Bhagwad Gita - Post 158

Chapter 13

The Yoga of the Distinction Between the Field and the Knower of the Field

Verse 1

Arjuna Uvaacha:

Prakritim purusham chaiva

Kshetram kshetrajnameva cha;

Etadveditumicchaami jnaanam

Jneyam cha keshava.

Arjuna said:

I wish to learn about Nature (matter) and the Spirit (soul), the Field and the Knower of the Field, knowledge and that which ought to be known.

Verse 2

Sri Bhagavaan Uvaacha:

Idam shareeram kaunteya

Kshetramityabhidheeyate;

Etadyo vetti tam praahuh

Kshetrajna iti tadvidah.

The Blessed Lord said:

His body, O Arjuna, is called the Field; he who knows it is called the Knower of the Field by those who know of them, that is, by the sages.

Verse 3

Kshetrajnam chaapi maam

Viddhi sarvakshetreshu bhaarata;

Kshetrakshetrajnayor jnaanam

Yattat jnaanam matam mama.

Do thou also know Me as the Knower of the Field in all fields, O Arjuna! Knowledge of both the Field and the Knower of the Field is considered by Me to be the knowledge.

Verse 4

Tat kshetram yaccha yaadrik

Cha yadvikaari yatashcha yat;

Sa cha yo yatprabhaavashcha

Tatsamaasena me shrinu.

What the Field is and of what nature, what its modifications are and whence it is, and also who He is and what His powers are — hear all that from Me in brief.

Verse 5

Rishibhirbahudhaa geetam

Cchandobhirvividhaih prithak;

Brahmasootrapadaishchaiva

Hetumadbhirvinishchitaih.

Sages have sung in many ways, in various distinctive chants and also in the suggestive words indicative of the Absolute, full of reasoning and decisive.

Verse 6

Mahaabhootaanyahankaaro

Buddhiravyaktameva cha;

Indriyaani dashaikam cha

Pancha chendriyagocharaah.

The great elements, egoism, intellect and also unmanifested Nature, the ten senses and one, and the five objects of the senses.

Verse 7 

Icchaa dweshah sukham duhkham

Sanghaatashchetanaa dhritih;

Etat kshetram samaasena

Savikaaramudaahritam.

Desire, hatred, pleasure, pain, the aggregate (the body), fortitude and intelligence — the Field has thus been described briefly with its modifications.

Verse 8

Amaanitwam adambhitwam

Ahimsaa kshaantiraarjavam;

Aachaaryopaasanam shaucham

Sthairyamaatmavinigrahah.

Humility, unpretentiousness, non-injury, forgiveness, uprightness, service of the teacher, purity, steadfastness, self-control.

Verse 9

Indriyaartheshu vairaagyaman

Ahankaara eva cha;

Janmamrityujaraavyaadhi

Duhkhadoshaanu darshanam.

Indifference to the objects of the senses, also absence of egoism, perception of (or reflection on) the evil in birth, death, old age, sickness and pain.

Verse 10

Asaktiranabhishwangah

Putradaaragrihaadishu;

Nityam cha samachittatwam

Ishtaanishtopapattishu.

Non-attachment, non-identification of the Self with son, wife, home and the rest, and constant even-mindedness on the attainment of the desirable and the undesirable.

To be continued.

Love.

Bhagwad Gita- Post 157

THE YOGA OF DISTINCTION BETWEEN THE FIELD & THE KNOWER OF THE FIELD

Summary of Thirteenth Chapter

In this Chapter, we have one of the most significant, most illuminating, most inspiring and most mystical portions of the Bhagwad Gita. 

The Lord gives us a wonderfully revealing insight into the human individual. It is the metaphysics of man, the unknown. The immortal Soul, with its physical embodiment, is the main theme of this discourse. 

The supreme transcendental Spirit, which is the eternal substratum beyond both, is also described in a wonderful manner. The knower of the Supreme Reality is instantly liberated.

The blessed Lord tells us that the knowledge of the Field and the Knower of the Field is the true knowledge. This highest and the best knowledge grants us divine wisdom and spiritual illumination that lead to divine beatitude. This body is the Field. The Immortal Soul (yourself), dwelling in the body is the Knower of the Field. Verily, it is the Supreme Being who has projected Himself and assumed the form of this Knower of the Field within this body. This self is none other than That. Thus, Lord Krishna explains the mystery of the individual soul dwelling within this mortal body. This knowledge constitutes the main subject matter of all the scriptures and the highest philosophical works.

The five elements, the ego, the mind, intellect and the ten organs, desire and aversion and such factors constitute the Field. Next follows a wonderful summing-up of what constitutes true knowledge. Then follows the declaration of the Supreme Soul, the knowledge of which grants us immortality. 

That Supreme Reality is the one universal Essence present everywhere. It pervades all. It shines within the inmost chambers of our heart, it is everything, it is the one seer, the witness, the guide, sustainer, experiencer and Lord of all. One who knows this mystery is not bound by activity even in the midst of life. 

When we perceive this supreme Presence dwelling in all beings we cannot injure anyone. Krishna asks us to see and know the difference between the Field (body or Prakriti) and the Knower of the Field (Spirit or Purusha), and thus reach the Self. This is the teaching and the message of this illuminating discourse.

There is a belief among commentators of the Bhagwad Gita that the great Upanishadic statement ‘tat tvam asi’ has something to do with this threefold classification of the chapters of the Gita. The individual is tvam—‘thou’. This ‘thou’, or individual, is taken up for an intensified form of study in the first six chapters. 

Tat means ‘That’—the Supreme. The nature of ‘That’ is taken up for study in the next six chapters. Asi means ‘art’; ‘thou That art’. The unification of the ‘thou’ and the ‘That’, the methodology of attaining the unity between the individual and the Universal, in all its details, is supposed to be delineated in the coming chapters, from the Thirteenth onwards.

Love

Bhagwad Gita- Post 156

Quality # 26

Sthiramatir                                         

Steady mind

He is not agitated, and is established in understanding. Such a devotee is the beloved of God.

Devotees have deep conviction in the supremacy of God’s position in creation and in their eternal relationship with Him.  

They are also firm in their faith that if they surrender to Him lovingly, by God’s grace they will achieve the highest realization.  

Steady mind is a rare quality to be found in Bhaktas / spiritual seekers in today's world.

We participate in satsangh, visit puttparthi, participate in bhaans and activities there, fill ourselves with firm resolve to pursue spiritual sadhana and then, even before reaching the airport, during the journey in cab itself, our mind gets drawn to Samsara!!

With Samsara pulling them strongly, they sway from here to there, they are not steady even in sticking on to one God/one Guru/one path in their spiritual sadhana.

Devotional resignation and exclusiveness will have to make the mind and intelligence resolute and stable. Like drdhaniscayatva mentioned earlier (12.14), sthira-matitva also emphasizes spiritual firmness and resolve. This means that the seeker is free of all doubts, desires, ego and possessiveness.

 

They indeed, who follow this 'Immortal DHARMA' (Law of Life) as described above, endowed with faith, regarding Me as their Supreme Goal --- such devotees are exceedingly dear to Me.

To realize the Self and live in that wisdom at all our personality levels --- physical, mental and intellectual --- is the fulfillment of the life of a true seeker. It is not sufficient that he understands this, or reads regularly his scriptures, or even explains them intelligently. 

He must be able to digest them properly, assimilate them fully, and become Perfect. Therefore, Bhagawan says that he must be "ENDOWED WITH FAITH". 

Here, the term 'faith' means "the necessary capacity to assimilate spiritual ideas into ourselves through subjective personal experience." SUCH DEVOTEES ARE SUPREMELY DEAR TO ME !!

Let us  quickly recapitulate the 26 qualities .

1	Advestha sarva bhhotanam	Hates no creature
2	Maitrah, Karuna	Friendly
3	Nirmamo	Free from attachment
4	Nir ahankarah	Free from ego
5	Sama Dukha sukha	Balanced in pleasure  and pain
6	Kshamee	Forgiving
7	Santushta   satatam	Ever content
8	Yogee	Steady in meditation
9	Yataatmaa dridhanishchayah	Possessing form conviction
10	Madbaktah	Mind and intellect dedicated to the Lord
11	Yasmaan nodwijate loko	By whom world is not agitated
12	Lokaan nodwijate cha yah	cannot be agitated by the world
13	Harshaam arshabhyod wegair Mukto	Free from joy, fear, envy, Anxiety
14	An apekshah	Free from wants
15	Suchi	Pure
16	Daksha	Expert
17	Udaseeno	Unconcerned
18	Gatavyatah	Untroubled
19	Sarva arambha parityagee	Renounced all undertakings and all commencements
20	Yona hrishyati na dweshti	Neither rejoices, nor hates
21	Na sochati na kaangkshati	Neither grieves nor desires
22	Shubha Ashubha parityagee	Renouncing good and evil
23	Tulya nindaa stutir maunee	censure, praise equal
24	Santushto yena kenachit	Silent, content with anything
25	Aniketah	Homeless
26	Sthiramatir	Steady mind

  

it will be  extremely useful if we make a  monthly calendar, list down these 26 on the first column, insert the 30/31 dates column after that in our diary and before retiring at night, quickly run through the list and just put a "tick"  for the qualities in which we passed that day and a " cross" for the qualities in which we failed that day and then, over the next 3 months, see how many "x" have been converted to “ ✅  ”

With this we conclude  the 12^th chapter.

Love

Bhagwad Gita- Post 155

Quality # 24

Santushto yena kenachit

Silent, content with anything

A true seeker of wisdom becomes a man of few words --- not only physically but even mentally.

Silence within is real silence (Mouna)
. 

People are seen observing Mouna vratha, keeping silent for some time during the day/ during important festivals. It is good to observe silence like that, but what is required is the mental silence, un undisturbed mind, a mind with no agitation, no restless, disturbed flow of thoughts.

Swami Says,

“Silence is not a matter of resolve. It is always there. Silence is the constant, endless flow of pure God into you, while in the world.” 

When we go deep into Bhagawan’s quote  given above, we can relate it to a true devotee. 

When he has discovered the “endless flow of God” as “ Pure Love” within him, how will that mind get disturbed/ agitated/ restless with any worldly thoughts??

Let us see what Sri Ramana says on silence.

"What exists in truth is the Self alone. The self is that where there is absolutely no "I" thought. That is called Silence. The Self itself is the world; the Self itself is "I"; the Self itself is God."

"The inner silence is self-surrender. And that is living without the sense of ego. Solitude is in the mind of humanity. Silence is ever speaking; it is the perennial flow of "language." It is interrupted by speaking; for words obstruct this mute language. Silence is permanent and benefits the whole of humanity. . . . By silence, eloquence is meant. It is the best language. There is a state when words cease and silence prevails."

Quality # 25

Aniketah

Homeless

A sage writes on this quality thus:

“Home is generally that which provides shelter from the external vagaries  of weather, for the resident who is dwelling under its roof. 

The man of spiritual realization is one who is trying to pull down all his conditionings and striving to free himself from all sense of possession and material shackles.

Living under a roof, in itself, does not make the place a home. To spend a night on a railway station, or in the retiring room at an aerodrome, does not make the place the traveler's own home. 

It is only along with a sense of possession, reinforced with a sense of happiness and comfort, that the place under a roof becomes a home. 

Kaviraj Shailendra wrote, 

" Maana apne jeb se faqir hain, phir bhi yaaron dil se hum amir hain"

May be that I don't have a penny in my pocket but as far as my heart is concerned, I am very rich ! 

(in terms of the treasure of pure, expanded, universal love)

A true devotee has merged with  the All-Pervading source, and therefore, his mental condition is indicated here by the simple pertinent word 'homeless.'

In short, the inner state if such a devotee can be better stated as “ Having nothing to own ( at worldly level, home being one of them which he does not have/own) but the whole world, as though, is his own ( Having realized God, he as SELF/God, pervades the entire universe, his love  had expanded and covered the entire creation). 

Readers may wonder, how he is writing not owning and owning both together, whereas both are contradictory.

Not owning anything is at worldly level and owning everything is at spiritual level!

He may be a beggar at worldly level but internally, He is the “uncrowned king” of his own “ Swrajya Samrajya” as Sankara writes in viveka chudamani. 

He is King of his  independent, sovereign, Kingdom ( of Love, of Bliss!!)

Love

Bhagwad Gita- Post 154

Quality # 23

Tulya nindaa Stutir maunee  

Equal in censure or praise

Ninda and stuti mean the same thing to him. “You are the worst of fellows”— “all right, accepted”. 

“There is nobody like you in the whole world”—"that is also good, fine”.

He takes both of them as prasad. 

Chinmaya writes,

“A situation is judged by the intellect as honorable or dishonorable with reference to its own existing values and cultivated habits of thinking. 

That which is ordinarily considered dishonorable can itself come to be estimated by the same person as honorable in a new pattern of circumstances ordered by a change in time and place. 

On the whole, these are all different tides in the intellect; and those who are living in that realm  ( of BMI) are affected by them.”

Dear All,

When the world praises you or curses you, actually what is that they are praising or cursing?? 

They are looking at you as a person, as an individual, with a BMI, with a personality of your own, a nature of your own, acting in the society with desires, expectations etc.  

This is the world of beings , they can look at you only with their limited mind , their limited vision of seeing you with limitations, since they see themselves also with limitations.

Here is the true devotee who has surrendered to the lord, who takes up no action with expectations, which we have understood in earlier qualities. 

He exists moment to moment, acts moment to moment, propelled only by intuition and not by Ego, hatred, attachment  or inherent tendencies. 

So, when any praise or any dishonor/censure is showered  at him, he is not able to even recognize that they are pointed towards him, as he does not exist as a human being.   Will the SELF that he exists as, have any mind  to grasp any praise or censure??

Sri Chinmaya , in  his commentary  on a verse in viveka chudamani on Stitaprajna writes, “Adoration and censures, flowers or a garland of slippers, when heaped on him/ presented to him, all of them, the praises as well as censure, disappear from his bosom in no time  and there , he exists, rooted in consciousness (Stitaprajna).

How wonderful is it to note that all the qualities described as that of a true bhakta in this chapter, exactly matches all the qualities of a Jivanmukhta, in Jnana!. 

The path is different but the  culmination, the end result , the inner state of the one who has pursued path of devotion and reached the goal or a sadhaka who pursues the path of jnana and reaches the goal, are  exactly the same.

Love