Arjuna said: 1. PRAKRITI (Matter) and PURUSHA (Spirit) , also the KSHETRA (the Field) and KSHETRAJNA (the

Knower-of-the-Field) , Knowledge and that which ought to be known --- these, I wish to learn, O Keshava.

In several manuscripts, this stanza is not found. But in some others, it is met with as a doubt expressed by Arjuna. PRAKRITI AND PURUSHA --- In the Sankhyan Philosophy in India, the Acharyas have used these two technical terms to indicate the inert-equipments (Prakriti) and the vital sentient-Truth (Purusha) that sets the entire assemblage of matter in action. In short, Prakriti is matter and Purusha is the Spirit. The Spirit, in Itself, has no expression except when It plays through matter. When Purusha weds Prakriti, the experiences of good and bad are in legion born. Electricity, in itself, cannot manifest as light. But when it weds the bulb, it is manifested as light.

THE FIELD AND THE KNOWER-OF-THE-FIELD --- We have already explained these two terms in our introduction to this chapter. The "KNOWER-OF-THE- FIELD" is the status of the Knowing-Principle when It is functioning in the "FIELD-OF-THE-KNOWN." Bereft of the field-of-objects, the "Knower" himself becomes nothing but "Pure Knowledge," without the functions of knowing attached to It. THE MECHANISM AND THE OBJECTS-OF KNOWLEDGE --- Conditioned knowledge-bits, meaning, knowledge-of-things, are the constant experiences of all living creatures in life. Naturally, an investigation into the

"mechanism of knowing" and its manipulations and the "true object to be known" will be helpful to all seekers. LISTEN, HOW THE LORD ANSWERS ALL THESE QUESTIONS CATEGORICALLY:

The Blessed Lord said: 2. This body, O Kaunteya is called KSHETRA (the Field) and he who knows it is called KSHETRAJNA (the Knower-of-the-Field) by those who know them (KSHETRA and KSHETRAJNA) i. e. , by the sages . The experience of Perfection is subjective. The Vedantic seers of Hindu Scriptures are unanimous in their conclusion that a subjective quest is the "path" to rediscover and ultimately realise the Self. In this chapter, we find a beautiful philosophical dissection of the subjective structure of man, exposing the matter envelopments that condition the Spirit. A discriminative knowledge of the matter layers, as distinct from the

"Spiritual-Core," will show the seeker the way to rediscover his identity with the Spirit, and realise the actual non-existence of matter, when viewed from the realm of the Spirit. A "waker" in a certain mental frame-work, himself becomes a "dreamer," and, to the "dreamer" the dream is real as long as the dream continues. But on awakening, the

"dreamer" realises that the dream was only a misinterpretation of the waking, rendered by the

"dreamer's" own mind. Similarly, the pluralistic world is perceived when the Spirit views through its own imaginary world of matter, and on awakening to Its own spiritual status it rediscovers Its own Absolute Reality in which the "phantom" of matter has no existence at all. Thus, in a living man, philosophically viewed, there are two aspects: the inert and insentient matter-layers, and the sentient and vital Consciousness. These two aspects are defined in this stanza. THIS BODY O! SON OF KUNTI, IS CALLED THE FIELD - -- In this mechanical age, it is very easy to understand that there must be a 'field' for energy to play in, and that, then alone it can manifest as work done and serve man. Steam- energy cannot be resolved into locomotion unless it is made to pass through a steam-engine. Electricity cannot give us breeze unless it passes through the machine of a fan. The equipments (or assembly of matter layers), through which Life passes when an individuality is expressed, are defined here by Krishna as the "Field." HE WHO KNOWS IT, IS CALLED THE "KNOWER-OF- THE-FIELD" --- This field is made up of lifeless matter, the minerals. And yet, as long as it lives and functions, it KNOWS. This "principle-of-knowing," functioning in the

"field" is the "enjoyer-of-the-field;" the "knower," the EGO. As long as life exists in any living organism, it expresses an urge to know. The degree of this urge may vary from individual to individual in the Universe. But the urge to know, expressed through an equipment, is what we recognise as its life. The capacity of an organism to receive stimuli and send forth responses is the transaction of life, and when this "knower" --- the individuality, has departed from the equipment, we consider it as dead. This is the

"Knower-of-the-Field" (Kshetrajna). BY THOSE WHO KNOW OF THEM --- Here, Lord Krishna has assured his listeners that the definitions given by him to the terms "body" and the "knower-of-the-body" are not arbitrary declarations or hypothetical suppositions, but are in keeping with the actual experiences of all the great Masters of yore. In short, here we have a definition of matter (Kshetra) and the Spirit functioning through it (Kshetrajna). The entire world-of- objects constitutes the kingdom of matter; and the vital knower of the world-of-matter, constituted of the equipments and their array of perceptions, feelings and thoughts, is the Spirit. IS THIS ALL THE KNOWLEDGE THAT ONE HAS TO ACQUIRE ABOUT THEM? --- NO, --- LISTEN:

3. Know Me as the "Knower-of-the-Field" in all "Fields, " O Bharata; Knowledge of the "Field" as also of the "knower-of-the- Field" is considered by Me to be My Knowledge.

After indicating, in the previous stanza, the world-of- matter and the thrilling Spirit-of-Truth that presides over it, here is a staggering announcement, "I AM THE KNOWER-OF-THE-FIELD IN ALL FIELDS." If, in all

"Fields" the "Knower" is one, then the plurality is only in the matter-envelopments, and the Life that presides over them is one everywhere. This Universal One, the Transcendental Truth is indicated here by the first person singular "I AM" because every seeker has to rediscover in himself, "That I am" (Soham). We had already indicated earlier that Lord Krishna is expounding the Geeta in a rare moment of Yogic integration (Yogarudha state). He is identifying himself with the Self that is everywhere. This is something like electricity declaring: "I am the one energy that gives the glow in all filaments all over the world." After indicating the One Spirit behind the entire world-of- matter, wherever it may be, Krishna declares that, according to Him, a correct knowledge (vitally experienced and lived) of what constitutes in each one of us the perishable, changeable, finite, inert matter, and of the nature of the Infinite, Imperishable and Sentient Spirit --- is the Supreme Knowledge. Kshetra is the field-of- matter which is constituted of the various equipments of perception and the vast fields of the perceived. Kshetrajna is the subject that enjoys the activities of the instruments of perception and the world perceived by them. To distinguish the world-of-the-subject from the world-of- the-objects is the salutary Knowledge, which can redeem us from the confusions and sorrows from which we suffer today as individualised egos. SINCE A PRECISE KNOWLEDGE OF THE WORLD OF SUBJECT AND OF THE OBJECTS IS UNAVOIDABLE TO A TRUE SEEKER WALKING THE PATH OF KNOWLEDGE, WE WILL HAVE TO MAKE AN EXHAUSTIVE STUDY OF THEM. THEREFORE:

4. What that Field is; of what nature it is; what are its modifications; whence it is; and also who He is; and what His powers are --- these hear from Me in brief.

OF WHAT NATURE --- Not only are we going to have a discussion of what constitutes the "Field", the Kshetra, but also of what it is in itself. "OF WHAT NATURE", meaning, what are its properties. "AND WHENCE IS WHAT" meaning, what effects arise from what causes i. e. what are the by-products when it changes its form? What is its origin? Who is He, the Knowing Principle in the field? What are His powers of perception, feeling and thought? All these "HEAR, BRIEFLY FROM ME." A mere repetition of the qualities of the Infinite Self is, in itself, of no profit at all to a true seeker. Nor can any evolution actually take place by an over-emphasis of the qualities of the Spirit. To close our eyes to the causes that create our present problems is not to solve the problems. The world-of-matter that has been projected by ourselves around us and the process by which we work through it to perceive the infinite varieties of objects, feelings and thoughts --- all these are to be brought under our close observation and study. To ignore them is to cheat ourselves so much about the "essential knowledge." At least a working knowledge of the enemy's strategy is essential in planning our anti-strategic movements. To know the nature of all matter envelopments --- their play, and how they behave under given sets of different circumstances --- is to know the "Field" where we have to battle for release and win our victory.

Thus physiology, biology, psychology and all the natural sciences have a real quota of help to give us. The spiritual

"path," especially the 'Path-of-Knowledge,' is the culmination and the fulfilment of the secular sciences. This is very well brought out by the fact that, when Lord Krishna, even in the midst of the battle-front, is trying to explain the secrets of the Spirit to the warrior Arjuna, He does not fail to emphasise the importance of a close study of the "Field" provided by the world-of-matter. IN ORDER TO CREATE A LIVELY ENTHUSIASM IN THE STUDENTS TO OBSERVE, STUDY AND UNDERSTAND THE WORLD-OF-MATTER AROUND THE SPIRIT, KRISHNA IS GLORIFYING THE VERY THEME OF THIS CHAPTER. LISTEN:

5. RISHIS have sung (about the "Field" and the "Knower-of- the-Field" ) in many ways, in various distinctive chants and also in the suggestive words indicative of BRAHMAN, full of reason and decision.

The explanations that are to follow are not idle talk, or clever intellectual manifestations, springing from the fertile imagination of Shri Krishna. In the entire discourse, (in Chapter XIII itself) Krishna assures us that what He explains is only a healthy restatement of what "HAS BEEN SUNG BY THE RISHIS IN MANY WAYS, IN DIFFERENT HYMNS, SEVERALLY." In short, the subject-matter dealt with here is the very theme which the Upanishads have indicated in their secret verses, especially so "in its passages about Brahman." Why should we so readily accept these statements of the Rishis in the Upanishads except in a stunned admiration nurtured by our blind belief in them? Krishna points out that even if we had no great respect or reverence for the Rishis as such, we will have to accept their declarations because they are not intellectual dictations, or divine commandments, thrust upon the helpless laity by some winged angels assuming divine prerogative and claiming special sources of secret knowledge. This is the general attitude that poisons the scriptures of almost all other religions. As a contrast to them, our Upanisadic declarations are "FULL OF REASONING AND SO CONVINCING." When a truth is declared, along with logical reasoning, the conclusions arrived at are acceptable to any intelligent student by the sheer force of its appeal. WHEN ARJUNA IS THUS PREPARED TO LISTEN ATTENTIVELY TO THE DISCOURSE OF THE "FIELD" AND ITS "KNOWER," THE LORD SAYS:

6. The great elements, egoism, intellect, and also the unmanifested (MOOLA-PRAKRITI) , the ten senses and the one (the mind) and the five objects-of-the-senses, . . . 7. Desire, hatred, pleasure, pain, aggregate (body) , intelligence, fortitude --- this KSHETRA has been thus briefly described with its modifications.

From here onwards, the promised themes for discussion are taken up one by one by the teacher and upon each of them He gives an exhaustive exposition. These two verses, enumerate the various items together constituting the

"Field" (Kshetra), which was indicated in a previous stanza (Ibid., verse 2.) as "this body" (Idam Shariram).

"THE GREAT ELEMENTS" (Mahabhutas) --- They are five in number --- space, air, fire, water and earth. They are the rudimentary elements (tanmatras) out of the combinations of which the grosser elements --- indicated here in the stanza by the term "Perceptible" (Indriya-gocharaah) Great Elements --- are formed. THE EGOISM (Ahamkara) --- This is the sense of "I"-ness and "My"-ness that arises in us in our identification with the world-of-objects. It is this that is the 'perceiver' and 'enjoyer' of this world, and that enjoys and suffers the joys and sorrows of its own world of likes and dislikes, loves and hatreds, and ever weeps in its innumerable attachments in the world outside. The individuality arising out of our relationships with the world-of-matter, is called the "Ego." INTELLECT (Buddhi) --- The 'determining-faculty' which rationally thinks and comes to its own conclusions and judges good and bad in every experience of a living man is called the intellect. UNMANIFESTED (Avyakta) --- That which rules the functions of a given mind and intellect, and determines their activities in the world-outside, is the unmanifested factor called the "vasanas." The impressions, left over in the mental equipment as a result of our conscious enjoyment of the world-outside, determine the direction and the pattern of all our subsequent perceptions and feelings. Mental capacities and intellectual decisions are determined in each individual, and his aptitudes are ordered by the type of impressions (vasanas) left over in his subtle-body as a result of his previous ego-centric existence amidst the world-of-objects. This source of all individual activities is the residual vasanas in the individual. Naturally, therefore, in its macrocosmic aspect, the total universe of men and things, and their behaviours, must spring from the total vasanas is called in Sanskrit as the "Moola-Prakriti" by the Sankhyans, or as Maya by the Vedantins. The Supreme functioning through Maya (Moola- Prakriti) is the Creator of the total Universe; and the same Supreme, functioning through the vasana-layers in the individual (Avidya), is the creator, sustainer and destroyer of the individual life, the "Ego." From this, it is so evident that the Unmanifested is but the unseen cause, total vasanas, which has manifested as the

"seen" --- the world-of-objects.

THE TEN SENSES --- The five sense organs of perception and the five sense organs of action are the vehicles by which each individual perceives the stimuli and responds to them. THE ONE (Ekam) --- In the context here, this stands for the mind. Even though the sense organs are many, the faculty in us that receives all the stimuli, from all the five avenues of perception, is one and the same, the mind. Not only does the mind receive the stimuli but it also executes the judgement of the intellect and sends forth responses to the outer-world. It is again the only outlet for the individual personality to express through. The "one" here, therefore, represents the mind. THE FIVE OBJECTS OF THE SENSES --- Each sense organ has only one definite field of sense objects to perceive. The eyes can perceive only forms; the ears can listen to sounds; the nose can smell; the tongue can taste; and the skin can perceive the touches. No one of the sense organs can perceive the objects of the other sense organs. Thus, there are five distinct types of sense objects. And, in fact, the entire gross world perceived is nothing other than a play of all these five types of sense objects. The twenty-four factors so far enumerated are the famous 24 principles (Tattwas) of the Sankhyan Philosophy. Lord Krishna, in enumerating the items constituting the

"Field," does not stop with these gross equipments-of- matter; but includes even their "modifications" such as desire, hatred, pleasure, pain, the assemblage of the body (Samghata), intelligence, steadfastness, etc. In short not only do the gross body, mind and intellect constitute the entire world-of-objects, but even the perceptions experienced through them, the world-of-objects, the emotions and thoughts are also included in the all- comprehensive term; the "Field" (Kshetram) --- "this body"

(Idam Shariram).

Anything other than the subject belongs to the world-of- objects, and can be perceived as an object. Mental, emotional, and intellectual ideas are also the objects of our knowledge, and therefore, with reference to the Subject all that is seen, felt, or known are but objects. This entire world-of-objects is indicated in the Geeta in this chapter by the phrase "this body" --- the "Field." In a word, the entire world of "knowable" together in a bunch, can be labelled as the Field (Kshetra). And the Knowing-Principle, seemingly functioning as the

"Knower" (Kshetrajna), is the Subject. To distinguish the Subject from the world-of-objects, an exhaustive understanding of what constitutes the object is necessary. Hence this elaborate enumeration. The entire world-of- matter in the cosmos has been directly, as well as by implication, embraced in these two stanzas. The following section, constituted of five consecutive verses together, lists twenty qualities, which in their totality indicate the "Knower" (Kshetrajna). In fact, the

"Knower-of-the-Field" is directly described (in XIII-12) but, in the following couplets, (in XIII-8 to 12) certain mental and emotional attributes, moral attitudes and ethical principles are prescribed since they are essential pre-requisites for the seeker who is anxious to apprehend and experience the Infinite Self. THEY ARE ENUMERATED AS FOLLOWS:

8. Humility, unpretentiousness, non-injury, forgiveness, uprightness, service to the teacher, purity, steadfastness, self- control . . .

From this stanza onwards, we get a description of the elements of "Knowledge" and they include moral qualities and ascetic practices which are conducive to spiritual awakening. HUMILITY --- meaning, absence of self-esteem; MODESTY --- the virtue of not proclaiming one's own greatness; NON-INJURY --- to any living being mainly by our own vicious intentions and feelings; FORGIVENESS (PATIENCE) --- capacity to suffer long without being upset; UPRIGHTNESS --- comes to him who harmonises thoughts, words and deeds, and who is intent on right conduct; SERVICE TO THE TEACHER --- not merely physical, for real service to the teacher is an attempt on the part of the student to seek a mental and intellectual identity with the teacher's pure heart and intellect; PURITY --- not merely the cleanliness of the seeker's thoughts and physical structure, but also of his dress and other belongings and of the environments in which he is living. It also comprehends the inner purity of thoughts and emotions, intentions and motives, passions and urges; STEADFASTNESS --- consistency of purpose and concentration of all efforts towards achieving the cultural and the spiritual goal striven for; SELF-CONTROL --- self- restraint practised at all the personality-layers, both in their collective and several contacts with the world outside... MOREOVER:

9. Indifference to the objects of the sense, and also absence of egoism, perception of (or reflection upon) evils in birth, death, old age, sickness and pain. . .

ABSENCE OF ATTACHMENT FOR OBJECTS --- This does not mean running away from the objects-of-the- world. Living in the midst of these objects, to switch off our mental pre-occupations with them; living amidst the objects detachedly and not getting shackled by them --- this is meant here by the term Vairagya. To run away from the objects and to indulge in them mentally amounts to suppressions, and such a suppressed individual is labelled (in III-6) as a hypocrite (Mithya-chara) by the Lord Himself.

ABANDONMENT OF THE THOUGHT OF 'I' --- The individuality-sense comes only when we identify ourselves with the equipments and their perceptions. To reduce this delusory misconception of ourselves is an essential pre-requisite for asserting and living our own real divine nature. This is equivalent to the weeding that must precede planting in any field of cultivation. PERCEPTION OF THE EVIL OF PAIN --- Feeling of discontentment with the available situation alone can goad us to discover a new state of existence. Whether it be a nation, a community or a society, as long as they are not aware of the fact that their present conditions are despicable and tragic, they will adapt themselves to living in that condition oblivious of their sorrows. Every political or social worker first makes the people understand their present state of degradation and destitution. When such realisation comes to them, they are ready with all enthusiasm, to seek fresh fields of greater joys and a fuller life. The same technique is applicable in the culture field. Unless a seeker is fully conscious of the inward personality-shackles in himself, he will live on in his own ditch of sorrows, never striving to get out of it. Both the human mind and body have a tremendous amount of adaptability. They can adapt themselves to any condition and even come to enjoy them.

Unless a seeker is constantly conscious of the evil of the pain in his present stage of existence, he will not discover the necessary spiritual urge, intellectual dynamism, emotional enthusiasm or physical courage to seek, to fight for, to win, and to possess the Divine Fields of Perfection. IN BIRTH, DEATH, OLD AGE, AND SICKNESS --- Every physical body in the world, goes through these modifications; and each one of them is an inlet for fresh sources of sorrow. Birth, growth, decay, disease and death are the tragic destinies of all living equipments. In all these stages of our metamorphosis, to constantly recognize pain is to feel an impatience with it. This sense of revolt against pain is the fuel that drives the seekers faster and faster to seek the Peaks of Perfection. MOREOVER:

10. Non-attachment; non-identification of Self with son, wife, home and the rest; and constant even-mindedness on the attainment of the desirable and the undesirable. . .

NON-ATTACHMENT --- The mind's sticking on to the various objects of the world with extreme liking for them is called attachment. It is the mental contacts with the world-outside that bring agitations into the mind. It dances a number to the tune of death to which the finite objects of the world most often dance. Fire in itself cannot burn, but a child gets its fingers burnt, not because of the fire but because its fingers, propelled by a force called desire, come in actual CONTACT with fire. ABSENCE OF EXCESSIVE LOVE FOR CHILD, WIFE, HOME AND THE LIKE --- Excessive love, or affection, is an intense form of attachment to another. It consists in our total identification with the object of our affection. The lover loses his personal identity in his identification with the beloved to such an extent, that he is happy or sorrowful when she lives in joy or suffers from pain. Such an intimate relationship is generally met with in the attachment of a mother to its child. To build a wall of discrimination around our inner personality and to keep such disturbances away is to discover the equipoise in ourselves --- without which no progress or growth is ever possible. With a little practice, this evenness of mind can be maintained unbroken in all situations of life --- DESIRABLE and UNDESIRABLE. A human mind, relieved from its pre-occupations with its own present attachments and affections, unintelligent though they be, will discover in itself a tremendous amount of surplus energy conserved, which might flow into dangerous channels unless rightly directed. THE RIGHT CHANNELLING OF THIS NEWLY DISCOVERED ENERGY IS INDICATED BELOW:

11. Unswerving devotion unto Me by the YOGA of non- separation, resorting to solitary places, distaste for the society of men. . . Perhaps compelled by the nature of Arjuna, a man of action, or perhaps forced by the very spirit of the reformer in the Yogeshwara, the Divine Song, as it comes to us, is the most practical textbook on Self-rediscovery. The moment the Geeta-Acharya advises his disciple to develop any given mental or intellectual beauty, he always suggests a practical method by which this can actually be accomplished. If a seeker tries to develop in himself the virtues described in the previous three stanzas --- not only in his inward life but also in all his contacts with the world around him, it is certain that he, an ordinary man of the world, will thereby conserve in himself a lot of energy. This stanza describes the right application of this conserved energy in proper channels so as to profit thereby and gain a better Self- unfoldment. UNFLINCHING DEVOTION TO ME --- Concentration is the focussing of the mind upon a particular point to the exclusion of all mental excitements and agitations. This steadiness in contemplation may be destroyed by causes arising at two different points --- either in the individual's own mind or in the object contemplated upon. Unless both are steady, concentration cannot be successful. If our devotion wavers from idol to idol, then our practice of concentration will get unsteady, because the point-of- attention becomes ever-changing. Therefore, it is said that unflinching devotion towards Me, the Self, is one of the conditions necessary for steady progress and growth in Yoga. BY THE YOGA OF NON-SEPARATION --- Undivided attention and enthusiasm in the mind of the devotee is another condition that will accomplish better concentration. Otherwise the mind may revolt against its own devoted self-application, and will, either partially or wholly, wander away into its own delusory enchantments. A certain amount of steadiness of purpose is to be maintained by the mind. Wild imaginations and futile day-dreaming are the preoccupations of only a disintegrated mind. The typical expression used here by Shri Krishna to indicate the abject and despicable vacillations of the human mind at the seat of Yoga clearly shows the force with which he wants to condemn such vacillations. He says, the mind should be "unprostituting" with its point- of-contemplation. Prostitution denotes an attitude of selling away one's own capabilities and beauties for the sake of some paltry profit heedless of the higher bonds of faithfulness and chastity. A mind, wedded to the Lord, is a mind at faithful contemplation. The warning "not to prostitute" is indeed very powerful to express that the point-of-concentration should not be at a crowd of deities or a host of ideas, but must faithfully serve some chosen single ideal. Similarly, the other powerful expression used in the stanza is "the Yoga of non-otherness" (Ananya-Yoga). Inspired as He is, the Yogeshwara coins a new and powerful phrase on the spur of the moment to bring a new fire into his re-interpretation of the ancient Hindu way of life and techniques of self-culture. Such an integrated life of stable mind, and steady contemplation upon a firm ideal is impossible, unless the practitioner works in a conducive environment. This is prescribed in the two indirect advices (a) TO RESORT TO SOLITARY PLACES and (b) TO DEVLOP A DISTASTE FOR THE CROWDED SOCIETY LIFE. The more integrated the personality grows and the more maddening becomes its enthusiasm for the quest of that which is dear to its heart, the more it automatically lives alone in itself away from the noisy crowd. This is true of every thinker -- - be he a poet, be he a scientific research-scholar or be he a man with an acute problem. Whenever the mind is fascinated by an enchanting ideal, it loses all its contact with other preoccupations and becomes wedded faithfully to its own all-absorbing theme of interest. Thereafter --- just a poet lives in his own world, just as the scientist is a solitary man even in the market-place --- the devotee also enters a cave of his own experiences and he walks alone in the world. He hates other thoughts entering his mind, and so lives alone in himself. These two terms should not be misunderstood as physical escapism into a tomb-like solitude, or as a physical aversion to the society of men. MOREOVER:

12. Constancy in Self-knowledge, perception of the end of true knowledge --- this is declared to be "knowledge, " and what is opposed to it is "ignorance. "

In this concluding stanza of this section, explaining the various essential qualifications in a seeker, the Lord adds to the aforesaid list EIGHTEEN qualifications, Two more items, viz.,

"constancy in Self-knowledge" and

"understanding the end of the true Knowledge." CONSTANCY IN SELF-KNOWLEDGE --- The Knowledge of the Self is to be lived and not to be merely learnt. If the Self is one everywhere and the Self alone is real, the seeker should try to live as the Self at all levels of his personality. The constancy of living the 'Spiritual- knowledge' at all levels of one's contacts with the world- outside, is one of the unavoidable practices a seeker should always keep up. UNDERSTANDING THE END OF TRUE KNOWLEDGE - -- To remember constantly the goal of our endeavour is to add more enthusiasm to our activities. Sincerity of purpose in, and undying devotion to, any endeavour can be had only if the seeker is thrilled by the vision of the goal that he has to reach. Thus, the "end" should be kept in view. Liberation (Moksha) from all our imperfections and limitations, is the "end" striven for by all spiritual seekers. The attributes are declared to be "Knowledge" because they are conducive to the final Realisation of the Self. A train in full steam waiting for the signal at a platform, is generally described as "Madras is ready to leave now." In the language of the Railway Station, it is usual to say ---

"Delhi is expected," "Calcutta is late," "Bombay has left," etc. In each of these cases only the train leaving for, or coming from, these various cities is meant. Similarly here, the very qualities are called the "Knowledge" (Jnana) because, once these qualities have been fully developed, the mind so cultivated becomes the ready vehicle to go forward and it is easier to reach the goal, the Pure Knowledge of the Self. WHAT IS THAT WHICH HAS TO BE KNOWN BY THE KNOWLEDGE? IN ANSWER TO THIS QUESTION IT IS SAID:

13. I will declare that which has to be "known" knowing which one attains to Immortality --- the beginningless Supreme BRAHMAN, called neither being nor non-being.

After explaining, in the previous section of five verses, the various secondary or auxiliary steps-in-aid for

"Knowledge," the Lord promises that He will explain

"WHAT IS TO BE KNOWN." There are critics who allege that though Krishna, the teacher, promises that He will explain "WHAT IS TO BE KNOWN," He does not directly do so, but merely gives an elaborate description of what is the RESULT of gaining such a "Knowledge." This criticism is unfair. The glorification of the result of "Knowledge" can create in the hearer a greater desire to realise it. KNOWING WHICH, ONE ATTAINS THE IMMORTAL -- - Mortality is the destiny of matter. Identifying with the finite, the Immortal Spirit Itself is conditioned by matter and suffers the delusory sense of finitude and mortality. To rediscover the Spiritual Nature in itself and to live that glory is to end the fearful concept and experience of death, and to enter into a field of joyous Spiritual Nature. This is the goal, for accomplishing which, our inner-equipments of meditation are to be properly tuned up by the disciplines already described. WITHOUT BEGINNING, THE HIGHEST BRAHMAN (Anaadimat-param) --- A beginning can be conceived and calculated only with reference to what is the substratum of all, which substratum must be existent even before Time. Thus, the Supreme is always considered as

"beginningless." From the Supreme even Time is born.

The Supreme Consciousness, which is the "illuminator" of all experiences and which exists, transcending all realms of experiences, cannot be caught within the web of our perceptions --- It being the very Perceiving-Principle in all equipments. With reference to It, everything else is an

"object." It is the one Subject, and since it cannot be perceived, felt or thought of, It is not said to be existent (Sat). Nor can Truth be defined as non-existent, such as the sky- flower or man's tail, for It manifests as the world. Therefore, Truth can be defined only as "neither sat nor asat." The Supreme Brahman cannot be characterised either positively or negatively. Shankara says that "Brahman cannot be existent (Sat) as it belong to no GENUS, nor possesses any qualities, but at the same time It shows Itself to be not asat by manifesting Itself through living bodies." In fact these concepts of "Sat" and "Asat" are judgements of the human mind and intellect. The Consciousness that illumines these judgements is the Self. The illuminator and the illumined cannot be one and the same. Therefore, the one Subject, the Brahman, as opposed to all 'objects,' cannot be either Existent or non-Existent, because 'Sat' and 'Asat' are two types of thought-waves, and the Self illumines them both. That Brahman is "NEITHER BEING, NOR NON-BEING" is all that the scriptures can declare.

DESCRIBING THE ALL-PERVADING SELF CONSCIOUS PRINCIPLE, WE HAVE THE FOLLOWING STANZAS:

14. With hands and feet everywhere, with eyes, heads and mouths everywhere, with ears everywhere, He exists in the world, enveloping all.

WITH HANDS AND FEET EVERYWHERE --- It is easier to describe an unmanifest power for the comprehension of students of lesser calibre, when the unknown principle is defined in terms of the known. Though the hands and legs of the living creatures are made up of inert matter, they seem to be quite conscious and vital in their movements. This Principle of Consciousness, functioning behind them all, everywhere, is one and the same Self, the Supreme Brahman, indicated by the expression "POSSESSING HANDS AND FEET EVERYWHERE." Every eye, head and mouth functions in the world because of the Life that pulsates through it. Life is one everywhere. Therefore, that Life Principle is described here as "EVERYWHERE POSSESSING EYES AND EARS AND MOUTHS." All activities of perception, feeling and thinking are successively pursued only as long as Life presides over the body, and therefore, the One Life is defined here as "EVERYWHERE POSSESSING EYES, ETC."

THAT EXISTS PERVADING ALL --- If this Principle of Consciousness is defined as functioning through known physical equipments, the student may doubt that Life, like stars studding the sky, expresses itself only wherever equipments function. To remove this fallacious idea, it is rightly said that the Truth, the Principle of Consciousness,

"EXISTS PERVADING ALL." This is reminiscent of the famous hymn to the Cosmic-man (Purusha Sooktam) in the Rig Veda. CONTINUING THE DESCRIPTION OF THE ETERNAL TRUTH THE LORD SAYS:

15. Shining by the functions of all the senses, yet without the senses; unattached, yet supporting all; devoid of qualities, yet their experiencer. . .

One of the ways of defining the indefinable Supreme, the subject in the seeker himself, is to indicate It in a language of contradiction, which, without confusing the intellect, tickles it to a special kind of activity, thereby facilitating the realisation of the Eternal. The language of contradiction is the characteristic feature of all scriptural text-books. Hasty readers of the Scriptures quote these lines to justify their scepticism, or atheistic tendencies. This stanza is met with in the Upanishads also. SEEMING TO POSSESS THE FUNCTIONS OF ALL SENSES YET DEVOID OF ALL SENSES --- The Self in us, while functioning through the equipment, the sense organs, and conditioned by them, looks as though It has all the sense organs. But when we analyse, we have to admit that the sense organs are material and that they decay and perish, while the Consciousness --- functioning in and through them and providing each of them with its own individual faculty, is Itself Eternal, and Changeless. The Truth, while functioning through the sense organs, looks AS THOUGH It possesses them. But in fact, It has Itself none of these faculties. Electricity is not the light in the bulb, nor the heat in the heater; yet while functioning through the bulb, or the heater, and conditioned by them, the same Electricity looks AS THOUGH it is light or fire. DETACHED, YET UPHOLDING ALL --- This relationship of "detached support" is not too easy for the initiate to understand. But it is generally brought within our comprehension by the great teachers of our country through analogies. No wave is all the ocean; all the waves put together are also not the entire ocean. We cannot say the ocean is attached to the waves since the ocean is the very nature of the waves and, though detached, all the waves are always supported by none other than the ocean itself. Cotton is in all cloth; cloth is not cotton. And yet, it is the cotton in the cloth that "supports" the cloth. Similarly, the world of plurality is not Consciousness. Yet Consciousness supports it. Between the ghost and the post, no attachment is ever possible and yet, the post alone is the "support" of the ghost --- as the waking mind alone can support the "dreams." WITHOUT GUNAS, YET ENJOYING ALL GUNAS --- The moods in which, and influences under which, human minds come to play and experience themselves are called

"gunas." These are influences that govern the mind and yet they are the objects of realisation or perception for the Conscious Self. A live mind alone can experience these influences. Consciousness conditioned by the mind is the Ego (Jiva), and is the experiencer (Bhoktri) of the guna. Unconditioned by the mind, in Its own nature, It is the Absolute. Thus, in the stanza, the Self, as the Absolute, is described as beyond the sense organs, mind and intellect and detached from everything and without any relation to the various gunas. But the same Self, conditioned by the sense organs, looks AS THOUGH possessing them all, and proves AS THOUGH It is the sustainer of them all, and expresses Itself AS THOUGH It is the experiencer of all the gunas. NOT ONLY THIS, BUT THE SELF, FUNCTIONING IN AN INDIVIDUAL, IS THE ONE SELF IN ALL:

16. Without and within (all) beings, the 'unmoving' and also the 'moving' ; because of its subtlety unknowable; and near and far away --- is That.

The all-pervasiveness of the Principle of Consciousness is indicated here in the inimitable style borrowed from the

Upanishads.

WITHOUT AND WITHIN ALL THINGS --- The Conscious Principle that bursts Itself into activity through the various individualised equipments is all-pervading and is, therefore, in an unmanifest condition. It is present even where no special equipment is available. Even though we can listen to our national radio broadcasts only through available receiving sets, we cannot say that there are no electrical sound-waves in places where there are no receiving sets. Where there is a body, mind and intellect ready to function, there, no doubt, is the expression of Consciousness. But Consciousness is All-pervading not only within the equipment but even outside it. The phrase quoted can also be interpreted as 'WITHOUT THE BEINGS AND YET WITHIN THEM ALSO.' Something like this: the ocean is without the waves and is something other than the waves and, yet, the very mass of each wave is nothing but the ocean itself. MOVING AND UNMOVING --- All that moves of its own volition is "alive" and that which has no motion falls under the category of the "inert". This phrase is sometimes explained as "UNMOVING AND YET MOVING," wherein the Truth, in Its Absolute nature is motionless --- there is no place where It can move since It is All --- yet, conditioned by the things moving, IT LOOKS AS THOUGH it has movement. SITTING in a bus you can TRAVEL a long distance; yourself only sitting! Thus the bus travels, and therefore, in yourself though there is no motion, yet you, conditioned by (meaning, carried by) the bus, are the traveller. Thus there is an Eternal, All-perfect Principle, revelling as the very core in our personality, which is not only within but which is everywhere --- without which no activity is ever possible, and so, which is in every activity. It is manifested everywhere. Then how is it that we are not able to perceive It, or feel It, or intellectually comprehend It? ---

"BECAUSE OF ITS INCOMPREHENSIBLE SUBTLETY." The grosser the thing, the more perceptible it is. Earth can be smelt, can be tasted, can be seen, can be heard. Water cannot be smelt. Fire cannot be tasted. Air cannot be seen. Space has only sound as its property. Cause is always subtler than effect. Space itself being a gross product, it must have a cause. That which is the cause for Akasha is the Eternal Substratum, from which all the Elements have arisen. Consciousness being thus the

"subtlest of the subtle," pervading even Akasha, It is incomprehensible to the gross equipments of thought, feeling and perception. IT IS FAR AND NEAR --- Limited and conditioned things can be defined by their location in space as "here" or

"there." And with reference to their distance from the observer, we can say they are near or far. But that which is All-pervading must be at once "here" and "there." And therefore, it is NEAR AND FAR. This phrase also has been sometimes interpreted as "FAR AND YET NEAR." "FAR": in its Transcendental Absolute nature the Truth is FAR AWAY from all the hallucinations of names and forms, which, in their aggregate, constitute the Universe, but at the same time as Existence, Truth exists in every name and form: "NEAR." In short, this verse, in its staggering beauty arising out of its deliberate language of contradiction, shakes the reader from his intellectual complacency and whips him up to reflect and to realise that the Absolute Reality is at once transcendent and immanent. THIS BRAHMAN, WHICH CAN BE REALISED WITHIN OURSELVES AS SELF, IS ONE AND THE SAME IN ALL, AND REVELS AS THE SELF IN ALL. THIS IS EXPLAINED BELOW:

17. And undivided, yet He exists as if divided in beings; That is to be known as the Supporter of Beings; He devours and He generates. UNDIVIDED, AND YET, IN BEINGS, IT EXISTS AS IF DIVIDED --- Electricity is All-pervading, and yet, conditioned by the bulb it manifests as effulgence at the filament. So too, though the Paramatman is All-pervading, It individualises itself as special manifestations only at points where equipments are available. Though space is one, it can manifest as room-space, pot-space etc., only when seemingly conditioned by the four walls of the room, or the pot. IT IS THE SUPPORTER OF ALL, DEVOURING AS WELL AS GENERATING THEM --- The post is the supporter of the ghost. It "creates" the ghost vision and "devours" it. The earth is the supporter of all plants. It creates and it devours them all. The ocean is the supporter of all waves, waves are born from the ocean, and they are devoured by the same ocean. Similarly, Truth is that solid Omnipotent Substratum upon which is projected the world-of- plurality by the deluded mind and intellect; and when the mind and intellect are transcended, the vision of samsara gets devoured in the very experience of the Tranquil, just as, on waking, the dream merges into the essence of the waker's mind. IT IS TO BE KNOWN --- The theme of all the discussions in the previous stanzas (Stanza 13 onwards) was "THAT

WHICH IS THE KNOWABLE." This is to be "known" by a mind that has been prepared for it through the disciplines advocated in the earlier section. IF THERE BE THUS AN ALL-PERVADING TRUTH, EVER PRESENT IN US, AND IF WE CANNOT PERCEIVE OR EXPERIENCE THIS SELF, IT MUST BE SURELY A PRINCIPLE OF DARKNESS. THIS IS NOT SO. LISTEN:

18. That (BRAHMAN) , the Light-of-all lights, is said to be beyond darkness; (It is) Knowledge, the Object-of-Knowledge, seated in the hearts of all, to be reached by Knowledge.

Brahman, the illuminator in all, is the One Consciousness by which everything is known intellectually, realised intuitively, and experienced spiritually. Since the Consciousness in us brings our various experiences within our understanding and knowledge, it is generally compared with light. To see an object, it is not only sufficient that the object is in line with a healthy pair of eyes, but the object must also be bathed in light. Taking this experience in the outer world of cognition as an illustrative analogy, within us too we must have some

"Light" to illumine, since we can see and have the knowledge of the different types of emotions and thoughts that arise and exist in our bosom. This Light-of- Wisdom, by which we become aware of our own mental and intellectual conditions at any given moment, is called the "Light" of the Soul, or the Self, the Consciousness. By the "Light" of Consciousness, every thought is brilliantly lit in the awareness of our life. Thus, it has become a spiritual tradition to call Consciousness as

"Light." The moment the student comes across such an expression, he is apt to misunderstand it as the LIGHT he has experienced in the world. The brilliance of the light experienced in the outer-world belongs to the realm-of- objects, and it cannot be the subject that is conscious of it. Therefore, it is necessary that the teacher should indicate, in some way, what exactly is meant by such familiar terms as "the Illumination of the Soul," "the Effulgence of the Self," "the Incandescence of the Consciousness." LIGHT-OF-ALL-LIGHTS --- To indicate the Subject, we have to negate the entire field-of-objects. Sources of light such as the Sun, moon, stars, lightning or even fire, are described as having no illumination at all in the blinding luminosity of the Self. Therefore, Krishna indicates that the Self, in each, is the "Light" which illumines all other perceptible lights! Even the Sun, though it has light of its own, is immaterial to the living world of beings, if the Consciousness in them does not illumine it. If I am not aware, but I am told by some wise-looking sage, that I have a pair of horns, it does not matter to me, because they are not available for my enjoyment, nor are they useful in my life, as long as I am not aware of them. My world can give me my quota of cherished joys and pains only when I am conscious of it. Light, as a principle manifested, can serve my world only when it comes into my awareness. Thus, all sources of light are illumined by my Consciousness. Therefore, the Self is indicated as the Subject that experiences the entire world of objectified light. THAT IS SAID TO BE BEYOND DARKNESS --- Even after the indication that the Self is Consciousness that illumines all other Lights of the world, the impression of Light, as an object of our experience is so powerful in our finite intellect that the average student can still retain only his "relative concept" of light. In the world outside, light, in its empirical sense, is that which we comprehend as a contrast to darkness. If there were no light, there would have been no days; in the Sun there is no meaning for the word light, since the Sun knows no darkness! Thus, to indicate the Absolute nature of the Infinite "Light" of the Soul, it is stated that it is beyond the concept of darkness; it is Absolute Light, the Consciousness. Even to say that THERE IS darkness, we must be conscious of it. The "Light" of awareness is so subtle and Absolute, that It illumines not only the various sources of light in the world, but also the experience of darkness itself! That which illumines both light and darkness must be a factor that transcends both these experiences. Thus, the Spirit is indicated as that which transcends even darkness. The second line indicates that the Spirit is (a) Knowledge (Jnanam), (b) that which is to be known (Jneyam), and (c) that which is to be reached by knowledge (Jnana-gamyam). In short, this is the final experience that is to be gained for which we have prepared ourselves through moral perfections such as "humility," etc., (XIII-5 to 11) and have tried to concentrate upon the "Knowledge" (XIII-12 to 17). This is the point-of-concentration for the head and the heart that have been already disciplined for the final flight in meditation. The Consciousness that transcends our experiences and illumines our life is the very goal in all spiritual endeavours, at all times, and everywhere. DWELLING IN THE HEART OF ALL --- If there is an Infinite Light of Knowledge to be known --- without which life is impossible, in the presence of which alone all experiences can have a meaning and existence --- then this Infinite Goal is certainly to be acquired and possessed. Where am I to seek it? What pilgrimage must I undertake? Am I capable of making an expedition? Probably, I am not in possession of it today as it must be something to be experienced yonder in some unknown time and place. To negate all such misconceptions, it is boldly declared here that this Infinite dwells in the hearts of all. Philosophically, "heart" means the area in the mental zone from where noble and pious thoughts spring forth. In an atmosphere of goodness, when the intellect steadily contemplates upon the "Light" that lies beyond darkness -- - the Absolute Non-dual Self that exists, transcending all -- - but also immanent in its subtle all-pervading nature --- It can be contacted and realised, and therefore, the "heart" is considered as the dwelling place of the Self. The Consciousness functioning in the seekers' mind and intellect, if lived and experienced by Itself, must give the experience of the Infinite, just as by knowing the composition of a minute particle of salt, the world of sodium-chloride is understood. SEEK THE "LIGHT" THROUGH DEVOTION: HERE FOLLOWS A CONCLUDING REMARK FOR THE THEME DISCUSSED SO FAR:

19. Thus the Field, as well as the knowledge and the knowable have been briefly stated. Knowing this, My devotee enters into

My Being. What has been described in this chapter so far is the whole doctrine, the doctrine of the Vedas, taught in brief as the doctrine of the Geeta. The FIELD described above (XIII-6 & 7) beginning with the 'Great Elements' and ending with 'Fortitude'; KNOWLEDGE comprising the moral and ethical rules ordering our right relationship with the world, (XIII-8 to 12), starting with 'humility' and ending with 'the perception of the end of knowledge' and the

KNOWABLE described just now, (XIII-2 & 7), these have been briefly dealt with. Now the question is: Who among the seekers is really fit for this great "Knowledge"? It is prescribed by the Lord that His "DEVOTEES ALONE ARE FIT FOR MY STATE." Devotion here is not merely an emotional surrender in love unto the Lord, but an intellectual apprehension of the Truth, through a correct discrimination between the 'Field' and the 'Knower-of-the-Field.' One who is able to recognise the one Vaasudeva, who is the vitalising Conscious-Principle in all Fields-of-matter-envelopments (VII-5), is the true devotee "WHO IS FIT FOR MY STATE"

(Mat Bhava).

THE "FIELD" AND THE "KNOWER-OF-THE-FIELD" TOGETHER IN THEIR COMBINATION PROVIDE US WITH ONE WORD FOR THE ENTIRE UNIVERSE...

20. Know you that Matter (PRAKRITI) and Spirit (PURUSHA) are both beginningless; and know you also that all modifications and qualities are born of PRAKRITI.

Earlier Krishna had described the World-of-Matter (Prakriti) as falling under two groups, the Higher and the Lower. Both these are explained in this chapter as the KNOWER and the FIELD. During the discussion of the Higher and the Lower Prakritis, it was said that they together constitute the source of Creation. Continuing the same thought in this chapter, in a fresh phraseology as the

"Field" and its "Knower," it is repeated that they together constitute the womb-of-all-beings. Matter (Prakriti) and Spirit (Purusha) are both beginningless. Matter and Spirit are the two aspects of Ishwara, the Lord. As the Lord is Eternal, it is but natural that His nature --- Matter and Spirit --- should also be Eternal, meaning beginningless. It is these two, in their inter-play, that project Creation, continue to preserve it, and dissolve the Universe created by them. Thus, the play of Matter and Spirit is the cause of samsara and the Substratum for both of them is the Lord, the Light of lights. Subjectively, when the creative power in me, ordered by my vasanas (avidya), comes to play in the field of its expression, dynamised by its "Knower," it projects a world of experience, which I maintain and destroy according to the nature, the condition and qualities governing the Matter-Spirit factors in me. All forms and qualities are born of Matter. All forms and emanations (vikaras) which have been explained (XIII-6 and 7) already and all qualities (gunas) such as those which express themselves as pleasure, pain, delusion and such other mental states, spring from Matter (Prakriti). In short, 'Matter' is that out of which all forms and qualities come into existence. All changes and modifications belong to the realm of 'Matter' and the Atman is the Changeless

Substratum (Kutasthah), in the presence of which, all these changes take place. WHAT THEN ARE THESE FORMS AND QUALITIES WHICH ARE DESCRIBED HERE AS BORN OF PRAKRITI?

21. In the production of the effect and the cause, PRAKRITI is said to be the cause; in the experience of pleasure and pain, PURUSHA is said to be the cause.

IN THE PRODUCTION OF CAUSE AND EFFECT --- The 'effects' mentioned here are thirteen in number and are constituted of the five great elements, the five senses, mind, intellect and ahamkara. The macrocosmic gross elements in their gunas are themselves represented in the microcosm as the five indriyas. We had discussed this in the description of the Cosmic-Form of the Lord (Chapter XI). These sense organs cannot bring their stimuli of the outer world to the individual personality unless there is the converging point of all the indriyas, called the mind. In order to respond properly to the stimuli, there must be a coordinating and understanding, discriminating and reasoning principle that governs the mind; and that principle is the intellect. In the world-of-objects, constituted of the elements, in the realm of the mind and in the responses sent out by the intellect, there must be a constant sense of I-ness, born out of the individual's identification with all that is mentioned above. This is called the 'Ego.' All these thirteen items, together in their aggregate, represent the 'effect' (karya), mentioned in the stanza. PRAKRITI IS SAID TO BE THE CAUSE --- All the above- mentioned together constitute the world-of-matter. The five elements in their combination become the entire world-of-objects including the body, the senses, sensation and the instrument-of-judgement. From the five Great Elements down to the Ego, all items enumerated together form the "world-of-objects" --- since all of them can be perceived. AS EXPERIENCING PLEASURE AND PAIN --- That which perceives the entire world-of-objects and their reactions upon the ego which is the individual's direct reaction to the world, is the Self. The Light of Consciousness is that which illumines the world-of-objects outside and the instruments of perception, feeling and thought within. PURUSHA IS SAID TO BE THE CAUSE --- Pleasure and pain are the reactions in our intellect. When desirable objects in a conducive pattern reach our life, the experience is called 'pleasure.' And the opposite sensation, produced by undesirable objects, is called 'pain.' Every experience, in its final analysis, is adjudged either as pain or as pleasure. The Awareness in us illumines these. It would be impossible to be conscious of the flow of experiences without the Grace of the Consciousness. Therefore, the Spirit (Purusha) is explained here as the cause for the experiences in life. In short, Purusha is the cause for samsara. The Spirit, functioning in a field as the

"Knower" of it, suffers the sorrows of samsara. He who stands in the Sun suffers the heat; if he retires into the shade, he enjoys its coolness. THUS, IT IS SAID IN THE ABOVE THAT THE

"KNOWER-OF-THE-FIELD" (PURUSHA) IS THE ENJOYER OF THE PLEASURE AND PAIN --- SAMSARA. WHAT IS THIS SAMSARA DUE TO? --- THE LORD SAYS: 22. The PURUSHA, seated in PRAKRITI, experiences the

qualities born of PRAKRITI; attachment to the qualities is the cause of his birth in good and evil wombs.

PURUSHA RESTS SEATED IN PRAKRITI --- The Purusha (Spirit) has no samsara. But the "Knower of-the-Field," Purusha, when It identifies Itself with the "Field" (Prakriti), becomes the experiencer. He identifies with the body and the senses which are the effects of Prakriti. HE EXPERIENCES THE QUALITIES BORN OF PRAKRITI --- The sensations arising out of the matter- envelopments (Prakriti) such as pleasure and pain, heat and cold, success and failure etc., constitute the painful shackles on the "Knower-of-the-Field." The destinies of

Matter become the tragic experiences of the Spirit, not because they are in the Spirit, but because the Spirit unnecessarily makes an unhealthy contact, through its own identification, with the realm of sorrow. He not only experiences the joys and sorrows in life but also develops a blind attachment to them and this is "THE CAUSE FOR ITS BIRTH IN GOOD OR EVIL WOMBS."

"As its desire, so is its will" is a scriptural declaration of an eternal truth. While living in the world, the "Knower-of- the-Field" experiences the pleasures and joys interpreted by the world-of-Matter and gets attached to them, and thereby develops residual impressions (vasanas), and takes to conductive fields where it can eke out its cherished satisfaction through vivid experiences. When the Spirit, eternally joyous and infinitely all-full, orders a "Field" and identifies Itself with it, It becomes the

"Knower-of-the-Field" (Purusha). The Spirit, as Purusha, suffers its own delusory samsara, because, having entered the field in its pre-occupation with the world-of-objects, and in its clinging attachment to the "Field," it looks, as though it has forgotten its own nature divine. Thus, 'ignorance'(avidya), and attachment to the "Field," are the two causes because of which the Satchidananda seems to have become the miserable, bemoaning, tearful, samsarin. The re-discovery of the Self and the awakening to our spiritual nature would, therefore, be through the path of (a) detachment from the "Field" and (b) experience of the

Real-Knowledge; vairagya and viveka are the means for regaining the God in ourselves. THE LORD CONTINUES TO TEACH US DIRECTLY WHAT THAT "SAVING KNOWLEDGE" IS:

23. The supreme PURUSHA in this body is also called the Spectator, the Permitter, the Supporter, the Enjoyer, the great Lord and the Supreme Self.

As a contrast to this deluded sorrowful "Knower-of-the- Field," Purusha, there is the Pure Spirit uncontaminated by the "Field." The moon in the bucket is the reflected moon and for every reflection that dances with the conditionings of the reflecting surface, there must be a real object. The reflection is always conditioned by the reflecting medium while the object reflected is never contaminated by the changes in the reflecting surface. It is completely independent of all conditions. The "Knower-of-the-Field" is "Knowledge" or Conscious- ness conditioned by the "Field." Naturally, therefore, there must be a Knowledge, in fact totally unconditioned, which appears conditioned, when it plays in the realm of its conditionings. Thus, in this stanza, Krishna mentions for the purpose of his scientific analysis and investigation, two Purushas; the LOWER, which has already been described and indicated as the "Knower-of-the-Field," and the HIGHER, which is the Pure Consciousness unconditioned by Prakriti. Both of them function "in this body." This Supreme Self is indicated in tems of what it looks like in Its silent manifestations when the matter equipments (Prakriti) are weaving their different patterns. When an individual is completely deluded and totally unconscious of the Self, in and through him the Infinite Divine expresses Himself as though He is only an "onlooker" (Upadrashtaa); that is to say when a person murders an innocent victim, the Infinite All-powerful Lord expresses through that criminal's vehicle only as a silent spectator of it all (Upadrashtaa). When proper actions are undertaken, the mind is in a quiet mood. When the individual actor is not totally forgetful of the Self, in such a being, the Supreme expresses Himself as a "Permitter" (Anumantaa). When proper actions are done with full consciousness of the Self and in a spirit of total surrender to the Lord, the Lord is the "fulfiller" (Bhartaa). Such actions are filled with success by His grace. He aids, as it were, the fulfilment of all such activities. When, with entire dedication unto Him the individual is completely a Yoga-Yuktah, in his Eternal Conscious nature (Nitya Chaitanya Swaroopa), It seems to be the very "enjoyer" (Bhoktaa). The stanza concludes by saying that the great Ishwara, the Lord of Lords (Maheshwara) is the Higher Self in this very same body.

HOW DOES THE ONE WHO KNOWS THE HIGHER SELF, UNCONDITIONED BY THE "FIELD," REACT IN LIFE? 24. He who thus knows the PURUSHA and PRAKRITI

together with the qualities, in whatsoever condition he may be, he is not born again.

In the previous stanza, it was said that the identification of the Purusha with the "Field" is the cause for Its participation in the tragic destinies of matter. If there were no contact, indeed, the Purusha would have been a mere observer of the world-of-matter without undergoing any suffering or sorrow. But the Infinite plays the part of the miserable mortal because of Its delusory imagination that It is directly conditioned by the mental and intellectual reactions. These vivid experiences in the world outside leave impressions, to fulfill which the Purusha is born again and again either in the higher wombs of enjoyment or to suffer among the lower manifestations. But he who has realised in himself: (a) that which is the Matter; (b) that which is the Spirit; (c) how the Spirit, deluded by its own preoccupations, gets identified with Matter and behaves as "Knower-of-the-Field" and also (d) the mysteries of the gunas, under the influences of which, the equipments function --- he becomes a Man-of- Wisdom. To know a thing we must stand apart from it, whereas, if we are ourselves involved in any situation, we cannot understand it fully. To realise at once the world-of-objects, the instruments of contact and their behaviour and qualities, is to stand apart from them all --- and in that state, the Spirit, the Substratum, is realised. Thus, to recognise our own nature to be the absolute, infinite, Pure Consciousness, is to end all misconceptions (avidya). To one who has thus ended all avidya, there is no more any reason to get completely identified thereafter with the

"Field-of-Matter." Therefore, it is said, such an individual thereafter: "WHATEVER BE HIS CONDUCT, HE IS NOT BORN AGAIN" --- that is to say, no new vasanas can be created in him and the old vasanas functioning in the mind and intellect have dropped away from him, since, in him there is no more any false ego-centric contact with the world outside. It is the Jiva that creates more and more vasanas in the mind, and through the mind, according to the vasanas, it projects different equipments and different worlds of experiences in order to eke out its desired quota of joy and pain. That, in such an individual of Self-realisation no vasanas are left over, that he will be in the embodiment only so long as this body exists, that the Knower of Brahman himself becomes the Infinite, and that all the accumulated reactions of his actions perish at the moment of Self-realisation --- are all truths declared by the

Upanishads.

NOW THERE ARE SEVERAL 'PATHS' TO SELF KNOWLEDGE AND THEY ARE MENTIONED HERE AS FOLLOWS:

25. Some, by meditation, behold the Self in the Self by the Self; others by the "YOGA -of-Knowledge" (by SANKHYA YOGA) ; and others by KARMA YOGA. This realisation of the Self in its pure nature, undressed of all its matter envelopments, is the final goal of spiritual seeking and there are more 'paths' than one, prescribed for this Divine Achievement. Integration of a human personality must start from the point where an individual finds himself to be at present. No education can be successful unless the students are given graded lessons. A totally disintegrated individual must also be given a 'path' which he can easily follow with his restless equipment. Spiritual unfoldment cannot take place merely because of an intellectual appreciation of the theory of Perfection. Evolution actually takes place only when a corresponding change in the very subjective life is accomplished. Therefore, an active, intelligent and enthusiastic participation of the seeker in controlling, directing, and re-educating his thought-life is necessary --- hence the difficulty in accomplishing inward spiritual unfoldment in every individual. The great spiritual scientists of the past, discovering ways of evolving the entire mankind, consisting of different types, evolved various "roads" --- all converging at the same goal. Each 'path' is the fittest for the one who is walking it. No 'path' can be said to be nobler than the other. In a pharmacy there are different medicines; each one serves a definite type of patient and the medicine prescribed for a given disease is the fittest medicine for that patient as long as his ailment continues. The difference between the various seekers is the difference in their mental equanimity and intellectual equipoise. The lesser 'paths' are mainly meant for purifying the inner equipments, and when the mind becomes steady and concentrated, when the intellect is redeemed from its wasteful habits of wrong imaginations, then the equipments are ready for Higher flights through the "Path-of-Meditation." BY MEDITATION SOME BEHOLD THE SELF --- MEDITATION CONSISTS IN "WITHDRAWING, BY CONCENTRATION, ALL THE SENSE ORGANS AWAY FROM THEIR RESPECTIVE SENSE-OBJECTS INTO THE MIND, AND THEN WITHDRAWING THE MIND INTO THE INNER INTELLIGENCE, AND THEN CONTEMPLATING UPON THE HIGHEST." It is a continuous and unbroken thought-flow, like a stream of flowing oil. In order to pursue this path, naturally, the individual must have a dynamic head and heart --- both least disturbed by their own subjective defects. To "behold" does not mean to see the Self as an object, which would then mean something against the very assertion of the scriptures. The Self is the "SUBJECT"; therefore, the term "behold" is used to mean only 'an inward experience of a total subjective re-discovery.' The experience is so vivid that it is comparable to our unshakable knowledge of anything after we have once objectively SEEN it ourselves. BY THE SELF IN THE SELF --- The subjective experience of the very core of our personality is accomplished by the head in the pure heart. Shankara explains the portion: "By meditation, the Yogins behold the Self, the Pure consciousness, in the Self (Buddhi), by the Self --- by their own intelligence, that is, by the Antahkarana, refined by Dhyana." All sincere attempts at meditation with steady mind-and-intellect, and the steady mental-pool of thought, with its passions and vasanas subsided, and to an extent, even eliminated, provides a clear reflected surface in which the glory of the Self is seen reflected, and this is recognised intuitively. One may wonder why the same term is used to indicate the instrument of recognition (Atmani), the subject recognising it (Atmana) and object recognised (Atmanam). The reason is, in the final realisation, it is experienced that the intellect, the mind, the seeker and the sought are all in fact nothing other than the One Self. The waves, the ripples, the foam are all nothing but the ocean. The dreamer, the dreamt, and the dream are all nothing but the waker's own mind. In this sense, in our scriptural lore, we often find the term "Atman" used to indicate even our outer-personalities brought about by our identifications with the matter-envelopments in us. This 'path' of quietening the mind, steadying the intellect and with an integrated mind-and-intellect, contemplating steadily upon the transcendental Self, is not a 'path' that is available to all, as it calls forth certain mental and intellectual perfections which are not commonly seen in everyone. Those who have these qualifications are considered as the highest type of aspirants. The seekers of the best type --- who have developed in themselves a sufficient detachment (vairagya) from the sense objects, and a ready discrimination (viveka) to distinguish the permanent from the impermanent --- alone can steadily walk this Highest 'path'. OTHERS BY THE 'PATH' OF SANKHYA YOGA --- In the case of those who have not the required amount of steadiness in mind and intellect --- not because of any lack of aspiration but for want of right understanding of the Goal (viveka) --- their sense of detachment (vairagya) waxes and wanes. Naturally, sometimes they are good at meditation, and at other times, they experience a tremendous amount of restlessness and agitation. For such seekers, the only remedy is a more intelligent and enthusiastic study of the Shastras. The term 'Sankhya' means "the sequence of logical thought through which we reach a definite philosophical conclusion, unassailable by any doubts any more. This deep study and reflection (vichara), since it provides the seeker with a better understanding of the text, and therefore, a deeper conviction of the goal, will discover for him a very healthy and steady self-application and a divine equipoise in his meditation. Since vichara can safely take us to the Yoga-of-Meditation, and help us to establish ourselves therein, the very study of the Shastra and reflections upon it (Sankhya) is here called as 'Yoga.' That which ultimately takes one to Yoga is called Yoga, just as a vehicle is often named by the destination to which it is proceeding. "9. 30 is Delhi departure time" does not mean that at that time the capital-city is packing off from our country and going to the Nicobar Islands! It only shows that a train will be leaving for Delhi at that scheduled time. The seekers, who are not fit for steadily following the 'path' of deep meditation, are advised to steam themselves up by the Sankhya Yoga: by the 'path' of deep study and reflection. OTHERS AGAIN BY KARMA YOGA --- There is still another type of seekers for whom even study of the Shastra and effective reflections upon it becomes almost impossible because their inward personality is so much poisoned by the existing hosts of sensuous vasanas. They are in a state of mental agitation in which no dynamic and effective meditation is possible. The instrument is not fit for it, and therefore, the selfless activity in a spirit of Yajna is prescribed for them. When the "Path-of-Action" is pursued for a time, as contemplated in the Geeta (III-30), the existing vasanas exhaust themselves and more and more quietude and tranquillity are experienced by the seeker. A mind, thus steadied, is fit for delving into the deeper significances of the mantras, and when the conviction of the goal is intensified in the individual, as a result of these reflections, his meditation gathers a momentum and a dash which can take him to the Highest Peaks. In short, seekers with the noblest Sattwic qualities need only practice meditation; seekers of a slight Sattwic temperament with a large share of agitations, must develop the "creative stillness" in themselves through the

"Path-of-Perfection"; those who are suffering from the worst mental oscillations, created by the vasana- disturbances, must through Karma Yoga, develop Sattwic traits, nurture and nourish them through reflection, and thus gain enough Sattwic dynamism and steady meditation. IN THAT CASE, WHAT 'PATH' IS PRESCRIBED FOR THOSE WHO ARE COMPLETELY STEEPED IN

"TAMAS" --- MENTAL AND INTELLECTUAL INERTIA? THEY TOO ARE SERVED. LISTEN:

26. Others also, not knowing this, worship, having heard of it from others; they too, cross beyond death, if they would regard what they have heard as their Supreme Refuge.

The previous verse defines the 'path' that is conducive to the best type of students (uttama adhikarins), and to the mediocres and weaklings (madhyama adhikarins). To the low class of aspirants too, the Geeta Acharya prescribes a 'path'. HAVING HEARD FROM OTHERS --- There are some who are not capable of meditation. They have neither the intellectual capacity to follow the logical thoughts in any philosophy, nor the necessary inward equipoise to follow the "Path-of-Action." Even such people can evolve, though they are ignorant of the 'paths,' if only they worship the Principle of Truth on the strength of what they have heard from others. THEY TOO GO BEYOND DEATH --- If such people are capable of constantly worshipping the Lord as they have been instructed by other devotees, they too can transcend the finite life of plurality and experience the Changeless. The term 'DEATH'here, should not be understood as meaning only the phenomenon of death that happens to a personality expressed in a body. The term is used in its all- embracing significance, indicating in its expanse of meaning, the total principle-of-change as experienced by any given human mind-and-intellect. As long as we identify with the body --- gross, subtle or causal --- the experiences can only be of the finite. To experience the Infinite, is to enter the status of Immortality, beyond the thraldom of death. This verse, while explaining the efficacy of prayer and worship, even when unscientifically performed, is not recommending that all the methods are equally efficient, but it is only emphasizing the idea that, in the practice of worship, correct knowledge shall surely provide a better guarantee of success. If seekers can progress upon the authority of others' instructions, when they are themselves ignorant, Sankara exclaims: "How much more so then can they progress, who can independently appreciate the Shastra texts and discriminate?" THROUGH THESE VARIOUS 'PATHS' AVAILABLE, WHAT EXACTLY IS THE ULTIMATE GOAL TO BE REALISED? LISTEN:

27. Wherever any being is born, the unmoving or the moving, know you, O best of the Bharatas, that it is from the union between the "Field" and the "Knower-of-the-Field. "

All things in the world that are born --- both the world of inert matter (unmoving) and the world of conscious beings (moving) --- arise neither from the "Field" (Prakriti) nor from the "Knower-of-the-Field" (Purusha). The source is from the marriage of Prakriti and Purusha. This combination of Matter and Spirit is not an accomplished union but is only a mutual super-imposition. In every super-imposition, a delusion is recognised upon a substratum: the ghost in the post. Not only the form and all attributes of the ghost come to be projected upon the post, but the post also lends its existence to the non- existent ghost. As a result of their mutual exchange, we find that the non-existent ghost comes to exist in our experience, while the existing post becomes a non-existent ghost with illusions of physical limbs and ghastly behaviour. This process, which is a trick of the human mind, is called mutual super-imposition. In the Pure Consciousness there is no Field-of-Matter. The Field-of- Matter has neither existence, nor sentiency. But the spirit plays in the "Field" (Prakriti), and becomes the "Knower- of-the-Field" (Purusha), and when this Purusha works in Prakriti the combination breeds the entire phenomenal Universe constituted of the moving and the unmoving. When, through careful discrimination, we successfully discover this play in ourselves, the vision of plurality recedes and we understand that the ultimate Truth is the substratum on which both Prakriti and Purusha play. Ordinarily, I am a quiet man. But sometimes my heart's passion is endless. When I identify myself with the passion in my heart, I play in the world as the passionate man and perform deeds for which I myself might later on regret! Now in this example, the regret, and the regretting person, the passion and passionate entity --- all of them revel in me. They all belong to me but I am not they! Yet, when I identify myself with them, I become the perpetrator of the regrettable actions and the passionate actor in me comes to brood over what has happened, and so it suffers. Similarly, the Self contains matter possibilities --- the Self being Paripoorna. To project matter and to identify with it, is to become the Purusha, and the Purusha, maintaining Itself in the Field-of-Matter so projected, becomes the source of the entire samsara. To analyse closely with discrimination, to detach courageously with vitality, to carefully and heroically live as an observer of all that is happening within, not allowing ourselves to be misled by our own imaginations --- is the method of realising the Perfection in ourselves. THIS SELF, WHICH IS THE SUBSTRATUM OF A GIVEN 'PURUSHA' AND 'PRAKRITI,' IS ITSELF THE ONE SELF EVERYWHERE AS INDICATED BELOW:

28. He sees, who sees the Supreme Lord existing equally in all beings, the unperishing within the perishing.

HE SEES, WHO SEES THE SUPREME LORD --- The Supreme Lord (Parameshwara), on whom the "Field" and the "Knower-of-the-Field" play the game of delusory identification and consequently suffer the endless sorrows of samsara, is the Eternal Principle of Pure Existence. The one factor that binds all the waves of the ocean together, that EXISTS in all waves and SUPPORTS the entire self- destroying and mutually procreating play of the waves, is the ocean. Similarly, the Substratum that supports all is the Supreme Lord "remaining the same in all beings." THE UNDYING IN THE DYING --- To a superficial observer, the world is a field of perpetual change, a constant death. Nothing remains the same even for a moment. Things change themselves and naturally, their relationships with each other also change. This welter of change is what we observe in the world of perceptions, in the realm of feelings and in the field of thoughts. In terms of this world-of-plurality, and its ever-changing nature, the Absolute Truth is indicated as the Changeless Platform upon which these changes are staged. Everything in the phenomenal world is subject to modifications such as birth, growth, disease, decay and death. The entire chain of modifications starts with birth; that which is born alone can grow, and ultimately passing through the various changes, reach the final change in

"death." When the Supreme Lord is indicated here as the

"Deathless," all other modifications are also denied in Him. This Changeless Consciousness, that supports all changes, is the undying Principle that illumines the ever- dying world-of-plurality. The gold in the ornaments is the only constant factor; out of the same bar of gold various types of ornaments are made and destroyed to make other types of ornaments. The shape and the size of the ornaments change, but the changeless factor in them all, is pure gold. He who is capable of recognising the Supreme Lord (Parameshwara), who revels everywhere as the Pure Spirit, in all names and forms, who changes not, while the outer equipments change; he alone is the one who sees what is really to be seen. In this stanza, the term 'seeing' is a phrase borrowed from our ordinary world-of-perception, but used in the sense of "spiritual Self-realisation." The physical world is recognised and perceived through our physical equipments. Emotions in the world around us are felt and recognised by our minds. The world of ideas is comprehended by our intellect. The Spiritual Substratum in the Universe of beings and things can be apprehended only from the spiritual centre in ourselves. Just as the EYES cannot see THOUGHTS, so too the equipments of perceptions, feelings and thoughts cannot recognise the Spirit that is subtler than them, and It lies transcending all of them. HE ALONE SEES WHO SEES THIS --- This is a very powerful and direct assertion. Everybody sees, but not the Real. Wrong perceptions indicate mal-adjustments in the instruments-of-perception. Hallucinations and illusions, false imaginations and delusory projections of the mind veil the reality of the thing observed. Therefore, here the Yogeshwara asserts that he who recognises this harmony of the one Truth, this thread of Reality, which holds all experiences together, which is one in all beings, experiences the Truth to be realised in the world. Others see, and yet do not see; he alone sees who realises this Supreme Lord, which is the Imperishable. TO EULOGISE THE RIGHT KNOWLEDGE BY INDICATING THE RESULT OF ITS POSSESSION, THE LORD CONTINUES:

29. Indeed, he who sees the same Lord everywhere equally dwelling, destroys not the Self by the Self; therefore, he goes to the Highest Goal.

Vedanta preaches not so much the negation of the world, as the re-evaluation of things, beings and happenings constituting the world. Generally we perceive our own pet ideas and emotions, coloured by our unsteady understanding and changing emotions. To see the world, not through these equipments, but with the clear eye of wisdom, is to recognise perfection and bliss, divinity and sanctity in the very drab and dreary world of today, amidst its very sorrows and ugliness. Erroneous perception of the Reality, through maladjusted equipments, is the perception of the world, which, in its turn is throttling the individual perceiving it. When the Pure Consciousness looks upon Itself through the refracting medium of matter envelopments, It perceives, as it were, a world-of-plurality, and the pluralistic world grins and dances, whistles, shrieks and howls --- ever ugly, stinking and sweating --- according to the maddening changes that take place in the very equipments (FIELD) through which the ego (KNOWER- OF-THE-FIELD) happens to gaze. To re-discover the spiritual Reality, the Supreme Lord, in and through this horrid welter of change and sorrow is to end all our agitations and unprofitable aims and exertions, "FOR HE SEES THE LORD DWELLING IN EVERY PLACE ALIKE." Such an individual, in his own experienced wisdom, no more suffers from sorrow or fear. When the post is realised, the dread created by the ghost is ended. HE DESTROYS NOT THE SELF BY THE SELF --- Earlier the Lord has explained when exactly the self becomes the enemy of the Self (VI-5 & 6). Whenever the lower ego- centric individuality is not available for sure guidance by the Higher-Principle-of-Wisdom in ourselves, the lower becomes our enemy. When a vehicle is no more under our control, it will cease to be of any service to us and becomes, as it were, an engine of destruction. Similarly, when the lower in us is not available for the guidance of the Higher, the former turns out to be an enemy of the latter. And in an individual who recognises and experiences the one Parameshwara that revels everywhere, the lower cannot fight against or shadow any longer the glory of the Higher. THEREFORE HE GOES TO THE HIGHEST GOAL --- The true nature of the Self remains undiscovered due to the non-apprehension of Reality (ajnana), or due to the mis- apprehension (mithya jnana) arising out of the non- apprehension. The non-apprehension of the one Parameshwara everywhere, makes an individual act in the world in a way which renders him incapable of appreciating the glory of the Self in all other living beings. Thus, he becomes a source of sorrow to the community of living beings around him. The non-apprehension (ajnana) creates a veil because of which, not only do we not recognise the one Eternal Divine everywhere, but we also identify ourselves with the body and the mind, and behave as though they alone are real; in consequence, sensuality, materialistic pursuits, and selfish satisfactions become the only worthwhile objects or pursuits in our life, which we destroy for ourselves and others. The state an individual gains when both these, non-apprehension (ajnana) and mis-apprehension (mithya-jnana) are ended, is that Absolute experience, the experience of the Highest Goal, and therefore, "HE GOES TO THE HIGHEST." INDIVIDUALS ACT DIFFERENTLY, AND THEREFORE, THE PARAMESHWARA, PLAYING BEHIND EACH INDIVIDUAL MUST BE A SEPARATE SELF. TO CONTRADICT THIS CONCEPT OF PLURALITY IN THE SELF, IT IS SAID:

30. He sees, who sees that all actions are performed by PRAKRITI alone, and that the Self is actionless.

If a caravan of motor vehicles, manufactured by different companies, with different horse-powers, at different periods of history, is put on the road, the performance of each vehicle will be unique. We cannot conclude therefrom that the petrol in each vehicle is of different typical potencies. The same electrical energy illumines different electric bulbs, manifesting different intensities of incandescence at different points. The electricity is one; the petrol is one; and yet the performance of the cars and the light manifested in the bulbs are different from equipment to equipment because of the very quality of the equipments. This analogy can explain the wonderful idea expressed in this stanza. PRAKRITI ALONE PERFORMS ALL ACTIONS --- Matter is the equipment that orders the types of action that should manifest. If the mind is bad, the life expressed through it will also be bad. All actions are according to the types of desires entertained by the intellect. Thus, in the presence of Spirit, the "equipments" (Prakriti) function, and the Self (Atman), functioning in the "Field," called the

"Knower-of-the-Field" (Purusha), acts in the world outside. When the "Knower-of-the-Field" leaves the "Field," there is no more any activity in the "Field," nor is there any activity for the Self Itself. THE SELF IS ACTIONLESS (NOT ACTING) --- The Self is all-pervading, perfect and, as such, there is no desire in It. And where desires have ended, actions are impossible. In the Infinite, there is no action, and the very many reasons as to why there is no action in the Self, will be described presently (XIII-32). He who is capable of recognising how his own vehicles function and realising that the Self in him is ever actionless, is alone the right perceiver, who is recognising and experiencing the "IMPERISHABLE AMIDST THE PERISHABLE."

"HE SEES WHO SEES." The manifestations of individuals are different from person to person because of the differences in the composition and make-up of the various equipments (upadhis), and, when they are destroyed, all differences merge to express the one Infinite experience, the Supreme Lord. WHILE EXPLAINING THE SELF, AS THE SOURCE-OF- ALL-BEINGS, THE LORD INDICATES THE STATE OF A MAN WHO CAN DECLARE THAT HE HAS HAD FULL EXPERIENCE OF THE INFINITE ONE:

31. When he (man) sees the whole variety-of-beings, as resting in the One, and spreading forth from That (One) alone, he then becomes BRAHMAN. A scientific investigation is complete only when the phenomenon intellectually analysed, is applied physically and brought within the limits of our observation. When one has understood that the atoms are the physical units of matter, one must also realise at once that these atoms in different combinations of numbers and patterns create the world of infinite forms and qualities. Similarly, to know that the Self is the Ultimate Truth behind the names and forms, is, in itself, only a partial knowledge. The complete understanding of Life can arise only when we, at once, understand how from the Self the endless multiplicity of names and forms rise up and spread to become the Universe. Just as in our understanding we can comprehend all the waves as inherent in the ocean, so too, a man of right understanding can recognise

"THE SEPARATE EXISTENCE OF ALL BEINGS IN THE ONE." Once having understood the ocean, we do realise how the numberless waves rise from that one ocean; so too a man of right understanding also realises "THE EXPANSION OF PLURALITY FROM THAT ONE ALONE." Such moments of complete understanding, wherein the Man-of- Wisdom experiences the One Self within and without --- enveloping and embracing, penetrating and nourishing not only the depthless and the measureless Infinite, but also the superficial world of pluralistic names and forms -- - are the sacred moments when he has "BECOME BRAHMAN." The Self alone can recognise the Self. He who is recognising the one homogeneous Self, he who is experiencing that the Consciousness in him is one with the homogeneous-mass-Consciousness everywhere, and he who also understands how on his coming into the body awareness, the world-of-plurality throws the mantle of its magic upon the fair face of the Infinite and makes It look ugly with all its perishable names and forms --- such a person is of "True Wisdom" and "Right Perception." At that moment, he has himself transcended his own equipments and has come to identify himself with the One-Consciousness-everywhere. IF THE ONE SELF BE THE SELF IN ALL BODIES, THEN IT MUST BE NECESSARILY ACTING AND EARNING THE REACTIONS --- VASANAS. TO PROVE THE FALLACY OF SUCH A CONCLUSION IT IS SAID:

32. Being without beginning, and being devoid of qualities, the Supreme Self, the Imperishable, though dwelling in the body, O Kaunteya, neither acts, nor is tainted.

Even though at Its touch It thrills the matter equipments into various activities, the fact that the Spirit is actionless is emphasised by the scriptures, and this is not an idea so easy for early students of Vedanta to understand. Therefore, the Upanishads have taken great pains to make us understand that the All-full Infinite, being One- without-a-second in its All-pervasiveness, has nothing to accomplish for Itself. Earlier we have discussed in the Geeta: "it is Nature that acts" (V-14). This Spirit, identifying Itself with "Field" (Prakriti), becomes the

"Knower-of-the Field" (Purusha) and it is this

"individualised ego" that acts and accomplishes.

Here we are given some logical reasons why the Infinite Consciousness, "THOUGH DWELLING IN THE BODY, NEITHER ACTS, NOR IS TAINTED." When the local Judge, Shri Gopal Rao, condemns a murderer to be hanged, the Judge is not considered as having committed a murder; the individuality in the Judge can gain no taint. Shri Gopal Rao in the chair acts as the Sessions Judge and it is the Judge who has passed the death sentence. HAVING NO BEGINNING --- That which has a cause alone has a beginning. "No beginning," means "no cause." Truth being "that from which everything comes," it is the Uncaused Cause for all that has been created. That which owes its existence to a CAUSE becomes itself an EFFECT, and every EFFECT is nothing other than its CAUSE

"which has undergone a change." All effects are thus changeable and things that are subject to change must necessarily perish. HAVING NO QUALITY --- That which has no change cannot have any quality since that which has qualities is a substance and all substances are perishable. The Imperishable Infinite, THE CAUSE for everything, Itself caused by nothing, must, therefore, be without any quality. THIS SUPREME SELF, IMPERISHABLE --- The Uncaused Cause for the entire world of phenomena, the Paramatman, which is devoid of qualities must necessarily be, by its own logic,

"Imperishable." The process-of-change, happening in the properties and to the qualities of a thing, is the phenomenon of its decay. That which is Changeless cannot perish. And that which has no quality cannot change! Therefore, the Beginningless, the Quality-less, the Imperishable Supreme Self, though living in the physical structure, and thrilling the inner matter-field around each embodied creature into the play of life, does not, in Itself, and by Itself, act. This is one of the subtle concepts in Vedanta which lesser intellects must find rather difficult to grasp. This is a well- recognised difficult portion in the Vedantic literature. But a little effort at reflection can clear the confusions and remove all the difficulties HERE THE LORD GIVES SOME PARALLEL EXAMPLES TO ILLUSTRATE THE ACTION-LESS-NESS OF THE SELF AND ALSO THE QUALITY-LESS-NESS OF THE SPIRIT IN ESSENCE, IN SPITE OF THE DISCORDANT AND DEVLISH ACTIVITIES OF MATTER AROUND IT:

33. As the all-pervading ether is not tainted, because of its subtlety, so too the Self, seated everywhere in the body, is not tainted. AS THE ALL-PERVADING AKASHA (SPACE) IS NEVER SOILED --- Space is an example we can take to indicate the relationship of Spirit with Matter. Akasha means "that which gives accommodation to things." In short, it is the concept of pure Space. It is the subtlest of all gross elements, and since greater subtlety implies greater pervasiveness, Space pervades everything that is grosser than it. A subtler thing cannot be conditioned by a grosser factor --- the stone walls do not a prison make, nor iron bars a cage, for the thoughts of the captive, being subtler than the stone walls and iron bars, can penetrate them, --- Akasha is the subtlest of all. Space, being subtle, it allows everything to remain in it, yet, nothing that it contains can contaminate it. The Supreme Self, which is the very cause for the Akasha itself, and therefore, subtler than it, "IT PREVADES ALL: NOTHING PREVADES IT"... It cannot be contaminated by anything that exists or happens in the world-of-plurality. Murders committed in the dream cannot soil the hands of the weaker! The bloody garb of the ghost cannot leave its marks on the post. The mirage waters cannot wet even a grain of sand in the desert. These are examples of hallucinations, or delusory super-impositions. The world of plurality being nothing but mis-apprehensions of Reality arising out of the non-apprehension of the Real, the realm-of-matter (Prakriti) and its activities cannot contaminate and soil the Perfect and the Eternal.

THE SELF, THOUGH IT PERMEATES AND PREVADES THE WHOLE BODY, IS NOT SOILED, JUST AS SPACE CANNOT BE DIRTIED BY ALL THE AMOUNT OF FILTH THAT IT MAY ACCOMODATE IN ITSELF. THEN WHAT EXACTLY IS THE SPIRIT'S FUNCTION IN THE BODY? LISTEN:

34. Just as the one Sun illumines the whole world, so also the Lord-of-the-Field (PARAMATMAN) illumines the whole "Field, " O Bharata.

Here is one of the most striking examples in our scriptural literature, given to us by the Divine Charioteer. It conveys to our intellectual comprehension the exact relationship of the Consciousness, the Eternal Principle-of-Life, with reference to the various worlds-of-matter and their expressions. Just as the one Sun illumines the entire Universe from afar, and at all times, so too the Consciousness merely illumines the world-of-objects, the body, the mind, and the intellect. Though generally in our everyday talks we attribute the ACTIVITY of lighting up the world of the Sun, we find on close examination that we cannot attribute any such ACTIVITY to the Sun. An action is that which has a beginning and an end and it is generally undertaken to fulfil a deep desire, or a silent purpose. The Sun does not illumine the world in this sense of the term. On the other hand, "light" itself is the nature of the Sun, and in its presence everything gets illumined. Similarly, Consciousness is of the nature of awareness and in Its presence, everything becomes known --- illumined. In the world there is only one Sun and it illumines everything, good and bad, the vicious and the virtuous, the ugly and the beautiful. And yet the Sun is not sullied by the ugly, the vicious and the bad, nor is it blessed by the good, the virtuous or the beautiful. So too, in our inner life, the Ever-perfect and Joyous Consciousness functions through the equipments and illumines them, but It never gets contaminated by the sins of the mind, by the perversions of the intellect, or by the crimes of the physical body. It only illumines. This illumination of the Self, playing upon our thoughts and emotions, gets splashed to form the ever changing patterns of the multiple individuals, with their everchanging behaviours. THIS DOCTRINE OF THE

"FIELD" AND THE

"KNOWER-OF-THE-FIELD," BOTH PLAYING IN THE SUPREME, DISCUSSED IN THIS CHAPTER IS CONCLUDED IN THE FOLLOWING STANZA:

35. They who, with their eye-of-wisdom come to know the distinction between the "Field" and the "Knower-of-the-Field, " and of the liberation from the "PRAKRITI of the being, " go to the Supreme.

After explaining that the Spirit is the Illuminator, and that, being the Illuminator, It cannot be tainted by the qualities of the illumined, here Lord Krishna directly advocates that man's life is fulfilled only when he, in his subtle discrimination, successfully meditates upon and realises the constitution, behaviour and relationship among the

"Field," "the Knower-of-the-Field," and the "Supreme Self" in himself. This can be done only with a well-integrated instrument, a combination of a fully developed head-and- heart, which alone can apprehend the Invisible, Imperishable, One. The faculty that comes to experience this divine infinitude is often termed as "intuition," and in the language of the Hindu Shastras, it is called the "Eye-of- Wisdom." They who realise and perceive the nature and the essential distinction between the "Field," the "Knower-of-the-Field" and the "Supreme," and thus come to experience the non- existence of the "Field" (Prakriti or Avidya or Avyakta), and, therefore, the "Knower-of-the-Field" (the individuality, the ego, the samsarin, the limited), theirs is the Knowledge Absolute. The "Field" is the material-cause, which has no existence apart from mere imaginations and hallucinations. Non-apprehension of Reality gives rise to mis-apprehensions of It. To realise the non-existence of the very material-cause is to live the Infinite Nature of the Supreme Self in ourselves, as ourselves.

Thus, in the UPANISHADS of the glorious Bhagawad-Geeta, in the Science of the Eternal, in the scripture of YOGA, in the dialogue between Sri Krishna and Arjuna, the thirteenth discourse ends entitled: THE FIELD AND THE KNOWER- OF-THE-FIELD This is one of the most brilliant chapters in the Geeta which gives us a direct subjective method of meditating upon and realising the Imperishable and the Eternal in ourselves. To wake up from our dream is to end all the sorrow that we might have suffered in the dream-state-of- Consciousness. There is no traffic between the frontiers that clearly mark out the worlds of waking, dreaming and the deep-sleep. In the same way, the Knower-of-the-Field suffers the sorrows and the imperfections of the "Field" but when through analysis the "Knower-of-the-Field" understands its own real nature apart from the "Field," it rediscovers its own Divine Nature and, in this awakening, the dream that it was as the Knower-of-the-Field, ends. The plurality and the sorrows are all the tearful details in the dream-plot. To rediscover Pure Awareness and to realise that it is the Self, which, dressed up in the "Field," becomes the agitated "Knower-of-the-Field" --- is to know all that is to be known. In the entire Geeta, we fail to come across a clearer and more direct indication of Reality.