CHAPTER 7- ATMASAMYAMAYOGA
KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE
As the first six chapters highlighted the karmayoga the next six chapters elucidate bhakthiyoga while the last six are about jnanayoga. Hence the three shadgas of the Gita consisting of six
chapters each is also considered to be the highlights of karma, bhakthi and jnana yogas respectively , though all the three are found throughout the Gita in all the eighteen chapters.
Sree Bhagavan uvacha
1.mayaasakthamanaaH paarTha yogam yunjan madhaaSrayaH
asamSayam samagram maam yaThaa jnaasyasi thath SrNu
Oh Arjuna, listen how you can know Me without doubt with your mind engrossed in Me and striving for yoga totally dependent on Me.
mayyaasakthamanaah refers to one who has withdrawn his mind from all sensual experiences and fixed it only on the Lord.
madhaaSrayaH is the one who has become totally dependant on the Lord Himself for his salvation. That is , he follows only the bhakthi marga of total surrender.
Yogam yunjan here means the contemplation of the Lord at all times with devotion.
2. jnaanam the aham savijnaanam idham vakshyaamiaSeshathaH
yath jnaathvaa na iha bhooyo anyath jnaathavyamavaSishyathe
I will tell you about the knowledge along with its experience, once grasping which nothing else needs to be known.
Jnana is the knowledge of reality and vijnana is the comprehension of the whole universe as nothing but the Lord. This outlook has been emphasized already in the foregoing chapters as `janma karma cha me dhivyam evam yo vetthi thathavathah,'(Ch.4.9) and `yo maam paSyathi sarvathra sarvam cha mayi paSyathi.(ch.6.30)
The foremost among yogis has been described in the sixth adhyaya as the one who worships the Lord as his inner self with full faith Krishna now elaborates on the power and the glory of the Supreme self in the seventh and the next three adhyayas before He manifests in His cosmic form to Arjuna.He says that those whose mind is set on the Lord and practise meditation on Him come to know the real nature of Him. When that knowledge dawns there is nothing more to know. This has reference to the upanishadic statement 'yEna asrutham srutham bhavathi amatham matham avijnAtham vijnAtham,(Chan.6-1-6) That knowledge (about supreme self) through which what is unheard becomes heard, what is unthought of, becomes thought of ,what is unknown becomes known.' This is the promissory statement which precedes the instruction on Brahman which ends with 'thathvamasi, that thou art.
The context of the above declaration of the Upanishad is as follows.
Svethakethu, the son of Uddhalaka Aruni, a sage, was sent to gurukula for acquiring knowledge. When he returned he looked a bit arrogant of his learning and his father asked him whether he has learnt all that is to be learned. Svetaketu asked his father what he meant and he said the above sentence `yena asrutham—` When the son told the father that he had not learn it and asked him to instruct it himself Uddhlaka Aruni gave the upadesa which contained the mahavakya .'thath thvam asi.'
3. manushyaaNaam sahasreshu kaschith yathathi siddhaye
yathathham api sidDhaanaam kaschinmaam vetthithathvathah
One in thousands of men only tries for getting this knowledge and of them only one perhaps knows Me as I am.
Krishna begins by saying that this knowledge is very rare since there is one in thousand who strives to acquire it among which only one comes to know the reality as it is. Here the words kaschinmAm vetthi thathvathah, only one comes to know Me, in truth' is to be taken to mean the Lord, Brahman of the Upanishads and Narayana of visishtadvaita who is Krishna in reality whose identity only very few had the insight to see.
The human life is rare to get as it is said that only after thousand births as other beings one is born as a human. The human life is the only one in which one can aspire for and attain salvation because the effort for yoga is possible on earth only and not in other worlds which are either bhoga bhoomi like heaven where one enjoys the fruits of merit acquired or yaathanaa bhoomi like naraka where one expiates the sins by suffering.
Among the humans only it is rare to find one who aspires for salvation because all fall prey for the sensual pleasures and engage in desire motivated activities. Even those who are virtuous they only try to accumulate merit by good deeds and austerities for the fruit of better life here or hereafter. But even among those who strive for yoga, Krishna says that one among them only achieves what he aspires for because there are many a slip between the cup and the lip till the last stage.
4. bhoomiH aapo analo vaayuh kham mano budDhih eva cha
ahamkaara ithi iyam me bhinnaa prkrthiH ashtaDhaa
My nature is manifest as eightfold prkrthi, namely, earth, water, fire, wind, space , mind , intellect and ego.
5. aparaa iyam ithah thu anyaam prakrthim vidDhi me paraam
jeevabhoothaam mahaabaaho yayaa idham Dhaaryathe
My higher prakrthi is different from this lower prakrthi and it is the inner self by which all this is sustained.
6.ethath yoneeni bhoothaani sarvaaNi ithi upaDhaaraya
aham krthsnasya jagathaH prabhavaH pralayah thaThaa
Know that these two are the source of all beings. I am the origin and the end of the whole universe.
Then Krishna starts elaborating on His nature as Brahman transcendent and imminent. The unmanifest Brahman becomes manifest as stated in the upanishad 'sadhEva soumya idham agra Aseeth EkamEva advitheeyam, thadhaikshatha bahusyAm prajAyEya,' that there was only 'sath' Brahman in the beginning ,one only, without a second and it willed to become many. So Krishna says my nature , that is, the divine manifestation into universe is eightfold. ' mE bhinnA prakrthirashtaDHA.' The manifest nature consisting of earth, water, fire, air and the space along with mind and intellect , is the lower nature, aparA prakrthi. Here the elements mentioned do not denote the gross form but the subtle elements, thanmathras and the mind and intellect likewise denote their cause, the ahamkara, which is the effect of mahath, the first evolute of prakrthi.
"Apart from this lower prakrthi," says the Lord ,"is My higher nature. ".The higher self, the essential nature by which the universe is supported.. The lower nature is the field or kshethra, elucidated in a later adhyaya while the higher nature is the kshethrajna, the knower of the field, knowing which nothing else need be known as all beings originate from and dissolve into it. 'yathO vA imani bhoothAni jAyanthe yEna jAthAni jeevanthi yasmin abhisamvisanthi thadhvijinjAsava thdhbrahma,' (Taitt-III-1-1) know that to be Brahman from whom all beings originate, by whom they are sustained and into which they merge back.' Therefore ,' says the Lord, 'aham krthsanasya jagathah prabhavah pralayah thaTHA, I am the source of the world and into Me they enter in dissolution.'
The evolution of prakrthi as detailed by the school of sankhya deserves mention here.
The evolutes of Prakrthi are as follows. Prakrthi or the primordial matter is constituted of three gunas, satthva, rajas and thamas. When the gunas are in equilibrium there is no evolution and no creation. When the gunas start combining influenced by the presence of purusha, the sentient soul, the evolution starts. First evolute of prakrthi is mahath or budDhi, which in its turn gives rise to ahankara, which is of three kinds according to the three gunas, sathvik, raajasik and thaamasik. The saathvik ahankara gives rise to the ten subtle indhriyas and manas. The gross indhriyas evolve from subtle indhriyas. From the thamasik ahankara the thanmathras of sound, touch, form, taste and smell emerge. From the thanmathras which are subtle elements, the gross elements of akasa, vayu, fire, water and earth evolve.
This manifest prakrthi is termed as lower prakrthi here. Te higher prakrthi is of the Lord Himself, which Krishna elaborates in the subsequent slokas. sarvam khalu idham brahma thajjalaan, says the Upanishad, meaning all this is Brahman, because of creation, sustenance and annihilation are by Brahman. This is the transcendence and the declaration ayam aathmaa brahma denotes the imminence of Brahman. These aspects are elaborated in this chapter.
7. matthaH paratharam na anyath kimchith asthi Dhananjaya
mayi sarvam idham protham soothre maNiganaa iva
There is nothing higher than Me, Arjuna, (Dhananjaya) all this is strung in Me like the beads in a thread.
Since He is the cause of everything, from which all beings came about , there is nothing higher or beyond . The upanishadic statement 'sadhEva soumya idhamagra Aseeth EkamEva adhivitheeyam ,' denotes that Brahman is both the material and efficient cause of the world, because of the words 'one only , without a second.' All beings are supported by Brahman like the string that supports the beads strung on it. Since He alone is the cause of the world all beings and the entire world is strung , woven or held together as a cloth by the threads or by the string which holds the cluster of gems together. In BrahdhAraNyaka upanishad Yajnavalkya is asked by Gargi that by which all these beings are pervaded like the warp and woof of a cloth and He replies that it is Brahman.
But the analogy of beads strung in a thread is to be understood properly. The thread is different from the beads and it performs the function of holding them together only. But the Lord is both the thread and the beads, that is, transcendent and imminent. The beads represent the names and forms of the beings, sentient and insentient and the string that goes through is the inner self of all , Brahman. But the names and forms are not different from Brahman as the pots of different shapes are not different from the mud, which is the basis of them all. The upanishadic declaration is that the warp and woof of a cloth which pervades throughout is the Brahman. As the threads give shape and colour to the cloth the Lord enters into all beings to give them name and form. Anena aathmanaa anupraviSya naamaroope vyaakaravaaNi (Chandhogya Upanishad) meaning, " I will enter into these as the self and give them name and form. This can be understood better by the subsequent slokas.
8. raso aham apsu kountheya prabhaa asmi saSisooryayoH
praNavaH sarvavedheshu SabdhaH khe pourusham nrshu
I am the taste in water, oh son of Kunti, the light of the moon and the sun , the praNava of all the Vedas, the sound in the space and manliness in men.
Next Krishna explains the traits by which the Lord is distinguished in the world which is woven on Him, that is, how can one understand that He supports everything through perception and inference. Krishna says that He is the taste, the essence of water, the light in sun and the moon, He is the praNava, the source of all the Vedas and the sound which is the essence of AkAsa and the manhood in men.
9. puNyo ganDhaH prThivyaam cha thejaschaasmi vibhaavasaam
I am the pure smell of the earth, luminosity of fire.
The five elements have one quality peculiar to them besides others. The earth has smell as its essential quality that distinguishes it from others, water has taste, fire has form denoted by its brilliance, air has touch and space has sound.
This is explained as follows. The space is evolved from the sabdhathanmathra and has only sound as its quality as sound needs space to travel. To this the sparsathanmathra(touch) is added and the gross element of air is evolved. Hence the special quality of air is touch. Air combining with tejas thanmathra produces fire which has al the three qualities but thejas is its special quality. When Tejas combines with rasathanmathra(taste) the gross element of water evolves .Hence the essence of water is taste. Finally the earth is evolved by combining water with ganDha thanmathra, which is its essential quality.
It is said puNyoganDhaH here because the earth has only good smell and the other kinds of smell arises by impurities that contaminates it.
jeevanam sarvabhootheshu thapaschaasmi thapasvishu
I am the life of all beings and the austerity of the austere.
10. beejam maam sarvabhoothaanaam viddhi paarTha sanaathanam
budDhirbudDhimathaam asmi thejasthejasvinaam aham
I am the eternal seed of all beings, oh Partha, the intellect of the intelligent, splendour of the splendid.
Krishna gives more examples as a teacher does to illustrate a point well. In short, the Lord is the essence of everything, the dharma, without which anything ceases to be what it is. The light is the dharma of fire, without which it cannot be called so. Similarly it is so in all the examples given. The word dharma actually means the essential nature of a thing or an activity.
11. balam balvathaam cha aham kaamaraagavivarjitham
DharmaavirudDho bhootheshukaamo asmi bhratharshabha
I am the might of the mighty, devoid of desire and attachment, and the desire unopposed to dharma, oh the bull among kurus.
When Krishna says that the Lord is the strength of the strong he qualifies it with the adjective kaamraagavivarjitham, without desire and attachment. The real strength is that which comes out of moral courage and not the one which is shown by bullying. It is like the strength of Rama which is divine as that mentioned here as against that of Ravana., induced by desire and attachment. Desire is the wish to acquire something and attachment is the reluctance to let it go.
Similarly the word kaama is qualified by dharmaavirudDhaH, desire not opposed to dharma. The four purusharThas, namely dharma, arTha, kaama and moksha are sanctioned in the sasthras but arTha and kama should be in accordance with dharma so that they lead one to moksha finally. It means that earning wealth, arTha or satisfying desire, kaama , is not forbidden but the wealth must be earned following dharma and the desires should be in accordance with dharma, with the final goal in mind , namely moksha. In other words, wealth must be earned in order to utilize it for dhaarmik purpose and the desire must be to for things which are conducive to the activities of dharma. Then the mind becoming free from attachment it progresses towards the path to moksha.
12.ye chaiva saathvikaa bhaavaaH raajasaasthaamasaascha ye
mattha evethi thaan vidDhi na thu aham theshu the mayi
All the beings sentient and insentient, constituted of the three gunas, sprung from Me only. I am not in them but they are in Me.
Krishna sums up the description of the nature of Brahman. "All the beings constituted of the three gunas are from Me, but I am not in them, they are in Me," says the Lord. Brahman is all pervading and hence He is in all things and they are in Him as the AkAsa is in all and all are in it. But the statement 'I am not in them ,' seems to be a little bit confusing. Actually it is not so. It only means that Brahman is not conditioned by the qualities like the individual self in transmigration. AkAsa is in everything but is not contaminated by them and pervades everything so that everything is in it. Just because it pervades all it cannot be said that the akasa is in them Similarly Brahman pervades all so that they are in Him but He is not in them in the worldly sense of the term. The space outside the pot and the space inside is the same. But it is not correct to say that the space is inside the pot because the pot is in space and not vice versa. But ghatakasa nevertheless exists though not different from mahakasa, the space outside. Hence in this sense the Lord says that He is not in them but they are in Him.
The rope is misunderstood as a snake due to ignorance of its real nature created by dim light. This is the maya. The snake is in the rope because without the rope the snake cannot exist. But the rope is not in the snake as when the rope is seen snake is no more seen. To take another example, the waves are in the ocean but the ocean is not in the waves.
13.thribhiH gunamayaiH bhaavaiH ebhiH sarvam idham jagath
mohitham na abhijaanaathi maam ebhyaH param avyayam
The whole universe is pervaded by the three gunas. Those who are deluded do not understand Me to be different from them.
All that which is non-self is constituted by the three gunas of prakrthi and the evolutes of prakrthi. The individual self gets deluded into believing that the world is the reality without understanding that there is the absolute reality apart from all this, the higher and the immutable. This delusion is created by the wrong identification of one self with the body, mind and intellect due to ego which is the product of ignorance which creates the delusion.
The reaction to the sensations are due to the three gunas and the deluded one believes that he is the agent of action instead of knowing that the gunas inside are reacting with the gunas outside. This was explained in the third chapter (slokas27 to 29) When you see the rope snake is no more and when you know the ocean, you see that the waves are nothing but the ocean. The idea in the above sloka can be very well understood by the Tamil saying from the thirumandhiram of Thirumoolar. It is as follows:
maraathai maraitthadhu maamadhayaanai
maratthil maraindhadhu maamadhyaanai
paratthai maraitthadhu paar mudhal bhootham
paratthil maraindhadhu paar mudhal bhootham
An elephant is made of wood and who sees it as the elephant, perhaps a child, does not see the wood and who sees only the wood, perhaps a carpenter, does not see the elephant. So it is said above that the elephant concealed the wood and vice versa. Similarly the world of five elements concealed the Brahman and vice versa. When one sees the world it is real for him and he does not see that all is nothing but Brahman, but to the one who has the knowledge, `sarvam khalu idham brahma,' he sees only Brahman everywhere.
Then who can get rid of this delusion? This is answered in the next sloka.
14. dhaivee hyesha guna mayee mama maayaa dhurathyayaa
maameva ye prapadhyanthe maayaam ethaam tharanthi the
This divine delusion formed by the gunas created by Me is difficult to cross and those who resort to Me alone are able to cross over.
This delusion born out of ignorance is mama maayaa says Krishna, meaning that till one has the right perception the reality is hidden from him by the Lord Himself in the form of maya because as long as the ego causes identification with the body, mind and intellect, the reality cannot be understood. The Lord removes the delusion only of those who resort to Him. He says maam eva, meaning "Me alone" which denotes ananyabhakthi. This is not partiality on the part of The Lord. Those who surrender to Him with unflinching devotion to Him alone, give up attachment to the world and purify their mind of all sins through devotion. To them naturally the maya is removed like the darkness is gone when the sun rises as mentioned in the sloka `theshaam aadhithyavath jnaanam prakaaSayathi thath param..' (Chapter5.16)
Then why not everybody resort to the Lord and get rid of their maayaa? The answer is given in the next sloka.
15. na maam dhushkrthino mooDaaH prapadhyanthenaraaDhamaaH
maayayaa apahrtha jnaanaaH aasureem bhaavamaasRithaaH
Those who have committed sin , who are ignorant and the wicked do not resort to Me. They have acquired the demonic nature with their wisdom being robbed by the delusion.
Those who are deluded by the maya seek sensual gratification and indulge in sinful activities. They become wicked and they are fools in believing that the pleasures of the worlds is real and everlasting which goads them into wickedness in order to satisfy their desires. Such men, says Krishna will never come to Me but acquire demonic nature which will take them lower and lower.
16. chathurviDhaa bajanthe maam janaH sukrthino arjuna
aartho jinjnaasuh arThaarThee jnaanee chabharatharshabha
'Four types of devotees of noble deeds worship Me, Arjuna,the seeker after worldly possessions, arTHArTHee the afflicted, Arthee seeker for knowledge, jijnAsu and the man of wisdom,jnAnee., O best of Bharathas'
A man who believes in God prays for the fulfilment of his cherished objects of the world, wealth or child and so on. When he gets them as a result of his prayer his devotion is strengthened and develops into faith. If he has not already acquired faith he will lose belief if his desire is not fulfilled. This is why we often hear the cry 'I no more believe in God,' from those who face disappointments in life.
Sugreeva and Dhruva can be cited as examples of arTHArTHee type of devotees, the former developed faith after the fulfillment of his desire while Dhruva had both faith and belief and became a jnani later, elevated to the status of dhruva star.
The second kind of devotee who seeks God as his sole refuge when in distress like Droupadi or Gajendra are Arthees with staunch faith that He alone is their saviour, which is termed as mahAvisvAsam ,among the five requisites of saranAgathi. They do not seek Him for worldly pleasures but remain ardent devotees through out their life which alone will make them call out to Him in earnest. In normal life we do not have that faith in God even though we have belief in Him and therefore we suffer in consequence
Here comes the importance of the word 'sukrthinah' which Krishna uses to describe the four kinds of devotees. To think of God and yearn for His mercy requires poorvajanmapunya. There is a story to illustrate this.
A man who was a confirmed sinner was sitting on a tree and Lord Siva happened to pass that way with Parvathi. Siva told Parvathi that the man is going to fall from the tree and die since it is his fate. Parvathi, being the divine mother, took pity on the man and said that they should save him to which Siva replied that it was his karma being a sinner to die such a death. When Parvathi remonstrated with him Siva said that He will save the man if he cries out 'appa' and she should save him if he says 'amma' when he falls. Parvathi was happy without realising the real purport of Siva's words. The branch on which the man was sitting broke and he fell down crying 'aiyo,' because he did not have the sukrthi to call God's name at the time of death
JijnaaAsu is one who has pure devotion and does not seek the pleasures of life nor is he worried about distress because the only thing that could cause pain to him is being away from the Lord. Uddhava and to a certain extent Paikshit are the examples of this kind of Bhakthi. A jijnAsu loves the Lord for his own sake and seeks to acquire the jnana which the Lord Himself gives as in the case of Udhdhava or through someone as He did for Parikshit.
The last but not least is the jnani who has realised the truth about the Lord like Prahlada, Narada and other sages who were both bhakthas
17. theshaam jnaanee nithyayukhah ekabhakthiH viSishyathe
priyo hi jnaanino athyarTham aham sa cha mama priyaH
Of these, jnani, the knower who is ever integrated and exclusively devoted, excels. " I am exceedingly dear to him and he to Me."
In this sloka Krishna give the definition of jnani. Bearing in mind that these six chapters deal with bhakthiyoga, the jnani is the one with ekabhakthi. One who has devotion only to the Lord without any other thought in his mind. He is constantly contemplating on the Lord and His qualities am and actions, nithya yukthah. The word nithyyuktha is explained in chapter 9 as those who always sing His praises, offer everything to Him and bow down to Him with devotion. (Ch9.14) This is ekabhakthi..'
He is dear to Me and I am dear to Him can be explained in the light of the next sloka where the Lord says that the jnani is the Lord Himself. No one is dearer than oneself. It also means that a true devotee, to whom the Lord is the dearest, is also dear to Him because the Lord comes to us in whichever form or relationship we deem Him to be. If one loves Him dearly he reciprocates and to the one who shows enmity he also appears as the enemy. He is the inner self of all and however we consider ourselves we behave like that only. Positive and negative vibrations get reflected outside and come back to us in the same manner.
18.udhaaraah sarva eva ethe jnaanee thu athmaiva mematham
aasThithaH sa hi yukthaathmaa maameva anutthamamgathim
All of them are noble but the jnani is not different from Me. Being united in Me he attains the greatest status.
Then are not the other three dear to the Lord? Krishna clears this doubt by saying 'udhaaraassarvaevaithe,' all the four are praiseworthy but the jnani is said to be the dearest in the sense that he is the very self of the Lord, that is, non-different from Him.
19. bahoonaam janmanaam anthe jnaanavaan maam prapadhyathe
vaasudhevassarvam ithi sa mahaathmaa sudhurlabhaH
Only after several lives a jnani resorts to Me. The sage who considers that vasudeva is everything is very rare.
The jnani is extolled because only after several births one becomes a jnani and reaches Me,' says krishna, and to find such a great soul to whom everything is Vasudeva is very difficult. Saint composers like Thyagaraja, Ramadas. Kabir and the devotees like Gorakumbha, Meera and the like are examples of this ekabhakthi.
The Lord said in the beginning of the chapter that only one among thousands tries for yoga and even among them a rare one alone knows the Lord as such, and ,as declared in the fourth chapter, `janma karma cha Me dhivyam," (Chapter4.9) such a jnani is never born again. Hence this is the final stage to be reached in yoga, which takes several births and the final birth is the one in which he feels `vaasudevassarvanm ithi.' Krishna says that such a jnani is rare.
This does not mean that it is impossible to reach the state of a jnani as otherwise no one will aspire for it. Salvation. mukthi, is the birth right of a human being but how many births it will take for him to attain it is known only to the Lord because it depends on our accumulated karma and the intensity of our effort. Here it is only meant that in any one particular time and age, it is rare to get such jnanis. We know it only too well that Sankara, Ramana, Ramakrishna, Ramanuja, Kabir, Thyagraja etc. are not born often but only rarely.
Vasudevassarvam ithi is the attitude described in the sixth chapter as `yo maam paSyathi sarvathra sarvam cha mayi pasyathi.' (ch.6.30) In that chapter we also find the sloka sarvabhoothasThitham yo maambajthyekathvam aaSrithaH; sarvaThaa va rthamaano api sa yogee mayi varthathe, that is, one who sees the Lord everywhere always abides in the Lord. This is the idea expressed in the previous sloka as `jnaanee thu aathmaiva me matham.' That is, the jnani is non-different from Myself.
20. kaamaiH thaiH thaH hrthamanaaH prapadhyanthe anyadhevathaaH
tham tham niyamam aasThaaya prakrthyaa niyathaa svayaa
Attracted by particular results people resort to other lesser deities, following the respective disciplines ruled by their inherent nature.
Those who are deprived of this knowledge resort to other deities, which means that they propitiate the lesser gods to satisfy their desires. There are so many disciplines laid out in the veda for fulfilling the desires like getting wealth, progeny etc. by doing yajnas or japas on various deities which are all serve the purpose of attaining the worldly success and prosperity or at the most to go to heaven but not everlasting good and bliss But such finite results will come to an end and the everlasting happiness can come only through the worship of the supreme self, paramapurusha
21.yo yo yam yam thanum bhakthaH SradDhayaa archithum icchathi
thasya thasya achalaam SradDhaam thaam evaa vidhaDhamiaham
Whoever wish to worship whichever form with faith I give them that unswerving faith in that form.
.But Krishna does not denounce such faiths and says that He only causes the faith to grow for them who worship other deities. This is something like approaching the lesser officials for minor wants instead of the head of the government, while the power to grant the wishes are given to them only by the head of state.
22. sa thayaa SradDhayaa yukythah thasya araaDhanam eehathe
labhathe cha thathaH kaamaan mayaa eva vihithaan hi
With that staunch faith one worships that deity and gets the fruit of his desire, which is actually obtained from Me.
As the Lord is the supreme power all results of desire is sanctioned only by Him. The lesser deities have limited power vested with them by the Lord and with His will they bestow the desired fruit of worshipping them.
The stress here is on faith. Even though the lesser deities meant here are the devathas like Indra, Varuna etc who are worshipped with yajnas and vrathas for a specific purpose, if one worships God in any form with faith he will be able to get his desire fulfilled. The Lord says in chapter 9 that whichever form one worships he worships Me only. That is, God is one. `eko dhevas sarvabhootheshu gooDaH sarvavyaapee sarvabhothaantharaathma,' says the Upanishad. There is only one God hidden in every being, all pervading and the inner self of all. By propitiating other deities one gets the shower of grace through that particular pipeline.
23.anthavath thu phalam theshaam thath bhavathialpameDhasaam
dhevaan dhevayajo yaanthi madhbhakthaa yaanthimaam api
But the result of such acts of worship done by those of limited intellect is transitory. Those who worship other deities attain them but my devotees attain Me even.
There is a lot of difference in getting water from the taps and from the perennial river. The water from the tap stops when the reservoir is empty. But the perennial river gives water always. Likewise the grace of the particular deities is limited. But if one resorts the Lord, His shower of grace is unlimited.
alpameDhasaH means people of limited intellect. This does not mean that those who worship lesser deities for material wants are dull-witted. It only means the one who searches for short time happiness while he is entitles for everlasting happiness. It is like asking a billionaire, who is generous enough to give you what ever you want, for few coins
This is what Krishna means by saying madhbhakthaa yaanthi maam api. When the devotee resorts to the Lord for His own sake as explained in sloka 19 vaasudhevassarvam ithi sa mahaathmaa sudhurlabhaH, he not only gets everything unasked and also attain the Lord. This is the meaning of maam api.
24. avyaktham vyakthim aapannam manyanthe maam abudDhayaH
param bhaavam ajaananthaH mama avyayam anutthamam
Those who do not have the intellect to see Me as the supreme reality, immutable and unparalleled, consider me as a manifest entity while I am unmanifest.
Brahman is the substratum of all,the cause of all, which are its effects. The upanishad says that as all the mud pots are nothing but mud and as all the gold ornaments are nothing but gold, the whole universe is nothing but Brahman. But to those who see the pots or the ornaments do not consider them as mud or gold but as separate entities. Similarly the ignorant think that everything is a separate entity and fails to see the unity in diversity. This idea is well expressed in the tamil verse quoted under sloka 13 of this chapter, marathhil maraindhadhu maamdhayaanai.
25. naaham prakaasaH sarvasya yogamaayaasamaavrtahH
mooDo ayam na abhijaanaathi loko maam ajam avyayam
I am not perceptible to all, concealed by My yogamaya and the ignorant folks do not know Me as unborn and immutable.
In chapter 9 Krishna reiterates this idea in the sloka avajaananthi maam mooDaaH maanusheem thanum aSrihaam(BG.9.11.)
In all the incarnations those without devotion and faith failed to recognise the supreme self in the manifestations as a human or other entities. In Ramavathara the divinity was concealed by the will of the Lord. But those who had the insight like vasishta, sabari, Vibheeshana and Hanuman, to take a cross section of all beings, understood the real identity of Rama. In Krishnavathara His divinity was manifest through out but still some like Durypdhana, Kamsa and Sisupala didi not understand and treated Him with enmity and tried to harm him. This is because He is not perceptible in His real nature to all and the ignorant whose intellect is clouded by yoga maya of the Lord did not know Him as one who is unborn and immutable reality.
26. vedha aham samatheethaani varthamaanaani cha arjuna
bhavishyaaNi cha bhoothaani maam thu vedha nakaSchana
I know all the beings, past present and future but no one knows Me.
Brahman is the inner self of all beings, that existed in the past exist at present and that are going to exist in future. Hence Krishna speaking as the Supreme self says that He knows all beings, past, present and future. It is because as Upanishad declares, yatho vaa imaani bhoothaani jaayanthe, yena jathaani jeevanthi yasmina abhisamvisanthi thath vijijnaasasva thath brahma know that to be Brahman from whom all beings are born, by whom the born are sustained and into whom all merge. Hence the Lord knows all beings at all times.
"But no one knows Me in reality" , says Krishna. Te Upanishad says that one who says "I know" does not know and one who says "I do not know" knows. The perception of a thing could be only through senses, mind or intellect. We cognize certain things though senses, other things we do not know by sense contact but understand through our mind, such as joy and sorrow. There are yet other things cognized only by intellect such as ideas and concepts. But the Supreme realty, Brahman is beyond sense, mind and intellect because the senses , mind and intellect function only by its power. Hence it is not possible to know Brahman by senses , mind and intellect, the only means of cognition of a common man. He could be known only by those who transcend mind and intellect and have the direct experience of the reality. Only the devotees who are jnanis are able to understand Him as such. as said in chapter 4, sloka 9, janmakarma cha me dhivyam etc., where the Lord said that those who know Me in reality attain salvation. The same idea is expressed also in the sloka 3 of this chapter that out of thousands one tries to know Him and even among them a are one knows HIm in reality.
27. icChaadhveshasamutThena dhvandhvamohena bhaaratha
sarvabhoothaani sammoham sarge yaanthi paranthapa
All beings at the time of their birth get into delusion by the pairs of opposites such as likes and dislikes which creates delusion.
How does the ignorance creates the illusion that the world is real? Without realizing that there is one and only reality which pervades all and which is the inner self of all, man sees the difference everywhere due to his ignorance and this is the cause of the perception of duality, which causes the delusion. Attachment and aversion , gain and loss, joy and sorrow are all due to the perception of duality. To one who sees the self everywhere there is neither delusion nor sorrow.
The Lord has said in sloka 34 of chapter 3 that raga and dhvesha are the enemies of man which hinder his progress along the spiritual path. The same is referred to here as icChaa and dhvesha, desire and aversion. Due to these, man is deluded into believing that the worldly pleasures and possessions are real and runs after them due to his ignorance. This is the sammoha denoted in this sloka.
The words bhaaratha and paranthapa refer to Arjuna, meaning, the son of the Bhaarath and scorcher of foes respectively.
28. yeshaam thu anthagatham paapam janaanaampuNyakarmaNaam
the dhvandhvamohanirmukthaa bajanthe maam dhrDavrathaaH
Those who are virtuous ,for whom their sins are extinguished , are freed from the delusion by pairs of opposites and worship Me with staunch determination
On the other hand those who are free from the delusion of dualities, dhvandhva mohavinirmukthaah, have no more sins, anthagatham paapam and all their actions are of merit only, because they worship the Lord with steadfast will.
Those who are virtuous have already shed off their sins as a result of which they have acquired the virtue in this life. They are free from delusion because they are not affected by the pairs of opposites due to their devotion to the Lord. They have a steadfast will with the resolve that the Lord alone matters and spend their lives thinking about Him and worshipping Him through all their activities. Such devotees are referred to as dhrDavrathaaH here. They are freed from the delusion of desire and aversion as to them the whole world is nothing but Narayana.
29 jaraamaraNamokhsaaya maam aaSrithya yathanthi ye
the brahma thath vidhuH krthsnam aDhyaathmam karmacha akhilam
Those who resort to Me to get rid of old age and death come to know Brahman in its entirety as his inner self and the cause of all actions.
.Those who strive for release from old age and death, meaning immortality through moksha, realize Brahman in its entirety and as the aDhyAthma the inner self, and they alone understand karma completely, meaning the significance of karma, akarma and vikarma, as explained in chapter 4.
To get rid of old age and death one has to stop being born. As long as the karma has to be exhausted the cycle of birth and death will go on. To be free from the bondage of karma one has to resort to the Lord by which they destroy their sins and transcend the dhvndhva, pairs of opposites.
thath brahma refers to the supreme reality termed as thath in the mahavakya thath thavm asi, `that thou art.' The word krthsnam aDhyathma denotes the paraa prakrthi mentioned in the earlier sloka 5 of this chapter and as akshara in the chapter 15 later, the Brahman which appears as the manifest world of beings. Karma akhilam means the source from which all activities emerge. That is, to know Brahman who is manifest as the world and the source of all activities.
30.saaDhibhoothaadhidhaivam maam saaDhiyajnam cha ye vidhuH
prayaaNakaalepi cha maam the vidhuH yukthachethasaH
Those who know Me as the saadhibootham, with the elements, saaDhidhaivam, with the devas and saaDhiyajnam with the sacrifice, know Me even at the time of death.
The last sloka of the 7th adhyaya hints the forthcoming chapter where the terms adhyaathma, aDhidhaiva and aDhibhootha are explained in detail. It means that those who know the supreme self along with the manifestations of Him in elements, divinities and sacrifices will know Him also at the time of death with their concentrated on Him. This can be construed to mean either the one who thinks of the Lord in His entirety at the time of birth also or the one who thinks at least at the time of birth about the true nature of Brahman.