ये चैव सात्त्विका भावा राजसास्तामसाश्च ये ।
मत्त एवेति तान्विद्धि न त्वहं तेषु ते मयि ।। ७.१२ ।।

ye caiva sāttvikā bhāvā rājasās-tāmasāś-ca ye |
matta eveti tān-viddhi na tv-ahaṁ teṣu te mayi || 7.12 ||

The good and the evil originate from the same source

The list of qualities can be extended. But Krishna mentions only a few to serve the purpose of divinizing the seeker’s mind and vision. The seeker should learn to leave his constricted notions about Divinity and embrace a dimension that truly represents the Supreme. Krishna is helping this process of expansion. He wants the seeker to transcend even the specific identifications he has listed so far. Everything displayed in the world, anywhere by anyone, human or non-human, says Krishna, stands included in Divinity. This statement must create a revolution in the religious concepts of the seeker. In addition:

Whatever features or expressions are there, caused by sattva (good and pure), rajas (activity and passion) or tamas (ignorance and inertia), know all of them as having emerged from Me alone. In reality neither am I in them, nor are they in Me.

This is an intriguing proposition, nevertheless absolutely true! Such statements feature in the dialogue later too. The mind, set on spiritual quest, cannot cling to any pet preference or prejudice. Any adverse note encountered as part of the world should not bring agitation or instability to the seeker’s mind. The world is heterogeneous. It will continue to be so. The creation is amazing, because it reveals the full magnitude of the Supreme.

The amazing variety of qualities found in minerals, salts, chemicals and the like – some extremely good, useful and benevolent, while some harmful, poisonous and destructive – are a result of the three gunas and their effects. Effects of gunas are evident in plants and creatures. They are more pronounced in humans.

In the fullness of its creativity, Nature displays the effects of sattva-guna, rajo-guna as well as tamo-guna. Whatever be the nature of these qualities, Krishna emphasizes that the seeker has to consider all as evolved from the same single source, the Supreme. Some qualities may tend to evoke dislike, but such an urge has to be superseded by the greater truth that they are a display of the Supreme. The mind fosters no dislike towards any aspect of the world. Instead, a uniform outlook and vision to accept and integrate all, is called for.

Krishna does not stop here. The true seeker, he says, should think far more comprehensively. The ultimate Truth must be his goal, his real refuge and fulfillment. Keeping this in mind, he adds: “I do not reign in them, though they are evolved from Me. I am the source of all, and hence they have no other source than Me. They derive their power only from Me.” This may appear to be quite contradictory. In fact, to understand this mysterious harmony alone is the true spiritual sadhana.

Does this not clearly mean that Brahman, the Almighty Lord, whom a devotee fondly looks to and depends upon, is closest to him? The question is merely of fostering the right outlook and be nursed and led by it consistently. The divinizing attitude of the seeker is alone the progenitor of Divinity. God is born in the Godly outlook the seeker assiduously fosters.

Hindu tradition has a number of practices that may at first appear to be irrational or contradictory. But this exposition by Krishna will enable a proper evaluation of the various practices and disciplines of Hindu tradition. In fact, one can find the touch of spiritual philosophy in all the practices of Hinduism.

The rising sun, spreading brilliance everywhere, represents Divinity. Receding for a few hours at the close of the day, it arrives again the next morning, unfailingly. Adoring the Sun is itself a full association with the supreme Divinity. Vedic thinkers had developed hymns on the Sun, calling him as Savita, the indweller of all.

The materials and processes employed in worship and ceremonies will be found to have a close bearing upon what Krishna has explained. How many flowers are there on the earth, with assorted fragrance! Think of the flowers of different colours and fragrances selected for worship. In the whole effort and process, the mind is effectively associated with divinity. In using water for arghya, padya, acamana, etc., (different acts of religious ceremony) is not the sadhaka generating and reinforcing divinity in himself and in whatever he does?

What about the fire sacrifices and rituals practised in Vedic life? Fire is assigned a special place in most of the ceremonies. At the same time, it is indispensable for daily living. Our traditional housewives meticulously preserve the fire in their oven with religious sublimity. A ball of fresh cow-dung would be placed every evening in the oven and covered with cinder, to keep the fire alive. It would be extricated and transferred to the adjacent oven in the early hours of next morning for use. The solemnity and upkeep of the fire was an important factor in the household. The housewives had to ensure this, and it was related to the religious solidarity of the household life.

The cleaning of the cooking oven, smearing cow-dung on the hearth, and adorning it with rice powder (rangoli) make the whole affair even more holy. Similarly, lighting of the oil lamp every morning and evening as well as for any religious function is another important note. Fire and fireplace are always regarded as sacred. When ceremonies involving sacrificial fire are performed in the house, it is the religious role of the housewife to bring fire from her oven and place it at the religious altar. Even now, modern means like matchsticks are avoided for the purpose.

What does all this mean? The great tradition of looking at the five elements as divinity itself and bringing to the mind a deep sublime touch in perceiving them, plays a very important role in religious life. It forges an unbreakable connection in the mind, with the Supreme.

In the comprehensive understanding of the universe, destruction is as important as creation. Bad qualities coexist with the good qualities. But do not mistake or get confused. They are necessary as an indispensable part of the whole complex called creation, but certainly are not to be welcomed as part of the seeker’s nature.

Choosing the good and eschewing the evil

“I do not abide in them, ” is a disclosure Krishna significantly makes. It is more a caution or warning to govern the seeker’s values and behaviour. None should take to the harmful and fissiparous tendencies under the pretext that they too are divine, or allow them to flourish, equating them with the good and benevolent qualities. Discrimination, the culture of making the right choice, is the key word in spiritual life.

None should think of tracing God or the supreme divinity in and through the maleficent. Like malignancy in the body, it is destructive. The laws of Creation are quite effective, though complex, in upholding only the benevolent and dispensing with the maleficent.

Our epics excel in depicting the sustainability of goodness and benevolence, and the unsustainable nature of the bad and maleficent. The instance of the powerful but vicious Ravana, who met his end at the hands of the righteous and truthful Sri Rama and the noble-minded Vibhishana, Ravana’s brother, who was given refuge by Sri Rama, is quite illustrative. The instance of Prahlada, the son who loved the Lord supremely, and his father Hiranyakashipu, who hated the Lord fiercely, is even more illustrative. The demon emperor, Hiranyakashipu, perpetrated all possible evil, harm, terror and destruction relentlessly. The reign of his terror crossed all limits, to evoke an emergent mission of the Lord, who came down as Narahari to contend the tyrant.

Whether the supreme Divinity can be approached through evil is clearly answered by these episodes. Any devotional, spiritual or philosophical practice will be meaningful and worthy only when it is steeped in good and auspicious notes, beneficial for the society. All the derogatory practices, generally pursued in the name of vamacara, are to be eschewed, no doubt. As part of the whole, the bad and the unrighteous will also have a place in creation. It fulfils the role of enlightening the human mind and preserving the overall balance of complexity, like friction enabling motion. But the seeker has to be discreet in pursuing only the good, avoiding sternly whatever is bad and harmful to the individual, society or the earth as a whole.

Can poisonous food be taken? Is not foul air injurious to the body? Likewise, bad thoughts, bad feelings and harmful actions too will only spoil and destabilize the inner health. Thus Krishna’s words “I am not in them” calls for very special attention. In chapter 9, verses 4 and 5 too, he makes similar statements, but goes to a further degree. “None of these visible things exists in Me, ” he says, thereby holding that the plurality is not real. This virtually dismisses the world as a mere illusory display. ‘Subjectivity’ alone is factual, and the entire ‘objectivity’ becomes sheer imagination, like dream. The imagining Subject alone is the fact and truth of the whole process.

Explaining the intricacies of life, world, and interactions in finer and deeper levels, Krishna takes the seeker to the truth of oneness and subjectivity. All the other explanations are ancillary, and have their relevance only in the intermediate level of thinking.