Bhagwad Gita - Post 159

Chapter 13

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

(Contd…)

Verse 11

Mayi chaananyayogena

Bhaktiravyabhichaarinee;

Viviktadesha sevitwam

Aratir janasamsadi.

Unswerving devotion unto Me by the Yoga of non-separation, resort to solitary places, distaste for the society of men.

Verse 12

Adhyaatma jnaana nityatwam

Tattwa jnaanaartha darshanam;

Etajjnaanamiti proktam

Ajnaanam yadato’nyathaa.

Constancy in Self-knowledge, perception of the end of true knowledge — this is declared to be knowledge, and what is opposed to it is ignorance.

Verse 13

Jneyam yattat pravakshyaami

Yajjnaatwaa’mritamashnute;

Anaadimatparam brahma

Na sattannaasaduchyate.

I will declare that which has to be known, knowing which one attains to immortality, the beginningless supreme Brahman, called neither being nor non-being.

Verse 14

Sarvatah paanipaadam tat

Sarvato’kshishiromukham;

Sarvatah shrutimalloke

Sarvamaavritya tishthati.

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

Verse 15

Sarvendriyagunaabhaasam

Sarvendriyavivarjitam;

Asaktam sarvabhricchaiva

Nirgunam gunabhoktru cha.

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

Verse 16

Bahirantashcha bhootaanaam

Acharam charameva cha;

Sookshmatwaat tadavijneyam

Doorastham chaantike cha tat.

Without and within (all) beings, the unmoving and also the moving; because of His subtlety, unknowable; and near and far away is That.

Verse 17

Avibhaktam cha bhooteshu

Vibhaktamiva cha sthitam;

Bhootabhartru cha tajjneyam

Grasishnu prabhavishnu cha.

And undivided, yet He exists as if divided in beings; He is to be known as the supporter of beings; He devours and He generates also.

Verse 18

Jyotishaamapi tajjyotistamasah

Paramuchyate;

Jnaanam jneyam jnaanagamyam

Hridi sarvasya vishthitam.

That, the Light of all lights, is beyond darkness; it is said to be knowledge, the Knowable and the goal of knowledge, seated in the hearts of all.

Verse 19

Iti kshetram tathaa jnaanam

Jneyam choktam samaasatah;

Madbhakta etadvijnaaya

Madbhaavaayopapadyate.

Thus, the Field as well as knowledge and the Knowable have been briefly stated. My devotee, knowing this, enters into My Being.

Verse 20

Prakritim purusham chaiva

Viddhyaanaadee ubhaavapi;

Vikaaraamshcha gunaamshchaiva

Viddhi prakritisambhavaan.

Know thou that Nature and Spirit are beginningless; and know also that all modifications and qualities are born of Nature.

To be continued…

Love.

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