तद्बुद्धयस्तदात्मानस्तन्निष्ठास्तत्परायणाः ।
गच्छन्त्यपुनरावृत्तिं ज्ञाननिर्धूतकल्मषाः ।। ५.१७ ।।

tad-buddhayas-tad-ātmānas-tan-niṣṭhās-tat-parāyaṇāḥ |
gacchanty-apunar-āvṛttiṁ jñāna-nirdhūta-kalmaṣāḥ || 5.17 ||

Delusion, with all its constrictions, gradually drops. Clarity and knowledge dawn. Krishna describes the process in the next two verses:

Whose ignorance is removed by knowledge of the Self, that knowledge, like the sun, clearly reveals to them the supreme Truth. Knowing the supreme Truth, constantly feeling identified with It, taking It as the wholesome discipline and pursuit, making It as the supreme goal, they attain the state of birthlessness, their impurities and sinfulness being completely washed off by the Knowledge.

Ignorance means wrong or imperfect knowledge. The pursuit is to correct, improve and perfect it. If doership is not something ordained by the Creator, if sin and virtue also have no bearing upon Him, the whole subject needs to be thought of and reflected upon with a new focus.

Doership is only an attribute of the actor. Sin and virtue (punya and papa) also can be thought of only with respect to the actor’s actions. If the very doership is fallacious, what becomes of all these pious concepts about punya and papa? All seem to be groundless.

“Atmanah jnanena” says Krishna. Let the full knowledge of the atma, the Self, be sought, yearned for and gained. When that knowledge reigns in ample measure, all previous doubts and distortions leave. Knowledge shines ceaselessly as does sun in the cloudless sky. In that light, all notes of falsehood and contradiction flee. The supreme Truth about the world and the Creator, about oneself, the jiva, and about one’s birth and death, will be clearly revealed.

Is the knowledge of the Truth meant to stop all interactions, or it is to rid the mind of false ego or identity which breeds doership, enjoyership and sufferership in various forms? Thoughts and ideas become crystal clear, and with that all religious and spiritual doubts and delusions become extinct. The mind becomes light, free and poised.

For such a seeker, Krishna says, comes the great transformation – the full-fold jnana nishtha, which directly takes away all stains ignorance had caused and bred. Words and phrases Krishna uses to describe this nishtha are quite exemplary. They are quoted by staunch seekers and Knowers, setting the standard of wholesomeness the seeker should aim at.

Tad-buddhayah: Keep the supreme Truth constantly in the buddhi. Let not the intelligence swing or swerve from it (vyavasayatmika- buddhih referred to in the 2nd chapter). The buddhi should be wholesomely led by this supreme knowledge, keeping away all interceptions or deflections. To watch for any deflection and remove it becomes the constant practice for the sadhaka.

Tad-atmanah: As the Self is, so is the Knower. Knower’s real identity, he feels, is with the immortal unchanging Self, and not with the body or what all it does and brings about.

Tan-nishthah: To know the immortal nature of the Self clearly and well, and then to feel identified with It must itself be the nishtha – faithful discipline, refinement and sublimation. No other discipline or pursuit – be it a ritual, worship, or anything else – should have any appeal.

Tat-parayanah: The seeker should find this nishtha to be the final refuge and goal. He should not think of seeking or relying upon any other tradition, belief or faith – either for relief or for fulfillment of any desire. The sole source of everything lies within oneself. The inner alone causes and brings everything outer. This supreme reliance on one’s inmost essence is extremely significant. How to make it wholesome can be the crucial question.

Inner knowledge, inner identification, inner exclusiveness, inner refuge – it is no doubt a personal, direct wholesome pursuit and dedication. Its outcome is also immediate and wholesome.

All the dross and stain, wherever these were reigning, whatever were the causes behind, fully get washed off. Knowledge has the power, and with that alone one has to remove religious, spiritual and philosophical stains from the mind and intelligence. That is how the Wise ones become jnana-nirdhuta-kalmashah. It is not that the Lord comes and takes away anyone’s sins and virtues. The impurity or ignorance which gives rise to thoughts and ideas like sin, virtue and the like, gets dissolved in its very source, like darkness disappearing on the arrival of light.

The truth is that no agency from outside comes in to take away one’s sin or virtue. The feeling of sin itself vanishes, as unauthentic, unfounded and irrelevant. This happens when the buddhi (intelligence) takes to proper introspection and realizes the true nature of things. It is not God that redresses or removes the delusion. It is one’s own right knowledge about oneself that results in the extinction of delusion and all ideas associated with it. Krishna has explained the whole mystery, stressing that it is a sovereign, inner process of the seeker himself.

A discussion in Sreemad Bhagavatam is quite revealing and relevant to the subject. Prahlada, while praising the Lord, makes the following observation:

The Lord, whom devotees extol, is verily ever content and full with Himself, His qualities and nature. Although merciful to the core, He does not receive any praise, respect or offering which people, due to ignorance, make. Whatever respect or worship people offer to the Lord, verily acts for the offerers’ own sake, their own welfare. It is, in fact, like adorning one’s own face by looking at its reflection.

Devotion, from first to last, is an expression and pursuit of the devotee. It belongs to the devotee and subsists on him. But the devotees are prone to be totally unmindful of this basic fact. Hence their focus always lies in the external but invisible God. Devotees generally have neither time nor taste to listen to or reflect upon what God, whom they worship and adore so much, feels and thinks, if at all, about the subject.

Here the Bhagavatam author exhorts the devotees to introspect on how their prayers and worship become effective, and whether the one worshipped has verily anything to do in the whole process.

The Lord is nija-labha-purnah – full with Himself. He has no deficiency of any kind to be filled by another. He does not look for any kind of prayer, praise or offering from anyone. Will such a ‘full Lord’ ever think of any mana, ovation, including the offering of choice articles? What is then the purpose of the great, holy custom of praising the Lord colourfully and offering food, dress, bedding, cradle and other articles to Him?

The answer, Bhagavatam offers, is very simple. Those that do so lack the right knowledge. They are ignorant and deluded – avidushah. As long as the devotees think only of themselves, their needs and urges – irrespective of what the great Lord really is, such colourful worship and offerings will continue. Their ignorance about the Lord alone makes them resort to such multiple prayers and offerings. ‘Prabhuh na vrnite – the Lord does not receive’ is a very clear statement. One should not miss its relevance and import.

Does the worship have no effect then?

Sreemad Bhagavatam says: Devotional offering, though addressed to the Lord, results in enriching and empowering the worshiper, the devotee, himself. How? As one adorns his face reflected in the mirror! Though the adornment is made looking into the mirror and virtually on the reflection alone (prati-mukhasya), every bit of it falls on one’s own face (mukhasrih), not on the mirror or the reflection in it!

Any faithful act, done with earnestness and fervour, has its effect. That is in the very nature of actions and their actors. Devotional acts too, fulfil devotee’s own purpose and goal. It fulfils devotee’s prayers and needs.

What greater illustration is needed to bring home the truth? All the sahasra-nama (thousand names) addressed to Lord, are not meant to bring the least change in the character, feeling or intentions of the Lord. Through the utterance of every such name and word, what gets fortified, purified or embellished is the devotee’s own being.

People are, alas, very poor in thinking about the value and greatness of the gifts – namely their own body, mind, intelligence and heart – God has given them. They fail to use these gifts properly with purity, fervour and confidence. Without listening to the Wise or reading the lofty scriptures, they get lost in their own pet notions and fascinations. Reluctant to think deeply with straightforwardness and reason, or to follow the thoughts with sincerity, they prefer to revel in their own imaginations, hopes and delusions. Does it in any way alter the nature of Truth or the Lord?

The scriptures are there, but their voice is not heeded. Their exponents live and move compassionately, but are seldom followed seriously. Improper desires and fascinations take hold of the devotional mind. The intelligence too gets pledged in the muddle. What wonder then that devotees miss their own purpose, to remain denied of the supreme glory and fulfillment which true devotion promises!