Commentary on the Bhagavadgita : 7 - Swami Krishnananda.

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Tuesday, December 07, 2021. 9:00.PM
Commentary on the Bhagavadgita :
Discourse 40
The Thirteenth Chapter Concludes – Understanding Purusha and Prakriti
POST-7.

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There are others who contemplate on the categories of the manifestation of the world as delineated in the Sankhya; that is also a way of sadhana. The twenty-four categories of creation mentioned in the Sankhya doctrine reveal the fact that our individuality is also constituted of the same universal categories and, therefore, we do not stand independently as persons by ourselves. Thus, our personality-consciousness and ego-consciousness automatically vanish even by contemplation on the twenty-four tattvas of the Sankhya. Hence, some attain the state of perfection by the Sankhya category also, and by the methods of yoga practice as described to us in the Sutras of Patanjali or any other yoga, such as mantra yoga, dhyana yoga, laya yoga, japa yoga, kundalini yoga. There are all kinds of yogas. As yoga is mentioned together with Sankhya, we may appreciate that the yoga referred to here is almost similar to the ashtanga yoga of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali and to samapatti, or samadhi, which is based on the Sankhya categories themselves. There are some, like Raja Janaka, who attained perfection through action, because actually they do not perform any action.

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"brahmarpanam brahma havir brahmagnau brahmana hutam

brahmaiva tena gantavyam brahma-karma-samadhina."  (4.24): 

brahma—Brahman; 

arpaṇam—the ladle and other offerings; 

brahma—Brahman; 

haviḥ—the oblation; 

brahma—Brahman; 

agnau—in the sacrificial fire; 

brahmaṇā—by that person; 

hutam—offered; 

brahma—Brahman; 

eva—certainly; 

tena—by that; 

gantavyam—to be attained; 

brahma—Brahman; 

karma—offering; 

samādhinā—those completely absorbed in God-consciousness.

BG 4.24: "For those who are completely absorbed in God-consciousness, the oblation is Brahman, the ladle with which it is offered is Brahman, the act of offering is Brahman, and the sacrificial fire is also Brahman. Such persons, who view everything as God, easily attain him."

Commentary :

Factually, the objects of the world are made from Maya, the material energy of God. Energy is both one with its energetic and also different from it. For example, light is the energy of fire. It can be considered as different from the fire, because it exists outside it. But it can also be reckoned as a part of the fire itself. Hence, when the rays of the sun enter the room through a window, people say, “The sun has come.” Here, they are bundling the sunrays with the sun. The energy is both distinct from the energetic and yet a part of it.

The soul too is the energy of God—it is a spiritual energy, called jīva śhakti. Shree Krishna states this in verses 7.4 and 7.5. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu stated:

jīva-tattva śhakti, kṛiṣhṇa-tattva śhaktimān

gītā-viṣhṇupurāṇādi tāhāte pramāṇa (Chaitanya Charitāmṛit, Ādi Leela, 7.117)[v19]

“Lord Krishna is the energetic and the soul is his energy. This has been stated in Bhagavad Gita, Viṣhṇu Purāṇ, etc.” Thus, the soul is also simultaneously one with and different from God. Hence, those whose minds are fully absorbed in God-consciousness see the whole world in its unity with God as non-different from him. The Śhrīmad Bhāgavatam states:

sarva-bhūteṣhu yaḥ paśhyed bhagavad-bhāvam ātmanaḥ

bhūtāni bhagavatyātmanyeṣha bhāgavatottamaḥ (11.2.45)[v20]

“One who sees God everywhere and in all beings is the highest spiritualist.” For such advanced spiritualists whose minds are completely absorbed in God-consciousness, the person making the sacrifice, the object of the sacrifice, the instruments of the sacrifice, the sacrificial fire, and the act of sacrifice, are all perceived as non-different from God.

Having explained the spirit in which sacrifice is to be done, Lord Krishna now relates the different kinds of sacrifice people perform in this world for purification.

The performer of the action, the deed that is performed, and the process of the action are all like the waters of the ocean rumbling within themselves and, therefore, nobody does any action. Even when a person is intensely active, actually no action is taking place; that is the nature of the supreme karma yogin. By that karma yoga, which is also a method of contemplation and dhyana, one can attain God.

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"dhyanenatmani pashyanti kechid atmanam atmana

anye sankhyena yogena karma-yogena chapare." (13-25.)

dhyānena—through meditation; 

ātmani—within one’s heart; 

paśhyanti—percieve; 

kechit—some; 

ātmānam—the Supreme soul; 

ātmanā—by the mind; 

anye—others; 

sānkhyena—through cultivation of knowledge; 

yogena—the yog system; 

karma-yogena—union with God with through path of action; 

cha—and; 

apare—others

BG 13.25: "Some try to perceive the Supreme Soul within their hearts through meditation, and others try to do so through the cultivation of knowledge, while still others strive to attain that realization by the path of action."

Commentary

Variety is the universal characteristic of God’s creation.  No two leaves of a tree are alike; no two human beings have exactly the same fingerprints; no two human societies have the same features.  Similarly, all souls are unique, and they have their distinctive traits that have been acquired in their unique journey through the cycle of life and death.  So in the realm of spiritual practice as well, not all are attracted to the same kind of practice.  The beauty of the Bhagavad Gita and the Vedic scriptures is that they realize this inherent variety amongst human beings and accommodate it in their instructions.

Here, Shree Krishna explains that some sādhaks (aspirants) find great joy in grappling with their mind and bringing it under control.  They are attracted to meditating upon God seated within their hearts.  They relish the spiritual bliss that they experience when their mind comes to rest upon the Lord within them. 

Others find satisfaction in exercising their intellect.  The idea of the distinction of the soul and the body, mind, intellect, and ego excites them greatly.  They relish cultivating knowledge about the three entities—soul, God, and Maya—through the processes of śhravaṇa, manan, nididhyāsan (hearing, contemplating, and internalizing with firm faith). 

Yet others find their spirits soaring when they can engage in meaningful action.  They strive to engage their God-given abilities in working for Him.  Nothing satisfies them more than using the last drop of their energy in service of God.  In this way, all kinds of sādhaks utilize their individual propensities for realizing the Supreme.  The fulfillment of any endeavor involving knowledge, action, love, etc. is when it is combined with devotion for the pleasure of God.  The Shreemad Bhagavatam states:

sā vidyā tanmatir yayā   (4.29.49)

“True knowledge is that which helps us develop love for God.  The fulfillment of karma occurs when it is done for the pleasure of the Lord.” 

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There are others who cannot do these things. They cannot meditate; they cannot contemplate the Self by the self; they cannot meditate on the categories of Sankhya; they cannot engage themselves in the ashtanga yoga of Patanjali; they cannot do karma yoga. What should they do? The compassionate Lord says: “They also reach Me, who merely listen to My glories and the glories of this knowledge in satsanga.” 

 Not knowing the difficult techniques of practice that have been mentioned, they can attain perfection by only hearing—srutva. Satsanga is a very potent method of self-purification. If the satsanga is properly conducted and we are honest in our participation in that satsanga, that satsanga itself will be sufficient not only for purification of the self, but it will even act as a supreme meditation itself. We will be in ecstasy at that time. 

As Tulsidas says, “Binu satsanga viveka na hoi”: Without satsanga, discrimination does not dawn. 

By merely hearing the glories through satsanga, people also attain perfection.  Therefore, all of you will attain moksha. You will not be reborn, because at least you have heard what is being said. God is very compassionate. He will not harass you with hard disciplines. Listen, hear, and absorb this knowledge that you have heard into yourself. You will cross over the realm of death—mrtyum atitaranti.

To be continued ....

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