| << | Chapter 13 Verses 13, 14 and 15 | >> |
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सर्वतःपाणिपादं तत्सर्वतोऽक्षिशिरोमुखम् । सर्वेन्द्रियगुणाभासं सर्वेन्द्रियविवर्जितम् । बहिरन्तश्च भूतानामचरं चरमेव च । sarvataḥ pāṇi-pādaṁ tat-sarvato’kṣi-śiro-mukham | sarvendriya-guṇābhāsaṁ sarvendriya-vivarjitam | bahir-antaś-ca bhūtānām-acaraṁ caram-eva ca | |
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Comprehending the Universal Sentience In the next few verses Krishna brings forth the magnitude, untaintedness, subtlety, all-comprehensiveness, indivisibility, and all-powerfulness of the ultimate Reality. Each verse has its distinct relevance and import: सर्वतःपाणिपादं तत्सर्वतोऽक्षिशिरोमुखम् ।
सर्वतःश्रुतिमल्लोके सर्वमावृत्य तिष्ठति ।।
सर्वेन्द्रियगुणाभासं सर्वेन्द्रियविवर्जितम् ।
असक्तं सर्वभृच्चैव निर्गुणं गुणभोक्तृ च ।।
बहिरन्तश्च भूतानामचरं चरमेव च ।
सूक्ष्मत्वात्तदविज्ञेयं दूरस्थं चान्तिके च तत् ।।
(Bhagavad Gita 13.13,14,15)
Verse 13.13 echoes the pronouncements in the Vedic Purushasuktam. The ability to act, think, understand and create, found in any life-form on the earth or anywhere in the universe, has its source in the ultimate Reality. As the creation is endless, the capacity displayed by it is also endless. These skills become manifest everywhere. Somewhere in the universe hovers our earth. We, its denizens display animation, consciousness and intelligence. Naturally our source also must have these in far greater measure. Seemingly the earth, our progenitor, is not animate. From such inanimate earth all the living beings around us have come to be. Unless the ultimate Reality, the Source of all, from which has emerged our earth, embodies all these qualities and powers, how can it host the beings living upon it? Myriad planets and bodies are floating in the sky throughout the universe. Every one of them must potentially have the creative and animating qualities, although they are manifest only in a few. Thus the supreme Source is supremely Intelligent, creative and potent, and these qualities are, in fact, present everywhere in creation, no matter whether it appears to be inert or sentient. Next comes a logical consideration. If the ultimate Source is intelligent and creative, like us, does it have any constrictions – mental, intellectual or sensory – as we seem to be suffering from? Krishna makes it clear that though associated with sensory powers, the supreme Source is equally dissociated from them. It does not therefore suffer from any note of attachment or identity, as we humans do. Involved, associated with, it is equally dis-involved and dis-associated too. It is full of qualities and equally rid of them all. Is it not because of this distinction that all kinds of contradictions and opposites are displayed abundantly in this world? An animal cruelly preys upon another. The gentle is killed, making the killer cruel. At the same time both are manifestations of the same Supreme. The ultimate Source is neither affected by cruelty nor graced by gentleness. It does not ratiocinate. But will the human psyche be able to remain unaffected like this? Herein lies the difference. Krishna then points out how full and complete the presence of the Supreme is. It is external and internal alike (bahir-antasca). It is mobile and immobile, sentient and insentient (acaram caram eva ca) alike. Why are we missing such an ever-present and everywhere-present Reality? It is solely because of its extremely subtle nature! Among the pancabhutas, which are discernable to our senses, space is invisible. However with a little effort we are able to infer the prevalence of space, grasp it by the power of intelligence. What to speak then of the ultimate Reality, which is even more invisible to the senses (sukshmatvat tad-avijneyam)? Space, akasa, is unlike the other four elements. All the four are restricted in their form and permeation. Space alone remains full and everywhere. It reigns in and through the other four. Likewise, it is inside as well as outside of every small and big form of existence. How all-permeating should the spiritual presence, Brahman, then be? The fact that Brahman is sentience, Consciousness, makes it infinitely so. The differentiation as mobile and immobile, sentient and insentient is prima facie, superficial. It is primarily meant for comparison and contrast, to facilitate interactions. On probing into them further, both will reveal as existence, permeated equally by the Spiritual presence. But this is a truth, not understood initially. The mind has to expand and intelligence has to become more perceptive in order to strike at this higher dimension. To be sukshma, subtle, is to be ‘indistinct’ before the senses. Such indistinctness instantly makes Brahman unintelligible, imperceptible, too. That does not mean Brahman’s existence cannot be comprehended. Our mind, intelligence and ego are themselves imperceptible to the senses. Yet, are they incomprehensible? If one does not feel the presence of these himself, can he live and move at all? Mind, intelligence and ego can be felt only by oneself. Just like the senses have the power to perceive external gross objects, our inner faculty has the ability to perceive these subtle inward entities. Thus Brahman, despite its extremely subtle and omnipresent nature, is fully accessible. Buddhi-grahyam, atindriyam is how Krishna described it earlier (6.21). Krishna adds that its extensive range and endless magnitude make it amazingly distant, very far (durastham). But, because of its omnipresence, it is also very close, nay the closest within (antike ca)! We tend to think of anything that is all-pervading as more distant from us than near. Our immediate thoughts will be on its vastness and hence inaccessibility. Even though close, its closest nature is missed! Suppose you stand on the seashore and look at the sea. The vastness of the sea, endlessness, will be the first to strike your attention. But, remember, your feet are already in the sea-waters. Vastness and closeness are both equally applicable. More so is the case with Brahman, the universal sentience. True seeking is Knowledge-oriented By describing jneya, the thing to be known (the Knowable), and clarifying that a proper knowledge of it alone will fetch immortality (am¤ta), Krishna adds a Vedic note to his discourse. He thereby makes the dialogue comprehensive and authoritative. Two points are to be specially noted here: (1) The supreme Reality is something to be known and is not so much to be worshipped or seen or propitiated, as many seem to think. God is to be inquired into, reflected upon, understood and realized. Knowledge of any kind resides within. External senses do act as a help in bringing about knowledge, but knowledge every time is undoubtedly an inner fruition. All devotional practices are only preliminary, leading to cardinal spiritual search or seeking. True devotion as explained in the 12th chapter, rests solely upon mind and intelligence (12.8). Mind does its work by thoughts, feelings and imaginations. Intelligence, on its part, does the probing. That is why the study and understanding of Scriptures becomes supreme in the Hindu way of life. (2) Immortality does not mean that the seeker will continue to live in his body indefinitely. As the mortal body overpowers one with the sense of transience and mortality, the inner spiritual realization will crown him with Immortality. Birth, growth, decline and death apply only to the body. The Soul manifesting in the body, animating it, is birth-free, growth-free, decline-free and death-free. The realization of this freedom is the core of immortality. Sanatana dharma is so called because it is a dharma (pursuit) that makes its practitioner sanatana (immortal). Arjuna himself exemplifies this when he pleads Krishna to instruct him on the path of sreyas. Krishna began to instruct him. Arjuna too became a zealous participant in the dialogue, which rested primarily upon the mind and intelligence of both. External focus may mark the beginning of religious pursuit, as found even in Vedas, which array a number of Deities like Indra, Varuna and Agni. But all these recede gradually, inducing the Vedic practitioner to withdraw and delve within himself, employing solely his mind and intelligence. When the religious effort itself thus becomes inner, involving the mind and intelligence alone, will not its ultimate fruition also be inner? That means it is in the nature of Knowledge-discovery, Knowledge-attainment. Is this not what the ancient Rgveda also reveals in prajnanam Brahma, the first of the four Mahavakyas? It means that Brahman, the supreme Reality, is verily prajnanam (Knowledge). It is a fruition wherein the mind and intelligence will stand engulfed by the Subject. By such realization alone, is immortality gained. |
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