Bhagavadgita Pages, Chapters 1 to 18
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www.bhagavadgitausa.com
V.Krishnaraj
11/16/2008
BG Chapter 15 The Supreme Person
15.1: Sri Bhagavan said:
It is
said that there is the imperishable Asvattham tree with its roots above and the
branches below and of which the leaves are the hymns. He who knows this is the
knower of the Vedas.
There is some confusion in books about the identity of Asvattham tree. It is called “Arasa Maram” («Ãº ÁÃõ-- Ficus religiosa) in Tamil Nadu, Ravi-manu in Telugu, Aruli-mara in Canarese. One calls it a Palm tree; another calls it Pipal (Ficus religiosa-pagoda fig-tree); and yet another calls it Banyan Tree (Ficus Bhengalensis) with the adventitious aerial roots. Both (the latter two) are related to each other. It is a humongous tree with bright green leaves chatting with each other with a pat on the back as they rustle in the gush of wind. It is music to the ears. The breeze sets the leaves dancing in the wind and doing partial pirouette on their spindly petioles. When the wind quiets down, the song and dance stop suddenly. One thing we know is that it is a cosmic tree. The berry of the Pipal is sweet, and Soma (intoxicant) is prepared from its juice according to some accounts. (There is another claim that says the soma juice comes from a mushroom.) Images of Pipal tree appear on the Harrapan seals. Asvattham is said to be a “body-tree.” “A” is no; “THA” is existence; “Shva” means “after tomorrow:” No existence after tomorrow. It tells us that life is precarious. The body tree itself is imperishable (HAM), because God pervades it. The tree is rooted in heaven and since its aerial adventitious roots go down to anchor to the earth and Prakrti (matter), we are susceptible to the temptations of evil. The middle branches are the men and the sap that keeps flowing inside and sustaining the branches are the Gunas (modes). Cutting the branches and the aerial roots figuratively depicts transcending the gunas and a move to a higher plane― that of Sannyāsi. In Chinese lore, the body is compared to the Bodhi tree (Tree of Wisdom). Katha Upanishad 2.3.1: With the root above and branches below the fig tree stands: That is pure, That is Brahman, That is immortal. In It the world rests and no one goes beyond it. The upside down Tree of Life has roots in Brahman: The tree, the roots, the trunk, and the branches represent Manifest Brahman or the phenomenal world of Isvara, matter and beings.
The leaves of Hymns
Katha Upanishad describes Manifest Brahman as follows: He is self-born and first-born from the waters (Mula Prakrti, root cause or matter) by an act of meditation. He resides in the cave of the heart of beings and is immanent in all causes and effects. He who knows this knows the Absolute in Him. Verse 2.1.6
It goes on to describe the Mother Goddess. She is Aditi, the Boundless. She is born as Prana (Breath or life) from the Absolute genderless Brahman, the nameless, and the formless. She is the Devatamayi (Mother of gods) and the soul of all beings. She stands in the inner recess of the heart. Verse 2.1.7
The Buddha attained enlightenment under the Bo
tree; Bo is short for bo-gaha, tree of wisdom; Bo tree is Pipal or Banyan tree;
Bo is wisdom, Bodhi is enlightenment, Buddhi is knowledge and the Buddha is he who
attained enlightenment.
Krishna states
that he is Asvattha tree among trees. Jesus Christ says that he is the true
vine. It appears the trees have souls from what Lord Krishna and Jesus Christ
say.
Sage Narada
cursed the two sons of Kubera to become trees for knowingly playing naked in
the shoal of a river with Ghandarva women. (You thought that having a shower
mate is a modern phenomenon: not so from what you read here.) The young women in a turn of modesty put on
their clothes while the Kubera’s sons ignored the sage, who cursed them to
become trees for their feral nature, arrogance, insolence, and ignorance; Krishna released
their souls and bodies after one hundred divine years by uprooting the trees.
Krishna drank
water from River Sarasvati, sat, and meditated under Asvattha (Pipal) tree in a
reclining position, before his departure to Goloka, Bhagavata Purana 3.4.3 and
8.
Asva, meaning
horse, is the root word for Asvattha, the tree; Asvamedha, horse sacrifice; Asvatthaman, he who cried like a horse at birth; Asvatthaman, the elephant;
Asvini, the wife of Asvins, who took the form of a mare; and Asvinikumaras, the
sons of Asvini-the sons of a mare. Asvattha tree gained such name because
people used the tree’s shade as shelter for horses.
Between 2000 B.C. and 1700 B.C. the Aryans (the late comers) in Babylon domesticated the horses which were then called the ass of the East. The horse was later introduced in Egypt before 1580 B.C. The Aryan victory march was attributed to tamed fast horses and chariots.
A note on Asvamedha: In Vedic period,
horse
sacrifice was made by kings for obtaining progeny and later, for
universal supremacy and sovereignty. A horse was let loose in the easterly
direction (the unconquered territory and direction of gods) to wander for a year
accompanied by a caretaker. Another variation states that the horse is
accompanied by a host of a hundred each of princes, sons of chiefs, sons of
attendants and charioteers, all with weapons. (You wonder where the heck you can
find 100 princes. Have you seen a prince lately? Remember the king has a harem, where there are a large
in-house nursery,
a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, neonatologists on 24-hour duty, midwives,
nurses, nurse-practitioners, wet nurses, obstetricians.... Don't forget
the doctors and nurses are either females or eunuchs either natural or
surgically-altered, so there is no hanky-panky in the harem which is the
exclusive breeding domain of the king. If the king lives with his brothers, one
would end up with that many harems.
If the horse is slaughtered and the challengers are defeated, that brings ridicule to the challenging king. In case the horse is stolen, diseased or dead, it is replaced with another one by sprinkling water on the new one.
When the horse wanders into a foreign country the king was obligated to either surrender or fight. The surrendering kings accompanied the winning horse and the guardian-caretaker to the sovereign king at the end of an year. The horse was sacrificed in the celebration of universal sovereignty in the presence of surrendering kings. To make amends to it for its slaughter, the queens of the sovereign king circumambulate the horse before sacrifice. Another version indicates that the horse was not immolated but kept as a reminder of its triumphant return. A dog with a yellow spot on each side of the eyelid (four-eyed), the embodiment of evil and misfortune, is killed as a mark of warding off of evil. The dog is the canine equivalent of four-eyed demons.. Emperor Ashoka abolished blood sacrifices; but later it was resumed until the last one was performed in Orissa in the 9th Century A.D. The Cretans and Greeks sacrificed horses to Poseidon Hippios. Rhodian Islanders dedicated a horse carriage with horses annually. Kings of Judah dedicated horses to the sun. In China, horse sacrifice was in vogue.
Contrarian views and rebuttal.
Indologists of the West say that the Aryans came in waves, landed in the present Punjab sometime between 2000 B.C. to 1200 B.C and spread from there. Some say that they came in three waves and settled in the west, middle and East country of North India. Vedic age was between arrival and 800 B.C. or 700 B.C. according to the West. Indians are particular in pointing to the fact that the Indo-Aryans never made one mention of their origin (in their Vedas) outside of India. The Indians are of the opinion that the Indo-Aryans spread from India as far as Europe; during their travels they contributed to the genes, languages and speech of Europeans and others. Another important point the Indians mention is that Rg Veda does not speak of any flora and fauna of cold climates such as Russia and northern Europe. The Rg Vedic Indo-Aryans knew only rivers of India, present Pakistan and Afghanistan and not rivers from outside this region. Rg Veda is dated accordingly to 2nd or 3rd millennium B.C. Take a note of the previous dating going back to 5000 B.C. There is a prevailing view among some Indians that the Western Indologists of the colonial period were dilettantes coming from the ranks of missionaries and bureaucrats who spent the happy hour (with authorities) writing the history of Vedic Indo-Aryans. Some Indigenists contend that there was less science and more surmise in their conclusions. The Indian nationalists question the depth of Sanskrit scholarship of the European and American Indologists of the present, who are recycling the 19th century translations so much so that an interested Sanskrit scholar would demand labeling of the product in terms of its recycled and original content. They claim race and prejudice have colored the content of their presentation. The opponents claim that Hindutva ideology has percolated down and stained the observations of certain Indian authors. We should agree on one thing that the British, the Europeans and the Americans were and are responsible to a great extent for the popularization of Indic studies abroad. Many sacred texts of India would not have found the light of day if not for them. Take for instance Sir John Woodroffe, who is universally acclaimed to be a true Indologist. There were in the past and are at present very valuable manuscripts from antiquity in India, which the Indians hide from the eyes of other Indians and the West so much so, they have become the steady diet of bookworms.
Swami Satyananda Saraswati calls this tree The Mystical Tree. He says that this imperishable tree has roots above and branches below. The human body, according to him, resembles the upside-down tree in that the brain forms the root structure; the spinal column, the tree trunk; and the leaves, the thoughts, emotions and distractions. The occult truth and the secret knowledge of the Mystical Tree cannot be understood until the aspirant gets spiritual awakening.
Let me touch upon the significance of tree in Christianity. As you see Krishna's image on the cosmic tree, it reminds us of Jesus Christ on Holy Rood, the tree of immortal life, and he is himself the fruit of the tree. Jesus on the cross, the Buddha under the tree, and Krishna on the cosmic tree--my interpolation, are the same figures. Page 107 The Power of Myth, by Joseph Campbell. Joseph Campbell, the universal man, sees oneness in Jesus Christ and the Buddha. Campbell is one among the rarest of breeds who knows the essence of (a generic) religion. He can see through the apparent differences among the religions and find the common Truth.
15.2:
Its branches extend downwards and upwards nourished by Gunas, with sense
objects as shoots or sprouts; and its roots extend downwards to the world of
men, bound to karma.
The tree has many adventitious roots, coming
down from the tree branches; the wider the tree grows the more adventitious
roots there are. These adventitious roots, compared to ego, ignorance and
vasanas supporting the heavy branches grow down, while the cosmic roots of the
tree trunk grow towards heaven and anchor in Brahman. The lower branches are synonymous
with human beings, animals, birds, reptiles, worms, insects, and insentient and
immovable matter. The upper branches are comparable to Ghandarvas, yaksas,
gods, and goddesses. The sap of Gunas nourishes the branches, the product of
Prakrti; the sap flowing through the upper branches contains Sattva (goodness
and virtue), while that of the lower branches comparable to animals, contains
Tamas (ignorance and delusion). The middle branches are the men with varying
combinations of the Gunas and thrive by the sap of Sattva, Rajas, and Tamas in
varying combinations. The adventitious roots of the middle and lower branches
represent bondage of the human beings and animals. The lateral branches are the
sense objects, namely sound, vision, smell, taste, and touch; the growing ends
of lateral branches are the ears, eyes, nose, mouth, and skin; the leaves
representing the Vedas reach for the sun and illumination from God. The
adventitious roots originate from branches, which draw nourishment from Gunas:
they are extensions of these branches and therefore of the gunas, which are
responsible for the way men behave. The adventitious roots or the gunas anchor
to Prakrti and bind the jivatma to karma and therefore to Samsāra. In this
world of beings, man has the most opportunity to advance to a higher state,
fall to lower state, or remain in the same state. The animals are born in the
lower state because they have to resolve the prārabda (past) karma
inherited from the past life; they do not accumulate new karma in the present
life because their acts are commensurate with their animal traits; and they are
incapable of making informed choice from Sattva, Rajas, or Tamas. But, man on
the other hand can accumulate new karma because he can choose his (thought),
word, and deed.
Krishna in his discourse in The Uddhava Gita, Dialogue 7.21-7.24 describes the Tree of Life. (based on translation by Swami Saraswati.)
The tree of Samsara bears flowers and fruits; good and bad deeds are its seeds; desires are its deep roots; Sattva, Rajas, and Tamas are its support; earth, water, fire, air, and ether are its five secondary branches through which five kinds of sap (smell, taste, sight, touch and hearing) flow. The five branches fork into ten branches: five motor organs, five sensory organs plus the mind. Two birds (The Supreme One and Ahamkara) live in their nests in the branches. The bark has three layers, the three humors of the body: wind, bile and phlegm. The tree bears two fruits: joy and sorrow. Some eat the fruit of sorrow; some on right path eat the fruit of joy. Krishna tells Uddhava to cut down the tree and free the Self, identifying himself with the Self.
15.3: Neither its form nor its end nor its
beginning nor its support is seen. Having cut this firm-rooted Asvattham tree
by the strong weapon of detachment…
15.4: Thereafter, seek out that goal, attaining
which one does not return (again). Surrender to the (first and) Primal Person
from whom the ancient manifestation comes forth.
We have to cut the adventitious roots to
prevent lowermost branches from getting the sap of Tamas (darkness and
delusion); then we have to cut the adventitious roots, which supply the Rajas
sap (motion and passion) to the middle branches; now we are left with the upper
branches (and their adventitious roots), whose sap is Sattva (goodness, virtue,
and calmness). To attain to Brahman, we have to transcend all three Gunas and
therefore have to cut the tree, roots, and all. The tree represents the nonself
or Prakrti, and we have to separate the Jivātman from Prakrti, so it
merges with the Higher Self.
Let me explain what attaining to Brahman
means. It points to a certain quality of life and behavior. It is simply not
having the didactic knowledge of the Holy Scriptures; it is not simply the
rituals alone. Dharma, duty; sama, equanimity; dama, self-control;
vairāgya, indifference to worldly objects; uparati, desisting from sensual
enjoyment; sraddhā, faithfulness; and atha, “much more or more over,” (auspiciousness, authority, flair and
divine grace) are the preconditions for reaching Brahman. The fit person is the
one who knows his Vedas, has the attributes (described above), and is devoted
to the Lord only and detached from the world.
|
Dharma |
Sama |
Dama |
Vairāgya |
Uparati |
Sraddhā |
Atha |
|
Duty |
Equanimity |
Self-control |
Desirelessness |
Abstinence |
Faithfulness |
Much more |
Sraddhā is implicit faith in Hindu Holy
Scriptures. “Atha” has no English equivalent and means “much more” or “more
over” meaning auspiciousness, authority, flair, and divine grace.
15.5:
They, without false pride and delusion, having vanquished the evil of
attachment, eternally devoted to the Supreme Self, divorced from passion
(Kāmāh), free from dualities of happiness and distress, and delusion,
reach the eternal state.
Suka a
There is a story that tells that no one including Bhagavan is immune from happiness and distress, particularly the latter. Vyasam: Misfortune, Calamity, Distress. Bhagavan gives an example of Vyasam that happened one after another and how he experienced, tolerated and overcame it - he became a piece of Wood. There is a lesson to be learnt from this.
Bhagavan married Bhumi Devi (Mother Earth). He thought that would be his first and the last. Things did not go that way. Soon after marriage in the presence of galaxy of gods and godlings, Siva and Parvati invited the newly-weds for a dinner in Kailas. Bhagavan asked Bhumi Devi, "Shall we go." She retorted saying, "I cannot be going to where all you want to go. Don't you remember my other name is 'the Immovable.' What would happen to this Sarāsaram (the Universe) without me? You could go alone; I can't make it." Sarāsaram = Saram + Asaram = the mobile + the immobile = beings and things). Paramatma went places without his consort. That gave him some discomfort. He was left speechless whenever he was asked, "Where is your other half?" Thus Bhagavan ended up taking a second consort, Lakshmi, the daughter of Samudra Raja (the king of the ocean--Lakshmi was born of the ocean; now you know we all came from the sea.). Lakshmi's other name is Cancala (Moving too and fro, unsteady) and thus she was restless, on the move and leaving everyone one breathless and short on cash. Bhagavan also was left restless and breathless (cashless) on account of her moving too much. (Riches do not stay in one place or person; they move). He set out to see his son Manmatha, the god of love. On his way, travelers gave him the tragic news that Manmatha was rendered into ashes from the wrath and the fiery third eye of Siva. (Manmatha created an ambience of spring to entice Siva out of meditation which prompted Siva to incinerate him.) Bhagavan became very anguished at his bereavement and decided to go to his father-in-law's house against the convention that he should take Samudra Rajas's daughter and his consort, Lakshmi with him. Soon a gigantic wave hit him and threw him off before he could venture into the ocean, the palace of the King of the ocean. That was probably a rebuff to Bhagavan. He retreated faster even before the punishing wave could fall back on the ocean. Bhagavan thought that he deserved rest after all these futile efforts and distress. He laid down on his usual bed of snake, Adisesha. Sooner than he laid his head, he heard hissing noises and felt emission of poison from the snake. He thought that there was no use trying to seek any help from any one and it was time to go on pilgrimage to Kasi (Benares/Varnasi). He promptly mounted on his flying Vahana (vehicle) Garuda, the bird of transport. Things appeared going fine until Garuda saw a snake on the ground below near the city of Puri. Hunger pangs struck the bird all at once; he decided to dismount Bhagavan for a good meal and said to him, "O Narayana, I have to eat right at this moment. Let me dismount you; you could walk to Kasi rest of the way. I will catch up with you later, once I finished with my meal." The bird took off in the direction of the snake leaving Bhagavan in the lurch. (Aren't you reminded of the stranded airline passengers? That is why a politician wants to become the president. Somebody said perks and power draw people. He has Air Force One for his personal use; If Air Force One* is stuck in the mud, he has Air Force two to fly.) Bhagavan, having heard the words of Garuda, sat on the ground with his hand on the head, wondered about his predicament and morphed into a piece of wood. This is the way Bhagavan presents himself (as a piece of wood) in Puri. Now you understand what it means to touch wood --to ward off evil consequences.
This story illustrates the fact that no one including Bhagavan can escape vyasanam (distress). One should keep his composure at all times.
Air Force One*: President's Plane Gets Stuck In The Mud - 01-28-98
| President's Plane Gets Stuck In The
Mud ... Now, he says, a support plane, another Boeing 707,
is arriving to pick up the president and others on the plane.
... |
Below is a depiction of the abstract triune form of Krishna (Jagannatha = Master of the universe): a divine caricature of the three siblings, white Balarama, black Krishna and their sister (?yellow) Subhadra in the middle. Now you see the oneness of human race in the colors of the divine siblings.
15.6:
They never come back once they reach the supreme abode of Mine, where
the sun does not shine, nor the moon, nor the fire.
Mundaka Upanishad: 2.2.11: The sun, the moon,
the stars, and the lightning shine not there (where the Supreme Light is).
Where could this fire be? Everything shines “only after that shining light.”
His effulgence illumines this entire world. In many cultures, God is described
as the source of light and self-effulgent, not needing an external source for
its splendor.
The Self is the Supreme Light and
Consciousness; It is self-effulgent and gives light to the sun, the moon, the
stars, and the fire. Isvara is the creator of the universe and He is the light
and the heat in the sun and the fire, and the light in the moon.
The physical light removes the darkness in
order that there is a contact between the senses and the sense objects. The
sun, the moon, and the stars do not illumine the Self, for the Supreme
Knowledge or Consciousness is the One that illumines these heavenly objects.
When one reaches that Supreme Light, going past the hurdles of the
beginningless karma and avidya and embracing detachment, prapatti and
saranāgati, he never returns to the samsāra of births and rebirths.
15.7:
A fragment of My own Self becomes the eternal living soul in this world
of Jivatmas and draws the senses of material nature (Prakrti), of which the
mind is the sixth.
Karsha: the act of drawing
The power that helps the fragment come off Bhagavan is His Tatastha Sakti. Tatastha = marginal, slope, bank of a river. This fragment of Jiva is Cit Paramanu (atomic entity of Pure Consciousness; anu = atomic = small). Tatastha Sakti is considered as the repository of Jivas. (Cit Paramanu is a fragment of Cit Sakti of Bhagavan which is the cause of human consciousness; the soul comes from Marginal Tatastha Jiva Sakti; the body comes from External Maya Sakti.) go to BG04 for more details.
According to Panchadasi (Chapter 7), Pure Consciousness, that is God, looks in a mirror and sees its image, called Cidabhasa. This image has no real life or existence without the Pure Consciousness. The mirror is Maya, illusory energy of the Lord, which is the causal agent of the universe. The image carries an aura of reflected glory. When the adjuncts of adventitious nature such as the mirror are removed, the only remaining entity is the eternal Consciousness or Kutastha. Kûtastha = immovable, immutable, occupying the highest place. Cid-abhasa = Cid + Âbhâsa = Intelligence, Consciousness + luster, apparition, phantom = reflected intelligence or consciousness. That Kutastha is our substratum and we are the Cidabhasa. Cidabhasa (image) is an illusion with no substance. Cidabhasa apparition does not exist without Kutastha Consciousness; therefore, the illusion has a basis in Kutastha which is Brahman. Cidabhasa is false or a pretender from the transcendental point of view and not from empirical stance. In empirical world, Cidabhasa is a palpable entity. The bottom line is that Cidabhasa is Brahman with limitations (Upadhi), such as Avidya (ignorance). Here it is spiritual ignorance meaning that Cidabhasa apparition does not identify with Brahman-Kutastha Consciousness but with the body that houses the individual soul. Most of our lives are spent in the upkeep of our body, mind, and matter and not the soul, whose origin is Brahman-Kutastha Consciousness or Soul. We have doctors to mend our body and mind but there is no one to tend to our soul.
Ramakrishna Paramahamsa says that Paramatman is equal to the digit 1. A Jivatma is like a zero. That zero has no value unless it clings to the left side of 1. All achievements amount to zero unless the Jiva clings to God. Adapted from Sayings of Ramakrishna, saying 16-page 26-27.
Diagrammatic representation of Saktis of Bhagavan. Cit Sakti is His Supreme Consciousness. Jiva Sakti is the origin of the souls of human beings and other living things. See its declivity (Tatastha) away from Cit Sakti. Maya Sakti is the origin of the building blocks of universe and the bodies of living beings and has the deluding power over Jivas in that they forget their connection with Cit Sakti and hold dearly to material connection they have with Maya Sakti. Tatastha concept is very interesting and ingenious. Tatastha is keeping one tenuous foot in the river and one firm foot on the bank; the river is Cit Sakti and the bank is Maya sakti. Eventually the tenuous foot comes off from the river and joins the other foot in Maya Sakti; the connection with Cit Sakti is broken and replaced with firm connection with Maya Sakti and the soul takes birth on earth in an embodied form derived from Maya Sakti. We are human beings here on earth because of our disconnection from Citsakti and attachment to Maya Sakti. We (our souls) have to find our way back to Jiva Sakti and stay firmly attached to Cit Sakti; that is Mukti, Moksa, liberation.
Woodroffe defines Cit as the Unchanging Principle of all Experience, the source and basis for Mind and Matter. All the finites such as the Mind and Matter repose ultimately in the Infinite Whole, that is Cit. It is Whole (Purna) and Spirit.
15.8:
When Isvarah enters and leaves a body, he takes all these (senses and
mind) and goes as the wind carries the fragrance from their place (flowers).
Avāpnoti: to reach, attain, obtain,
gain. Utkrāmati: to step out, to pass away. Āsaya: place, seat, bed,
asylum
Read more on Vāsanās (fragrance),
Samskāras (impressions), and subtle body elsewhere.
15.9:
He enjoys the sense objects presided over by the ears, the eyes, the
tactile sense, also the tongue, the nose, and the mind.
15.10:
The ignorant do not see the “self” leaving the body, residing in the
body or enjoying the sense pleasures of the Gunas. Those who have the eye of
wisdom can see.
15.11:
The striving yogis can see “It” established in their self. The
imprudent, not established in the self, though striving, do not see this.
Acētasah: the imprudent
15.12:
The splendor coming from the sun illumines the whole world; that which
is in the moon and that which is also in the fire, know (Arjuna) that splendor
is Mine.
Know that the splendor from the sun, the
moon, and the fire is Mine.
15.13:
I sustain all beings with My Power, entering earth. Becoming the
juice-giving moon, I nourish all the herbs (plants).
It is said that the plants manufacture the
sap under the influence of moonlight.
15.14:
Becoming the (digestive) fire in the bodies of all living creatures, and
moving with (ease and) equal balance in upward and downward breaths, I digest
foods of four kinds.
Vaisvānara is Agni or fire and
represents the fire of digestion. Visva+nara means universal+man, belonging or
common to man. According to Kurma Purana, Book two chapter 6.16-17, the
fire-god, Vaisvānara digests the food eaten by day and night on the orders
of Isvara, the clinical manifestation of Brahman. (Now you know who provides the
fire in the belly.) Vaisvānara is the god
who cooks the food by virtue of the fact he is the fire-god and carries the
oblations to the forefathers.
Becoming the digestive fire in the bodies of
all living creatures, and moving with ease in inspiration and expiration, I
digest all four varieties of foods. The food is classified according to the modes
of ingestion: licking food, sucking food, drinking food, and chewing food. Here
it a functional classification: Honey is a “licking” food, hand-softened mango
fruit with intact skin is a “sucking” food, milk is a “drinking” food, and
vegetable is a “chewing” food.
Both Vaisnavites and Saivites claim that
their Isvara (Narayana or Siva) is the Vaisvanara, the fire-god. Here in this
verse, Krishna (Narayana) claims to be Vaisvanara.
15.15: I am seated in the hearts of all living
beings. From Me come the memory, the knowledge, and the removal. I am also
the
knowable from the Vedas. I am the author of the Vedas and the knower of Vedas.
Apōhanam:
removal
Memory and knowledge in this instance are not the usual
faculties of the mind and the brain as the scientists have taught us. Memory of
mundane knowledge is not true memory. Memory
and knowledge of the “self” are what they are:
Memory is recollection of something known already; each soul carries a memory
of its origin and destination, which are the Lord’s Greater Soul (World Soul).
Think of your credit or debit card which carries data memory in it. During its
passage in the living bodies, the soul forgets its origin (Self) because of its
association with matter. As the association with matter diminishes, the memory
of the self increases. To restore this memory of the self, man has to resort to
karma yoga, jnāna yoga, bhakti yoga, or Prapatti and Saranagati. Let me
give you an instance by an allegory: The genes that we inherit from our parents
carry the memory of our skin and eye color. The memory of the self is in many ways
similar: our subtle body carries that memory from birth to birth.
Knowledge of the self is discussed elsewhere.
Here Apōhanam means removal of doubt and
faulty perception, which impede the progress of the soul towards liberation.
Vedas are four and each has four qualities: Nityatvam, A-paurusheyatvam, Avichchinnaparam, and Anantatvam.
1) Nityatvam (eternal existence), Air in Bhagava's breath confers eternity to Vedas. It is indestructible. It has no script; it is all sound. 2) Apaurusheyatvam, Not created by any Being, not even gods. 3) Avichchinnaparam paraaha-tatvam (continual supreme pass-down Tattvam) It is passed down by word of mouth. 4) Anantatvam, endless principle. No body has mastered all the four Vedas and they will never be learned completely by any one.
Vēdānta is the concluding portions of Vedas or the end of Vedas, meaning that it contains the essence of Vedas in a cryptic form. Such cryptic statements are open to misinterpretation without the help of an Achārya, who is the torchbearer in removing the darkness to expose and expound the meaning of Vedanta. Vedanta is Paratatva, that needs shedding of light and interpretation. It is a dark cave, whose interior cannot be revealed without an Acharya, torchbearer, or leader. We cannot go past the mountain, let alone the cave. What is the object of our search in the cave? It is the lion or Vishnu.
Vishnu is VEdaVEththiyan. வேதவேத்தியன் = God as knowable through Vedas.
He is VEdAnta VEthyan = வேதாந்த வேத்யன் = essence of Vedas-One who is knowable.
Such a lion is Vishnu also known as Narasimha--the Man-Lion-- in the cave of Vedanta. He is the Parabrahmam. We look at a mountain and don't see the lion or have an idea of the cave or the lion, who is the resident of cave in the mountain, otherwise known as Antaryamin (Inner Guide). Vishnu lives in the cave of the heart in every one of us.
Let me give an example to illustrate Antaryamin. When you go to a Hall of Frames, you see just the frames from afar and not the portraits. When you get close to a frame, you don't see the frame but the portrait that comes alive before your eyes. In like manner, when you see matter (mountain), He (lion) is not seen; when you see Him (lion), you do not see matter (mountain).
Since He exists (Antaryamin) in all beings and matter (Cit and Acit), He is addressed as IT, THAT. It is not in any way derogatory to address Him such. People in different religions give names to IT or THAT in their own chosen nomenclature and language.
15.16:
There are these two (kinds of) Purushas (entities) in this world, the perishable
(Ksara) and the imperishable (Aksara). The Perishable are (the bodies of all)
living beings and it is said that the immutable or unchanging is the
Imperishable (soul).
क्षरः सर्वाणि
भूतानि कूटस्थोऽक्षर उच्यते ॥१६॥
dvāv imau purusau loke ksarascāksara eva ca|
ksarah sarvāni bhūtāni kūtastho 'ksara ucyate||
Contextually, Purusa is a living entity with imperishable soul and perishable body. Kūtasthan (கூடஸ்தன்) is the immutable, imperishable or unchanging Self.
There are two living entities: Ksarah Sarvani bhutani (perishable beings of the world) and Kutostho 'ksara (the Immutable). A living breathing person (and other beings) consists of Paramatman, Jivatman and body (Supreme Soul, individual soul and the physical body). Of these three, the former two are imperishable and the body is perishable. Paramatman is the Old Block and the Jivatmans are the chips off the Old Block. We are only chips (amsa-fragment) and not the whole; the latter does not diminish from chipping. We are sparks emanating from the Great Fire of Brahman. We are a blip or a spark and He is the Eternal Light and Fire. Paramatman remains in the spiritual heart as a witness. When the light of blip goes out, it merges with the Eternal Light. When the pure soul light leaves the body, it sheds all residual accretions, becomes the purest entity and goes to Vishnu's heaven. The unfortunate impure soul finds housing in another body for another round of Samsara--worldly life. The pure soul is not different from the Soul of God. Light water is chemically same as heavy water; thus, chemistry of individual soul and Great Soul are same but functions are different. We as pure souls in Vishnu's heaven cannot create, maintain, destroy or contain the universe during Pralaya (the Great Deluge). They are the exclusive functions of Bhagavan.
ThAkura says that Paramatman is a complete spiritual entity or substance (Purna-CidVastu); Jivas are small particles (amsa) of spirit (Cit kana). kana = alpa = small. Jiva is located in the no man's land or border line between spirit and matter. There are oppositional forces pulling the Jiva: Cit Sakti and Maya, Cit Sakti towards Krishna and Maya Sakti to the world of matter. Forgetfulness of Krishna (that we are soul and not body) gives that little push towards the gravitational forces of Maya. When Jiva gravitates towards Maya, it takes on the qualities of Maya and proportionally spirit wanes. Maya imparts three qualities to matter and Jiva: Sattva, Rajas and Tamas. One has to remember that Cit Sakti and Maya Sakti emanate from Krishna, Cit being salubrious and Maya being injurious. Why so? Because He is in charge of all forces in this universe. Krishna is like the sun and the Jiva is a photon, dependant on the sun. No sun, no photon.
The Jiva, forgetting Krishna, wanders in the worlds sometimes as a Brahmana, a Sudra, a Vaishya, a Ksatriya, an insect, a worm, an amoeba; sometimes happy; sometimes distressed; sometimes on earth or in hell; sometimes a Deva or a demon; and sometimes a servant or a master. Fortuitously, if Jiva comes into contact with a Bhakta (BhAgavata), it realizes its true identity and the long unfortunate service to Maya, grieves for his present condition and laments the long fruitless association with Maya. Jiva begs for mercy from Krishna, the Ocean of Mercy, who quickly whisks him off from the world of Maya. Krishna infuses Cit Sakti into the Jiva, with association with the Bhaktas, performing Prapatti and Saranagati and participating in chanting Krishna Nama; the influence of Maya wanes with firmly established Cit Sakti. This is the recipe for crossing the material world of Maya into the world of Krishna and Cit Sakti.
Notes: Maya is not a palpable entity in its original state. It is an energy of Bhagavan who sets in motion the forces that makes Maya become the body. Let me give you an example. The humidity in the air is not something you can put in a bottle and see. It takes condensation to change humidity into water, cloud, and fog and precipitation to see it as rain, snow or hail.
Who are these two Purushas?
According to Panchadasi (Chapter 7), Pure Consciousness, that is God, looks in a mirror and sees its image (which is called) Cidabhasa. This image has no real life or existence without the Pure Consciousness. The mirror is Maya, illusory energy of the Lord, which is the causal agent of the universe. Kashmir Saivism claims that the mirror is Sakti of Siva. The image carries an aura of reflected glory. When the adjuncts of adventitious nature are removed, such as the mirror, the only remaining entity is the eternal Consciousness or Kūtastha. Kūtastha = immovable, immutable, occupying the highest place. Cid-abhasa = Cid + Âbhâsa = Intelligence, Consciousness + luster, apparition, phantom = reflected intelligence or consciousness. That Kutastha is our substratum and we are the Cidabhasa. Cidabhasa is an illusion with no substance. Cidabhasa apparition does not exist without Kutastha Consciousness; therefore, the illusion has a basis in Kutastha which is Brahman. Cidabhasa is false or a pretender from the transcendental point of view and not from empirical stance. In empirical world, Cidabhasa is a palpable living entity (people). The bottom line is that Cidabhasa is Brahman with limitations (Upadhi), such as Avidya (ignorance). Here it is spiritual ignorance meaning that Cidabhasa apparition does not identify with Brahman-Kutastha Consciousness but with the body that houses the individual soul. Most of our lives are spent in the upkeep of our body, mind, and matter and not the soul, whose origin is Brahman-Kutastha Consciousness or Soul. We have doctors to tend and mend our body and mind but there is no one to tend to our soul.
Anything that is changeable (Kshara) has no permanence. The soul (Akshara) is eternal and immutable.
Here is what Ramanuja says about the two Purushas.
Ksara purusha is man (his body) and refers to beings from Brahma to a blade of grass associated with unconscious matter; Aksara Kutastha is the aggregate of all released souls devoid of matter. These souls have attained My State (Bhagavan's) and are free from birth at the time of creation and suffering at the time of dissolution. The gods, man and beings are the perishable ones because of contact with matter. They, when divested of their body and matter upon release, become the Higher Imperishable Being in the state of Bhagavan. Both Purushas are earthly beings at the beginning, one bound to earth and another released from bondage. All released souls attain Paramapadam and exist in oneness with the Lord.
Let us see what Sankara has to say on this important verse.
He agrees on the Immutable God and the mutable persons of the world. Ramanuja's Cit (individual sentient soul) is the other mutable person, who emanates from the body of the manifest Brahman. He says that we are all sparks coming off from the Fire of Brahman. Sankara's mutable person originates from Maya of manifest Brahman. Maya is not the body of Brahman but the power of God. This Maya morphs into Tattvas (building blocks) which make this universe and beings. Sankara says sarvāni bhūtāni are all things, the aggregate of all mutable things, matter and beings. Kūtastha is Brahman; Maya is a heap of diverse things and the Maker of Maya; diversity is the Immutable Kutastha. (Yes, He is immutable and yet He becomes many; that is His inconceivable power.) How could Immutable Kutastha or Cit Sakti show diversity? An apparent oxymoron. The following explains this apparent paradox.
Sakti-Saktiman Abheda = Sakti-Purusa-Abheda = Power-owner of Power- non-difference: Non-difference between Bhagavan and His power. Saktiman Purusa has the Sakti; he has the Will to exercise the power; thus, sakti and Saktiman Purusa are non-different. Rich man has riches. His Para Tattva (Cit Sakti) is immutable (Nirvikara); His Maya Sakti undergoes mutation, transformation, evolution in the world of matter expressing the Will and Lila (pastimes) of Bhagavan. This transformational quality (Vikara) of Hari is a manifestation of His Prema (love and affection). Commentators say that Maya Sakti is a shadow of Cit Sakti- Supreme Consciousness of Bhagavan; thus the variegated material world is a shadow or reflection (Pratibimba) of Cit Sakti.
Saktiman is the immutable substance. His shadow goes wherever He goes. He is the world,; He is the universe. The shadow has many configurations, many directions, many sizes, many inclinations, many distortions, many shades and modes and yet Saktiman is immutable.
Vaishnavas love to illustrate the existence of the all-pervasive Vishnu in inanimate things and His emergence as Man-Lion from inside a palace pillar in a demolition derby fashion to protect, serve, and save his devotee Prahalada and kill his father, the poster boy for torture of his own son because Prahalada told his father that His God was everywhere and in the palace pillar too. That was the story of Narasimha Avataram (the Man-Lion Divine Chimera).
15.17: He enters and sustains the three worlds and is known as the Imperishable, the Supreme Controller (Isvara). Uttama Purusa is different (from the Ksara and Aksara Purusas).
This Supreme person (Uttaman) is different from the Ksara and Aksara, mentioned in verse 16.
He (Vishnu) is the all-Pervader and sustainer of this universe.
Uttama Purusa:
Uttama = excellent, eminent, superior, most
elevated, Highest, uppermost. Highest person; Paramātma: Supreme Self; Isvara: Controller and the Lord, God of
gods; Anyah: is different.
Who is this Uttama Purusa? He is the one who reached the Highest Place, Parmapadam, Vishnu's heaven by ascending the nine steps. He obtains release from the world of Samsara, goes to Paramapadam and lives in the company of Nityasuris and Vishnu. The Prapannan (devotee par excellence) having entered the gates of Vaikuntham becomes the Uttaman in heaven.
There are three entities here: Aksara Purusa (Vishnu), Ksara Purusa (the mutable SamsAri) and Uttaman. Uttaman lives in the company of Vishnu and Nityasuris. He serves at the feet of Vishnu.
15.18:
Because I go beyond the perishable and higher than the Imperishable and
supreme, I am renowned in the world and in the Vedas as Purushottama (Supreme
Person).
The Lord is above the perishable bodies and higher than Atma itself. He is the Supreme Person in the Vedas and the universe. It also means that ontologically, He is the highest; the next entity is Aksram followed by Avyaktam (Imperishable and Unmainfest).
What sets the Supreme Person above everybody else?
Man, male and female Devatas, Brahma, Siva, Narayana share many qualities. Krishna has qualities that are exclusive to Him. There are a total of 64 qualities of which the first fifty are in unlimited quantity in Bhagavan, and graded quantity in other gods and deities; man has them in limited quantity. Qualities from 51 to 55 are in unlimited quantity in Bhagavan Krishna and are deemed special to Brahma, Siva and other gods and goddesses. Listed between 56 to 60, Narayana has still higher qualities which are not shared by the preceding entities. Qualities listed between 61 to 64 are the exclusive domain of Bhagavan Krishna, the Supreme Person. This is a modified list as depicted in Jaiva Dharma, Chapter 13.
Qualities of individual souls, deities, Brahma, Siva and Bhagavan
Qualities of Bhagavan include all 64 of them.
1) Beautiful limbs; 2) All- auspicious qualities; 3) Beauty; 4) Radiance; 5) Strength; 6) Eternal youth; 7) Linguist; 8) Truth Sayer; 9) pleasing speaker; 10) eloquence; 11) Intelligent; 12) Learned; 13) good conversationalist; 14) connoisseur; 15) clever and dexterous; 16) Expert; 17) Gratitude; 18) Keeper of vows; 19) Knowledge of place, time and circumstance;
20) Seer through Sastric eyes; 21) Purity; 22) Self-control; 23) steadfast; 24) forbearance; 25) forgiveness; 26) Inscrutability;
27) Forgiveness; 28) equipoise; 29) Munificence 30) Dharma; 31) Chivalry; 32) Compassion; 33) respectful; 34) Amicability;
35) Modesty; 36) Shyness; 37) Saranagata Raksaka- Surrender-protector 38) Happiness; 39) protector of devotees; 40) Controlled by Prema (love) of devotees; 41) Benefactor of all; 42) Tormentor of enemies; 43) Fame; 44) Beloved by all; 45) Partiality to Sadhus; 46) Enchanter of women's mind; 47) Worthy of worship by all; 48) All opulence; 49) Superior to all; 50) The Controller.
All these above qualities are in unlimited quantity in Bhagavan and in a limited quantity in Jivas, Individual souls.
Five qualities are in Brahma, Siva and other Deities.
51) One's own divine form (Svarupa);
52) Omniscience;
53) Eternal Youth;
54) Being, Knowledge and Bliss (SatCitAnanda);
55) Possessor of all Siddhis (special powers like levitation, omnipresence etc;
The above 55 qualities are present in lesser amounts in Deities.
Lakshmipati Narayana has the following additional exclusive qualities.
56) Inconceivable great qualities and powers;
57) Myriad universes abide within His Body;
58) He is Bija or seed of all Avatars;
59) Giver of higher destination to those He killed;
60) Enchanter of the ones who attained the Delight of their souls.
The following qualities (61-64) are in the exclusive domain of Sri Krishna not present in anyone other than HIM.
61) He is like the vast ocean with incessant waves of wonderful Lilas;
62) His adoration is Madhurya Prema (Sweet love and affection) showered by His devotees;
63) He enchants the three worlds with inimitable sounds of His flute;
64) The resplendent beauty of His transcendental form is enchanting to all mobiles and immobile forms.
15.19: He, who is undeluded, knows Me as the
Supreme Person, knows everything, and worships Me with his heart and soul, O
son of Bharata.
Sarvabhāvena: Whole-heartedly, heart and soul. Complete satisfaction.
15.20:
O sinless one, I have explained thus the most secret doctrine. Knowing
thus, one becomes the enlightened and would have done his duty well, Bharata.
End BG Chapter Fifteen: The Supreme Person