Manifest and Unmanifest in the Gita

[Guest guest]

Hari Om! Satsanghis,

 

 

This post is about the use of words avyakta (unmanifest) and its antonym

vyakta (manifest), as they appear in the Gita, with my notes. Such an

analysis is closely related to the questions that Arjuna asked at

the beginning of chapter 12, our current Gita Satsangh topic. I also found

out that just looking at the various uses of these words across Gita

enhanced my understanding of Jiva, Atma, Ishvara, the world, and Brahman.

 

We begin with a textual listing of the different occurances of the words,

[The translations of Gita verses are either Swami Gambhirananda's or Swami

Chinmayananda's.]

 

1. 2.25 avyakyo-ayam: This self is known to be unmanifest.

 

2. 2.28: avyaktaadini-bhuutaani vyakta-madhyaani ... avyakta-nidhanaanyeva

(avyakta twice and vyakta once): Beings are unmanifest in the beginning,

manifest in the middle and unmanifest in their end.

 

3. 7.24 avyaktaM vyaktimaapannaM ... (each once): The unintelligent, unaware

of My supreme state which is immutable and unsurpassable, think of Me as

the unmanifest that has become manifest.

 

4. 8.18 avyaktaad.h vyaktaya ... avyakta ... (avyakta twice and vyakta

once): At the coming of the (cosmic) day, the embodied beings emanate

(stem forth) from the unmanifest. At the coming of the cosmic night, they

dissolve truly into that alone, which is called unmanifest.

 

5. 8.20 parastasmaattu .. avyakto avyaktaa tsanaatanaH (avyakta twice):

Higher than the unmanifest, there lies another unmanifest which is

Everlasting (Eternal) which is not destroyed when all beings are

destroyed. The another unmanifest would be called as " Higher unmanifest " .

 

6. 8.21 avyakto-akshara (avyakta once) O Arjuna, these same multiple beings

are born again and again. They are dissolved (into the unmanifest)

helplessly at the coming of the night, and they come forth again at the

coming of the day.

 

7. 9.4 mayaa tatamidaM sarvam jagad-avyakta-muurthinaa (avyakta once). This

whole world is pervaded by me in My Unmanifest form.

 

8. 10.14 sarvametadR^itaM ... vyakti ... (vyakta once): Neither the Devas

not the Daanavas know your manifestation.

 

9. 12.1 evaM satatayuktaa ... avyaktaM ... (avyakta once) Those devotees

who worship you and the devotees who worship the changeless unmanifest,

which of them are better versed in the Yoga?

 

10. 12.3 ye tvaksharamanirdeshyaM avyaktaM ... (avyakta once) Those who

worship the Changeless, Indefinable, the Unmanifest, .... they also come

to Me.

 

11. 12.5 klesho.adhikatarasteshhaa.n avyaktaa ... avyaktaahi gatirduHkha.n

(2 times avyakta): Greater is their trouble whose minds are set on the

Unmanifest; for the goal, the Unmanifest is very hard for the embodied

to reach.

 

12. 13.6 mahaabhuutaanyaha.nkaaro ... avyaktameva (avyakta once): The five

elements, egoism, intellect and also the unmanifest (muula-prakriti) ...

these are kshetra.

 

Here are my comments, reflecting my current understanding.

 

2.25 and 2.28: These two verses give the definitions, and set the tone for

the two selves of the individual: the immutable Atman, that is unmanifest

and never-decaying. and the mutable jiva. The jiva goes through the cycle of

birth and death, until it stops identification with the part that takes

birth and dies. This concept of two selves reaches its pinnacle in the final

verses of chapter 15, where again the Lord makes a separation.

 

7.24 and 9.11: I think that verse 7.24 should be read along with 9.11, where

the Lord again cautions against a similar misconception. In 9.11 He says,

" Not knowing My supreme nature as the Lord of all beings, foolish people

disregard Me who have taken a human body. "

 

It is simple to think that either of 7.24 or 9.11 are referring to ajnaanis,

the unwise, who are confused between the manifest and the unmanifest, with

the verses themselves glorifying avataara-mahimaa (as in 4.6-4.9) or the

vibhuutiis of the Lord (as in chapter 10) each of which are His divine

glories.

 

The right way to understand these shlokas, as I think, is to bring in verse

13.2 (or 13.3 in some versions): kshetraj~na.n chaapi maa.n viddhi

sarvakshetreshhu bhaarata where the Lord explains the difference between

kshetra and kshetraj~na. The seer is the kshetraj~na and the seen object is

the kshetra. The whole manifest universe, including our BMI complex, is the

kshetra. The ones who know the difference between these two are the wise

ones.

 

With the above understanding, the unwise ones of 7.24 and 9.11 could be

interpreted are either of the following: (a) the ones that get confused

between the manifest and the unmanifest as they think that beyond this

manifest universe is the unmanifest universe, in potential form, that has to

be worshipped. They do not know that the seed has the the same order of

reality as the tree, as the seed itself comes from a tree! (b) the ones that

do not know that the kshetra, the matter, can never be the Lord of all

beings. The matter only has a material existence. Brahman, whose nature is

both transcendent and immanent, can never be the matter, and has the only

Lord of the universe, whatever form the universe may be.

 

In the former verse, Lord Krishna uses the word 'abuddhaya', while in the

latter the word used is 'muuDhaa'. If there is a hierarchy between these

two, I do not know. But, to the misconceptions themselves, the Lord Himself

suggested a cure and the result.

 

The cure for the misconception of 7.24 and 9.11 has been explained in 10.10,

while in verse 15.10 the result has been hinted at. In the former, the Lord

uses a special term buddhiyogaM for the rescue of the sincere

seekers. In the latter, while explaining the result, he clearly says:

vimuuDhaa naanupashyanti pashyanti GYaanachakshushhaH: " the wise can see Me

with eyes of knowledge " . he interesting thing is, 15.19 mentions both the

cure and the result! Instead of adding my comments, I just quote the divine

wisdom:

 

yo maamevamasaMmuuDho jaanaatipurushhottamam.h .

sa sarvavidbhajati maaM sarvabhaavena bhaarata .. 15.19..

 

" O scion of the Bharata dynasty, he who, being free from delusion, knows Me

the supreme Person thus, he is all-knowing and adores Me with his whole

being. "

 

8.18, 8.20, 8.21: In 8.18 and 8.21, the primary subject matter is prakriti

and the jiva. The jivaas get created and destroyed. So does the world. The

unmanifest-manifest-unmanifest cycle is similar to 2.28, but at a

cosmological level. This world itself, could be in potential (unmanifest)

form or in manifest form. Beyond even the potential form (or unmanifest

form) of the world is the unmanifest consciousness, that is the witness.

That witness is the kshetraj~na for the world including the BMI complex of

the individual.

 

On manifest and unmanifest creation, we should not forget verse 2 of Shri

Dakshinamurthy Stotram (biija-syaantarivaankuro jagadidam), where the

creation theory is clearly explained by Adi Shankara, using the analogy of a

seed. Shri Dakshinamurthy, is the unmanifest consciousness who is the Maha

yogi who can conjure up this vyaavahaaric world, like a magician conjures up

His magic.

 

On the manifest and unmanifest forms of the universe, we should also

not forget names 397-399 in the Lalitha Sahasranamam, where the Divine

Mother is called not only the muula-prakriti, and the avyakta, but also the

nature that is manifest and unmanifest.

 

The tree is in the seed. Also, the seed is in the tree. But beyond the seed

and the tree is the " is-ness " , of either of them. That " is-ness " is common

to both the tree and the seed and exists independent of either of them. That

is what is to be worshipped (8.20), with worshipping being a means of

identification. But if the seeker considers worshipping that to be

difficult, he should do as the Lord says in the verses of chapter 12.

 

9.4 and 10.14: In 9.4, the Lord is affirming that He is the Lord of the

Universe. In 10.14, Arjuna is echoing the Lord that he knows that the

unmanifest has come teach Him, and affirming His qualification for further

study. (Compare this with 7.24 and 9.11.)

 

12.1, 12.3, 12.5: Here Arjuna, being able to understand the crucial

difference between manifest and unmanifest, is asking about the differences

in the sense of upaasana (worship). The avyakta of 12.3 is the same

unmanifest as the " higher unmanifest " of 8.20.

 

13.6: This is the same unmanifest as the first unmanifest of 8.20 or of

8.18, either of referring to muula prakriti.

 

Here is a short summary of the above notes: There is an unmanifest

individual self, which is non-different from the unmanifested supreme Self.

In " between " these two, come the notions of the world (in its manifested and

unmanifested forms) and the Ishvara. The world in either of its forms, has

does not have a higher order of reality than the individual Jiva. The Jiva

concept itself, is a notion, which can be lost by losing the identification

with its finiteness -- or more precisely, losing the mis-identification with

its finiteness -- only by worshipping the supreme-self, with worship being

a means of identification. This has been explained in the first part of

chapter 12 by Lord Krishna.

 

Krishnam Vande Jagad Gurum!

praNAms to all Advaitins,

Ramakrishna

[Guest guest]

advaitin , " Ramakrishna Upadrasta "

<uramakrishna wrote:

>

> Hari Om! Satsanghis,

>

>

> This post is about the use of words avyakta (unmanifest) and its

antonym

> vyakta (manifest), as they appear in the Gita, with my notes. Such

an

> analysis is closely related to the questions that Arjuna asked at

> the beginning of chapter 12, our current Gita Satsangh topic.

 

Namaste Shri Ramakrishna-ji

 

I think your analysis of the use of the words 'manifest'

and 'unmanifest' is excellent. I am sure it has come at the right

time when there is an ongoing doubt about the wisdom or otherwise of

use of Sanskrit words in the postings of this list. Your analysis

will help the holistic understanding of the Gita better! Thank you. I

look forward to further such analysis from you.

 

PraNAms to all advaitins.

profvk

[Guest guest]

sashTanga praNAms Shri Prof VK-ji,

 

Thanks for the very kind comments. This is part of a " keywords

in Gita " study that I began sometime back to understand the profound

meaning of the sacred text. The study itself has been inspired by the

excellent posts on Gita by you, as well as by other learned members

of the list.

 

I will post material when I think it is mature.

 

Humble praNAms again.

Ramakrishna