Bhagavatgita-Part II-adhyayas 7 to 12

Chapter9- Knowledge and experience-Nature of Brahman

(Adhyaya7)

The foremost among yogis has been described in the sixth adhyaya as the one who worships the Lord as his innerself with full faith Krishna now elaborates on the power and the glory of the Supreme self in the seventh and the next three adhyayas before He manifests in His cosmic form to Arjuna.He says that those whose mind is set on the Lord and practise meditation on Him come to know the real nature of Him. When that knowledge dawns there is nothing more to know. This has reference to the upanishadic statement 'yEna asrutham srutham bhavathi amatham matham avijnAtham vijnAtham,(Chan.6-1-6) That knowledge (about supreme self) through which what is unheard becomes heard, what is unthought of, becomes thought of ,what is unknown becomes known.' This is the promissory statement which prcedes the instrcution on Brahman whcih ends with 'thathvamasi, that thou art.

Krishna begins by saying that this knowledge is very rare since there is one in thousand who strives to acquire it among which only one comes to know the re4ality as it is. 'manushyANAm sahasrEshu kaschith yathathi siddhayE,yathathAmapi siddhAnam kaschinmAm vetthi thathvathah.'(BG.7-3) Here the words kaschinmAm vetthi thathvathah only one comes to know Me,' in truth is to be taken to mean the Lord, Brahman of the Upanishads and Narayana of visishtadvaita who is Krishna in reality whose identity only very few had the indight to see.

Then Krishna starts elaborating on His nature as Brahman transcient and imminent. The unmanifest Brahman becomes manifest as stated in the upanishad 'sadhEva soumya idham agra Aseeth EkamEva advitheeyam, thadhaikshatha bahusyAm prajAyEya,' that there was only 'sath' Brahman in the beginning ,one only,without a second and it willed to become many. So Krushna says 'my nature , that is, the divine manifestation into unverse is eightfold. ' mE bhinnA prakrthirashtaDHA.' The manifest nature consisting of earth, water, fire, air and the space along with mind and intellect , is the lower nature, aparA prakrthi. Here the elements mentioned do not denote the gross form but the subtle elements, thanmathras and the mind and intellect likewise denote their cause, the ahamkara, which is the effect of mahath, the fist evolute of prakrthi.

"Apart from this lower prakrthi," says the Lord ,"is My higher nature. ".The higher self, the essential nature by which the universe is supported.. The lower nature is the field or kshethra, elucidated in a later adhyaya while the higher nature is the kshethrajna, the knower of the field, knowing which nothing else need be known as all beings originate from and dissolve into it. 'yathO vA imani bhoothAni jAyanthe yEna jAthAni jeevanthi yasmin abhisamvisanthi thadhvijinjAsava thdhbrahma,' (Taitt-III-1-1) know that to be Brahman from whom all beings originate, by whom they are sustained and into which they merge back.' Therefore ,' says the Lord, 'aham krthsanasya jagathah prabhavah pralayah thaTHA, I am the source of the world and into Me they enter in dissolution.'

Since He is the cause of everything, from which all beings came about , there is nothing higher or beyond . The upanishadic statement 'sadhEva soumya idhamagra Aseeth EkamEva adhivitheeyam ,' denotes that Brahman is both the material and efficient cause of the world. because of the words 'one only , without a second.' All beings are supported by Brahman like the string that supports the beads strung on it. This example shows the transcendence and imminence of Brahman. Sankara describes this as 'yasmAth Eva thasmAth mayi paramEsvare sarvANi bhoothAni sarvam idham jagath prOtham anusyootham graTHitham ithyarTHah ,dheerghathanthushu patravath,soothrE cha maNigaNA iva.' Since He alone is the cause of the world all beings and the entire world is strung , woven or held together as a cloth by the threads or by the string which holds the cluster of gems together. In BrahdhAraNyaka upanishad Yajnavalkya is asked by Gargi that by which all these beings are pervaded like the warp and woof of a cloth and He replies that it is Brahman.

Next Krishna explains the traits by which the Lord is distinguished in the world which is woven on Him. That is, how can one understand that He supports everything through perception and inference. Krishna says that He is the essence of water, the light in sun and the moon, He is the praNava, the source of all the vedas, the sound which is the essence of AkAsa, the manhood , pourusha in men. He is the pure odour of the earth, (the essence of earth is only punyaganDha or pure smell and the other kinds of smell is due to contact with good and bad things), the brilliance of fire , life in all beings and austerity of the ascetics. In short , He is the seed of all beings. Krishna elaborates further by saying that he is the intellect of the intellectuals, glory of the glorious , power of the powerful, devoid of desire and attachment and the desire in all beings not opposed to dharma.

Krishna sums up the description of the nature of Brahman with ' yE chaiva sAthvikA bhAvAh rAjasAsthAmasAscha yE,mattha EvEthi thAn viddhi na thvaham thEshu thE mayi, ( BG.7-12) all the beings constituted of the three gunas are from Me, but I am not in them, they are in Me, says the Lord.Brahman ia all pervading and hence He is in all things and they in Him as the AkAsa is in all and all are in it. But the statement 'I am not in them ,' seems to be a little bit confusing. Actually it is not so. It only means that Brahman is not conditioned by the qualities like the individual self in transmigration. AkAsa is in everything but is not contaminated by them and pervades everything so that everything is in it. Similarly Brahman pervades all so that they are in Him but He is not in them in the worldly sense of the term.

The combinations of the three gunas constitute the whole world and the attiudes of the mind are also the products of three gunas. People who are deluded into believing that they are real do not understand the immutble reality behind them. "This," Krishna says," is the deluding power of my maya whch cannot be transcended. Only those who surrender to Me are able to cross over it." ' mAmEva yE prapadhyanthE mAyAmEthAm tharanthi thE.' (BG.7-14)The power of maya can be removed only through the will of the Lord.

'yamEvaisha vrunuthE thEnalabhyathE,' says the upanishad.. Only whom He chooses to reveal Himself, is able to understand Him.

The question that possibly could come to the mind of Arjuna "if those who surrender to you can cross over maya then why don't all do so?" was anticipated by Krishna and He continues;' the base, the deluded and the evil doers do not surrender to Me.'

T6hen who are those who resrt to the Lord?

Krishna says

ChathurvidhA bajanthE mAm janaah sukrthinO arjuna
ArthO jignaasurarTHArTHeejnAnee cha bharathrshbha (BG.7-16)

'Four types of devotees of noble deeds worship Me, Arjuna,the seeker after worldly possessions,arTHArTHee the afflicted,Arthee seeker for knowledge, jijnAsu and the man of wisdom,jnAnee., O best of Bharathas' A man who believes in God prays for the fulfilment of his cherished objects of the world,wealth or child and so on. When he gets them as a result of his prayer his devotion is strengthened and develops into faith.If he has not already acquired faith he will lose belief if his desire is not fulfilled.This is why we often hear the cry 'I no more believe in God,' from those who face disappointments in life.
Sugreeva and dhruva can be cited as examples of arTHArTHee type of devotees, the former devoloped faith after the fulfilment of his desire while Dhruva had both faith and beliefand became a jnani later, elevated to the status of dhruva star.

The second kind of devotee who seeks God as his sole refuge when in distress like Droupadi or Gajendra are Arthees with staunch faith that He alone is their saviour, which is termed as mahAvisvAsam ,among the five requisites of saranAgathi. They do not seek Him for worldly pleasures but remain ardent devotees through out their life which alone will make them call out to Him in earnest.In normal life we do not have that faith in God eventhough we have belief in Him and therefore we suffer in consequence

Here comes the importance of the word 'sukrthinah' which Krishna uses to describe the four kinds of devotees. To think of God and yearn for His mercy requires poorvajanmapunya. There is a story to illustrate this.

A man who was a confirmed sinner was sitting on a tree and Lord Siva happened to pass that way with Parvathi. Siva told Parvathi that the man is going to fall from the tree and die since it is his fate. Parvathi, being the divine mother, took pity on the man and said that they should save him to which Siva replied that it was his karma being a sinner to die such a death.When Parvathi remonstrated with him Siva said that He will save the man if he cries out 'appa' and she should save him if he says 'amma' when he falls. Parvathi was happy without realising the real purport of Siva's words.The branch on which the man was sitting broke and he fell down crying'aiyo,' because he did not have the sukrthi to call God's name at the time of death

JijnAsu is one who has pure devotion and does not seek the pleasures of life nor is he worried about distress because the only thing that could cause pain to him is being away from the Lord. Uddhava and to a certain extent Paikshit are the examples of this kind of Bhakthi. A jijnAsu who has pure devotion and does not seek the pleasures of life nor is he worried about distress because the only thing that could cause pain to him is being away from the Lord. Uddhava and to acertain extent Parikshit are the examples of this kind of Bhakthi. A jijnAsu loves the Lord for his own sake and seeks to acquire the jnana which the Lord Himself gives as in the case of Udhdhava or through someone as He did for Parikshit.

 The last but not least is the jnani who has realised the truth about the Lord like Prahlada, Narada and other sages who were both bhakthas and jnanis.

'ThEshAm jnAnee nithayukthah EkabhakthirvisishyathE; priyO hi jnaninO athyarTHam aham sa cha mama priyah.' (BG.7-17)

Of these, says the Lord, jnani, the knower who is ever itegrated and exclusively devoted, excels. " I am exceedingly dear to him and he to Me."

Then are not the other three dear to the Lord? Krishna clears this doubt by saying 'udhaaraassarvaevaithe,' all the four are praiseworthy but the jnani is said to be the dearest in the sense that he is the very self of the Lord, that is, non-different from Him. The jnani is extolled because 'bahoonAm janmanAm anthE jnaanavAn mAm prapadhyathE, only after several births one becomes a jnani and reaches Me,' says krishna, and to find such a great soul to whonm everything is Vasudeva is very difficult, 'vaasudevaassarvam ithi sa mahaathmaa sudhurlabhah.'

Those who are deprived of this knowledge resort to other deities, which means that they propitiate the lesser gods to satisfy their desires. There are so many disciplines laid out in the veda for fulfilling the desires like getting wealth, progeny etc. by doing yajnas or japas on various deities which are all serve the purpose of attaining the worldly success and prosperity or at the most to go to heaven but not everlasting good and bliss.But Krishna does not denounce such faiths and says that He only causes the faith to grow for them wn ho worship other deities.This is something like approaching the lesser officials for minor wants instead of the head of the government, while the power to grant the wishes are given to them only by the head of state.

But such finite results will come to an end and the everlasting happiness can come only through the worship of the supreme self, paramapurusha. Why do all people resort to the Lord? It is because of their ignorance , says Krishna.' nAham prakAsah sarvasya yogamAyA samAvrthah, I am not manifest to all as they are veiled by the delusive power of maaya.The awareness of a transcendental and imminent reality is absent on account of ignorance which makes man deluded enough to imagine the world to be real.

How does the ignorance creates the illusion that the world is real? Without realising that there is one and only reality which pervades all and which is the innerself of all, man sees the difference everywhere due to his ignorance and this is the cause of the perception of duality, whcih causes the delusion. Attachment and aversion , gain and loss, joy and sorrow are all due to the perception of duality.To one who sees the self where there is neither delusion nor sorrow. On the other hand those who are free from the delusion of dualities, dhvandhva mohavinirmukthaah, have no more sins, anthagatham paapam and all their actions are of merit. only because they worship the Lord with steadfast will.Those who strive for release a from old age and death, meaning immortality through moksha, realise Brahman in entirety. and as the aDhyAthma the innerself,and they alone understand karma completely, meaning the significance of karma, akarma and vikarma.

The last sloka of the 7th adhyaya hints the forthcoming one by 'sADHibhoothADHidhaivam mAmsADHiyajnam cha yE vidhuh, prayANakAle pi cha mAm thE vidhuryukthachEthasaha.' (BG.7-30) This means those who know the supremeself along with the manifestatations of Him in elements, divinities and sacrifices will know Him also at the time of death with their concentrated on Him.

Chapter 10-Seven questions and answers-(adhyaya8)

Arjuna became curious about the terms Adhidhaiva etc and asks Krishna to explain them., which was the exactly what Krishna intended, by mentioning them.The really good teacher should incite curiosity in the mind of the pupil which kindles the desire to know. That is what Krishna has done at the end of the seventh adhyaya of Gita and now in this eighth adhyaya he starts explaining the terms and also showing the stages in attaining Brahman.

Arjuna asks six questions:

1..kim thath brahma-what is that Brahman ?

2. kim aDhyAthma-what is the innerself?

3. kim karma- what is action?

4..aDHibhootham cha kim prOktham--what are the elements?

5.aDhidhaivam kim uchyathe - What is said to be the divinities?

6.aDhiyajnah kaTham kO athra asmin dhEhe - who in this body operates the sacrifices and how?

7.prayANakAle cha kaTham jnEyo asi niyathAthmav bhih- At the time of departure from this world how are you to be known by the self-controlled?

Krishna gives answers to the questions briefly and then elucidates.

1. aksharam brahma paramam- the supreme brahman is the imperishable..

2. svabhavah aDHyAthmam uchyathE-Here svabhava is not to be understood as one's nature but it is 'svasya bhavah.' The inner self is the subjective self in each body whose real nature is Brahman, the supreme self.

3.bhoothabhAvah udhbhavakarah visargah karmasajnithah- action is the creation that brings all beings into existence.

4.adhibhootham ksharObhavah- elements costitute perishable existence.

5. purushaschADHidhauvatham- the divinities mean the Self.

6.adHiyajnO ahamEva athra dhEhE - I am the one who resides in the body effecting sacrificial acts.

7. anthakAlE cha mAmEva smaran mukthvA kalEbaram yah prayAthi sa madhbhAvam yAthi- At thetime of death the one who gives up his body remembering the Lord alone attains Him.There is no doubt about this , says Krishna. Since the final thought causes the new body whatever one thinks in the end , so he becomes.

This does not seem to be as accidental as it looks. It is not just any random thiought that comes to your mind at the last moment of your life that will determine your next janma. The thought that repeatedly comes foremost in our minds will only occur to us in the last moment. So in order to think of the Lord in the last moment the thought of Him should be foremost all through the life.

This is confirmed by the words of Krishna who says 'thasmAth mAm anusmara yuDHya cha.', which means that whatever you do, here fighting as far as Arjuna is concerned, always think of the Lord. This is what Ramanuja means by dhruvasmrthi, a constant flow of thought that runs undercurrent in your mind which he calls dhyana.

This is the way to attain the supreme, Krishna says,' Mayyarpitha mano buddhih mAmEvaishasyasamsayah , when you have your mind and intellect fixed on me you will reach me without doubt.' How to do this? 'abhyAsa yogayukthEna chEthasA nAnyagAmina,' says Krishna. With repeated practice, with mind not diverted by anything else, one can attain the supreme.

To meditate on an object you must have a clear picture of it in your mind. The attributes of the supreme are given in the next sloka.

kavimpurANam anuSAsithAram aNOraNeeyAmsam anusmarEdhyah

sarvasya DhAthAram achinthya roopam AdhithyavarNam thamasah parasthAth (BG.8-9)

Who remembers (at the time of departure) the wise, ancient and the ruler, subtler than the subtle,the upholder of all, whose form is beyond thought and expression,replendent like the sun beyond the darkness(of ignorance)

Kavi- The word normally understood to mean a poet actually means 'far sighted or omniscient,' Brahman is referred to as kavi denoting the omniscience, purANA, ancient meaning eternal, anuSAsithA, ruler of the whole world being transcendent and aNOh aNeeyAmsam, subtler than the sutle, denoting the imminence, hence sarvasya DHAtha, the supporter of all, acinthya roopam beyond thought being dhesakala vasthu aparicchannam, not limited by place, time or entity, thus not limited by thought or expression, Adhithya varnam, being liminous with the timeless light of consciousness and hence thamasah parasthAth, beyond the darkness of ignorance.

Next Krishna makes a brief reference to the technique of yoga as outlined earlier. A yogi sustains the life force, prANa, between the brows and remembering the sulpreme reality reaches the divine. This sloka outlines the stages attained through the power of yoga. The phrase yogabala means the steadiness of mind produced from the accumulation of thoughts centred on Brahman. PrayANA kAle , at the time of departure from the body a yogi first sees the Lord in the lotus of his heart and then by stages conquers the planes of yogic experienmce till he causes the prANA to enter the space between the eyebrows to enable it to leave through the sukshmanadi in the head.Such a yogi reaches the supreme self, 'param purusham upaithi'

What is the nature of Brahman, the sole theme of the veda , sought to be known by those who master the vedas? That is the imperishable, akshara, which is known through the vedas, which the ascetics devoid of all attachments enter into,by seeking which they live a life of celebacy. This is the Brahman described in the upanishads as 'not gross,not subtle' etc. meaning that it cannot be described by words or set by limitations.

So the one, who controls all the doors of his senses, that is, controls the mind going through the gates of the senses to the sense objects,maintains the mind within and practicing the yoga described earlier and utters the praNava which represents Brahman and thus leaves the body, never riverts back to he state of transmigration. Krishna says He is easily accessible to the one who remembers Him single-minded and without interruption ( dhruvasmrthi), and reaching Him, there is no punarjanma . Next Krishna describes the fate of those who fail to reach the supreme and return to earth.

Chapter11- Journey of the soul (adhyaya8)

Worlds upto and including Brahmaloka are subjected to return and "only on reaching Me," says Krishna, " there is m no return." That is, the souls reaching these places have rebirth.The reason for this is indicated in the next sloka. Even the world of Brahma is finite in time. 'sahasrayugaparyantham aharyadhbrahmaNO vidhuh;rAthrim yugasaharAnthAm thE ahOrAthravidho janAh.' ( BG.8-17)Those who have the knowledge of time say that the day of Brahma lasts for 1000 chathuryugas and the nights are of the same duration.

When it is night for Brahma all beings are dissolved in the unmanifest and are born again when the day dawns for Brahma. All beings exist in the unmanifest state and again become manifest at the day break when Brahma starts the creation. The karma of beings which determine the nature of their creation is in subtle state and becomes gross when they are born again.Thus the dissolution at the end of 1000yugas serves as a temporary rest for all creatures, like a long sleep

Beyond this manifest and unmanifest there is another eternal Unmanifest being that does not perish and it is the akshara, the imperishable, reaching which the soul does not return and Krishna says that it is His abode, the abode of the supreme purusha. Having said that once you attain Him there is no return Krishna says that the supreme purusha can be attained only through devotion.'purushah sa param pArTha bhakthyA labhyasthvananyayA.' (Bg.8-22)

Who is this purusha? "yasyAnthasTHAni bhoothAni yEna sarvam idham thatham,'(BG.8-22) He is the one in whom all beings dwell and by whom all this is pervaded.' That is, Brahman.He is the supreme and unexcelled. Within Him dwells all beings because He is the cause of all and the effects must be necessarily be pervaded by the cause as pots are by the mud.Thus He is all-pervading like the akasa in which everything exists and which exists in everything.

Then Krishna explains the journey of the soul of those who attain brahman and those who return to earth.The path trvelled by the souls of brahmavidh, the knower of Brahman is described thus:'agnirjyOthirahahSuklah shaNmAsA uttharAyaNam;thathraprayAthA gacchanthi brahma brahmavidhO janAh.' (BG.8-24)The fire,light,day, the bright fortnight,the six months of uttharayaNam, northern solar movement,departing at the time of which the knowers od Brahman attain release and do not come back to earth.Whereas those who depart at the time of smoke,night,the dark fortnight and dhakshiNAyana, the six months of the sun's southern course,reach the lunar light and returns.

The words, light, day etc. do not indicate merely the landmarks of the departing soul but represent the deities ordained by the Lord to guide the soul.. Thus there are two courses , one of light, archiradhi marga and the other dhooma marga,that of smoke and by the first the soul departing by which does not return and by the second , it does return.So Krishna advises Arjuna to become a yogin in irder not to rivert back to samsara on leaving the body.

But the question that arises is that whether a man dying in the night and in dhakshiNayana even if he is a yogi, never attains Brahman? The answer is given by Badharayana in Brahmasuthra.The karma of the man of knowledge comes to an end at the time of leaving his body in his last life, he attains Brahman though he dies at night.  This is proved by the text, 'thasya thAvadhEva chiram yAvanna vimOkshyE aTha sampathsyE,(Chan.6-14- 2) the text quoted, namely, 'dhivA cha suklapakshaschautth arAyaNam Eva cha; mumoorshathAm prasasthAni vipareetham thu garhitham, daytime, the bright half of the month and the northern progress of the sun are excellent for those about to die; the contrary times are unfavorable, ' is for those who have not attained knowledge. nisi nEthicheth na sambanDhasya yAvaddhEhabhAvithva th dharsayathi cha (BS-4-2-18)

Ramanuja says in Sribhashya commenting on the Brahma suthra athaschAyanEpi dhakshiNe,( 4-2-19),

But a doubt arises that because it is said that those who die in DhakshiNAyana reach the world of pithrs and while those who die in utthraAyaNa reach the moon. The former are said to return to earth when their merits are exhausted. Bhishma and others who were knowers awaited the uttharAyaNa and hence it looks as though those who die in dhakshiNAyana cannot attain Brahman. 

The answer to this is that those who have knowledge, even when they go to the world of the moon, do not return to earth but go further to attain Brahman and the stay in the world of the moon is only a rest for them. Mahanarayana upanishad declares that from there one reaches Brahman. 'thasmAth brahmaNAah mahimAnam Apnothi.' ( (Mahanarayana. 25-1) Bhishma and others postponed their death not because they cannot attain Brahman by dying in dhakshiNAyana but only to demonstrate the glory of uttharAyana for promoting dharma and AchAra.  

Krishna ends the subject of the departure of the soul 'vEdhEshu sarvEshu thapassu chaiva dhAnEshu yathpuNyaphalam pradhishtam;athyEthi thathsarvamidham vidhithvA yOgee param sTHAnam upaithi chAdhyam.'(BG.8-28) The yogi who has known and practised properly what has been stated in this chapter in the course of answering the seven questions,surpasses all the meritorious fruits of mastering the vedas, sacrifices rightly performed,penances well undergone,and the gifts duly offered and attains Brahman.

Chapter12- The eminence of SupremePerson (adhyaya9)

The Brahmavidhya, is called rajavidhya and most secret , rajaguhyam , pure, pavithram and the greatest, utthamam. By learning which , says Krishna,one will be liberated from evil, 'mOkshyasE aSubhAth.' This is called rajavidhya because it is the science of great minds and it is rajaguhyam, royal secret, because the great-minded alone are capable of keeping the secret knowledge

This self knowledge, is directly perceivable, in accordance with dharma and easy to do. It is directly perceivable to those who have the insight, it is in accordance with dharma as it provides the means of attaining the supreme good. It is said to be easy to practise in the sense to the one who has the right knowledge and skill to do a thing comes easily to him.It is avyaya, imperishable, since the attainment of it results in eternel bliss.

The necessary qualification for this Brahmavidhya is sraddha and those who has no faith, do not reach the ultimate even after many births.Any goal can be reached only by steadfast and faithful plan of action, and it is more so with respect to Brahmavidhya the means of attaining the highest goal. Krishna has indicated that Arjuna has the qualification required for Brahmavidhya by saying 'pravakshyAmi anasooyavE' in the very first sloka of the adhyaya. This means only one who does not cavil deserves this instruction.The tendency to cavil comes from lack of faith. That is why Krishna says in the last adhyaya, "never tell this to one who has no faith or devotion."

Krishna explains the Brahmavidhya thus:

'mayA thatham idham sarvam jagadhavyakthamoorthinA;mathsTHAni sarvabhoothAni, na chaham thEshvavasTHithah.,'(BG.9-4)

"The entire world is pervaded by Me, in my unmanifest form;All beings dwell in Me but I do not dwell in them."

In the next sloka Krishna says,

'na cha mathsTHAni bhoothAni paSya me yOgamaiSvaram; bhoothabrnnacha bhoothasTHO mamAthmA bhoothabhAvanaah.' (BG.9-5)

”Neither do things exist in Me. Behold My sovereign yoga.It is My Self bringing the beings into existence and sustain them yet does not dwell in them.

These two statements appear to be self-contradicting and Krishna illustrates the idea contained in these two slokas by the next one:

'yaTHAAkAasThthO nithyam vAyuh sarvathragO mahAn;thaTHA sarvANi bhoothAni mathsTHAneethyupaDHAraya.' (BG.9-6)

"Just as the vast air eternally subsists in space and moves everywhere even so all beings exist in Me."

"They are in Me and I am not in them," and neither do things exist in Me," have to be understood as in the case of wind which stays in the akasa and moves in it yet the akasa is not in any way connected with the wind.Another example can be given by the sky in which the clouds exist and move,is not in any way connected with them. This is what is meant by ."they are in Me but I am not in them." The sky or akasa remain the same with or without the clouds or the wind. Bur the next statement "neither do they exist in Me ," is not that easy to comprehend. This can be illustrated by an example. When we say things are in something else like the friuts in a basket, which supports them they are two different things and have separate existence apart from each other. But Brahman , though the supporter of all is not the container like a basket and has independent existence not connected with the beings created and supported by Him. But the beings have no separate existence apart from Brahman, as the fruits in the basket . Hence they are not really in Brahman as they are non-eternal.

Then where do they go when they become nonexistent? The answer is given by the next sloka.

'sarvabhoothAni kounthEya prakrthim yAnthi mAmikAm;kalpakshayE punasthAni kalpAdhou visrjAmyaham.' (BG.9-7)

"All beings enter into My prkrthi at the end of the cycle of time and again I let them out at the beginning of the cycle."

The creation is explained as 'prakrthim svAm avashtabhya visrjAmi puanahpunah, bhoothagrAmamaimam krthsnam avaSam prakrthErvaSAth.' (BG.9-8)

'Controlling the prakrthi, which is My own, I send forth again and again all this multitude of beings, which are helpless under the sway of Prakrthi." The created beings are controlled by prakrthi comprising of the three gunas, and act accordingly. But by saying this is 'my prakrthi' the Lord is open to criticism of being partial and cruel as there is so much suffering in the world. the answer to this is given in the next sloka.

na cha mAm thAni karmANi nibaDHnanthi DHananjaya, udhAseenavath Aseenam asaktham theshu karmasu.(BG.9-9)

'These acts, (meaning creation, sustenance and annihilation,) do not bind Me because I am detached from them as though indifferent.'

The activities of the created beings are in accordance with their karma which is beginningless, same as anAdhi avidhya of the advaita, and the creation takes place accordingly.The words"I create" is to be understood not in the sense of the potter and the pot or even clay and the pot but like the waves of the sea that come in different shapes and sizes and as long as the wave exist as such it has to experience the inequality according to its own nature and duration but when it merges back into the sea it loses the distinctness only to rise again in different form and size etc. So the sea may say that "I only create the waves but I am not bound by and not attached to their action.

The author of vedantasuthras says,

vaishamya nairGrNye na,sApEkshathvAth thaTHA hi dharsayathi (BS-2-1-34)

Partiality and cruelty cannot be, considering other reasons, also declared by sruthi.

An objection is raised based on the previous suthra that if the creation is a mere sport for Brahman He will be charged with partiality and cruelty in creating a world full of inequalities and making the beings suffer. But the scripture declares that Brahman takes into consideration the karmas of the souls in creating the different conditions of the beings in the world. 'sAdhukAree sAdhurEva bhavathi pApakAree pApo bhavathi,,'a man becomes good by good work and bad by bad work.' ('Brhd.3-2-13)

If it is said that there was no karma in the beginning , it is not so, because karma is anAdhi, beginningless, which is reasonable and according to scriptures.

The objection that in the beginning only Brahman alone existed and hence no karma can be attributed to the first being created, is answered that the inividual souls and their karma are beginningless. the sruthi confirms this by saying 'na jAyathE mriyathE va vipaschith. The sentient soul is neither born nor dies,'(KatO.1-2-18) and 'sooryAchandhramasou DHAtha yaTHA poorvam akalpayath, (Brhd.3-4-7)

The prakrthi which the Lord calls His in the sense that it is controlled and supervised by Him, gives rise to the world of beings, 'mayAdhyakshENA prakrthih sooyathe sacharAcharam.'(BG.9-10)

This secret is not known to the dulwitted and those of deluded intellect. They consider the Lord, like Kamsa or Duryodhana, to be a human being and not knowing His higher nature detest Him and waste their lives.This statement of Krishna, 'avajAnanthi mAm mooDAh mAnusheem thanumAsritham, param bhAvam ajAnanthah mama bhoothamaheSvaram,' (BG.9-11)should not be merely considered in its historical implication. The essence of every being is Brahman and due to ignorance man identifies himself and others with only body, mind and intellect and get deluded. In other words the true nature of the self is not understood and hence man behaves like asuras and rakshasas,'rAkshaseem Asureem chaiva prakrthim mohineem SrithAh.'

Chapter13-Those who know the truth-(adhyaya-9)

Then who know the truth? Krishna gives the answer.

mahAthmAnasthu mAm ParTha dhaiveem prakrthim ASrithAh; bajanthyananya manasah jnAthvA bhoothAdhim avyayam.(BG.9-13)

"The great minded souls who are associated with My divine nature, worship Me with unswerving mind, knowing Me to be the immuable source of all beings."

Such persons, mahathmas , worship the Lord with devotion, singin His praise aspiring to be united with Him.There are others, says Krishna, who approach the Lord through knowledge, jnAnayajna.

How do these understand the Lord?

"They see Me thus, " says Krishna.

'ahamkrathuraham yajnah svaDHAham aham oushaDHam,

manthroham ahamEvAjyam aham agniraham hutham

pithAham asya jagathO mathA DhAthapithAmahah

vEdhyam pavithram OmkAra rksAma yajurEva cha

gathirbharthA prabhusskshee nivAsaSSaraNas suhrth

prabhavAh praLayah sTHAnam niDHAnam beejam avyayam

thapAmyaham aham varsham nigrhNAmi uthsrjAmi cha

amrtham chaiva mrthyuschasadhath cha aham arjuna.'

(BG.9-16to19)

The Lord is the yajna, sacrifice, the offering , the herb, the manthra,the ahuthi and the fire etc.He is the father, mother,creator and grandfather of the universe.

He is the purifier, the syllable OM and also rk,saman and yajus.

He is the goal, the supporter,the Lord, the witness, the abode the refuge and the friend.He is the seat of origin and dissolution, the base for preservation an imperishable seed.

He gives heat. he holds back and releases rain.He is the immortality as well as death and being and nonbeing.

This is just a forerunner of what Krishna is going to say in the next adhyaya (vibhoothiyoga-adhyaya10)

What the above slokas mean is this:

"I alone am existent, having all the entities for my modes as the entire universe constitute my body.

What then is the destiny of those who follow the vedic path without realising the true nature of brahman?

Those who perform sacrifices for the sake of going to heaven will remain there for a while but when their punya, the merit is exhausted they return to earth.

What about the mahathmas referred to in the beginning of the chapter?

'ananyAh chinthayanthO mAm yE jab nAh paryupAsathe

thEshAm nithyAbhiyukthAnAm yOgakshemam vahamyaham.' (BG.9-22)

" They are those who think of Me and nothing else and worship me persistently, and who aspire for eternal union with Me . I look after their prosperity and welfare."

The Lord promises that He will look after them in this world and the next. Yoga is attainment and Kshema is preservation of that which is attained. The Lord looks after the acquirement and preservation of the needs of his ardent devotees in this world and takes the responsibility of bringing them to Him and preserving them in that state forever.It means that they do not return to samsara.

This sloka interpreted with a secular slant proves to be formula for success in any endeavour, most valuble in management sciences. If one thinks of nothing else except the work at hand, and works on it persistently and consistently the work itself promises success.This and the sloka in second chapter 'karmaNyEvdhikarasthE' taken together will be invaluable principles in worldly pursuits for one who aims for success.

Even those who worship other deities, which includes those who do sacrifices to please Indra etc., actually worship only the Supreme Self, because He is the power behind them.So provided they worship their ishtsdevatha with faith, through them the Lord gives results. Krishna says that He is the sacrifice, sacrificed and the sacrificer, without knowing which the people who worship others fall back into samsara.

Then how should one worship Him?

'pathram pushpam phalam thOyam yO mE bhakthyA prayacchathi

thadhaham bhakthyupahrtham aSnAmi prayathAthmanah.'

"whatever you give Me, a leaf, a flower, a fruit or even water, with devotion , I will take it with pleasure."

Bhishma says to Yudhishtira about the highest dharma of all, yadbhakthyaa pundareekasham sthavairarcheth narah esha dharmassanaathanah,’ the worship  of the Lotus eyed Lord is the age old dharma. This is aadhikyena abhimatham, considered the greatest because it can be done without depending on anything or anybody and without disturbing others. of caste, creed or sex. the last point is stressed by Krishna later in he chapter.

It is said in the Mahabharatha that the Lord expects nothing more than poornakumbha , padhasevana and kusalaprasna;.'anyath poorNodhapAm kumbhAth anyath pAdhAvvanejanAth anyath kuSalasampaSnAth na chECCHathi janArdhanah.'

Why and how the path of devotion is the easiest is denoted by the next sloka,

yath karOshi yadhaSnAsi yajjuhOshi dhdhAsi yath

yatthapasyasi kounthEya thathkurushva madharpaNam (BG.9-27)

Whatever one does,eats, offer,give away and whatever austerity one practises he should do it all as an offering to God.

This seems easily said than done but there is a lot of sense in it. For instance when a servant is doing a job for his master whom he adores, he will do it in the best of his ablity but he does it as the result and the agency of action belongs not to him but to his master.Thus he is not riddled with anxiety and hence will be able to do it well.

This actually combines karmayoga and bhakthiyoga as the former is easier to do with the spirit of bhakthi.The simplest method for spiritual evolution is surrender to the Lord and do everything as His kainkarya, may it be for sustenance of the body, or maintaining a family or vaidika karma. This attitude will rid one of ego and desire.It is not at all difficult but to have that attitude one must first acquire devotion for which also we require His grace. So the first and foremost prayer should be to ask for unswerving devotion and rest will automatically fall in place

Suppose one gets this attitude and does everything as an offering to God what happens to him?

'SubhASubhaphalairEvam mOkshyasE karmabanDhnaih

sannyasayOga yukthAthma vimukthO mAm upaishyasi (BG.9-28)

Then one is not bound by good and bad results of his actions and becomes free from the bondage of karma because his mind is equipped with the yoga of renunciation and thus liberated, he reaches the Supreme.

Lest the Lord be accused of partiality towards only those who worship Him, Krishna says next, 'samoham sarvabhoothEshu na mE dhvEshyosthi na priyah.' "I am equal to all and I have no freiend or foe."(BG.9-29)

Like the wind which will help the boat only when the sails are opened, and the light can be seen only when the eyes are open, God will help only those who come to Him. If one sees Him as an enemy He will appear only in that form because He comes to you as you seeHim.

To emphasise His impartiality, Krishna further says,

'api chEth sudhurAchArO bajathE mAmananyabhAk, sAdhrEva sa manthavyah.' (BG.9-2-30)

Even if a person is most sinful. if he worships the Lord with undivided devotion he is to be counted among the good.The devotion absolves him from all the sins. But he should be sincere and wish to redeem himself, which is denoted by ananyabhAk, with no other thought than the love of the Lord, which naturally destroys all sinful impressions from his mind.

But what is the meaning of the upanishadhic statement ' nAvirathO dhuscharithAth nAshAnthO nA samAhithah nashAnthamAnasO vapi prajnAnEna Enam ApnuyAth, ' (Kata.1-2-24)One who is not turned away from bad conduct, is not tranquil, is not composed and also not calm in mind, cannot obtain the Supreme through knowledge.

Krishna replies in the next sloka,

'Kshipram bhavathi dharmAthmA SaSvath shanthim nigacchathi

kounthEya prathijAneehi na mE n bhakthah praNaSyathi..' (BG.9-31)

Quickly he becomes righteous and obtain everlasting peace. There were examples of this in the epics and puranas like Valmiki and Bilvamangala, otherwise known as Leelasuka and even Purandharadhasa., all of whom changed from men of worldly desires to great bhakthas in a matter of moments.Therefore Krishna gives a guarantee in the second line of the sloka that His devotees will never perish.

To attain the Lord devotion is the only qualification irrespetive of caste creed or sex., Sabari, Guha, ThiruppANazvar, and so many like them are examples of this.

If this were the case of lowliest, can there be any doubt about those who were born in the noble sections of society, learning vedas and practising spiritual disciplines!

Krishna ends the discourse on rajavidhya by describing the nature of bhakthi.

manmanAbhava madhdbhakthO madhyAjee mAm namaskuru

mAmEvaishyasi yukthvaivam AthmAnam mathparAyaNah (BG..9-34)

"Focus your mind on Me;be My devote;be My worshipper.Bow down to Me. Engaging your mind in this manner on Me as the supreme goal you will come to Me."

How to acquire such devotion is outlined later in the chapter on bhakthiyoga.

Chapter14-Glory of manifestation -(adhyaya10)-

The tenth and eleventh adhyayas of the Gita serve to induce devotion and in the twelfth adhyaya bhakthiyoga is elaborated. The transcendence and imminence of the Lord is made explicit in the two adhyayas. The tenth is called vibhoothiyoga in which the manifestations of the divine glory are enumerated corresponding to the vision of the Lord in everything while the eleventh adhyaya is called the visvaroopadarsana in which Krishna shows Arjuna the cosmic form. Hence both the adhyayas taken together illustrates the truth that The Lord is in everything and everything is in Him respectively.

Krishna starts telling Arjuna about His greatness as the Lord of the Universe, which is not understood even by the great rshis and devas because He is the source of them all. After imparting the sovereign learning and secret of the supreme reality, Krishna tries to make it easier by elucidating again on this topic by saying 'bhooya Eva mahAbAhO srnu me paramam vachah, listen again to my word of supreme wisdom which I tell you out of love,' which is the reason for further elaboration.

Krishna then proceeds to explain the knowledge of His real nature which is inexplicable even to the devas and rshis. The impediment to the understnding of the real nature of Brahman is the moha ,delusion. In Ramavathara and Krishnavathara there were only very few who had the insight to see the divinity in Rama and Krishna. and this was possible only through devotion.Jnana or knowledge born of devotion removes the delusion of perceiving the mortal form in the divine incarnations.

Once a man gets free from delusion he is able to understand that the Lord is unborn, aja, without beginning, anAdhi, and is the Lord of the universe.Such knowledge born out of right perception through devotion removes all sins, says Krishna, because such a person is no longer attached either to his action or its result and hence is not affected by it.Thus by meditating on the real nature of the Lord through devotion all impediments , namely those born out of past karma giving rise to sin, are washed away.

This devotion can only be developed through meditation on the supreme power and the multitudes of attributes denoted by the innumerable manifestations of divinity. All qualities like intelligence, knowledge ,selfcntrol,truth, patience, pleasure and exaltation etc and also the adverse qualities like pain depression and fear, etc arise only from the divine, meaning, through divine will.And also the agents of creatio like the manus and sapthrshis, whose descendents are the living beings of the whole universe , also emerged from the Lord only.Krishna says that the one who knows this truth becomes united with the divine with unshakable devotion.

The yogins mentioned above worship the Lord with devotion seeing that He is the source of all and everything proceeds from Him only.The state of such in bhakthiyoga is described as 'macchitthA madgathaprANAh bhODHayanthah parasparam ; kaThayanthascha mAm nithyam thushyanthi cha ramanthi cha.' Their mind is absorbed in the Lord. Their entire life force is directed towards Him only.They inspire one another by talking about the Lord always, enjoying it and live in contentment. When one reaches that state, says the Lord,'dadhAmi buddhiyogam tham yEna mAm upayAnthi thE.' To those who are united with Him and worship Him with intense love the Lord gives the jnana through which they attain Him. They need no other effort for salvation than bhakthi, because the Lord distroys the darkness of their ignorance by the lamp of knowledge,'aham ajnAnajam thamah nASayAmi AthmabhAvasThah jnAna dheeENa bhAsvathA.' He, established in their heart, inspires them with knowledge that kills the ignorance and enable them to attain the Supreme.

Arjuna is impressed with the divinity of Krishna now , a far cry from saying, 'aparam bhavathO janma param janma vivasvathah' (BG.4-4) and extolls His greatness.

param brahma param DHAma pavithram paramam bhavAn

purusham SASvatham dhivyam AdhidhEvam ajam vibhum

sarvamEthath rtham manye yanmAm vadhasi kesava

na hi thE bhagavan vyakthim vidhurdhEvA na dhAnavah

He says, "The rshis like Narada and Vyasa proclaim that You are the Supreme Brahman,Supreme light and Supreme sanctifier, eternal divine Person , Primal Lord, unborn and all-pervading. So I am convinced that all you have said is true and your glory is not known even to devas or asuras " Hence Arjuna says that only the Lord alone could inform him about His manifestations as He alone knows Himself. Arjuna wants to know in which forms he could perceive the divinity manifested and asks Krishna to relate this in detail. Anticipating Krishna 's possible question as to whether what has been said so far has not been made clear to him, Arjuna says, 'bhooyah kaThaya thrupthirhi srNvathO nAsthimE amrtham,' meaning that he wants Krishna to repeat what has been said because there could be no satiety in hearing nectar-like attributes of the Lord.

Then Krishna starts listing the manifestations of divinity, by pointing out the prominent ones as there is no limit for them and hence an exhaustive enumeration is not possible. The Lord is in everything as its inner self, according to Visishtadvaita and Brahman is identical with the inner self in advaita.Hence the real entity is Brahman itself and hence all means only Brahman in essence.Here Krishna explains the imminence of the Supreme Self by pointing out the prominent among all the entities and says that He is that.

Of the twelve Adhithyas He is Vishnu, the paramount.Of the luminous bodies he is the Sun. He is Marici among the maruts and among the stars He is the Moon.He is the Samaveda among the four vedas, Indra among devas,of the indhriyas He is the mind ( which is also couned as one of the indhriyas) and He is the consciousness in all living beilngs.

He is Sankara among the eleven Rudras and among the yakshas and rakshasas He is Kubera, the head of yakshas.Of the eight vasus He is Agni and Meru among the mountains.Of all the preceptors He is Brhaspathi, the devaguru.He is Skandha among the commanders and the ocean among the reservoirs of water.

He is Brgu among the maharshis and of the speech He is praNava.He is the japayajna of all the sacrifices and among immovable objects He is Himalayas. Among the celestial seers He is Narada and is the banyan tree among all the trees.He is Chitrratha, their king, among the Gandharvas and Kapila among the siddhas.

He is the Vajra among the weapons and the Kamadheu among cows.He is the god of love who causes progeny, Vasuki among serpents and Sesha among the nAgas. (Sarpa or serpents are those which have only one head while the nAgas are those with multiple heads.)

He is Prahladha among asuras and death among the reckoners.Of beasts he is the lion and Garuda among birds.Among the things that move He is the wind ( because wind is the swiftest moving) and Rama among the armed..Of the fish He is the shark and Ganges among the rivers.

The Lord is the beginning, end and the middle of all the created beings and the science of Self among the sciences.He is the reasoning power behind al arguments.

He is the akAra of letters and dvandvasamasa of all the compounds.The akAra has been termed as speech in the upanishads.'akAro vai sarvA vAk.'( aithreya.3.2.3) and the dvandva is mentioned because in that kind of compound both the words joined are of equal importance.He is the imperishable Time and the creator with face everywhere.(meaning the four faced Brahma)

He is the death that carries away everything and the origin of all that is born.Among women He is the fame,prosperity, speech,memory, intelligence, endurance and forgiveness.Fame means good reputation and prosperity of a house depends on the woman and how she is treated.The other qualities are those which give glory to a woman.

Of the saman hymns he is the brhtsaman , the most important one.Similary Gayathri among the chandhas is the Lord .He is the month of Margasira and the spring among the seasons.The month of margasirais important as it is supposed to be the dawn of the devas and hence is sacred on earth. Vasantharthu, spring, is the most beautiful and pleasant to all.

Of the fraudulent He is the gambling.It means that the element of chance that is present in gambling is the will of the Lord.He is the brilliance of the brilliant.He is the victory and effort and great mindedness among the good and generous.

He is Vasudevakrishna among the yadhavas and Arjuna among the pandavas.He is Vyasa among the sages and Sukra among the intuitive.He is the punishment of those who punish and policy of those who wish to win.He is the silence of the secrets and the wisdom of the wise.

Sayint thus Krishna concludes that he is the seed of all beings and nothing movable or immovable can exist without Him. He tells Arjuna that there is no end to His divine manifestations and what has been told so far is only a brief account.Whatever possesses power, splendour or energy should be viewed as a fragment of the power of the Lord. Krishna clinches the issue by saying that He is sustaining the whole universe with a fragment of His power, 'VishtabhyAham idham krthsnam EkAmSEna sTHithO jagath.'

In the next adhyaya the transcendenc of the Lord is disl played by the Cosmic form.

Chapter 15-The cosmic form-(Adhyaya11)

Arjuna, having understood the imminence of theLord now expresses a desire to see the transcendent form and to have a direct realisation of the Supreme Being. He asks Krishna to show Himself in His entirety.The Lord in order to remove the traces of ego in Arjuna consents to do so and describes His cosmic form as Arjuna would see it.

paSya mE parTha roopANi SathaSothasahasraSaH

nAnAviDHAni dhivyAni nAnAvarNAkrtheeni cha

The Lord said:

Oh Arjuna, see My forms hundreds upon thousands,manifold, divine, of various hues and shapes.

But knowing that Arjuna could not perceive all that with his existing eyes, Krishna gives him divine vision saying, 'dhivyamadhdhAmi thE chakshuH pasya n me yogam aisvaram.'

Sanjaya who was relating to Dhrtharashtra about what happened on the battlefield was also blessed with the vision, being already given the power to see everything by Vyasa and now on seeing the cosmic form he exclaims ;

'anEkavakthranayanam anEkadhbhutha dharsanam----sarvAScharya mayam anantham visvathO mukham.'

The cosmic form of the Lord was divine, and not limited by space or time and seemed to have multitudes of faces and eyes and facing all directions because of its being the foundation of the entire universe in the past present and future. The infinite splendour is described by sanjaya as 'dhivi soorya sahasrasya bhavedgyugapadhutthiThA;yadhi bhAH sadhrSee sa syAth bhAsasthasya mahAthmanaH,' It was of inexhuastible radiance that it can only be compared to a thousand suns rising simultaneously in the sky.Thus Arjuna saw the entire universe in one place.as an illustration of the word of Krishna in the previous chapter 'aham sarvasya prabhavah matthah sarvam pravarthathE, I am the source of all and everything proceeds from Me.'(.10-8) and 'na thadhasthi vinA yathsyAth may bhootham charAcharam,(10-39) nothing that is mobile or immovable exists without Me.'

Here it is a popular misconception born out of seeing the visvaroopa in the films and on TV that it was a horrible spectacle consisting of many heads, eyes, and other limbs with tongues and eyes rolling, while fire comes out of the mouth etc. Even though it is described as such by Arjuna we should understand that Arjuna was trying to put into words which is beyond description. The Cosmic form is the BrahmasAkshAtkAra which cannot be specified as such through words or by perception as it is beyond all means of knowledge.If one can imagine going beyond time and space then only it is possible to understand the cosmic vision Arjuna has experienced. What presented before Arjuna was the Primal cause along with the effect, the manifest and the unmanifest, outside the concept of time

Arjuna, overcome with amazement, with his hairs standing erect spoke thus:

"I see all devas and all beings in You and I see your infinite form everywhere with no beginning, middle or end. You are a mass of light,blazing like the burning fire and the sun, immeasurable. I understand You as the imperishable, the Supreme One to be realised, You are the substratum of the universe, immutable, eternal protector of dharma and the eternal Purusha.I see You pervading the inerspace between the heaven and earth and all the quarters.The three worlds are greatly overwhelmed with fear seeing your form."

Arjuna imagines that all the worlds are afraid to see the cosmic form forgetting that he alone is able to see it then. He sees all the devas , rshis, and other celestial beings gazing at the Lord with amazement and bowing to Him, praising Him. Seeing Him thus all are shaking with fear , says Arjuna, like he himself does.

Since Arjuna transcends the time by his divine vision, which could be seen only by doing so. he is able to see clearly the end of the war as though happening at present and he says that he sees the kauravas, including Bheeshma, Drona, Karna and others entering the mouth of the Lord, who is the Kala,the Time.

Here is one of the occasions when Vyasa shows his poetic skill. Arjuna compares thr rushing of all the enemy forces into the mouth of the Lord to the torrents of the river rushing towards the sea.

yaThA nadheenAm bahavo ambuvEgAh samudhramEvAbhimukhA dhravanthi

thaThA thavAmee naralOka veerAh viSanthi vakthRanyabhivijvalanthi (.11-28)

Suddenly, seeing the Lord as the annihilator, devouring all beings, Arjuna starts having a doubt as to the real identity of this Being. and asks ' AkhyAhi mE kObhavAn ugraroopO namosthu thE devavarapraseedha; vijnAthum ichAmi bhavantham Adhyam na hi prajAnAmi thava pravrtthim, (11-31) Tell me who You are, with this terrible form? salutations to You, Oh Supreme Being, be gracious. I desire to know You, the Primal one,I do not know Your activity.'

The Lord begins to speak:

kAlOsmi lokakshayakrthpravrddhO lOkAn samAharthum iha pravrtthah;rthEpi thvam na bhavishyanthi sarve yE avasThithAh prathyaneekEshu yODhAh. (11-32)

"I am the world-destroying Time. I have started the annihilation of the worlds. Even without you no one of the warriors here will survive."

Krishna has made it very clear that it is the divine will and He is going to say that explicitly in the next sloka that Arjuna is only the instrument in the hands of the Lord.

ThasmAth thavm utthishTa yaSO labhasva jithvA Sathroon bunkshva rajyam samrddham

mayaivaithE nihathAh poorvamEva nimitthamathram bhava savyasAchin(11-33)

Krishna says in this sloka that he has already slain these hostile warriors and asks Arjuna to stand up and fight and take the credit, remembering that he is only pretext for the destruction willed by the Lord.

When Krishna stood on the side of Pandavas then itself the destruction of kauravas was like the writing on the wall and this fact was known to the wise men like Bhishma and also Karna.Still, karmaveeras as they were, they fought valiantly to the last. The lives of the kaurava warriors were finished the moment Krishna blew his Panchajanya as it created great fear in their minds.

The implication of this sloka is very important. The law of karma operates in an invisible manner and the Lord being the karmaphala dhAtha also acts unobtrusively. But man thinks that he is the agent of his actions and gets agitated. nevertheless he is the agent of his actions as long as they are desire-motivated but even for that the result of such karma is the will of God.

Arjuna, much subdued, speaks with folded hands in supplication.

sThAnE hrshEEkESa thava prakeerthyA jagathprahrshyathyanurajyathE cha

rakshAmsi bheethAni dhiSO dhravanthi sarve namasyanthi cha siddha sanghAh

(11-36)

The whole world is delighted and love You, seeing Your glory. Siddhas bow down to You and the evilforces flee in fear.

Starting from this, nine slokas are the prayer of Arjuna and are very impressive. These form the only sthuthi in Bahagavatgita and chanted by many for its devotional content.

Arjuna says further that there is no wonder that all salute the Lord because He is greater than Brahma, the first creator, He is infinite, the Lord of devas,abides in the Universe as the indweller of all, the imperishable Self which is beyond existence and nonexistence.

Thvam AdhidhEvah purushah purANah thvam asya visvasya param niDHAnam

vEtthAsivEdhyaScha param cha DHAma thvayA thatham visvam anantharoopa

(11-38)

He is the Prime being, ancient and the substratum of the Universe. He is the knower and the known and the Supreme abode. By Him the infinite this univere is pervaded.

Arjuna bows down to Him, who is all the devas, vayu, agni etc.who are pervaded by Him, again and again, from all sides.

Awe inspired, Arjuna remembers that he had shown scant respect to Krishna thinking that he was a cousin and friend. Hence he asks forgiveness for any disrespect shown by him while playing, resting, sitting or eating, while alone or in front of others. "Now only I have understood that You are incomprehensible, You are the father of all that moves and do not move, You are the universal preceptor and there is none equal to You and hence how can any one excelYou.! So I implore Your mercy prostrating before You and please forgive me as a father would do towards his son, or a friend would forgive another friend because You are dear to me and I am dear to You

pithAsi lOkasya characharasya thvamasya poojyascha gururgareeyAn

na thavathsamOasthi abhyaDHikahkuthOnyO lOkaqthraye api aprathimaprabhava.

(11-43)

thasmAth praNamya praNiDhAya kAyam prasAdhayE thvAm aham eesameedyam

pithEva puthrasya sakhEva sakhyuh priyah priyArhasi saiva sOdDum (11-44)

Then Arjuna implores krishna to resume the former form because eventhough he was delighted to see the cosmic form he is filled with awe at the same time.

The Lord tells Arjuna that he was singularly blessed in being able to see the cosmic form which was not seen by anyone so far. Neither through the study of the vedas, nor by sacrifices, nor by recitals of hymns, nor by gifts, nor by rituals, nor by austerities one could see what he has seen, by any mortal.And reassuring him not to fear Krishna assumes his original form well known to Arjuna.

Then Krishna reiterated what he already said .

nAham vEdhairna thapasa na dhAnena na chEjyaya

Sakyah Evam viDHO dhrashtum dhrshtavAn asi n mAm yaTHA

(11-53)

and lays the ground for bhakthiyoga which is elucidated in the next chapter.

bhakthyA thvananyaya sakyah aham EvamviDHo arjuna

jnAthum dhrashtum cha thatthvEna praveshtum cha paramthapa..

(11-54)

Only through singleminded devotion it is possible to know truly, to see and to enter into the Lord, Krishna says.This is the reflection of the passage in Katopanishad 'nAyam AthmA pravachanEna labhyah na mEDhayA na bahunA SruthEna;yamaivEshavrnuthE thEna labhyah thasyaisha Athma vivrNuthE thanoom syAm,' (Kata.2-2-23)

It means that the Self cannot be obtained by instruction, nor by inteelect, nor by much hearing. Whomsoever the Self chooses to reveal itself by him only it is obtained.

It should be remembered that the terms Self,Brahman and the Lord are synonymous and Krishna next leads the topic of bhakthiyoga by saying ,

mathkarmakrnmathparamO mathbhakthah sangavarjithah

nirvAirassarvabhoothEshu yah sa mAmEthi pAndava(11-55)

"Whoever works for Me looks upon Me as the highest, and is my devotee, free from attachment and has no enmity towards any creature, he comes to Me."

Chapter 16-Bhakthiyoga-(adhyaya-12)

After the elaboration of the nature of Brahman as the Absolute Reality in the chapters second to tenth Krishna has shown the Cosmic Form in the eleventh chapter., thus showing the efficacy of contemplation on Brahman with and without Upadhis. Now Arjuna wants to know the relative importance of worship of both manifest and unmanifest Brahman.

This legitimate doubt has sprung from the proclamation of Krishna in the last chapter that ‘bhakthya thu ananyaya sakyah hi aham evamvidhah , jnaathum, drashtum cha thathvena,’ the Lord cannot be understood or perceived in His real state through any means except devotion. In the next verse Krishna gives a definition of such devotion by saying, ‘mathkarma krt mathparamo madbhakthassangavarjithah nirvairassarvabhootheshu.’ The devotee should be nirvaira, without malice towards any being, sarvabhootheshu and sangavarjitha without attachment towards worldly affairs, and mathkarmakrth , all his actions are done as an offering to God

So which of the two, those who worship the Lord in the manner outlined above ,’evam sathatha yuktha yebhakthaah, devotees whose mind is integrated in the Lord always, and those who worship or meditate on Aaksharam avyaktham, imperishable and unmanifest Brahman, are comparatively better yogis?

The Lord replies extolling the bhakthiyoga to be the best. ‘Mayyaavesya mano ye maam nithyayukthaa upaasathe sraddhayaa parayopethaah me yukthathamaa mathaah.’ The best yogis are those who worship the Lord constantly with full concentration and great faith The best example of the expression ’mayyaavesyamanaah’ are the gopies who never had any other thought except that of Krishna. Without rigorous disciplines of yoga and meditation they were able to attain mukthi easily through their madhurabhakthi.

P rahladha illustrates the paraa sradhdha , With full faith in the power of the Lord he did not fear from the acts of his father to kill him. When in the end Hiranyakasipu asked Prahlada “Will your Lord protect you if I cut your head with my sword?” Prahlada replied “ No, because he would not allow you to bring your sword near me in the first place “ That is the sradhdha paraa, great faith.

At the same time Krishna hastens to add that those whose minds are integrated on the unmanifest Brahman are not inferior in any way because they also attain the Lord only, meaning that they are one with the Lord,’ brahmavit brahmaiva bhavathi ‘ The reason the bhakthas were extolled is given in the sussequent verses while in this and the next Krishna defines the nirgunopaasana, the worship of Nirguna Brahman.

‘Ye thu aksharam anirdesyam avyaktham paryupaasathe, sarvathragam achinthyam cha kutastham achalam dhruvam.’ The Nirguna Brahman is aksharam, Imperishable, anirdesyam Indefinable, avyaktham, Unmanifest, sarvathragam Omnipresent, achinthyam, Imponderable, kutastham, Immutable, achalam, Immovable and dhruvam , unwavering. Brahman is indefinable and imponderable because it is beyond description and imagination , transcending word and thought. As the Upanishad declares that Yatho vaacho nivarthanthe apraapyamansaa saha, both speech and mind returned without seeing Him. It is unmanifest being atheendhriya , beyond the cognition of sense organs. Thus it cannot be established by any means of cognition It is also immutable, immovable and unwavering because it is all pervading.

Then how could the jnanayogis become integrated in the Unmanifest Brahman? The answer is given as samniyamya indhruyagraamam sarvathra samabudhdhayah the praapnuvanthi maameva sarva bhootha hithe rathah. They attain the infinite by controlling their sense organs through mind and when the mind is stilled there is no ragadvesha and hence they become samabuddhayah, equanimous in their attitude , and since they are devoid of likes and dislikes they become sarvabhootha hithe rathaah intent on the welfare of all beings.

Presentation of the picture of jnana yogis leads to the reason as to why Krishna extolls the superiority of bhakthi yoga. The distinction between a jnani and a bhaktha lies not in their comparative merits as such but in the relative efficacy of the two methods. Krishna describes jnana yoga as being wrought with difficulties and therefore painful to follow. Kleso adhikatharastheshaam avyakthaasaktha chethasaam. The path of the unmanifest is harder, avakthaa hi gathirduhkham, while being conscious of the body for dehaathmabuddhaya. This is because the self-realisation will happen only when one transcends the body, mind and intellect and the rigorous discipline involved in controlling senses and the mind is full of obstacles and it is easy to swerve from the path without constant vigil over oneself..

Krishna continues now with Bhakthi yoga. ‘Ye thu sarvaani karmmaani mayi sanntasya mathparaah, ananyenaiva yogena maam dhyaayantha upaasathe, theshaam aham samuddhartha mrthyusamsaara saagaraath,’ He says, ‘I become the redeemer of those, who offer all their actions to me, always think of Me with undivided attention on Me as their goal, and rescue them from the ocean of samsara, the cycle of iransmigration.’ He becomes the boat to cross the sea of samsara to those who surrender to Him all their thoughts words and deeds with the attitude ‘kaayena vaachaa manasendhriyairva budhdhyaathmanaa vaa prakrthersvabhaavaath karomi yatyat sakalm parasmai Narayanaayethi samarpayaami.’ This is the meaning of mayyaavesitha chethasaam.

Then Krishna advises Arjuna to follow the path of bhakthi. He says, ‘If you fix your mind on Me alone, with all your thoughts absorbed in Me you will dwell in Me . There is no doubt about this.’ Whatever one does thinks or sees, there should be a persistent thought flow about the Lord like the trickle of oil, thailadharavat at the back of the mind. This is ananya bhakthi..

How is this possible. One has to discharge his duties towards his family and perform the work assigned to him in this world by society as a householder. Sri Ramakrishna gives a beautiful example to illustrate this. When a servant woman is looking after her ward she does her work sincerely and with involvement. But at the back of her mind is the thought of her child whom she has left behind and the moment her duties are over she hurries to her house to care for her child. This should be the attitude, when you are engrossed in your worldly affairs, towards God.

The possible doubt that may arise in the mind of an aspirant is that is it possible to concentrate on God steadfastly and if it is not what should one do. This is answered b Krishna next. ‘Atha chittham samaadhaathum na saknoshi mayi sthiram abhyasayogena athah maam iccha aapthum,’ If it is not possible to establish the mind in meditation on the Lord, try again and again. This is termed as yoga by Krishna, abhyasayoga. Abhyasa or repeated effort in fixing the mind in one object becomes a yoga which is the resulting concentration. ‘Maam iccha aapthum , reach out to Me’ says Krishna.

But this is easier said than done as Krishna Himself accepted earlier, the mind is most fickle and impossible to control,’mano dhurnigraham chalam.’ So what is the alternative? Krishna says, ‘Do not despair, if you are not able to practice control of the mind, do all your actions for My sake, . matkarmaparamobhava, devote yourself to do My work.’ Renounce the agency of action to Him, casting of the attitude of ‘ I ‘ and ‘ ‘ ‘Mine.’

There is a beautiful sloka in Kulasekhara’s Mukundamala, garland for Mukunda.

Jihve kirthayakesavam muraripum chetho baja sridharam

paanidvandva tham archaya achyuthakathaah srothra dvaya tvam srnu,

krishnam lokaya lochanadvaya hareh gachchaanghriyugmaalayam

jighra graana mukundapaada tulasim murdhan nama adhkshajam.

Oh my tongue, sing the glory of Kesava ,the destroyer of the demon Mura, oh mind think about Sridhara, my two hands, worship Him, my two ears hear the stories of Achyutha, my two eyes, see Krishna, my two feet go to the temple of Hari ,oh nose smell the tulasi offered to His feet and oh head, bow down to Him

If one can train his faculties this way it becomes easy to think of the Lord all the time. But caught in the samsara is this possible? What about catering to the needs of oneself and one’s family. If a man in his prime of life spends all his time in this manner who will feed him and his family? It may be alright for one who has finished his duties and leads a retired life. This may be the thought that comes uppermost in our minds. Even for those like us Krishna provides a solution.

Atha ethadhapyasakthosi karthum madyogamaasrithah sarvakarmaphalathyaagam thathah kuru yathaathmavaan. Whatever one does it should be done as an offering to God and the result of the action should be renounced. This is possible only for a yathaathmavan, one who is endowed with self control. That is, one who has given up all idea of ‘I ‘ and ‘mine. What Krishna means here is that whatever you do according to your position on life, should be done as offering to God, ‘sarvam narayanaayethi samarpayaami.’ The same attitude was stressed in the chapter of Karmayoga but here it is not mere Karmayoga but Karmayoga coupled with bhakthi which becomes easier.

The last alternative outlined above is lauded to be the best by Krishna. He says, knowledge is superior than repeated efforts without discrimination, sreyo hi jnanam abhyaasaath, meditation guided by knowledge is even better, jnaanaathdhyaanam visishyathe. But renunciation of the fruits of action is the best as peace results from it, dhyaanaathkarmaphalathyaagah thyaagaathshanthiranantharam.

The question that arises in the mind is that whether the renunciation of the fruit of action is so easy or so commendable than dhyana, abhayasa and jnana. It is definitely not that easy. But it is praised because even an ignorant man, provided he has faith and devotion, can be induced to give up the fruit of action as it is ingrained in the human mind that result of action is not entirely in his control, that is, there is a many a slip between the cup and the lip. So by giving up the fruit of action he places his trust in God and slowly gives up his desires thinking that God knows best what is good for him and will give it unasked. This leads him to think about God more and more and realizes that whatever he does belongs to God. Then he tries to concentrate on God more and more and this practice induces him to acquire knowledge and discrimination. So the renunciation of the fruit of action finally culminates in peace that is born out of jnana.

Once the jnana has risen there is absolutely no difference between the saguna and nirguna upasanas. Even a devotee who starts worshipping God with form comes to realize that God is all pervading and not limited to a particular form and the form is only for convenience of concentration. So the description of a jnani that follows is applicable to both bhakthiyoga and jjnanayoga and is similar to what has been outlined in the second chapter regarding the man of realization.

‘Adveshtaa sarvabhoothaanaam maithrahkaruna eva cha, nirmamo nirahankarah samaduhkasukhakshami, ‘ He has no hatred towards any living being, and friendly and kind to all. He is without the ego and possessiveness. He is patient and equanimous in sukha and duhkha.(Vide: Duhkheshvanudvignamanaah sukeshu vigatha sprhah veetaragabhayakrodhah sthithadheermnuiruchyathe – Ch.2-56.)

‘Santhushtassathatham yogi yathaathmaa dhrdanischayah maayyarpitha mano buddhih yo me bhakthassame priyah’ He is always contented. Because he has selfcontrol and of steadfast resolve(sthithaprajna.) Why he is so, is indicated by the word mayyarpitha manobuddhih. ‘ His mind and intellect is absorbed in Me,’ says Krishna, and adds that such a devotee is dear to Me.

Why is such a devotee dear to the Lord. The merits of the bhaktha are enumerated in the four verses that follow each one emphasizing that he is dear to the Lord.

Neither the world has any reason to be agitated by him nor is he agitated by the world, yasmaannodhvijathe loko lokaannodhvijathe cha yah. The reason for this is his being free from elation, intolerance, fear and agitation. and hence he is dear to the Lord.

He craves not, anapekshah, is pure, suchih, very adept in his actions at the same time not affected, udaaseenah , not worried, gathavyathah and given up all desire motivated actions, sarvaarambhaparithyaagi. He is not elated, has no hatred, not aggrieved and has no desire, yo na hrshyathi na dveshti na sochathi na kaankshathi. He has given up both good and evil, subhaasubhaparithyaagi, because all his actions are done as worship and he has renounced the fruit of action. Since he is detached he is the same towards friend and foe,. honour and dishonour, cold and warmth sukha and duhka. Therefore he treats .both contempt and praise alike. He is silent and contented with whatever that accrues. He has no fixed abode. For him vasudhaiva kutumbhakam. and he is sthiramatih, in other words sthithaprajnah. ‘Such a devotee,’ says Krishna,’ is dear to Me.’ Krishna concludes by saying that all those who are endowed with aforementioned qualities and have faith and are engrossed in Him are exceedingly dear to Him.

End of Part 2-Adhyayas6to12

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