अथ सप्तमोऽध्यायः । ज्ञानविज्ञानयोगः
7. Jnana vijnana Yoga
The Yoga of Knowledge and realisation.
The Maya of the Three Gunas - 7- 13 to 7-15
Who are they that alienate themselves from Iswara? They are marked out:-
न मां दुष्कृतिनो मूढाः प्रपद्यन्ते नराधमाः ।
माययापहृतज्ञाना आसुरं भावमाश्रिताः ॥ ७-१५॥
7-15. The evil-doers, the deluded, the lowest of men, deprived of discrimination by Maya and following the way of the Asuras, do not seek refuge in Me.
Asuras are they who delight in deceit, falsehood and torture of beings. Their ways are elaborately dealt with in chapter sixteen. They stand against the worship of the Divine. Practice of cruelty is their pastime.
Evil deeds hide the noble traits in man and expose the base ones. The perpetrators of wickedness become progressively deluded. They are not able to discern between the divine and the unholy. They are therefore the lowest of men. The question of pursuing any good path and pulling up in ethical life does not arise in their cases. Their understanding gets completely distorted. That it is Iswara who manifests Himself as the universe, is something beyond their ken. They detest everything pertaining to the Divine. The deluded have therefore no alternative to self-destruction.
The way of the sieve is to let the fine things pass through and hold the coarse things to itself. Likewise, the way of the wicked is to let the merits go and hold the evils fast. ---- Sri Ramakrishna
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How shall one extricate oneself from this delusion? The way is shown:-
दैवी ह्येषा गुणमयी मम माया दुरत्यया ।
मामेव ये प्रपद्यन्ते मायामेतां तरन्ति ते ॥ ७-१४॥
7-14. Verily this divine illusion of Mine, made up of the Gunas, is hard to surmount; but those who take refuge in Me alone, they cross over this illusion.
Daivi maya, the divine illusion, is the cloak that the Lord has assumed. It serves as His body. महामाय: Maha-mayah is one of the appellations of Vishnu. He who is an expert in creating the illusion, is the meaning of this term. He has hidden His Reality in the garb of Nature. All the same, He deigns to disclose Himself to those who take refuge in Him. The Reality in Him being known, the assumed garb of Maya vanishes. It is like the disappearance of the phantom of the snake when the rope is perceived in its reality.
Why are we not able to behold the Divine Mother? It is because She keeps Herself concealed behind the chicks or bamboo screen after the fashion of the respectable ladies of an aristocratic family. She sees everything and guides every thing, but none can see Her. But the true devotees who are Her kith and kin can cross the chicks, get near and behold Her. ----Sri Ramakrishna
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त्रिभिर्गुणमयैर्भावैरेभिः सर्वमिदं जगत् ।
मोहितं नाभिजानाति मामेभ्यः परमव्ययम् ॥ ७-१३॥
7-13. Deluded by these threefold dispositions of Prakriti -- the Gunas, this world does not know Me, who am above them and immutable.
Brahman is here designated as Param which means the One beyond the ken of the intellect and the senses. This Reality undergoes no modification and so It is immutable.
Those who see a cinema take no note of the screen on which it is projected. The phenomenal universe is made up of the three Gunas; likes and dislikes in all forms are also born of the three Gunas. People entangled in these three categories are immersed in their experiences of the phenomenal existence and they take no note of the Basis which is unaffected by all these modifications. The Chit akasa or Brahman the Pure Consciousness remains as the Substratum of the perceived universe. They who are bound by the Gunas are unable to cognize It.
Iswara plays at assuming the human forms. He is a great magician. The universe and the beings in it are all His magic, created by His inscrutable power called Maya. The magician is real while his magic is a mere phantom. -Sri Ramakrishna
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The Excellencies in Beings come from God 7-10 to 7-12
ये चैव सात्त्विका भावा राजसास्तामसाश्च ये ।
मत्त एवेति तान्विद्धि न त्वहं तेषु ते मयि ॥ ७-१२॥
7-12. And whatever beings are of Sattva, of Rajas or of Tamas, know them to proceed from Me; still I am not in them, they are in Me.
Prakriti or Nature constituted of the three categories - Sattva, Rajas and Tamas - has its origin and sustenance in Iswara. But it is not like the curd coming from milk. Just as a piece of rope appears as a snake in twilight, the Lord puts on the appearance of Nature through His inscrutable Maya. The rope, the original stuff, does not depend for its being on snake the assumed reality; but the seeming snake depends for its existence on the rope, the reality. To put it in another way, the unreal snake is a superimposition on the real rope. Similarly, the world of the three Gunas is a superimposition on Iswara. This power of appearing as the Prakriti is inherent in Him. This is the meaning of 'I am not in them, they are in Me'.
The goal of human life is to transcend the perception of the universe and to get fixed in the vision of Iswara. (In chapter two, stanza forty-five and in chapter nine stanzas four and five this point is variously dealt with.)
A holy man used to smile seeing the colours produced by the chandelier in a lamp. He smiled because the seeming universe is as untrue as these colours. --SriRamakrishna
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बलं बलवतां चाहं कामरागविवर्जितम् ।
धर्माविरुद्धो भूतेषु कामोऽस्मि भरतर्षभ ॥ ७-११॥
7-11. I am the strength of the strong devoid of desire and passion. In beings I am desire, not contrary to dharma, 0 chief of the Bharatas.
Kama or desire is the hankering of the mind for objects that are invisible and not yet obtained, while raga or passion is the clinging and craving for the visible and obtained objects. That strength is abused which is directed towards the fulfillment of desire and passion. On the other hand, the strength utilized on noble and holy causes, gets sanctified. The doings of Ravana and Rama are examples of the abuse and proper use of strength.
Desire as such is not a vice. The desire to eat is a sanctioned one, when it is prompted by hunger. The desire for self-emulation is a virtue; the desire to excel another in good conduct is laudable. The keen desire to obtain the grace of the Lord is a divine gift and a prelude to God-vision.
Why does the mind deviate when one sits in meditation? It is due to base desires. A fly sits now on sacramental food and next on filth. But the case of the bee is different. It sits on a blossom or in its hive and nowhere else. The worldly minded sadhakas are like the house fly and the Paramahamsas like the bee. The former are occasionally devoted and the latter ever devoted to the Lord. ----Sri Ramakrishna
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बीजं मां सर्वभूतानां विद्धि पार्थ सनातनम् ।
बुद्धिर्बुद्धिमतामस्मि तेजस्तेजस्विनामहम् ॥ ७-१०॥
7-10. Know Me, 0 Partha, as the eternal seed of all beings; I am the intelligence of the intelligent; the splendor of the splendid.
The constant source is otherwise known as the eternal seed The ocean is the eternal seed of the clouds that appear and disappear. The Lord is this wise the source of all beings. He being eternal, the varieties of beings coming into existence is inevitable and endless. Having a reverential attitude to all of them amounts to the adoration of their Source, the Lord.
Beings are classified as the high and the low in accordance with the intelligence evident in them. Clarification of the intelligence is one of the noble purposes of life. As it gets clarified the cognizance of the Atman becomes clear. He who fully understands Brahman becomes himself Brahman. In whomsoever there is intelligence, it has to be adored, even as the Lord is adored
Tejas and 0jas are both splendours born of the ethical and spiritual excellence. While the latter is internal and invisible, the former is patent on the body, particularly the face. Being endowed with this splendour is no accident, fluke or oddity of nature. It is the outcome of the divine life that one lives. The spiritual splendour is itself the presence of the Lord evoking adoration.
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Is it ever possible for us to behold Him as having become all these manifestations? The clue is given:-
The Is-ness in the Elements and Beings is Iswara 7-08 to 7-09
पुण्यो गन्धः पृथिव्यां च तेजश्चास्मि विभावसौ ।
जीवनं सर्वभूतेषु तपश्चास्मि तपस्विषु ॥ ७-९॥
7-09. I am the sweet fragrance in earth and the brilliance in fire; I am the life in all beings and the austerity in ascetics.
Odour in all of its forms is characteristic of the element earth. But the sweet fragrance is specified here because of aroma being associated with the ritualistic worship of the Lord.
The brilliance in fire and sun is one and the same. While the former is handy and always available to man the latter is to be beheld with reverence from where he is. But both of them are the physical representations of the undecaying splendor of Brahman. Meditation on sun and fire leads to the cognizance of the divine blaze within oneself.
Self-consciousness is concomitant with the manifestation of life and it persists, though in varying degrees in all beings. Meditation on the continuity of life is therefore equivalent to meditation on consciousness. There should be no difficulty for the sadhaka in having recourse to either form of meditation.
It is one thing just to live and quite another to make a conscious attempt at intensifying the life that one lives. Ascetics are they who intensify life by subjective means. The process of their effecting this end is known as tapas - austerity. The presence of the Lord is patent in this holy act. The sadhaka ought to study the austerity of the successful ascetics so that he may follow in their wake. The Lord Siva is designated as Ghora tapasvin- the One of terrible austerity.
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रसोऽहमप्सु कौन्तेय प्रभास्मि शशिसूर्ययोः ।
प्रणवः सर्ववेदेषु शब्दः खे पौरुषं नृषु ॥ ७-८॥
7-08. I am the sapidity in water, 0 son of Kunti; I, the radiance in moon and sun; I am the syllable Om in all the Vedas; sound in ether and manliness in man.
The sweetness in eatables indicates the presence of sugar in them. Similarly, the innate nature of Iswara reveals itself in all the modifications He has undergone. It is imperative for the aspirant that he recognizes the presence of Iswara in the varieties of His manifestations. Jnana of this kind is conducive to vijnana. Pure water is tasteless, but the power in it to reveal the tastes of things is really the power of Iswara. But for the indeterminate sapidity in water the determinate difference in taste between a stone and a candy cannot be made out by the tongue. Fire is another element represented by the sun and the moon the light of which when perceived by the eyes bring the knowledge of the colour, form and beauty in them. Ether similarly functions as the vehicle of sound, the modifications of which are the various languages and the synthesis of which is the syllable Om. The truths and the facts in Nature conveyed through languages are the Vedas. This way, Iswara reveals Himself as the five elements each of which has a distinctive feature in the revelation of jnana.
It is not sufficient for man simply to assume the human form and carry on the human existence. He is verily man who exhibits human excellence in all of his doings. Man fulfills himself this way and this fulfillment is for the glory of the Lord. He adores God best who fulfills himself perfectly.
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Prakriti-Low and High - 7-01 to 7-07
This being the truth about Iswara :-
मत्तः परतरं नान्यत्किञ्चिदस्ति धनञ्जय ।
मयि सर्वमिदं प्रोतं सूत्रे मणिगणा इव ॥ ७-७॥
7-07. There is nothing whatsoever higher than Me, 0 Dhananjaya. All this is strung on Me, as rows of gems on a string.
The producer, the sustainer and the withdrawer of the universe is Iswara. There is no power, extraneous to Him, to interfere with His work, great or small. The gems strung together may vary in colour and species. But the supporting string is the same all through. The universes sustained by the Lord, may, in that fashion, vary in their appearances; but the Sustainer of all of them is the same. Sutra is the Sanskrit word for string. The Lord is therefore called the Sutratman-the string-like supporter of the manifested worlds. The Pure Consciousness, which is the Substratum of all beings sentient and insentient, is the same.
What Brahman is like cannot be grasped by the ordinary mind. He therefore became Arddhanariswara - half-man, half-woman - in order to make Himself knowable to beings. This form of His indicates that Purusha and Prakriti are but two different readings of the same Reality. He has further materialized Himself into the sentient and the insentient. Therefore nothing is alien to him.
----Sri Ramakrishana
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एतद्योनीनि भूतानि सर्वाणीत्युपधारय ।
अहं कृत्स्नस्य जगतः प्रभवः प्रलयस्तथा ॥ ७-६॥
7-06. Know that these two are the womb of all beings. I am the origin and dissolution of the whole universe.
Life has its origin in the conjugation of the sentient and the insentient. The body bereft of life becomes a corpse; life without the instrument of the body becomes ineffective. The act of living ensues from the union of the sentient and the insentient, the kshetrajna and the kshetra. The commingling of these two Prakritis - the conscious principle and the unconscious matter-is evident all over the universe. The cloud has its origin and sustenance in the Akasa, and ultimately it dissolves itself in the Akasa. Likewise, Iswara is the source, support and destiny of His Prakritis, high and low.
During those days when I was subjecting myself to spiritual discipline, I wished to know what Maya, the deluding power, was like. I saw a drop of water slowly evolving into a girl who further grew into a maid. She begot a baby and strangely enough swallowed it too. This act of hers was repeated several times. I concluded from that vision that it was Maya. -----Sri Ramakrishna
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अपरेयमितस्त्वन्यां प्रकृतिं विद्धि मे पराम् ।
जीवभूतां महाबाहो ययेदं धार्यते जगत् ॥ ७-५॥
7-05. This is My lower prakriti, but different from it, know, 0 mighty-armed, My higher prakriti - the life element by which this universe is upheld.
All the five elements and the three internal organs put together form the inferior constituent of the Lord. The cosmic life principle or the sum total of the Jivatman is His superior constituent. An example elucidates this truth. The smoke that emanates from fire is its lower nature, and the spark its higher nature. The characteristics of the fire are in the sparks, while its action in the smoke. Technically put, the smoke is the tatastha lakshanam accidental definition of the fire and the spark, the svarupa lakshanam-innate definition. Knowing of the spark is equivalent to knowing of the fire. Pure Consciousness which is the Paramatman is inherent in the Jivatman also. The spark is that which has separated itself from the fire. But the Jivatman is not and cannot be dissociated from the Paramatman. As a wave in the ocean, the individual soul is ever in the Cosmic Soul, though with its limiting adjuncts.
The Jiva-prakriti or the kshetrajna is utilizing the Jada-prakriti or the kshetra as its body and upholding it too. This act of the conscious principle is like the Akasa containing in itself all the other four elements.
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It is the knowledge of God that makes man fit for Mukti. But God-knowledge is rather vague and abstruse for the ordinary man. He has therefore to be put in the path that is discernible to him. Proceeding from the known to the unknown is natural for him. This process is as follows :-
भूमिरापोऽनलो वायुः खं मनो बुद्धिरेव च ।
अहङ्कार इतीयं मे भिन्ना प्रकृतिरष्टधा ॥ ७-४॥
7-04. Earth, water, fire, air, ether, mind, intellect and egoism; thus is My prakriti divided eightfold.
An element is defined in one way by the modern science and in quite another way by the Indian systems of philosophy. According to the latter the five senses of perception are the means to take cognizance of the elements. The ear perceives sound which is characteristic of ether or Akasa. The skin all over the body is endowed with the sense of touch which is peculiar to air. The eye cognises form revealed by light or fire. The tongue experiences taste of things dissolved in water, but for the aid and agency of water nothing can be tasted. The nose contacts smell produced by earth. These five instruments of knowledge are thus recognized as the revelers of the live elements, of which the world is constituted.
The faculty of feeling is designated as the mind. The intellect is that which distinguishes the good from the bad, the agreeable from the disagreeable. That which creates the sense of agency is the egoism, without which action is impossible. The individuality of one is based on the peculiarities of these three internal organs.
The eight fold Prakriti mentioned here is elaborated into twenty-four categories by the Samkhya system of philosophy.
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मनुष्याणां सहस्रेषु कश्चिद्यतति सिद्धये ।
यततामपि सिद्धानां कश्चिन्मां वेत्ति तत्त्वतः ॥ ७-३॥
7-03. Among thousands of men scarcely one strives for perfection, and of those who strive and succeed, scarcely one knows Me in truth.
The original word for perfection is siddhi, which is a comprehensive term connoting quite a number of meanings all pregnant with great ideas. Fulfillment, accomplishment, complete attainment, success, the hitting of a mark, healing of a disease, coming into force, validity, payment, indisputable conclusion, solution of a problem, maturity, preparation, cooking, prosperity, good luck, bliss, beatitude, complete sanctification, final emancipation, the acquisition of supernatural yogic powers-all these and more are indicated by this one word-siddhi. It may be noted that people are all striving for the achievement of the one or the other of these features. Among them he who aspires for the attainment of the Divinity, stands supreme according to the Lord.
The higher the ideal, the harder is the achievement of it. Pitfalls are too many in the path to Divine Perfection. Competency for It is rarely found among men. The right attitude, the right understanding, the right adjustment, the right application - these are the fourfold indispensable virtues that lead the aspirant to Divinity. Men who are fully equipped with all these divine qualities are rare indeed.
The devotees who enter the temple of Mother Annapurna in Banaras cannot get out of it without receiving some consecrated food in accordance with the wont. Some get it immediately while the others have to wait long before being blessed with it. But nobody is denied the privilege of obtaining it. Similarly Mukti is assured for all. Some get it in this very birth. Others have access to it after two or three births, while yet others have to wait and go through countless births before becoming competent for emancipation. But all are destined for Mukti some time or other.
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ज्ञानं तेऽहं सविज्ञानमिदं वक्ष्याम्यशेषतः ।
यज्ज्ञात्वा नेह भूयोऽन्यज्ज्ञातव्यमवशिष्यते ॥ ७-२॥
7-02. I shall teach you in full this knowledge combined with realization, which being known, nothing more here remains to be known.
Whatever is comprehended with the aid of the senses, mind and intellect is jnana or knowledge.
And vijnana is the direct grasp of the reality, come about through self-discipline. The former is mediate and the latter immediate. The one is derived through sight and the other through insight. Tuition is needed for the one and intuition for the other. The former is paroksha jnanam and the latter, aparoksha jnanam. Endowed with both of these, the aspirant gets to know Brahman or Truth in its entirety.
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The Blessed Lord said :-
श्रीभगवानुवाच ।
मय्यासक्तमनाः पार्थ योगं युञ्जन्मदाश्रयः ।
असंशयं समग्रं मां यथा ज्ञास्यसि तच्छृणु ॥ ७-१॥
7-01. Listen, 0 Partha, how, with your mind clinging to Me, and taking refuge in Me and practicing yoga, you will without any doubt know Me in full.
The term mad asrayas मद आश्रयः connotes complete indifference to the fruits of action, fame, name and such like earthly acquisitions and a staunch attachment to the Lord alone.
Samagram समग्रं signifies the glory, might, energy, overlordship and similar divine attributes of Iswara.
He who perceives the perfect functioning of a government cannot help appreciating it. Similarly one's admiration is carried on to a divine level when one devotes oneself to the study of the cosmic functioning of the Lord.
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Who are they that get drawn to the Lord? They are delineated :-
Four Types of Virtuous Men 7-16 to 7-19
The Jnani is further extolled:-
बहूनां जन्मनामन्ते ज्ञानवान्मां प्रपद्यते ।
वासुदेवः सर्वमिति स महात्मा सुदुर्लभः ॥ ७-१९॥
7-19. At the end of many births, the man of wisdom takes refuge in Me, realizing that Vasudeva is all that is. Rare indeed is that great soul.
Vasudeva connotes the pratyagatman - that which is immanent in everything sentient and insentient, movable and immovable, good and bad.
When a sadhaka begins to give a practical shape to his learning that it is God who has become everything, he is styled a Jnani even in that initial stage. But quite a number of sadhakas take innumerable births before they gain complete realization and get fixed in the truth that God alone puts on the appearance of the phenomenon. The man who has attained this acme of realization is indeed rare in the world. He is verily a god among men. The third stanza also of this chapter refers to this great soul.
The practice of this tenet of Vedanta contributes directly and indirectly to the welfare of the world. By viewing all beings as veritable divinities, the sadhaka elevates himself in spiritual stature. This is the benefit directly derived. The indirect benefit consists in the others being unconsciously divinized. The more one is deified, the more the devil in one is eradicated.
Beholding diversity is born of delusion; beholding unity is born of enlightenment. -- -Sri Ramakrishna
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The other three are not undervalued; for :-
उदाराः सर्व एवैते ज्ञानी त्वात्मैव मे मतम् ।
आस्थितः स हि युक्तात्मा मामेवानुत्तमां गतिम् ॥ ७-१८॥
7-18. Noble indeed are all these; but the wise man, I deem, to be My very Self. For, steadfast in mind, he is established in Me alone, as the supreme goal.
The devotees are all favourites of the Lord. Among them again, he who practises the devotion of non-separation stands foremost. As the fuel consigned to fire becomes itself fire, the Jnani absorbed in Iswara who is a blaze of jnana, becomes one with Him.
A master is naturally drawn to a servant who serves him whole-heartedly and to the best of his ability. When their mutual love and fidelity get firm-rooted the master may someday entrust the management of his entire property to the servant. Akin to this act of man, the Lord holds His devotee as His own Self. - Sri Ramakrishna
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But who stands supreme among these virtuous four? The answer comes :-
तेषां ज्ञानी नित्ययुक्त एकभक्तिर्विशिष्यते ।
प्रियो हि ज्ञानिनोऽत्यर्थमहं स च मम प्रियः ॥ ७-१७॥
7-17. Of these, the wise man, ever steadfast and devoted to the One, excels; for, supremely dear am I to the wise and he is dear to Me.
Sistestah is one of the appellations attributed to Vishnu. He who is dear to the good, is the meaning of this name. The highly evolved ones among the human get to love the Lord.
It is but natural for beings to love themselves. The Jnani cognises Brahman as the real entity and the very essence in himself. He is therefore supremely attached to the Reality in himself. That Reality gives the Jnani his true individuality. This is how the Jnam excels.
After God-realization the aspirant himself gets at godly qualities. ---Sri Ramakrishna
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चतुर्विधा भजन्ते मां जनाः सुकृतिनोऽर्जुन ।
आर्तो जिज्ञासुरर्थार्थी ज्ञानी च भरतर्षभ ॥ ७-१६॥
7-16. Four types of virtuous men worship Me, 0 Arjuna: the man in distress, the man seeking knowledge, the man seeking wealth and the man imbued with wisdom, 0 the best of the Bharatas.
Distress comes to beings in one form or another and at some time or the other. Avoidance of it is impossible to the embodied. Just as medicine is resorted to, to cure disease, the way of the devoted is to supplicate the Divine for deliverance from distress. When the modesty of the Queen Draupadi was at stake in the assembly of the Kauravas, she piteously sought the protection of Sri Krishna and His help did come to save her from that situation. The lives of many a devotee bear testimony to the fact that the Lord comes to the rescue of the pious in distress.
The man seeking knowledge is here designated as jijnasu. It is not given to all to become seekers of God-knowledge. The rare few who seek, obtain it unmistakably. The Lord sees to it that the spiritual thirst of the devotee never goes unslaked. A recent seeker of God-knowledge was Swami Vivekananda and Providence made provision for his obtaining it.
The man seeking wealth usually works for it and that is the proper way. One type of devotees work for it, praying to the Lord at the same time for the easy acquisition of wealth. Another type of devotees have no time to toil for wealth; at the same time they are in need of it for their holy undertakings. They ardently appeal to the Lord and He sends them the required resources.
The man imbued with wisdom is here classified as Jnani, the one who has realized the truth. He is one who has gained the insight that Brahman is the Reality while the universe and the beings are all mere superimposition on It. Adoring the Reality to the exclusion of the appearance is but natural to him.
Among the people who believe in God, these are the four types who seek to contact Him, each according to his understanding and attainments. All the four groups are virtuous because of their right understanding and right doings.
Blessed are they who keep God as their goal and strive accordingly. Zeros have no value, but they gain in value when linked to the number one. God is the number one and all the worldly things are zeros. Independent of God, they are mere ciphers, but when associated with Him, they gain in importance. ---Sri Ramakrishna
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The Votaries of minor Gods - 7- 20 to 23
What is it that the Ignorant seek? The explanation comes :-
अन्तवत्तु फलं तेषां तद्भवत्यल्पमेधसाम् ।
देवान्देवयजो यान्ति मद्भक्ता यान्ति मामपि ॥ ७-२३॥
7-23. But the fruit that accrues to those men of small intellect is finite. The worshippers of the gods go to the gods; My devotees come to Me.
Endeavours are practically the same in all the mines. But there is a difference between the seekers of iron and the seekers of diamond. All men seek to enrich life and to add to happiness. Men of small intellect are they who are unable to distinguish between the fleeting happiness and the lasting happiness. The earthly impermanent attainments and happinesses deified are called the little gods; whereas the permanent spiritual attainments and bliss ever belong to Iswara. The ignorant seek the former while the enlightened seek the latter.
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स तया श्रद्धया युक्तस्तस्याराधनमीहते ।
लभते च ततः कामान्मयैव विहितान्हि तान् ॥ ७-२२॥
7-22. Endowed with that faith, he engages in the worship of that form, and from it he obtains his desires, which are being actually ordained by Me.
The river, the well, the lake, the spring-these are the sources from which water can be availed of; but the grand source for all of these is the rain, without which all these come to nought. Similar to this is the grace of the Lord which gives the start, sustenance and support to all beings. All the needs of all the beings come from the same Cosmic Source. But the men of mediocre understanding take it that help comes to them from the gods they worship.
Water seems to be flowing out from the mouths of cows, tigers and lions attached to the drain pipes from the roof of the house. But all these waters have actually come from the heavens in the form of rain. Similarly the words uttered by the holy ones are very often the inspiration come from Iswara -----Sri Ramakrishna
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What does the Lord do with these men of mean mentality and foolish endeavours? He delineates His dispensation :-
यो यो यां यां तनुं भक्तः श्रद्धयार्चितुमिच्छति ।
तस्य तस्याचलां श्रद्धां तामेव विदधाम्यहम् ॥ ७-२१॥
7-21. Whatever form any devotee with faith wishes to worship, I make that faith of his steady.
Children are very particular to have sweetmeats shaped to their likings, such as a cow, a horse or an elephant. The confectioner supplies them sweets according to their tastes. The way of the Lord is more generous than that. His grace descends suited to the attainments of individuals. The worship of the little gods is not altogether erroneous or sinful as some theologians would have it. It is but a stepping stone to the adoration of the Almighty. The Lord therefore provides the ways and means for the ordinary people to evolve stage by stage in their paths of devotion.
Chapter four, stanza eleven and chapter nine, stanza twenty-three may also be looked into for clarification.
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What do they do, who are devoid of devotion and wisdom? Their ways are dilated on :-
कामैस्तैस्तैर्हृतज्ञानाः प्रपद्यन्तेऽन्यदेवताः ।
तं तं नियममास्थाय प्रकृत्या नियताः स्वया ॥ ७-२०॥
7-20. But those whose discrimination has been led astray by this or that desire go to other gods, following this or that rite, constrained by their own nature.
When it is Vasudeva who has become all that is, the question of other gods existing independent of Him does not arise. His limited aspects are, out of courtesy, called other gods. The minor officers of a government are necessarily under its sovereign. When the good will of the head of the regime is obtained, those of the petty officers are contained in it. But the courtier must be worthy of the sovereign. To get at the king is difficult; but the benefit that ensues from it is great. To get at the little office-holders is easy; and the returns thereof are correspondingly small. Analogous to this, getting the grace of God is difficult, but all conducive to jnana, bhakti and mukti. People given to worldly desires do not betake to the worship of Iswara. The devil of the low desire in them makes them mistake little ends for great ones. Accordingly they choose to propitiate minor deities with suitable rites. Their attainments and nature are so low as that.
Healing disease, winning litigation, walking on water - trifling psychic powers such as these, appeal most to men of base mental make. But the true - devotees give no thought to those vulgar things. They are solely intent on gaining the gracious vision of the Lord. ---- Sri Ramakrishna
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Why is it that all do not seek Iswara? The position is explained:-
The Characteristics of Iswara 7-24 to 7-26
वेदाहं समतीतानि वर्तमानानि चार्जुन ।
भविष्याणि च भूतानि मां तु वेद न कश्चन ॥ ७-२६॥
7-26. I know, 0 Arjuna, the beings of the past, the present and the future, but no one knows Me.
Iswara is the Lord of maya, having complete control over it. The appearance, stay and dissolution of the beings are all acts of maya. Time also exists in maya. The Lord beng all-knowing, the destiny of all of these is within His ken. The beings that were in the past, that are in the present and that are to be in the future are all known to Him. But the individual souls do not know anything worth while about themselves, how then are they going to know about Iswara, the Cosmic Soul ! The devotees, however, do not come within this limitation. They constantly adore the Lord and choose to be in HIS proximity. So they understand Him to some extent. The others neither adore nor understand Him.
It Is possible for the swan to separate milk from water and partake of the former only. The other birds are unable to do this. lswara is mingled with maya, He is non dual with it. The ordinary people cannot distinguish Him from maya. But the Paramahamsas -the men of perfection - are able to cognise Iswara to the exclusion of maya
----Sri RamakriShna
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How then can we account for the Ignorance of the ordinary man? The explanation comes:-
नाहं प्रकाशः सर्वस्य योगमायासमावृतः ।
मूढोऽयं नाभिजानाति लोको मामजमव्ययम् ॥ ७-२५॥
7-25. I am not revealed to all, as I am veiled by yoga Maya. This deluded world knows Me not, the Unborn, the Unchanging.
The magician throws a spell on his audience and keeps it in illusion in regard to his performance. But what seems a magic to the onlookers is not so to the kith and kin of the magician. The nature of his play is well known to himself and his own people. The Lord is the magician who has produced the magic of this world. Its nature is well known to Him only and His devotees.
The sun that cannot be hidden by anything seems to be covered by a patch of cloud; but that patch itself cannot be located except with the aid of sun light. The originator of this cloud is none other than the sun. The cloud is the yoga maya concealing the sun. The Prakriti made up of the three Gunas is the yoga maya of Iswara. As it has no existence apart from Iswara, it is held to be in yoga with Him; and because of its veiling capacity it is called maya. Iswara the akhanda sat cit ananda seems to be concealed by His yoga maya while actually He remains unaffected by it. Further He is sarvajna the all-knowing One. Therefore:-
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अव्यक्तं व्यक्तिमापन्नं मन्यन्ते मामबुद्धयः ।
परं भावमजानन्तो ममाव्ययमनुत्तमम् ॥ ७-२४॥
7-24. Men of poor understanding think of Me, the unmanifest, as having manifestation, not knowing my supreme state - immutable and unsurpassed.
A benevolent and charitably-minded millionaire may be in rags occasionally just for the fun of it. If a beggar misunderstands him as one in rags and passes by without availing himself of the rich man's charity, the poor man becomes poorer for his Ignorance. Such verily is the lot of those Ignorant of the glory of Iswara.
An Incarnation of God, like Sri Krishna, assumes a human body, just as the bound souls do. But he is no more bound in the manifested body than the sky seen through a window is bound within the frame of that window. The manifested body of Sri Krishna is mutable, but in reality He is immutable and unsurpassed by the ordinary human beings. His supreme state remains unknown to the people of poor understanding. They do not therefore seek to worship Him.
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Why are people devoid of knowledge and devotion? Their case is analysed :-
The Discerning and the Non discerning 7-27 to 7-30
साधिभूताधिदैवं मां साधियज्ञं च ये विदुः ।
प्रयाणकालेऽपि च मां ते विदुर्युक्तचेतसः ॥ ७-३०॥
7-30. Those who realize Me in the Adhibhuta, in the Adhidaiva and in the Adhiyajna, they of steadfast mind realize Me even in the hour of death.
The details of the adhibhata, adhidaiva and adhiyajna come in the next chapter. The way of the world is to be scared, confused and frightened in the hour of death. But the yogi accepts death calmly and as a matter of course. It has its due place in Nature. A true study of Nature develops into devotion to the Lord. A yogi's knowledge and devotion reveal themselves best in the hour of death. His God-realization is at its zenith when he drops the body in death.
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What is the nature of the understanding of those who, while being devoted to the Lord, take a realistic view of life? The explanation ensues:-
जरामरणमोक्षाय मामाश्रित्य यतन्ति ये ।
ते ब्रह्म तद्विदुः कृत्स्नमध्यात्मं कर्म चाखिलम् ॥ ७-२९॥
7-29. Those who take refuge in Me and strive for deliverance from decay and death, they realize in full that Brahman, the individual self and all karma.
The mind of man may take its own time to be delivered from the delusion of the pairs of opposites. But there are two other factors in life which are ever staring at man. Decay and death are the two factors unwanted by him; but he can never escape from their clutches. To lose one's hard-earned vigour and to become a prey to death-are these the end of human life? To do deeds of rarity, to achieve the impossible and then to quit the world as If in banishment is this the reward of life on earth? Death drives man to the necessity of raising questions of this type. Death does not allow him to be dormant. It gives him rude knocks and wakes him up to realities with which he is not acquainted. When the right inquiries are thereby made, the sadhaka comes to know of the truths about Brahman, about himself and about karma.
When a man wants to eat a fruit, he discards its shell and seeds and helps himself to the pulp. But when he wants to purchase that fruit or make a study of it, he has to take into account the shell, the seeds, the pulp and all the contents of the fruit. Very much like this, the seeker of God negates the world and goes to Him. But after God - realization he concludes that it is Brahman that puts on the appearance of the universe and the beings in It. --- Sri Ramakrishna
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What do they do, who have got over the pairs of opposites? Their path to perfection is portrayed :-
येषां त्वन्तगतं पापं जनानां पुण्यकर्मणाम् ।
ते द्वन्द्वमोहनिर्मुक्ता भजन्ते मां दृढव्रताः ॥ ७-२८॥
7-28. But those men of virtuous deeds whose sins have come to an end, who are freed from the delusion of the pairs of opposites worship Me remaining steadfast in their vows.
Whatever action fosters the Jivahood in one, is condemned as sin by the wise. In contrast with it, whatever action contributes to self-abnegation is deemed as virtue. Selfless service has to be carried on incessantly lest the mind should lapse into lethargy and egotism. Purity of the mind ensues from constant self-denial. Unswerving adoration of the Lord is possible to him only whose mind is free from taint.
They only who remain unruffled and unaffected by the pairs of opposites such as victory and defeat, gain and loss, praise and censure and life and death, become steadfast in their vows. Worship of the Lord is possible to such dedicated souls.
A rusty piece of iron is not actively susceptible to magnetization; but when cleansed of the rust, it readily responds. Similarly in that mind which has become rusty with attachment and aversion and likes and dislikes, devotion to the Lord does not dawn. Whereas in a pure mind bhakti rises readily. -Sri Ramakrishna
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इच्छाद्वेषसमुत्थेन द्वन्द्वमोहेन भारत ।
सर्वभूतानि सम्मोहं सर्गे यान्ति परन्तप ॥ ७-२७॥
7-27. By the delusion of the pairs of opposites arising from desire and aversion, all beings, 0 Bharata, are subject to illusion at birth, 0 harasser of foes.
Among the pairs of opposites the foremost and the most lasting is the one pertaining to life and death. Where life is its counterpart, death, should necessarily be. The existence of the one to the exclusion of the other is impossible. From birth onwards a being proceeds towards death. The interval between the two is what is called life, which is as impermanent as a bubble on water. Death may at any moment swoop and swallow up the embodied. Of the inseparable two, life and death, the desire for the former and aversion for the latter manifest themselves from birth onwards. But both of these attitudes are born of delusion.
The pair of opposites pertaining to pleasure and pain comes next. Sense-pleasures are always crowned with pain. From birth onwards beings hug the one and shun the other. But it is an illusion to seek sense-pleasure to the exclusion of pain.
Among the pairs of opposites, the desire for the one and aversion for the other are the foes of the seekers of knowledge and devotion. These foes have to be conquered.
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ॐ तत्सदिति श्रीमद्भगवद्गीतासूपनिषत्सु
ब्रह्मविद्यायां योगशास्त्रे श्रीकृष्णार्जुनसंवादे
ज्ञानविज्ञानयोगो नाम सप्तमोऽध्यायः ॥ ७॥
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 seventh discourse designated:
THE YOGA OF KNOWLEDGE AND REALIZATION
