Bhagavad gita according to gandhi chapter 13

THE BHAGAVD GITAACCORDING TO

GANDHIT K G NAMBOODHIRI

THIRUVALLA, KERALAPresentation adapted from

The Bhagavad Gita According to Gandhi, Orient Paperbacks,2011

T K G Namboodhiri


GANDHI

T K G Namboodhiri

CHAPTER 13

KSHETRA KSHETRAJNA VIBHAGA YOGA


GANDHICHAPTER 13- Introduction

From this chapter begins the third triad of six chapters & a new subject. It discusses the body & its nature. The distinct difference between the physical body & the immortal soul is revealed by Krishna. He explains that the physical is transitory & perishable; the soul is immutable & eternal.

T K G Namboodhiri


GANDHIVerses 13.1 & 13.2

This body, O Kaunteya, is called the Field; he who knows it is called Knower of the Field by those who know.And understand Me to be, O Bharata, the Knower of the Field in all the Fields; & the knowledge of the Field & the Knower of the Field, I hold, is true knowledge.This body, the mind & the physical world may be called the Field, or creation. And He is the creator of all creations, explains Sri Krishna. A true understanding of the creator & the creation, is true knowledge

T K G Namboodhiri



What that Field is, what its nature, what its modifications, & whence is what, as also who He is, & what His powers are---- hear this briefly from Me.This subject has been sung by seers distinctly & in various ways, in different hymns as also in aphoristic texts about Brahman, well reasoned & unequivocal.What the creation is, what are its transformations or changes, where the source is, who is the Creator, what His powers are– this theme has been expounded analytically by seers in manifold ways in various hymns. It has been discussed in the Brahmasutras with logically arranged steps, clearly explaining the connection between cause & effect; & every word has been weighed so that not a syllable can be altered.

T K G Namboodhiri



The great elements, Ego, Reason, the Unmanifest, the ten senses, & the one (mind), & the five spheres of the senses;Desire, dislike, pleasure, pain, association, consciousness, cohesion---- this , in sum, what is called the Field with its modifications.The five Mahabhutas (earth, water, fire, air & ether), ahankar (the false ego), which sustains those bhutas, buddhi (intelligence), the avyakta (the unmanifest), the ten senses ( 5 of perceptions & 5 of actions), the mind, & the objects of the 5 senses ( smell, taste, form, touch, & sound), so also desire, ill will, happiness, misery, association, consciousness, cohesion– the aggregate of these 24 elements, in brief, is called the Field (of activity) with its modifications ( birth, infancy, youth, maturity, old age & death).

T K G Namboodhiri


GANDHIVerses 13.7 to 13.9

Freedom from pride & pretentiousness; non-violence, forgiveness, uprightness, service of the Master, purity, steadfastness, self-restraint;Aversion from sense-objects, absence of conceit, realisation of the painfulness & evil of birth, death, age & disease;Absence of attachment, refusal to be wrapped up in one’s children, wife, home & family, even-mindedness whether good or ill befall.Lord Krishna continues with the attributes needed to attain knowledge. Disinterest in sense objects, realization of evils of earthly life, detachment from family & possessions & even-mindedness in good & bad conditions

T K G Namboodhiri



Unwavering & all-exclusive devotion to Me, resort to secluded spots, distaste for the haunts of men;Settled conviction of the nature of the atman, perceptions of (the God as) the goal of knowledge of Truth. All this is declared to be knowledge & the reverse of it is ignorance.Sri Krishna concludes the listing of virtues with the statement that all these constitute the essence of knowledge, & whatever is contrary & opposed to these attributes is ignorance & detrimental to real knowledge.

T K G Namboodhiri



In the next 6 verses Lord Krishna explains the Field, Knowledge & that which is to be known:I will expound to thee that which is to be known & knowing which one enjoys immortality; it is the supreme Brahman which has no beginning, which is called neither Being nor non-Being.Everywhere having hands & feet, everywhere having eyes, heads, faces, everywhere having ears, It abides embracing everything in the universe.Brahman, the supreme Reality is that which is to be known. Brahman is both Being & non-Being. It is beyond these two. God is beyond the three categories of time– past, present & future. He pervades everything. He has hands & feet everywhere. He is everywhere & in all directions. He embraces everything in the universe.

T K G Namboodhiri



Seeming to possess the function of the senses, It is devoid of all the senses; It touches naught, upholds all; having no gunas, It experiences gunas.Without all beings, yet within; immovable yet moving; so subtle that it cannot be perceived; so far yet so near It is.Undivided, It seems to subsist divided in all beings; this Brahman—That which is to be known is the Sustainer of all, yet It is their Devourer & Creator.Brahman is conscious of the functions of all sense organs, though He Himself possesses no sense-organs. He exists outside & inside of all beings, animate & inanimate. Being subtle, He is beyond the power of material senses to see or to know. Though indivisible, He seems to be there divided in all beings. He is worth knowing. He sustains all creatures. He is their Destroyer & yet the Creator of them all.

T K G Namboodhiri



Light of all lights, It is said to be beyond darkness; It is knowledge, the object of knowledge, to be gained only by knowledge; It is seated in the hearts of all.Thus have I expounded in brief the Field, Knowledge & that which is to be Known; My devotee, when he knows this, is worthy to become one with Me.He is Superlight. He is beyond darkness, i.e.. He is self-effulgent. He is Himself Knowledge. He is also the object of Knowledge to be realised only by Knowledge. He is the goal of Knowledge.Sri Krishna thus concludes His description of the Field, Knowledge & the object of Knowledge. He declares that one who gains this Knowledge is eligible to merge with Himself.

T K G Namboodhiri



Know that Prakriti & Purusha are both without beginning; know that all the modifications & gunas are born of Prakriti.Prakriti is described as the cause in the creation of effects from causes; Purusha is described as the cause of the experiencing of pleasure & pain.God is described here as having two aspects, Prakriti & Purusha. Anything done (karya) under compulsion of desires—Prakriti—is the karan (cause). Purusha is the cause of the experiencing of happiness & misery. The body is the field of activity & is composed of material nature. The individual Soul that is embodied & enjoying the fruits of activities of the body is the Purusha or the living entity. Both the Purusha, or the immortal Soul, & Prakriti, the material nature pervading physical existence, have been existing together & are eternal. Purusha uniting with Prakriti expresses itself as a Kshetra, or field of activity, which is the physical body.

T K G Namboodhiri



For the Purusha, residing in Prakriti experiences the gunas born of Prakriti; attachment to these gunas is the cause of his birth in good or evil wombs.What is called in this body the Witness, the Assentor, the Sustainer, the Experiencer, the Great Lord & also the Supreme Atman, is the Supreme Being.The gunas or three modes of material nature, being Sattva or goodness, Rajas or passion with its desires, & Tamas or nescience with its ignorance, are all by products of Prakriti. Attachment to the gunas due to ignorance is the cause of birth in good or evil wombs.The Purusha dwelling in this body is Para, beyond Maya, but He witnesses & gives consent. He is the ordainer the enjoyer & the Sustainer of everything. He is the God of gods & is described as Paramatman.

T K G Namboodhiri


GANDHIVerse 13.23

He who thus knows Purusha & Prakriti is not born again, no matter how he lives & moves.If anyone claims that he is a bhakta of God, so the sins he commits are committed by God, he is wrong. But it would be right if the world said of him that he was a man of God & that everything he did was done through him by God. Our reason may be carried away by pride at any time & become evil, but one with perfect knowledge will never be misguided by his reason. Every karma has the effect of binding the soul, but one can become free from the bonds of karma by dedicating all one’s karmas to God. Such a person will never commit a sin. It is in egotism that sin has its source. There is no sin where there is no consciousness of the ‘I‘.

T K G Namboodhiri



Some through meditation behold the Atman by themselves in their own self; others by Sankhya yoga, & others by karma yoga.Yet others, not knowing (Him) thus, worship (Him) having heard from others; they too pass beyond death, because of devoted adherence to what they heard.If having heard it explained that we shall be saved by dedicating all our work to God, we act in this spirit.

T K G Namboodhiri



Wherever something is born, animate or inanimate, know, thou Bharatarshabha, that it issues from the union of the Field & the Knower of the Field.Who sees abiding in all beings the same Parameshvara, imperishable in the perishable, He sees indeed.If we examine things separately, human beings, grains of dust, water & so on, their origin will be different in each case. If, instead, we go to the very first cause, we shall no more think of objects having their distinctive forms & names. Though things are ever perishing, there is an indestructible element in everything which remains unaffected by any change. One who correctly understands that Atman is imperishable, perceives reality. Only such a person alone sees things properly.

T K G Namboodhiri



When he sees the same Ishvara abiding everywhere alike, he does not hurt himself by himself & hence he attains the highest goal.Who sees that it is Prakriti that performs all actions & thus (knows) that Atman performs them not, he sees indeed.When he sees the same God abiding alike at all places he does not destroy the self by the self—believes that, with the destruction of his body, he himself does not perish-- & consequently he achieves the highest status. By gaining this basic realisation one achieves the goal of soul-realisation & becomes eligible for the supreme destination.Who realises that Prakriti is the doer of all actions & sees that Atman is not the doer—though all things take place through God’s Maya, the Supreme Purusha involved in the process is not their author– he alone who does so, sees indeed.

T K G Namboodhiri



When he sees the diversity of beings as founded in unity & the whole expanse issuing therefrom, then he attains Brahman.This Imperishable Supreme Atman, O Kaunteya, though residing in the body, acts not & is not stained, for He has no beginning & no gunas.As the all-pervading ether, by reason of its subtlety, is not soiled, even so Atman pervading every part of the body is not soiled.The Gita is a work intended to be a guide in life & we should be able to find in it support for all our actions in practical life.One who sees the unity in diversity, he attains Brahman. The Atman, though residing in the body, is not tainted by the actions of the body, just as ether pervading the whole universe is not soiled by the latter.

T K G Namboodhiri



As the one Sun illumines the whole universe, even so the Master of the Field illumines the whole Field.Those who, with the eyes of knowledge, thus perceive the distinction between the Field & the Knower of the Field, & the secret of the release of beings from Prakriti, they attain to Supreme.Who knows the difference between the Field & the Knower of the Field, & who knows how creatures may become free from the bonds, of Prakriti & Maya, he realises Moksha.With these verses, Lord Krishna concludes this Chapter where He had explained the nature of the Field & knower of the Field. One who understand their nature properly is liberated from this world of birth & death.

End of Chapter 13T K G Namboodhiri

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Bhagavad gita according to gandhi chapter 13