GITANUVACHAN - Part II

Question: In the Thirty Ninth sloka of the Second Chapter in the Gita, Sankhya and Karma, both Yogas have been referred to. Which path did the Lord Ask Arjuna to follow to be free from the bondage of Karma?

Answer: The way of Sankhya is one of Discrimination, and Yoga (Karma) is its applied form. First is discrimination and next is action. Sankhya establishes consciousness on the concept of Non- Dualism, which shows that the whole creation is nothing but a play of the Eternal That. With this thought firmly rooted in the intelligence, doing work without any desire for the results and always having the feeling of a non-doer is Yoga. 'Everything is he.' Therefore, 'I am working as non-doer' and 'I am unattached towards the results of the work too'~ a synthesis of these three understandings help cut asunder the knots of Karma. In the field of application, Yoga is more important.

Question: Please explain with your interpretation the Forty Fifth Sloka of Chapter 2 of the Gita.

Answer: By the expression, 'The Veda deals with the Three Gunas', the Lord has hinted at the narrow dogmatic interpretation of the Veda which aim only at the enjoyment and opulence saying, 'There is nothing other than that.' In this book itself, he has vehemently objected to that saying, ' That is not the real Veda. Verily do I know what Veda is and I created the Vedanta based on the Veda.' The reference to Vedanta aims towards the theory of Purushottama. And the foundation of that is in being beyond the Gunas. Enjoyment and opulence, both are plays of the Gunas. One has to go beyond that~ one has to be established in the Atman. In that condition, mind is as serene as the Akash~ there is no duality of pleasure or pain, gain or loss, victory or defeat~ no desire to acquire anything nor to protect anything. Yet this is not the condition of merging into the Indeterminate Akshara. One has to go beyond Gunas but the earthly life should be based on the Eternal Sat. Eternal Sat or Existence is nothing but the Purified Sat which does not have the disturbances of Rajas or the covering of the Tamas.

It is like the rays of the radiant Knowledge on a clear blue sky. To live with the feeling and work as His instrument for the good of all~ this is the proper following of the Veda or performing Karma which in essence is nothing but Yagna.

The result? To receive His Sadharmya ~ of the One who is beyond Kshara and better than Akshra. He has said that Purushottama has been mentioned in the Veda too (Ch. XV, Sl. 18). Verily, He is the Eternal Existence or in the words of Srimad Bhagavatam~ The Body of Pure Existence.

The following two answers are based on Swami Satyananda's various intricate questions on the 58th sloka ofSecond Chapter of the Gita written on two separate letters. The questions are not easy to reproduce and might not be needed for all. But the answers are, as usual like the flow of Bhagirathi, in a class by themselves and will solve many questions in the mind of a sadhaka.

The Sloka goes as follows:

"Yada samharate chAyam kurmoangAniva sarvasah IndriyAn indriyAthevya sthasya prajnA pratisthitAh"

One, who withholds his senses from their objects everywhere, as a turtle does with its limbs, is firmly established in Wisdom.

Sri Anirvan's answer: (one)

It is true that Higher Wisdom (Prajna) is established when withdrawal of senses from their objects becomes natural. Yet the Gita propounds Karma. That Karma or action is verily the action of a 'Sthitaprajna,' andSri Krishna is the ideal among the Sthitaprajnas. Time and again, He has said, 'I am Absolute! I am Non-Doer. There is nothing I have to do, nothing I have to obtain, Nor do I not have Everything. Yet I am always in the midst of work.' By a constant meditation on this thought process of Sri Krishna, one clearly understands the characteristics of a Sthitaprajna. All of us know that action can not be performed without involvement or inclination, which are just the opposite of withdrawal or rejection. Then how does a Sthitaprajna act if he follows the path of rejection? That is the enigma and this is the solution.

Natural withdrawal takes place in sleep, swoon or death. A Yogi withdraws in Samadhi which results in the vision of Reality. That Reality is, in its very nature both Akshara (Indeterminate) and Kshara (Deteminate) aspect of the Supreme.

One who realizes both Kshara and Akshara simultaneously within himself during Samadhi, gets the Purushottama~ who is definitely beyond Kshara (and here he rejects) and yet greater than Akshara. This greatness is at the root of His All-Pervading Self. Then He is the Divine Witness (This is His Akshara Nature), yet at the same time the Sanction Giver, Master, Enjoyer and the Supreme Lord. This permitting, protecting, enjoying and controlling~ all are undoubtedly proof of involvement. But this involvement is not the ignorant involvement of Jiva, but the overflowing of Action from the Eternal Self ofSiva. Hence, in Siva, withdrawal and action both are simultaneous, though the force of withdrawal is much stronger. Actually three fourth is Mere Existence, only one fourth is involvement. To be always established in the Self or three fourth withdrawn, therefore being Sthtaprajna, and using only one fourth to be involved in Action and Enjoyment is the Divine Nature of Siva ~ the natural manifestation of His Shakti. This is the Absolute Condition at the root of Universal Creation.

Jive, on the other hand, is away from this condition. He is unaware of the fact that there is the backdrop of withdrawal behind all involvement. That is why~ to understand the meaning of withdrawal~ he has to behave like a turtle. The initial Sadhana is that of rejection and renunciation.

That is the Yoga of Discipline. The control of senses like the limbs of a turtle is the result of that ~ to examine oneself in and out, whether any tint of desire for either action or enjoyment is lurking anywhere or not.

This is the basic theory of thisYoga. It is like a ship sailing on a voyage of no return. Sri Ramakrishna used to say that the ship does not come back from there. One has to respond to the call of Unknown with the firm conviction of never returning to this petty known world again. This is what has been expounded through this particular sloka of Gita.

But there is an epilogue too. Someone might send you back from there. If you come back, the flow of involvement and inclination will also start afresh. But now, that will not be born of earthly desire. That would rather be a part of the Divine Enjoyment which is at the root of creation. Your will and enjoyment would be nothing but a radiant part of His Will and His Enjoyment. Then you do nothing while doing everything and your enjoyment is not from the worldly objects but from the inner source~ your Self.

Sri Anirvan's answer: (two)

Prajna (in reference to Sthitaprajna) is a technical term. Prajna appears when Atman dwells within Itself. This is a condition of Samadhi during waking state. It takes time to be established in that. Remember, Samadhi is only a means, not the ultimate state. With the opening of Prajna as a result of Samadhi and an eventual establishment in that ~ which has been termed as 'Brahmisthiti' (established in Brahman) at the end of the Chapter~ one can enjoy a steady blissful condition and yet move around in the sense world, having complete control over mind ( Ch. 2, Sloka 68) This is the outer characteristic of Sthitaprajna. The inner characteristics have been described in (Ch.2, Sloka 58) The two previous Slokas (57 &56) throw some light on how this condition can be achieved.

It is something like this. In that condition, there is a complete separation between inner and outer, like a beetle nut within a dried beetle nut, as per Sri Ramakrishna. With normal people, the senses get excited by contact with objects and run outwards ( Ch. 2 , Sloka 60). But with the Sthitaprajna, it is just the opposite. The touch or worldly objects brings about the touch of Brahman and the same senses carry the Brahmic Consciousness to the mind.

The images of worldly objects reflect on consciousness as the moving objects reflecting on a mirror. This is just the secondary goal, a playfulness of the waking moments. The real object is not the fulfillment of deep rooted desires of the mind (Ch.2, Sloka 55), but the attainment of bliss (Ch. 2, sloka 64). When perfected, the contact with sense objects creates a kind of inner flow of enjoyment. Floating on that flow the objects transforms in to subjects, In the words of Sankhya, in the close proximity of Purusha, Prakriti changes as his own Nature. Rabindranath Tagore has drawn a similar picture in his dance drama 'Natir Puja' ( worship of a Court Dancer), where the court dancer, in the course of dancing in front of the Stupa ofBuddha, sheds off all her apparent fineries and emerges as a nun.

The pulling inward of the limbs of a turtle is not rejection, not even restraint. You can call it, in the words of Upanishad, going inwards. But it is really hard to realize without understanding the Vast as the real goal beyond the apparent touches of sense objects.

Question: Please explain the mystic interpretation of "the attachment towards objects given up, lingers till one 'sees' the Higher Being." 'Seeing the Higher~ who or what is the Higher? What is the hidden meaning of the expression that the yearn for sense objects does not go away before seeing the Highest Being?

Answer: The one who is 'controlled'~ meaning who can restrain the natural human inclination to run after sense objects due to practice, develops a sense of detachment in course of time. But this Vairagya ( detachment) does not change to higher Vairagya immediately. The thirst for worldly objects is still hidden in the depth of mind. True, it is checked upto a certain point, does not appear on the surface and the upper mind does not want it and has completely forgotten it. But if ever it appears and takes us unaware, we find mind is enjoying it even without knowing. In that case the thirst for sense objects is still there; the detachment is not yet complete. That is what the Gita is telling here. The thirst for sense objects, that lies deep within, can only be completely ousted if we can once see the Highest Being, Who, according to the Taittiriyo Upanishad, is 'Verily He is the Rasa (concentration of all enjoyments) and knowing that Rasa, one 'attains Ananda.' According to theKaushitaki Upanishad, the taste for sense objects is controlled and changes into the 'taste of Brahman.' The spontaneous Ananda that ensues without any object is the Ananda of self, or Ananda of Brahman, or Ananda of Truth~ whatever you may call it. Once you get the taste of that, there is no more thirst for sense objects. That is what is meant by restraint of sense objects by 'seeing the Highest.' This way restraint of senses eventually culminates into an eternal inclination towards the Divine.

Question: What is 'Prasad' or 'Graceful state of mind' referred to in the 65th sloka of Second Chapter?

Answer: 'Prasad' is a very old technical term meaning Transparency. In the Ramayana, there is the reference of Godavari (a river) of transparent water. TheUpanishads refer to the realization of Self by the transparency of elements~ elements meaning physical-vital-mental existences. Once they are made transparent, then like light through a prism, the radiance of consciousness glows through body-vital-mind. That is the sign of 'Prasad' or Grace.

Question: What is the hidden meaning of,' a continent keeps awake at night and it is night for the Muni (ascetic) during the waking state of the common people?' ( Sloka 69, Chapter 2)

Answer: All creatures are either asleep or shrouded with ignorance regarding Brahman. But a continent is not. He is ever awake in the consciousness of Brahman, whereas the rest of the people are awake with the outer consciousness of the world. As a matter of fact, our culture, our civilization ~everything pertain to the waking field ~ an outer state. Nobody has any inkling regarding what is happening deep down in the mind. But to a Muni, this puffing and blowing of the outer world is like passing of pictures on a screen in a movie theater or like a dream at night. Yet he is 'seeing' in the midst of all that with open eyes. The human ignorance and so-called knowledge~ both are floating on his surface consciousness. Actually his is the eternal consciousness of the Sun beyond the earthly rotation of day and night.

Question: Are 'Brahmanirvana' (Nirvana in the Brahman) and 'Brahnisthiti' the same? It seems one hints at dissolution and the other at ever lasting existence.

Answer: 'Brahmanirvana is what has been termed in the Upanishad as the realization of Non-Existence or the Great Void or the realization of the Akash. In the path of ascension that appears as dissolution but in reality that is a condition of ever existence or what has been described in the Gita as the 'Complete Brahma Nirvana of one who knows the Self.' and Brahmisthti is to stay awake in that Akash like the radiant Sun.

Question: Is this not so that Action based on Sankhya Yoga is reallyKarma Yoga? Otherwise aimless action can never be termed as Karma Yoga. Is it wise to bring in a sense of lower and higher between Jnana Yoga and Karma Yoga? Is it not right to look at both with equal eyes? What is Karma according to the Upanishads?

Answer: One Supreme Reality is covering everything ( Sloka 17, Chapter 2)~ this is the Knowledge of Sankhya. Towards the end of the Gita, Sri Krishna has said again, 'One from Whom ensues all activities and efforts of all creatures, One Who is encompassing and covering the whole creation, a man can reach his goal of spiritual perfection by worshipping Him through his work.' (Sloka 46, Chapter18) This great sloka gives instruction to work as the worship of the Highest Lord, following the paths of Sankhya, Shalti and Bhakti. This is the real Karma yoga and the essence of Gita's teachings, Whatever Knowledge is attained by Sankhya, the Karma Yoga results in the same. Hence, to have the same devotion towards both has been expounded by Gita (Sloka 4-5, Chapter 5). The Upanishad too, has never asked to give up action. Rather mentioned about working and living up to hundred years. Furthermore, Upanishad has said that action with detachment does not involve anyone.

Question: Does the speaker of Gita put too much importance on Sannyasa (renunciation)?

Answer: No.

This is the end of Q/A on Chapter 2 (Sankhya Yoga) in the Gitanuvachan