Pujya Ramsukhdasji Maharaj

[Guest guest]

Lower and Higher Nature

 

II 7:4-5 II

 

" Bhoomirâpo'nalo vâyuh, kham mano buddhireva ca

Ahankâra iteeyam me bhinnâ prakrtirastadhâ

Apareyamitastvanyâ m prakrtim viddhi me parâm

jeevabhootâm mahâbâho yayedan dhâryate jagat " (Gita 7:4-5)

 

God says - " Earth, water, fire, air, ether, - these constitute My

nature - five elements (prakriti) and mind, intellect, ego in this

manner a total of eightfold divided is my My lower (insentient)

nature; And O mighty armed, in this manner, apart from my lower

nature, but different from it, the life-element (Jeev), is My higher

(sentient) nature - by which this Universe is sustained. (Gita 7:4-

5)

 

Commentary - When that consciousness element (Self), gets

identified with the " ego " and assumes identity and oneness with it,

then it is called " Para-prakriti " (Higher nature). Both the world

(apara) and the embodied soul, (jeev, para) - are part of God's

(Bhagwân's) innate nature, in other words, divine potency (energy).

Without the powerful, the power has no independent existence. Just

like nail and hair, inspite of being lifeless, are not separate from

from the body, similarly the lower nature (apara prakrti) inspite of

being inert, is not separate from Supreme Consciousness (Paramatma).

That is both lower and higher nature - being a manifestation (form)

of Bhagwân are there. There is absolutely nothing else

remaining !

 

It is only the embodied soul that has taken on this world. The

point is that neither is the world in the eyes of God, nor in the

eyes of a great Soul, rather it is only in the eyes of the embodied

soul (Jeev). It is only this embodied soul (Jeev), that has taken

and sustained this world and by giving it significance and a

reality, caused kinship with it, which lead to bondage of birth and

death.

 

From this earth all the way to ego, everything is inert lower

nature. Just like earth, water, fire, etc. are to be known,

similarly this ego is also to be known. This embodied soul (Jeev)

by identifying with ego, begins to believe himself to be " I am " . In

this the " I " is lower nature and " am " is higher nature. On

servering relations with ego, the " I " becomes non-existent and " am "

becomes one with existence in the form of " Is-ness " - this itself is

Moksha (release from rebirth in the world).

 

On assuming ego, the embodied soul (jeev) takes on the entire lower

nature. " I am " - keeping this pride and egoism itself is assuming

and taking on the entire lower nature. If that " I " becomes free of

egoism, rather by not having pride, if that pure " I-ness " of the

lower nature remains, then it will not be the kind that will lead to

bondage; just as earth, water, fire, etc. are never cause of

bondage.