Bhagavatgita chapter21-adhyaya15 continued

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Chapter21-The supreme purusha-(adhyaya15 continued)

 

MamaivAmSo jeevaloke jeevabhoothah sanAthanaH

manaH shashtTAneendhriyANi prakrthisThAni karshathi (BG-15-7)

 

In the tenth adhyaya Krishna has said , vishtabhyAham idham krtsnam EkAmSEna sThitho jagath,'(BG-10-42) that is, whatever possesses power, splendour or energy is only a fragment of the that of the Lord. And He sustains all with a fragment of His power. The same idea is reiterated here.

 

To the objection that how can Brahman be possessed of parts is ruled out by the upanishadic declaration, `poorNamadhaH poorNamidham poornAth poorNamudhachyathE, poorNasya poorNam AdhAya poornameva avaSishyathE.' The parts mentioned here are like the quarters of a rupee coin. Half rupee or quarter rupee is also full and not broken. Likewise the Lord appearing as the beings is also full and b not divided, like the Sun reflected in water.

 

The mind along with the indhriyas only transmigrates and not the soul. The jeeva is the conflagration of these and seems to have a separate identity like the waves of the ocean and moves in the sea of the Supreme purusha. Like the air which takes the smell from the places it blows but is not contaminated by the sweetness or foulness of it the individual soul takes the mind along with indhriyas on its transmigration. But the unenlightened never distinguish between the soul and the conflagration of mind and indhriyas. Only the wise are able to do so.

 

Krishna then starts talking as the Supreme purusha and says,

 

yadhAdhithya gatham thEjaH jagathbhAsayathe akhilam

yacchandhramasi yacchAgnou thatthejO viddhi mamakam (BG_15-12)

 

The light in the Sun, Moon and the fire is Mine.

 

This reflects the text of the Upanishad, `thameva bhAntham anubhAthi sarvam thasya bhAsA sarvamihm vibhAthi,' all luminous bodies follow Brahman which shines and they shine because of His light. This idea has been already explained in the sloka `na thadhbhAsayathe suryah---`

 

Brahman is the source of all energy and power by which all are sustained and is the inner fire, vaisvAnara, of all living beings that help to digest the four kinds of food. `Aham vaisvAnaro bhoothvA prANinAm dhehamASrithah prANApAna samAyukthaH pachamyannam chathurviDham.' (BG-15.14)

The four kinds of food are known as bojya, masticated, bakshya, swallowed, choshya, licked and lehya, sucked.

 

Now Krishna sums up by saying,

 

Sarvasya chAham hrdhi sannivishtO matthaH smrthiH jnAnam apohanam cha

Vedaischa sarvairahameva vedhyah vedanthakrth vedhavidheva chAham (BG-15-15)

 

"I dwell in the heart of all and from me spring memory, knowledge as well as loss of memory. I am the subject to be known of all the Vedas and I am the maker of vedantha and the knower of them all."

 

Being the inner self the Lord dwells in all the hearts and hence the knowledge, memory and loss of it which pertains to the mind and intellect arise from Him alone. The loss of memory is also included here because, like the knowledge and the memory of it which is due to the grace of the Lord the loss of memory also is due to His mercy only. If the mind is not able to forget what is unpleasant and painful the life would be a hell and also if the memory of the last lives are not lost we cannot imagine any sanity in life.

 

He is the maker of Vedas and vedantha and as such He could be known only through the Vedas and He is the only purport of the Vedas. As the knowledge of the Vedas require the divine grace He is aldo the knower of Vedas and vedanthas, being the inner self of all.

 

Krishna then summarises what He has been elaborating so far in the last few slokas of the adhyaya thus:

 

There are two entities in this world of beings, kshara and akshara, the perishable and the unperishable. The former is the self reflected through the body, mind and intellect and consists of ego which is the perishable self and the other is the individual self or kutastha who does not perish even when the former does.

 

But there is another Supreme self, the inner self of all who enters into everything and sustains them. He is the Purushotthama or the supreme Lord.

 

Utthamah purushasthu anyah paramAthma ithi udhAhrthah

Yah lOkathrayam AviSya bibharthi avyaya Isvarah (BG-15.17)

 

He is known as ParamAthmA, supreme self, avyaya, immutable and Isvara the omniscient Lord.

 

The one who knows this is undeluded and adores the Lord. He becomes wise and he will have done all his duties. There is no more to be done by him.