अथ पञ्चदशोऽध्यायः । पुरुषोत्तमयोगः
15. Purshotam Yoga
The Yoga of supreme self
Does the Jivatman first remain alien to the Paramatman and then get subsequently unified with Him? The answer comes :-
Jivatman Defined 15-07 to 15-09
What does the Jivatman do with his senses? His action is explained :-
श्रोत्रं चक्षुः स्पर्शनं च रसनं घ्राणमेव च ।
अधिष्ठाय मनश्चायं विषयानुपसेवते ॥ १५-९॥
15-09 Presiding over the ear, the eye, the touch, the taste, and the smell, as also the mind, he experiences objects.
All the five senses serve as five different messengers to the indweller in the body. If a man be shut up in a cell with no outlet whatsoever he would perish deprived of air, water, food and light. But the Jivatman residing in the fort of his body gets all his requirements through the five senses. Sound the adjunct of akasa comes to him through the ear. The eye functions to bring the message of light and form, the adjunct of fire. The sense of touch which is the adjunct of air pervades all over his body intimating him of heat and cold in the environment. Taste is the adjunct of water and the tongue serves him in this respect. The nose conveys to him the sense of smell, it being the adjunct of earth. And mind is the interpreter of the data brought in by all these senses. The Jivatman is cherished by all these six instruments, keeping him in contact with the external world.
15-09.mp3
How does the Jivatman assume the upadhis? The answer comes :-
शरीरं यदवाप्नोति यच्चाप्युत्क्रामतीश्वरः ।
गृहीत्वैतानि संयाति वायुर्गन्धानिवाशयात् ॥ १५-८॥
15-08 When the lord obtains a body and when be leaves it, he takes these and goes, as the wind carries the scents from their sources.
The Jivatman is called the lord here because of his suzerainty over the body and the senses. The wind is smell-less by itself, but it acquires the scent inherent in the flowers. It is also capable of relinquishing those scents by and by. The Jivatman assumes the upadhis due to his attachment to the Prakriti; but as he detaches himself from it, he resumes his contentless consciousness. However, as long as he keeps up his concern with the Prakriti, he behaves like a magician with his equipment. Somewhere he spreads out his few things and shows his magic performance. Then he bundles up his belongings and goes to another place intent on the same show. Similarly, the Jivatman spreads out his senses, mind and his upadhis when he takes birth in one place. He withdraws them at death, only to project them again in another birth.
15-08.mp3
ममैवांशो जीवलोके जीवभूतः सनातनः ।
मनःषष्ठानीन्द्रियाणि प्रकृतिस्थानि कर्षति ॥ १५-७॥
15-07 An eternal portion of Myself having become the Jiva in the world of Jivas, attracts the senses, with mind as the sixth, abiding in Prakriti.
A drop of rain water is alien to the sea before falling into it. But the Jivatman is never an entity separate or independent of the Paramatman. As a wave is ever part of the sea, the individual soul is eternally part and parcel of Iswara. A Jivatman is one who thinks through ignorance that he is bound in Prakriti. It is by identification with Prakriti that he evolves the five senses and the mind. These instruments develop in him because of his ceaseless desire for self-expression and contact with the external world. He is called a Bhokta or a Bhogin due to his indulgence in the external world through the senses. He is said to be in the world of Jivas as long as he delights in sense-pleasures. But he becomes a yogi when he chooses to refrain from the activities of the senses. His preparation for identification with the Paramatman is in direct proportion to the control of the senses that he exercises.
The relationship between the Jivatman and the Paramatman is analogous to the relationship between the akasa in a pot and the akasa outside. These two akasas are designated the Ghata akasa and Maha akasa respectively. The former akasa has a seeming individuality when the pot is in existence. But actually the Maha akasa alone is irrespective of the existence or otherwise of the pot. Even so, the Paramatman alone is the eternal verity putting on now and then the appearance of the Jivatman.
Because of his identification with the Prakriti, the Jivatman is termed Karta-the agent and Bhogin the one who enjoys. When these limiting adjuncts are eliminated, the Atman is in his original state. As the Jivatman he seems to be a part of the Paramatman. When the Jivahood goes, he is one with the Paramatman.
The real nature of the Jivatman is Sat-chit-ananda. But through egoism he has assumed several upadhis - limiting adjuncts and has forgotten his real nature. -Sri Ramakrishna
15-07.mp3
The Supreme Abode 15-06
न तद्भासयते सूर्यो न शशाङ्को न पावकः ।
यद्गत्वा न निवर्तन्ते तद्धाम परमं मम ॥ १५-६॥
15-06 That the sun illumines not, nor the moon, nor fire; that is My Supreme Abode, going whither they return not.
On entering the sea, a river gets merged in it. In this wise, when realization comes, the Jivatman merges his individuality in the Paramatman. A man in a pitch dark room does not cognize his body, but he retains the feeling, 'I am.' Neither the sun, nor the moon nor fire is required by him to point out his awareness, 'I am. ' It is self-evident and self-sufficient. This awareness is Prajnanam. It is the eternal factor in man. While seeming to be sullied, or while playing hide and seek, It is actually ever Itself. This Awareness as Pure Consciousness is eulogized as the Supreme State. It is infinite and Immovable. It neither dies nor is it born. It is unaffected by time, space and causation. The Jivatman who, identifies himself with this Absolute Consciousness gains Mukti. He does not individualize himself any more.
When pure camphor is lit, it leaves no residue. When mentation is absolved in Samadhi, the distinctions such as 'I' , 'You' and the objective world vanish. Brahman the Suddha Chaitanya or Pure Consciousness alone remains. -Sri Ramakrishna
15-06.mp3
The weaning of the Jivatman from the Prakriti and his being wedded to the Paramatman are expatiated upon as follows :-
Who gains Mukti?
The Competent Ones 15-05
निर्मानमोहा जितसङ्गदोषा
अध्यात्मनित्या विनिवृत्तकामाः ।
द्वन्द्वैर्विमुक्ताः सुखदुःखसंज्ञैर्-
गच्छन्त्यमूढाः पदमव्ययं तत् ॥ १५-५॥
15-05 Free from pride and delusion, with the evil of attachment conquered, ever dwelling in the Self, their desires being completely stilled, liberated from the pairs of opposites known as pleasure and pain, the undeluded reach that Goal Eternal.
Ridding the mind of all impurities and fixing it on Atman -these are the twofold intents on which the sadhaka engages himself. The mind becomes all-powerful as it gains in purity. Because of its purity it gains access to Atman. The greatest and the holiest of its achievements lies in its getting fixed in the Atman. Man becomes god through this benign act of the mind.
The bound soul is man; the freed soul is Iswara. - Sri Ramakrishna
15-05.mp3
Cut the Tree to get Moksha 15-03 & 15-04
ततः पदं तत्परिमार्गितव्यं
यस्मिन्गता न निवर्तन्ति भूयः ।
तमेव चाद्यं पुरुषं प्रपद्ये ।
यतः प्रवृत्तिः प्रसृता पुराणी ॥ १५-४॥
15-04 Then that Goal should be sought for, going whither, they do not return again. I seek refuge in that Primeval Purusha whence streamed forth the Eternal Activity.
Recoiling from the attachment to the world is a negative act, producing no far-reaching effect. It has therefore to be made to take a positive turn. Aspiring ardently for the Brahmavastha is what is wanted. Giving oneself over to the Prakriti and giving oneself over to the Supreme Purusha- these acts are opposed to each other and produce opposite results. The former breeds ignorance and promotes bondage of the Jivatman to the wheel of birth and death, while the latter liberates and leads him into the plenitude of Brahman. The intensity and the completeness of the dedication to Brahman hastens the spiritual enlightenment of the sadhaka.
As clouds come forth from the sea, the Prakriti of the Eternal Activity ever streams forth from Brahman, the Primeval Purusha. The eternal process of the appearance and disappearance of Prakriti does not in any way affect the Supreme Purusha. The detachment from the Prakriti and the staunch attachment to the Supreme Purusha are the potent means for the destruction of the tree of Samsara of the Jimtman.
On detection the thief takes to his heels. Similarly when you see into the nature of Maya it disappears from you. ----Sri Ramakrishna
15-04.mp3
न रूपमस्येह तथोपलभ्यते
नान्तो न चादिर्न च सम्प्रतिष्ठा ।
अश्वत्थमेनं सुविरूढमूलं
असङ्गशस्त्रेण दृढेन छित्त्वा ॥ १५-३॥
15-03 Its form is not here perceived as such, neither its end, nor its origin, nor its existence. Having cut asunder this firm-rooted Asvattha with the strong axe of non-attachment;
This Asvattha tree of mundane existence has no stability whatsoever. It is ever in a state of flux. It changes its patterns more quickly than we are able to comprehend. Its origin is beyond the ken of man; all the same, its end can be predicted. The phenomenon vanishes to the one having Brahma jnana. But it continues to exist for all the others who are still in ignorance. Can the ordinary man posit anything about it ? It is partially determinant; beyond a limit it is unknown and-unknowable.
However firm-rooted a tree may be, it can be felled with an axe. Non-attachment is the axe to cut down the tree of Samsara. The sharper this weapon; the quicker is the result obtained. Vairagya or complete dispassion is the benign outcome of non-attachment. It is a criterion for being blessed with the spiritual eye. The spectacle of the universe undergoes a dramatic change when the cognition of the mind gives place to the intuition of the super-mind. This is the allegorical meaning or cutting asunder the firm-rooted Asvattha tree.
The silkworm gets encaged in the cocoon spun by itself. Similarly the worldly man gets entangled in the meshes of his own desires. But when the silkworm develops into a butterfly, it breaks open its nest and comes out to enjoy the light and air outside. Similarly when the man in bondage cuts asunder his attachment to Maya, he is able to behold Brahman.
-Sri Ramakrishna
15-03.mp3
The Tree of Life 15-01 & 15-02
How the earthly life is to be enriched is explained in the following stanza :-
अधश्चोर्ध्वं प्रसृतास्तस्य शाखा
गुणप्रवृद्धा विषयप्रवालाः ।
अधश्च मूलान्यनुसन्ततानि
कर्मानुबन्धीनि मनुष्यलोके ॥ १५-२॥
15-02 Below and above spread its branches, nourished by the Gunas; sense-objects are its buds; and below in the world of men stretch forth the roots, engendering action.
The analogy between the peepul tree and the Samsara comprising of the phenomenal existence continues to be kept up. The branches of the tree spread profusely above and below. To the tree of the Samsara, Brahmaloka and such like regions are the branches growing above and the regions of men and other inferior beings are the branches coming down. The enlightened ones assume superior births and those others devoid of understanding take inferior births. Buds and twigs are put forth only by those branches which are full of sap. The functioning of the three Gunas supplies the required sap and the feasting of the senses on the sense-objects puts forth the buds and twigs. The sprouting, leafing and thriving of the tree of Samsara is inevitable as long as the Gunas supply the sap.
The tap-root and the subsidiary roots are the two types of roots functioning in a tree. The tap root together with the trunk is the seat of life to the tree. Since Iswara is the source of the Jagat which has materialized from Him, He is regarded as the tap-root sustaining it from above. The multifarious activities on the earth are the branching subsidiary roots nourishing this tree of Samsara. By pruning and treating the slender branch roots occasionally, the growth of the tree is augmented. Parallel to this, man improves his lot by reforming and readjusting his activities. Karma aids him reconstitute his nature. It is karma again that binds man to varying tendencies and provides momentum to prolong the wheel of birth. Made of karma as the Jivatmas are, the root that represents it is said to be all-pervading in the universe. In other words, karma and Prakriti are inseparable.
15-02.mp3
ऊर्ध्वमूलमधःशाखमश्वत्थं प्राहुरव्ययम् ।
छन्दांसि यस्य पर्णानि यस्तं वेद स वेदवित् ॥ १५-१॥
The Blessed Lord said :
15-01 They speak of an imperishable Asvattha tree with its root above and branches below. Its leaves are the Vedas; he who knows it is the knower of the Vedas.
The word Asvattha means that which is not today as it was yesterday. This word refers to Samsara or phenomenal existence. It is imperishable but not constant and steady. This Samsara has its origin in Brahman and as it branches down, it gets more and more materialized. Asvattha also means the peepul tree which belongs to the banyan family. The speciality of the banyan tree is that it supplies sap from above and sends the branches down into the earth. In this respect the functioning of the Samsara resembles that of this tree. Both of them receive their sustenance from above and come down to earthly existence. In the unmanifest state Brahman and Sakti are the same. Therefore the latter is as imperishable as the former. Sakti is the inexhaustible source of the Samsara or the Prakriti, with its innumerable modifications.
The tree is both a symbol and an entity revealing life. It aids the study of life in all its aspects all over the Prakriti. That life is self-expressive is made known to us by the leaves of the tree. The varieties of life are also indicated by the leaves; they enable us to distinguish one tree from another. Parallel to this are the chandamsi or the hymns in the Vedas. Through these hymns the expression of life all over Nature is suggested to the seeker of knowledge. Hymns in the Vedas are the general term used for all the branches of knowledge. Organic chemistry, biology, botany, physiology, natural science, human history-all these and more are all revelations of life at various levels. The positive expression of life is upheld as virtue and the negative expression discarded as vice. The Vedas show the ways of, employing life both for good and bad. This transitory life transforms itself into the Life Absolute when Brahma jnana is obtained. Short of that Enlightenment, this mundane existence drags on painfully without beginning and without end. It is therefore called avyayam- the imperishable.
He who reads and understands the compiled books called the Vedas is not the real Vedavit- the knower of the Vedas. These books are mere aids and guides. He alone is a Vedavit who truly sees into the marvellous working of Nature. Prakriti is the true imperishable Veda, projected by the Maker.
That the Prakriti is constituted of the three Gunas and that the Paramatman is supremely above the Prakriti was presented in chapter fourteen. This chapter deals with the fact that the Prakriti branches down from its Source which is the Paramatman. The symbol of the Cosmic Mother Durga expounds these facts very graphically. She is vigorously engaged in vanquishing the Demon known as Mahishasura. Like a buffalo as his name indicates, he is pervert and adamant. This Demon is the embodiment of Tamas, the lowest of the three Gunas. The energy spent in putting him down is a landmark in the process of the evolution of life. It is an indication of the sentient emerging from the insentient. Philosophically Rajas gets the upper hand over Tamas. The gold colour of Mother Durga with Her red raiment symbolizes Rajas with its capacity to enrich the phenomenal life. Sarasvati the goddess of learning, Lakshmi the goddess of wealth, Subrahmanya the god of valour and Ganesa the god of wisdom, all attending on the Cosmic Mother indicate the ways and means for enriching the earthly life. Just above the head of Durga, the snow white Lord Siva is seated absorbed in deep meditation. This is the symbol of Sattva which transforms all earthly activities into spiritual activities. Ultimately the Gunas are transcended and the Absolute is attained. All turmoils are down below in the physical life. But as one progresses towards the Atman, life gets refined. Ultimately life in the Prakriti is transcended and Godhood is reached.
A man standing outside a market-place hears a general buzz, nothing is distinct. But his perspective changes as soon as he enters into the market. The transactions are as clearly heard and understood. Similarly when a man is away from lswara, his inquiry is all in confusion. There is no end to his search into the cause and effect, to his cogitating over the why and how of the things, to his debates, to his arguments and counter-arguments and to his theorizing. But on the realization of Iswara all these speculations and conjectures come to an end. The mystery of Nature becomes an open book to him. -Sri Ramakrishna
15-01.mp3
The Divine Eye 15-10 & 15-11
How to obtain the eye of wisdom? The process is explained :-
यतन्तो योगिनश्चैनं पश्यन्त्यात्मन्यवस्थितम् ।
यतन्तोऽप्यकृतात्मानो नैनं पश्यन्त्यचेतसः ॥ १५-११॥
15-11 Those who strive, endued with yoga, cognize him dwelling in the self; though striving, the unrefined and unintelligent see him not.
1.The act of striving is common both to the yogi and the non-yogi.
2. Nothing can be achieved without working for it.
3. The unrefined and unintelligent man labours the wrong way.
4. He is not well established in self-control.
5. Spiritual egoism lurks in his heart.
6. Pride and conceit alienate him from others.
Such a man, though endeavouring in the spiritual line all through life, does not develop the eye of wisdom.
But the yogi is
1. engaged in all humility in the welfare of all.
2. He does his earthly duties to perfection viewing them as service to the Lord.
3. He is exemplary in his practice of austerity and self-control.
4. And in subordinating the individual will to the Will of the Lord he is unreserved.
5. Purity of the mind marks him for its own.
6. He therefore develops the eye of wisdom as a matter of course.
All water leaks away even if there be a minute hole in a Water pot. In that manner, even if there be a trace of earthly attachment in the mind of a Sadhaka, all his spiritual practices come to naught. -Sri Ramakrishna
15-11.mp3
उत्क्रामन्तं स्थितं वापि भुञ्जानं वा गुणान्वितम् ।
विमूढा नानुपश्यन्ति पश्यन्ति ज्ञानचक्षुषः ॥ १५-१०॥
15-10 The deluded do not see him who departs, slays and enjoys, who is conjoined with the Gunas, but they see, who possess the eye of wisdom.
They are designated as the deluded- Vimudhah, because of their ignorance in regard to the Self, the foremost factor in themselves. Not knowing their own supreme worth and the profound possibilities in their existence, they merely give themselves over to the functioning of the senses which only aid their good and bad contact with the perishable objects outside. Limited and defective as the senses are, they are incapable of cognizing and contacting the self who stays in the body, enjoys the objects presented and departs from the body when it becomes unfit for occupation. Cognition of the Self alone is real cognition. And that is possible to only those who have the intuitive faculty or the eye of wisdom.
The human beings are all like pillows varying in their external appearances. One is red, another blue and a third yellow or black. But the stuff inside all of them is the same silk-cotton. Similarly some men are fair in colour while others are ugly, some are good tempered and others are bad tempered. Still the same Iswara resides in the hearts of all of them. -Sri Ramakrishna
15-10.mp3
What is it that the intuitive knowers of Paramatman behold? The answer comes:-
The Immanence of the Paramatman 15-12 to 15-15
There are the other benign ways in which the Lord is present in beings. They are recounted:-
सर्वस्य चाहं हृदि सन्निविष्टो
मत्तः स्मृतिर्ज्ञानमपोहनञ्च ।
वेदैश्च सर्वैरहमेव वेद्यो
वेदान्तकृद्वेदविदेव चाहम् ॥ १५-१५॥
15-15 And I am seated in the hearts of all; from Me are memory, knowledge, as well as their loss; I am verily that which has, to be known by all the Vedas; I am indeed the author of the Vedanta as well as the knower of the Vedas.
The Lord resides as consciousness in the hearts of all. Memory of what has been done before is possible because of this consciousness. Knowledge or the faculty of understanding as to how to react to the changing circumstances -this power also comes from consciousness. As the unwanted old records are destroyed, the purposeless retention in memory and the aimless fostering of unwanted knowledge these are all done away with because of the proximity of consciousness.
The various cosmic functions and the knowledge pertaining to them put together, are called the Vedas. It is the Paramatman revealing himself as Nature. Everything in Nature is in its own way expressing the glory of Iswara. Through the things impermanent His permanency is posited. His omniscience is evinced everywhere in Nature by things sentient and insentient. Anandam Brahman-that He is Bliss, is testified by the entire Nature. His omnipotence is also attested by the Cosmos. Beauty is all His, is borne testimony to by anything and everything in the universe. To know all these verities is to know the Vedas. Iswara is the knower of the Vedas. But He does not exhaust Himself in the manifest universe. A speck in Him has become all these. The truth of His being infinitely beyond Nature is Vedanta.
15-15.mp3
The third stage of the life energy that comes from Iswara is next explained :-
अहं वैश्वानरो भूत्वा प्राणिनां देहमाश्रितः ।
प्राणापानसमायुक्तः पचाम्यन्नं चतुर्विधम् ॥ १५-१४॥
15-14 Abiding in the body of living beings as Vaisvanara, associated with Prana and Apana, I digest the four kinds of food.
That energy is known as Vaisvanara which remains in the bodies of beings as warmth and aids the digestion of food. This energy is also known as Jataragni, the gastric fire. It is tended by the breathing that is going on incessantly. Food is partaken of in four different ways
1. masticating (chew food),
2. sucking,
3. licking (pass the tongue over (something), typically in order to taste, moisten, or clean it.) and
4. swallowing
-basing on the nature and form of food.
Excluding the akasa, the other four elements, earth, water, fire and air constitute the food in four different ways.
15-14.mp3
Further, the atma chaitanya is the Life of lives. The how of it is as follows :-
गामाविश्य च भूतानि धारयाम्यहमोजसा ।
पुष्णामि चौषधीः सर्वाः सोमो भूत्वा रसात्मकः ॥ १५-१३॥
15-13 Entering the earth I support all beings by My energy; and having become the sapid moon I nourish all herbs.
It is evident all over Nature that one form of energy transforms itself into another. Modern science takes advantage of this fact and turns the resources of nature to man's advantage. On a close investigation it is found that no demarcation can be made between matters organic and inorganic, between forms of energy sentient and insentient. Life on earth, for instance, thrives by converting light and heat of the sun into sentient energy.
The manifest energy in its original form, as it emanates from Iswara, is known as Ojas. It pervades the entire universe and holds it intact. The movable and the Immovable do all get their sustenance from it. The life energy comes in one form from the sun and in quite another form from the moon. The sapidity of the vegetable kingdom on earth is obtained from the moon. While being converted into suitable forms, all energy in fact comes from the Paramatman.
15-13.mp3
यदादित्यगतं तेजो जगद्भासयतेऽखिलम् ।
यच्चन्द्रमसि यच्चाग्नौ तत्तेजो विद्धि मामकम् ॥ १५-१२॥
15-12 The light which residing in the sun illumines the whole world, that which is in the moon and in the fire know that light to be Mine.
The existence of a thing can be seen with the aid of light. The lights known to us come from the sun, the moon and the fire. And this light is the outcome of Sattva. A a mirror reflects the face, the Sattva Guna reflects Consciousness which is Atman. This Sattva comes from the Paramatman. As the sunlight reveals the insentient substance, atma chaitanya reveals awareness such as 'I am.' What the sun gives is merely the insentient light; whereas what is in the Atman is sentient light or sentience to be more precise. The insentient light has no existence independent of the Light or Awareness of the Atman. The how of it is as follows: There are two rooms lit by the sun. One of them happens to be vacant; there is none to cognize the existence of the sunlight in it. The feeling 'I am' is not in that light as well. The existence or the non-existence of the sunlight in that room makes no difference. There is the sunlight in the next room as well. In addition to it, a man is present in that room. He witnesses his own existence and the existence of the sunlight in that room. The insentient light that comes from the sun, the moon and the fire is cognized by the Sentient Light or the Cosmic Consciousness which is Iswara. The Light known as the Intelligence of the Knower reveals the existence of the object known. The sun, the moon and the fire are all objects known and revealed by Atman, the Knower.
15-12.mp3
The Paramatman in all His forms is being explained now:-
The Facets of Brahman 15-16 to 15-20
What is the benefit that the sadhaka derives in being tuned in Brahmavastha? The treat is delineated:-
इति गुह्यतमं शास्त्रमिदमुक्तं मयानघ ।
एतद्बुद्ध्वा बुद्धिमान्स्यात्कृतकृत्यश्च भारत ॥ १५-२०॥
15-20 Thus, 0 sinless one, has this most profound teaching been imparted by Me. Knowing this a man becomes enlightened, 0 Bharata, and all his duties are accomplished.
Though the whole of the Bhagavad Gita is a profound teaching, this chapter in particular is pronounced as profound, because of the quintessence of Vedanta being enshrined in it. He who has realized Brahman is the Jnani. All his duties and obligations terminate in the realization of Brahman. And there is no duty superior to the enlightenment in Brahman. There is no ideal superior to Brahmavidya. There is no attainment superior to that of Brahman. The knower of Brahman becomes Brahman; and that is Mukti.
The human birth is rare to obtain. After having obtained it, if man does not aspire for the realization of Iswara, he is born in vain. -Sri Ramakrishna
15-20.mp3
What becomes of the Jivatman who realizes the Paramatman? The pronouncement comes :-
यो मामेवमसम्मूढो जानाति पुरुषोत्तमम् ।
स सर्वविद्भजति मां सर्वभावेन भारत ॥ १५-१९॥
15-19 He who, undeluded, knows Me as the Highest Self- he knows all, 0 Bharata, and he worships Me with all his heart.
There is only one Reality. The deluded one sees plurality and not unity. Plurality is necessarily the spectacle of the phenomenal universe, constituted of the sentient and the insentient. As a sadhaka advances in spiritual discipline he realizes divinity permeating the entire universe of plurality. Because of this benign vision his attitude towards the world gets divinized. His devotion to the Maker is then on the increase. That Iswara is the owner and supporter of everything, becomes evident subsequently. The best thing that the Jivatman can do is to develop all his faculties not for self-aggrandizement, but for the service of the Lord. That the Jivatman and the Jagat are all part and parcel of Iswara, is next realized. The self-importance to which man is habitually addicted is shorn of its poignancy. With or without the multitudes participating in the Lord's grand sport of the creation, the preservation and the destruction, His sport goes on in perfect symphony. The blessed privilege of the Jivatman is to be a dedicated instrument in the hands of the Lord and thus terminate the delusion of his individualized existence. The goal in life of the Jivatman is to make himself over to the Paramatman. The Prakriti aspect in him is surrendered to Iswara or the Saguna Brahman. The Purusha aspect in him merges in Nirguna Brahman in the manner in which the space in a pot merges in the cosmic space when the pot is broken.
When the steamer on the Ganges touches the sea, it sails to the yonder regions, unknown to people this side. Even so, when the jivatman merges in Brahman, he does not return to the relative existence. -Sri Ramakrishna
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यस्मात्क्षरमतीतोऽहमक्षरादपि चोत्तमः ।
अतोऽस्मि लोके वेदे च प्रथितः पुरुषोत्तमः ॥ १५-१८॥
15-18 As I transcend the Perishable and am even above the Imperishable, therefore am I known in the world and in the Veda as 'Purushottama,' the Highest Purusha.
Kshara is that which is perishable. The Prakrti is perishable and it is compared with the peepul tree in the beginning of this chapter. The Jivahood of the Jiva is also perishable while the Pure Consciousness in him is none other than the Imperishable Brahman, who is Simultaneously with attributes and beyond attributes. The enlightened ones have extolled Him to the best of their understanding. For, the only thing that is knowable to them is He.
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The Paramatman is being portrayed :
उत्तमः पुरुषस्त्वन्यः परमात्मेत्युदाहृतः ।
यो लोकत्रयमाविश्य बिभर्त्यव्यय ईश्वरः ॥ १५-१७॥
15-17 But distinct is the Supreme Purusha called the Highest Self, the indestructible Lord, who pervades and sustains the three worlds.
1. Iswara is also called Saguna Brahman.
2. He is the Lord of Maya. The Jivatmans and the Jagat are His attributes.
3. Whatever glory, whatever divine manifestations, whatever arresting attributes we are able to cognize with our purified intellect- all these sublimities belong to Iswara.
4. Purushottama is He who is beyond even these celestial grandeurs.
5. Modifications find no place in Him. He is the Nirguna Brahman.
6. Prajnanam, Contentless Consciousness, Pure Consciousness, Awareness - these are some of the epithets by which He is indicated.
7. He is Indeterminate Frequency but Intense Consciousness.
8. Limitations such as time, space and causation gain no access to Him.
9. Mahanarayana, Sadasiva, Parasakti-these are some of the theological names attributed to Him.
How does Brahman stay in the human body? He is like the piston in a syringe. While being in the body, He remains untouched and unaffected by it. -Sri Ramakrishna
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द्वाविमौ पुरुषौ लोके क्षरश्चाक्षर एव च ।
क्षरः सर्वाणि भूतानि कूटस्थोऽक्षर उच्यते ॥ १५-१६॥
15-16 There are two Purushas in the world - the Perishable and the Imperishable. All beings are the Perishable, and the Kutastha is called the Imperishable.
1. The Jivatman is the individualized consciousness. Since there is a beginning and an end to the process of individualization, he is classified as Kshara or the Perishable.
2. The Jivatman being an Upadhi or limiting adjunct to Iswara, the Upadhi is also called the Purusha.
3. The Jagat or the insentient universe is also an Upadhi to Iswara.
4. But there is a fundamental difference between the Jivas being associated with the Prakriti or Maya and Iswara doing the same.
5. The Jivas are all slaves to Maya while Iswara is eternally the Lord of it.
6. Wielding power over Maya, He assumes various forms as if in sport.
7. He is therefore called the Kutastha.
Facets of this Iswara assume theological names such as Siva, Narayana and Bhagavati.
From the Vedic times up till now, this Cosmic Purusha has undergone changes of name, forms and attributes according to the attitudes and attainments of the worshippers.
The same Purusha provides scope for His being adored in a variety of ways by the different religionists.
The skin, the pulp, the nut and everything else in a fruit have all come from the same seed. Similarly, the sentient, the insentient and all forms of existence have come from the same Iswara. -Sri Ramakrishna
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ॐ तत्सदिति श्रीमद्भगवद्गीतासूपनिषत्सु
ब्रह्मविद्यायां योगशास्त्रे श्रीकृष्णार्जुन संवादे
पुरुषोत्तमयोगो नाम पञ्चदशोऽध्यायः ॥ १५॥
In the Upanishad of the Bhagavad Gita, the knowledge of Brahman, the Supreme, the science of Yoga and the dialogue between Sri Krishna and Arjuna, this is the fifteenth discourse designated:
THE YOGA OF THE SUPREME SELF
