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Old 02-28-2001, 11:08 AM   #1 (Link)

Radha-Govinda Mandir
Posts: n/a
Default RE: [world-vedic] Vedic Evidence: Aryan Culture Native to India

Krishna in the Bhagavad-gîtå
A Beginning Ontology
This is a paper originally presented to the Committe on Study of Religion,
at the University of California at Los Angeles by Hridayandanda Goswami MA
and Ph D. From Harvard and it is the first draft, the original was show in
the BGT of sep/oct , Nov/Dec 1994 and Jan/feb 1995.

Introduction
I attempt in this paper to clarify certain essential teachings of the
Bhagavad-gîtå which are traditionally "zones of puzzlement" among scholars.
These areas focus on a single point: the nature and status of God, Krishna,
according to the Gîtå. My strong conviction is that the Gîtå itself is a
lucid, self-explanatory work, and therefore the occasional practice of
commentators to force on it extraneous doctrines often renders the text
obscure where it is bright, esoteric where it is literal, and impersonal
where it is intensely personal. I am operating here on an ancient principle
which holds that certain Vedic literatures are svata--pråmåyam, literally
"evident in or by themselves". As stated in the Bhavibya-puråna:
rig-yajur-såmårtharvår ca bhåratam pañca-råtrakam
müla-råmåyanaµ caiva veda ity eva sabditåh
purånåni ca yånîha vaisvavåni vido viduh
svatah-pråmånyam etebåµ nåtra kiñcid vicåryate
“The rig Veda, Sama Veda, Atharva Veda, Mahåbhårata, Pañcaråtra and
original Råmåyana are all considered by authorities to be Veda. The knowers
also know that those Purånas dedicated to Lord Visnu enjoy the same status.
These literatures are self-evident, and there is nothing at all to speculate
about them.”
It should be noted at once that the above exegetic principle does not do
away with intellectual response to the scriptures. Rather it is a call for
sober hermeneutical practices, in which we first struggle to comprehend a
scriptural message on its own terms, through careful study of its internal
structures of meaning.
We get some historical flavor of this methodology by turning to a
fascinating theological debate which took place almost 500 years ago in
Benares between Srî Caitanya Mahåprabhu, the founder of Gaudîya Vaisnavism,
and Prakåsånanda Sarasvatî, a leading ¸sankarite sannyåsî of the time.
After
hearing Prakåsånanda's interpretation of Vedånta-sütra, Srî Caitanya
Mahåprabhu replied: “The Veda is evident by itself. It is the crown-jewel of
all evidence. By interpreting it, the self-evident quality is lost.”
[Caitanya-caritåm®ta, Ådi-lîlå, 7.132] The original text, in medieval
Bengali, is:
svatah-pramåna veda -- pramåma-siromani, laksarå karile
svatah-pramånatå-håni.

The quality of self-evidence mentioned above is especially apparent, in my
view, in the Bhagavad-gîtå, which is part of the Mahåbhårata. I have
therefore selected five specific areas, vital to the Bhagavad-gîtå's
message, which are especially prone to misinterpretation, and I have
attempted to demonstrate from the Bhagavad-gîtå itself the consistent, and
self-evident view of the speaker, Lord srî Krishna, especially as He
describes Himself.
The first topic is the Gîtå's strong montheism, in which the many gods of
the Hindu pantheon are sharply relegated to the status of subordinate
servitors to the Supreme Lord. The second topic is that of the separate
individuality of Krishna as God, distinct from, and transcendental to, the
individual entities, who are tiny expansions of the Lord. Third, I have
shown that within the Gîtå, Krishna is understood to be the supreme
controller. The fourth subject is the delicate issue of monism. I believe to
have clearly shown that despite certain statements in the Gîtå to the effect
that "Krishna is everything," there is nothing like a bald monistic doctrine
in the Gîtå. Finally, in the fifth section, I have argued from the
Bhagavad-gîtå itself that Krishna comes to this world in a spiritual,
eternal form, and not a material body, such as those we inhabit.
As mentioned above, these five topics ineluctably lead to a single
conclusion: that the real and final topic of the Bhagavad-gîtå is Krishna
Himself, who is inseparably related to, and yet eternally transcendental to
the individual souls, of whom we are specimens. This doctrine of
bhedåbheda-tattva, or the inconceivable, simultaneous difference and
non-difference of the Lord and the individual souls, is Srî Caitanya's
reading of the Bhagavad-gîtå, and Vedic literature in general.
I have included the topic that Krishna is the controller to drive home the
point that the Godhead being talked about in the Bhagavad-gîtå is not a
vague, wispy Deity, whose true ineffable status is but indirectly hinted at
by the hierarchical language of mortals. Completely to the contrary, we have
in the Gîtå a full-blown expression of an omnipotent, omniscient,
omnibenevolent Supreme Lord, commanding, and even poignantly entreating, the
individual souls enmeshed in måyå to return to Him in His divine abode.
I call this paper a "Beginning Ontology" because the constraints of time
and space have permitted only an introductory statement about the Godhead,
as He is conceived in the Bhagavad-gîtå. In fact, the points made herein are
amplified by the rest of the Bhagavad-gîtå. At the very least, I hope this
paper will stimulate the reader to investigate the Gîtå as far as possible
on its own terms. There are certainly esoteric passages in religious
scriptures, including the Vedic books. But the guiding Vedic principle is
that we should interpret that which is ambiguous, that which plainly calls
for explication of hidden meanings. There are many such statements in the
Sanskrit scriptures, but the fundamental message, the central theme is
generally clear.
The verses quoted here are all my own translations, unless otherwise
indicated, and I have given great stress on literal accuracy in their
rendering. I have endeavored to avoid, thereby, unfounded flights of poetic
inspiration, and dubious constructions devised to legitimate tentative
insights. My conclusions reflect what I have learned from the Bhagavad-gîtå
As It Is, [The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust, Los Angeles, 1989] whose
translation and purports are the the unique devotional scholarship of His
Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.
The point of view here is clearly in the tradition of ¸rîpåda Madhvåcårya,
¸rîpåd Råmånujåcårya, ¸rî Caitanya Mahåprabhu, and other illustrious
Vaisnava scholars, who opposed the monistic interpretation of srîpåda
¸Sankaråcårya, and those in his line. In a sense, one gets here a glimpse of
a millennial theological debate in action.
1. THERE IS ONE GOD
In the Bhagavad-gîtå, Lord Krishna declares Himself to be the Supreme
Godhead, and He specifically asserts His supremacy in relation to the
well-known gods or demigods of the Vedic and Hindu pantheon. Indeed,
Krishnaa is the source of all the other gods that inhabit the cosmos [aham
ådir hi devånåm 10.2], for He is the source of all that exists [aham
sarvasya prabhavah 10.8]. Thus those who worship other gods are ultimately
worshiping Krishna, the source and sustainer of those gods [ye 'py
anya-devatå-bhaktåh…yajanti måm avidhi-pürvakam 9.23]. Similarly, although
the gods may accept offerings from their worshipers, the gods themselves are
acting as mere agents of the Supreme God who is the ultimate enjoyer of all
types of sacrifice [ahaµ hi sarva-yajñånåm bhoktå ca prabhur eva ca 9.24].
An ignorant worshiper of the demigods who does not clearly recognize this
supremacy of the Godhead falls to a lower status of life. [na tu måm
abhijånånti tattvenåtas cyavanti te 9.24]; The demigods cannot award
ultimate liberation, since those who attain to their worlds again fall down
to the mortal earthly realm when their pious merit is exhausted [te tam
bhuktvå svarga-lokaµ viΩålaµ kßî∫e pu∫ye martya-lokaµ viΩanti
9.21]. This
impermanence holds true not only for the planet of Indra, surendra-loka
[9.20], or svarga-loka [9.21], but indeed for all the worlds within the
material cosmos, including that of the creator Brahmå [å-bhrahma-bhuvanål
lokå˙ punar-åvartino 'rjuna 8.16] It is only in the world of the Supreme God
Krishna that one finds the eternal abode, going to which one never returns
to take birth in the material world [yad gatvå na nivartante tad dhåma
paramam mama 15.6; yam pråpya na nivartante tad dhåma paramam mama 8.21; måm
upetya tu kaunteya punar janma na vidyate 8.16].
Further evidence of the temporary position of the gods is given in the
eleventh chapter of the Gîtå. The cosmic form, which the Lord therein
displays, is revealed to be Krishna's form and power of Time [kålo 'smi
11.32] and even the hosts of Gods are overwhelmed and astonished, and enter
within Time's destructive power [11.21-22].
Lord Krishna is also absolutely superior to the gods in cognitive powers.
In all respects, Krishna is the origin of the gods, and hence they cannot
understood Krishna's origin [na me vidu˙ sura-ga∫å˙ prabhavaµ na
maharßaya˙
aham ådir hi devånåm maharßî∫åµ ca sarvΩa˙ 10.2], for indeed He is
beginningless. Not only the gods, but the entire universe is bewildered by
the modes of nature and thus does not recognize or understand Krishnaa,
since Krishnaa is beyond those modes [tribhir gu∫a-mayair bhåvair ebhi˙
sarvam idaµ jagat mohitaµ nåbhijånåti måm ebhya˙ param avyayam 7.13]. It
is
only because of the bewildering influence of the material modes upon the
conditioned souls that they worship other gods at all [yajante såttvikå
devån yakßa-rakßåµsi råjaså˙ pretån bhüta-ga∫åµΩ cånye yajante
tåmaså janå˙
17.4].
The omniscience of Krishna is superlatively causal since Krishna is the
source of everyone's memory, knowledge, and forgetting [sarvasya cåhaµ h®di
sanniviß.o matta˙ sm®tir jñånam apohanaµ ca 15.15]. Indeed Krishna knows
the
past, present, and future of all beings, but no one, in the material world,
knows Him in truth [vedåhaµ samatîtåni vartamånåni cårjuna, bhavißyåni
ca
bhütåni måµ tu veda na kaΩcana 7.26]. In fact, so much are the living
beings
dependent on Krsihna, that even their faith in other gods must be supplied
by Krishna [yo yo yåµ yåµ tanum bhaktå˙ Ωraddhåyårcitum îhate, tasya
tasyåcalaµ Ωraddhåµ tåm eva vidadhåmy aham 7.21]. And the results
awarded by
those gods are actually given by Krishna alone, of whom the gods are but
agents. [labhate ca tata˙ kåmåm mayaiva vihitån hi tån 7.22]
As Krishna is ontologically and epistemically prior to the gods and
absolutely superior in powers of being and cognition, so too is the result
of worshiping Him, eternal life in the Lord's abode, clearly distinguished
from the temporary results derived from worshiping all other powerful
beings: “Men of small intelligence worship the demigods, and their fruits
are limited and temporary. Those who worship the demigods go to the
demigods, but My devotees come to Me.” [antavat tu phalaµ teßåµ tad
bhavaty
alpa-medhasåm, devån deva-yajo yånti mad-bhaktå yånti måm api 7.23]
Similarly: “Those sworn to the gods, go to the gods; those sworn to the
forefathers, go to the forefathers; worshipers of ghostly spirits go to such
spirits; but those who worship Me go to Me.” [yånti deva-vratå devån pitén
yånti pit®-vratå˙, bhütåni yånti bhütejyå yånti mad-yåjino 'pi måm
9.25] In
view of this fundamental distinction between Krishna and the gods, and their
respective powers to reward their worshipers, only those whose intelligence
is stolen by lust worship the gods, and neglect the Supreme Godhead. [kåmais
tais tair h®ta-jñånå˙ prapadyante anya-devatå˙ 7.20] And, as stated
above,
even the temporary fruits awarded by the gods are really provided by Krishna
alone [labhate ca tatah kåmån mayaiva vihitån hi tån 7.22].
Thus there is nothing at all beyond Krishna [matta˙ parataram nånyat kiñcid
asti dhanañjaya 7.7]; He is the great Lord of all the worlds
[sarva-loka-maheΩvaram 5.29]; and He is the creator and sustainer of
everything [sarvasya dhåtåram 8.9] Within the Gîtå, Arjuna glorifies
K®ß∫a
as the Supreme Brahman, the Supreme Abode, the Supreme Purifier, the Supreme
Divine Person [param brahma paraµ dhåma pavitram paramam bhavån purußaµ
ΩåΩvataµ divyam…10.12]; the God of the gods [deva-deva 10.14]; and the
origin of the gods [ådi-deva 10.12. tvam ådi-deva˙ 11.38] and the primeval
Person [purußa˙ purå∫a˙ 11.38]. Arjuna further affirms that no one is
equal
to or greater than K®ß∫a. [na tvat-samo 'sty abhaydhika˙ kunto 'nya˙
11.43]
The Lord ends His teaching in the Gîtå by urging Arjuna to abandon all
other duties (dharmån) and take shelter of K®ß∫a alone: sarva-dharmån
parityajya måm ekaµ Ωara∫aµ vraja 18.66. Thus the monotheistic thrust of
the
Gîtå is neither vague nor occasional, and apparent asssertions of a monistic
ontology, as will be shown later in this paper, do not compromise the
overwhelming conclusion: the absolute supremacy of Krishna. Arjuna certainly
understands K®ß∫a to be the Supreme Lord. When asked if he has understood
the Lord's teachings, he replies: “My illusion is gone… I shall execute Your
instructions [naß.o moha˙…karißye vacanaµ tava 18.73]

2. Krishna and the individual souls are distinct entities.
As Lord Krishna is eternally the Supreme Person, so the individual souls
are, of logical necessity, eternally distinct from and subordinate to the
Lord: “Never did I not exist, nor you, nor all these kings. And it is
certainly not (the case) that we shall not exist, all of us, for ever after.
[na tv evåham jåtu nåsam na tvam na tvaµ neme janådhipå˙ na caiva na
bhavißyåma˙ sarve vayam ata˙ param 2.12]
Here Krishna clearly states that "all of us" [sarve vayam] will exist
forever, just as I (Krishna), you (Arjuna) and all these kings have always
existed at all times in the past. Indeed, never was there a time when we did
not exist. In the previous verse, Krishna chastized Arjuna for taking the
body to be the self. Similarly, in the verse immedaitely following, Krishna
will describe the soul as dehî, the owner of the body, different from deha,
the body. Indeed the entire first half of the second chapter of the
Bhagavad-gîtå makes it clear that our real identity is eternal soul and not
the body. Thus having said that a learned person (pa∫∂ita) sees the soul,
and not the body, as primary, it is certain that Krishna is speaking of the
real person, the soul, as He begins to explain to Arjuna the fundamental
ontology of the world. After all, how can the Lord be apa∫∂ita, or foolish?
Thus it is the real K®ß∫a, the eternal Krishna, and the real Arjuna, the
eternal Arjuna, who have always existed and always will exist. And all of
us, says Krishna, will continue to exist in the future.
Similarly, later in the Gîtå, we find the following:
“There are two [classes of] beings in this world, the perishable and the
imperishable. All created forms are perishable, but a soul who stands at the
summit is imperishable.
“The Supreme Person, however, is another, and He is declared to be the
Supersoul. It is that inexhaustible Lord who has entered the three worlds
and sustains them.
“Because I am beyond the perishable beings, and greater even than the
imperishable, I am thus celebrated in this world, and in the Vedas, as the
Supreme Person. One who knows Me in this way to be the Supreme Person is a
knower of everything, and he worships Me with all his heart.” [Bg 15.16-19]
There are many significant lessons in these four Ωlokas of the Gîtå.
Krishna has defined the term purußottama as: the Supreme Person who stands
beyond both the conditioned souls entangled in the snare of måyå, and “even
beyond the highest soul”, e.g. a liberated soul who stands at the highest
point of spiritual perfection. Indeed Monier-Williams in his Oxford Sanskrit
dictionary describes kü.a-stha˙ as the pure soul standing on the unchanging,
spiritual platform. Since Krishna emphatically declares that the purußottma
is beyond even the liberated soul, we can hardly translate purußa here as
"man" or anything indicative of a material position, since this would not
even apply to the kü.a-stha or the liberated soul, and what to speak of the
Supreme Person who stands far beyond such a pure soul. Krishna uses the word
api, "even" to make explicit that "I am beyond even the liberated soul. In
other words, it is not the Gîtå's philosophy that one becomes Krishna, or
equal to Krishna, by spiritual liberation. A normal reader would not
question that Krishna is beyond the conditioned soul, but here the Lord
emphasizes by the world api that He is beyond even the liberated soul who
stands at the summit of spiritual perfection.
The finality of this understanding of the supreme personal individuality of
Krishna is confirmed at 15.19 wherein Krishna states that one who
understands Him in this way [evam] as the Supreme Person [purußottama] is
the knower of everything [sarva-vit] and worships the Lord with all his
heart. [bhajati måm sarva-bhåvena bhårata 15.19] In other words, Krishna
explicitly rejects the notion that realization of the personal feature of
the Lord is a mere prelude to an eventual impersonal understanding.
Earlier in the fifteenth chapter, Krishna states that the living being in
this world is eternally a fragmental part [aµΩa] of the Lord. [mamaivåµΩo
jîva-loke jîva-bhüta˙ sanåtana˙ 15.7] The soul is further said to be
indivisible [acchedyo 'yam 2.24], and so the fragmental status is not
effectuated in time, but is a pre-eternal, never-ending fact: [na tvevåhaµ
jåtu nåsaµ na tvam neme janådhipå˙ na caiva na bhavißyåmah sarve vayam
atah
param 2.12] As Lord K®ß∫a simply puts its, God is not one of the ordinary
living beings, nor even one of the liberated souls; rather: “the Supreme
Person is someone else…” [uttama˙ purußas tv anya˙ 15.17]
We have already demonstrated that Krishna claims to be absolutely cognizant
and the source of all other cognition. He makes the same claim in the
thirteenth chapter where Lord Krishna introduces the terms kßetra, “the
field (i.e. the body)” and kßetra-jña, “the knower of the field (i.e. the
soul who is conscious of the body).” The Lord concludes this discourse by
asserting that although each soul is the knower of his field, i.e. his
particular body, “I am the knower of all fields, meaning all bodies
[kßetra-jñaµ cåpi måµ viddhi sarva-kßetreßu bhårata 13.3].
In the same thirteenth chapter, Krishna describes both the individual soul
and the Lord as purußa, but the contrast is striking. The individual soul is
a purusa, but he is (a) “situated in material nature,” (b) “trying to
enjoy
the material qualities”, and thus (c) compelled by his attachments to those
qualities to take birth in high and low species of bodily encangement
[purußa˙ prak®ti-stho hi bhuõkte prak®ti-jån, kåra∫aµ gu∫a-saõgo
'sya
sad-asad-yoni-janmasu 13.22]. In the very next Ωloka, the Lord describes
Himself also as purußa, but the difference between the two purußas could not
be more clear, for Krishna is said to be the supreme or transcendental
purusa˙ [purusa˙ para˙]. The use of the adjective parah to denote the
supreme purusa is sigificant, for this word not only entails the notion of
supremacy, but also a strong sense of "the other". Indeed, para is often
used in Sanskrit to indicate the opposite of åtma- or sva- 2 , both of which
indicate "self" or "one's own". In fact, åtma is the simple reflexive
pronoun in Sanskrit. In other words, para has the unenquivocal sense of here
of the wholly other who is supreme. In this same Ωloka, Lord Krishna also
uses the term paramåtmå, describing Himself thus as the "Supreme Soul".
It should be noted that the adjective parama [used with åtmå to form
paramåtmå], is almost identical to para, as regards the notion of supremacy,
but that parama does not convey the sense of being the "other" in contrast
to one's self. It is this wider term para that Krishna employs to
distinguish Himself, as purusa, from the ordinary purußa who is struggling
vainly to exploit the Lord's material creation. Thus the Gîtå's claim that
the indiviual soul is eternally distinct from the Supreme Soul is a strong
one, and not a vague or esoteric articulation.
The Lord is also said to be the maintainer of the living beings [sarva-bh®c
caiva 13.5]. It is natural that the Lord maintain the living beings, for
they are stated in the Gîtå to be the Lord's own energy: “Besides the
material nature, there is another superior energy of Mine. Know it to be the
living being…” [apareyam itas tv anyåm prak®tiµ viddhi me paråµ
jîva-bhütåm…] The living being trapped in the clutches of måyå, the
Lord's
illusory material energy, can only escape her control by surrendering to the
Lord. He cannot escape by his own autonomous decision or endeavor: [daivî hy
eßå gu∫a-mayî mama måyå duratyayå, måm eva ye prapadyante måyåm etåm
taranti
te 7.5].
3. God is the controller: Because God, Krishna, is one, and eternally
separate from the individual soul, it follows that He is the Lord and
controller of all that be. Lord Krishna delineates a bi-partite notion of
causality in which material nature is the cause of the physical workings of
the world, whereas the living being is the cause of his own enjoyment and
suffering. [kårya-kåra∫a-kart®tve hetur prak®tir ucyate, purußa˙
sukha-du˙khånåµ bhokt®tve hetur ucyate 13.21] Nature responds to the
attempts of the soul to exploit the illusory material world, and entangles
the soul in the web of måyå. Perhaps the greatest illusion is the soul's
false perception that he is performing those physical events, such as moving
of the body, that in fact are done by nature. [prak®te˙ kriyamånåni
gu∫ai˙
sarvaΩa˙ ahaõkåra-vimü∂håtmå kartåham iti manyate 3.27] Nature in
turn is
directly under the control of the Supreme Lord, and the entire cosmos turns
by His command [mayådhyakßena prak®ti˙…hetunånena kaunteya jagad
viparivartate 9.10]. Thus the causal chain originates in K®ß∫a, who states:
“I am the Lord of all beings, and I stay in their hearts, causing all
beings, who are mounted on the machine (of the body), to wander in this
world in illusion. [îΩvara˙ sarva-bhütånåµ h®d-deΩe 'rjuna
tiß.hati,
bhråmayan sarva-bhütåni yantrårü∂håni måyayå 18.62].
Krishna is a living God who orders, punishes, and reclaims the fallen souls
who are eternally part and parcel of Him. Thus Krishna declares that: “Those
who always faithfully abide by My injunction, without envy, are freed from
all karmic acts. However those who are envious and do not abide by My
injunction you should know to be mindless and lost, for they are confused
about all that is knowledge.” [ye me matam idaµ nityam anutiß.hanti
månavå˙,
Ωraddhåvanto 'nasüyanto mucyante te 'pi karmabhi˙. ye tv etad abhyasüyanto
nånutiß.hanti me matam, sarva-jñåna-vimü∂håµs tån viddhi naß.ån
acestasa˙
3.31-32]
This same point is dramatically driven home at the end of the Gîtå: “If
then because of false ego you will not hear, then you will perish.” [atha
cet tvam ahaõ-kårån na Ωroßyasi vinaõkßyasi 18.58] We will understand
K®ß∫a
without doubt and fully, K®ß∫a declares, by hearing from Him [asaµΩayaµ
samagram måm yathå jnåsyasi tac ch®∫u 7.1]
One achieves real peace by recognizing that Lord Krishnå is the great Lord
of all the worlds [sarva-loka-maheΩvaram…jñåtvå måµ Ωåntim ®cchati
5.29]
Similarly, one who knows K®ß∫a to be the great lord of the words, and that
He is unborn and beginningless, is himself unbewildered among mortal beings
and is freed of all sins [yo måm ajam anådiµ ca vetti loka-maheΩvaram,
asammü∂ha˙ sa martyeßu sarva-påpai˙ pramucyate 15.19]. Arjuna
acknowledges
Lord Krishna to be the “controller of all beings”, and the “Lord of the
universe” [10.15 bhüteΩa…jagat-pate].
Finally, the entire eleventh chapter of the Bhagavad-gîtå demonstrates in
an unforgettable way that the entire universe can be devoured in an instant
by Lord K®ß∫a. His control is absolute for all beings exist within Him:
“When you have thus learned the truth you will never again fall into
illusion, for by that knowledge you will see that all living beings are in
the Soul, that is they are in Me.” [yaj jñåtvå na punar moham evam yåsyasi
på∫∂ava yena bhütåni aΩeßå∫i drakßyasi åtmani atho mayi].
4. Krishna is everything
Lord Krishna strongly and repeatedly declares in the Bhagavad-gîtå that He
is the source of all that be. It follows that God is not only distinct from
His creative energies, but He is also one with them since they are eternally
resting on Him. Srî Caitanya Mahåprabhu thus stated that the philosophy of
the Gîtå is acintya-bhedåbheda-tattva, which means that God is inconceivably
one with, and simultaneously different from, His creation. We shall survey
Krishna's statements that He is the source of everything, and then see how
this claim is logically linked to the claim that “all things are Krishna.”
Sri Krishna declares in the Bhagavad-gîtå: “I am the source of everything,
from Me everything emanates.” [aham sarvasya prabhava˙ matta˙ sarvam
pravartate 10.8]. Similarly, He states: “I am the origin and the
annihilation of the entire cosmos.” [ahaµ k®tsnasya jagata˙ prabhava˙
pralayas tathå 7.6] Krishna goes on to say, “There is nothing else beyond
Me, O Dhanañjaya. All this world rests on me like pearls strung on a
thread.” [matta˙ parataraµ nånyat kiñcid asti dhanañjaya, mayi sarvam
idaµ
protam sütre ma∫i-ga∫å iva 7.7] And as previously quoted, “Neither the
hosts of gods nor the great sages know my origin, for in all respects I am
the origin of the gods and great sages.” [10.2] Krishna is not only the
source of the living beings, but of their qualities as well: “Intelligence,
knowledge, freedom from confusion [and ten other qualities], in their
various types, are states of being of the living entities, and they all come
from Me.” [buddhir jñånam asammoha˙… bhavanti bhåvå bhütånåm matta
eva
p®thag-vidhå˙ 10.4-5] “The seven primordial sages, and the four Manus owe
their existence to me for they are born of My mind.” [maharßaya˙ sapta
pürve
catvåro manavas tathå mad-bhåvå månaså jåtå… 10.7]
Let us now examine the tenth chapter of the Bhagavad-gîtå, wherein Lord
K®ß∫a claims [10.20-38] to be the superlative examplar in seventy
categories. Here is a sample verse from that section: “Of the Ådityas I am
Viß∫u; of lights I am the radiant sun; of the Maruts I am Marîci; of stars I
am the moon.” [ådityånåm ahaµ viß∫ur jyotißåµ ravir aµΩumån,
marîcir marutåm
asmi nakßatrå∫åm ahaµ ΩaΩî] To read monism into all of this would be
a
transparent misreading of the text, for a serious look at the entire chapter
makes abundantly clear what K®ß∫a is actually saying.
First, we notice that most of Krishna's statements, cited above, to the
effect that He is the source of everything come from this same tenth
chapter, namely verses 10.2, 10.4-5, 10.7, and 10.8. Krishna precedes, then,
His identification of Himself with the greatest items of this world by
emphasizing that He is the source of all these things. Recall that in the
seventh chapter Krishna stated that all the things of this world are His
energy, or prak®ti [7.4-6] and that He is therefore the source of all that
be. That Krishna is referring to the same ontological state of affairs
becomes clear when we notice the repeated use here of the word vibhüti,
which indicates the following: expansion, manifestation of might, great
power, glory etc. Arjuna introduces this term when he says to Krishna: “You
should speak about your own divine glories, those by which you pervade these
worlds and abide in them.” [vaktum arhasy aΩeße∫a divyå hy
åtma-vibhütaya˙,
yåbhir vibhütibhir lokån imåµs tvaµ vyåpya tiß.hasi 10.16]. The word
for
"glories" here is vibhütaya˙, the plural form of vibhüti. But that is just
the beginning of this word's career in the tenth chapter of the Gîtå. Arjuna
then says, “O Janårdana (Krishna), please describe again, and extensively,
your mystic power and might for as I listen to this ambrosia, I find no
satiation.” [vistare∫åtmano yogaµ vibhütiµ ca janåradana, bhüya˙
kathaya
t®ptir hi Ω®∫vato nåßti me 'm®tam 10.18] Again, the word for "might" is
vibhütim. Lord Krishna then answers, agreeing to explain His own divine
opulences, and again the word vibhütaya˙, plural of vibhüti, is used 10.19].
In the very next Ωloka, the Lord begins His identification of Himself with
the 70 categories mentioned above. At the end of the narration, Krishna
says, “O burner of the foe, there is no end to my divine powers, and so I
have given some example of the extension of my glory.” [nånto 'sti mama
divyånåµ vibhütînåm parantapa, eßa tüddeΩatah prokto vibhüter vistaro
mayå
10.40] Predictably the word vibhüti is used twice in this vese, and it is
repeated in the following verse, wherein Lord Krishna says: “Whater
glorious, beautiful, or mighty being there may be, understand that it is
born of but a spark of my splendor. [yad yad vibhütimat sattvam Ωrîmad
ürjitam eva vå, tat tad evåvagaccha tvam mama tejo-'µΩa-sambhavam10.41].
Here the word vibhüti-mat means "that which possesses vibhüti, i.e. power,
glory etc.
By using the word vibhüti no less than six times, Lord K®ß∫a makes clear
that He is talking about His powers, His properties, His opulences etc. In
the seventh chapter, there are three "identification verses" [7.9-11] which
exactly resemble in meter, language, and content the "identification verses"
of the tenth chapter [10.20-38]. These three verses, as in the tenth
chapter, are preceded by an elaborate analysis of how Lord Krishna is the
source of all that be, matter and spirit being His superior and inferior
potencies. At the conclusion of 7.9-11, K®ß∫a declares that all of these
opulences that He has identified Himself with in fact come from Him, and are
resting in Him, but He is not in them. [matta eveti tån viddhi na tv ahaµ
teßu te mayi 7.12].
It also bears mentioning that one who rightly understands the sense in
which K®ß∫a is the source of everything does not then consider that all
beings are God, but rather worships the real God with wholehearted devotion:
“I am the source of all, from me all proceeds. Knowing this, the wise
worship Me with all their being.” [ahaµ sarvasya prabhavo mattah sarvam
pravartate, iti matvå bhajante måm budhå˙ bhåva-samanvitå˙ 10.8]
The purpose of the identification verses is to nourish the devoted
thesists, as K®ß∫a explains in the verse immediately following the above
Ωloka: “Their minds in Me, their lives dedicated to Me, the devotees
enlighten one another, always speaking about Me, and thus they are satisfied
and rejoice. [mac-cittå mad-gata-prå∫å bodhayanta˙ parasparam
kathayantaΩ ca
måµ nityaµ tußyanti ca ramanti ca 10.9]. Further, Arjuna explicitly states
that it is just to facilitate such meditation on the Lord, that he is
requesting Krishna to describe His glories: “Always thinking of You, O
Yogin, how can I know You? In which various forms, my Lord, am I to think
about You? Describe to me at length Your glories…etc.” [kathaµ vidyåm
ahaµ
yogin tvåµ sadå paricintayan, keßu keßu ca bhåveßu cintyo 'si bhagavan
mayå…
vistare∫åtmano yogaµ vibhütiµ ca janårdana bhüya˙ kathaya…10. 17-18].
There
is hardly a doctrine of pantheism in the Bhagavad-gîtå. The real message is
quite clear: surrender to Krishna.
There is one instance where Lord K®ß∫a says that after many births, one in
knowledge surrenders to the Lord, realizing that “Våsudeva (K®ß∫a) is
everything.” [bahünåµ janmanåm ante jñånavån måm prapadyate
våsudeva˙ sarvam
iti 7.19] Similarly, there is an instance where Arjuna tells Krishna, “You
cover everything and thus You are everything.” [sarvaµ samåpnoßi tato 'si
sarvam 11.40] In these cases also, there is devastating evidence against the
impersonal, monistic interpretation.
In the first instance, Lord Krishna's statement comes in the midst of a
discussion of four types of people who do not surrender to God, and four
types who do. Krishna's point in the verse we have cited [7.19] is that
surrender to Krishna is the symptom and proof that one is actually in
knowledge, after many lifetimes of seeking the truth. In fact, the learned
one who realizes that Krishna is everything is one of the four classes of
men who surrender to the Lord. We have already explained at length the many
verses in chapter seven, preceeding 7.19, which claim that K®ß∫a is the
source of everything, and that He is identical with the opulent features of
this world in the sense that such items, composed of the inferior modes of
nature (sattva, rajas, tamas) are but expansions of the Lord's power. And
the verses following 7.19 emphasize that it is Krishna alone who is to be
worshiped, and not other gods. In other words, the topic under discussion is
nothing but surrender to Krishna, and an elaborate ontological explanation
in this very chapter has clarified that Krishna is to be identified with the
wonderful things of this world only in the sense that such items rest on
Him. It was explicitly stated that Krishna is simultaneouly aloof, that He
is “not in them.” [na tv ahaµ teßu te mayi 7.12]
Similarly, Arjuna declares to Krishna: “You are everything because You
entirely possess everything.” [sarvam samåpnoßi tato 'si sarvam] Arjuna's
statement is in response to the cosmic vision of God, in which Krishna
devours all the universe, and all beings are subdued by the Lord's
omnipotent feature of time. That is, in the context of God's absolute
domination of the subordinate living beings, Arjuna utters His prayer, “You
are everything!”
Still, it is worthwhile to take a closer look at the somewhat complex
ontology operating here, and Krishna Himself provides us such a focused
metaphysical analysis in the ninth chapter of the Gîtå [9.4-10] where He
intentionally speaks in apparently contradictory language: “By Me in My
unmanifested form, I pervade this whole universe. All beings are situated in
Me, but I am not situated in them. The beings are also not situated in me.
Behold My mystic power. I am the maintainer of all beings; I am not also
situated in them. My self is the source of the beings. Just as the great
wind, which goes everywhere, is situated in the sky, similarly understand
that all beings are situated in Me.” [9.4-6]3
Lord Krishna here makes several ontological distinctions between Himself,
God, and the many living beings like ourselves:
1. Krishna states that He individually pervades the entire universe. There
is no similar claim for any of the individual living beings. [9.4]
2. All beings are situated in Krishna, but He is not in them. [9.4]
3. Krishna is the maintainer of all beings, but not they of Him. [9.5]
4. Krishna is the source (bhåvana) of all beings, but not they of Him. [9.5]
5. Lord Krishna compares Himself to the sky, and the living beings to the
air which moves within the sky but does not mix with it. [9.6] This metaphor
is further developed at 13.3 wherein Krishna compares the sky to the soul
which does not mix with the body. Krishna states at 13.3 that although the
sky extends everywhere (sarva-gatam) because of its sublety (saukßmatvåt) it
does not mix with anything, and hence nothing can taint it (nopalipyate). At
9.6, then, Krishna means to state that although the great winds blow
throughout space or sky, the sky is never covered by the air, which is a
grosser element in the traditional cosmology. By analogy, then, although God
contains all living beings within His existence, because of His being
superior, He can not be affected by the inferior qualities of the beings
which He contains. Indeed, Krishna states that He pervades the universe in
an unmanifest form (avyakta-mürtinå), and the term avyakta here,
"unmanifest", is clearly related to the concept of subtlety in 13.33. This
sense of subtlety as a cause or condition of imperceptibility is explicity
given at 13.6, where it is said that “the Absolute is incomprehensible
because of its subtlety.” [sükßmatvåt tad avijñeyam]. This very word
sükßmatvåt, is given at 13.33, to mean "because of its subtlety".
Thus the analogy of the sky and the air [9.6] is meant to explicate the
same message given at 9.4-5: although Srî Krishna is all-pervading, and
although all beings live and exist within His existence, He is always
distinct and superior, and is never affected by the inferior qualities of
the living beings that He contains. Thus it is very difficult to mount
anything like a serious argument for monism from the statements of the
Bhagavad-gîtå.
5. Krishna has spiritual form
In the Bhagavad-gîtå, Lord Krishna stresses the personality of the Godhead
as the highest feature of the Absolute Truth and therefore the goal of the
yoga process. For example, at 8.8, Krishna states:
“One who is engaged in the practice of yoga, meditating with undeviating
consciousness on the Supreme Divine Person, goes to that Supreme Person. One
who constantly remembers Him as the primeval scholar, the steady ruler,
smaller than the smallest, the creator of everything, as He whose
inconceivable form is luminous like the sun and beyond darkness…one who
remembers Him thus attains to that Supreme Divine Person.”4 [8.8-10]
Similarly, Arjuna declares Krishna to be the “eternal divine person,”
[purußaµ ΩåΩvataµ divyam 10.12] and later he says “I consider You the
eternal Person.” [sanåtanas tvam purußo mato me 11.18] At this point it is
good to recall the strict ontological rule which Krishna enunciated at the
very beginning of His teaching, “Of the termporary there is no real
existence, and of the eternal there is no cessation.” [nåsatao vidyate bhåvo
nåbhåvo vidyate sata˙ 2.16] Thus when Arjuna declares Krishna to be the
eternal person, it is understand that Krishna's personality has no beginning
or end, and indeed Arjuna states that Krishna is ajam, "unborn" [10.12]. It
is signficant that Krishna states that not only He Himself, but in fact
individual souls in general are beginningless: “Know that both material
nature and the individual person [purußa] are beginningless. It is the
accidental qualities and transformations of prak®ti that come into being.”
[prak®tim purußaµ caiva viddhy anådî ubhåv api, vikåråµΩ ca
gu∫åµΩ caiva
viddhi prak®ti-sambhavån]. So the sanåtana-purußa, the "eternal person", can
not refer to a material form.
As Krishna is an eternal, supreme, divine person, it is natural that He has
an abode, and that is also described within the Gîtå: “The sun does not
brighten it, nor the moon, nor fire, and going to it, they never
return ---that is My supreme abode.” [na tad bhåsayate süryo na
ΩaΩåõka na
påvakah yad gatvå na nivartante tad dhåma paramam mama 15.6] Similarly: “It
is said to be unmanifest and indestructible, and they call it the supreme
destination. Having achieved it, they never return from My supreme abode.”
[avyakto 'kßara ity uktas tam åhu˙ paramaµ gatim, yam pråpya na nivartante
tad dhåma paramam mama 8.21]
According to the Bhagavad-gîtå, the supreme personality of the Godhead is
not merely myth, poetry or symbol, but rather spiritually tangible form and
being, which is avyakta, unmanifest, only to the materially conditioned
soul. Thus in the seventh chapter of the Gîtå, Lord Krishna says, “The
unintelligent think that I am unmanifest, but that I have become a manifest,
visible person, for they do not know My supreme nature which is
inexhaustible and of incomparable excellence. [avyaktaµ vyaktim åpannam
manyante måm abuddhaya˙, param bhåvam ajånanto mamåvyayam anuttamam 7.24]
So
important is this Ωloka that we shall examine its key terms in detail. Lord
K®ß∫a says that “the unintelligent (abuddhaya˙, plural of abuddhi,
literally
"those without intelligence") think (manyante) that I am avyaktam,
unmanifest, but that I have become vyaktim, a manifest person.” The term
avyaktam contrasts with the term vyaktim not only in the sense of the
invisibile versus the visible, but also in contrasting a type of impersonal
existence with a personal, individual reality. This sense of avyakta as
impersonal, in contrast to the personal, is clearly evident at 12.1, and
12.3, and is also strengthened by the fact that here at 7.24, Lord Krishna
contrasts avyaktam not with its immediate antonym vyaktam, "the manifest",
but with the cognate vyaktim which more specifically indicates a manifest,
individual person. Krishna says, then, “The unintelligent think that I am
impersonal and unmanifest, but that I have become a distinct, visible,
individual person. They think this because they do not know my supreme,
transcendental nature (param bhåvam)…” The param bhåvam, or "supreme
nature"
mentioned here is clearly the transcendental nature of the vyakti, or
visible personal identity of K®ß∫a. It is diffcult to find another
straightforward reading of this simple Sanskrit sentence.
Lord Krishna's statement at 7.24 contrasts in a curious way with another
use of the terms avyakta and vyakti at 8.18. There the Lord says, “On the
coming of the day (of Brahmå) all the individual beings come forth from the
unmanifest, and on the coming of the night (of Brahmå), they are merged into
the very place that is called the avyakta.” [avyaktåd vyaktaya˙ sarvå˙
prabhavanty ahar-ågame, råtry-ågame pralîyante tatraivåvyakta-sañjñake
8.18]
There are several significant features of this statement. Krishna uses the
term vyaktaya˙, the plural nominative form of vyakti˙, and He says that all
these vyaktis (my translation: all the individual beings) come forth from
the unmanifest, avyakta, during the day of Brahmå. Since there is clearly a
plurality of living beings mentioned here (and everywhere else in the Gîtå),
and since the term vyakti is here used to describe the beings at their
specific stage of manifestation, coming forth on the coming of Brahmå's day,
it is clear in this context also that the term vyakti refers to an
individual, manifest person, active within the world. Because one might tend
to associate the term with the conditioned souls visible in this world,
Krishna takes care to emphasize, when using the word to refer to Himself,
that He does not, as do the conditioned souls, acquire a visible form upon
coming to this world. Indeed the entire argument at 7.24 is that Lord
Krishna does not assume His visible, personal form at all, but that His
personal form is His superior nature, param bhåvam. Indeed, Krishna explains
almost immediately after this, at 8.20, that the param bhåvam [inflected
here as paro bhåva˙ since it shifts to the nominative from the accusative]
is beyond the avyakta, the unmanifest from which the ordinary souls come
forth on the coming of Brahmå's day. Although Lord Krishna describes that
paro bhåva˙ as being a superior avyakta or unmanifest realm, we find at 8.21
that here the paro bhåva˙ actually refers to the Lord's supreme abode. In
other words, although His supreme abode is not manifest to ordinary persons,
Krishna descends from His abode so that we can see Him as He is. This is the
highest sense of avatåra.
The same term paro bhåva˙ has been used at 7.24 to indicate the spiritual
nature of Krishna's personality, and at 8.20, the term is used specifically
to describe the spiritual quality of the Lord's abode, but in either case,
it is clear that the paro bhåva˙ at 8.20, or indeed the param bhåvam
mentioned at 7.24, are beyond the avyakta mentioned at 8.18, as the status
from which conditioned souls, also called vyaktis, come forth to manifest in
this world. The conclusion is that the Gîta affirms the spiritual
personality of the Lord, which is not a mere symbol, incarnation, way of
getting at, etc. etc., an unmanifest impersonal Absolute Truth. But it is
not by mental speculation that the personal form of the Lord is to be known.
Thus the term vyaktim is used also at 10.14, when Arjuna says to Krishna,
“Neither the gods nor the demons, O blessed Lord, know Thy personality
(vyaktim). [na hi te bhagavan vyaktim vidur devå na dånavå˙ 10.14] Rather,
“It is by devotion that one knows Me in truth, as I actually am.” [bhaktyå
måm abhijånåti yåvån yaΩ cåsmi tattvata˙ 18.55]
The fact that Lord Krishna is ultimately to be known as the Supreme Person
is made even more explicit at the beginning of the twelfth chapter. Arjuna
asks the Lord,
“Who are the greatest knowers of yoga--- those who are Your devotees,
always engaged in worshiping You, or those who worship the unperishing
unmanifest? [evaµ satata-yuktå ye bhaktås tvåm paryupåsate, ye cåpy
akßåram
avyaktaµ teßåµ ke yoga-vittamå˙ 12.1] Here Arjuna places in direct
competition personal devotion to Krishna and worship of the avyakta, the
unmanifest feature of the Absolute. Krishna at once replies, “Always engaged
in fixing their minds on Me, those who worship Me with transcendental faith
I consider to be most intimately united with Me in yoga.” [mayy åveΩya mano
ye måµ nitya-yuktå upåsate, Ωraddhayå parayopetås te me yuktamatamå
matå˙
12.2] Both in Arjuna's original question [12.1], and in Lord Krishna's
reply, the personal pronoun indicating Krishna (Arjuna's tvåm, You, and
Krishna's måm, Me) are used to indicate the personal concept of God, in
contrast to the impersonal unmanifest.
The artificiality of the impersonal path for the eternal individual soul is
made clear at 12.5, wherein Lord Krishna says that in contrast to the path
of bhakti, which is susukham kartum, “very joyful to perform” [9.2], the
path of meditation on the unmanifest, the ineffable, all-pervading absolute
is just the opposite, it is du˙kham, or miserable to perform. Indeed,
Krishna calls the impersonal path kleΩo 'dhikataras, or “exceedingly
troublesome” [12.5].
Krishna also states: “Because I inhere in a human-like body, foolish people
disrespect Me, for they do not understand My transcendental nature.”
[avajånanti måm mü∂hå˙ månußîµ tanum åΩritam, param bhåvam
ajånanto…9.11].
It is certainly noteworthy here that Lord K®ß∫a repeats the exact same words
as in 7.24, i.e. “not knowing My transcendental nature” [param bhåvam
ajånanto…7.24, 9.11]. Thus the unintelligent [abuddhaya˙] who think that
K®ß∫a has assumed His personal form, are compared to the foolish
[mü∂hå˙]
who disrespect K®ß∫a because He appears in a human-like body.
Krishna states at 9.11 that He inheres in a human-like body. The Sanskrit
phrase is månußîm (human-like) tanum (a body) åΩritam (I) have inhered in.
That which is inherent is essential and intrinsic, and this notion that the
Lord originally manfests in a spiritual form is also indicated elsewhere in
the Gîtå. Let us turn to chapter four of the Gîtå wherein Lord K®ß∫a
elaborately describes His descent into this world. Lord Krishna states:
“Although I am unborn and My Self never deteriorates, and although I am the
Lord of all beings, utilizing My own energy I appear by My own potency.
Whenever there is a decline of dharma, O Bhårata, and a prominent rise of
adharma (irreligion), at that time I manifest My Self. To deliver the pious,
and to destroy the evil-doers, and to establish dharma, I appear in every
age. [4.6-8]6 ”
Problems infecting Western indology
Some of the grave problems infecting Western indological studies can be
observed (like one example between many) by seeing how Dr. Thomas Hopkins
has paraphrased the above verses, and then translated the last of the three,
in his book The Hindu Religious Tradition:
“In reality he is apart from the world as the Lord of all beings, but
whenever worldly righteousness declines he creates a form for himself out of
Prak®ti by his myserious power (måyå) and manifests himself among men:
For the preservation of the righteous, the destruction of the wicked,
And the establishment of dharma, I come into being from age to age
(Bhagavad Gîtå 4.8)” [TH 92]
There are two grave problems with Dr. Hopkins' translation:
1. Hopkins inserts the foreign notion that “He creates a form for himself
out of Prak®ti by his mysterious power etc.” The view that Krishna is
different from His personal form, which is presumed here to be made of
matter, is not what Krishna says here. Indeed He says the opposite. At 4.6,
the Lord says that “Although I am unborn and My self never
deteriorates…etc.” The word for Self is the standard term åtmå, and
avyaya
means "unperishing, undecaying." It is hard to construe this avyaya-åtmå as
different from the personal form of Krishna, because in the very next Ωloka,
Krishna states that when He descends, He does so by manifesting that same
åtmå [tadå åtmånaµ s®jåmy aham7]. In other words, the form which Krishna
sends forth to this world is eternal. In English syntax, Krishna simply
says: tadå ahaµ s®jåmi åtmånam: “Then I manifest (My) Self.” The verb
here
is s®j: to let go, to release, discharge, send forth; also: to create,
procreate, beget etc. We cannot apply here the latter sense of creating,
begetting, etc., since Lord Krishna has just stated that His åtmå is avyaya,
and it has been clearly established from the outset that those things which
arise in time also end in time: “For that which is born, death is certain.
[jåtasya hi dhruvo mrityur 2.27]. Thus within the clear ontology of the
Gîtå, there is no scope for anything, much less a divine "Self", to come
into being and then last forever. There is no such entity in the
Bhagavad-gîtå. If we then accept the verb s®j in the alternative sense: “to
release, discharge, send forth etc.”, we still do not have anything like
Hopkin's “He creates a form for Himself…” Krishna appears to be saying
something quite simple and straightforward: “I send Myself forth to this
world.” After all, who else could order the descent of Krishna, the supreme
authority by whose order all the universe turns [9.10]?
2. There is no sense to the translation “I come into being.” Lord Krishna
has elaborately explained that He has always existed (na tv evåham jåtu
nåsam 2.12), and indeed that all living beings are beginningless [2.12,
13.20]. The verb which Hopkins has translated as “I come into being”, is
sambhavåmi, the present tense, first person, singular of sam-bhü, the first
meaning of which is “to be or come together”. Thus we should first
understand that Lord Krishna is simply stating that by His descent (avatåra)
into this world, He is coming together with the souls of this world for
their eternal benefit. After all, Krishna has stated twice in the Gîtå that
He is the father of all living beings [9.17, 14.4] and that He is thus the
well-wishing friend of all [5.29]
An additional sense of sam-bhü is “to be born or produced from” but this
sense of the word normally requires an ablative noun, for the subject of the
verb, in this case, must be born or produced from something, and such an
ablative word is conspicuously absent in our context, and it is
theologically impossible anyway, as explained above. A third sense of the
very is “to arise, spring up, develop”, and it may be this inapplicable
sense of the verb which Hopkins has chosen. A fourth sense of the verb,
which like the first is clearly applicable here, is: “to prevail, be
effective.” There are yet other senses of the verb, but the first and the
fourth, for various contextual and grammatical reasons, are the likely
candidates.
Lord Krishna concludes this topic of His descent into this world at 4.9,
where He states: “One who thus understands, in truth, My divine birth and
activities does not, upon leaving the body, go to another birth. He goes to
Me, O På∫∂ava.” [janma karma ca me divyam evaµ yo vetti tattvata˙,
tyaktvå
deham punar janma naiti måm eti på∫∂ava] Krishna claims that His birth
and
activities are divine, divya, and of course this is the same adjective we
have seen used many times to describe Krishna as the divine person. Krishna
emphasizes that one must understand His birth and activities in truth,
[tattvata˙] and if Krishna's so-called assumption of a material form were as
patently clear as some scholars claim, why would this word of caution be
used? And how could Krishna claim that mere understanding of His birth is
sufficient to guarantee liberation from material birth in thsi world? It is
evident that a serious study of the text will force us to look more
seriously at the position of Krishna.
There is much more to say about the position of Krishna in the
Bhagavad-gîtå. We have covered but a few topics, albeit important ones. One
may or may not choose to believe the statements of Krishna, but before
examining the truth of His claims, one should first understand what Krishna
is saying.

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