अथ त्रयोदशोऽध्यायः । क्षेत्रक्षेत्रज्ञविभागयोगः
13. Kshetra kshetrajna Vibhag Yoga
The Yoga of the discrimination of the Kshetra and the kshetrajna
ॐ तत्सदिति श्रीमद्भगवद्गीतासूपनिषत्सु
ब्रह्मविद्यायां योगशास्त्रे श्रीकृष्णार्जुनसंवादे
क्षेत्रक्षेत्रज्ञविभागयोगो नाम त्रयोदशोऽध्यायः ॥ १३॥
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 thirteenth discourse designated:
THE YOGA OF THE DISCRIMINATION OF THE KSHETRA AND THE KSHETRAJNA
Do the activities of Prakriti affect Brahman? The elucidation comes :-
Brahman is Self-sufficient 13-31 to 13-34
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अनादित्वान्निर्गुणत्वात्परमात्मायमव्ययः ।
शरीरस्थोऽपि कौन्तेय न करोति न लिप्यते ॥ १३-३२॥
13-31 Having no beginning and possessing no Gunas, this Supreme Self, imperishable, though dwelling in the body, 0 Kaunteya, neither acts nor is tainted.
A thing that is created has a beginning. But Brahman is the one Reality that is not created. He is therefore having no beginning. All productions of Maya are the components of the three Gunas which are subject to transformation. For this reason, the things made up of the Gunas are perishable. Brahman being Nirguna or beyond the Gunas, is imperishable. In His equanimity vibration is impossible. In other words no karma takes place in Him. He being the One without a second, there is nothing to taint Him. That destruction to which the Brahma jnani's body is exposed, does not affect him. The karma taking place in his body is not his. While the surface of the sea is all activity, its depth is all poise and peace. While the body of the Jnani is active, he is supremely above action.
What are the characteristics of Brahman? He is untarnished by the Gunas. There is no action or movement in Him. The question of going and coming does not arise in His case. He is stationary like the Mount Meru. -Sri Ramakrishna
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Brahman's actionlessness and taintlessness are further defined:-
यथा सर्वगतं सौक्ष्म्यादाकाशं नोपलिप्यते ।
सर्वत्रावस्थितो देहे तथात्मा नोपलिप्यते ॥ १३-३३॥
13-32 As the all-pervading Akasa is not tainted, by reason of its subtlety, so the Self seated in the body everywhere, is not tainted.
Solidity, liquidity, gaseity-water is in all these three states Among them its vapour state defies being dulled because of its subtlety akasa is the subtlest among the five elements. It therefore remains untainted by the others. Finally there is nothing subtler than the Atman. He being the subtlest of all, there is nothing to taint Him.
akasa is all-pervading Bodies such as the planets are not able to cut and cleave it in parts. Parallel to it the Cit-akasa or Brahman is all pervading. The physical forms of beings do not and cannot cleave Him. He is neither attached to the bodies nor is tainted by them.
Jnana and ajnana, good and evil, dharma and adharma dualities such as these: do not gain access to Brahman who is beyond them and unaffected by them. -Sri Ramakrishna
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Further :-
यथा प्रकाशयत्येकः कृत्स्नं लोकमिमं रविः ।
क्षेत्रं क्षेत्री तथा कृत्स्नं प्रकाशयति भारत ॥ १३-३४॥
13-33 As the one sun illumines this whole world, so does the Lord of the Kshetra illumine the whole Kshetra, 0 Bharata.
The sun that illumines the world is one without a second. Even so, the Paramatman who gives spiritual luminosity to the entire universe is one without a second. All beings great and small, high and low, get their consciousness from the same Source. While the sunlight falls equally on all things, the merits and demerits of those things do not affect the sun in any manner. In the same way the presence of the Paramatman in the hearts of the multitudinous beings ever shines in its original glory. The purity of the heart of the saint does not increase the profundity of the glory of the Paramatman. Neither does the impurity in the heart of the wicked diminish or tarnish the luminosity of the Lord. He remains ever in His glory while providing life, light and love to all beings.
Brahman is like a luminous lamp. One may utilize the light of the lamp for reading holy books while another may make use of it for preparing false documents. It is from Brahman that all get their power of understanding. The various uses to which the intellects of the beings are put do not affect Brahman. -Sri Ramakrishna
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क्षेत्रक्षेत्रज्ञयोरेवमन्तरं ज्ञानचक्षुषा ।
भूतप्रकृतिमोक्षं च ये विदुर्यान्ति ते परम् ॥ १३-३५॥
13-34 They who perceive with the eye of wisdom this distinction between the Kshetra and Kshetrajna and the deliverance of beings from the Prakriti, they go to the Supreme.
The doctor has to understand first the nature of the disease and the peculiarities of the patient before he could effect a radical cure. If either the ailment or the ailing person be not properly known, the treatment becomes ineffective to that extent. More earnest and more accurate ought to be the study of the Kshetra and Kshetrajna by the spiritual aspirant. The distinction between these two has to be clearly understood. Above all, the development of the intuitive faculty by means of a co-ordinated and devotionally turned spiritual life is most imperative. For, the divine eye alone opens up the Vista (a pleasing view, especially one seen through a long, narrow opening) to Truth. Mere book learning leads the aspirant nowhere. Whereas the intuitive knowledge makes him consonant with the Reality. The dream and the delusion of the earth-bound life is transcended. That Brahman is the Eternal Verity is realized in samadhi. The Prakriti appears and disappears on the substratum of the Purusha. The goal of the Jivatman is not to get entangled in Prakriti, but to make use of it with an attitude of detachment and gain reunion with the Paramatman.
It is easy to say that the world is Maya-a delusion. But do you know the implication of this statement? It is like burning the camphor which leaves no residue. It is not like burning the fuel which leaves the ash behind. True spiritual pursuit leads the sadhaka into Samadhi in which the Jagat and the Jiva are eliminated. All relative existences vanish leaving behind Brahman, the Absolute. -Sri Ramakrishna
Does karma drop out from a Brahma Jnani? The answer comes :-
Karma Pertains to Prakriti 13-29 to 13-30
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प्रकृत्यैव च कर्माणि क्रियमाणानि सर्वशः ।
यः पश्यति तथात्मानमकर्तारं स पश्यति ॥ १३-३०॥
13-29 He verily sees, who sees that all actions are done by Prakriti alone and that the Atman is actionless.
Heat and light are inherent in the sun. Even so Prakriti is inherent to Brahman. But on this account Brahman undergoes no modification or pollution. Prakriti or Sakti is full of activities. The body of the Jnani belongs to Prakriti. Activities therefore may go on to any extent in it. The supreme state of the Jnani is in no way affected by It. He, the Atman is actionless, while the body which is seemingly his, is full of activities. He who intuits this is the enlightened one.
I adore Him as Brahman, who is all Awareness unaffected by activities such as creation, preservation and destruction. I adore Her as Sakti, or Maya or Prakriti who carries on all these activities regularly in the proximity of the actionless Brahman. -- Sri Ramakrishna
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The relationship between the Kshetra and Kshetrajna is further clarified in the next stanza :-
यदा भूतपृथग्भावमेकस्थमनुपश्यति ।
तत एव च विस्तारं ब्रह्म सम्पद्यते तदा ॥ १३-३१॥
13-30 When he realizes the whole variety of beings as resting in the One, and is an evolution from that One alone, then he becomes Brahman.
The wave, the billow, the ripple, the tide, the breakers, the froth-all these modifications belong to the sea. The potentiality of the sea expresses itself in all these forms, which have no existence independent of the sea. In this manner, the inscrutable Maya Sakti inherent in Brahman manifests itself as the multitudinous beings resting on Brahman. Neither the beings nor the Sakti who is their root, is extraneous to Brahman. The knower of this truth becomes a Brahma Jnani.
The static Brahman and the kinetic Sakti are in fact one and the same. The Absolute Sat-chit-ananda Brahman is also the omnipotent, omniscient and all blissful Cosmic Mother. As fire and heat are one and the same, Brahman and Sakti are the same. -Sri Ramakrishna
The enlightenment that ensues from a balanced spiritual life is enumerated now:-
Gaining in Unity is Mukti 13-26 to 13-28
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यावत्सञ्जायते किञ्चित्सत्त्वं स्थावरजङ्गमम् ।
क्षेत्रक्षेत्रज्ञसंयोगात्तद्विद्धि भरतर्षभ ॥ १३-२७॥
13-26 Whatever being is born, the unmoving or the moving, 0 best of the Bharatas, know it to be from the union of Kshetra and Kshetrajna.
An analogy from the cinematograph facilitates the understanding of the relationship between Kshetra and Kshetrajna. The moving light and shadow projected on the stationary screen, produce the required effect. The picture of an active man is possible because of the combined contribution of the kinetic light and shadow and the static screen. A blazing fire is seen on the screen, which in fact remains unaffected. Parallel to this are the contributions made by the Kshetra and Kshetrajna in producing the phenomenal universe and the beings in it. The insentient Kshetra appears sentient due to its being super-imposed on Kshetrajna. The immovable Kshetrajna in his turn appears to be born, to grow and to die, due to his identification with Kshetra. The man in ignorance misreads the characteristics of the Kshetra in the Kshetrajna and vice versa. It is knowledge to understand these two entities as they are in themselves, and not as they seem to be because of their mutual intermingling.
The stuff called milk gets itself divided into two stuffs called butter and butter-milk. Similar to this is Brahman the Reality in Its absolute and relative states. When you lose your individuality in samadhi, you are one with the Nirguna Brahman the Absolute Reality. But when you assume your Jiva vyakti or egoistic individuality, you cognize Iswara and His Prakriti with its twentyfour categories. ---Sri Ramakrishna
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How does the Jnani behold the Paramatman ? The answer comes :-
समं सर्वेषु भूतेषु तिष्ठन्तं परमेश्वरम् ।
विनश्यत्स्वविनश्यन्तं यः पश्यति स पश्यति ॥ १३-२८॥
13-27 He sees, who sees the Supreme Lord, remaining the same in all beings, the undying in the dying.
Parameswara is the Chit-akasa or Chidambaram or the Screen of Consciousness. It is the persisting Substratum. On this screen the perishing pictures of the Jagat and Jivatman - the universe and the beings-appear and disappear. As the cinema screen remains ever itself while the projected pictures on it come and go, the Paramatman is ever Himself unaffected and unmodified by the appearance and disappearance of the phenomenon. The Jnani takes note of the background, Parameswara who provides apparent life and consciousness to the Prakriti clinging on to Him. In his vision the universe is not independent of the Paramatman. Whereas to the ignorant man the phantom of the universe seems real while the Paramatman remains unknown.
The sun is spreading his light equally everywhere and be is visible in all parts of the extensive world. Still, a small patch of cloud hides him from our Sight. Similarly, Maya hides the all pervading Brahman from our cognition. When the veil of Maya is removed the Sat-chit-ananda Brahman is cognized every where and in all beings and things. -----Sri Ramakrishna
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Does any change take place to the life of the sadhaka who realizes Iswara? The answer comes:-
समं पश्यन्हि सर्वत्र समवस्थितमीश्वरम् ।
न हिनस्त्यात्मनात्मानं ततो याति परां गतिम् ॥ १३-२९॥
13-28 Because he who sees the Lord, seated the same everywhere, destroys not the self by the self, therefore be reaches the Supreme Goal.
Ignorance is the cause of all the evils committed by man. And the worst of all evils is the belief that man is the body and not the Atman. For, the continuity of the births is kept up by this belief. As long as he wallows in this delusion, he cannot help meeting with death repeatedly. The indestructible Atman is held by him as being destroyed by death. Due to ignorance man further believes that beings are separate, one from another. That they are all mere modifications of the one Cosmic Entity remains denied by him. Injury is done to the others because of the belief that they are separate. Whereas the knower of Brahman cognizes nothing alien to Brahman. His beholding Brahman in and through all the manifestations is the Supreme Goal that he attains while yet in body.
When the nest is dismantled the bird files away in the sky. Similarly when the body consciousness is negated and attachment to the world annihilated, the Jivatman files away into the sky of the Paramatman, only to be merged into Him. --Sri Ramakrishna
What are the means to gain Brahma jnana? The answer comes :-
The Four Yogas 13-24 to 13-25
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ध्यानेनात्मनि पश्यन्ति केचिदात्मानमात्मना ।
अन्ये साङ्ख्येन योगेन कर्मयोगेन चापरे ॥ १३-२५॥
13-24 By meditation some behold the Self in the self by the self, others by the yoga of knowledge and yet others by karma yoga.
Of the four universally accepted yogas, the Raja Yoga, the Jnana Yoga and the Karma Yoga are mentioned in this stanza. Here the self refers to the Jivatman and the Self to Paramatman.
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अन्ये त्वेवमजानन्तः श्रुत्वान्येभ्य उपासते ।
तेऽपि चातितरन्त्येव मृत्युं श्रुतिपरायणाः ॥ १३-२६॥
13-25 Still others, not knowing thus, worship as they have heard from others; they too go beyond death by their devotion to what they have heard.
Among the four Yogas, Bhakti Yoga is the easiest. Scriptural knowledge and keen discrimination are not necessarily auxiliaries to this all absorbing path. The Gopis of Brindavan were uneducated and devoid of intellectual equipment. Still, through pure devotion they made the Lord of the universe their own. But if learning and wisdom can be properly utilized and if pure devotion is also side by side developed, progress in spirituality becomes easier still.
The Karma Yoga, the Raja Yoga, the Bhakti Yoga and the Jnana Yoga-all these four yogas are given equal status and importance in the Bhagavad Gita. Any one of these four great paths is sufficient to lead the sadhaka to perfection. Still, the salutary course is to harmonize all the four paths. The Karma Yoga provides man with efficiency. The Raja Yoga adds to the stamina of the mind. The Bhakti Yoga unifies beings in sweet relationship. The Jnana Yoga sharpens the intellect and makes it luminous. All these great qualities and divine elements require to be perfectly blended to evolve an all absorbing divinity out of humanity.
Devotion to the Lord may be compared to a ferocious tiger. As the latter destroys the cattle, the former destroys lust, greed and such like enemies to man. If Bhakti comes up but once, there is no more fear of being disturbed by lust and anger which will be all exterminated from the mind. The Gopis of Brindavan were free from these taints because of their extraordinary love of the boy Krishna. -Sri Ramakrishna
Is there then, no way to get out of this wheel of birth and death? The assurance comes:-
Brahma-jnana Dispels the Delusion of Birth- 13-22 to 13-23
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उपद्रष्टानुमन्ता च भर्ता भोक्ता महेश्वरः ।
परमात्मेति चाप्युक्तो देहेऽस्मिन्पुरुषः परः ॥ १३-२३॥
13-22 The Supreme Purusha in this body is also called the Spectator, the one who permits, the Supporter, the one who experiences, the Great Lord and the Supreme Self.
Manifold are the activities taking place in the human body. The Jivatman enshrouded in ignorance imagines himself the author thereof. But the fact is that this jivatman is merely a reflection of the Great Lord enshrined in the body. And His glories are as follows:
Upadrashta- the Spectator. The person who witnesses the game or the person who acts as the referee is able to see better into the orderliness and fouls in a game. The Lord resides in the human heart as witness to all that takes place in the body and the mind.
Anumanta-the One who permits. To one who has no ear for music a fine melody in classical music is no more than meaningless sound. His approval or permission for the musical performance to go on, counts for nothing. Whereas when an expert critic who enjoys that melody, pleads for its continuance, there is pleasure and purpose in that act. More seriously and effectively than this, the Lord witnesses the activities of the Jivatman, knows them in their true perspective and permits those of the activities which are conducive to the progress of the Jivatman. He is therefore the One that permits.
Bharta-the Supporter. More important than witnessing a play and approving of it, is to materially aid and support it. In that way the Lord is the Supporter of the Jagat and the Jivatman.
Bhokta-the One who experiences. A husband is not only the supporter of his wife, but he is also a partner, enjoyer and the one that experiences the family life. In this wise the Omniscient Lord is the One that experiences the insentient Prakriti.
Maheswara-the Great Lord. Gaining the devoted love of a chaste શુદ્ધ wife is more important in a family life than gathering variety of experiences in it. An ideal wife is never self-willed but subordinates her will to that of her husband. Prakriti is eternally spoused to Iswara; and she functions ever subservient to her Lord. Because of His complete mastery over Prakriti, He is adored as the Great Lord.
In the midst of His comprehensive relationship with Prakriti, He is eternally established in His Entirety and is in no way affected by the modifications of the Prakriti, He is therefore Paramatma the Supreme Self, residing in the human tabernacle.
The universe has come into being as a result of the union of the Purusha and the Prakriti. And do you know how it functions? The master of the family is seated somewhere absorbed to some serious thought. The housewife busies herself running here and there and attending to all the details of the affairs of the household. Now and then she acquaints her husband with what is taking place here and there and seeks his counsel too when necessary. The man approves of what has taken place already and suggests what ought to take place next. It is in this way that the Purusha and the Prakriti function. --Sri Ramakrishna
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Does any good accrue from the knowledge of Purusha and Prakriti? The answer comes: -
य एवं वेत्ति पुरुषं प्रकृतिं च गुणैः सह ।
सर्वथा वर्तमानोऽपि न स भूयोऽभिजायते ॥ १३-२४॥
13-23 He who thus knows the Purusha and Prakriti together with the Gunas, is never born again, in whatever way he may live.
A perfect mirror exactly reflects the things placed before it. But on that account the mirror undergoes no modification whatsoever. Like that, Brahman is in no way affected by the presence of Prakriti in His proximity. That Jivatman who cognizes the Supreme Brahman in his heart, becomes Brahman; for, that is his real state. Thenceforth he is not affected by the Prarabdha karma that keeps the body going. This karma may produce good and bad effects on the body; but the Brahma jnani is not affected by them. Like the reflections in a mirror, Prakriti is cognized in his pure heart. His eulogizing it or his ignoring it is all the same to him. His body floats on as long as the past momentum maintains it. Apparently he resides in it as a Jevan mukta. A burnt rope may retain its form, but it is no more useful for tying. The agami karma and the Sanchita karma are all burnt out in the fire of wisdom. There is, therefore, no motive power to produce a new body. The Enlightened one merges in Brahman, never again to be reborn.
When the unburnt pots get damaged, the potter makes new pots out of them. But when a pot burnt in a kiln breaks, the broken pieces are rejected as useless. Similarly the man in ignorance is to be born and reborn. But that man whose karma is burnt out by the fire of knowledge is not reborn. He enters the Absolute. --Sri Ramakrishna
In what manner is the Jvatman educated by Prakriti, is the question that crops up next. The answer ensues :-
The Seed of the Mundane Life 13-21
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पुरुषः प्रकृतिस्थो हि भुङ्क्ते प्रकृतिजान्गुणान् ।
कारणं गुणसङ्गोऽस्य सदसद्योनिजन्मसु ॥ १३-२२॥
13-21 Purusha seated in Prakriti, experiences the Gunas born of Prakriti; attachment to the Gunas is the cause of his birth in good and evil wombs.
He who is exposed to the sun gets heat and he who is exposed to rain gets wet. Similarly the Jivatman gets identified with Prakriti and imagines that its qualities are all his own. The varying sensations such as happiness and misery and the modifications of the mind such as delusion and discrimination - these are all the outcome of clinging to the one or the other of the Gunas. It is this attachment again that prolongs the cycle of birth. By adhering to the superior Guna, the Jivatman is born as a celestial or fully evolved human being. By holding on to the inferior Guna, he is born as an animal or bird. Getting stuck in mingled Gunas, he is born as a mediocre man.
Prakriti and Purusha are Eternal Verities 13-19 and 13-20
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प्रकृतिं पुरुषं चैव विद्ध्यनादी उभावपि ।
विकारांश्च गुणांश्चैव विद्धि प्रकृतिसम्भवान् ॥ १३-२०॥
13-19 Know that Prakriti and Purusha are both without beginning; and know also that all modifications and Gunas are born or Prakriti.
Prakriti and Purusha are not essentially two different entities. The same Reality enjoys two phases of self-assertion and self-expression. As suddha chaitanya or Pure Consciousness, It is ever Itself and there is no modification in It. This Changeless Reality puts on the appearance of change fullness and modifications. The former phase is Purusha and the latter phase, Prakriti.
Prakriti puts on the embodiment of time, space and causation. It is constituted of the three Gunas Sattva, Rajas and Tamas. Because of its changeful nature, it is called Maya. This substance being an eternal verity, it is termed as having no beginning, and therefore, no end too.
As the ocean is sometimes calm and placid and at other times boisterous and furious, Brahman is both actionless and active. When free from action, He is termed Brahman and when active, Maya. -Sri Ramakrishna
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कार्यकारणकर्तृत्वे हेतुः प्रकृतिरुच्यते ।
पुरुषः सुखदुःखानां भोक्तृत्वे हेतुरुच्यते ॥ १३-२१॥
13-20 In the production of the body and the senses, Prakriti is said to be the cause; in the experience of pleasure and pain, Purusha is said to be the cause.
1. It is the Purusha that poses to become the Prakriti. Modifications of the Prakriti are known as the body and the senses.
2. The senses in their turn get themselves classified as the senses of perception and those of action.
3. Both the forms of the senses are serviceable to the Jivatman to have contact and communication with Prakrirti.
4. The relationship created in this way begets pleasure and pain.
5. The experience of pleasure and pain is the foremost factor in moulding the character of the Jivatman and in educating him for the life supermundane.
6. Prakriti is the foster-mother leading the Jivatman from the unreal to the real, from ignorance to enlightenment and from death to immortality.
Plenitude and blessings such as Brahma jnana and the Bliss of Brahman come to us mortals because of the gracious mediation of Maha maya. But for Her intervention none can have even a peep into the Beyond, what to speak of getting fixed into the Absolute! Experience of the transitory world also comes to man because of Her grace. The enjoyer and the enjoyment do not exist outside Her domain. -Sri Ramakrishna
Bhakti Evolves into Jnana 13-18
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इति क्षेत्रं तथा ज्ञानं ज्ञेयं चोक्तं समासतः ।
मद्भक्त एतद्विज्ञाय मद्भावायोपपद्यते ॥ १३-१९॥
13-18 Thus the Kshetra, knowledge and that which has to be known have been briefly described. My devotee, on knowing this, is fitted for My state.
1. On whatever object a man directs his entire attention, he is able to understand that object in its true state.
2. He who is absorbed in devotion to Iswara is able to know Him.
3. It is jnana when man understands that God alone is revealing Himself as everything.
4. This wisdom places him for ever in the presence of Iswara.
5. Soaked as he is in the thought and feeling of God he dwells with God.
He alone is a Jnani who has realized Iswara. He becomes like a babe after God realization. The baby has no individuality of its own. Therefore divinity beams through it. -Sri Ramakrishna
One Appearing as the Many 13-16 to 13-17
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अविभक्तं च भूतेषु विभक्तमिव च स्थितम् ।
भूतभर्तृ च तज्ज्ञेयं ग्रसिष्णु प्रभविष्णु च ॥ १३-१७॥
13-16 He is undivided and yet He seems to be divided in beings. He is to be known as the supporter of beings. He devours and He generates.
The akasa is all pervading. Yet it appears as if divided into the innumerable forms. The fact is that it expands undivided while seeming as if divided. Even such is the case with the Paramatman. As akasa is the support to the remaining four elements, Paramatman the universal Consciousness is the support to the Jagat and the Jivatman. In Pralaya they merge into the Paramatman. In creation they reappear in the Paramatman. They are not exterior to the Paramatman in creation, preservation and destruction. As the waves come up, stay and disappear in the sea, these manifest things and beings are either patent or latent in the Lord.
A holy man once saw clouds appearing suddenly in the clear sky and disappearing again, blown by the wind. This sight threw him into raptures. He exclaimed "Brahman is Contentless Consciousness like the clear sky. As clouds appear in the latter, the universe of beings appears in the former and then disappears too! Brahman remains ever Itself. --Sri Ramakrishna
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ज्योतिषामपि तज्ज्योतिस्तमसः परमुच्यते ।
ज्ञानं ज्ञेयं ज्ञानगम्यं हृदि सर्वस्य विष्ठितम् ॥ १३-१८॥
13-17 The Light of all lights, He is said to be beyond darkness; knowledge, the knowable, the goal of knowledge, seated in the hearts of all.
Though the sun and the stars are self-luminous, they lose their luminosity while in Pralaya. Buddhi acquires its power of understanding from the Atman; but it also loses that borrowed faculty; whereas the Atman never loses Its Light. The physical light and darkness, characteristic of the inert matter, do not have any effect on or access to Atman. In pitch darkness, one is not able to see one's own body and clothing. But that darkness is no hindrance to the self cognizing its own presence. This self-cognizance is not improved upon by the presence of sunlight. Self-awareness is self-evident. The sunlight and the darkness are perceived by the physical eye because of the light it has acquired from the Atman enshrined in the heart. The senses perceive, the mind feels and the intellect cogitates because of the light they get from the Atman.
He who realizes Iswara in his heart is able to realize Him outside too. He who has not known Him within himself, cannot cognize Him elsewhere. Therefore, he who sees God in his heart sees Him everywhere. - Sri Ramakrishna
What is the plenitude that the sadhaka enjoys before his merging in Brahman -the Ocean of Immortality? The elucidation comes:-
The Effect of Evolving in Wisdom 13-13 to 13-15
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सर्वतः पाणिपादं तत्सर्वतोऽक्षिशिरोमुखम् ।
सर्वतः श्रुतिमल्लोके सर्वमावृत्य तिष्ठति ॥ १३-१४॥
13-13 With hands and feet everywhere, with eyes and heads and mouths everywhere, with ears everywhere He exists enveloping all.
A river assumes the characteristics of the sea as it flows to its proximity. Before the Jivatman merges into the Nirguna Brahman he gets a panoramic view and realization of Iswara. While the multitudinous beings seem to have their own individualities, they are actually part and parcel of the Cosmic Entity. There is nothing outside the pale of Iswara. Not an atom can move independent of Iswara. One Supreme Purusha puts on the role of the innumerable.
As long as there is a trace of egoism in me, I see Iswara as the Owner of the universe and an the beings in it. ----Sri Ramakrishna
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सर्वेन्द्रियगुणाभासं सर्वेन्द्रियविवर्जितम् ।
असक्तं सर्वभृच्चैव निर्गुणं गुणभोक्तृ च ॥ १३-१५॥
13-14 Shining by the functions of all the senses, yet Without the senses; Absolute, yet sustaining all; devoid of Gunas, yet, He experiences them.
The sunlight enables us to see colourful forms in their true perspective. It may be said that the sunlight reveals itself as the interpreter of all forms and colours. While apparently assuming forms and hues, sunlight is not in itself with form and colour. It is unattached to all these modifications. Chaitanya or Consciousness which is the characteristic of Atman, plays a role similar to that of the sunlight. Consciousness lights up the senses and aids them function in their respective wont. Brahman or the Absolute Awareness is also known as the Chidakasa. It is the substratum to everything sentient and insentient as the screen is the substratum to the cinema pictures projected on it. The pictures do not get their colours from the screen, nor is the screen affected by those colours. Still the screen helps the pictures appear in their true colours. Similarly the three Gunas are not in Brahman. All the same Brahman aids the Gunas shine in their colours and characteristics. The awareness of the Gunas is possible because of the background of Brahman, who is all Awareness.
Both the aspects, that with form and that without form,belong to the same God. Faith in the one implies faith in the other. The fire and its heating property cannot be separated one from the other. The sun and the sunbeams are inseparable. Milk and its whiteness are inseparable. Similarly Saguna Brahman and Nirguna Brahman are one and the same. It is not possible to conceive of the one to the exclusion of the other.
-Sri Ramakrishna
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बहिरन्तश्च भूतानामचरं चरमेव च ।
सूक्ष्मत्वात्तदविज्ञेयं दूरस्थं चान्तिके च तत् ॥ १३-१६॥
13-15 Without and within all beings; the unmoving and also the moving, because of His subtlety He is incomprehensible; He is far and near.
How the Cosmic Consciousness remains undivided has to be comprehended through a few similes. In a block of ice immersed in the sea, water is present within and without. Again akasa remains undivided in and through all things with form or formless. Similarly Paramatman is all pervading and undivided by the manifest forms. There is movement on the surface of the sea while it is all stillness at the bottom. There is movement in Paramatman modified as the Prakriti. As Nirguna Brahman, He is all stillness. The sea water transformed into vapour becomes subtle and invisible. Nirguna Brahman who is all Awareness and all Intelligence remains incomprehensible to those who have not purified the mind. To the ignorant one, God is far away somewhere in heaven But to the knowing one, none is nearer than God, He being the innermost Self.
The symptoms or egoism are found in the one come down from Samadhi to wakefulness. Such an enlightened one sees himself, all the beings and the universe as the various manifestations of Iswara. When there is egoism in you, there is no alternative to your holding Iswara as with form. The Nirguna Brahman cannot be comprehended by the embodied one. Again the Saguna Brahman is not a fiction of the mind. The body, mind and the world may be viewed as mere projections. But Iswara or the Saguna Brahman is as real as the Nirguna Brahman. -Sri Ramakrishna
Prakriti and Purasha Constitute Everything- 13-01 to 13-03
Arjuna said :
अर्जुन उवाच ।
प्रकृतिं पुरुषं चैव क्षेत्रं क्षेत्रज्ञमेव च ।
एतद्वेदितुमिच्छामि ज्ञानं ज्ञेयं च केशव ॥ १३-१॥
Prakriti and Purusha, also the Kshetra and Kshetrajna, knowledge and that which ought to be known, these, 0 Kesava, I desire to learn.
(This stanza is not found in all the editions of the Gita. Hence it is kept unnumbered.)
13-01.mp3
श्रीभगवानुवाच ।
इदं शरीरं कौन्तेय क्षेत्रमित्यभिधीयते ।
एतद्यो वेत्ति तं प्राहुः क्षेत्रज्ञ इति तद्विदः ॥ १३-२॥
13-01 The Blessed Lord said;
This body, 0 Kannteya, is called Kshetra, the field; he who knows it is called Kshetrajna by the sages.
The literal meaning of Kshetra is that which is protected from perishing. The body of beings is called Kshetra because it is saved from destruction to which it is prone. The word Kshetra also means the field. It becomes increasingly productive to the extent it is improved. But its fertility provides scope both for the corn and the weed to thrive in it. Similarly in the field of his body, man reaps the fruits of his good and bad karma. The body is therefore the dharma kshetra of the Jivatman. There is an intelligent principle that not only resides in the body but also cognizes and governs it. The sages designate that discerning principle as Kshetrajna.
The human body may be compared to a pot. The mind, intellect and the senses are parallel to the water, rice and potato put into that pot placed on a hearth. With in a while the pot gets heated and the water boils the rice and potato. The contents then become too hot to be handled. This heat however, belongs to the fire and not to the pot and its contents. Similarly it is the Sakti or Brahman that enlivens the body, mind, intellect and the senses. ---Sri Ramaknshna
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Are the countless Kshetras and Kshetrajnas in the universe linked in any way? The enlightenment comes :-
क्षेत्रज्ञं चापि मां विद्धि सर्वक्षेत्रेषु भारत ।
क्षेत्रक्षेत्रज्ञयोर्ज्ञानं यत्तज्ज्ञानं मतं मम ॥ १३-३॥
13-02 And know Me as the Kshetrajna in all Kshetras, 0 Bharata. The Knowledge of Kshetra and Kshetrajna is deemed by Me as true knowledge.
Prakriti and Purusha are called respectively as Kshetra and Kshetrajna- the non-self and, the self. The former is insentient and the latter sentient. The Purusha identifies himself with the Prakriti and fancies that its characteristics are all his own. It is like the colour of a flower which seems transposed to a crystal kept near it; That Purusha is called a Jivatman who identifies himself with the Prakriti that he handles. The differentiation in Prakriti is infinite; for this reason the Jivatmans are also infinite.
The Cosmic intelligence is Iswara. While He appears to be imbued with the characteristics of the Prakriti, He is actually untouched by it. He is the innermost Self in all beings. The individual souls and the universe have no existence independent of Iswara. He is therefore the Kshetrajna in all the Kshetras. Though containing everything in Himself, He is eternally free, pure and blissful.
Jnana or knowledge is the true understanding of both-the Kshetra and the Kshetrajna. The knowledge pertaining to the Kshetra is classified as Apara vidya or the lower knowledge and that pertaining to the Kshetrajna as Para vidya or the Knowledge Superior. To be well-versed and versatile in the Vedas, the agamas, grammar, rhetoric, and the branches of science and arts- all these come under the lower knowledge. Brahma jnana or the Self knowledge is the supreme knowledge. Inquiry commences with a diligent study of Nature and culminates in Brahma jnana. Secular knowledge bereft of the sacred is therefore incomplete. The former is the stepping stone to the latter. True knowledge consists of wisdom pertaining to the, phenomenon and the Noumenon.
A puranic story illustrates this point. Ganesa and Kartikeya are the sons of the Lord Siva. It was once put to these valiant sons that whoever returned first after surveying the entire Existence, would get as prize a celestial fruit brought by the Sage Narada. No sooner was this announcement made than Karttkeya dashed abroad on his speedy peacock. The plumpy Ganesa pondered over the terms imposed, moved slowly but surely on his tiny vehicle of a mouse, circumambulated his Father and Mother, and claimed the prize. But within a while came the younger brother also, successfully terminating his expedition. Both the brothers were wise in their own way. Kartikeya inquired into the manifest Prakriti and Ganesa into the Unmanifest Purusha. A harmonious combination of these two inquiries constitutes true knowledge. Knowing the one to the exclusion of the other is imperfect knowledge.
The scientific enquiry made by the modern man is a true search into the Prakrti. It has taken him very near the Purusha. As Kartikeya's survey terminated in his coming back to the Divine, the scientist will very soon come to know that the manifest universe has its origin and sustenance in the Cosmic Intelligence.
One is not termed as rich by one's merely owning money. There are signs of one's being rich. His house would be well lit in all the rooms. Whereas a poor man cannot afford to have many lights.
The human body is the tabernacle of the Lord. It should not be kept in the darkness of ignorance. It should be lit with the lamp of wisdom. When you illumine your heart with this lamp, you will behold the benign Lord there. Jnana can be gained by one and all. There are in the human temple two entities - the little Jivatman and the great Paramatman. The former is dependent on the latter. As the electricity from the same source illuminates all tile houses, the Paramatman gives light to all the Jivatmans. The Divine Knowledge illumines your body, yourself and the Paramatman in you, all at once. -Sri Ramakrishna
13-03.mp3
तत्क्षेत्रं यच्च यादृक्च यद्विकारि यतश्च यत् ।
स च यो यत्प्रभावश्च तत्समासेन मे शृणु ॥ १३-४॥
13-03 Hear briefly from Me, what the Kshetra is, what its properties are, what its modifications are, whence is what; and who He is and what His powers are.
Naught exists and naught remains to be known outside the pale of the Kshetra and Kshetrajna. The Vedas and the Vedanta philosophy are all directed to the inquiry into these two ultimate Realities. All the branches of knowledge that are so far revealed and that are yet to be revealed, that are conventionally divided into the sacred and the secular - all of them are engaged in explaining either the Kshetra or the Ksltetrajna or both.
The how of it is delineated in the following stanza:-
The Vehicles of Revelation - 13-04
ऋषिभिर्बहुधा गीतं छन्दोभिर्विविधैः पृथक् ।
ब्रह्मसूत्रपदैश्चैव हेतुमद्भिर्विनिश्चितैः ॥ १३-५॥
13-04 This has been sung by Rishis in many ways, in various distinctive chants, in passages indicative of Brahman, full of reasoning and convincing.
13-04.mp3
1. The sciences and arts for the revelation of Truth, which remains unaffected by the passage of time.
2. The value of Truth does not go down for its being clothed in imperfect language.
3. The Rishis have taken care to expound it in the most refined and appropriate language.
4. The precision of expression has been augmented by them with music.
5. Accurate language is by itself appealing to the intellect.
6. When music is combined with it, the joint appeal to the head and the heart becomes doubly effective.
7. Music is by itself very powerful and fascinating to all beings. Wild and venomous beings are easily tamed by it.
8. Emotion is awakened and refined by music. Bliss and sweetness are engendered by it.
9. The Rishis have sanctified both of these instruments, literature and music, by utilizing them, for conveying divine message.
10. Literature and music become lop-sided when harnessed exclusively for the cultivation of emotion. The sages have avoided that defect by balancing it with rigid reasoning which is another powerful instrument to arrive at Truth.
11. Reason that is consistently followed, leads to clarification and conviction.
12. Emotion devoid of reason lands one in mere sentimentalism, in which many an unwary, credulous and mediocre devotee lands himself.
13. Clarity of understanding and firmness of action cannot be expected of such a namby - pamby one. Again, there is the other one given to dry and dreary intellectualism, devoid of any sweet touch of life, But a balanced personality is that in which love and understanding are well knit together.
Sage Narada was endowed with a penetrating intellect and an all absorbing divine love. Devotees ought to evolve after his pattern. -Sri Ramakrishna
The Constituents of Kshetra 13-05 & 13-06
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महाभूतान्यहङ्कारो बुद्धिरव्यक्तमेव च ।
इन्द्रियाणि दशैकं च पञ्च चेन्द्रियगोचराः ॥ १३-६॥
13-05 The great elements, egoism, intellect, as also the unmanifested, the ten senses and the one mind, and the five objects of the senses;
इच्छा द्वेषः सुखं दुःखं सङ्घातश्चेतना धृतिः ।
एतत्क्षेत्रं समासेन सविकारमुदाहृतम् ॥ १३-७॥
13-06 Desire, hatred, pleasure, pain, the aggregate, intelligence, firmness- the Kshetra has been thus briefly described with its modifications.
"Verily this divine illusion of Mine, made up of the Gunas is hard to surmount," said the Lord in chapter seven, stanza fourteen. He also called them "My prakriti divided eightfold," in the fourth stanza of that chapter.
The Samkhya school of philosophy is based on these twenty four categories or principles technically known as tattvas.
The Vaiseshika school of philosophy claims that desire, hatred, pleasure and pain mentioned here, to be the characteristics of Atman. But these are actually the modifications of the mind; they are the objects of experience; they are impermanent; they only reveal the nature of the Kshetra. As such they are classified with the Kshetra.
The body is classified as the Kshetra in the first stanza. And it is exhaustively dealt with in these two stanzas.
Why do the devotees look after this body so carefully when it is actually a combination of things perishable? Nobody pays heed to an empty package. But people preserve carefully a paper box containing precious gems and jewels. In that manner the devotees take care of the body due to its being the temple of the Lord. They cannot afford to neglect it. All human bodies are the treasure chests containing Iswara. -Sri Ramakrishna
The great elements. The ether, the air, the fire, the water and the earth- these are the elements constituting the infinite universe. In their gross form they are not equally distributed everywhere. But in their subtle state they permeate the whole universe. They are for this reason called the great elements.
The Ether
The Air
The Fire
The Water
The Earth
Egoism
It is the cause of the five elements.
The Self projects the non-Self and identifies Itself with it. This identification is egoism.
When the Pure Consciousness thinks of Itself as the materialized consciousness, it is egoism.
Intellect
Intellect is the tattva or principle of determination. It is from this principle that egoism emanates.
It is also known as the Mahat.
The Unmanifested is technically called avyaktant or mula prakriti.
That which is in the unmodified state is the meaning of this term. This principle is the cause of buddhi or the intellect. These are all the powers of Iswara.
The Ten Senses
The senses of knowledge- the Jnana indriyas.
The external world is cognized and interpreted with the aid of these organs.
The Eye
The Ear
The Skin
The Tongue
The Nose
The five organs of action -karma indriyas.
The hand
The foot
The mouth
The anus
The genital organ
Mind
Mind is the principle that thinks and doubts. It is therefore held as the aggregate of sankalpa and vikalpa.
sankalpa
vikalpa
It functions as the background of all the ten senses. The demon Ravana with his ten heads is the personification of the mind functioning through the ten senses.
The Sense-objects are five in number, on which the senses feed and thrive.
taste
form or colour
touch
sound
smell
Desire, hatred, pleasure, pain mentioned here, are actually the modifications of the mind; they are the objects of experience; they are impermanent; they only reveal the nature of the Kshetra.
Desire
Desire is that form of mentation which seeks the repetition of the contact with the objects that seem agreeable to the senses.
hatred
Hatred is that mental state which seeks to avoid with revulsion those sense-objects which are disagreeable or painful.
pleasure
Pleasure is an experience that pacifies the mind and promotes sattva guna.
pain
Pain is a mentation that is disagreeable and disquieting.
The Aggregate
The Aggregate is the assemblage of the various parts of the body. A machine is assembled by fixing all its parts in their proper places. The best and the most marvellous organic machine is the human body. Its functioning at all levels is equally marvellous.
Intelligence
Chetana is intelligence or the power to reveal and interpret. A piece of iron that comes into contact with fire reveals the fire in its own way. Similarly the capacity of the senses to imbibe and to reveal the characteristics of the Atma is the chetana or intelligence inherent in them. Since the body is being experienced and interpreted by this intelligence, it is classified as the Kshetra.
Firmness
Dhrti or firmness is the stamina to keep the body and the senses fit and active. Left to themselves they get exhausted and drift into indolence. But the resolve that emanates from within infuses fresh energy and activity into them. This particular urge is called firmness. It gives longevity to the body. Since dhrti is also an object of experience it is classified as the Kshetra. The items from 'desire ' to the 'firmness' mentioned here, are the qualities or the modifications of the mind stuff.
The knowledge of the Kshetra and Kshetrajna is not acquired by mere book learning, which only supplies empty information. Intuitive knowledge is the outcome of the way of living. It is delineated:-
Self-culture 13-07 to 13 -11
All the dispositions elaborated from the seventh stanza up to eleventh, contribute jointly to the development of wisdom, the divine eye and the intuitive faculty leading to the realization of Brahman. These dispositions are all called Jnana because of their great and unfailing contribution to it.
13-07.mp3
अमानित्वमदम्भित्वमहिंसा क्षान्तिरार्जवम् ।
आचार्योपासनं शौचं स्थैर्यमात्मविनिग्रहः ॥ १३-८॥
13-07 Humility, modesty, non-injury, forbearance, uprightness, service of the teacher, purity, steadfastness, self-control;
Humility
Humility is in evidence when the sadhaka does not think of himself superior to the others. Superiority complex engenders conceit and contaminates the mind.
Modesty
Modesty marks that aspirant, as its own, who does not think or speak of the merits in his activities. All excellencies emanate from the Lord. Man's laying claim to them is born of ignorance.
Non-injury
Non-injury is possible to him only who beholds all beings as the manifestations of the one Cosmic Being.
Forbearance
Forbearance is the act of not being affected by the wrong done to one by the others. An example illustrates this position. It happens that while a man speaks, his teeth hurt the lip inadvertently. For this reason the man does not think of knocking out the teeth, which are his own. He who seeks divine relationship with all, practices forbearance with those who wrong him knowingly or unknowingly.
Uprightness
Uprightness comes to him who harmonizes his thought, word and deed and who is intent on right conduct.
Service of the teacher
Service of the teacher is quite essential to the spiritual aspirant. An individual unconsciously imbibes the traits of the person whom he serves. By doing physical service to the teacher, the disciple gets into his holy dispositions.
Purity
Purity pertains both to the body and the mind. Bodily purity can be effected with the aid of the environment, air, water and sunlight. But purity of the mind which is more important and indispensable to spiritual life can only be effected by the mental discipline. That mind which eschews all sense-pleasures as poison gains steadily in purity.
Steadfastness
Steadfastness is his who is not mindful of the time taken for self-culture. It may be that the sadhaka has to plod through a few births before he attains perfection in any one among the many virtues that remain to be acquired by him. Unswerving perseverance is needed to mould oneself in spirituality.
Self-control
Self-control is the opposite of self-indulgence which dissipates the personality. Through rigid self-restraint, the sadhaka grows in godhood which is his original state.
13-08.mp3
इन्द्रियार्थेषु वैराग्यमनहङ्कार एव च ।
जन्ममृत्युजराव्याधिदुःखदोषानुदर्शनम् ॥ १३-९॥
13-08 Dispassion towards the objects of the senses, and also absence of egoism; perception of evil in birth, death, old age, sickness and pain;
Nature bears evidence to the truth that beings evolve surely, though slowly, from the low order of existence to the high. Evolution of the body is complete at the human level. But there are stages of mental evolution to be striven after. Man has to perfect his mind in ethical and spiritual discipline. He should not therefore stagnate at the physical plane. His ideal in life is to emerge from the earthly existence into the divine. This is best effected by detachment from the mundane and attachment to the supramundane. Craving for the objects of the senses gives place to holy hankering after the divine. It is egoism when man identifies himself with the body. Instead, he strives to feel himself as Atman. Bodily existence is necessarily associated with birth, death, old age, sickness and pain. This evil is transcended by him who rises above body-consciousness. It is in this wise that spiritual life commences for the aspirant.
Man grows in devotion to the Lord in direct proportion to his detachment from the objects of the senses. -Sri Ramakrishna
13-09.mp3
असक्तिरनभिष्वङ्गः पुत्रदारगृहादिषु ।
नित्यं च समचित्तत्वमिष्टानिष्टोपपत्तिषु ॥ १३-१०॥
13-09 Unattachment, non-identification of self with son, wife, home, and the like, and constant equanimity in the occurrence of the desirable and the undesirable;
There are objects of senses to which man gets deeply attached if not to the enjoyment thereof. Such attachments require to be eliminated by discrimination. Inordinate identification with son, wife and home drives one to the position of holding them as one's own self. Aliment if any of a kith causes misery to one, due to imaginary ownership. The death of the wife or the son deals a greater blow than the death of oneself can possibly render. The loss of the earthly possessions of a miser brings complete frustration to him. Such are the effects of the baneful identification with people and property that are not actually one's own for ever. The right attitude therefore is to view all beings and all possessions as belonging to the Lord. Worldly events are prone to cause likes and dislikes in a worldly man. But the spiritual aspirant ought to practice evenmindedness in all eventualities.
A person found it very difficult to meditate on God because of his inordinate attachment to a relative. "Behold your favourite relative as God come in that form," was the advice given to him. On pursuing that attitude meditation on the Lord became easy to that person. -Sri Ramakrishna
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मयि चानन्ययोगेन भक्तिरव्यभिचारिणी ।
विविक्तदेशसेवित्वमरतिर्जनसंसदि ॥ १३-११॥
13-10 Unswerving devotion to Me in yoga of non-separation, resort to sequestered places, distaste for the society of men;
Mind in its entirety must be dedicated to the Lord, with the strong conviction that there is nothing else worthy of interest. The way of the devotee is never to divide and distract his mind between the Real and the Unreal. His constant absorption is and ought to be in the Lord.
A place endowed with natural beauty, pleasing and elevating to the mind, quite healthy and free from disturbance by wild animals is to be selected by the sadhaka for his residence. Company of the holy ones at the initial stage and severance from them too, at the advanced stage is a spiritual necessity to the sadhaka progressing in the path to perfection.
The moth abandons darkness and rushes to the light of the lamp. The ant would rather give up its life than sever contact with juice. Even so the devotee is ever intent on the Lord and he has no other concern in life. -Sri Ramakrishna
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अध्यात्मज्ञाननित्यत्वं तत्त्वज्ञानार्थदर्शनम् ।
एतज्ज्ञानमिति प्रोक्तमज्ञानं यदतोऽन्यथा ॥ १३-१२॥
13-11 Constancy in Self-knowledge, perception of the end of the knowledge of Truth; this is declared to be knowledge, and what is opposed to it is ignorance.
Sentimental devotion to the Maker is not sufficient. Divine love ought to be seasoned by diligent inquiry into the nature of the Self and the non-Self. Brahman is Truth. All endeavours ought to be directed to the realization of this verity. Pursuit of Brahma vidya as provided in the Upanishads is the infallible means to this great end.
All the dispositions elaborated from the seventh stanza up to this, contribute jointly to the development of wisdom, the divine eye and the intuitive faculty leading to the realization of Brahman. These dispositions are all called Jnana because of their great and unfailing contribution to it.
Dispositions counter to them are vanity, self-esteem, injury, revengefulness, crookedness, indifference towards the teacher, dirty habits, fickleness, self-indulgence, longing for the objects of the senses, egoism, perception of pleasure in bodily life, earthy attachment, identification of self with son, wife, home and the like, restlessness due to occurrence of the desirable and the undesirable, lack of devotion to the Maker, longing for a social life and dislike for sacred studies. People inclined in these ways contaminate their minds; they do not grow in wisdom and Self-knowledge.
How is it that we are not able to contact Iswara who is all pervading? Standing by the side of a pond covered with moss and reeds, one feels inclined to think that there is no water in it. But the moss has to be pushed aside to see the water below. Similarly Maya with her concealing power has to be brushed aside from our mind before we are blessed with a vision of the all pervading lswara. -Sri Ramakrishna
Does any good come from Brahma jnana? The answer comes :-
Brahman Defined 13-12
13-12.mp3
ज्ञेयं यत्तत्प्रवक्ष्यामि यज्ज्ञात्वामृतमश्नुते ।
अनादिमत्परं ब्रह्म न सत्तन्नासदुच्यते ॥ १३-१३॥
13-12 I shall describe that which has to be known, knowing which one attains to immortality. Beginningless is the Supreme Brahman. It is not said to be 'sat' or 'asat.'
In chapter nine stanza nineteen the Lord defined Himself as immortality and death. He also spoke of Himself as 'sat' and 'asat '-being and non-being. Saguna Brahman is immanent in Prakriti. In that state all contradictions and conflicts meet in Him. In the relative existence the immortality of the Devas and the death of the human beings emanated from Saguna Brahman. His manifest aspects with variation in the three Gunas is 'sat' and His unmanifest aspect in which the three Gunas disappear in equilibrium, is 'asat.'
Akhanda Brahman can be experienced in Samadhi only. What follows is all silence. Inquiry into the nature of the Purusha and Prakriti, knowledge and ignorance -all these cogitations come to an end.
Beatitude alone persists. There, the position of the Jivatman is the same as that of a salt doll, incapable of surviving a sea-bath. -Sri Ramakrishna
But in the Nirguna Brahman there is no modification of any kind. The manifest state and the unmanifest state do not apply to Him. He is Pure Consciousness, having neither a beginning nor an end. While the Devas have a relative immortality, Nirguna Brahman is the Absolute Immortality. This Supreme State is to be realized in intuition or Nirvikalpa samadhi. That Jivatman who intuits this Brahma nirvana gets merged in Brahman. Absolute Immortality then becomes his own. He is no more affected by the relative 'sat' and 'asat '-being and non-being, the manifest state and the unmanifest state.