Bhagavad Gita - Chapter 7 - Jnaana Vijnaana Yogah (Gyaan Vigyaan Yoga ) - Yoga Of Knowledge And Wisdom

 

CONTENTS

• PREAMBLE
• TWO KINDS OF NATURE OF THE LORD
• GUNAS
• MODES OF NATURE CONFUSE MEN
• WHO CAN REALIZE THE SUPREME?
• IF MAYA CAN BE OVERCOME BY DEVOTION WHY DO NOT ALL WORSHIP HIM?
• DIFFERENT KINDS OF DEVOTION
• TOLERATION
• POWER OF IGNORANCE
• CAUSE OF IGNORANCE
• REASONS FOR ILLUSION
• THE FORTUNATE SOULS
• CONCEPTS AND ISSUES
• LIVE AS THE GITA TEACHES YOU TO LIVE
• POINTS TO PONDER

 

 

 

 

 

 

Preamble

The  following are the four Mahavakyas (Great Truths) taken out from each of  the four Vedas all indicating the same Truth.

GREAT TRUTHS

We  have seen earlier that the eighteen chapters of Gita can be divided into 3 sets  of 6 Chapters each explaining the Truth of the Mahavakya - `You Are That'. This  sentence summarizes the entire Vedic law and philosophy.  The first 6 Chapters of Gita explain the  significance of the term `You' (Twam). The next 6 Chapters from the 7th to 12th  explain the term `That' (Tat). The last 6 Chapters give the meaning of the term  `Are' (Asi) and explain the message of the entire Mahavakya i.e. how the  individual can blend with Parabrahman or attain Liberation. This Division does  not mean any compartmentalization but implies a close relationship between the  verses as also a logical thoughtflow from one Chapter to another.

Sri  Krishna ended the previous Chapter by describing the supreme yogi as one who,  with his inmost self abiding in Him, adores the Lord. We were told about the  technique of meditation for obtaining Self-Realization and that a meditator is  superior to a Tapasvi or Gnani. It declared that the one who has successfully  merged his mind in the nature of Pure Consciousness through single-pointed  meditation is the highest and the dearest to The Lord.

Arjuna  still doubts how a limited and mortal mind and intellect of a finite entity  like man could ever understand the limitless Infinite with all its virtues and  glory. Sri Krishna therefore clarifies this doubt in this Chapter by describing  the nature of the Lord Himself, who is the point of concentration of the yogi’s  unwavering devotion.

Sri  Krishna uses the first person singular pronoun ‘ME’ to mean the  supreme Reality or brahman or God. He tells Arjuna that the supreme Godhead has to be realized  in both its transcendent and immanent aspects. The Yogi who has reached this  summit has nothing more to know.

This  complete union with the Lord is difficult of attainment. Among many thousands  of human beings, very few aspire for this union, and even among those who  aspire for it, few ever reach the pinnacle of spiritual realization.

The  Lord gives a clear description of the all-pervading static and infinite state  of His Being. He then proceeds to explain His manifestations as the universe  and the power behind it.

He  speaks of these manifestations as His lower and higher Prakritis. The lower  Prakriti is made up of the five elements, mind, ego and intellect. The higher  Prakriti is the life-element which upholds the universe, activates it and  causes its appearance and final dissolution.

Krishna says that whatever exists is nothing but Himself. He is  the cause of the appearance of the universe and all things in it. Everything is  strung on Him like clusters of gems on a string. He is the essence, substance  and substratum of everything, whether visible or invisible. Although everything  is in Him, yet He transcends everything as the actionless Self.

Prakriti  or nature is made up of the three Gunas or qualities—Sattva, Rajas and Tamas.  These three qualities delude the soul and make it forget its true nature, which  is one with God. This delusion, termed Maya, can only be removed by the Grace  of the Lord Himself.

‘Jnana’ means consummate knowledge of the formless and  attributeless aspect of the Lord. ‘Vijnana’ means experiencing that knowledge.  Awareness of the Lord comprises of both such knowledge and experience. The  present Chapter deals with such Integral Divinity and with practices which lead  to its knowledge and the fortunate souls who possess such knowledge. In simple  terms the Chapter tells us about

•the concept of God or Brahman or Soul 
•examples of manifestation of God in the universe and  
•how to perceive God within oneself.

It is therefore named as ‘The Yoga of Jnana and Vijnana’

The  Text

sri bhagavaan uvaacha
    mayyaasaktamanaah paartha yogam  yunjanmadaashrayah
    asamshayam samagram maam yathaa  jnaasyasi tacchrinu // 7.1 //

Sri  Bhagavan said
    Hear,  O Partha, how, with your mind intent on Me, and taking refuge in Me and  practicing Yoga, you will without doubt know Me in full.

A  Yogi’s mind is attached to the Lord alone setting aside all the disciplines and  worships the Lord with complete concentration. The Lord alone is the whole basis  of the yogi’s being and the goal of his action. Practicing yoga means being  united with the Lord in contemplation. Knowing the Lord in full implies knowing  all His six attributes viz., infinite greatness, strength, power, grace,  knowledge and detachment. As Arjuna has the necessary qualifications, Sri  Krishna assures that He will give him a complete or integral knowledge of the  Divine, not merely the Pure Self but also its manifestations in the world.

jnaanam te'ham savijnaanam idam  vakshyaamyasheshatah
    yajjnaatwaa neha bhooyo'nyaj  jnaatavyamavashishyate // 7.2 //

I  shall teach you in full both knowledge and experience, which having been known,  nothing more remains to be known by you.


  Jnana  means knowledge, the direct spiritual illumination and Vijnana is the detailed  rational knowledge of the principles of existence. We must have not merely the  knowledge of the relationless Absolute but also of its varied manifestations.

The  awareness that the Lord exists and that He is the inmost spirit of all is knowledge.  This knowledge can be acquired by study of the scriptures, and reasoning about  their contents. But to realize the Lord in oneself and in all other beings and  to act according to that realization is experience, vijnana. For  example, to know that one can obtain fire from wood is knowledge. But to kindle  fire in the wood and feel its heat and light in a dark winter night is  experience, Vijnana. In Hinduism knowledge of God is inseparable from  experience.

Because  the Lord is everything, when He is fully known everything else is automatically  known. The Lord as Sat-chit-ananda (existence-knowledge-bliss absolute)  forms the real essence of all objects. Names and forms are mere illusory  superimposition.

manushyaanaam sahasreshu kaschidyatati  siddhaye
    yatataamapi siddhaanaam kaschinmaam  vetti tattwatah // 7.3 //

Among  thousands of people, one by chance aspires for perfection; even among those  successful aspirants, one by chance knows Me in essence.

The  question why the Self-Realized masters are so rare and why such a realization  is not within the reach of everyone is answered.

‘Knowing  Me in essence’ - The Being of the Lord and His diverse manifestations are  incomprehensible to the human mind. He is the Impersonal Reality, the Personal  God, and many other things besides. Of all living beings on earth, man alone  can inquire about his self and its relationship with the Lord. Among  innumerable human beings, only a few develop a desire for such an inquiry.  Among those who show such desire, only a few know the means of attaining  knowledge and strive after it. Among those who strive, only a fortunate few  succeed in acquiring the true knowledge of the Lord. Hence knowledge of God is  rare on this earth.

Thus  far Arjuna has been taught the highest form of devotion, which leads to union  with God in its static aspect as also with His dynamic Prakriti. Krishna tells him that there are also other forms of  devotion which are inferior as they are performed with various motives. The  distressed, the seeker of divine wisdom, and he who desires wealth, worship  Him, as also the wise. Of these the Lord deems the wise as dearest to Him. Such  a devotee loves the Lord for the sake of pure love alone. Whatever form the  devotee worships, the ultimate goal is the Lord Himself. The Lord accepts such  worship, knowing that it is directed to Him only.

TWO KINDS OF NATURE OF THE LORD

 

bhoomiraaponalo vaayuh kham mano  buddhireva cha
    ahamkaara iteeyam me bhinnaa  prakritirashtadhaa // 7.4 //

Earth,  water, fire, air, ether, mind, reason and ego - such is the eightfold division  of My nature.




 apareyamitastwanyaam  prakritim viddhi me paraam

    jeevabhootaam mahaabaaho yayedam  dhaaryate jagat // 7.5 //

O  Mighty Armed, this is my lower nature. But different from it, you know My  higher nature, the indwelling spirit by which the universe is sustained.

The relationship between spirit and matter which is the source of creation is explained here. The Vedantic technical terms for these words are `Purusha' for the indwelling spirit and `Prakriti' for the matter. Matter is inert,  insentient while spirit is sentient, dynamic. A combination of these two  ingredients causes things to be born and function.  In a steam engine, steam is the spirit-factor  which makes the iron and steel assemblage of the engine which are  matter-envelopments to function.  The  iron and steel components which are manufactured by somebody cannot function by  themselves unless steam is made to pass through them. When the steam passes  through the iron and steel assemblage we say that a steam engine is born or created.

CREATION

Let  us understand the process of creation from the Vedantic angle in more details.

“First before understanding  the topic of creation, we should clearly know that the very word creation is a  misnomer because nothing can be created on account of the law of conservation  of matter and energy. Then if at all we use the word Creation, it only refers  to the manifestation of something which was potentially, un-manifestly existent.  So only that which is un-manifestly, potentially existent in dormant form can come  to manifestation.

MANIFEST VS UNMANIFEST

 

What  is meant by the words manifest and unmanifest? By the word unmanifest, we mean Pramanam  Agocharam. Unmanifest is that which is existent but is not available for perception  or transaction like the butter in the milk. Butter is there in the milk, but we  cannot see it in the milk. But we know that milk has butter. So what can we say  about butter being existent or not? It is existent technically but for all  practical purposes, since it is neither available for perception nor available  for transaction we assume that butter is non-existent. But we know butter is  there.

We  can extend this analogy to everything in the creation. Nothing in the creation is  non existent. It was existent in potential manner. Later it becomes manifest, which  means it is available for transaction. Our scriptures point out, before the origination  of this cosmos, it should have existed because of this simple law of conservation.  And if this creation existed before, it should have existed in un-differentiated  and unmanifest form or potential form or dormant form which we can call as the seed  of the creation. In Sanskrit we use the word Bījam for this or Causal  form of matter.

Matter  in its causal form is the source of all forms of energy and all forms of  matter. The causal matter is called Maya. This means that before the  creation originated, one thing was there which is called Maya.

We  have to include one more thing that existed before creation. That is Atma which is the consciousness principle, the non-material spirit. It does not come  under matter and therefore it does not come within time and space. This means  that as consciousness is beyond time and space it has to be eternal which  implies that before the creation, consciousness also existed.

So  now we had arrived at two things that were existing before creation -

•Principle 1: Consciousness which is called Atma which is unconditioned, un-influenced, un-circumscribed by the time and space.

•Principle 2: Whole creation in causal matter form called Maya

To  put it in simple words, we can now conclude that Consciousness and Maya existed  in causal form before creation.

In  the context of cosmology or creation, consciousness is given another name. At  the Micro level i.e., with reference to an individual, consciousness is given  the name of Atma. The very same consciousness at the Macro level is called Brahman.  Therefore Atma and Brahman are synonymous meaning the same thing i.e., consciousness.

Atma  means Apnoti Sarvam Iti Atma – the boundless all pervading one. The word  Brahman means infinite derived from the root Bruh – to be big – therefore  Brahman means the Big One, the Absolutely Big One.

Thus  the study of cosmology begins with two beginning-less principles known as
  Brahman  and Maya or Consciousness (Spirit) + Matter.

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN MAYA AND  BRAHMAN

 

The  common features of Brahman and Maya are both have no beginning, no origin. But  differences are several as given in the Table below.

 These are the basic similarities and differences between Brahman and Maya and out of their blending alone this universe comes into  manifestation for our recognition like we churn and bring out the butter which  is then available tangibly for our transaction.

STAGES OF MANIFESTATION

 

 

In  the scriptures the evolution or manifestation of the cosmos is presented in two  stages. Like a seed becoming a plant in the middle stage, and then the plant becoming  a full fledged tree in the final stage.

Therefore  Maya is a seed stage containing the causal universe which comes to the level of  subtle universe comparable to that of a plant and then the subtle universe evolves  or manifests to become the gross universe fully available for all forms of transactions  and engagement.

If  you have to understand the difference between the subtle and gross creation you  can compare your body and mind. Mind is also a creation or manifestation.  Body is also a manifestation. But mind is a  subtle manifestation not available for a physical vision because it is not  tangible. But the body is gross visible to the eye.

SUBTLE AND GROSS ELEMENTS

 

The  scriptures point out that first, out of the causal universe five subtle  elements is born. These are called Pancha Bhuta.  These are 1.Akasa or space 2.Vayu or air 3.Agni or fire 4.Jalam or water 5.Bhumi or Prithvi:  the earth. In the initial stages, they are in subtle form, which means they are  not available for our transaction. They are not even visible.

Māyā  is defined as Tri Gunatmika i.e.endowed with threefold feature which is  seen in the universe. They are Sattva Guna, Rajo Guna and Tamo Guna. These  three Gunas or features or attributes inhere the five elements also. Thus we  have got Sāttvika component of space, Rājasik a component of space and Tāmasik component  of space. Similarly we have Sāttvika component of air, Rājasik component of air  and Tāmasik component of air. Same applies for Fire, Water and Earth. Therefore  we have fifteen items. Hence the first form of creation is Sūkshma Bhūta Srushti – the creation or manifestation of the subtle elements.

 STAGE 1 – SATTVA GUNA AS  GENERATOR

 

From the Satvic portion of subtle elements are born the organs of  perception (jnana indriyas), Ear is born from the Satvic aspect of  Space, Skin from Air, Eye from fire, Tongue from water and Nose from earth.

From the total Satvic content of the five elements are born the Anthahkarana or inner instrument. Antahkarana consists of four aspects, manas, Mind  (doubting nature), buddhi, intellect (deciding nature), ahankar, ego  ("I am the doer" nature) and chitta, memory (thinking faculty).

STAGE 2 – RAJO GUNA AS GENERATOR

 

From the Rajasic portion of subtle elements are born the organs of  action (karma indriyas). From the rajasic aspect of space is born the  speech, hands from air, legs from fire, genitals from water and anus from  earth.

From the total Rajasic content of the five elements are born the  five vital airs or pancha prana.

Each  of the subtle elements is endowed with the property of its own. Space (akasa) has the property of producing sound; air (vayu) of producing touch; fire (agni) of visibility; water (ap) of flavor; and earth (bhumi) producing smell (sabda, sparsa, rupa, rasa, gandha). These are the five  ways in which a man, through his five sense organs becomes aware of the prakriti or matter. Hence Hindu philosophers have divided matter into five elements. It  is to be noted that mind or manas (the inner organ that creates doubt),  intellect or buddhi (the inner organ that decides) and I-Consciousness  or Ego belong to the realm of prakriti or matter.

The  entire Sūkshma Shariram is born out of Sattva Guna and Rajo Guna of the  five subtle elements. Therefore we have seen Sukshma Bhuta Srushti and Sukshma  Sharira Srushti – in short the entire subtle universe.

STAGE 3 –TAMO GUNA AS GENERATOR

 

From the Tamasic portion of the subtle elements are born the gross  elements. The gross elements are formed  through a combination of tamasic portion of subtle elements in which each of  the subtle elements combines with the remaining four subtle elements under a  peculiar formula to produce a gross element. This process of combination is  called panchikaranam.

Thus  the gross elements of ether, air, fire, water and earth are produced which we  are able to see with our eyes. The five subtle elements are therefore the  causes for the five gross elements. The scriptures point out that the Tamas  components of the five elements alone get grossified to become the five gross  elements – Pancha Sthula Bhuta.

The  scriptures say that until grossification, each element was isolated and pure. One  element was not adulterated or mixed with others. But when grossification takes  place, the Tamo Guna of these five elements gets intermixed.  This is just like eating a salad. Sukshma  Prapancha is like eating grapes separately, bananas separately etc. Grossification  means eating all together.  Once we come  to five grossified elements, each element has got a mixture of all the five. So  Earth has got five elements, space has got five elements. Same way for Air,  Fire and Water. This process of “salad making” is called Panchi Karanam or  Grossification.

Once  the five gross elements are born, out of that the entire cosmos including all  our physical bodies are created. This is called Sthula Srushti or Sthula  Abhivyakti.

Thus  Maya is causal universe. And out of that comes subtle universe called Sukshma  Abhivyakti. And out of that comes gross universe which is called Sthula  Abhivyakti. Thus the entire creation comes out.

Therefore  causal universe to subtle universe to Gross universe. This is the creation. Of  these, the causal universe is beginning-less, but the subtle and gross have a  beginning and an end.

Once  it has become fully gross and moved about for some time, what happens to the whole  creation? Again it collapses, condenses or contracts; evolution will later end up  in involution or dissolution. The gross becomes subtle and subtle again becomes  gross. Thus unmanifest to manifest and manifest to Unmanifest, the universe  undergoes this cycle always. But the Universe will always be there. The  difference is only a question of degree but not substance. There is no increase  or decrease in matter but there is only change in its condition or state –  manifest condition to unmanifest condition and unmanifest to manifest.

Avyaktadini  Bhuaani Vyaktamadhyani Bharata
    Avyakta  Nidhananyeva Tatra Ka Paridevana

Krishna will tell us in the Bhagavad Gita later – why are you talking about  death? Death is nothing but body going out of shape. Nothing is lost, Arjuna,  but for whom are you crying? The problem is that we have got attached to shape  and lost sight of the substance.

The  creation will last for some time and again collapse to Maya. What will be  Brahman doing? Consciousness remains. When the appropriate conditions come  forth, it manifests in the form of life. When the manifesting conditions are  not there, consciousness remains unmanifest.

Once  the individual understands the distinction between matter and spirit, he will  know that the cause of all our sufferings is due to spirit identifying with  matter.  When spirit is detached from all  its identifications, it rediscovers for itself its own essential nature as  Perfection and Bliss Absolute. The spirit identifying with matter or apara  prakriti is called ego. This is also called super imposition on the Truth  through ignorance.  It is apara  prakriti which is the cause of the world and by which the ego or Jiva gets  bound. It is the ego that rediscovers itself to be nothing other than the  spirit or para prakriti that presides over the matter.  In order to make it clear Sri Krishna tells  that the matter-aspect is distinct from the spirit-aspect in each individual.

The  five elements are represented by the sense-organs by which the individual lives  and gathers experiences in the world of sense objects as we have seen above. The  sense organs are the channels through which the world of stimuli reaches the  mind. The impulses received in the mind are classified and systematized as  knowledge by the intellect.  During all  these assimilation the ego falsely identifies the body with the Spirit and the  sense of `I' or `My' is produced.

Sri  Krishna says that the equipments referred to in Verse 4 are not all that the  Self possesses. The Self has, besides them, equipments of a higher nature which  are Pure Consciousness or Awareness i.e. para prakriti (Verse 5). It is  this spiritual aspect in everybody that makes it possible for the body, mind  and intellect which are inert matters to function as if they are very cognizant  and intelligent.

The  spiritual factor is the entity with whose contact the body equipment works and  without which it becomes dull and insentient. Without this spiritual spark man  will be no more than a stone and he will not be able to experience the world  outside or within him.  The world of  objects, the world of feelings and the world of ideas that we experience  constitute in their totality the Jagat or universe which is supported by  the principle of consciousness.

etadyoneeni bhootaani  sarvaaneetyupadhaaraya
    aham kritsnasya jagatah prabhavah  pralayastathaa // 7.6 //

Know  these two - My higher and lower natures - form the womb of all beings.  Therefore, I am the origin and dissolution of the whole Universe.

The  above mentioned higher and lower natures together cause the manifestation of  the world of plurality.  If there is no  matter, the latent dynamic energy of the Spirit will not have a field for its  expression.  The matter by itself is  dormant and it cannot function unless the Spirit is there to activate it, to  enliven it. An example of this principle is electricity and the bulb.  The bulb is the inert matter and the  electricity is the dynamic spirit. It is obvious that one is of no use without  the other. When the spirit functions through the five layers of the matter it  finds a place to express itself.

The  combination of the higher and lower natures (prakritis) is the womb of all  beings i.e., these two are the cause for the origin of all creatures or  manifestation.  The lower nature  manifests itself as the material body and the higher nature as the enlivening  soul, the experiencer.

At  the time of evolution, names, forms and life arise from prakriti and at the  time of dissolution they go back into it. But prakriti, independent of the Lord  (Consciousness or Brahman or Spirit) cannot generate anything. Prakriti is the  Lord’s instrument of creation, preservation and dissolution. Hence the Lord is  the ultimate cause of the Universe; as we have seen under the topic “Creation”  above Brahman (the Lord) + Maya or Consciousness (Spirit) + Matter is the  ultimate cause of the evolution and dissolution of the Universe or Creation or  Manifestation.

These  ideas constitute the nucleus of the knowledge about Brahman, Maya,  Manifestation or Creation all of which are dealt with elaborately in the  subsequent Chapters of the Gita especially in Chapters 8, 9, 13, 14 and  15.  Hence these concepts and ideas  should be thoroughly grasped and kept in mind for a fruitful study of the  latter Chapters of the Gita.

mattah parataram naanyat kinchidasti  dhananjaya
    mayi sarvamidam protam sootre maniganaa  iva // 7.7 //

There  exists nothing whatsoever higher than Me, O Dhananjaya.  All this is strung on Me, as a row of gems on  a thread.

There  exists no other cause of the universe except the Lord. To show that the Self is  one and the same in all created beings on the earth it is stated here that The  Lord is the supporter of the Universe just as the string is of the gems on a  garland. Without the string the gems will be scattered.

The  substance with which gems and thread are made is different. Similarly the world  is constituted of infinite variety of names and forms which are held together  by the Spiritual Truth into a complete whole.   Even in an individual, the body, mind and intellect are different from  one another but they work in harmony and in unity because of the same spiritual  Truth, the principle of consciousness. Hence Sri Krishna says that there is no  other cause of the Universe but Him; He alone is the cause of the Universe.

The  Lord is the support of the universe, as the string is of the gems on a garland.  Without the string the gems will lie scattered; without the Lord, the planets,  the stars and all else will be dispersed. The Lord, manifesting Himself through  the physical and moral laws, sustains the relative world. He is also the Unity  that underlies the diversity of names and forms.

ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE LORD’S MANIFESTATIONS

 

raso'hamapsu kaunteya prabhaasmi  shashisooryayoh
    pranavah sarva vedeshu shabdah khe  paurusham nrishu // 7.8 //

O  Son of Kunti, I am the savor of  waters,  the radiance of the sun and moon, the syllable OM in all the Vedas, the sound  in ether and the manliness in man.

punyo gandhah prithivyaam cha  tejashcha'smi vibhaavasau
    jeevanam sarvabhooteshu tapashchaasmi  tapaswishu // 7.9 //

I  am the sweet fragrance in earth and brilliance in the fire, the life in all  beings and I am the austerity in the ascetics.

In  these two verses the doubt as to what is the eternal factor which is common in all  and yet not readily perceptible to anybody is cleared.

That  which remains always from beginning to end and without which the thing cannot  be identified as such is declared to be its essence, its Dharma - the law of its  being. All examples given here by The Lord like savor in water, radiance in the  sun and the moon, syllable OM in the Vedas, the principle of sound in Space, manliness  in man, brilliance in the fire, life in all beings etc. indicate that the Lord  is that factor or subtle principle which gives the individual creatures different  characteristics of their own..

beejam maam sarvabhootaanaam viddhi  paartha sanaatanam
    buddhir buddhimataamasmi  tejastejaswinaamaham // 7.10 //

Know  Me, O Partha, as the eternal seed of all beings that exist; I am the intelligence  of the intelligent and the splendor of the splendid (things and beings).

balam balavataamasmi  kaamaraagavivarjitam
    dharmaaviruddho bhooteshu kaamo'smi  bharatarshabha // 7.11 //

Of  the strong, I am the strength - devoid of desire and attachment and in all  beings, I am the desire unopposed to Dharma, O Best among the Bharatas.

The  Lord continues to indicate the same truth by means of some more analogies.  Sri Krishna tells that He is the strength  among the strong but devoid of desire and attachment.

The  terms desire and attachment are not synonymous.   Desire is for what is absent at present in the scheme of life and  attachment or affection is for what one has already obtained. These two  emotions are generally the cause of conflict between individuals, communities  and countries assisted by their respective strength.

Another  concept is brought in here - Desire unopposed to Dharma. All actions, thoughts  and ideas entertained by an individual which are not contrary to his own nature  of Divinity make up his Dharma.  Such  actions, thoughts etc. which lead him to discover his nature of Divinity are  considered righteous actions. Those actions which remove him from his inherent  nature of Divinity are called unrighteous implying that The Lord is all the  desires that are not wrongful to a living being.

ye chaiva saatvikaa bhaavaa raajasaas  taamasaashcha ye
    matta eveti taanviddhi natwaham teshu te  mayi // 7.12 //

Whatever  things there be that are pure (pertaining to Sattva), active (pertaining to  Rajas) and inert (pertaining to Tamas), know them to proceed from Me alone; yet  I am not in them, they are in Me.

This  verse concludes the discussion started with the statement “all this is strung  in Me as a row of pearls on a thread”. All things (including the different  states of mind) are in The Lord but He is not in them just as all waves are in  the ocean but the ocean is not in them.  The  universe is only an appearance superimposed by illusion (Maya) on the Lord. It  is like a mirage in the desert. From the standpoint of the onlooker, the  illusory water exists in the desert; but the desert does not depend upon or  exist in the mirage. Likewise this universe, apparently superimposed on the  Lord, exists in the Lord, but the Lord is not in the universe. None of the  properties of the universe touches the Lord, just as the waters of the mirage  cannot soak a single grain of the desert sand.

The  gunas constitute prakriti or nature which is the lower manifestation of the  Lord. Therefore the Lord is their ultimate cause. But the Lord is not, as in  the case of worldly men, under the control of the gunas. The gunas, on the  contrary, are subject to Him.

GUNAS

 

A  reference to the gunas was made by Krishna in  the Gita earlier vide Chapter 2 verse 45. In the beginning of this Chapter we  have seen the Lord is of two kinds of nature viz, Purusha and Prakriti. Thee  former denotes the Soul or Consciousness and the latter Nature or matter, which  is dull and insentient. Prakriti consists of three gunas namely, sattva, rajas,  and tamas. Rajas denotes restlessness or active principle. Tamas is the  principle of inertia and Sattva, serenity and harmony, is the equilibrium  between rajas and tamas. As prakriti consists of the three gunas, every object  in prakriti is compounded of these three gunas. Samsara is the realm of the  gunas. Freedom is beyond these gunas.

Prakriti  is not independent of the Lord. Everything constituted by the three gunas is in  no sense a self-dependent essence independent of God but springs from Him  alone. While He contains and comprehends all, they do not contain and  comprehend Him. This is the distinction between God and His creatures. They  undergo changes because of the divine but their changes do not touch the  integrity of the Divine. The lord is not subject to any one else, while all  things are subject to Him.

Matter  exists because of Spirit and Spirit is never restrained or regulated by the  finite matter.  The three Gunas - Sattva,  Rajas and Tamas - which are temperaments or nature of the head and heart, by  which the instruments of feeling, thinking and action come to play their role  everywhere, rise from the Self.

MODES OF NATURE CONFUSE MEN

tribhirgunamayair bhaavairebhih  sarvamidam jagat
    mohitam naabhijaanaati maamebhyah  paramavyayam // 7.13 //

Deluded  by these threefold Gunas (modes of nature) of Prakriti the whole world does not  recognize Me as distinct from them and imperishable.

The  people of this world are deluded by the three gunas or qualities of nature. Affection,  attachment and infatuated love, hatred are all the characteristics of the gunas.  On account of delusion created by these qualities they are not able to break  worldly ties and turn their minds towards the Supreme Lord though the Lord is  the inmost Self of all beings and the object of direct and immediate  perception.

The  Lord in His purest essence is untouched by the gunas which belong only to His  prakriti. The Self is the essence which does not have the six modifications of  the body viz. birth, growth, existence, old age, decay and death.

This  verse answers the question as to why the ordinary mortals are not able to  understand at least the presence of the great truth about the spirit and  matter.  The answer in short is that  deluded by the modifications of the three Gunas the living beings become blind  to the divine possibilities in themselves. So long as a ghost is seen in the post,  the vision of the post will not be available to the perceiver. Thus deluded,  the ego does not realize the Supreme as different from it.

Dr.S.Radhakrishnan  comments: “According to Sankara the Supreme expresses His regret that the world  does not know Him, the Supreme Lord who is, by nature, eternal, pure,  enlightened and free, the Self of all beings, devoid of attributes (gunatheetha) by knowing whom the seed of the evil of samsara is burnt up. We see the  changing forms and not the Eternal Being of which the forms are the  manifestations. We see the moving shadows on the wall whereas we must see the  Light from which the shadows emanate”.

WHO CAN REALIZE THE SUPREME?

 

daivee hyeshaa gunamayee mama maayaa  duratyayaa
    maameva ye prapadyante maayaametaam  taranti te // 7.14 //

Verily,  this divine illusion of Mine (Maya), consisting of the gunas, is hard to  overcome. But those who take refuge in Me alone shall cross over this illusion.

Maya  or illusion is divine because it is a part of the Lord’s nature and inscrutable  to human reason as we have seen earlier. It is hard to overcome by self-effort  if unaided by divine grace. Although Sri Krishna Himself admits that it is not  easy for any egocentric individual to transcend this illusion which is caused  by His Maya, the Lord says that those who devote themselves to Him alone can overcome  this obstacle which creates sorrows and imperfections in the objective world.

How  to do this was already explained under `Meditation' in the previous Chapter.

IF MAYA CAN BE OVERCOME BY  DEVOTION WHY DO NOT ALL WORSHIP HIM?

na maam dushkritino moodhaah prapadyante  naraadhamaah
    maayayaapahritajnaanaa aasuraam  bhaavamaashritaah // 7.15 //

The  evil-doers and the deluded and the vilest among men, deprived of knowledge by  Maya and following the ways of demons do not worship Me.


  In  the previous verse Sri Krishna talked of those who can successfully transcend  their own subjective delusion.  In this  verse He gives the negative nature in those who cannot overcome this delusion  for realizing the Divinity in themselves.

He  says that low men because of their delusion and indulgence in evil actions,  follow the path of the devil (Asura) and get themselves deprived of  their discrimination. The difference between man and animal is his rational  intellect by which he can distinguish between the good and the evil, the high  and the low, the moral and the immoral etc. This rational discriminative  capacity alone helps the man to cast off his imperfections and become aware of  his essential nature of Absolute Divinity.

The  evil doers cannot attain to the Supreme, for their mind and will are not  instruments of the Spirit but of the ego. They do not seek to master their  crude impulses but are a prey to the Rajas and Tamas in them. If they control  their crude tendencies by the Sattva in them, their action becomes orderly and  enlightened and ceases to be the outcome of passion and ignorance.

To  go beyond the three gunas, first, we have to submit ourselves to the rule of Sattva.  We have to become ethical, before we can become spiritual. At the spiritual  level, we cross the dualities and act in the light and strength of the Spirit  in us. We do not act then to gain any personal interest or avoid personal  suffering but only as instrument of the Divine.

DIFFERENT KINDS OF DEVOTION

chaturvidhaa bhajante maam janaah  sukritino'rjuna
    aarto jijnaasurarthaarthee jnaanee cha  bharatarshabha // 7.16 //

Four  types of virtuous men worship Me, O Arjuna; the man in distress, the seekers of  knowledge, the seekers of enjoyment and those endowed with wisdom, O the best  among the Bharatas.

Prayer  is the effort of man to reach God. It assumes that there is an answering  Presence in the world to whom the prayer is addressed. Through the exercise of Prayer,  we kindle a light in our consciousness which shows up our pride, greed, fears  and hopes. It is a means to build up an integrated personality, a harmony of  the body, mind and Spirit.

The  previous verse stated that sinful men possessed of demonic nature do not  worship God. The question then who actually worships God is answered in this  verse.

The  Lord calls all the persons who offer prayers to Him as virtuous and classifies  them in the following four categories. They are virtuous because anyone seeking  the Lord, whatever is his motive, is a fortunate and righteous soul.

•The distressed - They pray for fighting against and gaining total relief from the distress that is troubling them. 
•The seekers of knowledge – They pray for understanding the knowledge of the Self or the knowledge of God. 
•The seeker of enjoyment - They pray for satisfying their desires and attain enjoyment here and hereafter. 
•The Wise - They pray demanding nothing, expecting nothing. They carry with them as their offerings only themselves. They offer themselves in total surrender. Their only demand is that they should become one with The Lord. Their attitude is one of self-oblivious non-utilitarian worship of God for His own sake. He is the one who has renounced all desires born of maya.

It is also to be noted that not all people belonging  to the first three categories stated above worship the Lord; only those who are  fortunate among them take refuge in Him although they are desirous of rewards (phalakama).

teshaam jnaanee nityayukta eka  bhaktirvishishyate
    priyo hi jnaanino'tyarthamaham sa cha  mama priyah // 7.17 //

Of  them the wise man, ever in constant union with the Divine, whose devotion is  single minded, excels; for I am exceedingly dear to the wise and he is dear to  Me.

The  wise (Gnani) who with a single pointed mind surrenders himself to the Self with  an integrated devotion, which is not distracted by other compelling desires  represents the Best. The unbroken aspirations of the Seeker to reach his own  real nature of the Self are called single pointed devotion or steadfast mind - Ekabhakti.

Single  pointedness of the mind is possible only when one withdraws oneself totally  from all other extrovert demands of the lower nature in him. In the case of a  Gnani the spirit is invoked not for acquisition of any sensual enjoyments but  for elimination of all the self-destructive desires. Therefore, Sri Krishna who  is the personification of the Self says the wise are the best and the highest  in the category of those who invoke Him.

Such  a Gnani because of his selfless love is dear to The Lord and in turn He is dear  to him. The Lord is regarded as the very Self of the wise. So long as we are  seekers, we are still in the world of duality but when we have attained wisdom,  there is no duality. The sage unites himself with the One Self in all.

udaaraah sarva evaite jnaanee twaatmaiva  me matam
    aasthitah sa hi yuktaatma  maamevaanuttamaam gatim // 7.18 //

   
    Noble  indeed are all these; but I deem the wise man as My very Self, for steadfast in  mind, he is established in Me alone as the Supreme goal.

All  devotees are noble because of the very fact that they are approaching the Self.  But the wise is exceedingly dear to Him because he has a steady mind, with a  single pointed concentration on Him. He does not desire any worldly objects  except the Supreme Being. He seeks Him alone as the goal. He practices  meditation on Him as the Self of all. He tries to realize that he is identical  with the Supreme Self. So The Lord regards him as His very Self.

While  the first three types attempt to use God according to their ideas, the Wise  belong to God to be used according to His will. Therefore they are the best  among them all.

By  calling the man of wisdom His own self, the Lord shows that there is no  difference between Himself and the man of wisdom. Such a devotee is the same as  God, and God is the same as the devotee. There is absolute identity between the  two.

bahoonaam janmanaamante jnaanavaanmaam  prapadyate
    vaasudevah sarvamiti sa mahaatmaa  sudurlabhah // 7.19 //

At  the end of many births the wise-man takes refuge in Me, realizing that Vaasudeva  (the innermost Self) is all ; such a great soul (Mahatma) is very difficult to  find.

It  is rare to find in a community of men people of rational thinking and diviner  emotions. Even among those who have fully developed mental and intellectual  capacities it is only a rare few that take up study of scriptures seriously. All  those who study scriptures do not try to live up to them, but feel satisfied in  understanding their contents. Only the rarest of the few reach the goal of  their evolution and discover their true nature of divine perfection.

This  process of evolution takes place during several lives in different births.  However, it does not mean those who strive  hard in this birth have no chance of realizing the goal of life. The very fact  that the seeker has found disappointment with his present state of existence  and finds attracted towards Upanishadic literature itself means that he has  reached the threshold of the Self.

A  little more faithful pursuit of the higher life will take him to the highest  state of evolution. At the end of his efforts spread over several births the  seeker attains the Inner Self and realizes that everything is Vaasudeva (Self)  only in the ultimate analysis. ‘All’ implies that the whole Universe with its  sentient and insentient beings is nothing but the manifestation of Vaasudeva  and that there is nothing apart from Him.

It  is indeed very difficult to find such a great soul. None is equal to him.  “Association with great souls is not only rare but hard to obtain, though  unfailing in its effect”. Narada Bhakti Sutra.

N.B.Vaasudeva  means the Lord, the innermost Self of all beings, Sri Krishna. Vasudeva means  Sri Krishna’s father and husband of Devaki.

TOLERATION

kaamaistaistairhritajnaanaah  prapadyante'nyadevataah
    tam tam niyamamaasthaaya prakrityaa  niyataah swayaa // 7.20 //

Those,  whose discrimination has been distorted by desires, resort to other gods,  observing various rituals, led by their own natures.

Desire  for sense objects and their gratification is the greatest cause which separates  the discriminating faculty from human intellect. It is discrimination which  makes man conscious of his Self. But when the discriminative capacity is  deprived of, the deluded individuals engage themselves in some ritualism,  dictated by their inborn tendencies to propitiate some Deity or the other. The  Deity referred to here means various joys contained in the different sensuous  fields which are sought due to intense desires for getting complete  satisfaction from them.

The  chain of `Desires - Thoughts - Actions' disturbs the mental equanimity  resulting in loss of discrimination. With the loss of discrimination he  propitiates the productive potential of the given fields of activity which is  called a Devata. As the invocation is required to be done in a particular  manner to achieve specific results he follows ritualistic practices. In this  process each man follows his own way because each individual acts according to  his mental impressions gathered in his earlier moments of activity and thought.

In  short this verse implies that a deluded entity strives hard through various  rituals, goes after the mirage of sensuality hoping to gain satisfaction  therein that it will be everlasting while a man of discrimination finds out the  pointlessness of sensuous pursuits and withdraws himself from all the  unprofitable fields and seeks the path of the Real.

yo yo yaam yaam tanum bhaktah  shraddhayaarchitum icchati
    tasya tasyaachalaam shraddhaam taameva  vidadhaamyaham // 7.21 //

Whatever  may be the form a devotee seeks to worship with Sraddha (Faith), in that form  alone I make his faith unwavering.

 

Sri  Krishna declares that wherever and in whatever form any devotee seeks to  worship with belief, He makes that faith unshakable. Faith here implies  unmitigated belief in the existence of divine intelligence, in their glory and  virtues and in the methods of their worship and its rewards. The more we think  in a particular fashion the more we become so. Faith alone brings success in  worship. All deities are only minor forms of the all pervading Supreme Lord.

The  deepening of the devotee’s faith in every form of worship comes only from the  Lord. Through this intense faith the devotee obtains the result of his worship,  even though he has set before himself a limited goal. It is the Lord alone who  bestows the fruit of worship.

“All  worship elevates. No matter what we revere, so long as our reverence is  serious, it helps progress. Every surface derives its soil from the depths even  as every shadow reflects the nature of the substance”. - Dr.S.Radhakrishnan.

sa tayaa shraddhayaa yuktastasyaaraadhanameehate
    labhate cha tatah kaamaan mayaiva  vihitam hi taan // 7.22 //

Endowed  with that faith, he worships that form and from it attains his desires, which  are in reality, granted by Me (alone).

The  seeker, equipped with that kind of faith as described in the previous verse,  invokes the Devata of his choice and gains his desires. These desires are all  nourished by Him alone. The Self is the source of all activities. The sense of  joy or sorrow out of these activities is a mental-wave. We will not be aware of  this experience of joy or sorrow but for the principle of consciousness.

Faithful  activity in any field of action brings about success. But the capacity to act,  the existence of the field of action, the consistency and zeal with which  action is performed, are all due to the Self alone. Sri Krishna identifies  Himself with this Spiritual Centre - The Self- and declares that He alone is  the One who confers faith in all activities and when the actions are over He  alone provides the results thereof.

The  Supreme and Omniscient Lord alone knows the precise relationship between an  action and its rewards. He is the dispenser of the fruit of action.

All  forms are forms of the One Supreme; their worship is the worship of the  Supreme; the giver of all rewards is the Supreme.

antavat tu phalam teshaam  tadbhavatyalpamedhasaam
    devaan devayajo yaanti madbhaktaa yaanti  maamapi // 7.23 //

Verily,  the fruit that accrues to those men of small minds is finite. The worshipers of  the Deities go to the Deities, but My devotees come to Me.

Since  the deluded ones desire for finite sense objects they do not come to the  all-satisfying peace and hence their results are also temporary and finite. They  are called men of small minds because they take petty objects of enjoyment as  the Supreme Goal.

Even  if satisfaction is achieved after attaining the desired sensuous objects, it is  ineffectual because after some time such satisfaction will end followed by  sorrows. Any enjoyment in the world of time and space invariably has to come to  an end.

The  statement worshippers of Deities go to the Deities means that those who invoke  a desired manifestation of the Lord in the relative world or aspect of the  Supreme, gain only that particular result sought for and nothing else, for the  Supreme accepts our prayers and answers them at the level we approach Him. No  devotion goes in vain.

As  against this those who devote themselves to The Lord go to Him since people  through right living come to discover their identity with the Eternal Absolute  and realize the transcendental and eternal aspect of the spirit. Those who rise  to the worship of the Transcendental Godhead which embraces and transcends all  aspects realize and attain the highest state, integral in being, perfect in  knowledge, absolute in love and complete in will. All other deities are only  partial and limited and have a meaning only at lower level of development.

The  same exertion is needed for the worship of the Lord or the minor deities; but  the results are totally different. Yet men, deluded by transitory desires, do  not seek the Lord Himself, who is the source of all peace, happiness and  knowledge.

POWER OF IGNORANCE

avyaktam vyaktimaapannam manyante  maamabuddhayah
    param bhaavamajaananto mamaavyayamanuttamam  // 7.24 //

The  foolish think of Me, the Unmanifest, as endowed with manifest form, not knowing  My supreme, immutable and transcendent nature.

That  which is available for the perception of the sense organs or for the feelings  of the mind or for the understanding of the intellect is called the `manifest'.  That which is not available for any one of these instruments of cognition,  feeling or understanding is considered as `unmanifest'.

The  ignorant think that the Lord, too, like an ordinary mortal, comes down from the  unmanifested state and assumes a body, impelled by His past karma. This belief  is due to their ignorance of His real nature, which is unchanging and ever luminous.  Thus disregarding the Lord, the foolish worship the minor deities for the fulfillment  of their selfish desires.

The  misunderstood men come to the conclusion that physical glory of an incarnation  is all the eternal truth. Although the form of an incarnation can be the focus  of concentration, it cannot by itself be the Truth. The forms we impose on the  Formless are due to our limitations. We turn away from the contemplation of the  Ultimate Reality to concentrate upon imaginative reconstructions.

All  Gods except the One Unmanifest Eternal are forms imposed on Him. God is not one  among many. He is the One behind the ever changing many, who stands beyond all  forms, the immutable centre of mobility.

CAUSE OF IGNORANCE

naaham prakaashah sarvasya  yogamaayaasamaavritah
    moodho'yam naabhijaanaati loko  maamajamavyayam // 7.25 //

Veiled  by My Maya born of the gunas, I am not revealed to all. This deluded world does  not know Me as the unborn and eternal.

 
  The  Lord says this deluded world does not know Me, the Unborn and the Immortal  because of their own illusion, born out of the three Gunas which veil Me from  them. Maya is the illusion born out of the three Gunas through which the  Non-dual expresses itself. The principle of Maya functioning in an individual  is termed ignorance. By the play of the three Gunas or temperaments one gets  confused and hence the Self is not available for direct experience.

For  a person without any knowledge of electricity, it is unmanifest in a glowing  bulb. Once he comes to have the knowledge of the principle of electricity, it  becomes manifest to him in the very same bulb. Similarly, when through  self-control, listening, reflection and meditation, the agitations of the mind  are controlled and quietened and thereby when the veiling is removed, the  seeker rediscovers `Me, the unmanifest, the unborn, the Immutable'.

As  long as the agitations of the mind veil the intellect from its awareness of the  Self, the limited ego will continue to wander about among the sensual desires  and cannot experience Pure Consciousness even for a moment. Hence The Lord says  `the deluded world knows Me not as they are steeped in the illusion born out of  threefold Gunas' just as the waves shield the ocean from the visionary  perception.

vedaaham samateetaani vartamaanaani  chaarjuna
    bhavishyaani cha bhootani maam tu veda  na kashchana // 7.26 //

I  know O Arjuna, the beings of the past, the present and the future but no one  knows Me.

Because  of the Consciousness Principle, only the living beings are aware of the entire  field of the mind and the intellect. Consciousness or the Self is the same everywhere  which illumines the respective thoughts and ideas of the individual. Thus The  Lord or the Self is omniscient i.e. all-knowing. Hence He says `I know the  beings of the whole past, of the present and of the future.'

The  concept of awareness is eternal because It illumined the objects before, is  illumining now and will be doing so in future. It is beginningless and endless.  Although the Self activates the mind and the intellect neither of them can  perceive, feel or comprehend the Self. Hence The Lord says although He knows  everything and everyone at all times and places `none knows Him.'

REASONS FOR ILLUSION

 

icchaadweshasamutthena dwandwamohena  bhaarata
    sarvabhootani sammoham sarge yaanti  parantapa // 7.27 //

By  the delusion of the pairs of opposites arising from desire and aversion, O  Bharata, all beings are subject to illusion right from birth, O Paranthapa  (Scorcherer of foes).

Every  individual, due to the instinct of self-preservation, has desire for things  that contribute to existence and aversion for things that obstruct the  attainment of such things desired. He suffers because of the conflict between  desires and aversion and his mind and intellect are pre-occupied with chasing  of objects desired as also running away from objects of aversion. This  agitation due to the pairs of opposites is that which veils the truth from  being grasped by an individual. In these circumstances no knowledge of the Self  can be possible.

Therefore  the only way we can discover our equipoise and tranquility as the eternal Self  is to strike at the root i.e. to control the agitations. All spiritual  practices in all religions are techniques - emotional, intellectual, and  physical - that bring about mental poise at least for a moment. Such a moment  of calmness is the moment of perfect mental illumination, fulfillment of re-union.

The  Lord says that all beings fall into this delusion right at their very birth. To  get out of this delusion and to gain right knowledge is the goal of life and the  Gita provides such knowledge to the erring souls guiding them to come out of  confusions and reach Perfection.

THE FORTUNATE SOULS

yeshaam twantagatam paapam janaanaam  punyakarmanaam
    te dwandwamohanirmuktaa bhajante maam  dridhavrataah // 7.28 //

But  those men of virtuous deeds whose sins have come to an end, who are freed from  the delusion of the pairs of opposites, worship Me with firm resolve.

The  word `sin' means an error of judgment in man which veils the Self from him.  When the sins are renounced, when the ignorance is overcome, our life is spent  in the service of the Lord, the One in all. In the process, devotion deepens  and knowledge of God increases until it reaches the vision of the One Self  everywhere.  They are said to be free  from delusion in the form of pairs of opposites who do not lose their balance  of mind either in joy or sorrow. That is the life eternal, release from the  cycle of birth and death.

jaraamaranamokshaaya maamaashritya  yatanti ye
    te brahma tadviduh kritsnamadhyaatmam  karma chaakhilam // 7.29 //

Those  who strive for deliverance from old age and death, taking refuge in Me, realize  in full the Brahman - the whole knowledge of the Self and all about action as  well.

Those  who aim for purifying themselves from all negative tendencies for contemplating  on the Self do so to gain the freedom from old age and death. This, however,  does not mean physical continuity of existence in the world. Birth, growth,  disease, decay and death are necessary modifications for all living creatures  on the earth. What is implied here is that a spiritual seeker in his meditation  on the Self is to get over all his identifications with change which is  indicated by the terms `old age and death.'

Such  a meditator, concentrating on the Self, realizes his oneness with the  Consciousness Principle or the Self in him. To realize the Self is to become  Brahman since Self in the individual is the One Self everywhere. This  non-duality of the Truth is implied in the statement that those who meditate  upon Me, the Self, come to know the Brahman.

A  man of realization need not lead a life away from the society in which he  lives. The Perfected One not only realizes the All-Pervading Self but  comprehends the working of the psychological forces (Adhyatma) in him  and becomes proficient in all activities (Karma). He becomes a well-integrated  personality, dynamic and efficient in all activities, understanding the  innermost Self.

saadhibhootaadhidaivam maam saadhiyajnam  cha ye viduh
    prayaanakaale'pi  cha maam te viduryuktachetasah  // 7.30  //

Those  who know Me 1. As the one that underlies all the elements (adhi bhootam) 2. As  the One that underlies all the gods (adhi daivam) and 3. As the One that  sustains all the sacrifices (adhi yajnam), will with steadfast mind, know Me  even in the hour of death.

The  man of perfection is he who is steadfast in mind, who has taken refuge in Him,  who knows Him. We are not asked to remember at the time of death certain  speculative doctrines, but to know Him in all aspects viz as that which  underlies all elements, gods and sacrifices and trust Him and worship Him.

The  terms used here mean that the Supreme is to be known not only in itself but also  in its manifestations in nature, in objective and subjective phenomena, in the  principle of works and sacrifice

om  tat sat
iti srimadbhagavadgeetaasu upanishatsu brahma vidyaayaam yogashaastre
  sri krishnaarjuna samvaade jnaana vijnaana yogo naama saptamo'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  seventh discourse entitled  The Yoga of Knowledge and Wisdom

Concepts and Issues

 

The  Lord says that He is of two kinds of nature viz. Lower nature (Apara Prakriti)  and Higher Nature (Para Prakriti). The lower nature is divided eightfold. They  are 1.earth 2.water 3.fire 4.air 5.space 6.mind 7.intellect and 8.egoism. The  higher nature is the fundamental factor, the substratum the very life-principle with which the entire universe is sustained- The Atman, The Self,  Consciousness.
 
The  lower nature is Matter and the higher is Spirit. The Universe has manifested from  these two kinds of nature only.  The Lord  says that in His higher nature He is the sole cause and ultimate support of the  entire creation. The universe is His manifestation and is pervaded by Him. He  is the essence that is running through everything, holding them together into  this world pattern, as a string keeps the pearls together in a necklace.

To  make this idea very clear to Arjuna, The Lord gives several examples like He is  the light in the Sun and the Moon, sacred symbol of `OM'  in the scriptures, manliness in man, life-breath in all living creatures etc.  He declares that He is present in all things in the universe, visible and  invisible, and is the root cause for the entire creation. He is the all  Sustaining and ever Surviving Substratum of everything.

The  Lord embraces Matter only to express Himself, His glory, His strength and His  greatness. All the beings - pure, active and inert - are only His creations. He  guides them and they don't guide Him. He does not take refuge in them but they  take refuge in Him. The naked eye sees the Spirit encased in the matter but  once the vision improves through knowledge, it sees and apprehends that the  Spirit envelops everything. Matter depends on the Spirit. But the Spirit does  not depend upon the Matter.

In  all beings the three Gunas - Sattva (pure attitude), Rajas (active attitude)  and Tamas (inert attitude) are found in varying degrees.  The blending of these three qualities of  nature in the thought mechanism of man constitutes ignorance or Avidya due to  which the whole world gets deluded. Because of this total ignorance or Maya the  world fails to recognize His presence - the Eternal, the Imperishable, the  Spirit as distinct from the gross Matter.

The  ignorant believe that the world and the visible objects alone are real and do  not seek The Lord at all. They follow the ways of demons and suffer through the  series of births and deaths. It is very difficult to remove ignorance and get  enlightened. But inspite of this difficulty those who take refuge in Him can  overcome the predicament.


Among  these the man of wisdom whose devotion to The Lord is single-minded is the  dearest to Him. This does not mean the other three types are condemned by Him.  All the devotees are noble but the wise who has shed his ego reach Him quicker.  But even these wise realize the Supreme only after a long journey of several  births and deaths. Such one is very difficult to find in the world. For an  average man of the world, desire is the driving force for all his activities.  To fulfill his desires he worships as many deities as his desires.  He wastes his time in getting his desires  satisfied and obtains in return only perishable material rewards. But if the  seeker's sole goal is to realize the Self he directs all his energies towards  that end till he becomes one with the Pure Atman.

Sri  Krishna tells Arjuna that He knows about all beings - their past, present or future-  but none knows Him. By the delusion of the pairs of opposites, Raga (attraction) and Dwesha (repulsion) pleasure and pain etc. born out of  desire and hatred all beings come under the spell of Maya. They forget the  presence of The Lord and suffer due to the cycle of birth and death. Those who  fully surrender to Him come to know His Integral Being i.e. Brahman, Adhiyajna,  Adhyatma, Karma, Adhibuta and Adhidaiva.

A  human being who fails to know and remember Him through out his life will not  remember Him even at the time of death. If he repeats the name of The Lord or  thinks about the Divine Personality at the time of death, even then he will  reach the Supreme Imperishable. But unless one remembers The Lord through out  one's life, one will find it difficult to remember Him at the time of death.

Live  as the Gita Teaches You to Live

The  following concepts have to be clearly understood. 
•Creation 
•Three Gunas 
•Maya 
•The Lord permeates every thing in the universe. 
•Means to go beyond the Gunas 
•How to realize the self?

Points  to Ponder 
•What are the eightfold divisions of Prakriti? 
•Describe the higher and lower nature of The Lord. 
•Describe the mechanism of creation. 
•How the Lord permeates the entire universe? 
•Why people are not aware of the substratum of the universe? 
•How one can come out of this delusion? 
•How one can realize the Self despite difficulties?

The  sincere seekers strive to break the limitations of the Matter and try to reach  the spirit. Such virtuous people who take refuge in Him can be classified into  four categories as under: 
•Those who are in distress and suffering in the world - Aarta 
•The lovers of knowledge of the Spirit - Jignyasu 
•The seekers of worldly riches - Arthaarthi and 
•The men of wisdom seeking the Spirit - Gnyani

  The  Supreme Consciousness can be invoked through any means according to one's  temperament and one can merge in and attain Supreme Happiness. Those who  understand that sufferings arise because of the cycles of birth and death and realize  that the Self is the Supreme Goal and culmination of all human pursuits and act  with faith and wisdom attain Him. Such people do not have re-birth.

 

Points to Ponder 

Describe  the four types of worshipers. Who among them is dear to The Lord and why?
  What  is Maya? What is that by which people are subjected to this Maya?
  How  one can cross over the Maya and attain Self-Realization?

    Harih Om