The divine qualities...sattwasamshuddhih

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Dandavat pranams to all!

 

Following the first two verses of Chapter 16, Bhagavan proceeds to enumerate the demonic qualities to avoid, which is what I have been posting the last few weeks. So that we do not become overwhelmed by them and in an effort to reiterate the divine qualities to cultivate, I thought I would spend some time searching for definitions and articles online regarding each divine quality much as was suggested by Shri Shyamji a few weeks ago. First, let me repost the verse in question, along with excerpts from the commentaries which accompanied it. In his post on abhayam (fearlessness), Shri Shyamji noted that fearlessness came first and examined the reason behind that. Let us note that purity of mind/heart comes next and consider that this is because such purity encompasses the divine qualities so as to be the final jump off the mountain into surrender's fearless leap.

 

 

Chapter 16- Verse 1...the divine qualitiesThe Yoga of the Division Between the Divine and the Demoniacal

 

Sri Bhagavaan Uvaacha: Abhayam sattwasamshuddhih jnaanayogavyavasthitih; Daanam damashcha yajnashcha swaadhyaayastapa aarjavam. (BG 16.1)[Declaring the first attributes of the list of the divine qualities, ] The Blessed Lord said: Fearlessness, purity of heart, steadfastness in Yoga and knowledge, alms-giving, control of the senses, sacrifice, study of scriptures, austerity and straightforwardness,

The quality of sattwasamshuddhih is translated in the Sankara bhashya to mean purity of mind. Elsewhere it is translated to mean purity of heart.

 

Chinmayananda wrote: "PURITY OF HEART --- No amount of external discipline can supply the student the positive dynamism that is the very core in all moral living. The Geeta preaches a dynamic religion, militant both in theory and practice. The Divine Charioteer is not satisfied by a tame generation of passive goodness. He wants the members of the perfect Hindu society not only to live among themselves the highest values of life, but also to burst forth with the positive glow of righteousness and bathe the entire generation of men in the light of truth and virtue --- virtue that implies honesty of intentions and purity of motives."

 

 

 

Sattva-samsuddhih is purification of one's existence and denotes purity of heart consisting of pure goodness undefiled with the taint of passion and ignorance- from Ramanuja's commentary. http://www.bhagavad-gita.org/Gita/verse-16-01.html And at http://www.hinduism.co.za/daivi.htm there is an article on the divine qualities which defines satva-samsuddhih as follows..."2.Purity of heart (Satvasamsuddhih): Purity of understanding, cleanliness of life or purity of heart. Purity of mind, i.e., giving up of cheating, hypocrisy, untruth and the like, in all dealings with the people, and doing transactions with perfect honesty and integrity is purity of heart. A purity of mind cannot be obtained without devotion to the Lord."

 

 

Without purity of the mind, the purity of the heart will be obscured like the sun behind the clouds. What reigns in the mind will reflect itself in the heart. And of course, to have purity of heart, one must be devoid of the demonic qualities, the list of which is long and cumbersome, much like the chain carried by Jacob Marley in Dicken's Christmas Carol, fresh in our minds from the recent holidays. Sincere effort will surely catch the Lord's attention and will eventually be rewarded by the cleansing touch of His Grace. Through this Grace, the shackles of the mind will be rent asunder to reveal the pristine purity of the Heart. The clouds will disperse and the sun, which was always shining omnipresent, but obscured, will now burst forth to shower its rays in all directions.

 

The most important thing about one's actions is that the goal be one of ChittaShuddhi (purity of the mind) Of course, this is indeed a goal, but one which is sanctioned, the goal of goals: nishkaama karma (desireless action), that is, action without desire for results other than as an offering to the Lord. It requires one to relinquish any claim to doership or ownership of the action and its result, which can only exist where there is also devotion to the Lord. In fact, sincere devotion to the Lord will inexorably lead to purity of heart because through devotion the heart will shine forth in divine effulgence. Our respected Sunderji had posted some of the Gita verses on the subject of ChittaSuddhi in a thread of that name a few months back and I thought it might be helpful to those who want to delve more deeply into this subject. It can be found in the message at the following link which will also lead you to the other messages in the thread. advaitin/message/45946

 

The story of Kannapar is symbolic of some aspects of the process of cleansing of the mind so that nothing remains but purity, even to the point where the fruits of good actions or karma must be renounced, given over to pure consciousness. Any identification with the body is lost, such that Kannapar was willing to even pluck his own eyes to give to the Lord. One version of this story as told by Swami Sivananda can be found at the following link: http://www.skandagurunatha.org/deities/siva/nayanars/09.asp The story is also instructive in connection with the purity of motive in puja or offerings; while Kannapar's methods of offering worship to Lord Shiva were very much in violation of the orthodox methods of worship and literally scandalized the priest of the temple, the purity of heart with which he made his offerings completey eradicated any errors in his efforts.

 

Whether this effort is in the form of bhatki (devotion) yoga, karma (action) yoga or jnana (knowledge) yoga, or a combination of each, depends upon the indvidual. The Gita outlines each of these paths and the correlative methods by which purity of mind can be achieved. The final result is, however, the same, and the purity of heart and mind needed to remain steadfast in the divine qualities will be the reward. Meditation, study of the scriptures, rituals, and nama sankeerthanam are some of the methods which aid in the process of purification. While it is true that empty rituals cannot and will not lead to divinity, performance of those rituals may give one pause to think about the purpose behind them and benefit therefrom. When purity of heart shines forth, the ritual is not done for any result but for the simple glorification of the Lord and celebration of that glory, as in the example of Kannapar.

 

Sarvabhootasthamaatmaanam sarvabhootaani chaatmani;Eekshate yogayuktaatmaa sarvatra samadarshanah.With the mind harmonised by Yoga he sees the Self abiding in all beings and all beings in the Self; he sees the same everywhere. (BG 6.29)

Yo maam pashyati sarvatra sarvam cha mayi pashyati;Tasyaaham na pranashyaami sa cha me na pranashyati.He who sees Me everywhere and sees everything in Me, he does not become separated from Me nor do I become separated from him. (BG 6.30)

 

Hare Krishna!!!