By now Arjuna, the devoted disciple, has learnt from Lord Krishna the eternal nature of Brahman, and also has had a first-hand-experience of His Cosmic-Form. Free from the nagging doubt he was sunk in at the beginning of this divine discourse, his reflective mind, full of faith, raises a pertinent question as to which of the two – knowledge (jnana) of the Unmanifest or devotion to His Personal Form – is better. This question - worship of the Formless or of a Personal God, has been relevant to mankind from the time immemorial. Yet it has been so innocently asked and so beautifully explained by the Lord, which forms the subject-matter of the present chapter.
This chapter, the shortest one comprising of just twenty verses, opens with Arjuna asking Lord Krishna as to which of the two sets of seekers, the devotees who, ever focused on Him, worship His Divine Form, or those who seek to assimilate through knowledge the Imperishable and the Unmanifest, are to be considered as better-versed in Yoga, the science of union of the finite with the Infinite. Put in simpler words, whether worship of a Personal God with form and attributes (saguna) or knowledge of Brahman that is beyond all names and forms (nirguna) is to be sought by a yogi? (v.1)
Lord Krishna replies that those who, fixing their mind on Him, ever steadfast and endowed with supreme faith, worship Him are, in His opinion, the best in Yoga. Faith is not to be understood here as blind faith but as a firm intellectual conviction. It is a loving state of mind where all doubts have sunk in the intellectual depths of the seeker and his mind has become purged of all dualities and doubts. It is a state of blessedness where the seeker becomes one with the sought (v.2).
On the other hand, those who worship the Imperishable, the Indefinable, the Unmanifest, the Omnipresent, the Unthinkable, the Unchangeable, the Immovable, and the Eternal, having restrained their senses, even-minded everywhere, ever engaged in the welfare of all beings, verily they also come to Him alone. It is, in short, the description of those who opt to worship the formless Brahman. Though the nature of Brahman is indefinable in words, yet the Vedas and Upanishads have made a vain attempt to define It as Unthinkable, Unchangeable etc. The mind and senses cannot perceive It, nor the intellect can reach It. It can be grasped only by intuitive experience through the practice of meditative yoga. Those who attain to this state, ultimately attain oneness with Brahman. One thing remarkable in this context is that such a yogi is very much a man-of-the world, ever intent on the welfare of all beings of the universe. The entire living kingdom becomes an extension of his self and love for all becomes his creed. Such a golden synthesis between jnana (knowledge) and karma is the beauty of the Gita discourse (v.3-4).
Lord Krishna says further that though both the paths take the seeker to the one and the same goal, the latter one i.e. contemplation of the Formless is much more difficult, for this goal is hard for the embodied to reach. So long as one is bound by the limitations of the body or matter envelopments, access to the Formless is, no doubt, a difficult proposition. It does not, however, shut the doors on the spiritual seeker altogether because the philosophical import of the word ‘embodied’ is only attachment to the body, not having a body. Rising above the limitations of the body and its endless demands, one can tread steadily, though slowly, on the path of contemplation of the Formless Brahman (v.5).
In a tone of divine reassurance Lord Krishna says further that those who worship Him, renouncing all actions to Him, regarding Him as the Supreme Goal, meditating on Him with single-minded devotion, whose minds are set on Him; for such devotees He becomes before long the Saviour from the ocean of finite experiences, i.e. Samsara which is synonymous with mortality. Earlier in this divine discourse (Chapter II), readers were apprised with the glory of renunciation of the fruits-of-action, which forms the epitome of the philosophy of the Gita. Now the Lord expects of His devotees renunciation-of-action too, which is a state of total surrender, wherein there is no trace of egoism and the devotee’s individuality is totally merged with the unity of God. Though there is no possibility of such a devotee’s falling back to the world of finite existence (samsara), yet the Lord is there to act as a Saviour, to uplift him from the ocean of birth and death. This process of spiritual fulfillment is long and arduous, indeed, yet success is sure to come. In this verse the words ‘before long’ (nachirat) are quite significant to emphasize this divine assurance. The connotation of the term ‘Saviour’ in this verse is starkly different from what is found in Christianity where Christ, the Son of God, acts a Saviour for the humanity that is tainted with ‘original sin’ and but for His saving grace there would be no redemption for mankind. In the Gita’s view, the devotee whom the Lord uplifts to His all-encompassing embrace is already purged of all sins and impurities (v.6-7).
As a further reassurance, the Lord asks Arjuna to fix his mind on Him only, and to place his intellect on Him; thereafter he will abide by Him only, there is no doubt about it. Mind is fickle by nature and it has to be steadied and fixed on something in order to enable the intellect to penetrate it. Thus meditation is a subtle art of mental attunement with the object of meditation. In this case the object of meditation is the Lord Himself, the Supreme Goal of spiritual fulfillment. Once the devotee’s mind is steadied enough to rest on the Lord and his intellect has dived deep into the depths of the Infinite, his individuality ends to merge and become one with the Lord. Hence the Lord says, Thereafter you shall live in Me” (v.8).
As it has been observed above, meditation is a subtle art involving a double act of pin-pointed concentration by the mind and deep contemplation by the intellect. Even the least aberration may result in mind running wild to various sense-objects. Lest Arjuna should find it too difficult to practise, Lord Krishna hereby suggests an alternative. If he is unable to fix his mind steadily upon Him, then he should strive to reach Him by the Yoga-of-constant practice. All attempts with which a seeker develops his mental attunement with the object of his meditation constitute Yoga. So Lord Krishna advises Arjuna that if his mental attunement is not perfect enough to meditate on Him at once, he should try to achieve it through perpetual practice (v.9).
Lord Krishna advises Arjuna further that if he is unable even to practise the Yoga-of-constant-practice, he should perform all his actions for His sake only in a spirit of self-dedication. Thus performing his action selflessly he is sure to attain perfection. Knowledge, meditation, devotion and action are several options a seeker can opt for his spiritual perfection (siddhi) according to his inclination, intellectual capacity and aptitude. If he finds the path of knowledge or meditation to be too difficult for him to tread, he can easily switch over to an alternative. The path-of-action suggested in this verse is one such alternative. It has been emphasized time and again in the Gita that actions performed selflessly and dedicated to the Lord do not bind the doer, rather they lead him to liberation (v.10).
Suggesting yet another alternative Lord Krishna advises Arjuna that if he cannot do even this, he should try another equally potent method: Abandon all fruits-of-action, and taking refuge in the Lord, be self-controlled. This method also relates to the path of action with a slight variation. In the preceding verse, the seeker is advised to perform all actions in a spirit of self-dedication unto the Lord, which is a state of egolessness. Total melting down of the ‘ego’ or sense of agency for the action being performed is a state of perfection only a mature seeker can achieve. In comparison, abandoning the fruits-of-action is an easier proposition where the sense of agency for the action being performed is intact. Thus, in the last three verses, Lord Krishna has suggested three different alternatives to the one suggested in verses 6-8. The Gita appreciates practical difficulties that seekers might encounter and also the fact that not all seekers are of the same intellectual level, and hence provides them with multiple options. In the Hindu way of life, no man, even the lowest of the low, is condemned. The Gita provides a path to each and every one of them. Such catholicity of approach to redemption of humanity is hard to be found in any other religious scripture of the world (v.11).
Devotion or bhakti-yoga is the theme of this chapter. However, in order to emphasize the potency of other paths available to the spiritual seeker Lord Krishna puts them together in an ascending order and says that knowledge is indeed superior to practice; meditation is better than knowledge; and renunciation of the fruits-of-action is better than meditation, which is followed by perfect peace. Spiritual practices without knowledge of their true significance become ritualistic after some time; hence knowledge is considered superior to practice. Knowledge, too, becomes loathsome unless its truth is reflected upon in deep meditation. Hence, meditation is regarded to be superior to knowledge. Mental equipoise is the first condition for the success of any meditation but this can hardly be expected of a person whose mind is ever engaged with the happenings of the future. Actions are performed in the present but their fruits are borne in the future. So unless one becomes quite unconcerned with the fruits-of-action, one cannot maintain the mental equipoise so essential for meditation. This is the reason why Lord Krishna says that abandonment of the fruits-of-action is superior even to meditation (v.12).
In the next seven verses Lord Krishna endeavours to paint the picture of a man-of-perfection. Each verse enumerates some characteristic features like a master painter adding a few stokes to his canvas, until a perfect picture emerges. Such a man-of-perfection is extremely dear to the Lord.
He who hates no creature, who is friendly and compassionate to all, who is free from attachment and egoism, who keeps his equanimity in pleasure and pain, who is forgiving, who is ever content with whatever he has, who is unwavering in meditation, who is self-controlled, who has firm resolve, who has his mind and intellect dedicated to Him, such a devotee is extremely dear to the Lord (v.13-14).
He by whom the world is not agitated, and who cannot be agitated by the world, he who is free from exhilaration, anger, fear and anxiety, such a devotee is extremely dear to the Lord. The world-of-objects does not disturb the calm serenity of such a master of equanimity, nor does he disturb the world. A devotee of such type is ever peaceful with himself and the world Anger, fear, anxiety etc. are the signs of inward agitations and cannot touch such a man of perfect peace (v.15).
He who is free from wants; who is free from all impurities – physical, mental and intellectual; who is always alert and agile, unconcerned with little pin-pricks of life, untroubled by the chaotic conditions of the external world; who has renounced all undertakings, such a devotee is extremely dear to the Lord. Renunciation of all undertakings should be understood here in the sense of egolessness. In such a state all undertakings or actions performed are dedicated to the Lord (v.16).
He who does not rejoice at the gain of an object of desire, nor hates or envies anybody for such a gain; who does not grieve at the loss of any thing nor desires for any thing; who has renounced all notions of good and evil, and is full of devotion, such a devotee is extremely dear to the Lord (v.17).
He who entertains the same feelings for every one whether a foe or a friend; who is even-minded in honour and dishonour, in cold and heat, and in pleasure and pain; who is free from all attachments; who takes censure or praise with the same disposition; who maintains his inner silence; who is ever content with whatever he has; who is homeless; who is steady-minded and full of devotion, such a devotee is extremely dear to the Lord. Heat and cold, pleasure and pain, and honour and dishonour are the dualistic experiences a man of worldly existence often feels at the physical, mental and intellectual levels. A man-of-perfection rises above all these dualities and takes them all with a calm equanimity. Silence within is the real silence. Keeping mere physical silence but letting the mind run wild into the field of sense-objects results in inward agitations, not silence. The term ‘homeless’ used in this verse should be taken in the sense of freedom from attachment because a roof overhead does not necessarily make it ‘home’ for anybody unless he feels attachment for it (v.18-19).
With all these characteristics we get a comprehensive picture of a man-of-perfection which Lord Krishna wants to paint for Arjuna. The description given above is remarkable for its brevity as well as exhaustiveness. Each word is relevant and resplendent with profound meaning and wide implications. Modern researchers will be at pains to recollect such a wide range of human qualities compressed into a single personality in any work of literary art elsewhere in the world.
In the concluding verse (v.20) of this chapter Lord Krishna reassures Arjuna and through him the entire mankind that those who follow these essential ‘Laws of Life’ as described above, which the Lord terms as ‘Immortal Dharma’, such devotees, endowed with faith and solely devoted to Him, are extremely dear to Him. The term ‘Dharma’ has various connotations and here the term has been used as ‘Laws of Life’ – a code of ethical behaviour and spiritual discipline which a spiritual seeker must inculcate to attain to the pinnacle of perfection. The truth of this ‘Dharma’ which is immortal and ever-pulsating with new vigor and vitality, must be digested, assimilated and lived through life in order to be worthy of the love of the Lord.
(To be continued) |
