Bhagavad Gita - Chapter 13 - Kshetra Kshetrajna Vibhaaga Yogah - Yoga Of Distinction Between The Field And The Knower Of The Field

 

 

CONTENT

• PREAMBLE
• SALIENT POINTS TO BE DISCUSSED
• CITING THE AUTHORITIES
• THE FIELD IS DESCRIBED
• THE KNOWER OF THE FIELD IS DESCRIBED
• PURE KNOWLEDGE
• THE FRUITS OF KNOWLEDGE
• NATURE AND SPIRIT
• FUNCTIONS OF PRAKRITI AND PURUSHA
• HOW DOES IMMUTABLE ATMAN EXPERIENCE PLEASURE AND PAIN?
• REAL NATURE OF PURUSHA
• RESULT OF SELF-KNOWLEDGE
• DIFFERENT ROADS TO SALVATION
• WHAT ABOUT PEOPLE OF LEAST UNDERSTANDING?
• REALIZATION OF THE UNITY OF EXISTENCE LEADS TO THE ATTAINMENT OF BRAHMAN
• CONCEPTS AND ISSUES
• LIVE AS THE GITE TEACHES YOU TO LIVE
• POINTS TO PONDER

Preamble

This is one of the most well-known Chapters in the  Gita which explains and also provides guidance to experience the Self. It is an  extension of the previous Chapter in as much as it gives exhaustive instructions  for meditation upon the Imperishable Formless Spirit (Unmanifest). This Chapter  continues the discussion of the theme started in Chapter 7 entitled ‘Yoga of  Knowledge and Wisdom’ and Chapter 8 entitled ‘Yoga of Imperishable Brahman’.  The intervening four Chapters (9-12) are a slight detour in order to clarify  the doubts raised by Arjuna.

As earlier stated each group of  six Chapters of the Gita explains the sacred words of the Great Declaration (Mahavakya)  -Tat Twam Asi - That Thou Art. The terms `Thou' and `That' were dealt with  in Chapters 1-6 (Path of action or Karma Yoga) and 7-12 (Path of devotion or  Bhakti Yoga) respectively. The closing group of six Chapters beginning with this  Chapter explains the term `Art' (Path of knowledge or Jnana Yoga) which  establishes the identity of the individual soul with the Supreme Soul.

A living organism is the Spirit  functioning through the covering of matter. `That' (Spirit) covered by matter  is `Thou' (Man). Therefore, man without matter covering him is the Eternal,  Infinite Spirit.

One should know what constitutes  this matter envelopment in order to discard it and reach the `Man' (Spirit).  This discrimination between matter, which is inert, and Spirit, which is the  spark of life, is the focus of discussion in this Chapter. The body called the  Field (Kshetra), the soul called the Knower of the Field (Kshetrajna) and the difference between them are the subject matter of this Chapter.

The process of discarding or getting  rid of the matter is nothing but the process of meditation. The techniques of meditation  were explained in Chapters 5 & 6. This Chapter tells us as to what the disciplined  mind and intellect have to do during meditation and how to draw ourselves from  ourselves to reach our identity with the Infinite.

The matter equipments and the  world of objects perceived by them is the Field. The Knower of the Field is the  Supreme Consciousness which illumines the Field and therefore apparently  functions within the Field. It is obvious that one can be knower only so long  as one is in the field of knowable. A driver is one so long as he is driving a  vehicle. Once he is out of the vehicle he is no more a driver although he, as a  person, remains the same.

Similarly the Pure Consciousness  when it perceives the world of plurality becomes the knower of the field  (Driver). As the driver experiences the pains and pleasures of driving while  performing the act of driving, the knower of the field (Consciousness)  experiences the joys and sorrows of the pluralistic world while perceiving such  world of multiplicity through the body equipments. Thus the joys and miseries  of the samsara are the features of the knower of the field, the Jiva.

If the field and the knower of  the field can be understood as separate entities through the process of  meditation, one can get himself detached from the sheath of matter and  consequently from the joys and sorrows associated with it. Thereby, the knower  of the field who was the experiencer of the sorrows and joys of the material  world himself becomes the experiencer of the Absolute Bliss just as the driver  himself becomes an ordinary person without any designation when he is enjoying  the pleasure of being with his own family. The knower minus the field of the  known becomes the Pure Knowledge, Itself being always perfect.

This Chapter, therefore, leads us  to deep spiritual insights enabling us to realize the Imperishable and the  Eternal within ourselves. When the knower of the field understands his real  nature which is apart from the field, he rediscovers his own Divine nature. He realizes  that he is the Self which, when enveloped by the field, becomes the knower of  the field full of agitations.

Krishna answers the query of Arjuna through the entire  chapter. A significant contribution of this chapter is the enumeration of  twenty two qualities of a jnani (enlightened person) on the lines of the  listing of thirty five qualities of a bhakta in the previous chapter.  This chapter concludes by showing the way towards realization of the Self and  how with the Eye of Wisdom one can liberate himself.

In the last Chapter the glory and the  means to realize the Absolute was not elaborately dealt with. Hence this aspect  which is the subject of jnana yoga is taken up for detailed discussion  in this Chapter. The kshetra, the body and the kshetrajna, the  soul are entirely different from each other. It is due to ignorance that they  are being identified as one and the same. In the present Chapter both these  terms are differentiated for explanation and hence the title of this Chapter is  Kshetra Kshetrajna Vibhaaga  Yogah: Yoga of Distinction between The Field and the Knower of the Field.

Some editions of the Gita omit the first  verse of this chapter containing Arjuna’s query seeking clarification on  certain philosophic terms on the ground that it is a later interpolation in the  text like commentator sage Madhusudana Saraswati. But its inclusion appears appropriate in  view of the context of the question raised by Arjuna.

arjuna uvaacha
    prakritim purusham chaiva kshetram kshetrajnam eva cha
    etadveditumicchaami jnaanam jneyam cha keshava // 13.1 //


    Arjuna said
    Prakriti (Matter) and Purusha (Spirit) also the Kshetra (The Field) and the Kshetrajna (The Knower of the  Field), Knowledge and that which is to be known, all these I wish to learn, O  Kesava.

 
  Prakriti and Purusha:
  Prakriti is matter, inert  equipments. Purusha is the Spirit, the vital sentient truth. The spirit in  itself has no expression except when it functions through matter. When Purusha  joins Prakriti experiences - good or bad - take place. Electricity by itself is  unmanifest but when it functions through different gadgets it is manifested as  light or heat or cold etc.

The Field and the Knower of the Field:
  The knower of the field is the  knowing principle when it functions in the knowable. Without knowable the  knower himself becomes nothing but Pure Knowledge in which the functions of  knowing are absent. Arjuna desires to learn the implications of these concepts.

sri bhagavaan uvaacha
    idam shareeram kaunteya kshetramityabhidheeyate
    etadyo vetti tam praahuh kshetrajna iti tadvidah // 13.2 //

Sri Bhagavan said
    This body, O Kaunteya, is  called the Field; he who knows it (body) is called the Knower of the Field by  those who know of them i.e. by the sages.

This body is the Field:
  The use of the demonstrative pronoun  ‘this’ while referring to the body suggests that this body is different from  the one who perceives or knows it. The word ‘kshetra’ signifies both  ‘body’ and matter. The body is called ‘field’ because the fruits of action are  reaped in it as in the field or it is subject to constant decay. It is the body  in which events happen; all growth, decline and death take place in it. Just as  seeds sown in a field yield the corresponding crops in course of time, even so  seeds of karma sown in this body yield their fruit at the appropriate time. Hence  the body is called the field, the object.

Knower of the Field:
  The word ‘kshetrajna’ or  knower of the field means the individual soul, which is, in reality one with  the Supreme Soul who is the Subject. The entire range of objective reality, the prakriti, the matter, which is open to knowledge through the equipments of  mind, intellect and senses, are material in their constitution, perishable in  their nature and mutable in their essence.

The conscious Self is wholly  different from the aforesaid material world of objective reality. It is the  knower of the matter consisting of perceptions, feelings and thoughts. Prakriti is unconscious activity and purusha is inactive consciousness. The  conscious principle, inactive and detached, which lies behind all active states  as witness, is the Knower of the Field. It is the Lord of the matter and runs  through it. This is the distinction between consciousness and the objects which  that consciousness observes. Kshetrajna is the light of awareness, the Knower  of all objects and He is neither the embodied mind nor an object in the world.  He is the Supreme Lord, calm and eternal and does not need the use of the  senses and the mind for His witnessing. It is the ‘para prakriti’ or the  higher nature referred to in the 7th Chapter of the Gita wherein Sri  krishna described the two prakritis of the Lord. The lower, apara prakriti, or the field, consists of three gunas and the higher prakriti (the  soul or Jiva when individualized) is the Knower of the Field.

The 13th Chapter  proposes to describe the two prakritis- the Field and the Knower of the Field-  in order to determine finally the nature of the Supreme Lord Himself i.e., the  word ‘tat’ in the mahavakya ‘Tat Twam Asi’.

kshetrajnam chaapi maam viddhi sarvakshetreshu bhaarata
    kshetrakshetrajnayor jnaanam yattajjnaanam matam mama // 13.3 //

You also know Me as the knower  of the Field in all Fields, O Bharata. Only the Knowledge of the Field and its  Knower is considered by Me as true knowledge.

Sri Krishna declares that only  the knowledge of the perishable and inert matter and the nature of the Infinite  and Imperishable Spirit is the True Knowledge.

Kshetra or the field is the matter  consisting of equipments of perception and what is perceived by them.  Kshetrajna is the knower of what is perceived through the instruments of  perception. To distinguish thus the worlds of the subject and the object is what  the Lord tells as true knowledge.




 

  SALIENT POINTS TO BE DISCUSSED

tat kshetram yaccha yaadrikcha yadvikaari yatashcha yat
    sa cha yo yatprabhaavashcha  tatsamaasena me shrinu // 13.4 //

Hear briefly from Me what the  Field is, what its properties are, what its modifications are, from where it  comes, who its knower is and what His powers are.

Sri Krishna says He is going to explain  what constitutes the Field, its properties, its origin, its modifications i.e.  what its by-products are when it changes its form, what is the knowing  principle in the Field and what are powers of perception, feeling and thought  of the Knower of the Field?

CITING THE AUTHORITIES

rishibhirbahudhaa geetam chhandobhirvividhaih prithak
    brahmasootrapadaishchaiva hetumadbhirvinishchitaih // 13.5 //

All this has been sung by  sages in many and different ways, in various distinctive hymns, and also in  well reasoned and convincing passages indicative of Brahman.

Sri Krishna speaks very highly of  the nature of the Field and the Knower of the Field in order to create interest  in Arjuna. He says what He is going to explain are the very truths that are already  contained in the Vedas, the Upanishads and the Brahmasutras or the  aphorisms of Brahman, later systemized by Badarayana. The Veda hymns are called cchandas or rhythmical utterances. These revelations of the sages are  not in the nature of any commandments but they are logical thoughts, full of reasoning  which are highly convincing.




 

  THE FIELD IS DESCRIBED

 

mahaabhootaanyahankaaro buddhiravyaktameva cha
    indriyaani dashaikam cha pancha chendriyagocharaah // 13.6 //

The great elements, egoism  (I-consciousness), intellect and also the unmanifested, the ten senses and the  mind and the five objects of the senses.

icchaa dweshah sukham duhkham sanghaatashchetanaa dhritih
    etat kshetram samaasena savikaaramudaahritam // 13.7 //

Desire, hatred, pleasure,  pain, the aggregate (body), intelligence, and fortitude - this briefly stated,  is the Field together with its modifications.

From here onwards Sri Krishna  starts explaining His promised themes one by one in great details. The above  two verses explain various items constituting together as the Field which was  earlier indicated as the body. A reference may be made to the Chapter 7 Part-1  in this series where a detailed discussion has been given covering all these  concepts.
 
Elements: Five in number viz.  space, air, fire, water and earth. (Ref. Ch.7.4)

Egoism: The sense of `I' ness and  `My' ness or the individuality that arises in our relationship with the world  of objects.

Intellect: The determining  faculty which thinks, discriminates and decides.

Unmanifested: They are the unseen  cause, total vasanas (impressions) which rule the mind and intellect in  determining their activities in the outside world. When these vasanas are  manifested they are seen as the world of objects. (Ref. Ch.7.14)

Ten senses: Five sense organs of  perception viz. ear, skin, eye, tongue and nose and five sense organs of action  viz, hands, feet, mouth, anus and generative organs. These are the channels by  which an individual perceives the stimuli and responds to them.

The one: This stands for the mind  which thinks about the stimuli received from the sense organs and sends forth  the responses after getting the judgment from the intellect.

Five objects of the senses: Each  sense organ perceives only one type of sense object. They are ear -sound, skin  - touch, eye - a form, tongue - taste and nose - smell.

The above 24 items constitute kshetra,  the matter or the gross body or the Field.

Their modifications are  enumerated now.  They are desire, hatred,  pleasure, pain, the assemblage of the body, intelligence, steadfastness etc. In  short, not only the gross body, mind and intellect but also the perceptions  experienced through them, the world of objects, emotions and thoughts are  included in the term `Field' - this body. All the world of objects, which  includes emotions and thoughts, are `knowable' put together in a bunch. This is  called the Field, the object. The Knowing Principle or the Knower is the  subject. Real knowledge consists in understanding the distinction between the  object and the subject.

The following five verses  enumerate the 22 qualities which together indicate the Knower of the Field.

THE KNOWER OF THE FIELD IS DESCRIBED

amaanitwam adambhitwam ahimsaa kshaantiraarjavam
    aachaaryopaasanam shaucham sthairyamaatmavinigrahah // 13.8 //

Humility, modesty, non-injury,  forgiveness, uprightness, service to the teacher, purity, steadfastness, self  control

“The knower is the subject and  the turning of it into an object or a thing means ignorance, avidya.  Objectification is the ejection of the subject into the world of the objects.  Nothing in the object world is an authentic reality. We can realize the subject  in us only by overcoming the enslaving power of the object world, by refusing  to be dissolved into it. This means resistance, suffering. Acquiescence in the  surrounding world and its conventions diminishes suffering; refusal increases  it. But suffering is the only process through which we fight for our true  nature - sat chit anand.” - Dr.S.Radhakrishnan.

The Lord therefore prescribes  certain conditions necessary for understanding the Infinite Self by describing  the elements of knowledge and practices conducive to spiritual enlightenment in  the Verses 8 -12.

1. Humility - absence of self-esteem.

2. Modesty- Un-pretentiousness, not proclaiming one's own greatness.

3. Non-injury - not causing suffering to any other living being intentionally.

4. Forgiveness - forbearance and patience, capacity to put up with everything without getting disturbed.

5. Uprightness - straight forwardness in behavior.

6. Service to the teacher - not merely physical but seeking mental and intellectual identity with the teacher's heart and intellect.

7. Purity - external: cleanliness of body and environment; internal: taintless thoughts, emotions, intentions and motives.

8. Steadfastness - firmness and consistency of purpose, concentration of all efforts in achieving the spiritual goal.

9. Self control - self-restraint practiced in dealing with others.

indriyaartheshu vairaagyamanahankaara eva cha
    janma mrityu jaraa vyaadhi duhkha doshaanu darshanam // 13.9 //

Dispassion to the objects of  the senses, absence of egoism, perception of evil of birth, death, old age,  sickness and pain.

10. Dispassion or absence of attachment to objects - does not mean running away from objects of the world but detaching oneself from becoming a slave to the sensuous objects.

11. Absence of egoism - absence of the sense of superiority in oneself.

12. Perception of evil in birth, death, old age and sickness - every physical body goes through these changes and at each stage of life encounters sorrows and troubles which fact should be thoroughly understood by a seeker.

13. Pain - birth, death, old age and sickness are full of miseries and all miseries are always painful which one should be conscious of. Pain is of three types viz, those arising in one's own person, those produced by external agents and those produced by God i.e. by circumstances beyond anybody's control. Unless the seeker is aware of the pain in existence there will not be any urge for spiritual enquiry. The sense of revolt against pain is the fuel which propels the seeker to run fast to reach the spiritual goal.

Reflection on the evils and  miseries of birth, death, old age and sickness leads to indifference to  sense-pleasures and the senses turn towards the Innermost self for knowledge.  Birth, death etc. are not miseries by themselves but they produce misery in  their aftermath.

asaktiranabhishwangah putradaaragrihaadishu
    nityam cha samachittatwam ishtaanishtopapattishu // 13.10 //

Non-attachment,  non-identification of self with son, wife, home and the rest and  even-mindedness to all agreeable and disagreeable events.

14. Nonattachment - When a man thinks that an object is his, the idea of `Mine' ness is born in his mind. He identifies himself with that object, loves it and gets attached to it. Non-attachment is the absence of such identification with any object. Keeping the mind away from all attachments assures peaceful life.

15. Non-identification with son etc. - Excessive love towards all these is an intense form of attachment with them so much so one's own material happiness or otherwise is equated with the happiness or otherwise of the other.

16. Constant even-mindedness - Equanimity under all circumstances and conditions, desirable or undesirable, is a sign of knowledge.

mayi chaananyayogena bhaktiravyabhichaarinee
    viviktadesha sevitwam aratir janasamsadi // 13.11 //

Unswerving devotion unto Me through  constant meditation on non-separation, resorting to solitude, aversion to the  society of men

If one has developed the virtues  mentioned in the previous verses, he would conserve in himself a vast energy  which should be directed through proper channels for self-unfoldment. This is  explained here.

17. Unswerving devotion to Me - Devotion to The Lord should be of single point concentration without any thought of other objects.

18. Yoga of non-separation - Undivided attention and enthusiasm in the mind of the devotee.

19. Such an integrated mind and steady contemplation is not possible unless there is a conducive environment which is suggested in two ways viz. a. To resort to solitary places and b. To develop a distaste for the crowded society life.

The implication is to live alone  in oneself away from the maddening crowd. This is natural because whenever the  mind is pre-occupied with an ideal it loses all its contacts with the outside world;  thereafter the seeker lives in himself in a cave of his own experiences, as a  solitary man walking alone in the world. He hates the crowd of other thoughts  entering in his mind. However, these terms are not to be understood as physical  aversion to the society in general and escapism into solitude.

adhyaatma jnaana nityatwam tattwa jnaanaartha darshanam
    etajjnaanamiti proktam ajnaanam yadatonyathaa //13.12 //

Constancy in the Knowledge of  the Self, insight into the object of the knowledge of Truth; this is declared  to be knowledge and what is opposed to it is ignorance.

In this concluding verse of the  section explaining the various essential qualifications in a seeker, the Lord  adds two more items viz. constancy in Self knowledge and understanding the end  of true knowledge.

20. Constancy in Self-knowledge: The knowledge of the Self is to be lived and not merely learnt. If the Self is everywhere and is real, then the seeker should try to live as the Self in his personality layers. This consistency of living the spiritual knowledge in all contacts with the world outside is one of the practices a seeker should always keep up. Knowledge includes practice of the moral virtues.

21. Understanding the end of True Knowledge: To keep the vision of the goal always before us adds enthusiasm in all our activities. Thus Liberation from all our imperfections and limitations is the goal to be aspired for by all spiritual seekers.

22. All that is contrary to it is ignorance: Qualities such as pride, hypocrisy, cruelty, impatience, insincerity and the like are all ignorance and therefore should be avoided as tending to the perpetuation of samsara.

These traits described from Verse  8 to Verse 12 are declared to be the true `knowledge' because they are  conducive to the realization of the Self. These qualities are said to be the  `knowledge' because once they have been fully developed the mind gets matured  enough to reach the goal of Pure knowledge of the Self.

PURE  KNOWLEDGE

jneyam yattat pravakshyaami yajjnaatwaamritam ashnute
    anaadimatparam brahma na sattannaasaduchyate // 13.13 //

I will now describe that which  has to be known; knowing which one attains to immortality, the beginningless  Supreme Brahman, called neither existent nor non-existent.

After explaining in the previous  five verses the various auxiliary causes of knowledge, The Lord promises here  that He will explain what is to be known by this knowledge. Although He says He  will explain what is to be known, He does not do so directly but gives an elaborate  description of what the result would be of such knowledge. This is because the  glorification of the result of the knowledge would instill greater desire in  the seeker to realize it.

Knowledge by which one attains  the Immortal: Mortality is related to matter. If the Immortal Spirit identifies  itself with matter It suffers the imaginary sense of finitude and mortality.  But if the real nature of the Spirit is discovered in itself the concept of  finitude and death disappears and the sense of immortality dawns. To realize the  Spiritual Nature is the goal and meditation with the qualities described above  is the means.

Beginningless Supreme Brahman:  Beginning can occur with reference to a particular time. If time itself is a  created factor there cannot be any beginning. Therefore Brahman which is  substratum for all must be existent even before time. Thus the Supreme, the  Brahman, is always considered `beginningless'.

Neither Existent nor Non-Existent:  The Supreme Consciousness, being the very perceiving principle cannot be  perceived. With reference to it everything is an object and It is the one  subject. Since It cannot be perceived It is said to be non-existent, a Non-Being.  But because Truth cannot be defined as non-existent, It can be defined only as  neither Being nor Non-Being.

Sankara says the Brahman cannot  be existent (Sat) as it belongs to no category or class such as man, animal etc.,  nor does it have any qualities such as whiteness, blackness etc. But at the  same time It shows Itself to be not non-existent (asat) by manifesting itself  through living bodies.
  The concepts of being and  non-being are the work of human intellectual judgment .The Consciousness that  illumines these judgments is the Self. As the illuminator and the illumined  cannot be one and the same, the one subject, Brahman, as opposed to all the  objects cannot be either existent or non-existent because existence and  non-existence are two types of thoughts both of which are illumined by the Self.  Hence Brahman is neither `being' nor `non-being'.

The following verses describe  this all pervading nature of the knower of the field.

sarvatah paanipaadam tat sarvato’kshishiromukham
    sarvatah shrutimalloke sarvamaavritya tishtathi // 13.14 //

With hands and feet  everywhere, with eyes, heads and mouths everywhere, with ears everywhere he  exists in the world, enveloping all.

Hands and feet etc everywhere  suggest the Principle of Consciousness functioning behind them all.  The functioning of all the parts of the body  in every human being is based on the Life Principle. The functions of  perception, feeling and thinking are carried out only so long as there is life  in the body. Life is said to be everywhere and hence the Principle of  Consciousness exists pervading all. This Consciousness behind every living  being, that which is common to all, is Paramatman, Para Brahman.

As the one subject of all objects  of experience, He is said to envelop all and have hands and feet, ears and eyes  everywhere. Without the seeing light there is no experience at all. The Supreme  has got two aspects. As for example so long as one is associated with an  Organization while in service he is called a Manager or President or Director  etc. Once he retires from service, although he loses all his designations he  does not become a zero, but continues to remain a human being as he was  earlier. Similarly, when the Self is associated with the modes of nature, it is  called Kshetrajna; when It is released from these, It is called the Paramatman  or the Supreme Self.

sarvendriyagunaabhaasam sarvendriyavivarjitam
    asaktam sarvabhricchaiva nirgunam gunabhoktru cha // 13.15 //

Shining by the functions of  all the senses, yet without the senses, unattached, yet supporting all, devoid  of qualities, yet their experiencer.

The Self in us functioning  through the sense organs looks as though It possesses all sense organs. But the  sense organs decay and perish while the Consciousness which functions through  them and which provides each of them with its own individual faculty is Eternal  and Changeless just as electricity is not the light in the bulb and yet when it  functions through the bulb it looks as if it were light.

The relationship of unattached  support can be explained as follows. Waves are not the ocean but the ocean  supports all the waves in as much as there can be no waves without the ocean.  Cotton is in the cloth but cloth is not the cotton. But it is the cotton in the  cloth that supports the cloth. Similarly the world of plurality is not the  Consciousness but it is the Consciousness that supports the world of  multiplicities.

The influences which govern the  human minds are called Gunas or Qualities. They are Sattwa (Unactivity), Rajas  (Activity) and Tamas (Inactivity). A live mind alone can experience these  influences. But Life is the illuminator of these influences. Thus Consciousness  conditioned by the mind is Jiva, the Ego and that is the experiencer of the Gunas.  Unconditioned by the mind, Consciousness in itself is `Its own nature', `It is  the Absolute'.

Thus the Self, the Absolute, is  beyond sense organs, mind and intellect, detached from everything and without  any relation to the various Gunas. But the same Self conditioned by the sense  organs looks as though It possess all these sense organs, It is the sustainer  of them all and It is the experiencer of all the Gunas.

bahirantashcha bhootaanaam acharam charameva cha
    sookshmatwaat tadavijneyam doorastham chaantike cha tat // 13.16 //

`That' is without and within  (all) beings, is the unmoving and also the moving; is too subtle to be known;  is far away and yet is near.

The all pervasiveness of the  Consciousness is indicated here.

Without and within all beings -  Consciousness is present in body, mind and intellect and also outside these  equipments just as sound waves converted into electric waves are present even  where there are no radio sets to receive them.

Unmoving and moving - All that  moves by itself is classified as alive and that which has no motion in itself  is inert. As Consciousness is all pervasive and all encompassing it cannot move  within itself and hence It is unmoving. Yet when Consciousness is conditioned  by the equipments through which it functions it looks as if it were moving.  Hence it is said to be moving. When we sit in a moving train we feel we are  moving although we are only sitting i.e. when we are conditioned by a moving  train we feel as if we were moving. So also Consciousness looks as if it were  moving when conditioned by moving things.

Although without Consciousness no  activity is ever possible none is able to perceive It, feel It or  intellectually comprehend It. This is because of its subtle nature. Grosser the  thing more it is perceptible. Subtle nature makes comprehension difficult.

Near and far : The concept of  distance-nearness and farness- arises only in respect of conditioned things or  those that which has limitations in terms of space or volume etc.

When a thing is all pervasive and  exists everywhere the question of its being near or far does not arise; such  things are both near and far. Consciousness is far because of its Absolute  nature and yet it is near because of the existence of the living beings with  shapes and forms through whom it functions.

avibhaktam cha bhooteshu vibhaktamiva cha  sthitam
    bhootabhartru cha tajjneyam grasishnu prabhavishnu cha // 13.17 //

He is undivided, yet He exists  as if divided among beings; He is to be known as the supporter of beings; He  destroys them and creates them afresh.

Undivided yet divided: Paramatman  is all pervading and yet it individualizes as special manifestation only at  points where equipments are available just as electricity manifests as light  only at the point of filament in the bulb. Although space is one entity it  looks divided as room space, pot space etc.

Supports all, destroys all and creates  all: The Ocean is a supporter of waves, waves are born in the ocean and yet the  same ocean destroys all waves. The Truth or Self is the substratum on which the  world of plurality is projected by the deluded mind and intellect and when we  go beyond the mind and intellect the vision of samsar gets swallowed up  in the tranquility of the Self.

jyotishaamapi tajjyotistamasah paramuchyate
    jnaanam jneyam jnaanagamyam hridi sarvasya vishthitam // 13.18 //

He, the light of all lights,  is said to be beyond darkness. As Knowledge, the object of knowledge, the goal  of knowledge He is seated in the hearts of all.

Since the Consciousness in us  brings our various experiences within our understanding, it is compared to  light. To see an object it should be illumined by the light. Similarly to cognize  the outer world experiences there must be light within us to illumine our  emotions and thoughts that arise in us.

This light of wisdom by which we  become aware of our own mental and intellectual conditions is called the Light  of the Soul or the Self or the Consciousness. The Self is said to be the light  of all lights because without Consciousness even the sun which has immeasurable  light within itself cannot be perceived.

Beyond Darkness: If the sun were  to shine in a location all the twenty four hours, the concept of day and night  or brightness and darkness loses its meaning because the question of darkness appearing  anytime does not arise and it is sunshine all throughout. In this situation the  sun is said to know no darkness. Similarly, Consciousness is beyond the concept  of darkness; it is the Light Absolute; where there is consciousness there  cannot be any darkness or night.  Moreover the principle of Consciousness makes  us aware not only the light but also the darkness. That which illuminates both  light and darkness must be beyond the experience of light and darkness. Hence  the Self is said to transcend even darkness.

Knowledge (Jnaanam), the  thing to be known (Jneyam) and the goal of all knowledge (Jnaana  gamyam): This is the final experience to be gained for which groundwork has  been done from verses 7 to 18. This is the point of concentration. It is the  Consciousness that transcends all our experiences and illumines our life. It is  the very goal of all spiritual endeavors at all times and at all places.

Dwelling in the hearts of all:  The Lord says that Consciousness, the Infinite, dwells in the hearts of all.  Heart does not mean the blood supplying physical part of the body. It means the  mental area from where all noble thoughts emanate.  In a tranquil and pious  atmosphere when the intellect contemplates  upon the `Light' that is beyond darkness, all pervading, subtle, It can be realized  and hence it is stated to dwell in everybody's heart.

Many of these passages are  quotations from the Upanishads. Ref: Svetasvatara Up.III.8 and 16; Isa Up.  5; Mundaka Up. III. 1. 7; Brihadaranyaka Up. IV.4.16.

THE FRUITS OF KNOWLEDGE

iti kshetram tathaa jnaanam jneyam choktam samaasatah
    madbhakta etadvijnaaya madbhaavaayopapadyate // 13.19 //

Thus the Field as well as the  Knowledge and the object of Knowledge have been stated. My devotee who  understands this enters into My Being.

Sri Krishna concludes the theme  of His discourse so far by saying those who seek the light through devotion to  Him reach Him. Devotion here implies not only emotional surrender unto The Lord  but intellectual apprehension of the Truth, the Self, through a correct  understanding of the Field and the Knower of the Field. One who is able to recognize  the one Sri Krishna as the vitalizing Consciousness Principle in all fields of  matter envelopments, he is the true devotee who as The Lord says `enters into  His Being', attains liberation or release from birth and death.

The `Field' is described in  verses 6 & 7, ‘Knowledge' is described in verses 8-12 and the `Knowable' is  described in verses 13-18. One who understands the Field, knowledge and the  object of knowledge knows the whole doctrine of the Vedas and the Bhagavad Gita.

NATURE AND SPIRIT

prakritim purusham chaiva viddhyanaadee ubhaavapi
    vikaaraamshcha gunaamshchaiva viddhi prakritisambhavaan // 13.20 //

Know you that Prakriti and Purusha  are both without beginning and know you also that all forms and gunas are born  of Prakriti.

In Chapter 7 Sri Krishna said  that His Prakriti falls under two categories viz. the Higher and the Lower. In  this Chapter both these are explained as the Knower of the Field (Kshetrajna,  Purusha) and the Field (Kshetra, prakriti). It was also stated earlier that  both the Higher and Lower Matter together constitute the source of creation.  The same thought is repeated here as the Field and the Knower of the Field  together form the origin of all beings.

Prakriti, Matter or nature is  inert.  Matter is that out of which all  forms (from intelligence down to the gross body) and gunas (qualities such as  sattva, rajas and tamas, which manifest themselves in the form of pleasure,  pain delusion so on,) come into existence. All changes or modifications are  related to Matter. Prakriti is maya, the sakti or power of the Lord. It is the  cause of the manifestation of the relative universe.

Since Prakriti or maya is the  eternal source of all forms and gunas, Brahman (Purusha) remains ever  changeless and immutable. Purusha, Self, Soul, Spirit, is the changeless  substratum in the presence of which all changes take place.

Matter (Prakriti) and Spirit  (Purusha) are both beginningless. They are the two aspects of Iswara, the Lord.  As the Lord is eternal so also is His two aspects Matter and Spirit. The play  of Matter and Spirit causes the origin, preservation and dissolution of the  Universe.

FUNCTIONS OF PRAKRITI AND PURUSHA

kaaryakaaranakartrutwe hetuh prakritiruchyate
    purushah sukhaduhkhaanaam bhoktritwe heturuchyate // 13.21 //

Prakriti is said to be the cause  of the generation of the body and the organs and Purusha is said to be the cause  of the experience of pleasure and pain.

Prakriti (nature) is the material  from which the body and the sense organs are produced. The five elements out of  which the body is made and the five sense-objects are included under the term  ‘body’ or ‘karya’ used in the Verse. The sense organs are thirteen  namely five organs of perception, five organs of action, the mind, intellect  (buddhi), and I-consciousness (ahamkara). Pleasure, pain, delusion and the rest,  which are born of three gunas of prakriti, are included under the term organs  or ‘karana’ since they cannot exist independently of the sense-organs.

Purusha and Prakriti are stated  to be the cause of samsara or phenomenal existence. Prakriti transforms itself  into body and senses, as also into pleasure, pain and so on and Purusha  experiences pleasure and pain. This union between Purusha and Prakriti makes  relative life possible. Even though the Purusha, the Soul, identifies Himself  with the body and appears to experience pleasure and pain, yet in reality He  remains unchanging. It is this apparent experience which constitutes His  illusory world or samsara and which makes Him a samsari or phenomenal being.

It should be clearly understood that  although the term Purusha used here is synonymous with jiva, the individualized  soul, or Kshetrajna, the Knower of the Field, or bhokta, the enjoyer, it  should not be confused with the Paramatman or Brahman or the Highest Self. The  term Purusha is used here merely as an intelligent principle and a conditioned  being. Again, this should not be construed that there are two separate  purushas; the same one purusha is seen from two different angles. In the Gita,  no distinction is made between the knower of the Field and the Supreme Lord,  Paramatman, Brahman.

HOW DOES IMMUTABLE ATMAN EXPERIENCE PLEASURE AND PAIN?

purushah prakritistho hi bhungte prakritijaan gunaan
    kaaranam gunasango'sya sadasadyoni janmasu // 13.22  //

Purusha seated in Prakriti,  experiences the qualities (gunas) born of Prakriti. It is attachment to these  qualities is the cause of His birth in good and evil wombs.

Purusha seated in Prakriti: When  the knower of the Field (Purusha) identifies himself with the Field (Prakriti),  he becomes the experiencer.

He experiences the qualities born  of Prakriti: Purusha identifies with the body and the senses which are the  effects of Prakriti (Matter). Pleasure and pain, heat and cold etc. arise out  of Matter envelopments. The experiences of Matter become the experiences of the  Spirit because of the latter's contact with the former. Purusha not only  experiences the sorrows and joys of life but develops attachment with them  which is the cause of its birth in good or evil wombs.

Having identified with the Field  (World of objects), the knower of the Field (Purusha) develops attachment to  the Field, the delusory samsar and finds himself as though he has  forgotten his real nature. Thus this ignorance (Avidya) and attachment  to the Field are the two causes due to which the Satchidananda has  become a miserable Samsarin. The re-discovery of the Self and realizing  our real nature would therefore be through detachment from the Field. Vairagya and Viveka are the means for such rediscovery.

Avidya or ignorance and kama or attachment to the gunas, together constitute the cause of samsara or relative existence. The aspirant seeking liberation, should avoid them both. Ignorance is to be removed by knowledge, the knowledge of the  Field and the Knower of the Field as imparted in the beginning of this Chapter. Attachment is to be destroyed by vairagya or dispassion. The  injunction delivered in the Gita is to renounce the illusory world.

REAL NATURE OF PURUSHA 

upadrashtaanumantaa cha bhartaa bhoktaa maheshwarah
    paramaatmeti chaapyukto dehe'smin purushah parah // 13.23 //

The Supreme Purusha in this  body is also called the Witness, the Approver, the Supporter, the Experiencer,  the Sovereign Lord and the Supreme Self.

As a contrast to the deluded  knower of the Field, Purusha, discussed in the previous Verse, there must be the  Pure Spirit or unconditioned Purusha also.  Hence there must be knowledge which is not  conditioned by the field although it may look conditioned. Sri Krishna thus  mentions here two Purushas viz. the Lower one and the Higher one. The Lower  Purusha is the knower of the Field and the Higher one is Pure Consciousness  unconditioned by the Prakriti. Both of these function in this body.

The Supreme Self, Pure  Consciousness, is described as Spectator, a silent witness, upadrashtaa, when it sees evil actions performed. When noble actions take place it is  referred to as the Approver, anumantha. When noble actions are done in a  spirit of surrender to the Lord, the Supreme is referred to as bharta,  the fulfiller. The individual in his Eternal Conscious state initiates all  actions and reaps the fruit. Therefore, He is referred to as the Experiencer, bhokta.

Finally it is stated that the  Higher Self, paramaatma, the Sovereign Lord, maheshwarah, is  in this body itself.

RESULT OF SELF-KNOWLEDGE

ya evam vetti purusham prakritim cha gunaih saha
    sarvathaa vartamano’pi na sa  bhooyobhijaayate // 13.24 //

He who thus knows the Purusha  and Prakriti along with the gunas is not born again, in whatsoever condition he  may be.

He who has realized in himself

•that which is the matter, prakriti
•that which is the Spirit, purusha, and who understands
•how the Supreme Spirit gets identified with matter and behaves as Purusha, the knower of the Field
•as also the mysteries of the Gunas under the influence of which the body equipments function is the one called `Man of Wisdom'. Such a person frees himself from the cycle of births and deaths whatever may be his conduct.

DIFFERENT ROADS TO SALVATION

dhyaanenaatmani pashyanti kechidaatmaanamaatmanaa
    anye saankhyena yogena karmayogena chaapare // 13.25 //

Some by meditation behold the  Self in the Self by the Self, others by the path of knowledge (Jnaana Yoga) and  still others by Karma Yoga or path of works.

Realization of the Self is the  goal of the spiritual seeking and many paths are prescribed for the purpose  keeping in view the differences in the mental and intellectual capabilities of  the seekers.

By meditation some behold the Self:  Meditation is defined as withdrawing the hearing, seeing, and the functioning  of the other senses into the mind away from   sound, form and other sense objects; next withdrawing the mind into the  inmost Intelligence; and then contemplating the Intelligence with undeviating  concentration. Meditation is continuous thinking and the mind of one absorbed  in it dwells on the ideal uninterruptedly.

Through meditation the seeker  directs his flow of thought of the Self in a continuous and unbroken manner  like an unbroken stream of flowing oil when pouring from one vessel to another.  Through concentration the senses are withdrawn into the mind and are not  allowed to run after their respective sensual objects. Keeping it thus under  control, the mind itself is made to abide in the Self through constant  meditation on the Self.

The mind is purified by  meditation. A pure mind will not have any attachment to sense objects and  naturally moves towards the Self. The seekers of this type have a very high  degree of detachment from sense objects (Vairagya) and sense of discrimination  to distinguish the Permanent from the Impermanent. (Viveka). This type of individuals  belongs to the highest class.

Sankhya Yoga or Jnaana Yoga: The  second path meant for those who do not have the steadiness of the mind and  intellect is the study of the Shastras. The term `Sankhya' means arriving at  philosophical conclusions through logical thoughts. The study of Shastras and  reflections upon them is called Yoga which will lead one to deeper conviction  of the goal and steadiness of mind to realize it.

Karma Yoga: The third one is for  those who cannot even study and reflect on shastras due to their inner  limitations. Such a person surrenders his actions and their fruits to the Lord.  This produces purity of mind which leads to the knowledge of the Self.

The paths of meditation,  knowledge and work are prescribed to cater to the temperaments of different  classes of people.

WHAT ABOUT PEOPLE OF LEAST UNDERSTANDING?

anye twevamajaanantah shrutwaanyebhya upaasate
    te’pi chaa'titarantyeva mrityum shrutiparaayanaah // 13.26 //

Others also, ignorant of this  (these paths of Yoga), worship having heard of it from others; they too cross  beyond death, by their devotion to what they have heard as the Supreme Refuge.

Three main paths - Yoga of  meditation, Yoga of knowledge and Yoga of action- were referred to in the  previous verse. In this verse Yoga of worship is described. This path is shown  to those who could not adopt any of the aforesaid three methods.

Some people listen with intense  faith to the teachings of the spiritual preceptors regarding the Self. Solely  depending upon their advice and worship according to their advice they attain  immortality. Some study books and adhere with faith the teachings contained  therein and live according to them. They also overcome death. Whichever path  one follows, one eventually attains liberation from birth and death. The  various paths exist only to suit the aspirants of different temperaments and  equipments, the ultimate goal being the same.

Here death does not mean what  happens to the physical body but the principle of change. When we identify with  the body, the experiences can only be of the finite. To experience the Infinite  is to enter the state of immortality which is beyond death.





    yaavat sanjaayate kinchit sattwam sthaavarajangamam
    kshetrakshetrajnasamyogaat tadviddhi bharatarshabha // 13.27 //

Wherever any being is born,  the unmoving or the moving, know you, O Best of the Bharata, that it is from  the union between the Field and the Knower of the Field.

The union between the Field and  the Knower of the Field is not of any physical kind or of any material nature but  it is of mutual superimposition. It is illusory, confounding the one with the  other. In every superimposition a delusion is recognized upon the substratum  just like a ghost on the post. Not only all the characteristics of a ghost are  projected upon the post but the post lends its existence to the non-existent  ghost. As a result of their mutual union we find that the non-existent ghost  comes into existence and the existing post gives place to non-existent ghost.

This trick of the human mind is  called mutual superimposition which is known in Vedanta as adhyasa. This  means false superimposition of one thing upon the other. This superimposition  is due to maya or absence of discrimination.  This unreal relationship, created by  ignorance, conjures up before our vision the manifold phenomenon of the  relative material world. When this confusion is cleared, bondage terminates.

In the Pure Consciousness or  Supreme Soul, Paramatman or Brahman, there is no Field of the Matter. But when the  Spirit starts playing in the Field it becomes the Knower of the Field  (Purusha). When Purusha works in Prakriti the combination brings forth the  entire phenomenal universe consisting of the moving and the unmoving. The  insentient body is mistaken for the sentient Self and vice versa. This illusion  disappears when one realizes the real knowledge of the Self and when one knows  the distinction between the Field and the Knower of the Field.

samam sarveshu bhooteshu tishthantam parameshwaram
    vinashyatswavinashyantam yah pashyati sa pashyati // 13.28 //

He sees who sees the Supreme  Lord existing equally in all beings, the unperishing within the perishing.

The substratum that supports all  is the Supreme Lord remaining the same in all beings. Everything in this  phenomenal world is subject to change and modifications - birth, growth, decay  and death. The Changeless Consciousness that supports all changes is the  Principle that illumines the changing world of plurality just as gold is the  changeless factor in different types of ornaments which are always made and  destroyed to make new ones of different types. The shape and size of ornaments  change but the changeless factor in them all is gold. He who recognizes the  harmony of Universal Spirit in all things, from the highest deity to the grain  of sand, sees and becomes universal. The same divine spirit dwells in all. The  difference between one object and another from the relative standpoint lies in  the degree of manifestation of the Spirit in it. In a Saint, the Spirit is  highly manifested while in a lowly object the spirit is hidden.

samam pashyan hi sarvatra samavasthitameeshwaram
    na hinastyaatmanaatmaanam tato yaati paraam gatim // 13.29 //

Because he who sees the same  Lord everywhere equally dwelling, does not destroy the Self by the self;  therefore, he goes to the highest goal.

He does not destroy the Self by  the self: In Chapter 6.5 & 6 it was explained as to when the self becomes  the enemy of the Self. Whenever the lower egocentric personality is not  available for guidance by the higher wisdom the lower becomes the enemy for the  higher in us. Such an ignorant man destroys the Self by identifying himself  with the body and the modifications of the mind and by not seeing the immortal  Self in all beings.

In an individual who recognizes  and experiences the one Parameswara everywhere the lower cannot overshadow the  higher. Such a sage does not destroy the Self by the self. To rediscover the  spiritual Reality, the Supreme Lord, in this world of change and sorrow is to  end all agitations.

He goes to the highest goal: The  mutual conflict between the lower and the higher personality is due to  non-apprehension of the Reality or due to mis-apprehension arising out of  non-apprehension. Because of this lack of understanding, we do not recognize  the one Eternal Divine everywhere and identify ourselves with the body and the  mind and thereby feel that they alone are real. Consequently, we come to the  conclusion that sensuality, materialistic pursuits and selfish satisfactions  are the only goals worth pursuing in life. Hence The Lord says that when both  these non-apprehension and mis-apprehension are ended that Absolute experience  is the experience of the highest goal and therefore, `He goes to the highest'.

prakrityaiva cha karmaani kriyamaanaani sarvashah
    yah pashyati tathaatmaanam akartaaram sa pashyati // 13.30 //

He sees who sees that all  actions are performed by Prakriti alone and likewise that the Self is not the  doer.

Prakriti alone performs all actions:  Actions depend upon the quality of the matter. If the mind is evil, actions  arising out of it cannot be good. The Self is perfect and there is no desire in  it. Where there are no desires, there is no action. He who recognizes the  Imperishable amidst the perishable is the right perceiver. He alone sees who  sees. The true Self is not the doer but only the witness. It is the spectator,  not the actor. Actions affect the mind and understanding and not the Self.

REALIZATION OF THE UNITY OF EXISTENCE LEADS TO THE ATTAINMENT OF BRAHMAN

    yadaa bhootaprithagbhaavam ekastham anupashyati
    tata eva cha vistaaram brahma sampadyate tadaa // 13.31 //

When a man sees the whole  variety of beings as centered in the One and from That One alone they spread  out, he then attains Brahman.

To know that the Self is the  ultimate Truth behind names and forms is only half knowledge. It can become  complete only when we understand how the multiplicity of names and forms arise  from the Self and spread to become the Universe. When the variety of nature and  its development are traced to the Eternal One, we assume eternity. He realizes  the all pervading nature of the Self, because the cause of all limitation has  been destroyed by the knowledge of unity with Brahman.

The Chhandogya Upanishad (VII.xxvi.1) says “From the Self is life, from  the Self is desire, from the Self is love, from the Self is akasa, from  the Self is light, from the Self are the waters, from the Self is the  manifestation and disappearance, from the Self is the soul”.

anaaditwaan nirgunatwaat paramaatmaayam avyayah
    shareerasthopi kaunteya na karoti na lipyate // 13.32 //

Being without beginning and  being devoid of qualities, the Supreme Self, imperishable, though dwelling in  the body, O Kaunteya, neither acts nor is tainted.

The Spirit identifying itself  with the Field becomes the knower of the Field (Purusha) and it is this individualized  ego that acts and accomplishes.

`Without beginning' means `no  cause'. Every cause itself becomes an effect and an effect is the cause in a  changed form. Therefore all effects are liable to change and that which changes  is perishable. The Supreme Self being an uncaused cause for all that has been  created has no beginning.

Having no quality or guna: That  which has no change cannot have any quality since that which has qualities are  substances and all substances are perishable.

Imperishable: The process of  change occurring in the properties and qualities of a thing is a phenomenon of  its decay. That which has no quality cannot change and that which is changeless  cannot perish. Paramatman is thus Imperishable. Therefore the Beginningless,  Qualityless, Imperishable Supreme Self, Paraamatman, though lives in physical  body and activates the inert matter (Field) around each embodied creature into  life, by Itself and in Itself, It does not act.

Neither acts nor is tainted:  As the Paramatman is not the doer of any  action he is not affected by the fruit of action.

A question arises here that if the  Spirit dwelling in the body does not act and is not affected by the result of  action, then, who is the performer or doer or agent of action and the reaper of  its fruit?  The answer to this riddle is  that it is Prakriti that acts (Chapter 5.14). Through illusion arises the idea  of the action, the doer, and the result of action. No action really exists in  the Supreme Lord. From the standpoint of Reality there exists neither good nor  evil. When the knowledge of the unity of the Lord and the universe is veiled by  ignorance, there arise the ideas of the pairs of opposites, and also the idea  of action, characterized by agency, instrument and result. e.g. from the  standpoint of the desert, there is neither mirage nor water as everything is  desert only; from the standpoint of the ocean there are neither waves nor foam  as everything is ocean only, from the standpoint of gold, there is neither a  bangle nor a necklace as everything is gold only.

This is one of the most difficult  concepts in Vedanta and the seeker must reflect on this deeply to grasp it. The  Lord gives some examples to illustrate the actionlessness of the Self.

yataa sarvagatam saukshmyaadaakaasham nopalipyate
    sarvatraavasthito dehe tathaatmaa nopalipyate // 13.33 //

As the all pervading ether is  not tainted, because of its subtlety, so too the Self that is present in every  body does not suffer any taint.

As the all pervading Akasa  (ether, space) is not soiled: Akasa means the concept of pure space. It is the  subtlest of all gross elements and hence pervades everything that is grosser  than it. Space being subtle, it allows everything to remain in it and yet  nothing that it contains can contaminate it. The Supreme Self which is the  cause of the very Akasa and therefore is subtler than Akasa. Hence It pervades  all and nothing pervades It. It cannot be contaminated by anything that exists  or is happening in the world of plurality.

As the waters of the mirage  cannot drench the desert, the world of plurality-the domain of matter and its  activities-cannot contaminate the Eternal. The Self, though permeates and  pervades the whole body, is not soiled by its virtuous or vicious actions just  as space is not dirtied by the things accommodated under it.

yathaa prakaashayatyekah kritsnam lokamimam ravih
    kshetram kshetree tathaa kritsnam prakaashayati bhaarata // 13.34 //

Just as the one sun  illuminates the whole world, so also The Lord of the Field (Paramatman)  illumines the whole world, O Bharata.

The exact relationship of  Consciousness, the Eternal Principle of Life, with matter and its various  expressions is explained here. The example given by The Lord for the purpose is  the one sun which illumines the entire world at all times. Just as the sun, the  Consciousness merely illumines the world of objects, the body, the mind and the  intellect.

Lighting of the world by the sun  is not an activity undertaken by him for achieving any purpose. On the other  hand light itself is the very nature of the sun and in his light everything  gets illumined. Similarly, the nature of Consciousness is awareness and in Its  presence everything becomes known i.e., illumined. The sun illumines  everything, good and bad, beautiful and ugly, virtue and vice etc. So too, in  our inner life Consciousness functions through body equipments and illumines  them but never gets contaminated by the actions of the body or by the emotions  of the mind or by the thoughts of the intellect.

kshetrakshetrjnayorevamantaram jnaanachakshushaa
    bhootaprakritimoksham cha ye vidur yaanti te param // 13.35 //

They, who by the eye of wisdom  perceive the distinction between Kshetra and Kshetrajna and of the liberation  of the being from Prakriti, go to the Supreme.

It was explained that the Spirit  is the illuminator. It cannot be tainted by the qualities of the illumined. Sri  Krishna now concludes that man's life is fulfilled only when he with his  discrimination meditates upon and realizes the constitution of and relationship  between the Field, the Knower of the Field and the Supreme Self in himself.  This can be achieved through the eye of wisdom or intuition which is opened up  by meditation, study of scriptures or teachings of the preceptors. One who realizes  this is liberated and attains eternal freedom.

Thus it has been very clearly and  emphatically laid down in the Bhagavad Gita that the means of deliverance from  maya or ignorance are meditation, renunciation and other spiritual disciplines.

om tat sat
iti srimadbhagavadgeetaasu upanishatsu brahma vidyaayaam yogashaastre
 sri  krishnaarjuna samvaade kshetra kshetrajna vibhaaga yogo naama trayodasho'dhyaayah ||

Thus in the Upanishads of the  glorious Bhagavad Gita, the science of the Eternal, the scripture of Yoga, the  dialogue between Sri Krishna and Arjuna, ends the  thirteenth discourse entitled  The Yoga of Distinction Between The Field and  the Knower of the Field

Concepts and Issues

Sri Krishna now describes the  Kshetra (Field) and the Ksherajna (Knower of the Field), the terms being used  in philosophic sense. The body is the Field and the Self or the Soul is the  Knower of the Field. Details of the two have been described by the sages in  several works. In the ultimate analysis Sri Krishna is the Knower of the Field  in all the Fields.

The Five elements, ego-sense,  intellect, sense-organs, mind, objects of the senses, pleasure and pain - all  these belong to the Field. Jnana or Knowledge consists in cultivating certain  virtues like humility, simplicity, non-violence, uprightness, service to  preceptor, purity, self control, and detachment, absence of egoism, equanimity  and devotion to Sri Krishna. Resorting to the lonely places, avoiding crowds,  steady devotion to spiritual wisdom also helps in getting knowledge.

Then Jneya or that which is to be  known viz. Brahman is described by knowing which one gets immortality. It is  without beginning and cannot be defined as either existence or non-existence.  It is everywhere. It pervades everything. Though It reveals Itself through the  functions of the senses, It is without sense organs. It is inside and outside  of all beings. It is the light of all the lights. It is the knowledge as well  as the known and is established in the hearts of all.

  Prakriti (nature, the Field) and  Purusha (the being, Knower of the Field) are both beginningless. Purusha being  stationed in Prakriti experiences pleasure and pain born out of the Gunas. It  is attachment to Gunas that causes transmigration in good or bad births. One  who knows the Purusha and Prakriti thus will transcend rebirth.

Those who realize the Atman  (Purusha) through the pure mind or through Jnana Yoga or Karma Yoga will transcend  mortality. All objects in this world are created out of the conjunction of the  Field and the Knower of the Field. Parameswara, the Supreme Lord, exists in all  without distinction. One who realizes this fact attains the final goal of life.

It is Prakriti or the Field that  acts whereas the Self, though stationed in the body, never acts nor gets  tainted. The Knower of the Field, the Self, illumines the Field, the body with  consciousness like the sun illuminating the whole world. Those who can  understand the difference between the two - The Field and the Knower of the  Field- will attain Brahman.

Live as the Gita Teaches You to Live

  In this Chapter the Lord teaches us  to be a witness, with discriminative understanding that everything in the  Universe is a product of Prakriti and the Self or Pure Consciousness is our destiny.

   One should not identify oneself  with the functions of one's own mind, intellect, senses and body. One should  not confuse one's real nature, Pure Consciousness, with the products of  Prakriti.

 

Points to Ponder

  1. Why the body is called the Field?  What are its constituents?
  2. Who is Knower of the Field? What  are His characteristics?
  3. What is Knowledge? What is knowable?
  4. What are the Spirit and the Matter?
  5. What is the benefit of knowing  the difference between the
  6. Field and Knower of the Field?
  7. Realization of the unity of existence leads to the attainment of Brahman
  8. Being without beginning and being devoid of qualities, the Supreme Self, though dwelling in the body neither acts nor is tainted.

HARIH OM