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O Master, glory to you. You are the
greatest among all gods, the morning sun that gives light in the form of intelligence
and the dawn of happiness. You are the resting place of all, the one who
brings about the experience of the idea; "I am myself the Supreme
Brahman" and the ocean in which the waves rock all the worlds. Glory to
you. O friend of the poor, you are the eternal sea of compassion and the Lord
of the bride in the form of Brahmic lore. To' those from whom you hide
yourself, you show this world appearance and to those to whom you disclose
yourself, you make it appear that you are all. The magician performs magic by
deluding the vision of others. But your sport is so wonderful that you make
them forget themselves (1-5). You impart self-knowledge to some, but bring
others under the sway of Maya; such is your skill, I bow to you. It is you
who have given sweetness to the water and forgiveness to the earth. It is
because of your power of splendour that the sun and the moon, which are mere
shells, illumine the three worlds. It is because of your divine power that
the wind blows and the sky plays the game of hide and seek. All this is your
limitless Maya, and knowledge too secures its vision from you. Enough of this
because even the Vedas suffer fatigue while describing you (6-10). The Vedas proceed with their
description so long as they do not get a glimpse of you, but on realising
you, both the Vedas and we come on the common plane of muteness. When the
world is in deluge, drops of water do not count and even the big rivers
cannot be spotted out. When the sun rises on the horizon, even the moon looks
Lustreless like the glow-worm. In the same way, both the Vedas and we are
reduced to the same level, when we are pitted against you. How can I describe
you, before whom the notion of duality disappears and both the most
inarticulate (para) and the articulate speech (vaikhary) become
mute. It is, therefore, meet that I should stop praising you and prostrate
myself at your feet (11-15). Therefore, I bow to you. O Master, in whatever form you
may be. Please be my financier to make this my business of composition fruitful
and release the capital in the form of your grace. Then pour this capital
into the bag of my intellect and bestow upon me the gift of versification of
knowledge. Then I shall labour with love and adorn the ears of the saints
with beautiful ear-rings in the from of discriminating knowledge. O my
Master, I wish to discover the hidden treasure in the form of the import of
the Gita and so I beg you to put in my eyes collyrium in the form of your
affection (so that I can see the treasure). Kindly shed on me your pure light
from the solar disc in the form of your compassion (16-20). O merciful
Master, please act like the spring and make the beautiful creeper in the form
of my intellect fruitful with poetry. Kindly pour on me your generous and
kind glance, so that the Ganges in the form of my intellect will become
overfull with the import of the Gita. Oh refuge of the universe, just as the
moon makes the full moon night lovely, so let your grace be the source of
inspiration to me. At the sight of this moon, the sea of my knowledge will
swell into full tide and make the channels of my poetic genius overflow with
the nine sentiments. Hearing these words, the Master was thoroughly pleased and
said, "By way of praising me, you are unnecessarily promoting the sense of
duality (21-25). Leave this praise alone and take up seriously the subject of
knowledge. Explain it well and do not allow the interest of the hearers to
flag." (On this Shri Jnanadeva said:) O Lord, I was only waiting for you
to say, 'proceed 'with your discourse.' The Doob grass is naturally ever
green and now it has received the ambrosial shower. Since I have received the
grace of my Guru, I shall now give a detailed and eloquent exposition of the
meaning of each and every word in the Gita. This exposition will remove all
the lingering doubts in the minds of the hearers and whet their appetite to
hear more and more (26-30). I seek the favour of my preceptor so that sweet
and sound words will come out of my mouth. In the last chapter, Lord Krishna had told Arjuna that the
universe takes birth from the union of the Self and the prakriti and the Self
becomes involved in worldly life because of his association with her
qualities (gunas). As the Self comes under the sway of prakriti, he has to
experience pleasure and pain, and when he goes beyond the qualities, he
attains salvation. How the unattached Self becomes attached to the prakriti,
how and in what manner the Self is united with the prakriti, how he comes to
experience pleasure and pain (31-35), how many are the qualities and of what
nature, how the qualities lead to bondage and what are the characteristics of
a person who transcends the qualities - all these matters are described in
the fourteenth chapter. Now hear the opinion held by the Lord of the universe
who resides in Vaikuntha. The Lord said, O Arjuna, gather all your hearing
faculties together and comprehend this knowledge. I had earlier explained
this knowledge to you in many ways, but I find that you have not been able to
grasp it yet {36-40). The blessed Lord said, 1.
I shall again proclaim the wisdom, the highest of all knowledges,
knowing which all the sages have attained liberation from here. Now, I shall tell you again the meaning of the word
highest (para), which is applied to the spiritual knowledge by the
scriptures. The other knowledge's do not take us beyond worldly existence and
heaven and so the word 'highest' has been used to indicate that the knowledge
of the Self is 'beyond' them. I call this knowledge of the Self as highest,
because this knowledge is like Are and the other knowledge's mere straw
before it. That knowledge's which esteem only worldly life and heaven, which
value only works such as sacrificial rites. Which entertain the notion of
duality, appear like dreams before this knowledge of the Self. Just as the
whirlwind gets dissolved in the sky (41-45) or the moon and other stars lose
their splendour with the rising of the sun, or deluge obliterates all
distinction between small and great rivers, so all other knowledge's are
dissolved with the dawn of Self-knowledge. It is for this reason, O Arjuna;
we call the latter the 'highest' knowledge. O son of Pandu, that pristine
state which is within us from time immemorial, known as complete deliverance,
is attained only through this knowledge. With the realisation of this
knowledge, the thoughtful persons do not allow worldly existence to raise its
head. By withdrawing the mind from the sense-objects, they become tranquil
and do not come under the sway of the body, even though possessed of the body
(46-50). Then they cross over the hedge of the body and come up to the same
level as myself with an equable mind. 2.
Having token refuge in this wisdom, they have reached My likeness; so
they are not reborn at the time of creation nor do they suffer at the time of
dissolution. For, O Arjuna, they have become eternal like me and
have attained perfection. They too become like me limitless, blissful and
established in Truth. Then there remains no distinction between them and me.
They become like me, of the same magnitude and nature. Just as with the
destruction of the jar the space within the jar merges with the akasha, or
the wick flames lit up from a lamp, when mingled, give the same light as the
original lamp (51-55), with the elimination of the notion of duality, such
distinctions as 'I' and 'you' vanish and they all enjoy company of one
another. Therefore, when the time for the creation of the world arrives, they
do not have rebirth. So when they are not bound by the body while alive, how can
they meet with death at the time of dissolution? O winner of wealth, those,
who pursuing this knowledge have become one with me, have transcended the
cycle of births and deaths. In this manner, the Lord praised this knowledge
of the Self in order to create a liking for it in the mind of Partha (56-60).
At that time, Arjuna had reached such a state that he was all ears and
attentive to what the Lord was telling. He was trying to understand with rapt
attention the Lord's discourse, which could not be encompassed by the sky.
Then the Lord said, "I have in you, O Arjuna, a listener equal for my
discourse. So my eloquence has found a suitable mate in your knowledge. Now I
shall tell you how though single, I am bound in the fetters of the body by
the hunter in the form of the three qualities and how I create this world in
association with the prakriti (61-65). Because of my union with prakriti,
beings are produced from my seed and so the prakriti is known as the Field. 3.
Prakriti is My womb wherein I place the seed. From that, O Bharata,
ensues the birth of all beings. Since this prakriti is the resting place of the
Great Principle (mahat) and others, she is known as mahad-brahman. O Arjuna,
since all modifications take place because of her, she is called the mahad-brahman.
The advocates of the doctrine of the unmanifest call it Unmanifest, the
Sankhyas call it prakriti and. O the best among the wise, the Vedantists name
it Maya. But why say more? What is known as ignorance is this (66-70). O
winner of wealth, ignorance is that by reason of which we forget our
essential nature. A special feature of this ignorance is that it is not
discernible when we think of our essential nature, just as when we take up
the lamp darkness vanishes, or just as cream is dissolved in the milk when it
is heated and stirred up, but appears when it is only heated. Ignorance is
like deep sleep, which is not the wakeful state nor dream nor samadhi. Just
as the sky becomes quiet when the wind stops (71-75). As one cannot determine whether what one sees
yonder is a pillar or a person, so one cannot say anything definite what -
the Self is or whether it is something different. When there is neither day
nor night but a period of twilight known as the evening, so ignorance is
neither knowledge nor its opposite, but some state which is intermediate
between the two. When the Self is covered by ignorance, it is called the
embodied Self give or the knower of the field (kshetrajna). That it does not
know its essential nature and promotes ignorance is the special feature of
the knower of the field (76-80). You should grasp firmly this union between
the Self and the Maya, because this union is the natural trait of the Self.
It is because of his union with prakriti that the Self forgets his pristine
nature and assumes a different form. This is in the same way as the pauper
becomes deluded and raves, 'behold the king is coming' referring to himself
or a person who has just recovered from a swoon says, 'I had been to the
heaven.' Thus when a person's vision strays away from the essential nature of
the Self, whatever he perceives is the world, which is created from myself. A
person, although single, becomes deluded by a dream and sees himself in
diverse forms. This is what happens to the embodied self. when he forgets his
essential nature (81-85). I shall elucidate this proposition to you in
another way, by which you would experience it. This avidya (ignorance) is my
consort, and she is ever young, beginningless and of ' indescribable
qualities. She has no definite form, her sphere of activity is immense and
she remains close to the ignorant and away from the wise. She is wide awake
while I am asleep and she conceives by virtue of her union with the Supreme
Self. And in the womb of this elemental nature, grows the foetus of eightfold
modification (86-90). From her union with the Self is born the Great
Principle and from the latter the mind. From the tender feeling (mamata)
arises egoism and from egoism the Ave gross elements. As the sense organs and
their objects are intimately associated with the gross elements, they are
also generated along with them. When the passions flare up with the backing of the
three qualities. they immediately give rise to inchoate cravings. Just as the
seed, coming into contact with water, sprouts (91-95), so when the Maya is
united with me, she bears diverse shoots in the form of the universe. O
prince among the wise, hear now how this embryo takes different forms. From
this embryo arise four different orders, according as they born from the egg
(andaja) from the sweat (svedaja), from sprouts (udbhija) and the womb
(jaraja) That which is formed chiefly from the combination of the sky and
wind is known as andaja. That which contains chiefly a combination of water
and fire with rajas and tamas qualities is called svedaja (96-100). That
which consists predominantly of water and earth combined with the inferior
quality tamas is called the udbhija And that order which consists of the five
senses of knowledge and five senses of action, combined with mind and
intellect is known as jaraja. Thus the Maya has given birth to a queer child,
of which these four orders form its hands and feet, the eight-fold prakriti
its head, activity is its protruding belly, renunciation its straight back,
the eight orders of deities the body above the waist, the blissful heaven its
neck, the mortal world its trunk and the nether world the body below the
waist (101-105). The expansion of the three worlds is the buxom health of the
child and the eighty-four lakhs of species are the joints of its bodily
frame. When this child began to grow, the Maya adorned its different limbs in
the form of many bodies with ever new ornaments and suckled it with her milk
in the form of infatuation. She has decked its Angers in the form of the
different worlds with rings. After giving birth to this single child consisting
of the animate and inanimate universe, this beautiful and captivating Maya
felt very proud of herself (106-110). God Brahma, God Vishnu and God Shiva
are respectively the morning, the noon and the evening to this child. After
laying out this play of the universe, the child (feeling fatigued) goes to
sleep on the bed of the world-dissolution and wakes up at the dawn of the
epoch through false knowledge. In this way the child grows and takes strides
in the form of the recurring succession of epochs in the house of ignorance.
This child, with volition as its friend and egoism as its playmate, meets its
death only through real knowledge. Now I shall stop this elaborate discussion
and tell you simply that this Maya gave birth to this universe, only with the
aid of my power (111-115). 4.
Whatever forms are born in all wombs, O son of Kunti, of them the
prakriti is the womb and I the father, who plants the seed. For this reason, O Arjuna, I am the father and the
Maya the mother of this universe, which is our offspring. Now do not consider
these bodies as distinct, because the mind, intellect, the senses and the
elements are all the same. Are there not different organs in one and the same
body? So this variegated world has sprung from a single entity. Just as a
tree, produced from a single seed. has different kinds of branches, some
long, some short and some crooked, such is the relationship between the universe
and myself. Just as an earthen pot is the child of clay and cloth the
grand-child of cotton, (116-120), or the innumerable waves are the offspring
of the sea, the universe stands in the same relationship with me. Just as the
Are and flames are the same, so the universe and myself are one and the same.
It is, therefore a mistake to conceive of a relationship between us. If as a
result of the creation of this world. my form is suppressed there, what is it
that displays itself in the form of the world? Is a ruby lost in its own
lustre? If ornaments are made of gold, do they lose their quality of being
gold? Does a lotus lose its quality as a lotus, when it blooms? O Arjuna, do the organs conceal the form of the
body or do they constitute its very form (121-125)? If the jowar (kind of
grain) plant grows and produces ears of corn, should we say that it has
exhausted itself or multiplied itself? It is, therefore, not possible for you
to view me apart from the world, because I am this entire universe. Please keep
this thought firmly fixed in your mind. Whatever different forms of bodies I
have assumed, know that it is because I am bound in them by the fetters of
qualities. Just as when a person wakes up from sleep, he says that I had died
in a dream, (126-130), or a patient suffering from jaundice sees all things
around him as yellow, or as one sees in the sunlight the sun screened by the
clouds or as a person is frightened of his own shadow, thinking that it is a
different person that he sees, in the same way, I have become many in
different bodies through bondage which you should try to understand. This
bondage does not last on the attainment of my knowledge, but through
ignorance we become our own fetters (131-135). Therefore, O Arjuna, do hear
about what this bondage is and by what gunas one considers himself bound. I
shall tell you now how many are these gunas, what are their properties, what
is their nature and their names, and also from whom they have sprung. 5.
Sattva, rajas and tamas are qualities born of prakriti; they bind
fast, O mighty-armed (Arjuna), the immutable Self to the body. Sattva, rajas and tamas are the names of these
three gunas and they are born of prakriti Of these three gunas, sattva is the
best, rajas is of middling quality and tamas is inferior. All these three
qualifies are seen in every mental state. Just as the same body undergoes
childhood, youth and old age (136-140) or when gold is mixed with an alloy
its weight increases with a consequent loss of purity, or one falls into deep
sleep through sloth, so the mental state which is caused by tamas besides;
sattva and rajas grows strong through ignorance. Such are the gunas and I
shall tell you now how these gunas bind the Self. The Self becomes embodied
by reason of his body-consciousness, at an inauspicious time (141-145). From
birth till death, he identifies himself with his body and ascribes its
properties to himself. As soon as the fish swallows the bait, the angler
winds his line. 6.
Of these sattva being pure is luminous and wholesome; it binds him by
attachment to happiness and by attachment to knowledge, O sinless one. In this way, the hunter sattva gathers the embodied
Self like a deer in his snares of pleasure and knowledge. Then the latter
waxes eloquent with his knowledge, kicks about in the pride of his learning
and so becomes parted from the bliss of Self which is his own. He becomes
thoroughly pleased, if he is honoured as a learned person, is elated with a
trifling gain and boasts that he is easily satisfied (146-150). He says,
"there is no one as happy as myself, I am so lucky." And the eight
sattvic sentiments surge up in his mind. The matter does not stop here,
because another bond gets at him. He becomes possessed by the goblin in the
form of self-conceit of his erudition. He does not feel sorry in the least
for the loss of knowledge that he is knowledge himself. On the contrary, he
becomes puffed up by being immersed in sensuous pleasures. Just as a king
dreams that he has become a beggar and thinks himself to be the lord of
heaven. if he gets some more alms, so the Self which is beyond body imagines
himself because of his mundane knowledge that he possesses a body (151-155).
He becomes an expert in active worldly life, proficient in sacrificial lore
and his knowledge reaches the sky. He boasts that no one is as learned as
himself, so much so that his mind has become like the sky, harbouring the
moon of sagacity. This, quality of the sattva ties fetters in the form of
happiness and knowledge and drags the helpless person like a bull. Now I
shall tell you how the embodied self is bound by the quality of rajas. 7.
Know that rajas is of the nature of passion, born of desire and
attachment; it binds fast a person, O son of Kunti (Arjuna), through
attachment to action. It is called rajas as it amuses the embodied Self
and keep his desire for sensuous pleasures ever fresh (156-160). Even if it
gets a little access to the mind. it makes him run after sense- objects and
then the embodied self rides on the wind of passion. Then just as sacrificial
fire blazes forth when fed with ghee, and burns all things great and small,
so his desire becomes inordinate, and even painful things seem pleasurable to
him. Then even if he acquires the wealth of the God of heaven, he considers
it too little. In this way, when his passion grows strong he is not satisfied
even if the Meru mountain falls in his hands and he craves for bigger things.
He is willing to scarce his life even for a two-penny coin and feels happy if
he secures even a blade of grass (161-165). He feels anxious as to how he
will fare when all his wealth is exhausted and expands his business with
great zeal. He begins to worry as to what he will live on in heaven, and so
he undertakes sacrifices. observes vows after vows, builds wells, tanks etc.
and performs only rites which bear fruit. Just as the wind blows continuously
without respite in the last month of summer, he labours hard day and night in
his business. The movements of fish or the side-glances of a beautiful maiden
are fickle and the lightening is more fickle than them. But all these three
are not At to hold a candle to the rajas quality (166-170). One leaps into
the Are of activity with great haste in the hope of securing sensuous
enjoyments in this world or heaven. Thus the embodied Self, even though
separate from the body, is bound by the fetters of desires and becomes
involved in various business deals. In this way, he is bound by the strong
fetters of the rajas quality. Now I shall tell you the characteristics of the
tamas quality. 8.
But know that tamas born of ignorance deludes all persons; it binds
them, O descendent of Bharata, by inattention, sloth and sleep. That which, O Partha, is known as the tamas
quality, which acts like a veil and dims the vision of common-sense and is
like a cloudy sky of the night of infatuation. It grows with ignorance and
deludes the universe and makes it dance round its Angers (171-175). It has
thoughtlessness as its great mantra (mystic formula), it is a decanter filled
with the wine of ignorance, or a bewitching weapon which infatuates all
beings, By such devices it ties up those who regard their body as the Self,
When it begins to grow up in all created things, it leaves no scope for
others to grow. It blunts the organs, deludes the mind and gives shelter to
sloth. It makes the body slack, and one loses all enthusiasm for work and
yawns every now and then (176-180). Such a person cannot see even when his
eyes are open and gets up, responding to a call, thinking that he heard some
one. Just as a slab falls on one side and does not turn the other way, so
when he goes to sleep contracting his body, he does not turn over. He does
not feel like getting up. even if the earth sinks or the heaven falls. When
he feels sleepy, he does not recollect what is proper or improper; but only
likes to remain in a reclining position. He raises his hand to the forehead
or sits with his head on the knees (181-185). He is so fond of sleep that he
scorns heavenly bliss before it. He has no other vice except that he wishes
to live as long as god Brahma and, pass it in slumber. If he trips down while
walking, he goes to sleep on the road, and when he is sleepy he refuses even
a drink of nectar offered to him. If he is forced to work on occasions. he
becomes blind with rage. He does not know how to behave, with whom to talk
and what and does not pause to think whether a thing will become available or
not (186-190). Just as a moth jumps into fire. foolishly thinking that it
will put out its flame with its wings, so he ventures to do something which
he ought not to do. In short, he likes to do stupid careless mistakes. Thus
the tamas quality ties up the pure self with a triple bond of sleep, sloth
and heedlessness. Just as the Are, while burning a piece of wood,
appears to- take its shape or the sky takes the form of an earthen pot or a
lake full of water has the reflection of the moon, so the embodied Self is
bound by the fetters of the gunas and imagines, through ignorance that he
possess their properties (191-195). 9.
Sattva makes one attached to happiness, and rajas to action, O
Bharata; but obscuring knowledge, tamas makes one attached to negligence. 10.
By suppressing rajas and tamas, sattva prevails, O Bharata; rajas
(prevails) by suppressing sattva and tamas, and tamas (prevails) by
suppressing sattva and rajas. Just as the bile, after suppressing phlegm and
wind, increases in the body and makes it heated or the cold sets in after the
hot and the rainy seasons are over, or the mind falls into the state of deep
slumber for a while, when the states of waking and dream disappear, in the
same way when the sattva increases, overpowering rajas and tamas, a person
says, "I am so happy." Similarly when tamas becomes strong,
overpowering the qualities of sattva and rajas, the embodied Self is prone to
commit blunders (196-200). In the same way, when rajas overpowers and exceeds
the sattva and tamas qualities, then this lord of the body feels that nothing
is more desirable than action. Thus I have described to you the
characteristics of the three qualities. Now listen carefully to the symptoms
of the growth of these qualities. 11.
When in all the gates of the body, the light of knowledge shines
forth, then one should know that sattva has increased. 12.
Greed activity, enterprise, restlessness and craving these arise when
rajas is on the increase, O best of the Bharatas (Arjuna). 13.
Dullness and inaction as also negligence and delusion these arise when
tamas increases, O Joy of the Kurus (Arjuna). 14.
If a person meets his death when sattva prevails, then he attains the
spotless worlds of those who know the highest (entities). 15.
Meeting his death in rajas he is born among those attached to work,
and the one absorbed in tamas is born in the dull species. When the sattva increases in the body overpowering
rajas and tamas, then the following are the characteristics of the embodied
Self. Just as in the spring the lotus blooms and spreads its fragrance all
round, so the light of his knowledge spreads outside, overflowing the
interior (201-205). The discrimination remains watchful in all the sense
organs and even the hands and feet acquire vision. Just as the swan decides
which is milk and which is water, so the senses themselves decide what is
proper and what is improper and sense-restraint becomes their servant. The
ears avoid hearing what they ought not to hear, the eyes avoid seeing what
they ought not to see, their tongue avoids speaking what ought not to be
uttered. Just as darkness flees from light, so prohibited actions dare not
stand before the senses (206-210). His intellect delves into all lores, as
the river is flooded in the rainy season. Just as the light of the full moon
floods the whole sky, so all knowledge spreads in his mind. All his desires
wane, his predilection for activity ebbs and his mind abhors sensuous
pleasures. If death intervenes when his sattva is on the increase he takes
birth in an excellent body as though a person has got a bumper harvest and
has received as guests his forefathers on the festive occasion of their death
anniversary (shraddha) day, (211-215). If there be great riches in the house with
generosity and courage of mind to match, would not such a person receive
plaudits in this world and attain to heaven? If such a person who has a pure
and spotless conduct, with his sattva on the increase, dies, what would be
his destination? If such a person leaves his body, the best seat of sensuous
enjoyments, being endowed with the sattva, he becomes sattva incarnate and
takes his next birth among men of knowledge. O archer, if a crowned king goes
to the forest, does he suffer any want there (216-220)? O Arjuna, if the lamp
is taken to another hamlet, it continues to be a lamp there and so when the
sattva of a person becomes pure, his knowledge increases and his intellect
floats on that knowledge. Then thinking over the order in which the world has
sprung from the Great Principle, he becomes merged in the Self along with his
thought. When the sattva increases, he takes birth and assumes the best body
in the family of' those who have got an access to the Self which - is the
thirty-seventh principle in Vedanta (XIII-5, 6) or the twenty-fifth principle
of the Sankhayas or the fourth which transcends the gunas (221-225). In the same way when the rajas increases
overpowering sattva and tamas, he runs riot in the terrain of the body by his
actions. Then he is possessed of the following characteristics. Just as when
the whirl-wind gathers all things from the earth and whirls them high in the
sky, so he allows a free hand to the senses to indulge in sensual pleasures.
He does not think it against the scriptures to cast a lustful eye on
another's wife and so his senses indulge freely in sensual enjoyments, as
sheep graze wherever they want. His greed becomes so inordinate that only
things escape his clutches which are beyond his reach (226-230). And he does
not flinch from undertaking any business. He develops an extraordinary fancy
to build a temple or perform a horse sacrifice. He undertakes huge works like
establishing townships or constructing reservoirs or planting forests. But
even then his desires for happiness in this or the next work remain
unfulfilled. His desires become so inordinate and intolerable that even the
sea accepts defeat or the burning power of the Are proves mild before it (231-235).
His hopes and expectations gallop ahead of the mind and his desire remains
unsatisfied even if he traverses the whole world. Such signs make it known
that his rajas quality is on the increase, and if he dies in this state, he
enters a new human body and becomes endowed with the same characteristics.
Does a beggar become a king, if he sits in a palace with all means of
enjoyment at his beck and call? If a bull goes in a marriage procession of a
rich person, he does not get anything better than jowar-stalks to eat
(236-240). He, therefore, finds himself after death in the company of men who
are engrossed in worldly affairs day and night without a moment's rest. In
short, if a person dies after being drowned in the deep waters in the form of
rajas i.e. tendencies, he takes birth in the family of a person engrossed in
actions. When the tamas quality overpowers the sattva and
rajas and increases in a person, he displays the following characteristics.
His mental state is like that of the sky on the dark night of the new moon
day when there is neither the sun nor moon to light it (241-245). His mind
then becomes listless and dull, and he loses all interest in discriminating
knowledge. The intellect loses its tenderness to such an extent that it
surpasses a stone in hardness and it appears as if he has lost memory. His
body is full of thoughtless arrogance in and out and all his transactions are
utterly foolish. The immoral actions which ought to prick his conscience
(literally senses) come to an end only with his death. He takes great
pleasure in doing wicked things, as an owl sees only at night (246-250). He
has an extraordinary passion to do prohibited actions and his senses also run
after them. He becomes intoxicated without being drunk, raves without being
in delirium of high fever and becomes infatuated without love like a madman.
He loses control over his mind, but this is , not the state of samadhi, deep
contemplation, because his mind has become hysterical on account of delusion.
In short, these signs appear when the tamas quality waxes strong with all its
paraphernalia. If he dies at this time, he takes his birth endowed with tamas
(251-255). If a mustard seed is sown and grows into a plant after losing its
form, what will it produce except mustard? Even though the Are becomes
extinguished after lighting a lamp, whatever the lamp touches catches Are. In
the same way, whoever leaves his body carrying with him a bundle of desires
imbued with tamas, his new birth also takes a form dominated by tamas. In short,
if death comes when the tamas waxes strong, he is reborn as an animal, a
bird, a tree or an insect. 16.
The fruit of a good action, they say, is good and spotless. But the
fruit of rajas is pain, and ignorance is the fruit of tamas. For this reason it is stated in the Vedas that
whatever is produced by the sattva quality is a virtuous action (256-260).
Therefore the unique fruits of happiness and knowledge are gained through
pure sattva quality. All actions which result from rajas are pleasant to look
at like the vrindavan (colocynth) fruits but they are full of pain. Just as
the fruit of the neem tree looks fine, but has a bitter taste as that of
poison, such is the fruit of rajas-ridden action. As poisonous roots produce
only poisonous plants, so actions arising from tamas yield fruits in the form
of ignorance. 17.
From sattva arises knowledge, from rajas only greed and from tamas
arise negligence, delusion and ignorance. Therefore, O Arjuna, the sattva is the cause of
knowledge, as the sun is the cause of the day (261-265). Similarly, greed is
caused by the rajas quality. as the forgetfulness of his non-dual nature
causes the Supreme Self to be embodied. O wise Arjuna, the tamas quality
gives rise to the three faults of delusion, ignorance and heedlessness, I
have taught you separately the distinctive characteristics of these three
qualities so that you can discern them clearly like the avala fruit (emblic
myrobalam) kept on an open palm. Out of the three, rajas, and tamas lead to a
man's fall, while the sattva alone conduces to knowledge. It is for this
reason that some practise the sattvic states from their very birth, just as
some prefer the fourth kind of devotion (accompanied by knowledge of the Self
to the other three kinds of devotion and follow it (266-270). 18.
Abiding in sattva they go upwards, those in rajas remain in the
middle; and downward go those in tamas abiding in the functions of the lowest
quality. Those who follow the sattvic way with a happy mood,
dwell in heaven after leaving the body. Similarly those who live and die
following the rajas way are born as human beings. There they have to eat in
the same plate (in the form of the body) hotchpotch rice of mixed pulses and
spices consisting of pleasure and pain and they cannot avoid death. Likewise,
those who grow in the tamas quality, get a warrant of going to hell after
death. Thus I have explained to you the three qualities along with their
characteristic functions under the superintendence of the Self (271-275). The
Self, without undergoing any change, imitates the functions of the three
gunas which are its adjuncts. In a dream one becomes a king and wins a
victory over or suffers defeat from an advancing army of his enemy, but in
reality he has become all that himself. In the same way, the heaven, earth
and the nether world are modifications of the gunas. In reality, if one sees
what is beyond the gunas, one realises that all these modifications are
essentially of the nature of the Self. 19.
When the seer perceives no agent other than the qualities and knows
that which is higher than the qualities, he attains to My nature. Enough of this elaborate discussion. Bear in mind
that there is naught except the supreme Self. Now I shall tell you what I had
narrated to you earlier. Know that all these three qualities assume the form
of the body, acting under the authority of the supreme Self (276-280). Just
as the Are assumes the form of the firewood which it burns or the earth and
water are seen in the form of a tree, or milk when coagulated takes the form
of curds, or sweetness appears in the form of the sugar-cane, so these three
qualities assume the form of body along with the mind and lead to bondage.
But, O archer, it is a marvel that this wide net of the gunas do not come in
the way of liberation. These three gunas push the body to and from according
to their functions, but they do not cause any obstruction in your
transcending them (281-285). Now I shall tell you the nature of deliverance, as
you are like a bee on the lotus in the form of knowledge. I have already told
you the ultimate truth that the conscious Self though abiding in the
qualities, is devoid of qualities, and I am repeating it here. This, O
Partha, one realises only when one attains the knowledge of the Self. Just as
one realises on waking up that the dream was false, or one standing on the
bank of a river sees one's many reflections in the ripples of water, or an
actor plays different roles with great skill but is not deceived thereby, so
the embodied Self does not regard himself as possessed of gunas, but knows
that he is theirmere witness (286-290). Just as the sky does not change in
the three seasons, so the Self, though united with the three gunas, remains
in his self-existent nature which is beyond them. But he always retains his
original nature throughout, and when he realises this, he says "I am not
the agent of actions but their mere witness and it is the gunas which
determine and control all activity. All actions result from the modifications
of the three gunas; so they are all the products of gunas. I am related to
the gunas in the same way as the spring is to the beauty of the woods
(291-295). Though with the sunrise the stars become dim, the sunstone
sparkles, the lotuses bloom or the darkness is dispelled, the sun is not the
cause of them. In the same way although actions take place under my
authority, I am not their agent. though I dwell in the body. The gunas become
perceptible, as I display them and I support their power. I am that which
remains behind after their extinction. In this way, he who has attained this
knowledge has transcended the gunas and become gunatita. 20.
After transcending the three qualities, which are the cause of the
body, the embodied Self enjoys immortality, freed from the miseries of birth,
death and old age. Then he comes to realise unerringly that Brahman is
devoid of qualities. Now this knowledge has impressed its stamp on his mind
(296-300). Just as, O Arjuna, the rivers join the sea, or the parrot leaves
the tube and sits on the branch of a tree free from delusion. so one who has
transcended gunas realises that he himself is Brahman. O wise Arjuna he who
was snoring loudly in slumber in the form of ignorance is awakened now to his
essential nature. Since the mirror of delusion has dropped from his hand, he
cannot now see his reflection in it. As with the stoppage of the wind the
waves become one with the sea, so with the loss of body-consciousness, the
embodied Self becomes one with the Supreme Self (301-305). When this happens, he who has transcended the gunas
becomes united with me. Just as the clouds become dissolved in the sky at the
end of the rainy season, so after becoming one with me, he does not get into
the clutches of the gunas, although he is very much in the body. Just as a
lamp kept in the glass-house spreads its light outside without obstruction,
or the submarine fire does not get extinguished by the sea water, so his
knowledge remains unaffected even if the gunas come and go. He remains
unconcerned in his body, as the moon remains in the sky after being reflected
in the mirror. These three gunas bring to bear their influence on the body
and make it perform actions of diverse kinds, but he does not even look at
them (306-310). He is so engrossed in his inner Self that he is not conscious
of the activities of his body. If a serpent casts away its slough and enters the
nether region, who is there to take care of the discarded slough? The same is
the case here. Just as the fragrance which has left the lotus enters the sky
and does not return to the lotus, so with the loss of body consciousness, he
recognises his essential nature and is conscious of nothing else. Therefore
the six qualities of body such as birth, old age and death remain in the body
itself and do not affect the man of knowledge. (311-315) When an earthen pot
breaks into pieces, the space enclosed therein merges automatically in the
infinite space. In the same way, when the consciousness of the body goes, he
becomes mindful 'of his innate nature and then what else could remain but the
Self? I call such a person who has attained to the knowledge of Self as
gunatita (i.e. one who has transcended the gunas). As the thunder of the
cloud delights the peacock, so this speech of Lord Krishna made Partha very
happy. Arjuna said: 21.
By what marks, O Lord is one (known) who has transcended the three
gunas? How does he conduct himself and how does he overcome these three
qualities? Then the heroic Arjuna said to Lord Krishna
joyfully: What, O Lord, are the characteristics of a person, who has realised
the Self (316-320)? How does one who has transcended the gunas behave and how
does he go beyond the gunas? O Lord, you are the home of kindness, please
explain all this to me. Now listen to the reply given by Shri Krishna, who is
the Lord of the six virtues. He said: I am surprised at your question. If any
conduct is ascribed to him, then his description as gunatita will prove
inappropriate. One who has transcended the gunas is not subject to them. Even
if he moves amidst them, he does not come under their clutches. But if your
doubt is how to know whether such a person who is always associated with the
gunas is under their subjection or not (321-325), then you are welcome to ask
about it. I shall tell you the distinguishing marks of such a person. The blessed Lord said: 22.
(When) illumination, activity and delusion, O son of Pandu (Arjuna),
are at work, he does not hate them nor does he crave for them when they
cease. When the rajas quality waxes strong and the body
produces sprouts of actions, and he is drawn into the worldly. life, then he
is not puffed up with the pride that he alone is the doer of the action
because of his riches or feel sorry that he is not able to finish the work
because of his poverty. When the sattva quality increases and knowledge
spreads in all senses, he does not rejoice at his erudition, nor does he feel
bad when the tamas increases and he is permeated by delusion (326-330). When
he is under the influence of delusion, he does not wish for knowledge, nor
does he give up work at the time of knowledge and become unhappy because of
it. Just as the sun is not concerned with whether it is morning, noon or
evening, so he does not pay any attention to the gunas. Is it possible that a
person so enlightened will need some other knowledge? Does the sea require
the rain to make it full? In the same way, how will he have the egoistic
feeling that he is the door of actions? Do the Himalayas shiver with cold
because of snow? Tell me, can the summer however severe scorch the fire? So
will he lose his knowledge when he comes under the sway of delusion
(331-335)? 23.
He who remains like one disinterested and is not moved by the gunas,
and who, knowing that the gunas act, remains aloof and does not waver, Since he considers the gunas and their functions,
as his own Self, he is not separated from them. He remains in the body in a
disinterested spirit, just as a traveller breaks his journey on the way and
stays in a rest-house. Just as the battle ground is indifferent to the conqueror
or the conquered, so he neither conquers the gunas nor is he overcome by
them. Nor does he come under the sway of gunas and perform actions or get
them performed through them. He remains as indifferent to events around him,
like the prana in the body or, a guest who has come to the house or the pole
at a meeting place. O Arjuna, just as the Meru mountain does not deflect when
assailed by the waves of the mirage, so he is not perturbed by the movements
of the gunas (336-340). Is the sky ever moved by wind or has the darkness
ever swallowed the sun? Just as a person wide awake does not dream, so an
enlightened person is not bound by the gunas. Without corning under the
influence of the gunas, he sees their play as from a distance, like a
spectator who sees the play of puppets. When his sattvic tendencies remain
engaged in good actions, his rajasic tendencies in sensuous enjoyments and
his tamasic tendencies in delusion, he knows that all these actions of the
gunas take place under the power of his Self. The sun is a mere witness to
all worldly affairs (341-345). The moon, because of whom the sea gets its
tides, the moonstone oozes and the white lilies bloom, remains inactive. The
sky remains steady, even when the wind blows violently or remains lulled. In
the same way, he does not become agitated even if the gunas create a bustle.
O Arjuna, in this way, I have told you the characteristics of a person who.
has transcended the gunas. Now I shall tell you what his conduct is like 24.
And who remain self-poised, same in happiness and sorrow and same to a
lump of clay, stone and gold, who remains firm and same to pleasant and
unpleasant things and to censure and praise, O Arjuna, just as there is nothing except yarn in
the cloth, so when he becomes one with me, he sees nothing but me in all the
things, animate and inanimate. Just as God gives the same salvation to his
devotees and enemies, so he treats equally pleasure and pain when they come
his way, like the scales which are well balanced (346-350). He remains in the
body like fish in water and experiences pleasure and pain. Now he has given
up body-consciousness and become one with the Self. When the seed is sown in
the ground. It grows and produces grain or the rattling noise of the river
subsides when it joins the sea. In the same way, when a person has become one
with the Self, he is not affected by pleasure and pain, even though he
remains in the body. Just as the day and night are the same to a pole, so
pleasure and pain are the same to the Self in the body (351-355). Just as a
man in sound sleep feels the contact with a serpent as very much like the
touch of the nymph Urvashi, so a person immersed in his essential nature
treats equally pleasure and pain which come to his share. So dung and gold
seem alike to him and a jewel and a stone make no difference to him. Even if
heaven visits him or the tiger assails him, his Self-hood is not disturbed.
Just as a dead person does not become alive, or a roasted seed does not grow,
so his equanimity is not disturbed. Whether he is praised as god Brahma or
blamed as a base person, he remains unaffected like a masa of ashes, which
can neither burn nor become extinguished (356-360). Praise or slander does
not cause any pleasure or displeasure in him, in the same way as there is
neither darkness nor a lighted lamp in the Sun's abode. 25.
And who is the same in honour and dishonour, who is equable to a
friend or a foe, and who has relinquished all undertakings, he is said to be
one who has transcended the gunas. Even if he is worshipped as god or thrashed as a
thief or is crowned as king with plenty of oxen and elephants, or is seated
near friends or enemies, it is all the same to him. Just as the sun does not
know day and night, or the sky remains unaffected in all the seasons, so his
mind is not affected by adverse events. There is one more thing about him. He
is never seen taking part in worldly affairs, (361-365), he does not start
any work, his activity has come to a stop and the fruits of his actions have
got burnt in the fire of knowledge. He does not brood over the sensuous
pleasures in this or the next world and enjoys whatever fate brings him. He
does not rejoice when he is happy nor does he become dejected with misery, as
though he is a stone. So also his mind does not reject or accept anything.
Know that he alone has transcended the gunas, who conducts himself in this
manner. Now I shall tell you what method one should follow to become a
gunatita (366-370). 26.
And he who serves Me exclusively with yoga of devotion goes beyond
these qualities and qualifies to become Brahman. He who is exclusively devoted to me can burn the
gunas. I must now tell you what I am, how one should become devoted to me and
what are the characteristics of exclusive devotion. Just as a gem and its
splendour, water and its liquidity, the sky and space, sugar and its
sweetness are not different, or Are and its flame are the same or the petals
make the lotus or the branches and fruits mean the tree (371-375), or just as
cold and the vast sheets of snow constitutes the Himalaya mountains or
coagulated milk becomes the curds, so what is known as the universe is
myself. It is not necessary to feel the phases of the moon to see them, or
ghee remains the same in its frozen state, or the gold bangle remains gold
even without melting it, o. cloth, even without being torn, is yarn, or the
earthen pot is clay without being broken into pieces, so it is not necessary
to sublet the phenomenal world to know me, but to know me along with it
(376-380). If this devotion is offered to me by making a distinction between
myself and the universe, it becomes wanton. So know me by an unswerving mind that I am not
distinct from the universe, O Partha. As a speck of gold affixed to a gold
ornament does not become distinct from it, so think yourself to be not
different from the universe. Just as the rays of the sun have the same
splendour and are not distinct from it, so let this notion of unity be Axed
in your mind. Just as there is no difference between the earth particles and
earth or the snow particles and the Himalayas, so see the universe as abiding
in me (381-385). Even the smallest wave is not different from the sea; so the
Self is not distinct from God. If one attains this blissful state of vision
of one's identity with God, it is the highest form of devotion. This vision
is the quintessence of knowledge and yoga. Just as the mutual relation
between the sea and the cloud has a continuous flow, so his mental attitude
remains the same. Just as there is no joint connecting the mouth of the well
with the sky, similar is his oneness with the supreme Self (386-390). Just as the Sun's splendour remains the same from
his disc upto the reflection, the idea that I am Brahman carries on the top
and disappears when the mind identifies itself with the Supreme Self. Just as
a piece of salt dissolves in the sea. or the fire becomes extinguished after
the grass is burnt, so in the absence of a notion of distinction, knowledge also
ceases to exist. The false notion that the devotee is on this shore and I am
on the yonder shore (of the sea of existence) disappears and what remains is
the eternal union between us (391-395). Then all talk about the conquest of
gunas ceases, because the gunas also cease, when both of us unite in close
embrace. In short, O discerning Arjuna, this is what is known as the Brahmic
state. He who worships me with devotion alone attains to it. I would add that
the Brahmic state weds my devotee who is endowed with the above-mentioned
characteristics. Just as the flowing water of the Ganges has no other
destination but the sea, so whoever serves me with the vision of knowledge,
becomes a great devotee (literally a jewel in the diadem of the Brahmic
state) (396-400). This Brahmic state is also known as the sayujya mukti (i.e.
absorption of the Self in the Supreme Self or the fourth aim of human
existence). My worship is the ladder by which you can reach me. But do not
think that I am different from the means of attaining me. Do not entertain
the idea that you are distinct from Brahman. 27.
For I am the embodiment of Brahman, immortal and immutable, and of the
perennial Law and of absolute bliss. O son of Pandu, Brahman is my name and I am
addressed by this word. Just as the moon is not different from its disc, so,
O discerning Arjuna, there is no difference between Brahman and me (401-405).
This Brahman is eternal, immutable and vivid; it is righteousness incarnate
and the giver of unique and unlimited bliss. I am the ultimate entity
determined by the (Vedanta) doctrine, in which the knowledge becomes
dissolved after fulfilling its function. Thus spoke to heroic Arjuna the Supreme Self, who
is the friend of dedicated devotees. Then Dhritarashtra said to Sanjaya,
"Why are you telling me all this without being asked? On this occasion,
remove my anxiety by giving me the glad news of my son's victory. Give up all
this worthless talk (406-410)". Hearing this Sanjaya was amazed and said
to himself, "Alas! see the pranks of fate. The king is only feeling
concerned about the war. May the Lord have mercy on him and destroy his
malady of infatuation by giving him a dose of discriminating knowledge."
When Sanjaya was thinking like this, he remembered the conversation between
Lord Krishna and Arjuna and his mind was flooded with joy. He will,
therefore, tell with great enthusiasm what the Lord said further. Jnanadeva,
the disciple of Nivritti says, "I shall impress upon your mind the
substance of his talk, please give me your attention (410-415)." [ Top ] |
