Bhagavatgita- a detailed study-chapter 7-knowledge and experience

March 30, 2009

4. bhoomiH aapo analo vaayuh kham mano budDhih eva cha

ahamkaara ithi iyam me bhinnaa prkrthiH ashtaDhaa

My nature is manifest as eightfold prkrthi, namely, earth, water, fire, wind, space , mind , intellect and ego.

5. aparaa iyam ithah thu anyaam prakrthim vidDhi me paraam

jeevabhoothaam mahaabaaho yayaa idham Dhaaryathe

My higher prakrthi is different from this lower prakrthi and it is the inner self by which all this is sustained.

6.ethath yoneeni bhoothaani sarvaaNi ithi upaDhaaraya

aham krthsnasya jagathaH prabhavaH pralayah thaThaa

Know that these two are the source of all beings. I am the origin and the end of the whole universe.

Then Krishna starts elaborating on His nature as Brahman transcendent and imminent. The unmanifest Brahman becomes manifest as stated in the upanishad 'sadhEva soumya idham agra Aseeth EkamEva advitheeyam, thadhaikshatha bahusyAm prajAyEya,' that there was only 'sath' Brahman in the beginning ,one only, without a second and it willed to become many. So Krishna says my nature , that is, the divine manifestation into universe is eightfold. ' mE bhinnA prakrthirashtaDHA.' The manifest nature consisting of earth, water, fire, air and the space along with mind and intellect , is the lower nature, aparA prakrthi. Here the elements mentioned do not denote the gross form but the subtle elements, thanmathras and the mind and intellect likewise denote their cause, the ahamkara, which is the effect of mahath, the first evolute of prakrthi.

"Apart from this lower prakrthi," says the Lord ,"is My higher nature. ".The higher self, the essential nature by which the universe is supported.. The lower nature is the field or kshethra, elucidated in a later adhyaya while the higher nature is the kshethrajna, the knower of the field, knowing which nothing else need be known as all beings originate from and dissolve into it. 'yathO vA imani bhoothAni jAyanthe yEna jAthAni jeevanthi yasmin abhisamvisanthi thadhvijinjAsava thdhbrahma,' (Taitt-III-1-1) know that to be Brahman from whom all beings originate, by whom they are sustained and into which they merge back.' Therefore ,' says the Lord, 'aham krthsanasya jagathah prabhavah pralayah thaTHA, I am the source of the world and into Me they enter in dissolution.'

The evolution of prakrthi as detailed by the school of sankhya deserves mention here.

The evolutes of Prakrthi are as follows. Prakrthi or the primordial matter is constituted of three gunas, satthva, rajas and thamas. When the gunas are in equilibrium there is no evolution and no creation. When the gunas start combining influenced by the presence of purusha, the sentient soul, the evolution starts. First evolute of prakrthi is mahath or budDhi, which in its turn gives rise to ahankara, which is of three kinds according to the three gunas, sathvik, raajasik and thaamasik. The saathvik ahankara gives rise to the ten subtle indhriyas and manas. The gross indhriyas evolve from subtle indhriyas. From the thamasik ahankara the thanmathras of sound, touch, form, taste and smell emerge. From the thanmathras which are subtle elements, the gross elements of akasa, vayu, fire, water and earth evolve.

This manifest prakrthi is termed as lower prakrthi here. Te higher prakrthi is of the Lord Himself, which Krishna elaborates in the subsequent slokas. sarvam khalu idham brahma thajjalaan, says the Upanishad, meaning all this is Brahman, because of creation, sustenance and annihilation are by Brahman. This is the transcendence and the declaration ayam aathmaa brahma denotes the imminence of Brahman. These aspects are elaborated in this chapter.

April 4, 2009

Dear Sri Guruswamy,

I also agree with your comment wholly with one exception.

It is crafted by my very dear sister (not Biological, but more than that)

Smt. Shiromani Dr. Saroja Ramanujam an erudite Sanskrit scholar and

a down to earth human being.

dASan

KST

GURUSWAMY K <vatguru

Thu, 2 Apr 2009 7:57 am

Re: Bhagavatgita- a detailed study-chapter 7-knowledge and experience

Sir,

I keep reading your elaboration of the geetha. Lot of efforts have gone in

On Thu, Apr 2, 2009 at 2:41 PM, sarojram18 <sarojram18 wrote:

12.ye chaiva saathvikaa bhaavaaH raajasaasthaamasaascha ye

mattha evethi thaan vidDhi na thu aham theshu the mayi

All the beings sentient and insentient, constituted of the three gunas, sprung from Me only. I am not in them but they are in Me.

Krishna sums up the description of the nature of Brahman. "All the beings constituted of the three gunas are from Me, but I am not in them, they are in Me," says the Lord. Brahman is all pervading and hence He is in all things and they are in Him as the AkAsa is in all and all are in it. But the statement 'I am not in them ,' seems to be a little bit confusing. Actually it is not so. It only means that Brahman is not conditioned by the qualities like the individual self in transmigration. AkAsa is in everything but is not contaminated by them and pervades everything so that everything is in it. Just because it pervades all it cannot be said that the akasa is in them Similarly Brahman pervades all so that they are in Him but He is not in them in the worldly sense of the term. The space outside the pot and the space inside is the same. But it is not correct to say that the space is inside the pot because the pot is in space and not vice versa. But ghatakasa nevertheless exists though not different from mahakasa, the space outside. Hence in this sense the Lord says that He is not in them but they are in Him.

The rope is misunderstood as a snake due to ignorance of its real nature created by dim light. This is the maya. The snake is in the rope because without the rope the snake cannot exist. But the rope is not in the snake as when the rope is seen snake is no more seen. To take another example, the waves are in the ocean but the ocean is not in the waves.

13.thribhiH gunamayaiH bhaavaiH ebhiH sarvam idham jagath

mohitham na abhijaanaathi maam ebhyaH param avyayam

The whole universe is pervaded by the three gunas. Those who are deluded do not understand Me to be different form them.

All that which is non-self is constituted by the three gunas of prakrthi and the evolutes of prakrthi. The individual self gets deluded into believing that the world is the reality without understanding that there is the absolute reality apart from all this, the higher and the immutable. This delusion is created by the wrong identification of one self with the body, mind and intellect due to ego which is the product of ignorance which creates the delusion.

The reaction to the sensations are due to the three gunas and the deluded one believes that he is the agent of action instead of knowing that the gunas inside are reacting with the gunas outside. This was explained in the third chapter (slokas27 to 29) When you see the rope snake is no more and when you know the ocean, you see that the waves are nothing but the ocean. The idea in the above sloka can be very well understood by the Tamil saying from the thirumandhiram of Thirumoolar. It is as follows:

maraathai maraitthadhu maamadhayaanai

maratthil maraindhadhu maamadhyaanai

paratthai maraitthadhu paar mudhal bhootham

paratthil maraindhadhu paar mudhal bhootham

An elephant is made of wood and who sees it as the elephant, perhaps a child, does not see the wood and who sees only the wood, perhaps a carpenter, does not see the elephant. So it is said above that the elephant concealed the wood and vice versa. Similarly the world of five elements concealed the Brahman and vice versa. When one sees the world it is real for him and he does not see that all is nothing but Brahman, but to the one who has the knowledge, `sarvam khalu idham brahma,' he sees only Brahman everywhere.

Then who can get rid of this delusion? This is answered in the next sloka.

14. dhaivee hyesha guna mayee mama maayaa dhurathyayaa

maameva ye prapadhyanthe maayaam ethaam tharanthi the

This divine delusion formed by the gunas created by Me is difficult to cross and those who resort to Me alone are able to cross over.

This delusion born out of ignorance is mama maayaa says Krishna, meaning that till one has the right perception the reality is hidden from him by the Lord Himself in the form of maya because as long as the ego causes identification with the body, mind and intellect, the reality cannot be understood. The Lord removes the delusion only of those who resort to Him. He says maam eva, meaning "Me alone" which denotes ananyabhakthi. This is not partiality on the part of The Lord. Those who surrender to Him with unflinching devotion to Him alone, give up attachment to the world and purify their mind of all sins through devotion. To them naturally the maya is removed like the darkness is gone when the sun rises as mentioned in the sloka `theshaam aadhithyavath jnaanam prakaaSayathi thath param..' (Chapter5.16)

Then why not everybody resort to the Lord and get rid of their maayaa? The answer is given in the next sloka.

15. na maam dhushkrthino mooDaaH prapadhyanthe

naraaDhamaaH

maayayaa apahrtha jnaanaaH aasureem bhaavam

aasRithaaH

Those who have committed sin , who are ignorant and the wicked do not resort to Me. They have acquired the demonic nature with their wisdom being robbed by the delusion.

Those who are deluded by the maya seek sensual gratification and indulge in sinful activities. They become wicked and they are fools in believing that the pleasures of the worlds is real and everlasting which goads them into wickedness in order to satisfy their desires. Such men, says Krishna will never come to Me but acquire demonic nature which will take them lower and lower.

--

Guruswamy K

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