Purusha-Prakrithi Jnanam

Gita essays – 23

Arjuna wanted to know from Lord Krishna about the six technical terms used in Vedanta; Kshertam, Kshetrajna, Jnanam, Jneyam, Prakrithi and Purusha. After explaining the first four terms Lord starts talking about Prakrithi and Purusha from verse 20 of chapter 13.  Lord has already explained in Chapter7 (Gita essays-11) the two aspects of His nature as Brahman; Para prakrithi, the higher principle and Apara prakrithi the lower principle and both of them are beginningless and eternal.  He has also further revealed that the changing matter principle constitutes the Apara prakrithi and the changeless Consciousness principle the Para prakrithi.  Now in this chapter Lord is talking about Apara prakrithi as Prakrithi and Para prakrithi as Purusha,  So from this we can see that both Purusha and Prakrithi are beginningless and also that both of them together constitute the cause of the universe.

Everything in the creation is born out of Prakr̥thi and this includes the body, mind complex also.  Not only the body- mind complex but also all the conditions of the body-mind complex, favourable and unfavourable like pleasure and pain, form part of the Prakrithi.  Purusha, as the unchanging witness lending sentiency to the body-mind complex, appears to experience all the conditions of body-mind complex as a silent witness associated with the body-mind complex. So Lord explains in verse 23 “Purusha dwelling in the body is the same as Supreme. He is also called as the Witness, the Approver, the Supporter, the Experiencer (as the embodied Purusha), the great Lord and the Supreme Self”.  Purusha, as Supreme is everywhere including every Prakrithi enclosure of body.  We can see from this that Purusha is one and changeless, Prakrithi is many and changing; Purusha is attributeless. Prakrithi is with attributes; Purusha is beyond the influence of three Gunas, Satvam, Rajas and Tamas, Prakrithi functions under the influence of the three Gunas. 

Lord has pointed out earlier in verse 2 & 3, “This body is termed as Kshetra  and ---------- Know Myself as Kshetrajna in all Kshetras”   From this we can see that both Purusha and Kshetrajna are synonyms and refer to Athma and both  Prakrithi and Kshetra are synonyms and refer to anathma.  Lord has also stated earlier in verse 3 “O Arjuna! Knowledge of both the Kshetra(Prakrithi) and the Kshetrjna(Purusha) is considered by Me to be the Real knowledge”. Under Jnanam Lord had earlier discussed only the moral qualities and virtues that prepare the mind for  assimilating the Jnanam.  And now Lord gives more of the knowledge of Kshetram (Prakrithi) and Kshtrajna (Purusha) and the benefit of this Jnanam, which He calls Real knowledge..

In verse 27 Lord states “Whatever being, moving or stationary, is born --- know that to be out of the union of Kṣhetram (Prakrithi) and Khṣetrajna (Purusha), Oh, Arjuna !”

The union between the Prakrithi and Purusha is not of any physical kind or of any material nature but it is one of superimposition, called Adhyasa.  In every superimposition a delusion is recognized upon the substratum just like a ghost on the post where the non-existent ghost comes into existence and the existing post gives place to non-existent ghost.  Here the Prakrithi which has no independent existence and so mithya is superimposed on Purusha, Pure consciousness, which only has independent existence and is Satyam. This relationship conjures up the phenomenon of the material world, consisting of the moving and non-moving and also the insentient body being mistaken for the sentient Self and vice versa. This confusion is cleared when the illusion disappears due to Jnanam, the knowledge of Purusha and Prakrithi. So Lord states in the next verse, verse 28, “He who sees the supreme Lord who dwells alike in all beings and who is imperishable as the unperishing within the perishing, (alone really) sees”.

Samsara and resultant cycle of birth and death occurs due to ignorance of Real knowledge (Jnanam).  Lord calls this cycle as destroying Self by self and remarks that this Real knowledge, Jnanam, frees one from this cycle.  Jnanam consists of seeing that all actions are performed by Prakrithi alone and Purusha is actionless and that  Purusha is only the witness, not the doer; the spectator, not the actor.  This Jnanam is complete when one understands that the multiplicity of names and forms arise from the Purusha only and spread to become the Universe. In short as Kaivalya Upanishad (1-19) says “In me alone everything is born; in me does everything rest; and in me is everthing dissolved.  I am that Brahman (Purusha) secondless.”  The same is echoed in the Chandogya Upanishad (VII.xxvi.1) “From the Self (Purusha) is life, from the Self is desire, from the Self is love, from the Self is akasa, from the Self is light, from the Self are the waters --------”. When the variety of nature and its development are traced to the Eternal One, one assumes eternity. He realizes the all pervading nature of the Self, as the cause of all limitation has been destroyed by the knowledge of unity with Brahman and he becomes a Jivanmuktha.

Lord also states in verse 32 “Being birthless and attributeless, this supreme Self is changeless. Though dwelling in the body, it neither acts nor is affected.”  In next two verses 33 & 34, Lord compares Purusha with space and sun to illustrate the point that Purusha is one only and is unaffected by the activities of Prakrithi though it is closely associated with it as Self in the body. “Just as the all pervading space is not affected due to its subtlety, so also, the Self (Purusha), which is present in everybody (Prakrithi), is not affected.  (13-33).   “Just as one Sun illumines the entire world, so also does the Kshetrajna (Purusha) illumines the entire Kṣhetraṁ (Prakrithi), O Arjuna.”  (13-34).

Space is the subtlest of all gross elements and hence pervades everything that is grosser than it. Though everything remain in it, yet nothing that it contains can contaminate it. Brahman, the Supreme Self which is the cause of the very Space is subtler than Space. So Brahman (Purusha) pervades all and nothing pervades It and It is not affected by anything that exists or is happening in the world of plurality. Just like the sun, the Consciousness merely illumines the world of objects, the body, the mind and the intellect. Lighting of the world by the sun is not an activity undertaken by sun as light itself is the very nature of the sun and in its light everything gets illumined. Similarly, the nature of Consciousness is awareness and in Its presence everything becomes known i.e., illumined. The sun illumines everything, good and bad, beautiful and ugly, virtue and vice etc. So too, in our inner life, Consciousness functions through body equipments and illumines them but never gets contaminated by the actions of the body or by the emotions of the mind or by the thoughts of the intellect.

Those who imbibe this Jnanam regarding Purusha and Prakrithi and liberation from Prakrithi, through steadfast and sincere practice of either Jnana Yoga or Dhyana Yoga or Karma Yoga or Bhakthi Yoga, attain the Supreme, assures the Lord before discussing this Jnanam. 

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The knowledge of Nirguna Brahman

Gita essays – 15

Knowledge of Nirguna Brahman is called Para vidya in Mundakpopanishad, as this is the knowledge of unchanging eternal Reality and this knowledge is also glorified as one knowing which everything else becomes known. It is the teaching of this knowledge that Lord Krishna takes up as a means of Liberation here and now, Sadyo mukthi or Jivan mukthi, at the start of chapter 9 of Gita.  He introduces this knowledge by describing it glowingly to keep Arjuna interested in the teaching in verse 2.

This is the greatest knowledge, the greatest secret, the most sacred, directly experienceable, unopposed to dharma, very easy to pursue and imperishable. (9-2)

The glory of this knowledge is lited as:

1)    This is the greatest knowledge because it deals with the only absolute Reality, Nirguna Brahman and it also gives Liberation with its fruits of fulfilment and bliss even during one’s life time. 

2)    It is the greatest secret as this is the knowledge about the Self indwelling in the body and about the identity of the individual Self with the Supreme Self that is to be realized by oneself after learning sastras from a competent teacher.  

3)    It is the most sacred as it purifies destroying all the accumulated karmas on realization, like a lamp that destroys darkness immediately.

4)    The benefit can be immediately experienced

5)    It is in keeping with Vedic teaching as the teaching is taken from upanishads.. 

6)    Gaining through this knowledge, Liberation as Jivan mukthi, is much easier as compared to the process of gaining Liberation through krama mukthi. 

7)    The benefit of Liberation, obtained through this knowledge, is eternal. 

To acquire this knowledge and get out of samsara, the seeker should have shraddha in the scriptures and the teacher as well, warns Lord in the next verse.  Then he starts describing Nirguna Brahma swarupam as:

1)    He is avyaktha, formless i.e. not available for perception by any sense-organs.

2)    He is all-pervading, sarvagatha, and has no spatial limitation;

3)    He is Jagat aadharam or Jagat adhishtanam, the resting place of the entire universe.

4)    He is asangha, unattached. 

5)    He is the srishti, sthithi, laya karanam of this entire universe

6)    He is not a kartha or bhoktha but only a mere sakshi.

Let us see in detail each aspect of His Swarupam.   Firstly He is stated to be avyakthah, formless.  Mundakopanishad (1-1-5) describes Nirguna Brahman as “invisible, ungraspable, ----- without attributes; has neither eyes, nor ears, nor hands, nor feet”.  Kathopanishad (1-3-15) also describes Him as “soundless, touchless, colourless,--- tasteless, eternal, odourless” etc.,  Since He has no form, He has no space limitations and is all-pervading, Sarvagataha.  Just as the wind rests in space, the entire universe rests in Him.  But as the universe is mithya and not Satyam, He is not in the Universe though Universe is in Him.  We can see it through an example.  In the semi-darkness a rope is mistaken for a snake. Here the snake is mithya and rope is satyam. Here we can say that the mithya snake is in the Satyam rope but not the Satyam rope in the mithya snake.  So Nirguna Brahman is mithya Jagat adhishtanam.  He is asangha, unattached like the space, which is the resting place of the wind that is not attached to any of the odours, pleasant or unpleasant, the wind carries.  Further as space sustains the wind, He also supports the Universe. So He is the sthithi karanam.  As the night falls at the end of one day time of Brahmaji,, which is equal to one chathur yuga and called kalpa, the entire created world dissolves into unmanifested condition in His Prakrithi, Maya, and is thrown again into manifest condition as new creation when night, of another kalpa duration, ends and a new day dawns in Brahmaji’s life.  This process of creation and dissolution goes on eternally in a cyclic process. So He is also srishti, laya karanam.  Putting together this and the previous space and wind analogy, we can say He is the srishti, sthithi, laya karanam of the entire universe. Though we say He is the karanam of creation and dissolution of the universe, He has no karthruthvam or bhokthruthvam and is only a witness to this cyclic process. It is His inseparable power Maya that keeps the cycle of srishti and laya going in His presence.  So He is not a kartha or a bhoktha but a sakshi only.

It is the ignorance of Nirguna Brahman, the higher nature of Brahman as Para prakriti, who is beyond time and space and attributeless, that is the cause of samsara, Lord Krishna points out in verse 11.  Not knowing His higher nature, Para prakrithi, people know of Him only through His lower nature, apara prakrithi, as Saguna Brahman only, with form and attributes. Apara prakrithi is subject to time and space and so cannot give eternal release from bondage and so these people cannot escape from samsara.  Then he talks of two sets of these people.  One set of people driven by their dominant rajasic and tamasic tendencies are possessed of the delusive nature of Rakshasas and Asuras, with wrong knowledge, vain desires and vain hopes and act without viveka.  Kathopanishad describes such people as “Living in the midst of ignorance and considering themselves intelligent and enlightened, the senseless people go round and round following crooked courses, just like the blind led by the blind”. (1-2-5)

The other set of people who are of satvic nature worship Him with a single-minded devotion.  Knowing He is the source of all things in creation, they see Him in all persons and objects of creation, as a knowledgeable person sees gold in all golden ornaments.  They constantly sing His glory and prostrate before The Lord with total detachment, surrendering all false identifications arising out of the ego-consciousness.  Lord calls these people with divine nature whose life is a continuous worship of Him as mahathmas.  There are yet other people with wisdom who engage in jnana yajna and offer worship in many ways knowing Him as one and as distinct.  Just as oblation is offered in fire in yajna, in jnana yajna, false knowledge and wrong knowledge is offered (destroyed), in the fire of correct knowledge.  Here Lord describes Himself as “Viswathomukham”, who has faces everywhere, as a  revealation of His Viswarupa.   To show He is everything and there is nothing apart from Him, He lists as a sample the following 36 items as Himself only in the next four verses.  They are:

kratu, the Vedic ritual; yajna, the sacrifice; svadha, offering to the departed; aushadham, herbage and food grains; mantrah, sacred chanting; ajyam, clarified butter; agni, fire; pitha, father (of the world); matha, mother (of the world); dhatha, sustainer (of the world); pithamaha, grandfather (of the world);vedhyam, the one to be known; pavithram, purifier; Omkara, the syllable Om; Rik, Sama, Yajur Vedas; gatih, supreme goal; bharta, supporter; Prabu, Lord; sakshi, witness; nivasah, abode; saranam, refuge; suhrit, well-wisher; prabhavah, origin; pralayah, dissolution; sthaanam, substratum; nidhanam, storehouse; avyayam beejam, imperishable seed; tapami, radiate heat (as the Sun); varsham, rainfall; amritha, immortality; mrityu, death, sat, being and asat, non-being.

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Bhakthas and Bhakthi

Gita essays – 12

The virtuous people who offer worship to the Lord are termed bhakthas and they are classified into four categories by Lord Krishna (7-16). They are:

1)    Aartha bhaktha – Swami Paramarthananda calls him as 'crisis bhaktha'.  He thinks of the Lord intensely when he faces a crisis and at normal times thinks of God only at his convenience.  For him God is a means to get his problem solved and not the end, end being resolution of the problem be it economical, physical, personal or social. He is a sadhana bhaktha, whose knowledge of Lord is limited to Apara Prakrithi only.

2)    Artharthi bhaktha – He worships Lord for material prosperity, which includes progeny, position etc.  He is a regular worshipper, no doubt, and not crisis-driven like Aartha bhaktha but he has always a demand for fulfillment in his prayers.  For him too, God is not the end but only the means to achieve material gains. He is also a sadhana bhaktha, whose knowledge of Lord is limited to Apara prakrithi only.

3)    Jijnasu bhaktha – He has no personal axe to grind in his prayers and he is interested in acquiring total knowledge of God that will add strength to his worship.  For him Lord is the means as well as the end.  He is a sadhya bhaktha as Lord is not sadhanam, the means but sadhyam, the end as well, but his knowledge also is limited to Apara Prakrithi only and he is seeking the total knowledge of the Lord.

4)    Jnani bhaktha – He has knowledge of both Para prakriti and Apara prakrithi and for him God is neither the means nor the end but his real Self and his worsip is out of fulfillment of all wants, not for fulfillment of any wants. He is a Siddha bhaktha.

Aartha bhakthi and Artharthi Bhakthi are called sakama bhakthi, as both are for personal benefit and material gains. Jijnasu bhakthi and Jnani bhakthi are termed nishkama bhakthi, as the worship is not motivated by personal gains or material benefits.  

After giving the four categories of bhakthas, Lord mentions that all of them are noble, no doubt, but among them all, the Jnani Bhaktha is the best as he has steadfast and single pointed devotion to the Lord and he holds the Lord very dear to him. He also knows the Lord is His own Self and what is dearer to one than his own Self.  As sage Yajnavalkya tells his wife Maitreyi  in Brihadaranyaka Uanishad (2-4-5) “न वा अरे सर्वस्य कामाय सर्वं प्रियं भवति, आत्मनस्तु कामाय सर्वं प्रियं भवति (Na va are sarvasya kamam sarvam priyam bhavati, atmanastu kamaya sarvam priyam bhavati.)” meaning “Verily all is not dear not for the sake of all but it is for one’s own sake that all is dear.”  Lord also reciprocates Jnani’s ananya bhakthi by holding the Jnani bhaktha dear to him and declares he is not different from Him.  Narada Bhakthi Sutra in its sutra 67 echoes Lord’s words:  “भक्ता एकान्तिनो मुख्याः(bhakta ekantino mukhyah)” which means “Devotees, whose single goal is the Lord Himself and whose single-pointed devotion towards the Lord is for its own sake, are the best”   Lord also tells that such Jnani bhakthas having ananya bhakthi for the Lord with the advaitic Jnanam of  Jiva Brahma Ikyam are rare as this maturity of Athma Jnanam is reached only after many Janmas in which one may be passing through several stages of aartha, artharthi, jijnasu bhakthi before his steadfastness is rewarded through Lord’s Grace and he blossoms into a jnani bhaktha with the knowledge of Lord’s Para prakrithi as well.  As a Jnani bhaktha, he becomes Jivan muktha, attaining videha mukthi after death.

After discussing Jnani bhaktha, Lord talks about the sakama bhakthas who have only knowledge of Lord’s Apara prakrithi and worship Him in His various forms to get their wants and desires fulfilled.  In whatever form they worship the Lord with full faith and sincerity, Lord sustains their faith in that form by answering their prayer in that form Itself. They do not know that all forms are only forms of the one Supreme Lord, Brahman, as His Apara prakrithi and all the fruits they seek are only of finite and limited nature, keeping them firmly in samsara.  Only knowledge of Para prakrithi, Brahma Jnanam, is the ultimate reward one should seek as it is totally fulfilling and satisfying and also liberating from samsara and they know not of this knowledge. They are ignorant of the Lord’s superior nature which is changeless and transcendent and in their ignorance they consider Him as the Unmanifest that has assumed manifestation. They mistake the changeless One behind the many as the One among the many in their ignorance. Lord then diagnoses the cause for their ignorance as Avarana sakthi, the veiling power, of Maya, which Lord now calls as Yogamaya ( he earlier referred to it as ‘My Maya’). This power of the Lord that is keeping them ignorant of the eternal, birthless, unsurpassed nature of the Lord as Para prakrithi, can be overpowered only when they curb their extrovert nature and shift their attention from the objects and pleasures of the world to the lotus feet of the Lord and surrender to Him seeking sincerely His Grace.  Lord alone knows fully and completely the past, present and future of everyone and everything and has no problem of ignorance about anything. As Maya is under His control Avarana Sakthi does not affect Him. But Jiva is under Maya’s control and under the spell of Maya does not know of Lord’s Para prakrithi and suffers from samsara.

This ignorance starts from birth itself due to delusion of the pairs of opposites arising from desire and aversion.  Not knowing the source of the unlimited real happiness within themselves due to this delusion they seek it in the outside world and spend their entire lifetime running after it. This Sri Sankara beautifully portrays in Bhaja Govindam (verse 7) thus:

बालस्तावत्क्रीडासक्तः (balastavatkriḍasaktaḥ)

तरुणस्तावत्तरुणीसक्तः ।( taruṇastavattaruṇisaktaḥ)

वृद्धस्तावच्चिन्तासक्तः (vṛiddhastavaccintasaktaḥ)

परे ब्रह्मणि कोऽपि न सक्तः (pare brahmaṇi ko'pi na saktaḥ)  

The childhood is spent in attachment to playfulness. Youth is spent in attachment to women. 

Old age is spent in thoughts (of past events or present helplessness). And there is hardly 

anyone who gets attached to Parabrahman.

Some noble person with enough punyam starts to think of the Lord in crisis and starts as an aartha bhaktha.  When this becomes a habit, with increase in punyam he turns into an artharthi bhaktha. Later in that life itself or in succeeding lives he grows into a jijnasu bhaktha, as his punyam grows. For the fortunate few all this growth can happen even in one or two lives. And then seeking to end samsara and get Liberated, he seeks a Guru and studies sastras with his help and he is well on the road to become a Jnani bhaktha.  When he surrenders to the Lord with Vijnanam, he totally gets rid of his delusion with dualities, with his mind becoming free of raga and dwesha, and his desires changing into preferences.  He becomes jnani bhaktha knowing all about the Para prakrithi and Apara prakrithi of the Lord.   Being established in this knowledge, he does not lose sight of the Lord even at the time of death and enjoys both Jivanmukthi and Videhamukthi.

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