There is a supreme Reality. It is all-permeating. Its locus is truly in every creation, mobile and immobile. That is the sole subject of discussion in the Vedas and allied Scriptures. All forms and procedures in religion, spirituality or yoga have, in reality, one focus – this supreme Reality.
As the mind is generally unable to think in depth and grasp the true dimension of the Supreme, people prefer to remain parochial in their concepts and approaches. But in reality the seeker’s intention must be to elevate his introspection and broaden his horizon to arrive at the right spiritual insight.
This transpires when the seeker processes his mind and intelligence through the finer spiritual concepts. Such personal inner interaction on the subtler notes of wisdom, as Arjuna is doing before Krishna, constitutes the true pilgrimage leading to the comprehension of the Self. There is no other way of purifying the mind, sharpening the intelligence and gaining spiritual worth and glory.
Transcending perishable and imperishable purushas
Krishna pointed out that right in the yonder sun (yad ādityagatam tejo), then in the nearer moon (somo bhūtvā rasātmakaḥ), down in the earth (gām āviśya ca bhūtāni dhārayāmi) and finally in one’s own heart (sarvasya cāham hṛdi sanniviṣṭaḥ), the Supreme alone dwells, instilling thoughts, feelings, memories and knowledge. Now, he brings in the discussion of uttama Purusha. By this he wants to emphasize that the supreme Reality in the form of Paramātmā, the greater, loftier and the ultimate Reality, Existence, transcends the two purushas:
There are in this world two kinds of purushas, the perishable and imperishable. All the beings come under the perishable purusha and the imperishable is said to be unshakeable and unaffected. It is the jīva in the body.
The Supreme, namely the transcendent Purusha, is still different. That is said to be the Paramātmā. It is the one permeating all the three worlds and sustaining them, thereby becoming the all-controller.
Generally prakṛti and purusha go together, making an inseparable couple, complementing each other. Their complementary qualities empower their mutuality. Prakṛti represents the changeful existence and Purusha the constant, unchanging support for it.
At this point Krishna brings in a different concept, namely, that of two Purushas. One akin to the transforming prakṛti and the other acting as the base and support for it. In fact, the words alone differ; the concept and connotation are the same. Of the many elements making the gospel unique, this also is one. All spiritual concepts and postulates mainly serve the purpose of enunciating a theory or proposition and thereby giving a proper message. In all this, what is conveyed is more important than the theories. Krishna’s twin-purusha exposition can be evaluated in this context.
Calling both of them ‘purushas’, Krishna says all beings and expressions of existence constitute the perishable purusha. Within, beneath and together with this perishable purusha is the other, immovable and imperishable.
Such an imperishable entity is there in every individual. Despite the changeful character of the body, senses, mind, intelligence and even ego, does not every one always carry a constant note of unchangingness in him? This he refers to as ‘I’, to which he relates all outer and inner changes. This is the imperishable purusha. Both the purushas go together, each enabling and fulfilling the other. The changeful part will not be there but for the changeless presence. Thus a question becomes inevitable: If the two are interdependent, then what is that independent superior factor that gives rise to both? Is not such a sovereign third factor inescapable?
Yes, says Krishna. And he calls it the supreme Reality, the Paramātmā. Is this merely a statement, or is there some tangible ground to posit such a Supreme? In spirituality, everything is sva-samvedyam (self-experiential).
The whole spirituo-philosophical thoughts and presentations are experiential. It is well-established that for presenting any proposition, there must first be experiential facts supporting it. And the proposition should be supported by well thought out reason too.
Krishna says that this third factor is the one that permeates ‘the three worlds’, remaining sovereign, all-controlling (Ìśvara). What can these three worlds be?
By the ‘three worlds’, Krishna refers to the three states of awareness we have within us. Mānḍūkya Upanishad (Mantra 5,6 & 7) discusses this avasthā-traya (the three mental states) in a unique manner. Gauḍapāda has written a detailed kārikā on it, which Sankara has commented upon.
The sense-perceived external objective world is in fact no other than the wakeful state manifestation. As a full contrast to this is the deep sleep state (suṣupti), wherein this whole wakeful objectivity becomes totally extinct, making the sleeper alone survive to fetch the wakeful manifestation again. In between the wakeful and deep sleep states prevails the dream state, which brings forth the dream creation and its effects.
These three states of our mind and the respective outcomes are the only ground for our experience, perception and evaluation. In fact, all our Scriptures and philosophical dissertations are based on these three mental states of ours. They alone give the clue to all the worlds, above and below. Krishna had mentioned the same earlier as well:
As the day dawns, all beings emerge from the unmanifest. And at night they glide back into the same unmanifest.
Waking state reveals the wakeful world of objects. The dream state brings in the subtle dream world, quite similar to wakeful world, but reigning within the sleeping individual, with no external relationship or identity. Sleep is yet a different one, from which we get the clue to the existence of a Subject distinct from all objects like the world, body, mind, intelligence and ego.
Something different from these three is there, due to which alone the three states occur one after another, each invalidating the other two. And that One, is sovereign, causing each state to be. Hence it is the Ìśvara, the Controller of all the three. The three states together with their gross and subtle, external and internal outcomes totally depend upon this, making it the distinct fourth, the turīya. This turīya alone causes and preserves the inter-dependence of the three.
Understanding Purushottama as the Self
This is the Paramātmā, the Supreme, says Krishna. He describes it in his own manner:
As the Supreme, namely the ‘I’, transcends the perishable existence as well as the imperishable jīva, in both Vedas and the world of thinkers, it has become famous as the supreme Purusha, the Purushottama.
As it is beyond the perishable forms of existence and also transcends the imperishable jīvā acting as the support for the perishable, It has become famous in both the Vedas and the realm of thinkers as Purushottama. The reference he makes is to the Self, which he began describing and explaining right from the second chapter as:
By calling it as Purushottama and Ìśvara, Krishna gives a clear indication as well as assurance to the seeking mind that the objective of all sādhanā is to get at the Self and be established there.
The world is, no doubt, infinite, endless, stupendous and awe-inspiring. Everything in it makes one think deeply about something great, wholesome and magnificent. Think of the earth itself, on which survive countless varieties of creatures – animal and vegetable kingdoms that live in water as well as on land. How could the single earth, being mute and insentient, be the genesis of all these?
The power that water or air holds is boundless – even terrifying. What to say about lightning, rainfall or radiation? How many planets far more huge and complex than earth surround us! When one thinks of all these endless creations and tries to trace their source, where would it lead and to what splendour and might?
Krishna says all these come within the kṣara and akṣara purushas he speaks of. The one source, the progenitor of both, he then adds, is not so much above, far away or beyond our reach. It is within us, beneath the mind and heart. It is the creator of the three mental states. Call it the Purushottama and understand that It is within yourself.
Once this understanding becomes firm, unshakeable and wholesome, that would mark the end of all search, doubt and agitation. He, who has gained this kind of fruition and fulfillment, becomes the all-knower. For him nothing else is there to be known.
Such a Knower has sensed and realized the ultimate essence of all creation, the one substratum of all existence. This wholesome knowledge of the Supreme makes him a wholesome worshipper too.
His worship, if at all, is no more partial or piecemeal. No more does he distinguish between worship and non-worship. For him there is nothing secular either. Everything becomes religious, divine, spiritual and yogic. Within him is the Supreme and surrounding him is Its magnificence and splendour. There is no fall or rise for such a one – religiously, spiritually, philosophically or in yoga.
Of course, Krishna has spoken about such a stable, wholesome, inner spiritual state in the second chapter while describing the sthita-prajña and sthita-dhīḥ.
This is the Brāhmic state, gaining which one is no more deluded. Ever established in it, one attains Brahma-nirvāṇa.
The key to everything is in one’s own within. The world is not as much an external creation, as it is an outcome of one’s own wakeful state. Mind is above matter. It is an expression of Consciousness. Consciousness, cit is sat and ānanda. Sat, cit and ānanda go together, to make the Saccidānanda, the Reality.
Wisdom – the hidden essence of all scriptures
Krishna concludes:
Thus is revealed to you by Me, the greatest secret of all śāstras, O sinless soul. Knowing this well does the seeker become wise and fulfilled.
Thus, says Krishna, he has divulged the best of the scriptural secrets and enunciation. The purāṇas and allied scriptures have a great deal to say about fourteen worlds, the heavens and the hells. But the net result is confusion. In front of all these possibilities and potentials, what is the plight of the seeker?
Those who are addicted to the purāṇa lore are faced with despair, confusion and fear. Are we in the middle of an ageless past and endless future, making neither return nor further journey possible? Such a situation is most saddening.
But they too are held as śāstras. Krishna, in contrast, says what he tells Arjuna is the most hidden essence of all śāstras. His words are fully scriptural, and as such, one does not have to look for any other scriptural source or relief. Guhyatama means the best and the deepest of all secrets. One has to understand that it is so, giving it the right place and allowing it to enrich and fulfill him.
Right knowledge of what Krishna says will make one wise and the wisdom also brings fulfillment. When such an outcome is had, nothing more will be there to be gained.
As the dialogue extends, Krishna has to hold the attention of Arjuna. So he gives a personal touch to his words often. It is to convey a note that will make the listener attentive. Describing his words as most valuable, highest, greatest of all secrets, etc. Krishna is drawing Arjuna’s attention. Such words are used elsewhere also. He had begun the fourteenth chapter with the words:
Again, I am telling you that wisdom, which is the best of all. By knowing this have all Sages attained the Supreme perfection.
As he proceeds, Krishna will again speak in comparative and superlative degrees, while describing the place and importance of his gospel. True to his role as a narrator, Vyāsadeva records not alone Krishna’s words and phrases, but also how he enthuses Arjuna emotionally. The personal note is no doubt preserved and strengthened. Is not spiritual wisdom, in truth, hidden and inaccessible to ordinary people? Or else, it would have been known to all and followed by many!
***
(From Essential Concepts in Bhagavad Gita - Volume 5)
