into any shape; so too, the Consciousness allows our

personalities to grow well or ill in contact with It.

IMMOVABLE (Achalam) --- Motion is change in the time-space system. A

thing can never move in itself; it can do so only to a point in space

and time where it is not already. Here, now, I remain in my chair. I

can move to another place to occupy it in the coming minute. But here

and now in my own chair, I cannot move in myself, since I pervade the

whole of me. The Infinite is All-pervading and there is no point in

space or time where It is not, and therefore, the Infinite cannot

move. It is here, there, everywhere; It has the past, the present and

the future IN it.

 

ETERNAL (Dhruvam) --- That which can change is a thing that is

conditioned by time and space. But the Supreme, the Substratum of

all, at all times and in all places, is the One that supports the

very play of time and space, and therefore, these two factors cannot

condition the Infinite. Consciousness, which is the Infinite Self in

us, is the same everywhere and at all times --- in our childhood,

youth and old age, in all places and at all times --- and in all

conditions of joy and sorrow or success and failure. It is only when

we come down to the levels of our intellect, mind, and body, that we

step into Einstein's world with its Relativity Theory in the play of

time and space. The Supreme is unconditioned by time; It is the ruler

of time. It is Eternal.

 

We must note that all these terms used here are expressions borrowed

from our Upanishads to indicate that which provides the Eternal

substratum for the ever-changing universe of names and forms,

behaviours and happenings, perceptions and feelings, thoughts and

experiences. Meditation upon the Lord, symbolised-in-the-form,

demands three unavoidable conditions.

 

HAVING RESTRAINED ALL THE SENSES --- To dissipate our energies

through the sense organs is the vulgar hobby of the thoughtless

mortal. A seeker, who is aspiring to reach the summit of Perfection

and rule over the state of deathless joy, must necessarily curtail

such dissipations and redirect the energies so conserved for the

higher flight. The sense organs are the real gateways through which

the disturbing world of plurality steals in, to storm our inner bosom

and plunge us into destruction. It is again through the organs-of-

action that the mind gushes out into the world-of-objects. These two

transactions break up our harmonious equipoise and steady balance.

Krishna rightly emphasizes here that, if a meditator is to succeed in

the 'Path-of-Meditation' he must cultivate a habit of living with his

senses in control.

 

ALWAYS EQUANIMOUS --- The second of the conditions that has been

prescribed here by the Lord for a successful meditator is his

intellectual equanimity in all conditions and experiences. It is very

foolish indeed for a thinker to hope for a condition in life, wherein

no disturbance from the outer world can reach him to distract his

meditation. Such a perfect condition is impossible. The things of the

world in themselves and in their patterns keep on changing. In such a

kaleidoscopic design of existence, it is indeed unintelligent to

expect any desirable system to remain continuously for the benefit of

a seeker's steady practice. Such a thing is impossible. In the world-

of-change, therefore, a seeker must discover his own balance and

equipoise, by controlling his intellectual evaluations, mental

attachments and physical contacts with the world outside.

The intelligent relationship maintained by a seeker towards the world

outside, whereby he experiences a uniform steadiness in himself, in

spite of the mad revelry of things and beings around him, is called

the condition of equanimity. He, who has developed the right sense of

discrimination, can easily watch for and see the golden chord of

Beauty that holds together all that is enchanting and grotesque

constituting the outer world. This capacity is called Sama-buddhi.

My child may be dirty at one moment, mischievous at another;

screaming in the morning, laughing in the noon; bullying in the

evening and wild at night! Yet, through all such conditions, the

father in me sees but one and the same son, therefore, I give my love

equally in all these different manifestations of my own son. This is

a loving father's Sama-buddhi. In the same way, true seeker learns to

recognise the Lord-of-his-heart in grim tragedies, in the pleasant

comedies, in the tremendous successes, in the sighing sorrows and in

the disappointing failures in his own day-to-day life. Therefore, he

becomes equanimous intellectually.

 

INTENT ON THE WELFARE OF ALL BEINGS --- Enumerating the third of the

qualifications necessary for a successful meditator, the Lord says

that he should ever be self-dedicated in serving at his best, to all

beings. It is impossible for anyone, as long as he is in the

embodiment, to give all his mind and intellect, at all times, towards

the higher contemplation. He must necessarily come in contact with

the world and react to it. In all such activities, a seeker should

be, by the very nature of his philosophy, one who is ever devoted in

tirelessly serving the entire living kingdom. Love for all beings

becomes his creed.

 

Thus, if the meditators, fixing their mind upon the Imperishable, the

Unmanifest, are able to control their sense organs, keep themselves

equanimous and make it their nature to serve others, they too, " REACH

ME ALONE. " Krishna declares that they too reach the same goal, the

Supreme Self.

 

The question as raised by Arjuna is rather of a controversial nature,

while Krishna's answer to it is a declaration of an incontrovertible

truth. Here, the great divine philosopher points out how both the

Paths take the practitioner to one and the same goal, and the same

general rules of conduct in their dealing with the world are here

clearly prescribed for both of them. Whether the devotee is seeking

his spiritual unfoldment through meditation upon a personal, or an

impersonal God, the result achieved, it is shown, remains the same,

if the disciplines required of him are all fully and faithfully

followed.

 

BUT, GENERALLY SPEAKING TO THE MAJORITY, THE LORD ADDS:

[Guest guest]

Om Shri Ganapathaye Namah!

praNAms Advaitins,

 

Though this chapter is said to emphasize the worship of the manifest, with

the reason that it is the practicality of the worship that is more

important, we should observe that this verse (12.3) gives a lot of keywords

on defining the nirguNa brahman itself, as well as aspects of worship of the

unmanifest (avyakta upaasana).

 

Hence I feel that this verse should be supplemented with some verses from

the prayer of Gajendra to the unmanifest supreme, in the episode of Gajendra

Moksham (from chapter 8.3 of Srimad Bhagavatham). Among the many jewels over

there, let us pick two to understand the nature of object of worship of the

unmanifest (avyakta-upaasana).

 

[Note: The translation from Sanskrit is mine. The learned members of the

group can kindly correct the mistakes.]

 

tamakSharaM brahma paraM paresham avyakta AdhyAtmikayogagamyam

atIndriyaM sUkShmamivAtidUram ananta AdyaM paripUrNamIDe ||

[sBG. 8.3.20]

 

I bow to the indestructible, greater than even the creator, the supreme

lord, the unmanifest, the goal of the Self-seekers, beyond the reach of the

senses (being too subtle to be reached by them), infinite, the origin of

everything and one that is complete.

 

sa vai na devAsuramartyatirya~Nna strI na ShaNDho na pumAnna jantuH

nAyaM guNaH karma na sanna chAsan niShedhasheSho jayatAdasheShaH ||

[sBG. 8.3.24]

 

It (nirguNa brahman, also the same as Self) is neither the gods nor the

asura, nor an object that dies (martya usually refers to a human), nor a

bird. It is neither a woman, nor a man, nor something in between, nor a

beast. It neither has any guNAs, nor any doership. It is neither existence

nor non-existence. It is the one that remains when everything else is

negated.

 

One can easily see the beauty of this shloka, which uses the classic

upanishadic negation (neti-neti) and negates everything that is

objectifiable.

 

A side note on such negation: If we compare this negation with the one used

by Hiranyakasipu (in chapter SBG 7.3), when he was asking the creator the

list of entities that would not be able to kill him, we will be surprised by

the similarity. The only difference in these two being that there was a

desire left in Hiranyakasipu to conquer, and hence he was listing entities.

Gajendra on the other hand was using it for upaasana (worship) purposes for

crossing the barrier of avidya. We all know how each of these stories ended!

 

==

Beyond the above note, the above verse (BG 12.3) contains many keywords in

understanding Gita. Ideally, someone can see how each of the words used in

verse 12.3 (aksharam anirdeshaM avyak{}taM sarvatragam achi.ntya.n

kuuTasthaM achala.n dhruvam.h) changes its use across the Gita. Here, I am

going to concentrate on only one word: 'kuuTastha'.

 

kuuTastha is usually translated as immutable or unchanging. The

traditional way to explain this word is either to use a mountain top

or an anvil. This word comes up in the Gita 3 times. Here, they are listed

with Swami Gambirananda's translation.

 

1. 6.8 kuutasTho-vijitendriyah: One whose mind is satisfied with knowledge

and realization, who is unmoved, who has his organs under control, is

said to be Self-absorbed. The yogi treats equally a lump of earth, a

stone and gold.

2. 12.3 kuuTastham-achalam-dhruvam: Those, however, who meditate in every

way on the Immutable, the Indefinable, the Unmanifest, which is

all-pervading, incomprehensible, change-less, immovable and constant ...

3. 15.16 kuuTastho-akshara-uchyate: There are two persons in the world. The

mutable and the immutable. The mutable consists of all things;

 

We will see how we can derive the mahAvAkya tat-tvam-asi by just looking at

how Lord Krishna has uses this word across different chapters.

 

The first thing to note is the partitioning of the Gita into three sections

of six chapters each, with the first six dealing with the tvam part (the

individual), the next six dealing with tat part (the supreme), and the final

six chapters dealing with equating the two: " the asi part " .

 

Given that background, one can quickly observe that this word occurs at all

key places in the three units! The first and second uses are in the final

sections of first and second sections respectively, while the third use is

in the crucial fifteenth chapter, where many upanishadic allegories

are used and rephrased.

 

So, here is what Lord Krishna saying in these three uses.

 

The tvam part: If you disassociate from the indriyas, and become

equanimous, you become the become ready for vedantic knowlede.

 

The tat part: You should associate more with the tat-pada, the one that is

immutable. In the next verse (12.4) itself, the Lord emphasizes

'samabuddhayaaH'. It is as if He is asking us to not forget the basic

samatvam (equanimity) aspect, which was mentioned in verse 6.8.

 

Now that we have the jiiva who has left his identity with his lower self,

and is equanimous in all matters, (just like an anvil) and firmly

established in the upaasana of the immutable, either the manifest form or

unmanifest " form " ), what is left?

 

asi: " You are that " ! brahma-vid-brahmaiva bhavathi. You become what you

worship. The worm becomes the wasp. The pot space is not different from the

all pervading space!

 

In fact, the association with the total space is the only thing that the

jiiva should do, for losing his notion of limitedness. For that he has to be

equanimous in daily life and worship (and hence associate himself) with the

eternal absolute, either in the manifest or unmanifest forms, or even

through a jnAnA YaGnya as in 9.15.

 

(I should thankfully acknowledge that this notes is based on Prof. VK's

writings and the material in Prof. Ranade's book. Some reference material

is in posts: 35129 and 39803.)

 

On the topic of kuTastha, The following verse from the prayer of Dhruva

of Simad Bhagavatham, explained beautifully by Shri Prof. VK-ji, is worth

reading.

 

http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Rhodes/2952/gohitvip/92page14.html

 

praNAms to all Advaitins,

Ramakrishna