[Oppiliappan] Bhagavatgita a detailed study chapter13.The field and the knower
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22.upadhrashtaa anumanthaa cha bharthaa bhokthaa
maheSvaraH
Paramaathmaa ithi cha api ukthaH dhehe asmin purushaH
paraH
The Supreme self, is thus, while in the body, is called spectator, upadhrAshtA, approver, anumanthA, supporter, bharthA,experiencer, bhokthA, the Lord, mahesvara and the Supreme Self, paramAthmA.
The Self is upadhrashtA , the witness because is actually not affected by the experiences of joy and sorrow resulting from the wrong identification with the body. But since no action or experience is possible with out the accordance of the Self , it is called anumantha, the approver. Since the body is supported by the Self it is the bhartha, supporter. Due to the identification with the body the self seems to experience joy and sorrow and without it no experience is possible and so the self is called bhoktha, experiencer. As the body is subservient to the self who is the master, it is called Mahesvara, the over-lord and in reality the self is nothing but the Supreme Self , the inner controller and hence called as ParamAthma.
The concept of the Self as upadhrashta etc. Can be explained as follows.
upadhrashta means onlooker. When one identifies himself with the body. Mind and intellect prompted by the ego which is the result of avidhya, ignorance, the Self within remains as sakshimaathra, as the witness self, because no action can take place without the self and the Lord who is the inner self being aware of. But as long as the ego is engaged in activities in the world outside, the Lord simply stands as witness, whether the activities are good or bad.
anumantha means the one who permits. When the awareness of the supreme self as the inner self of all dawns in the mind, then the activities take a turn towards enlightenment and the Lord becomes the anumanthaa, approver.
bhartha means the one who supports. The seeker who practices the pathi of yoga, offering the activities to the Lord in a spirit of surrender, the Lord Himself looks after his spiritual progress and becomes the supporter. theshaam nithyaabhiyukthaanaam yogakshemam vahaamyaham (ch.9.22)
When the seeker reaches the stage of total surrender and functions as the instrument of the Lord, then the Lord Himself becomes the bhokthaa, enjoyer.
23. ya evam vetthi purusham prakrthim cha guNaih saha
sarvaThaa varthamaano api na sa bhooyo abhijaayathe
The one who knows the individual self , purusha and the prakrthi, the matter or non-self, whatever he does in this life, is not born again .
When the jnana of the real nature of the real nature of the Self and the cause of the ills of samsara , namely the wrong identification of the Purusha with Prakrthi, then there is no more lapse back in to samsara.
What is meant by the knowledge of the prakrthi and Purusha in its entirety is elaborated further in the next few slokas.
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16.avibhaktham cha bhootheshu vibhaktham iva cha sThitham
bhoothabhrth cha thath jneyam grasishnu prabhavishnu
cha
This Self is undivided yet appears to be divided among beings; supports all beings, absorbing them and generating.
When seen as the transcendent and imminent reality the Self is undivided being one whole. But to the unenlightened and ignorant, the diversity of the world seems to be real and hence the Self is not seen as one. As one actually sees only the Self everywhere, knowingly or unknowingly, it is said to be divided. The aspect of being the supporter, absorber and generator is the reflection of the upanishadic declaration 'yatho va imaani bhoothAni jaayanthE yena jaathaani jeevanthi yasmin abhisamviSanthi thath vijnaasasva thath brahman, know that to be Brahman from whom all beings come , by whom they are supported and into which they merge back.' Brahman is the cause and the world is the effect.
The means of attainment of reality and the real nature of the Self , that is the third and fourth topics are discussed in the above slokas 7 to 16
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24. Dhyaanena aathmani paSyanthi kechith aathmaanam
aathmanaa
anye saankhyena yogena karmayogena cha apare
Some perceive the Self in the self, through meditation, by the self. Others follow the path of sankhya and still others follow karnayoga.
In this and the next sloka Krishna, before elaborating on the perception of the reality through the knowledge, briefly mentions the different means to attain the highest knowledge of the Absolute Reality.
Those who are endowed with the greatest self discipline attain the Supreme Self by following the path of Dhyana as outlined in the chapter 6 in detail. To this kind of seeker the inner control is already accomplished through viveka and vairagya. He is at the last stage when the only thing that remains is the Brhamasaakshaathkara, perception of reality.
aathmani paSyanthi aathaamaanam aathmana- He sees the aathma, the Self in his self(mind) by his self(intellect). Contemplating on the Lord through the intellect purified by viveka and vairagya one sees the Lord in His mind which is cleansed of all impurities by the fire of jnana.
anye saankhyena yogena- The sankhyayoga mentioned here is the jnanayoga while the earlier one is Dhyanayoga. JNanayoga consists in the study of the sasthras to acquire viveka and vairagya and aspire for the attainment of the Supreme through the application of knowledge thus gained..
The study of sastras gives one the knowledge that all that we gain in this world and the next that give us joy and sorrow are transient and have to be given up. This is called iha amuthra phala viraaga.
As a result of this knowledge a desire to be free from the cycle of birth and death arises and this is mumukshuthvam, the desire for freedom from bondage. Then by contemplation on the Supreme with steadfast mind free from impurities of raga and dvesha one attains the goal of realization.
Others who lack the knowledge and power of self control follow the karmayoga by offering all their actions mental and physical to the divine through which their mind gets cleansed of the concept of `I' and `Mine,' after which they are able to concentrate on the divine all the time what ever they do and wherever they are and through this single-pointed contemplation attain mukthi.
25. anye thu evam ajaananathaH Sruthvaa anyebhayaH
Upaasathe
the api athitharanthi eva mrthyum SruthiparaayaNaaH
Others, not knowing thus, (as mentioned above) contemplate on the Divine. They too attain immortality, faithfully following what they have heard.
To follow the paths referred to above one requires a saathvik nature free from thamas and with rajas only minimal. Rajas kindles the ego and thamas induces inactivity. People with mind full of ragadhvesha could not follow any discipline to control their mind. Similarly people full of thamas, do not have the knowledge that they are ignorant or even if they do they are too indolent to get out of the ignorance. Even these people if they have the good fortune to hear about the real nature of the Self or about the glory of the Lord and come to believe it to be true, they follow the advice given by the instructor and follow them faithfully.
A typical example could be found in the metamorphosis that came about in the case of Valmiki who was a hunter before he became a sage. Narada advised him to chant Rama nama to free himself of his sins and he could not say it. Then Narada pointed out to a tree and asked him its name .The hunter said that it was maraa tree. Then Narada told him to chant the name of the tree incessantly. The hunter had absolute faith in the words of the sage and chanted mara mara and it sounded rama rama , without even noticing an anthill, valmeeka, that was forming around him and he became Vakmiki in course of time. So even without knowledge and necessary qualifications to learn the sastras and to meditate one could attain immortality through faith alone.
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19.prakrthm purusham chaiva vidDhi anaadhi ubhou api
Vikaaraan cha guNaan chaiva vidDhi prakrthisambhavaan
Know both Prkrthi, the primordial nature and purusha, the individual self to be beginningless. The modifications and the gunas are born out of prkrthi.
20.kaaryakaaraNa karthrthve hethuH prakrthiH uchyathe
purushaH sukha duhkhaanaam bhokthrthve hethuH uchyathe
Prkrthi is the cause of its evolutes which are its effects. Purusha is the cause of the experiencing of sukha and duhkha.
21. purushaH prkrthisThaH hi bunkthe prakrthijaan guNaan
kaaraNam guNa sangah asya sadhasathyonijanmasu
Purusha in association in prakrthi experiences the gunasa of prakrthi. This is the cause of his being born in the good and evil wombs.
The self , purusha of sankhya, and prkrthi , the primordial nature are both beginningless and all the modifications and attributes are those of prkrthi only, as purusha is changeless and without gunas. The modifications of the body, and the sense organs are the effect of prkrthi and its three gunas. while the experience of pleasure and pain is due to the action of purusha who associates himself with prkrthi.
The term purusha refers to the indiviual self , jeeva, while the term prakrthi represents all that is anathman, non-self. The question may arise as to how the jiva, individual soul and the prkrthi are both said to be without beginning which goes contrary to the upanishadic statement 'sath alone was in the beginning , one only without a second.' Let us see how this is explained from the view point of advaita and visishtadvaita.
According to advaita Brahman alone is real and the world, including the jiva is unreal, being the effect of avidhya , which is anadhi, beginningless. Hence purusha , the individual self and prkrthi the world are beginningless. According to visishtadvaita there are three reals, namely, Isvara, jiva and jagat, Isvara the inner self of all, jiva, the individual self and the world, jagat. This is not contrary to the upanishad because Brahman or Narayana is the cause of everything, all-pervading and imminent, being the inner Self. When the cause is real the effect is also real as a real thing cannot give rise to something which is unreal. Hence the world and the jiva are all modifications of the cause and form the sarira of Isvara the inner self..
Krishna now proceeds to explain how the individual self , who is of the nature of pure bliss experiences the joy and sorrow when it is associated with the body.. The self when embodied, becomes identified with the body which is the effect of prkrthi constituted of the three gunas and as a result, experiences the joy , sorrow etc which are the effects of the three gunas. This attachment to the gunas and its effects is the cause of the birth of the individual soul in different bodies. Acting through the body, influenced by the gunas, the jiva has to experience the results of the actions induced by the gunas, sinful or meritorious depending on the respective gunas which propel the actions.
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22.upadhrashtaa anumanthaa cha bharthaa bhokthaa
maheSvaraH
Paramaathmaa ithi cha api ukthaH dhehe asmin purushaH
paraH
The Supreme self, is thus, while in the body, is called spectator, upadhrAshtA, approver, anumanthA, supporter, bharthA,experiencer, bhokthA, the Lord, mahesvara and the Supreme Self, paramAthmA.
The Self is upadhrashtA , the witness because is actually not affected by the experiences of joy and sorrow resulting from the wrong identification with the body. But since no action or experience is possible with out the accordance of the Self , it is called anumantha, the approver. Since the body is supported by the Self it is the bhartha, supporter. Due to the identification with the body the self seems to experience joy and sorrow and without it no experience is possible and so the self is called bhoktha, experiencer. As the body is subservient to the self who is the master, it is called Mahesvara, the over-lord and in reality the self is nothing but the Supreme Self , the inner controller and hence called as ParamAthma.
The concept of the Self as upadhrashta etc. Can be explained as follows.
upadhrashta means onlooker. When one identifies himself with the body. Mind and intellect prompted by the ego which is the result of avidhya, ignorance, the Self within remains as sakshimaathra, as the witness self, because no action can take place without the self and the Lord who is the inner self being aware of. But as long as the ego is engaged in activities in the world outside, the Lord simply stands as witness, whether the activities are good or bad.
anumantha means the one who permits. When the awareness of the supreme self as the inner self of all dawns in the mind, then the activities take a turn towards enlightenment and the Lord becomes the anumanthaa, approver.
bhartha means the one who supports. The seeker who practices the pathi of yoga, offering the activities to the Lord in a spirit of surrender, the Lord Himself looks after his spiritual progress and becomes the supporter. theshaam nithyaabhiyukthaanaam yogakshemam vahaamyaham (ch.9.22)
When the seeker reaches the stage of total surrender and functions as the instrument of the Lord, then the Lord Himself becomes the bhokthaa, enjoyer.
23. ya evam vetthi purusham prakrthim cha guNaih saha
sarvaThaa varthamaano api na sa bhooyo abhijaayathe
The one who knows the individual self , purusha and the prakrthi, the matter or non-self, whatever he does in this life, is not born again .
When the jnana of the real nature of the real nature of the Self and the cause of the ills of samsara , namely the wrong identification of the Purusha with Prakrthi, then there is no more lapse back in to samsara.
What is meant by the knowledge of the prakrthi and Purusha in its entirety is elaborated further in the next few slokas.
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26. yaavath sanjaayathe kimchith satthvam
sThaavarajangamam
kshethrakshethrajnasamyogaath thadhvidDhi
bharatharshabha
All that is born, movable or immovable, know them to be born only by the conjunction of the kshethra and kshethrajna.
Then matter, product of Prkrthi cannot remain without its inner self the Esvara. Similarly the individual jiva or purusha cannot exist without its inner self , Esvara. The prkrthi is said to evolve due to the nearness purusha and the purusha gets into the cycle of birth and death due to his identification with prkrthi. Hence everything that is born is by the conjunction of purusha and prakrthi.
There is some explanation necessary to understand this. Purusha is the spirit or the individual self who is not the agent of action nor the enjoyer, ever free, not bound by karma. The creation of prakrthi is due to the nearness of Purusha which means that through buddhi, the first evolute of prkrthi which is also called mahath thathva , the self is reflected, which results in the identification of the self with the buddhi due to ignorance and the creation starts. Buddhi which is the evolute of prakrthi, which constitutes of the three gunas, starts evolving into the three kinds of ahamkara and the whole creation down to the gross bodies made of five elements, results. This is what is meant by all things movable and immovable are born only by the association of prakrthi and Purusha.
27.samam sarveshu bhootheshu thishTantham parameSvaram
VinaSyathsu avinaSyantham yaH paSyathi sa paSyathi
One who sees the Supreme Self equally existing in all beings , imperishable in all that is perishable, alone says.
The real perception consists in seeing the Supreme ruler, the inner self of all, dwelling alike in all bodies who never perishes when the bodies perish. This means the knowledge of the Purusha that he is separate from the prakrthi which makes him identify himself with the Supreme Self, the inner self of all. Then the understanding results that all except the self are perishable and Paramesvara , the Supreme Self is one only and the same in all beings. This is the real perception.
28.samam paSyan hi sarvathra samavasThitham eesvaram
Na hinasthi aathmanaa aathmaanam thatho yaathi paraam
gathim
Seeing the Lord who is the Supreme Self everywhere, one attains the supreme goal of Self realization which results in immortality and he does not any more harm himself by himself, meaning, he does not identify himself anymore with his body, mind and intellect which are all the products of prakrthi. The Lord said in chapter 6 sloka 5 aathmaivaathmano banDhuH aathmaiva ripuraatmanaH. The self alone is the close relative and it itself is the enemy, meaning that the identification with the inner self benefits the seeker and while doing so with the outer world through his body, mind and intellect he harms himself because it impedes his progress spiritually.
29. prakrthyaiva cha karmaaNi kriyamaaNaani sarvaSaH
yaH paSyathi thaThaa aathmaanam akarthaaram sa
paSyathi
One who sees that all actions are done by prakrthi only and that he is not the agent of action, he alone has the real perception.
When one identifies himself with his Self ,he understands that all actions are done by prakrthi and the Self is not the doer. This is what the Lord said in chapter 3 sloka 28, thathvavith thu mahaabaho guna karmavibhaagayoH gunaa guNeshu varthanatha ithi mathvaa na sajjathe , one who knows the reality, is not affected by the actions thinking that the gunas inside are reacting with the gunas outside.
30. yadhaa bhoothaprThagbhaavam ekasTham anupasyathi
Thatha eva cha visthaaram brahma sampadhyathe thadhaa
When one sees all diversities of beings in one, Brahman, and Brahman spread in all, he attains Brahman.
All things are in space and space is in everything. Similarly all beings are in Brahman who is also in everything. When we see the ocean we see the waves also in it and at the same time the waves are seen as existing individually also. But they are not recognized as different from the ocean. They arise from the ocean and go back into it. Similarly the diversities arise from Brahman on creation and merge back into Brahman. Brahman has expanded as the universe and the universe consisting of individual entities, sentient and insentient exist in Brahman only.
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The last topic, namely the discrimination between the Self and the Prkrthi was elaborated in the slokas 26 to 30.
The discourse on kshethra and kshethrajna is concluded with a definition and description of the nature of Brahman in the following slokas.
31.anaadhithvaath nrguNathvaath paramaathmaa ayam
avyayaH
SareerasTho api kountheya na karothi na lipyathe
The SupremeSelf, who has no beginning, no guNas and who is immutable, dose not do anything nor affected by any action even though He dwells in the body.
32.yaThaa sarvagatham sokshmyaath aakaaSo na upalipyathe
Sarvathra cha sThitho dhehe thaThaathmaa na upalipyathe
Just as the sky is not contaminated by the things that are in it because of its subtlety, so too the Self, though dwelling in the body , is not affected by the actions of the body.
33. yaThaa prakaasayathi ekaH krthsnam lokam imam raviH
Ksethram kshethree thaThaa krthsnam prakaaSayathi
Bhaaratha
Just as the one Sun illumines the whole world, the Self, the kshethree or kshethrajna illumines the whole kshethra, the non-self.
The supreme self , though dwelling in the body, is immutable, avyaya,, and beginningless. anaadhi. Since it is without gunas, nirguNa, it neither acts nor affected by the action. Krishna gives two examples to illustrate how the self though dwelling in the body is not affected by the actions of the body which are caused by the gunas.
1. yaThaa sarvagatham soukshmyaath aakaaSam nopalipythe'- The space is everywhere but being the subtlest it is not affected by the things that are in it and connected with it. Similarly the Self is not affected by the body and its actions.
2.yaTHaa prakaaSayathi ekaH krthsnam lokam imam raviH- The Sun illuminates the whole world. Similarly the Self illumines the whole field, that is, the body.
The Lord who is the Self of all is the Sareeri or kshethrajna, as he says, kshethrajnam chaapi maam vidDhi sarvakshethreshu, in sloka 2 of this chapter. The whole universe of the sentient and the insentient is His sareera or kshethra. This is according to the visishtadvaita doctrine. According to advaita of course, the world is an illusion and hence the Self which is identical to Brahman is not affected by it.
Visishtadvaita concept is criticized by the opponents that if the universe is the sareera of the Lord then he should be affected by the modifications and the impurities of the sareera should adhere to Him. Ramanuja answers in His Sribhashya that just as the self is not affected by the body and its actions the Supreme Self is also not affected by its body which is the universe. The examples given above illustrate this.
The space is in everything and out of everything. But it is not contaminated by the impurities or the modifications of the things in it. So too the Lord who is inside and outside all beings is not affected by the impurities and the modifications of the beings.
The Sun even though He is seen only n one place and is one only, illuminates the whole universe. So too, the Lord who is one only without a second and who is the source of light of even the Sun pervades the whole world with His light by which alone all actions are possible by all beings. But Just as the Sun is not affected by the actions that happen in his light the Lord is not affected by the actions of all beings.
34. kshethrakshethrajnyoH ethath antharam
Jnaanachakshushaa
Bhoothaprakrthimoksham cha vidhuH yaanthi the param
Thus knowing the difference between the kshethra and the kshethrajna through the eyes of jnana, they who has the knowledge are freed from the bondage due to prakrthi and its creations and attain moksha the supreme goal.
Thus endowed with the knowledge of the Self, and the difference between the non-self, kshethra and the knower, kshethrajna, one becomes free of bondage and attaining the Supreme and the means of attainment is cultivation of the attributes like amanithvam , adhambithvam etc. mentioned at the outset.
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