Commentary on the Srimad Bhagavad Gita- Discourse 5.8. - Swami Krishnananda.
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Saturday, October 24, 2020. 11:10. AM.
Discourse 5: The Second Chapter Concludes – The Establishment of the Soul in Universality - 8.
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When we contemplate an object—which is the only thing that we are doing every day, as some object or the other is on our mind—we do not think of the Universal principle involved in the object. Very few can do that. We think mostly in the exteriorised fashion of the sense organs working in terms of an object outside. The moment we think of an object, the desire of the sense organs increases.
They want to possess it. "Samgat sanjayate kamah." (BG. 2.62).
The desire to possess that particular object many a time comes in conflict with a similar desire that others may also have to possess it. There is some land. We want to possess it, and another person also wants to possess the same land.
There is a clash. So there is a possibility of our coming in conflict with other people and other forces operating in the world due to our clinging to a particular object or a particular set of objects;
and when there is an intervention from outside, we get angry : "kamat krodho’bhijayate." (BG. 2.62).
When we get angry, our intellect ceases to function : "krodhad bhavati sammohah." (BG.2.63).
When our intellect ceases to function, we become bewildered in our understanding; sammohah takes place.
"Sammohat smrtivibhramah, smrtibhramsad buddhinaso." (2.63):
We become idiots, as it were. Then there is a perishing of the very aim of the human individual.
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There is a necessity, therefore, to maintain a balance in our attitude to things.
"Samatvam yoga ucyate." (BG. 2.48);
"yogah karmasu kausalam." (BG. 2.50).
These are two definitions of yoga in the Second Chapter. Balance of attitude is yoga; dexterity in the performance of action is yoga. The balance that is spoken of as yoga arises on account of our being rooted in the sankhya, or knowledge—which is to say, we are cosmically determined, and not individually motivated. This is the fault that Sri Krishna found in Arjuna: “You lack sankhya!” When our sankhya, or knowledge, is absent, we do not have a comprehensive vision of the things involved. That is to say, we never think in terms of universals; we think only in terms of particulars. The balance that is required in the practice of yoga arises automatically from the knowledge of our involvement in the cosmic structure of things; and then we become able, very dexterous and adroit in the performance of action. We will never make a mistake in the deeds that we do, because we have a comprehensive vision of the pros and cons of our actions. This is because our yoga, our action, is based on sankhya, or knowledge.
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Such a person is a siddha purusha, a person established in perfect understanding. His understanding does not waver; it does not flicker. It is like the flame of a lamp in a windless place. Arjuna put the question:
“What kind of person is this?”
"Prajahati yada kaman sarvan partha manogatan, atmanyevatmana tushtah sthitaprajñas tadocyate ."(BG. 2.55):
A person of stable understanding is one who wants not anything. Again, if we come to sankhya, or knowledge, the question of wanting is redundant in this world where everything is ours finally, and also nothing is ours, from another point of view. In a family of which we are a member, we cannot possess everything for ourselves, though everything is ours in one way. In a family we have the freedom to take whatever we want, yet we do not have the freedom to arrogate everything to ourselves. There is, therefore, a freedom together with a restriction.
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The ability to perform right action is the same as the ability to maintain a balance of consciousness. No one can be an expert in the performance of action. Expertness means not committing a fault, taking into consideration all aspects of the matter, as I mentioned just now: the consequence, the intention, the reason behind the action, etc. An action that we perform should not be deleterious either to ourselves or to others. Sometimes we may ruin ourselves in the interest of the welfare of other people. Sometimes we may ruin other people in the interest of our own personal welfare. Neither of these things is permitted. Killing ourselves and killing another should be considered as equally culpable offenses. We have no right to kill ourselves, because as individuals we are as sacred as any other person with whom we can interfere. This is the judicial point of view of the spiritual outlook.
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A sthitaprajna is a person who has become stable in understanding because of the absence of motivating desires. Kaman sarvan partha: He abandons all the motivation for desires toward particular ends. When we desire the acquirement of particular ends, we forget that we are ignoring the other factors which also condition the fulfilment of our desire, about which I mentioned just now. So there will be resentment from other parts of nature which we have ignored in our attachment to the particular limited objective, and then we will suffer because of our action. Hence, all aspects of the action—the past, present and future aspects of the action, we may say—should be taken into consideration, and then we will feel that our participation as a duty in whatever station we are placed in society will automatically bring the desired fruit from the cosmic forces, and we need not have to dig the earth in order to cultivate fields. God, Who is the Supreme, will see that our stomachs are filled and our thirst is quenched, and we need not even think of the morrow because the morrow will take care of itself. Thinking of the morrow is thinking in terms of time, and we have already decided that thinking in terms of time is to invite death because time is the killing medium in life.
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