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

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27. icChaadhveshasamutThena dhvandhvamohena bhaaratha

sarvabhoothaani sammoham sarge yaanthi paranthapa

All beings at the time of their birth get into delusion by the pairs of opposites such as likes and dislikes which creates delusion.

How does the ignorance creates the illusion that the world is real? Without realizing that there is one and only reality which pervades all and which is the inner self of all, man sees the difference everywhere due to his ignorance and this is the cause of the perception of duality, which causes the delusion. Attachment and aversion , gain and loss, joy and sorrow are all due to the perception of duality. To one who sees the self everywhere there is neither delusion nor sorrow.

The Lord has said in sloka 34 of chapter 3 that raga and dhvesha are the enemies of man which hinder his progress along the spiritual path. The same is referred to here as icChaa and dhvesha, desire and aversion. Due to these, man is deluded into believing that the worldly pleasures and possessions are real and runs after them due to his ignorance. This is the sammoha denoted in this sloka.

The words bhaaratha and paranthapa refer to Arjuna, meaning, the son of the Bhaarath and scorcher of foes respectively.

28. yeshaam thu anthagatham paapam janaanaam

puNyakarmaNaam

the dhvandhvamohanirmukthaa bajanthe maam dhrDavrathaaH

Those who are virtuous ,for whom their sins are extinguished , are freed from the delusion by pairs of opposites and worship Me with staunch determination

On the other hand those who are free from the delusion of dualities, dhvandhva mohavinirmukthaah, have no more sins, anthagatham paapam and all their actions are of merit only, because they worship the Lord with steadfast will.

Those who are virtuous have already shed off their sins as a result of which they have acquired the virtue in this life. They are free from delusion because they are not affected by the pairs of opposites due to their devotion to the Lord. They have a steadfast will with the resolve that the Lord alone matters and spend their lives thinking about Him and worshipping Him through all their activities. Such devotees are referred to as dhrDavrathaaH here. They are freed from the delusion of desire and aversion as to them the whole world is nothing but Narayana.

29 jaraamaraNamokhsaaya maam aaSrithya yathanthi ye

the brahma thath vidhuH krthsnam aDhyaathmam karma

cha akhilam

Those who resort to Me to get rid of old age and death come to know Brahman in its entirety as his inner self and the cause of all actions.

..Those who strive for release from old age and death, meaning immortality through moksha, realize Brahman in its entirety and as the aDhyAthma the inner self, and they alone understand karma completely, meaning the significance of karma, akarma and vikarma, as explained in chapter 4.

To get rid of old age and death one has to stop being born. As long as the karma has to be exhausted the cycle of birth and death will go on. To be free from the bondage of karma one has to resort to the Lord by which they destroy their sins and transcend the dhvndhva, pairs of opposites.

thath brahma refers to the supreme reality termed as thath in the mahavakya thath thavm asi, `that thou art.' The word krthsnam aDhyathma denotes the paraa prakrthi mentioned in the earlier sloka 5 of this chapter and as akshara in the chapter 15 later, the Brahman which appears as the manifest world of beings. Karma akhilam means the source from which all activities emerge. That is, to know Brahman who is manifest as the world and the source of all activities.

30.saaDhibhoothaadhidhaivam maam saaDhiyajnam cha ye

vidhuH

prayaaNakaalepi cha maam the vidhuH yukthachethasaH

Those who know Me as the saadhibootham, with the elements, saaDhidhaivam, with the devas and saaDhiyajnam with the sacrifice, know Me even at the time of death.

The last sloka of the 7th adhyaya hints the forthcoming chapter where the terms adhyaathma, aDhidhaiva and aDhibhootha are explained in detail. It means that those who know the supreme self along with the manifestations of Him in elements, divinities and sacrifices will know Him also at the time of death with their concentrated on Him. This can be construed to mean either the one who thinks of the Lord in His entirety at the time of birth also or the one who thinks at least at the time of birth about the true nature of Brahman.

This is the end of chapter 7 titled jnanavijnana yoga , or the yoga of knowledge and experience.