A Study of the Bhagavadgita - Chapter 7.5. Swami Krishnananda.
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Sunday, August 15, 2021. 7:58.PM.
Chapter 7:The Entry of the Absolute into the Relative - 5.
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Na buddhibhedam janayed : :
Do not go on telling, “You are wrong.” Nobody is wrong. They are all in one category, one degree, and you are also in one condition. They are like a baby crawling, and why should you condemn that crawling baby as if you are now superior to it? Everybody is on a level of evolution, and every level of evolution is a compulsory stage; therefore, nobody is superior, nobody is inferior, and no work is bad, no work is good. There is dignity in every work, and every relationship is divine in its meaning.
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Gita : ch-3, slo-27.
"Prakriteh kriyamanani gunaih karmani sarvashah
ahankara-vimudhatma kartaham iti manyate."
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Translation :
prakṛiteḥ—of material nature;
kriyamāṇāni—carried out;
guṇaiḥ—by the three modes;
karmāṇi—activities;
sarvaśhaḥ—all kinds of;
ahankāra-vimūḍha-ātmā—those who are bewildered by the ego and misidentify themselves with the body;
kartā—the doer;
aham—I;
iti—thus;
manyate—thinks
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Tatvam (Essenc) :
BG 3.27: All activities are carried out by the three modes of material nature. But in ignorance, the soul, deluded by false identification with the body, thinks itself to be the doer.
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Commentary :
We can see that the natural phenomena of the world are not directed by us, but are performed by prakṛiti, or Mother Nature. Now, for the actions of our own body, we usually divide them into two categories: 1) Natural biological functions, such as digestion, blood circulation, heartbeat, etc., which we do not consciously execute but which occur naturally. 2) Actions such as speaking, hearing, walking, sleeping, working etc. that we think we perform.
Both these categories of works are performed by the mind-body-senses mechanism. All the parts of this mechanism are made from prakṛiti, or the material energy, which consists of the three modes (guṇas)—goodness (sattva), passion (rajas), and ignorance (tamas). Just as waves are not separate from the ocean, but a part of it, similarly the body is a part of Mother Nature from which it is created. Hence, material energy is the doer of everything.
Why then does the soul perceive itself to be doing activities? The reason is that, in the grip of the unforgiving ego, the soul falsely identifies itself with the body. Hence, it remains under the illusion of doership. Let us say there are two trains standing side-by-side on the railway platform, and a passenger on one train fixes his gaze on the other. When the second train moves, it seems that the first is moving. Likewise the immobile soul identifies with the mobility of prakṛiti. Thus, it perceives itself as the doer of actions. The moment the soul eliminates the ego and surrenders to the will of God, it realizes itself as the non-doer.
One may question that if the soul is truly the non-doer, then why is it implicated in law of karma for actions performed by the body? The reason is that the soul does not itself perform actions, but it does direct the actions of the senses-mind-intellect. For example, a chariot driver does not pull the chariot himself, but he does direct the horses. Now, if there is any accident, it is not the horses that are blamed, but the driver who was directing them. Similarly, the soul is held responsible for the actions of the mind-body mechanism because the senses-mind-intellect work on receiving inspiration from the soul.
Ignorant people become ignorant of the fact that Prakriti’s gunas operate among Prakriti’s gunas in the form of objects outside. You are involved in the perception of the world and do not understand what is actually taking place when you perceive the world. When you perceive the world, when you become conscious of the object outside, what the Gita is telling you is that Prakriti is impinging on Prakriti.
Now, the cosmological evolutionary theory, which I mentioned to you sometime back, the entire Purusha-Prakriti arrangement, would have enlightened you to the fact that the three gunas – sattva, rajas and tamas – are the constituents of your own individuality also. You are made up of only these gunas in all your sheaths – Annamaya, Pranamaya, Manomaya, Vijnanamaya, Ananadamaya. The very same gunas are also the constituents of objects outside. The only thing is that in your case there is a mind, there is an intellect, there is a prana and other things involved in this kosha arrangement, whereas in the object, which is the adhibhuta prapancha, there is a predominance of tamas. There is predominance of tamas in the objective world, predominance of rajas in the subjective individuality, and predominance of sattva in the adhidaiva, which is the divinity.
Because of the fact of everything being constituted only of the three gunas of Prakriti, you will be able to appreciate what actually happens when you come in contact with an object of perception through the sense organs. The gunas of Prakriti, which are the constituents of your sense organs and even the mind, collide, as it were, and come in contact with the very same properties present in a different percentage of combination and permutation in the form of objects. It is, as it were, one wave clashing against another wave in the very same ocean in all acts of perception.
To be continued ...
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