Bhagavad Gita (13)

March 14, 2008

ATTAINING LIBERATION NOW(Part 3)CHAPTER 13THE FIELD AND ITS KNOWER :DISTINGUISHING BETWEEN MATTER AND SPIRIT(Kshetra Kshetrajna Vibhaga Yoga)"When the body falls...it is the spirit that remains standing."1.

Arjuna asks, "If Divinity is everything in the world, Krishna, then

what is the difference between the world and Divinity? How can one

distinguish between one's worldly body and godly soul? What is the

difference between physical matter and the world of Spirit? And is

there any benefit in learning this?"Krishna responds, "These

are important questions, Arjuna. When you know the true nature of the

material world your grief is destroyed; when you understand the true

nature of the Spirit, bliss is acquired."The term field denotes one's physical body and everything else in the material world. The Knower of the Field

signifies the intelligent principle that resides in, but is not really

a part of, the body and all matter. This indwelling intelligence is the

mysterious entity within that is close enough to watch what goes on in

the 'field' and yet stands somewhat separate from it. It is also

referred to as soul, or Atma.2. "Arjuna, I am the Knower of the Field, the Indweller in everybody and everything. I am the innermost Self, the soul, the Atma

in all beings. The ability to discriminate between the field and its

Knower is the utmost highest knowledge, as it requires a true

understanding of both secular things and sacred knowing. So listen

carefully."THE FIELD (PRAKRITI, THE WORLD OF NATURE)3.

"I will now further explain what the field - the world of nature -

consists of, where it came from, and why and how it operates. Then I

will tell you more of the Knower of the Field and the powers of the

Knower.4. "Though quite intricate, this is a wondrous inquiry,

Arjuna. The great sages in prehistoric times discovered these profound

truths through meditation and precise reasoning. Down through the ages

they expressed them through chants and aphorisms (vedas),

carefully balancing their deep love for God with rigorous questioning

and understanding so that these truths would appeal jointly to the

heart and the head.5-6. "First, understand that truly knowing the field, the natural world (prakriti),

is not simply a process of listing the myriad items that comprise it.

To understand nature itself it is necessary to know something about

human consciousness. To know something is to be conscious of it. You

become conscious of things in the world (that is, you 'know' them)

through the mechanisms of perception in your nervous system - sight,

hearing, feeling, mind, and so forth. But the nervous system is itself

a part of nature; that which you use to know the world, nature, is also

nature. Thus, that which is known cannot really be separated from the

knower of it."Also, understand, Arjuna, that all of the natural world, all of prakriti,

originates in consciousness itself - the One Supreme Consciousness,

Divinity. In the natural world Supreme Consciousness separates into

many forces both physical and mental - endlessly combining and

recombining. everything known or knowable stems from Consciousness.

Knowing this, one really knows the field."The following are the twenty-five components of nature, the field :"First, there is the 'unmanifested' (the mahat,

literally 'the great cause'). This is a latent reasoning force, the

first glimmering of an ego sense in the cosmos, an early, raw capacity

to differentiate and decide - like a seed that drinks in moisture and

is about to swell in size prior to sprouting. It is this 'unmanifested'

that gives rise to mind, matter, and energy."From this first comes the higher mind (intellect, buddhi),

the discriminatory faculty, the ability to distinguish between Real and

not-Real (between the spiritual Self and worldly self)."From buddhi comes the ego that we know, the principle of individuation (ahamkara), which causes one to be aware of one's self as an apparently separate entity."From the ego principle is produced the lower mind (manas,

usually referred to simply as 'mind'). Its job is to receive through

the senses and process the messages received from the field, and carry

them to the intellect. Included here are certain subtle modifications

of mind : desire and aversion, pleasure and pain, the experience of

one's physical body, intelligence (the power to interpret), and the

mental experience of physical stamina."Emerging from this level of mind are the ten sense organs (indriyas),

which are not physical organs per se but powerful sensory mechanisms or

capabilities. There are two sets : the five 'organs' of perception

(hearing, touch, sight, taste, and smell), and the five organs of

action (vocal cords, hands, feet, the reproductive and generative

organs, and elimination organs)."From these ten sense organs

develop the five so-called 'objects of the senses', which are not solid

objects but the subtle essences in the world that attract the senses.

These 'sense objects' are sound (audibility, resonance, sonority);

feeling (tactility, texture, tangibility); aspect (the look

of something - shape, color, brightness); taste (gustation, flavor,

savoriness); and smell (olfaction, odors, scents, fragrances)."Lastly

produced are the five age-old categories of component into which the

mind organizes all worldly matter - the five basic elements of earth,

water, fire, air, and space."Those are the twenty-four

constituents of inert matter that comprise the field. There is actually

one more : the mysterious vital force, Atma, that infuses life into all this material. This makes up the total twenty-five."THE KNOWER OF THE FIELD(PURUSHA, COSMIC CONSCIOUSNESS)7.

"Arjuna, I will now turn from the field to the qualities of the Knower

of the Field. This intuitive knowledge is beyond intellectual knowing.

It comes through possessing distinctive virtues and outlooks that,

taken together, gives rise to such knowing."The Knower of the

Field is humble and harmless. Be like this Knower. Know in your heart

that all excellence emanates only from the Divine. Be gentle. Be

forgiving of any hurt received. Be upright and harmonized in thought,

word and deed. Serve your teacher and imbibe in his or her good traits

and disposition. Be steadfast in your spiritual development. Be pure of

mind - escape the worldly deluge of mental pollution, because purity is

indispensable to your spiritual growth. Be ever in control of your

body, mind, and senses.8. "Be detached from egoism,

selfishness, and the attractions of the world. Do not see yourself as

this body-mind complex that suffers the pains of bondage to birth,

aging, death, and rebirth. Know instead that you are Atma, the Eternal Reality beyond all that.9.

"Meet the inevitable good and bad of life with an even mind. To no one

or no thing be a slave! Be tied neither to possessions nor family. Love

and fulfill your responsibilities to spouse, children, home, and kin,

but do not become so identified with them that your forget Atma, your True Self Within.10.

"The way to do all this is through loving Me with your heart

undistracted. Be ever intent on Divinity. Center all your thoughts on

Me. Turn your back on social life and the commotion of the crowds.

Prefer for now the company of like-minded persons, and then, as you

advance, sever even from them - but not as a hermit, as a detached yogi.11. "Grow in wisdom through diligent inquiry into the nature of Self and non-Self. Only Divinity is Truth, Arjuna, and Atma is truly Divinity. This I declare to be true knowledge. To seek anything else is to seek ignorance."KNOWING THE KNOWER12.

Krishna continues, "I will now tell you what you need to know to go

beyond death to immortality. The goal of spiritual wisdom is to realize

- to know in your heart - the Supreme Godhead that is both being and

nonbeing, both manifested and unmanifested.13-15. "The Godhead

dwells in all creation, in all hands and feet, in the heads of all

beings as their eyes, ears, and mouths. It is Itself devoid of senses,

yet Its subtle powers perform the tasks of the senses. This Divinity is

totally independent, yet It supports all things. The Godhead is beyond

the three gunas of nature,

yet It is the very consciousness in them. It is inside and outside all

beings. It is both formless and with form. It moves and does not move.

Its subtlety and mystery is incomprehensible to the nonpurified mind.

To the ignorant the Godhead is distant; to the knowledgeable It is very

near.16. "Divinity is subtle and beyond comprehension. It

appears to be many but is one undivided. Divinity sends creation out

from within Itself; It protects creation, preserves it, and dissolves

it.17. "As the Lighter of all lights, the Godhead, Brahman,

dwells in each and every heart, beyond the darkness of ignorance. It is

the True Self Within, the sole goal of knowledge; and indeed It is

Knowledge Itself.18. That is the truth about the field and its

Knower (about matter and Spirit, body and Soul). Devoted people who

grow to understand this profound, mysterious truth are worthy to be

united with Me."THE UNION OF THE FIELD AND ITS KNOWER19. "Also know, Arjuna, that both nature and Spirit, both prakriti (the field) and Purusha

(Pure Consciousness), are without beginning. Know that all of nature

and all the attributes in nature are nothing but the permutation and

combination of the three guna-qualities of nature I mentioned earlier: calm goodness (sattva), passionate action (rajas), and dark lethargy (tamas). And know that nature (prakriti) alone is the source of everything in the physical universe.20. "The cause of your body is nature (prakriti),

but the cause of your aliveness - your experience of being an

individual, feeling joy and sorrow in a particular body - is Spirit (Purusha).21. "This Spirit-self (jiva) that takes residence in a material body forgets its true nature (Atma) and mistakenly identifies itself with that body. Thus it becomes attached to nature, to the gunas. While the individual is a mixture of all three guna

qualities, the one which it is most attached predominates, and the

individual becomes that type of person, experiencing the behaviors,

sensations, and delusions that are peculiar to that quality - becoming

a generally calm (sattvic) person, an active (rajasic) person, or a lethargic (tamasic)

person. As the individual is now a part of nature, it is bound to

participate in repeated births and deaths, the painful destiny of all

matter.22. "And yet, remember, Arjuna, that the Spirit (Purusha energy) dwelling in the individual body as Atma

is truly Brahman, the Godhead. This Supreme Being is spoken of as the

following : the Observer who watches and referees the game of life, the

Approver who permits it all to happen, the Supporter who helps it all

to happen, the Enjoyer who experiences it all with gusto but knows it

is a game, and most important, the Master who holds complete dominion

over all the events though being unaffected by any of them.23.

"When you have directly experienced the Godhead (Brahman), you will not

be born again because then you will truly know that the Divine One is

beyond all this natural world of prakriti and gunas. The fire of this great knowledge will burn out all your karmas, and there will be no more motivating force within you to create another birth. Thus unburdened, you (in this state, called jivanmukti) will duly perform all your duties in the world and yet watch life in total peace.24. "The paths to this great knowledge are several. Some realize it by building mind power through meditation (dhyana yoga); others do it by sharpening the intellect through acquisition of knowledge (jnana yoga); and yet others through performing selfless action (karma yoga). Whichever the path, if successfully walked it eventually

develops pure, single-minded love for God (bhakti yoga, union with God through devotion). When one reaches this level of absolute Divine Love one reaches the End.25.

"For those unable to grasp any of these paths there is another way. By

diligently and faithfully listening to their spiritual teachers and

worshiping the Divine as instructed, they too will eventually pass

beyond the wheel of death and rebirth.26. "Return for a moment,

Arjuna, to consideration of the field. Remember that whatever comes

into existence, whether thing or being, is a result of the union

between matter and Spirit (the field and the Knower).27. "When

the matter part of this union falls in death, the spirit part remains

standing. Ordinary people do not see the Spirit within and therefore

think that it is their own self that dies. Only when you see the

undying within the dying do you really see the Truth.28.

"Indeed, true seers, perceiving Divinity in everyone, do no harm to

anyone. The ones who don't perceive this unity separate themselves from

others, seeing some as friends and others as foes. These are the ones

who do harm. It is this illusion of separateness that causes all evils

perpetrated by humanity! How can one who really knows Atma injure the same Atma in another? As I have often repeated, the true seer of Atma reaches the Godhead and leaves death and rebirth behind.29. "Seers of Truth are aware that all action is done by the body and not by the Spirit dwelling in the body (by prakriti, not Purusha). They know that the body belongs to nature, and Atma belongs to Spirit. Thus they understand that the True Self (Atma) is actionless, is never the doer.30.

"You must ultimately realize this tremendous lesson : All creatures,

although appearing separate, are truly only one; all beings emanate

from the Godhead and are united in the Godhead. The one who truly

learns this becomes the Godhead and thereby attains liberation.31. "The True Self (Atma), as I have said, has no beginning or end. It is beyond prakriti.

Though dwelling in the field (the body), this Knower of the Field does

not act. It is therefore untouched by the fruits of action and

untainted by karma, good or bad.32.

"This True Self Within is indeed mysterious, Arjuna. It is subtler than

the subtlest. As water, when it is steam (its subtle state), defies

being dirtied by its surroundings, Atma is never tainted though it dwells in every creature.33.

"Just as the single sun illuminates the whole world, the sole Knower of

the Field lights up the entire field. All beings great and small, saint

and sinner, high and low, get their light - their consciousness - from

this one source.34. "Finally, Arjuna, know that the goal is not

to get entangled in the world, but to use the world to reach Divinity.

Use your eye of wisdom, your intuitive faculty, to distinguish between

the field and the Knower. Then you can actually cut yourself free from

the field, from bondage to the worldly, and reach Me, the Supreme Goal."(From : The Bhagavad Gita (A Walkthrough for Westerners) by Jack Hawley)Copyright reserved by author Visit : Sai Divine Inspirations : http://saidivineinspirations.blogspot.com/ Sai Messages : http://saimessages.blogspot.com/ Love Is My Form : http://loveismyform.blogspot.com/

March 15, 2008

Sairam.

Dear Adeline,

I like the mails on Bhagvat Geetha that you are posting to the group.I have saved all the mails sent till now except chapters 3,5 and 6which have got deleted inadvertantly.

If it is not inconvenient to you may i request to resend the said chapters to my e mail ID directly.Thank you in advance. Best Regards,

K.s.Vishwanathan.

Tel No: 022-28738192