Commentary on the Srimad Bhagavad Gita-1.2 : Swami Krishnananda
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06/10/2019.
Chapter-1: The Colophon of the Srimad Bhagavad Gita-2.
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Every individual is an entity by itself. But this ‘being an entity by itself’ is not so simple a matter as it appears on the surface. As human individuals, we appear to be totally isolated persons, and we stand by ourselves, unrelated to things outside. We can be in our own rooms, unnoticed and unconnected to things. But, we are not unconnected to things. The physical atmosphere, the social atmosphere, the political atmosphere, and the psychological atmosphere determine us. So even if we are alone in our rooms, we do not forget that our individuality is conditioned by the presence of these laws of society, of government, of physical nature, and of the thoughts of people in general. Hence, our individuality is only a chimera, and total individuality by itself is not a possibility.
There is a relation of ‘A’ to ‘B’. If ‘A’ was not related to ‘B’, we would not be conscious that ‘A’ is independent of ‘B’. If we say an object is red in colour, it is not an independent perception of the redness of the object. It is, at the same time, a distinction that we draw between the redness and the other colours which are not red. If there was only redness everywhere, we would not be able to perceive the redness of things. There is a distinction in the characteristic of a particular object which is red. That distinction lies in the fact that it is not what is not red. It is red, and it is not what is not red. The not-ness is a negative influence exerted on this object.
We are human beings, and we are not animals. Our not being animals is a conditioning factor even if we are individual human beings. The existences that are outside us are not actually outside us. They influence us. What I mean finally is that in the concept of this Total, or the Absolute, it is not enough if we just look at it as if it is clear to us. We have to probe into the structural pattern of the object in its relation to atmospheric conditions outside also, which determines it in quality as well as in quantity, so that to think in an Absolute fashion would be to recognise the total structure of the universe even in an atom, and to see the whole government in a single official. We can summon the entire government, if necessary, though no official can be called the government. In a similar manner, any object can draw sustenance from everything in the universe.
To be continued ....
=======================================================================
06/10/2019.
Chapter-1: The Colophon of the Srimad Bhagavad Gita-2.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Every individual is an entity by itself. But this ‘being an entity by itself’ is not so simple a matter as it appears on the surface. As human individuals, we appear to be totally isolated persons, and we stand by ourselves, unrelated to things outside. We can be in our own rooms, unnoticed and unconnected to things. But, we are not unconnected to things. The physical atmosphere, the social atmosphere, the political atmosphere, and the psychological atmosphere determine us. So even if we are alone in our rooms, we do not forget that our individuality is conditioned by the presence of these laws of society, of government, of physical nature, and of the thoughts of people in general. Hence, our individuality is only a chimera, and total individuality by itself is not a possibility.
There is a relation of ‘A’ to ‘B’. If ‘A’ was not related to ‘B’, we would not be conscious that ‘A’ is independent of ‘B’. If we say an object is red in colour, it is not an independent perception of the redness of the object. It is, at the same time, a distinction that we draw between the redness and the other colours which are not red. If there was only redness everywhere, we would not be able to perceive the redness of things. There is a distinction in the characteristic of a particular object which is red. That distinction lies in the fact that it is not what is not red. It is red, and it is not what is not red. The not-ness is a negative influence exerted on this object.
We are human beings, and we are not animals. Our not being animals is a conditioning factor even if we are individual human beings. The existences that are outside us are not actually outside us. They influence us. What I mean finally is that in the concept of this Total, or the Absolute, it is not enough if we just look at it as if it is clear to us. We have to probe into the structural pattern of the object in its relation to atmospheric conditions outside also, which determines it in quality as well as in quantity, so that to think in an Absolute fashion would be to recognise the total structure of the universe even in an atom, and to see the whole government in a single official. We can summon the entire government, if necessary, though no official can be called the government. In a similar manner, any object can draw sustenance from everything in the universe.
To be continued ....
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