Gita Satsangh Chapter 13 Verses 22 & 23

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Dandavat pranams to all!Gita Satsangh Chapter 13 Verses 22 & 23To listen to Swami Brahmanananda of the Chinmaya Mission chanting this Chapter...

Purushah prakritistho hi bhungkte prakritijaan gunaan; Kaaranam gunasango’sya sadasadyoni janmasu. (22)22. The soul seated in Nature experiences the qualities born of Nature; attachment to the qualities is the cause of his birth in good and evil wombs. Sankara Bhashya (Swami Gambiranda's Translation and Commentary)

22. Since the soul is seated in Nature, therefore it experiences the qualities born of Nature. Contact with the qualities is the cause of its births in good and evil wombs.Hi, since; purusah, the soul, the experiencer; is prakrtisthah, seated in Nature, which is characterized as ignorance and gets transformed into body and organs, i.e., (since the soul) has become identified with Nature; therefore, bhunkte, [bhunkte, lit. enjoys, here means 'experiences'.-Tr.] it enjoys, i.e. experiences; gunan, the qualities-manifest as happiness, sorrow and delusion; prakrtijan, born of Nature, thinking thus, 'I am happy, sorrowful, deluded, learned.' Even though ignorance continues as a cause, still the main cause of worldly existence, of birth, is the contact, the self-identification, with the qualities-happiness,sorrow, and delusion-when they are experienced, as is affirmed by the Upanisadic text, 'What it desires, it resolves' (Br. 4.4.5) [see Sankaracarya's Comm. on this.-Tr.].That very fact is stated here: Gunasangah, contact with the qualities; is karanam, the cause; asya, of its, the soul's, the experiencer's; sad-asad-yoni-janmasu, births in good and evil wombs. Self-identification with the qualities is the cause of the experience of births in good and evil wombs. Or the meaning is, 'Self-identification with the qualities is the cause or its worldly existence through birth in good and evil wombs,' where the words 'of worldly existence' have to be supplied. The good wombs are the wombs of gods and others; evil wombs are the wombs of gods and others; evil wombs are the wombs of beasts etc. From the force of the context it is to be understood that there is no contradiction in including even human wombs among 'good and evil wombs'.It amounts to saying that ignorance-called 'being seated in Nature'-and the contact with. i.e. the desire for, the qualities are the causes of worldly existence. And this is said so that they can be avoided. And in the scripture Gita it is a well-known fact that knowledge and dispassion, accompanied with renunciation, are the causes of removing this (ignorance and self-identification with the qualities). That knowledge about the field and the Knower of the field, too, has been presented earlier. This has also been said in, '....by realizing which one attains Immortality' (12), etc., through the process of refutation of elements alien (to the Self) and superimposition of qualities belonging to others (that are not the Self). [Verse 12 deals with the refutation of alien elements, and vere 13 with the superimposition of qualities belonging to others.]A direct presentation is again being made of that (knowledge) itself:Swami Chinmayananda's Translation and Commentary 22. The PURUSHA, seated in PRAKRITI, experiences the qualities born of PRAKRITI; attachment to the qualities is the cause of his birth in good and evil wombs.

PURUSHA RESTS SEATED IN PRAKRITI --- The Purusha (Spirit) has no samsara. But the "Knower of-the-Field," Purusha, when It identifies Itself with the "Field" (Prakriti), becomes the experiencer. He identifies with the body and the senses which are the effects of Prakriti.

HE EXPERIENCES THE QUALITIES BORN OF PRAKRITI --- The sensations arising out of the matter-envelopments (Prakriti) such as pleasure and pain, heat and cold, success and failure etc., constitute the painful shackles on the "Knower-of-the-Field." The destinies of Matter become the tragic experiences of the Spirit, not because they are in the Spirit, but because the Spirit unnecessarily makes an unhealthy contact, through its own identification, with the realm of sorrow.

He not only experiences the joys and sorrows in life but also develops a blind attachment to them and this is "THE CAUSE FOR ITS BIRTH IN GOOD OR EVIL WOMBS.As its desire, so is its will" is a scriptural declaration of an eternal truth. While living in the world, the "Knower-of-the-Field" experiences the pleasures and joys interpreted by the world-of-Matter and gets attached to them, and thereby develops residual impressions (vasanas), and takes to conductive fields where it can eke out its cherished satisfaction through vivid experiences.

When the Spirit, eternally joyous and infinitely all-full, orders a "Field" and identifies Itself with it, It becomes the "Knower-of-the-Field" (Purusha). The Spirit, as Purusha, suffers its own delusory samsara, because, having entered the field in its pre-occupation with the world-of-objects, and in its clinging attachment to the "Field," it looks, as though it has forgotten its own nature divine. Thus, 'ignorance'(avidya), and attachment to the "Field," are the two causes because of which the Satchidananda seems to have become the miserable, bemoaning, tearful, samsarin. The re-discovery of the Self and the awakening to our spiritual nature would, therefore, be through the path of (a) detachment from the "Field" and (b) experience of the Real-Knowledge; vairagya and viveka are the means for regaining the God in ourselves.

THE LORD CONTINUES TO TEACH US DIRECTLY WHAT THAT "SAVING KNOWLEDGE" IS:

23. The Supreme Soul in this body is also called the spectator, the permitter, the supporter, the enjoyer, the great Lord and the Supreme Self.

Ya evam vetti purusham prakritim cha gunaih saha; Sarvathaa vartamaano’pi na sa bhooyo’bhijaayate. (23)Sankara Bhashya (Swami Gambiranda's Translation and Commentary)

23. He who is the Witness, the Permitter, the Sustainer, the Experiencer, the great Lord, and who is also spoken of as the transcendental Self is the supreme Person in this body.

He who is the upadrasta, Witness, who while staying nearby does not Himself become involved: As when the priests and the performer of a sacrifice remain engaged in duties connected with the sacrifice, there is another (called Brahma) remaining nearby who is unengaged, is versed in the science of sacrifices and witnesses the merit or demerit of the activities of the priest and the performer of the sacrifice, similarly, He who is not engaged in the activities of and is different from the body and organs, who has characteristics other than theirs, and is the proximate (upa) observer (drasta) of the body and organs engaged in their duties, is the upa-drasta.

Or: The observers are the body, eyes, mind, intellect and the soul. Of them the body is the external observer. Proceeding inwards from that (body), the Self is the inmost as also the proximate observer, compared with which there is no other higher and inner observer. The Self, because of being the most proximate observer, is the upadrasta. Or, It is the upadrasta since, like the non-looker of a sarifice, It witness everything.

And He is the anu-manta, Permitter: Anumananam, approval, means satisfaction with those performers (viz body and organs) as also their perfomances. The agent of that (approval) is the anumanta. Or, He is the anumanta since, even though Himself not engaged in the activities of the body and organs, He appears to be favourably disposed towards and engaged in them. Or, He is the anumanta because, when the body and organs are engaged in their own functions, He remains as a witness and never dissuades them.

It is the bharta, Sustainer: Bharanam means the continuance in their own state of the body, organs, mind and intellect, which reflect consciousness and have become aggregated owing to the need of serving the purpose [Viz enjoyment, or Liberation.-Tr.] of some other entity, viz the conscious Self. And that (continuance) is verily due to the consciousness that is the Self. In this sense the Self is said to be the Sustainer.

It is the bhokta, Experiencer: As heat is by fire, similarly, the experiences of the intellect-in the form of happiness, sorrow and delusion in relation to all objects-, when born as though permeated by the consciousness that is the Self, are manifested differently by the Self which is of the nature of eternal Consciousness. In this sense the Self is said to be the Experiencer.

He is maheswarah, the great God, because, as the Self of all and independent, He is the great Ruler.

He is paramatma, the transcendental Self, because He is the Self which has the characteristics of being the supreme Witness etc. of (all) those-beginning from the body and ending with the intellect-which are imagined through ignorance to be the indwelling Self. He is api ca, also; uktah, spoken of, referred to, in the Upanisads; iti, as, with the words; 'He is the indwelling One, the paramatma, the transcendental Self.' [Ast reads atah in place of antah. So the translation of the sentence will be: Therefore He is also referred to as the transcendental Self in the Upanisads.-Tr.] Where is He? The parah, suprem; purusah, Person, who is higher than the Unmanifest and who will be spoken of in, 'But different is the supreme Person who is spoken of as the transcendental Self' (15.17); is asmin, in this; dehe, body.

 

What has been presented in, '....also understand Me to be the Knower of the field' (2), has been explained and conclude.Swami Chinmayananda's Translation and Commentary

 

23. The supreme PURUSHA in this body is also called the Spectator, the Permitter, the Supporter, the Enjoyer, the great Lord and the Supreme Self.

As a contrast to this deluded sorrowful "Knower-of-the-Field," Purusha, there is the Pure Spirit uncontaminated by the "Field." The moon in the bucket is the reflected moon and for every reflection that dances with the conditionings of the reflecting surface, there must be a real object. The reflection is always conditioned by the reflecting medium while the object reflected is never contaminated by the changes in the reflecting surface. It is completely independent of all conditions.

The "Knower-of-the-Field" is "Knowledge" or Conscious-ness conditioned by the "Field." Naturally, therefore, there must be a Knowledge, in fact totally unconditioned, which appears conditioned, when it plays in the realm of its conditionings.

Thus, in this stanza, Krishna mentions for the purpose of his scientific analysis and investigation, two Purushas; the LOWER, which has already been described and indicated as the "Knower-of-the-Field," and the HIGHER, which is the Pure Consciousness unconditioned by Prakriti. Both of them function "in this body."

This Supreme Self is indicated in tems of what it looks like in Its silent manifestations when the matter equipments (Prakriti) are weaving their different patterns. When an individual is completely deluded and totally unconscious of the Self, in and through him the Infinite Divine expresses Himself as though He is only an "onlooker" (Upadrashtaa); that is to say when a person murders an innocent victim, the Infinite All-powerful Lord expresses through that criminal's vehicle only as a silent spectator of it all (Upadrashtaa). When proper actions are undertaken, the mind is in a quiet mood. When the individual actor is not totally forgetful of the Self, in such a being, the Supreme expresses Himself as a "Permitter" (Anumantaa).

When proper actions are done with full consciousness of the Self and in a spirit of total surrender to the Lord, the Lord is the "fulfiller" (Bhartaa). Such actions are filled with success by His grace. He aids, as it were, the fulfilment of all such activities.

When, with entire dedication unto Him the individual is completely a Yoga-Yuktah, in his Eternal Conscious nature (Nitya Chaitanya Swaroopa), It seems to be the very "enjoyer" (Bhoktaa). The stanza concludes by saying that the great Ishwara, the Lord of Lords (Maheshwara) is the Higher Self in this very same body.

HOW DOES THE ONE WHO KNOWS THE HIGHER SELF, UNCONDITIONED BY THE "FIELD," REACT IN LIFE?

 

to be continued...

Hare Krishna!!!

 

[Guest guest]

Namaste Satsanghis:

 

Please make the following correction to the verse #23 (mistaken to verse #24) of

chapter 13.

 

Here is the correct verse and please note that translation and the reported

commentary are correct except for the transliterated verse.

 

This is an inadvertant error happened because the verses and commentaries are

taken from two sources. As you may recall, some books start with verse #2 as

verse #1 by omitting the verse spoken by Arjuna. This problem will not happen in

the rest of the chapters since the verse #s remain the same all books.

 

With my warmest regards,

 

Ram Chandran

 

upadrashhTaanumantaa cha bhartaa bhoktaa maheshvaraH .

paramaatmeti chaapyukto dehe.asminpurushhaH paraH .. 13\.23..

 

23. The Supreme Soul in this body is also called the spectator, the permitter,

the supporter, the enjoyer, the great Lord and the Supreme Self.

 

Sankara Bhashya

(Swami Gambiranda's Translation and Commentary)

23. He who is the Witness, the Permitter, the Sustainer, the Experiencer, the

great Lord, and who is also spoken of as the transcendental Self is the supreme

Person in this body.

 

He who is the upadrasta, Witness, who while staying nearby does not Himself

become involved: As when the priests and the performer of a sacrifice remain

engaged in duties connected with the sacrifice, there is another (called Brahma)

remaining nearby who is unengaged, is versed in the science of sacrifices and

witnesses the merit or demerit of the activities of the priest and the performer

of the sacrifice, similarly, He who is not engaged in the activities of and is

different from the body and organs, who has characteristics other than theirs,

and is the proximate (upa) observer (drasta) of the body and organs engaged in

their duties, is the upa-drasta.

Or: The observers are the body, eyes, mind, intellect and the soul. Of them the

body is the external observer. Proceeding inwards from that (body), the Self is

the inmost as also the proximate observer, compared with which there is no other

higher and inner observer. The Self, because of being the most proximate

observer, is the upadrasta. Or, It is the upadrasta since, like the non-looker

of a sarifice, It witness everything.

And He is the anu-manta, Permitter: Anumananam, approval, means satisfaction

with those performers (viz body and organs) as also their perfomances. The

agent of that (approval) is the anumanta. Or, He is the anumanta since, even

though Himself not engaged in the activities of the body and organs, He appears

to be favourably disposed towards and engaged in them. Or, He is the anumanta

because, when the body and organs are engaged in their own functions, He remains

as a witness and never dissuades them.

It is the bharta, Sustainer: Bharanam means the continuance in their own state

of the body, organs, mind and intellect, which reflect consciousness and have

become aggregated owing to the need of serving the purpose [Viz enjoyment, or

Liberation.-Tr.] of some other entity, viz the conscious Self. And that

(continuance) is verily due to the consciousness that is the Self. In this

sense the Self is said to be the Sustainer.

It is the bhokta, Experiencer: As heat is by fire, similarly, the experiences

of the intellect-in the form of happiness, sorrow and delusion in relation to

all objects-, when born as though permeated by the consciousness that is the

Self, are manifested differently by the Self which is of the nature of eternal

Consciousness. In this sense the Self is said to be the Experiencer.

He is maheswarah, the great God, because, as the Self of all and independent, He

is the great Ruler.

He is paramatma, the transcendental Self, because He is the Self which has the

characteristics of being the supreme Witness etc. of (all) those-beginning from

the body and ending with the intellect-which are imagined through ignorance to

be the indwelling Self. He is api ca, also; uktah, spoken of, referred to, in

the Upanisads; iti, as, with the words; 'He is the indwelling One, the

paramatma, the transcendental Self.' [Ast reads atah in place of antah. So the

translation of the sentence will be: Therefore He is also referred to as the

transcendental Self in the Upanisads.-Tr.] Where is He? The parah, suprem;

purusah, Person, who is higher than the Unmanifest and who will be spoken of in,

'But different is the supreme Person who is spoken of as the transcendental

Self' (15.17); is asmin, in this; dehe, body.

 

What has been presented in, '....also understand Me to be the Knower of the

field' (2), has been explained and conclude.

 

Swami Chinmayananda's Translation and Commentary

23. The supreme PURUSHA in this body is also called the Spectator, the

Permitter, the Supporter, the Enjoyer, the great Lord and the Supreme Self.

As a contrast to this deluded sorrowful " Knower-of-the-Field, " Purusha, there is

the Pure Spirit uncontaminated by the " Field. " The moon in the bucket is the

reflected moon and for every reflection that dances with the conditionings of

the reflecting surface, there must be a real object. The reflection is always

conditioned by the reflecting medium while the object reflected is never

contaminated by the changes in the reflecting surface. It is completely

independent of all conditions.

The " Knower-of-the-Field " is " Knowledge " or Conscious-ness conditioned by the

" Field. " Naturally, therefore, there must be a Knowledge, in fact totally

unconditioned, which appears conditioned, when it plays in the realm of its

conditionings.

Thus, in this stanza, Krishna mentions for the purpose of his scientific

analysis and investigation, two Purushas; the LOWER, which has already been

described and indicated as the " Knower-of-the-Field, " and the HIGHER, which is

the Pure Consciousness unconditioned by Prakriti. Both of them function " in this

body. "

This Supreme Self is indicated in tems of what it looks like in Its silent

manifestations when the matter equipments (Prakriti) are weaving their different

patterns. When an individual is completely deluded and totally unconscious of

the Self, in and through him the Infinite Divine expresses Himself as though He

is only an " onlooker " (Upadrashtaa); that is to say when a person murders an

innocent victim, the Infinite All-powerful Lord expresses through that

criminal's vehicle only as a silent spectator of it all (Upadrashtaa). When

proper actions are undertaken, the mind is in a quiet mood. When the individual

actor is not totally forgetful of the Self, in such a being, the Supreme

expresses Himself as a " Permitter " (Anumantaa).

When proper actions are done with full consciousness of the Self and in a spirit

of total surrender to the Lord, the Lord is the " fulfiller " (Bhartaa). Such

actions are filled with success by His grace. He aids, as it were, the

fulfilment of all such activities.

When, with entire dedication unto Him the individual is completely a

Yoga-Yuktah, in his Eternal Conscious nature (Nitya Chaitanya Swaroopa), It

seems to be the very " enjoyer " (Bhoktaa). The stanza concludes by saying that

the great Ishwara, the Lord of Lords (Maheshwara) is the Higher Self in this

very same body.

HOW DOES THE ONE WHO KNOWS THE HIGHER SELF, UNCONDITIONED BY THE " FIELD, " REACT

IN LIFE?

 

advaitin , " Radhe " <shaantih wrote:

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>

> Ya evam vetti purusham prakritim cha gunaih saha;

> Sarvathaa vartamaano'pi na sa bhooyo'bhijaayate. (23)

>