बुद्ध्या विशुद्धया युक्तो धृत्याऽऽत्मानं नियम्य च ।
शब्दादीन् विषयांस्त्यक्त्वा रागद्वेषौ व्युदस्य च ॥ १८.५१ ॥
विविक्तसेवी लघ्वाशी यतवाक्कायमानसः ।
ध्यानयोगपरो नित्यं वैराग्यं समुपाश्रितः ॥ १८.५२ ॥
अहङ्कारं बलं दर्पं कामं क्रोधं परिग्रहम् ।
विमुच्य निर्ममः शान्तो ब्रह्मभूयाय कल्पते ॥ १८.५३ ॥

buddhyā viśuddhayā yukto dhṛtyā’’tmānam niyamya ca |
śabdādīn viṣayāms-tyaktvā rāga-dveṣau vyudasya ca || 18.51 ||
viviktasevī laghvāśī yata-vāk-kāya-mānasa: |
dhyāna-yoga-paro nityam vairāgyam samupāśrita: || 18.52 ||
ahaṅkāram balam darpam kāmam krodham parigraham |
vimucya nirmama: śānto brahma-bhūyāya kalpate || 18.53 ||

Jñāna-niṣṭhā (wholesome commitment to knowledge)

This is only one side of the picture. There is the other side too. Krishna was exposing the Wisdom of the Soul to resolve Arjuna’s doubts and discomfiture. The exposition would not be complete, unless Krishna also speaks about the supreme jñāna-niṣṭhā, which alone will ensure the fullness and perfection the Soul-wisdom implies and bestows. While treating Arjuna to the extent he needed and the situation called for, Krishna cannot be indifferent to the sublimity of the subject of discussion, its zenith and fruition. So he is briefly describing the lofty jñāna-niṣṭhā to complete his narration as well as to enlighten and lead the seekers to where they should rightly reach.

He describes this supreme jñāna-niṣṭhā in three verses. These reveal a world of wisdom as also a specific focus for the seeker at this level:

Integrated with pure intellect, regulating the mind with will; giving up sensory thrills in the form of sound etc.; abandoning desire and dislike;

being given to alone-ness (not resorting to madding crowd); eating but little; moderating activities of body, speech and mind; resorting to contemplation; seeking refuge under dispassion;

abandoning egotism, clout, arrogance, lust and rage (hatred), not accepting gifts; possessing nothing; and composed – such a one is said to be ready to become Brahman.

Bhagavad Gita – a jñāna-śāstra

People generally speak of Bhagavad Gita as a karma-śāstra related to karma-yoga, and that alone. But the very first words Krishna uttered (verses 2.17-25) looking at Arjuna’s plight and hearing his confession, refer to the inmost Soul, spelling out its unborn, undying and all-fulfilling character. He clearly emphasized right then that by knowing this inner Soul alone, fear of death as well as questions and problems of living, would be led to extinction. In Self-knowledge alone lies a full redress and solution to all the torments of the mind and puzzles of the intelligence (2.25).

Sāṅkhya denotes Knowledge of the Soul. This is what he first discussed in the second chapter. Sāṅkhya itself means paramātma-vidyā, Knowledge about the supreme Self. The Self in oneself is only to be known, realized. It is already present within oneself as the ‘I’. One does not have to gain it or reach it. There is, in truth, no distance-based journey or a time-bound effort. Nor is the Self something to be produced as an outcome by the seeker. Its presence is all along there. All that the seeker has to do is to know it in all its magnitude and magnificence, and by dint of that knowledge, make the mind free.

For anyone who knows this Self as unborn, undying, absolute and eternal, how can any questions like birth, death, sin or virtue arise – emphasized Krishna during the discussion (2.21-25). Does this not clearly show that the knowledge of the Self itself becomes a panacea for all questions, doubts and problems of the mind and intelligence?

Everything that followed was in pursuance to this sāṅkhya discussion. How can the dialogue be then a mere karma-śāstra? Bhagavad Gita is knowledge-based – it is a jñāna-śāstra. This fact finds mention everywhere, if closely examined (4.16, 4.33, 4.34, 4.38, 7.2, 9.1 etc.).

Here now in the 18th chapter, Krishna says that detachment is the core of spiritual life (18.6, 9, 23). Armed with that spirit, if one lives, moves and acts, his mind will be freed from the clutches of desire and whatever activities desire motivates or instigates. It is then that the seeker feels inclined to take up the real jñāna-niṣṭhā, wherein he gets involved only with his mind and its vagaries, intelligence and its quests with a view to clear them for ever. Outer pursuit of any kind has no place in such a state.

In the 6th chapter, Krishna did describe two levels of meditation – the first one with the details of pose, and the second, focusing on the inner Self (6.11-28).

Here now he describes the whole of jñāna-niṣṭhā, not the piecemeal meditation. It is not just an absorptional spell lasting for minutes or hours. On the other hand, it is a process of purging all the inner dross and making oneself pure to the core. The words used, the phrases employed, the content and goal conveyed are distinct and forceful. None should miss the jñāna-niṣṭhā, which alone is the core content of seeking and enlightenment.

Disciplines that lead to knowledge of Brahman

The so-called karma-yoga proponents should understand with sufficient importance that for anyone, including a karma-yogi, this jñānaniṣṭhā is the pinnacle. This fact should not be forgotten or set aside. In jñāna-niṣṭhā alone, spiritual sādhanā has its crowning fulfillment.

See how Krishna describes it:

The intelligence of the seeker must become pure. Only such pure intelligence will be able to inspire and guide the mind properly to remain exclusively spiritual (buddhyā viśuddhayā yuktaḥ). A pure intelligence will always be given to reflect upon the Soul, and as a result, the interactional life as a whole, will be soaked with sublimity. More than the visible world, the invisible source, the Brahman, will appeal to the mind and intelligence.

Sufficient control of oneself, the bodily and inner discipline, emphasizes Krishna, is an important part of this jñāna-niṣṭhā. Will (dhṛti) should be employed for this purpose (dhṛtyā ātmānam niyamya ca). Like mind and intelligence, will also is an inner constituent. It should be rightly identified and diligently employed by the seeker. Pleading weakness or inability has no place in spiritual life.

Too much interaction with sensory objects should be avoided (śabdādīn viṣayān tyaktvā). Interactions become necessary only when our objective is external and has something to do with the society around. For one poised to pursue the kevala jñāna-niṣṭhā (exclusive dedication to Knowledge), where is the question of any outer pursuit? His sole focus should be within – the mind and the intelligence.

What further? Desire and hatred, which generally subdue the mind should be sternly abandoned (rāga-dveṣau vyudasya ca). The seeker should find it delightful to be rid of them. That makes the mind beautiful, joyful and peaceful.

To facilitate this kind of exclusive jñāna-niṣṭhā, it is desirable to take to a solitary place, which will naturally be free of varied interactions (vivikta-sevī). To learn to eat moderately is the next discipline (laghvāśī). The need to eat more will be there only when one needs more energy for excessive activities. Here, the activities being the minimum, such excess eating is not called for. Likewise, in speaking, physical activity and also in thinking, control and moderation should be practised (yatavāk-kāya-mānasaḥ).

The only interest and practice should be consistent meditation and inner absorption (dhyāna-yoga-paro nityam). When no interactions are there to cause mental distractions, when Nature with its abundance surrounds the seeker, the mind will tend to plunge into its own inner depths. The effect of natural surroundings is quite forceful.

The one factor that facilitates this inner absorption is dispassion – intense and wholesome dispassion. Mind should start reveling in dispassion (vairāgyam samupāśritaḥ). Scriptural and similar texts which discuss dispassion can be recited to inspire oneself. Earlier, the objects and their impressions were working on the mind. But now, thoughts and memories of dispassion-stimulating writings must have their sublime effect. Vairāgya-śatakam of Bhartṛhari is a distinguished text on dispassion. Seekers should make use of it liberally. There are many portions in Srīmad Bhāgavatam which also revel in dispassion. Let the mind learn to be enriched by all these introspections.

Krishna now says that the sole object of exclusive meditation and the life in seclusion is to get into the inner chambers of the mind and identify the subtle negative traits lurking there. Thereafter each should be removed with relentless keen attention. How carefully Krishna leads the seeker to this kind of inward examination and helps the seeker spot the blemishes and stains one after another!

Egoism is a very subtle concept the seeker has to grasp well. For that, he has to reflect deeply upon it. Egoism is the feeling of ‘I’, as a separate entity, causing actions, inviting results, and enjoying and suffering in the process. Kartṛ-bhoktṛ-bhāva is the functional expression of ego or egoism. Even the ‘spiritual-ego’ of being a sādhaka, heading for the goal or having attained it, is wrong. It is harmful to the very pursuit and hence should be safeguarded against.

The next trait to be detected and renounced is the feeling of power (balam). The seeker should not feel that seeking is itself a creditable means of strength: “I am a seeker, and therefore, am distinct from the rest. I have spiritual power.” Any such note takes away the purity and sublimity of seeking. It constricts the mind greatly. The seeker has to scrupulously avoid it throughout. Strength is always known to subdue the weak. Thus, the feeling of strength inevitably brings a note of superiority and dominance. For this reason it is antagonistic to spiritual humility and dispassion. The seeker has to be attentive to be free of any such notes. He must not have either superiority or inferiority. His focus should be on even-mindedness.

Krishna adds that one must search for the traces of desire, hatred and possessiveness and remove them carefully with diligence (kāmam krodham parigraham vimucya). The tendency to look for and expect any kind of favour or help from others (parigraham), even to ensure bodily upkeep, should be carefully identified and renounced, says Krishna. Only thus can the mind become sufficiently quiescent.

People may wonder whether this kind of inner probing, cleansing and edifying is practicable. Remember, ours is a blessed country where people from time immemorial have been reveling in austerity meant to gain the rare spiritual gifts and embellishments. Even the kings who lived in ornate palaces had their innate fondness for ascetic life and its unique merits. They knew well that the joy in anyone has its locus in the mind – in its purity and enrichment.

The outer world with its glories is there, visible, no doubt. But the source that produces and displays it reigns inward, hosting far greater splendour and magnitude. Thus, to take to asceticism and austerity is a matter of loftier choice and benediction. That is how India is rich with its austere and ascetic tradition and culture. Thousands of people in this country even today live and move with austere simplicity, with a traditional commitment - amazing in every way. The genesis of all this is the Upanishads, Bhagavad Gita and other allied texts, and the great impact they have made on the lives of people here.

This kind of deep inner sublimity and enrichment is the core of true spiritual life and pursuit. People yearn for acquiring and amassing riches, fame and other resources only to make the mind joyous and fulfilled. If the same joy and fulfillment can be had in a more abundant manner by virtue of the inner jñāna-niṣṭhā, will not a rational human prefer to take to the inner path?

In fact, spirituality is no other than getting into the mind’s complexities, understanding its problems and pressures, and working the way out of these to realize the mystery of peace, contentment and fulfillment. Upon dropping all the dross of the mind, being freed of ego, desire, pride, hatred and possessiveness, the seeker verily becomes qualified to attain Brahman (brahma-bhūyāya kalpate), Krishna says.