Gita Satsangh Chapter 15 Verses 18 through 20 (conclusion)

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Dandavat pranams to all!

 

Tatah padam tat parimaargitavyam

Yasmin gataa na nivartanti bhooyah;

Tameva chaadyam purusham prapadye

Yatah pravrittih prasritaa puraanee.

Then that goal should be sought after, whither having gone none returns again.

Seek refuge in that Primeval Purusha whence streamed forth the ancient activity

or energy. (BG 15.4)

 

Gita Satsangh Chapter 15 Verses 18 through 20

 

To listen to Swami Brahmanananda of the Chinmaya Mission

chanting this Chapter...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4HbuMyixulQ & feature=related

 

To listen to Meena Mahadevan of KailashMusic

chanting this Chapter...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AO-zznmflEk & feature=channel

 

Yasmaat ksharam ateeto'hamaksharaadapi chottamah;

Ato'smi loke vede cha prathitah purushottamah.

18. As I transcend the perishable and am even higher than the imperishable, I am

declared as the highest Purusha in the world and in the Vedas

 

 

Sankara Bhashya

(Swami Gambiranda's Translation and Commentary)

 

18. Since I am transcendental to the mutable and above even the immutable,

hence I am well known in the world and in the Vedas as the supreme Person.

 

Yasmat, since; aham, I; am atitah, transcendental; ksaram, to the mutable-I am

beyond the Tree of Maya, called the Peepul Tree, which this worldly existence

is; and uttamah, above, most excellent or the highest; as compared with api,

even; the akasarat, immutable, which is the seed of the Tree of worldly

existence; atah, hence, by virtue of being the most excellent as compared with

the mutable and the immutable; aham, I; am prathitah, well known; loke, in the

world; and vede, in the Vedas; as purusottamah, the supreme Person. Devoted

persons know Me thus, and poets also use this name 'Purusottama' in their poetry

etc.; they extol Me with this name.

 

Swami Chinmayananda's Translation and Commentary

 

18. As I transcend the perishable and I am even Higher than the Imperishable, I

am declared as the PURUSHOTTAMA (the Highest -PURUSHA) in the world and in the

VEDAS.

 

Explaining the very word Purushottama, Lord Krishna says that Pure Consciousness

is HIGHER than both the 'Perishable 'and the 'Imperishable.' The Perishable can

continue its processes of change only against the Imperishable Truth. It is a

scientific fact that no change is perceptible without reference to a changeless

factor. If two trains are both moving at the same speed no movement is

recognised by perceivers in both the trains. If the changes in the world of

Matter --- the body, the mind and the intellect are recognised, then there must

be a steady principle that illumines all these different changes. This constant

factor among the Perishing is called the Imperishable.

 

This illumining factor gathers its status as the " Imperishable " only with

reference to the " Perishable " realms. Once the perishable realms are

transcended, the Imperishable amidst them Itself comes to shine forth as the

Pure Infinite, which is the Purushottama. Since the Truth, Purushottama, is

experienced only on transcending both the 'Perishable' and the 'Imperishable,'

It is known by the term the 'Highest-Spirit' --- Purushottama. This term is used

to indicate the Supreme-most Self, both by the ancient sacred volumes (Vedas),

and by the poets and writers of the world.

 

NOW THE LORD SPEAKS OF THE FRUITS GAINED BY ONE WHO REALISES THE SUPREME TRUTH

AS DESCRIBED ABOVE:

 

Yo maamevam asammoodho jaanaati purushottamam;

Sa sarvavidbhajati maam sarvabhaavena bhaarata.

19. He who, undeluded, knows Me thus as the highest Purusha, he, knowing all,

worships Me with his whole being (heart), O Arjuna!

 

Sankara Bhashya

(Swami Gambiranda's Translation and Commentary)

 

 

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.

 

Bharata, O scion of the Bharata dynasty; yah, he who; asammudhah, being free

from delusion; janati, knows; mam, Me, God, having the aforesaid qualifications;

purusottamam, the supreme Person; evam, thus, in the way described, as 'I am

this One'; sah, he; is sarva-vit, all-knowing- he knows everything through

self-identification with all-, i.e. (he becomes) omniscient; and bhajati,

adores; mam, Me, existing in all things; sarva-bhavena, with his whole being,

i.e. with his mind fixed on Me as the Self of all.

 

Swami Chinmayananda's Translation and Commentary

 

 

19. He who undeluded, thus knows Me, the Supreme PURUSHA , he, all-knowing,

worships Me with his whole being, O Bharata.

 

'Undeluded' means, one who has totally detached oneself from one's wrong

identifications with body, mind, and intellect, and therefore, also from the

world of perceptions, feelings, and thoughts, which these vehicles provide.

 

THUS KNOWS ME --- To 'know' here is not a mere intellectual comprehension, but a

deep subjective spiritual apprehension. That the undeluded one thus experiences

in himself that he is the Purushottama-principle Itself, seems to be the

suggestion here.

 

Such a man who has fully identified himself with the Infinite " Me " alone is a

true devotee, who 'WORSHIPS ME WITH ALL HIS BEING'; such a one is the greatest

of devotees, declares the Geetaacharya. Identification with the beloved is

everywhere the measure of love; the greater the love, the greater is our

identification with the object of our love. Therefore, arithmetically, total

identification should be the maximum Love or devotion.

 

The Highest Spirit, Purushottama, being the Infinite Consciousness, it is the

'All-knower', inasmuch as whenever anything is known through perception,

feeling, or thought, it is the Principle of Consciousness that illumines it. One

who has transcended one's matter-equipments and has successfully sought and

discovered one's spiritual nature as the Infinite Consciousness, that

individual, as the Supreme Awareness, is indicated here as the " All-knower "

(Sarvavit).

 

THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE TRUE NATURE OF THE LORD IS THE THEME OF THIS CHAPTER AND

THE FOLLOWING CONCLUDING VERSE KRISHNA EXTOLS THIS THEME, WHICH GIVES LIBERATION

TO MAN FROM ALL HIS FLESH-BORN SORROWS, MIND-BORN AGITATIONS AND INTELLECT-BORN

RESTLESS-NESS:

 

Iti guhyatamam shaastram idamuktam mayaa'nagha;

Etadbuddhwaa buddhimaan syaat kritakrityashcha bhaarata.

20. Thus, this most secret science has been taught by Me, O sinless one! On

knowing this, a man becomes wise, and all his duties are accomplished, O Arjuna!

 

 

Sankara Bhashya

(Swami Gambiranda's Translation and Commentary)

 

Now then, having stated in this chapter the knowledge of the real nature of the

Lord, which has Liberation as its fruit, it is being euligized:

 

20. O sinless one, this most secret scripture has thus been uttered by Me.

Understanding this, one becomes wise and has his duties fulfilled, O scion of

the Bharata dynasty.

 

This guhyatamam, most secret, i.e. most mystical;- what is that?-sastram,

scripture-. Although the Gita as a whole is spoken of as the scripture, still

this chapter itself is here referred to as such, and this for eulogy as is

evident from the context. For, not only has the entire meaning of the scripture

Gita been stated here in brief, but the whole purport of the Vedas also has been

comprehended here. And it has been said, 'He who realizes it is a knower of the

Vedas' (1), 'I alone am the object to be known through all the Vedas' (15).

(Thus, this most secret scripture) iti uktam, has thus been uttered; maya, by

Me; anagha, O sinless one.

 

O scion of the Bharata dynasty, buddhva, under-standing; etat, this, the

scripture which has the purport as has been revealed; syat, one becomes;

buddhiman, wise; and krta-krtyah, has his duties fulfilled; but not otherwise.

The meaning is that what-ever a Brahmana has to do as a consequence of his

special birth (as a Brahmana), all that becomes accomplished when the reality of

the Lord is known. The idea is that nobody's duties become fulfilled in any

other way. And it has been said, 'O son of Prtha, all actions in their totality

culminate in Knowledge' (4.33). There is also a saying from Manu:

 

'This, verily, is the fulfilment of a Brahmana in particular. For, by getting

this, a twice-born has his duties fulfilled; not otherwise' (Ma. Sm. 12.93).

 

Since you have heard from Me this truth about the supreme Reality, therefore, O

scion of the Bharata dynasty, you have achieved your Goal!

 

Swami Chinmayananda's Translation and Commentary

 

 

20. Thus, this most secret science (teaching) , has been taught by Me, O sinless

one. On knowing this (a man) becomes 'wise' , and all his duties are

accomplished, O Bharata.

 

In this concluding verse Krishna says that He has taught in this chapter 'THE

MOST SECRET SCIENCE.' The spiritual science (Brahma-vidya) is termed as

'secret,' not in the sense that it should not be given out to anybody, but that

it is a knowledge which cannot, of its own accord come to anyone, unless one is

initiated into it by a 'Knower of Reality.'

 

O SINLESS ONE --- 'Sin' means an act, a feeling or a thought, which having been

perpetrated, entertained, or thought of, comes back after a time to agitate our

bosom with its insulting taunts and helpless regrets. In short, SIN is the

resultant of the past that comes to demean our self-estimate and creates in us a

lot of mental storm and consequent dissipation. One who has thus an inner

personality which carries disturbing memories of undignified acts and cruel

schemes, has indeed, a bosom that is ever agitated and restless. Such a

mind-intellect-equipment cannot consistently apply itself to any serious and

deep investigation into the subtle realm of the Pure Awareness that lies beyond

the frontiers of the intellect. Therefore, the term 'sinless' in the context

here only means " O STEADY-MINDED, ALERT AND VIGILANT STUDENT. "

 

He who has realised this PURUSHOTTAMA-STATE of Consciousness becomes 'wise,' for

he cannot thereafter make any error of judgement in life and thereby create

confusions and sorrows for himself and for others around him.

 

The second of the benefits accrued by entering the Purushottama State is the

enjoyment of a complete sense of fulfilment (Krita-krityataa) --- a total and

overwhelming joy that comes to a man when he realises that he has fully

accomplished what is expected of him. This is promised here in this verse as the

reward for the realisation of the Purushottama-stage.

 

Hari Om Tat Sat

Iti Srimad Bhagavadgeetaasoopanishatsu Brahmavidyaayaam

Yogashaastre Sri Krishnaarjunasamvaade

Purushottamayogo Naama Panchadasho'dhyaayah

 

Thus in the Upanishads of the glorious Bhagavad Gita, the science of the

Eternal, the scripture of Yoga, the dialogue between Sri Krishna and Arjuna,

ends the fifteenth discourse entitled:

 

THE YOGA OF THE SUPREME SPIRIT

 

Om Om Om Om Om

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

He who, undeluded, knows Me thus as the highest Purusha, he, knowing all,

worships Me with his whole being (heart), O Arjuna! (BG 15.19)

 

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna

Krishna Krishna Hare Hare

Hare Rama Hare Rama

Rama Rama Hare Hare