सप्तम अध्याय: named as ज्ञानविज्ञानो योग

श्री भगवानुवाच

मय्यासक्तमनाः पार्थ योगंयुञ्जन्मदाश्रयः। असंशयं समग्रं मांयथा ज्ञास्यसि तच्छृणु।।7.1।।

7.1. The भगवान् said O पार्थ! Please listen to that (तद् श्रुणु) by which, having your mind committed (आसक्त मनाः) to Me (मयि), practising योगं (योगं युञ्जनम्) and taking refuge in Me (मद् आश्रयः) you shall understand Me (मां ज्ञास्यसि) fully (समग्रं), without any doubt (असंशयं).

ज्ञानं तेऽहं सविज्ञानमिदंवक्ष्याम्यशेषतः। यज्ज्ञात्वा  नेहभूयोऽन्यज्ज्ञातव्यमवशिष्यते।।7.2।।

7.2 I (अहम्) will declare (वक्ष्यामि) to you in full (अशेषतः), this knowledge (इदं ज्ञानं) along with (स) विज्ञानं, knowing which (यज्ज्ञात्वा) nothing else (न अन्यद्) remains (वशिष्यते) to be known (भूय: ज्ञातव्यम्).

मनुष्याणां सहस्रेषु कश्चिद्यततिसिद्धये। यततामपि सिद्धानांकश्चिन्मां वेत्ति तत्त्वतः।।7.3।।

7.3 Among thousands (सहस्रेषु) of men (मनुष्याणां), a rare one (कश्चिद्) strives (यतति) for perfection (सिद्धये); even among those who make an effort (यतताम् अपि) and are prepared (सिद्धानां), a rare one (कश्चिद्) only knows (वेत्ति) Me (मां) in Reality (तत्त्वतः).

7:1/3 – 7.3 Right at the start, भगवान् has given three necessary qualities to know Him. The person must have आसक्त मन on Him meaning that he must be fully committed (uninterrupted yearning) to know the सत्य , he must be a योगी (who is a योगी was discussed in chapter six) and he must take आश्रय in Him meaning that he must have conviction that if he makes efforts to know the सत्य , the सत्य Itself will lead him towards It. Without such a mind-frame, words of श्रीकृष्ण may be read/ heard by us but nothing will register in our मन. Second is an interesting point where भगवान् says that of so many people, hardly anyone makes any effort to know Him and of those make effort, lesser number actually attains Him. This सनातन सत्य was thus valid 5000 years back as is valid today as will be valid in the future too. Third, भगवान् says that He will give complete ज्ञान & विज्ञान about Himself to अर्जुन.  ज्ञान means knowledge of Him while विज्ञान is the means to attain knowledge of Him (akin to theory & practice). Nothing else will remain to be known about Him after hearing this – this is the assurance given to अर्जुन.

भूमिरापोऽनलो वायुः खं मनोबुद्धिरेव च। अहङ्कार  इतीयं मेभिन्ना प्रकृतिरष्टधा।।7.4।।

7.4. My (मे) nature (प्रकृति:) is divided (भिन्ना) eightfold (अष्टधा), such as the Earth (भूमि), the Water (आप:), the Fire (अनल:), the Wind (वायु), the Space (खं), the Mind (मन:), and also the Intellect (बुद्धि:) and the Ego (अहङ्कार:);

अपरेयमितस्त्वन्यां प्रकृतिं विद्धि मेपराम्। जीवभूतां महाबाहो ययेदंधार्यते जगत्।।7.5।।

7.5 This (इयम्) is My lower (अपरा) Prakrti (प्रकृति:). But (तु) O महाबाहो! know that My (मे) higher nature (परा प्रकृति:) is another. It is the life-principle (जीवभूतां), by which this universe (इदं जगत्) is sustained (धार्यते).

7:4/5 (1) – In these two verses, the entire Cosmology is conveyed – it is a rather simple dual aspect of परम् but wide in its conception/ application. One way to view परम् is as a person who is separate from us and this may have been our impression after reading first six chapters. भगवान् demolishes this idea and goes on to state that He is this Universe and everything within this Universe. He is made of two parts and both are अनादि – the अपरा प्रकृति & परा प्रकृति. These may be seen as matter & “beyond matter” or primary & secondary or invisible cause & visible cause. Both are Him only and both together make up our world including our own selves. In a typical creation of anything (say a pot), we have the material used for creation viz the material cause (उपादान कारण), namely clay used to make the pot and the creator or intelligence cause (निमित्त कारण), namely the potter. Both the potter & pot are separate entities and not the same. In the case of our universe however, both the उपादान & निमित्त कारण are one and the same as both belong to Him only. Subject & object is thus made of the same material. How is that possible? The मुंडक उपनिषद् says – As the web comes out of the spider, the Universe comes out of Him only. परा is also explained as the ‘perceiver or experiencer or the subject’ and अपरा as the ‘experienced or perceived or the object’. And yes, even our मन, बुद्धि & अहं-ness comes under अपरा viz object.

7:4/5 (2) – While both belong to Him, both परा & अपरा have different properties. These are:

One is सत्यम्, other is मिथ्या

One is निर्गुण, other is सगुण

One is निर्विकार, other is सविकार

One is स्वतंत्र, other is अस्वतंत्र

Behind every change, there is a changeless substratum. Movement of train can be perceived on the backdrop of a non-moving tree. Movement of two trains going adjacent at same speed can be detected when one looks at non-moving ground below. Moving picture on screen can be detected against backdrop of non-moving screen. अपरा प्रकृति is सविकार (changing) while परा प्रकृति is निर्विकार (non-changing). अपरा प्रकृति is dependent on परा प्रकृति and hence the former is called as मिथ्या while latter is called as सत्यम्. The former is also अस्वतंत्र while the latter is स्वतंत्र. अपरा is objectifying principle while परा has जीवभूतां or life or animating principle (life principle does not mean sentiency since even a rock will have both परा & अपरा ). Both परा & अपरा are Him only and whole Universe is nothing else but a mixture of अपरा & परा प्रकृति. However, while अपरा प्रकृति is व्यक्त (can be seen) while latter cannot be seen and thus अव्यक्त. So one does not have to search for It anywhere in the Universe since It is everywhere. It is in the clouds, It is in the pond, It is in the gutter, It is in the dog, It is in the donkey, It is in the waterfall, It is in the green leaves as well as dry leaves, It is within all humans as It is between two people too. All are in It since all have come from It only.

7:4/5 (3) – While both परा & अपरा are अनादि, at the time of सृष्टि (projection is a more valid word than creation), a state of अष्टधा happens when the undifferentiated अपरा प्रकृति becomes 8-fold. The पञ्च महाभूत are भूमि, आप:, अग्नि, वायु & खं/आकाश and translated as Earth, water, Fire, Air and Space. These are not the physical Earth, water, etc but more subtle states of matter and may be expressed as traits of Solidity, Liquidity, Heat, Atmosphere & Space. What we see as water, fire, etc are actually the subtle elements mixed up through a process of पञ्चीकरण to form water, fire, etc. The details of this process is given in texts like पञ्चदशी or तत्व बोध and one may refer to these for more ज्ञान. And then we have three elements more subtle than पञ्च महाभूत viz मन, बुद्धि & अहंकार (or I-ness). These again are subtle states and our own मन, बुद्धि, etc are mixed up and are derivatives of the purer state. All these are अपरा प्रकृति including our own minds since all of them are सविकार (subject to change). Beauty is that while these may be secondary to परा प्रकृति, even these are part of the Divine but they run or are controlled by the परा प्रकृति or परम् or consciousness.

7:4/5 (4) – When a भक्ति filled person exclaims – तन मन धन सब है तेरा, this is not an emotional teary-weary cowardly cowing down to someone superior, it is literally the underpinning philosophical truth as per श्रीमद्भगवद्गीता. All three – तन, मन & धन are nothing else but projected out of अष्टधा only. How does one then conceive of this Universe? We may liken सृष्टि निर्माण to our projection of our dream life. Just like we have a dream persona where we fly planes, break doors, etc but in reality, both our dream persona and dream physical objects are projections of our own persona, this Universe may be seen as a similar projection. Just like our dream persona dies when we wake up, our so-called physical persona in this Universe dies when we wake up (meaning attain our original state of निर्वाण). They say that for a स्थितप्रज्ञ, even in their dream, they know that they are dreaming unlike our case where our dream persona is real for us while dreaming. When we attain निर्वाण, even while living in this world, we live with knowledge that this world is a make believe and not real. Lastly, just like we have a persona in our dream, we continue having a persona in waking world even after dream world collapses; similarly, we continue to live even after destruction of the physical world and once we attain मोक्ष. We then go beyond the confines of अपरा प्रकृति and regain the state of परा प्रकृति driven frame of life.

7:4/5 (5) – The interplay between Changeless & Changing is an everyday occurrence too. We may want to visit different restaurants and try out different menu but the people with whom we seek this experience remains unchanging. Companies try out different products and open shops in different markets but what is unchanging is focus on bottom line. A mountaineer may go to different peaks regularly to challenge himself and the joy derived from scaling peaks is unchanging. One may move around the city or the world the whole day and enjoy variety but this is done on security that one has an unchanging home to return to. A संयासी may move from place to place and engage with different people throughout his life but he is fixated on the changeless परम् which gives him the आधार to sustain life. The अव्ययम् gives us security while the changing gives us variety & depth. Only security will make life boring while only variety will make us edgy and ensure. Thus, while living amidst the changing world, if our आधार is the permanent परम्, we will be secure forever but if our आधार is built on temporal aspects (like friends, good memories, etc), we will have to be born again till we attain permanent आधार, our own permanent identity, the परम्.

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Question: Please elaborate on अनादि … what does it mean? Why is the idea of अनादि important to these verses, would the meaning change were it not mentioned?  And if “without beginning” is relevant, should there also be a “without end”?

Response: अनादि means जिसका आदि न हो meaning beginning-less. अनादि word is key. We always talk of humans evolving from monkeys who in turn evolved from bacteria which in turn from Earth, from Sun….till we reach the primary particle 1/100th second after big bang. Even if reach an answer to this question, we will then ask – why did big bang happen? उपनिषद् also does this exercise of infinite regress but they also realized that anything that has an आदि has to have an end too. And the inevitable question is – if परम् also has an आदि, who created it? Then they observed around that any ‘change’ always has a ‘changeless’ substratum and thus came with the idea of परा प्रकृति which is eternal, अनादि. If a thing is अनादि, by default, it will not have an end. However, there are places where this point is also mentioned but at most places, the अनादि word is used more.

Essentially the idea is that anything which has an आदि is, for this reason, subject to change, and anything that is subject to change is अपरा प्रकृति. 2:16 made exactly this point right at the start that only that is सत् or सत्यम् which is indestructible and eternal. Everything else is subject to change and thus असत् or मिथ्या. And since the substratum of all that is असत् has to be सत्, we are driven to conclude that there is indeed some aspect of the Universe that is सत्. This is what is called as परा प्रकृति and search for this eternal Truth or Reality is what श्रीमद्भगवद्गीता is seeking to convey. Simple logic really 😀

एतद्योनीनि भूतानिसर्वाणीत्युपधारय।अहं कृत्स्नस्यजगतः प्रभवः प्रलयस्तथा।।7.6।।

7.6 Know that (इति उपधारय) all beings (सर्वाणी भूतानि) have these two (एतद्) for the source of their birth (योनीनि). Therefore, I am (अहं) the origin (प्रभवः) and the dissolution (तथा प्रलय:) of the whole universe (कृत्स्नस्य जगतः).

मत्तः परतरं नान्यत्किञ्चिदस्तिधनञ्जय।मयि सर्वमिदं  प्रोतं सूत्रेमणिगणा इव।।7.7।।

7.7. There (अस्ति) exists (अस्ति) nothing (न अन्यत् किञ्चिद्) beyond (परतरं) Me (मत्तः), O धनञ्जय; all this (इदं सर्वम्) is strung (प्रोतं) on Me (मयि) just as (इव) the groups of pearls (मणिगणा) on a string (सूत्रे)

7:6/7 – विष्णुसहस्रनाम has a name for परम् viz सूत्रमान. He is the सूत्र (meaning the thread), the आधार, on whom the प्रकृति rests on or is dependent on. सूत्र is invisible or अव्यक्त while मणि is visible or व्यक्त. But without the सूत्र, there is no string of pearls; without परम्, there is no Universe. Universe is thus the body of the परम्. At origin, the Universe projects from the परम्; at dissolution, the universe merges back into परम् just like dream originates within us when we go to sleep and dissolves into us when we wake up. Just like we are always there (both in dream and waking up state), परम् is always there when the Universe originates or dissolves. Where does अपरा प्रकृति go at the time of प्रलय or dissolution? It goes nowhere; it merges within परम् only. And when सृष्टि (or projection) happens, He projects what is already within Him as the व्यक्त Universe. So while Universe originates from within him, what is His own source? He has no source – He is the source and the end too. Beyond Him or Her or It, there is none else. He is eternal, शाश्वत and only that which is always present deserves the tag सत्यम्.

रसोऽहमप्सु कौन्तेय प्रभास्मिशशिसूर्ययोः। प्रणवः सर्ववेदेषु शब्दःखे पौरुषं नृषु।।7.8।।

7.8. O कौन्तेय! I  am (अहं अस्मि) the taste in waters; the light (प्रभा अस्मि) in the moon and the sun (शशिसूर्ययोः); the best hymn (ॐ)(प्रणवः) in the entire वेद (सर्ववेदेषु); the sound (शब्दःखे) that exists in the space (or the mystic hymnal sound in the entire वेद – a sound that is in the space) (खे); and the human-ness (पौरुषं) or vigour in humans (नृषु).

पुण्यो गन्धः पृथिव्यां च तेजश्चास्मिविभावसौ। जीवनं सर्वभूतेषुतपश्चास्मि तपस्विषु।।7.9।।

7.9. I am the pure (पुण्यो) smell (गन्धः) in the earth (पृथिव्यां); I am also (च अस्मि) the brilliance (तेज:) in the fire (विभावसौ); I am (अस्मि) the life (जीवनं) in all beings (सर्वभूतेषु) and austerity (तप:) in the ascetics (तपस्विषु).

7:8/9 (1) – Conception of भगवान् in these verses overthrows the popular ideas of भगवान्. How does one do उपासना of the परम्? परा is expressed as something beyond the senses, the unseen सूत्र, but our senses & mind are primarily driven to cognize something that has a form. So is there a way out? भगवान् gives a way here. He says – look for the essence of all that you see around yourself. Beyond the form, there is an essence in everything – this essence is Me only. Our भगवान् says – look for the सूक्ष्म as against getting carried away by स्थूल. Once you are able to do such a type of उपासना, mind is already getting trained to locate for the essence in all and thus become सूक्ष्म in its outlook. Once such an habit gains momentum, one is already geared to locate the essence everywhere – over time, this mindset will take one to the doors of the essence of all, the परा प्रकृति, the ब्रह्म, the परम्. So inculcate a habit – wherever you see any aspect that impresses you, know that to me Me only. Nothing is outside me. Brilliance of आदि शंकर or Einstein is me only; Musical ability of पंडित भीमसेन जोशी is me only and the ability of working hard or dedication expressed by anyone is Me only. Thus any expression of greatness, grandeur or beauty or discipline or calmness or motherly love any other attribute is Me only. So if you want to have an experience of श्रीदेवी, see Her in your own mother. Her obsessive undying love for you is nothing other than श्रीदेवी acting through your mother. So serve her if you want to serve Me. The very life we are living is Her only. One logical doubt may come – is idiocy of idiots and stupidity of stupids also Him only ☺︎? Let us park this संशय for a while; we will return to it later.

7:8/9 (2) – One aspect of वेद Cosmology will be touched upon here. The सृष्टि निर्माण happens in stages and the physical सृष्टि starts with आकाश followed by वायु, अग्नि, आप: and भू as a gradual devolution from सूक्ष्म to स्थूल. The quality of आकाश is शब्द, that of वायु is शब्द & स्पर्श, that of fire is शब्द, स्पर्श & रूप, water is शब्द, स्पर्श, रूप & रस and earth is शब्द, स्पर्श, रूप, रस & गंध (for details, refer आदि शंकर कृत तत्वबोध). भगवान् says there that these represent essences of physical space, air ,etc and know these essences to be Me only. प्रणव or ॐ is meant to be a essence of the वेद and भगवान् thus says that He is ॐ, the essence of the वेद. All that is best everywhere and all that is the essence of anything is HIM only. There is no other. All around you therefore, भगवान् is expressing HERSELF. How can one say that one cannot see or experience the भगवान्? So go ahead and cultivate this mindset of looking at essence in all as Me only.

बीजं मां सर्वभूतानां विद्धि पार्थसनातनम्। बुद्धिर्बुद्धिमताम् अस्मि तेजस्तेजस्विनामहम्।।7.10।।

7.10. O पार्थ! Know Me (विद्धि) as the eternal (सनातनम्) seed (बीजं) of all beings (सर्वभूतानां); I am (अस्मि) the intellect (बुद्धि:) of the intellectuals (र्बुद्धिमताम्) and the brilliance (तेज:) of the brilliant (तेजस्विनाम्).

7:10 (1) – The word बीजं ascribed to परम् is appreciable as He is popularly seen as सृष्टि निर्माण कर्ता. One must note that a बीज does not create a tree but merely projects it from within itself. परम् also thus merely projects all new lives. What are these projected from? Further, श्रीकृष्ण uses the word सनातनम् (eternal) for बीजं. Why so? Every new life on Earth is usually seen as an act of procreation of male & female. However, as per various Indian दर्शन शास्त्र, the act of procreation is just a निमित्त – it is individual’s own कर्म that is the cause of him or her taking a new life. Given this, परम् may be seen as one who ‘projects’ all new lives of all जीव in a certain manner out of the causal कर्म of all such beings. We saw earlier that all the merit one has attained remains with them. They carry this into their next life. Who guarantees this act of preservation of such a merit as well as making us face effects or consequences of our own कर्म in our future lives? It is परम् indeed who makes this possible. Hence, one of His names in the विष्णुसहस्रनाम is विधाता meaning one who determines the outcomes of all कर्म. परम् may be seen as One who provides a consistent ecosystem that facilitates cause – effect interplay to work smoothly or we can say that He projects all new lives based on causal कर्म of all beings on a continuous basis; hence He calls Himself as बीजं सनातनम्.

7:10 (2) – परम् is the intellect and brilliance among all. How do we understand this? We have to use an analogy (used earlier too I think) with a rider that all analogies have their own limitations. Force behind glowing of all bulbs is the electricity. Without electricity, no bulb can glow. Equally, depending on the wattage, the glow of each bulb varies and further the glow of bulbs covered with a cloth will be lower than other normal bulbs. However, the flow of electricity is common and consistent across all bulbs. Similarly, the brilliance and intelligence that plays out in all is not that of the जीव (bulb) but belongs to the domain of परम् (electricity). Presence of अहंभाव within the जीव (viz us) brings about limited-ness and we cover ourselves with a cloth meaning we use the instrument of our body for limited purposes. Therefore, the glow emanating out from each varies owing to our own indiscretions but if and when we remove this covering by making our मन & बुद्धि as fit receptacles, the बुद्धि and तेज of परम् will then flow from us fully and we will then in full glory. परम् does not show favouritism to one body as against another just like the Sun does not show favouritism in giving itself to all or electricity to all bulbs.

बलं बलवतामस्मिकामरागविवर्जितम्।धर्माविरुद्धोभूतेषु कामोऽस्मिभरतर्षभ।।7.11।।

7.11 Of the strong (बलं), I am (अस्मि) the strength (बलवताम्) devoid of desire and attachment (काम राग विवर्जितम्) and in (all) beings (भूतेषु), I am (अस्मि) the desire (काम:) unopposed to धर्म (धर्म:अ-विरुद्ध:) O भरतर्षभ.

7:11 (1): This line by भगवान् is fascinating. He says that when we do a कर्म of the nature of काम but which is within the bounds of धर्म, we can say that परम् is acting through us for such कर्म. All काम is not to be seen as negative. परम् is काम within us that is unopposed to धर्म. Thus, to have sensual relations with one’s own spouse is धर्म and thus a valid काम. To aspire to become Prime Minister to serve people of the country is a valid काम. To practice hard and aspire to win Gold to make parents and society proud is a valid काम. Can we however conclude that having काम for others’ property to feed one’s own family is also a valid काम? Such simplistic extrapolation must be avoided. If robbing is done after one has genuinely tried all alternatives to income including begging, one may give a benefit of doubt to such a robbery. Also, if such a robbery is followed by प्रायश्चित and such a robber attempts to make good the loss caused to others on account of him, one can say that such a person has strayed on account of काम but since he has done प्रायश्चित कर्म (because he has repented), the blot arising from the काम कर्म has been erased. Else, indulging in a कर्म that is not one own’s सहज धर्म but instead done out of काम that  harms others cannot be seen as a valid काम. Thus, परम् is fine with all acts done by law abiding and rule abiding people who help others while pursuing valid काम.

7:11 (2): Equally, बल  must be used for acts that are devoid of काम & राग. If used otherwise, it is an expression of अहंकार and cannot be seen as an expression of परम् in a person. Therefore, the बल of महाराणा प्रताप is revered but that of Colonel Dyer castigated. बल  of श्रीआंजनेय is remembered forever not because of the wonderful expression of बल against राक्षसा: but because this best expression of बल had no iota of personal benefit or selfishness but it was the best He displayed his बल for परम् only – there was no sense of काम or राग in the use of such a बलम् and hence it will be remembered forever. Thus, we may say that the बल exhibited by श्रीआंजनेय is really that of परम् acting fully within him. If this verse is taken in a responsible way, it should be a relief for us and useless guilt for pursuing legitimate काम need not arise within us. However, we should guard against misuse of this श्लोक and pursue अधर्म.

ये चैव सात्त्विका भावाराजसास्तामसाश्च ये। मत्त  एवेतितान्विद्धि नत्वहं तेषु तेमयि।।7.12।।

7.12. Those (ये च इव) beings [in the universe] born from सत्त्व (सात्त्विका) and from रजस् (राजसा:) and from तमस् (तामसा:) know (विद्धि) them to be from Me only (मत्त एव इति); I am not in them (न तु अहं), but they are in Me (ते मयि).

7:12 (1) – Behind every physical expression, there is a non-physical idea. From a Universe perspective, while परम् may be seen as the potter, अष्टधा as clay used to make the pot, गुण-mix may be seen as the shape in which the pot is moulded. All of life is made up of three गुण – सत्व, रजस् & तमस्. These are not physical categories but key अध्यात्म categories. While परम् is beyond the गुण (गुण + अतीत), all of life including our own minds is enmeshed with गुण. They are as fundamental as sweetness to sugar or gold-ness to ornaments. Remove these and the objects no longer remain what they are. When a rush of compassion for poor consumes me, one may say that I am immersed in सत्व at that point of time. Now, this rush of compassion is not coming from a physical part of my body though some parts of my brain may get activated as a reaction owing to compassion.  गुण is thus given as something innate in each of us, in plants, in rocks, in animals and in fact all over the Universe. More on गुण in chapter fourteen.

7:12 (2) – Now भगवान् declares it is He who projects the Universe with a certain गुण orientation as per His Divine Will. The entire Universe is thus within him. He quickly adds a puzzle. He says – while all beings are in Him, He is not in them. What is meant here? The गुणातीत परम् projected this world where every aspect has a नाम & रूप. A rock has a नाम, say “stone” & a रूप, say “round”. However, even if the rock is given no नाम and has another रूप, it still remains a rock. The “rock is-ness” has nothing to do with नाम & रूप.  Similarly, परम् represents Unity, the seeming variety within the Universe is bound by the Unity just like a flock of birds flying together has many birds bound together. Equally, the unity is not within the variety. The integrality is present in the diversity, but the diversity is not in the integrality. This is a peculiarity which we have to note when भगवान् says, “Everything is in Me, but I am not in anything.” This is because all particulars hang on the Universal. All flowers are in a garland but there is no garland in a single flower. The waves are in the ocean but there is no ocean in a single wave. The particulars cannot exist unless the Universal is there, but the Universal can exist without the particulars. Hence, “Everything is in Me, but I am not in them”

7:12 (3) – What is the message of this श्लोक? We may have a unique identity with a certain type of गुण-mix. But this identity has come from the force that has emanated out of परम्. But the meaning of my life will come about if we connect with the whole viz the परम्. If we live as limited identifying with my dominant गुण, परम् does not shine through me or exist in me. But when I live as part of the whole like a single bird within a flock, we will fly beautifully with symmetry of Unity. In that stage, just like a single bird becomes one with many, once I unite with परम्, I become the परम् and live as परम्. This is the meaning one can take from this श्लोक.

त्रिभिर्गुणमयैर्भावैरेभिः सर्वमिदंजगत्। मोहितं नाभिजानातिमामेभ्यः परमव्ययम्।।7.13।।

7.13. Being deluded (मोहितं) by these (एभि:) expressions (भावै:) that are modifications of the three (त्रिभिर्गुणमय) this entire (सर्वम् इदं) world (जगत्) does not recognise (न अभिजानाति) Me (माम्) Who am (एभ्य:) distinct or beyond the three गुण (परम्) and changeless (अव्ययम्).

दैवी ह्येषा गुणमयी मम मायादुरत्यया। मामेव ये प्रपद्यन्तेमायामेतां तरन्ति ते।।7.14।।

7.14 (a) Because (हि) this (एषा) My माया (मम माया) consisting of the three गुण (assumed for purposes of लीला) (गुणमयी) is Divine (दैवी) and hard to overcome (दुर् अत्यया).  But those (ते) who take refuge in or seek (प्रपद्यन्ते) Me alone (माम् एव)  shall cross (तरन्ति) beyond this माया (एतां मायां)

7:13/14 – Because we are infested with गुण, we impute our ideas based on limitedness on the परम्. We use words like ‘परम् is uncaring’ (like when we try to analyse राम) or ‘परम् is destructive’, etc. भगवान् is very clear here – He is अव्ययम्, the changeless substratum behind the change and he thus remains beyond the गुण-mix that is the trait of the Universe including our own minds. This गुण-mix is also referred to as माया. माया thus does not mean magic or illusion but something distinct from the changeless substratum. It has two aspects – आवरण शक्ति & विक्षेप शक्ति. While the former covers the vision of the Truth, the latter gives the vision of a lower limited reality as Truth. However, when one is able to go beyond माया and is able to connect with the अव्ययम् and hold on to it (like a log of wood while sinking in the river), he can survive the fury of the river of life (known as संसार) and cross his way to safety.

न मां दुष्कृतिनो मूढाः प्रपद्यन्तेनराधमाः। माययापहृतज्ञाना आसुरंभावमाश्रिताः।।7.15।।

7.15 The doers of wrong acts (दुष्कृतिनो), who are foolish (मूढाः), the most depraved among men (नर अधमाः), do not seek Me (न मां प्रपद्यन्ते). They are who are deprived or robbed (अपहृत) of (their) wisdom (ज्ञाना) by माया (मायया), and who resort to आसुर ways (आसुरं भावम्) do not take refuge in Me (आश्रिताः).

7:15 (1) – Who is one with आसुरी प्रवृति? Who is a theist & an atheist? श्रीमद्भगवद्गीता will not allow us to get away with popular ideas that a theist is one who “believes” in a personal God and an atheist as one who does not. And there is third word, Agnostic, for the guy sitting on the fence. असुर is one who does not seek परम्. What does seeking परम् mean? श्रीकृष्ण has conveyed thus far that परम् works in people who rely on पौरुषम् (self-reliant ones who value self-effort), whose काम is within the bounds of धर्म and whose बलम् is used for purposes other than काम & राग apart as well as those who possess बुद्धि & तेज. परम् seekers are those who live life pursuing such “changeless” attributes. Those others who rely not on such attributes but instead live limited lives with shifting minds are the real atheists or असुर. Their acts remain in the realm of reverse psychology instead of dwelling in पौरुषम्, धार्मिक काम, etc. भगवान् uses strong language here. Such people are referred to as मूढ, अधम (low बुद्धि) among humans who indulge in acts that are not in keeping with धर्म. Because they do not seek परम्, wisdom eludes them. Therefore, they remain away from Him and are never able to conceive the Highest.

7:15 (2) – If we take a garland of pearls as an expression of परम्, the सूत्र becomes परा प्रकृति and the pearls as अपरा प्रकृति. In such a case, an atheist may be taken as one who sees each individual pearl as separate and is dazzled by difference of each such pearl. A परम् ज्ञानी is one who is constantly aware of the सूत्र that binds the pearl and thus sees beauty in each pearl owing to its connection with the सूत्र. And seekers like us may be defined as theists who see the pearls, are dazzled by them, unable to sense the presence of the सूत्र but do have conviction that there does appear to be some invisible सूत्र that binds all the pearls. Seekers are thus those who are pursuing life to discover the invisible link that binds all pearls.

चतुर्विधा भजन्ते मां जनाःसुकृतिनोऽर्जुन।आर्तो जिज्ञासुरर्थार्थीज्ञानी च भरतर्षभ।।7.16।।

7.16. Men (जनाः) of good action (सुकृति) who worship Me (मां भजन्ते) always are of four types (चतुर्विधा): the afflicted (आर्तो), the seeker of knowledge (जिज्ञासु:), the seeker of wealth (अर्थार्थी) and the man of wisdom (ज्ञानी), O भरतर्षभ!

तेषां ज्ञानी नित्ययुक्तएकभक्तिर्विशिष्यते। प्रियो हिज्ञानिनोऽत्यर्थमहं स च ममप्रियः।।7.17।।

7.17 Of these (तेषां), the man of knowledge (ज्ञानी), being ever engaged or united (with Me) (नित्ययुक्त) and devoted to the One only (एकभक्ति), is the foremost (र्विशिष्यते); because (हि) I am (अहं) totally (अथ्यर्थम्) dear (प्रियो) to the man of knowledge (ज्ञानिनो) and he (स) too (च) is dear to Me (ममप्रियः).

7:16/17 – ज्ञानी rocks!!!!! भगवान् has clearly chosen His favourite. While the previous verse focuses on people with आसुरी प्रवृत्ति, this verse specifies people who may be called as ones with दैवी प्रवृत्ति. And there are four types of दैवी प्रवृत्ति people – the आर्ता (persons in distress), the जिज्ञासु (curious types), अर्थार्थी (seekers of four पुरुषार्थ – धर्म, अर्थ, काम & मोक्ष) and the ज्ञानी. These four is seen as an order of hierarchy with ज्ञानी as the foremost प्रिय of भगवान्. भगवान् states that all four are worthy of praise. But a ज्ञानी rocks? Why? Who is a ज्ञानी? Not one who knows the शास्त्र in an academic sense but lives as a ज्ञानी. The one in whom परम् is expressed all the time, who is able to continually express परम् in every thought, deed and action owing to his एक भक्ती. Because परम् is expressed in him 24×7, he is always in परम् and therefore, by logical extension, परम् is always within such a person. Both are one. He seeks परम् for the sake of परम् only, not for limited reasons. Interestingly, the word भक्ति comes up for the first time here.

Question: How can someone who has no curiosity become a ज्ञानी?  How can someone who desires wealth be ranked higher than one who is a जिज्ञासु?  If one is a जिज्ञासु, अर्थ and ज्ञान in all their forms will follow, so that should be the quality ranked highest? Going a step further, distress usually leads to curiosity to alleviate pain, so shouldn’t that be of highest value?  Or is भगवान asking for a leap of faith here with blind acceptance (भक्ति?) and assigning the highest value to someone who takes the leap?  That sounds a bit self-serving. One wonders if the fellow who said – Necessity is the mother of invention – got it all wrong. It would be great if I were a ज्ञानी, but having failed that, seems to me that staying in a state of distress would be most productive since it should eventually lead to sequentially more “valuable” stages of being?  But when one attains stage अर्थ, what will propel onwards towards ज्ञान?

Response: Very good question. Some commentators actually change the order by moving जिज्ञासु as third and seeker of अर्थ as second. Purists however do not like the order changed. So as we discussed earlier, a seeker of परम् is one who expresses परम् within himself. Thus, those who are more selfless, more disciplined, etc are taken as people who are better seekers of परम्. With this idea, seekers at the time of distress are not selfless really. Seekers who are जिज्ञासु “give up” their pleasure time for trying to acquire शास्त्रज्ञान. They are thus better than people in distress. Seeker of अर्थ is taken as one who lives life as per four पुरुषार्थ (पुरुष + अर्थ) who sincerely follow the intense नियम of four वर्णाश्रम (ब्रह्मचर्य, गृहस्थ, etc). These नियम are intense thus calling for much more giving up and much more discipline thus expressing परम् much more intensely. Our hero, the ज्ञानी, however, is fully selfless and lives his whole life serving others like the Sun or a Banyan Tree with no trace of selfishness. Such a person thus becomes the favourite of श्रीकृष्ण.

उदाराः सर्व एवैते ज्ञानी त्वात्मैव मेमतम्।आस्थितः स हि युक्तात्मामामेवानुत्तमां गतिम्।।7.18।।

7.18 All these are (सर्व एवैते) indeed generous or exalted (उदाराः), but I deem (मे मतम्) the ज्ञानिन् (ज्ञानी तु) to be My very self (आत्मा एव); for he (स: हि), integrated or ever engaged (युक्त आत्मा), has attained (आस्थितः) Me alone (माम् एव) as the highest goal (अन् उत्तमां गतिम्).

बहूनां जन्मनामन्ते ज्ञानवान्मांप्रपद्यते। वासुदेवः  सर्वमिति समहात्मा सुदुर्लभः ।।7.19।।

7.19 At the end (अन्ते) of many births (बहूनां जन्मनाम्), the man of knowledge (ज्ञानवान्) finds attains Me (मां प्रपद्यते) realising that ‘Vasudeva is all’ (वासुदेवः सर्वम् इति). It is very hard to find (सुदुर्लभः) such a great-souled person (स: महा आत्मा)

7:18/19 – Interestingly, भगवान् does not look down upon people who seek Him for limited reasons (like distress, for wealth, etc). Even such people do सुकृत and they are seen as exalted since they seek Him unlike the असुर who do not seek Him. वासुदेव: सर्वम् इति is a key phrase used here. वसु means one who resides and वासुदेव means one who resides in all, the परम्, the changeless substratum in all. After many lives of living life by doing सुकृत, a ज्ञानी experiences this Truth viz वासुदेव: सर्वम् इति viz EVERYTHING IS परम्, THERE IS NO OTHER. When one achieves such a vision, one attains Him. He has attained the Highest goal of all. There is nothing left for such a person to do – the river has merged into the ocean. This is however a rare event.

कामैस्तैस्तैर्हृतज्ञानाःप्रपद्यन्तेऽन्यदेवताः। तं तंनियममास्थाय प्रकृत्या नियताःस्वया।।7.20।।

7.20 Those deprived of their discrimination (र्हृत ज्ञानाः) by desires for various objects (तै: तै: कामै:) and guided by (नियताः) their own nature (स्वया प्रकृत्या), resort to (प्रपद्यन्ते) other देवता (अन्य देवताः) following (आस्थाय) the relevant methods (तं तं नियमम्).

यो यो यां यां तनुं भक्तःश्रद्धयार्चितुमिच्छति। तस्य  तस्याचलांश्रद्धां तामेव विदधाम्यहम्।।7.21।।

7.21 Whichever (limited) form (of Mine) (यां यां तनुं) any devotee (य: य: भक्तः) wants to worship (अर्चितुम् इच्छति) with conviction (श्रद्धया), that very (तस्य तस्य) firm faith (ताम् एव श्रद्धां) of his I (अहम्) make (विदधामि) strengthen (अ-चलां).

स तया श्रद्धयायुक्तस्तस्याराधनमीहते। लभते  चततः  कामान्मयैव विहितान् हितान्।।7.22।।

7.22. Endowed (युक्त:) with that conviction (तया श्रद्धया), he (स:) engages in (ईहते) worship of (राधनम्) that देवता (तस्या:) and therefrom (तत: च) receives his desired objects (कामान् लभते) – because (हि) those (तान्) are ordained (विहितान्) by Me alone (मया एव).

7:20/22 (1) – परा is the अदृश्य आधार of the अपरा; the change rests or is dependent on the changeless substratum – this is what we have seen thus far. In layman भाषा, we can say that the अदृश्य potency within a पर्वत is the आधार of all plant life on the पर्वत – the potency is अदृश्य but it does exist since without it, no life is possible. Equally, the potency at the base of the पर्वत is the आधार for certain type of plants while potency at the top of पर्वत for another kind of life. While both types of potency are अदृश्य too, these two potency represent a subset of the total potency on the पर्वत. This subset potency may be termed as देवता शक्ति while potency of entire पर्वत as that of परमात्मा. Now, one may make efforts of planting as many seeds as possible and water these and use fertilizers (all these may be taken as कर्म) but without the innate potency, the देवता शक्ति, our कर्म will not yield the desired outcome. All sensible कर्म needs thus the backing of an unseen but favourable ecosystem, the देवता शक्ति, for success in achieving a specific outcome. One must also note that there is actually no separate देवता शक्ति but only one अदृश्य आधार, the पर्वत शक्ति. So if one gets hold of the entire पर्वत शक्ति, the परा, all the देवता शक्ति automatically comes under one’s control. But do people really want the पर्वत शक्ति when they seem content with देवता शक्ति?

7:20/22 (2) – People may do sincere कर्म (दान, सेवा, तप, etc) from time to time. Now if such sincere कर्म is aligned with the अदृश्य potency in the form of a favourable ecosystem, सिद्धि is guaranteed. But what do people at large seek as फल?  For most people, the primary trigger for कर्म is seeking of limited desires (family well-being, wealth, help from distress, etc). The ecosystem thus sought for is limited by our desires. Instead of seeking परम् (akin to seeking a potency of entire पर्वत), people seek a favourable ecosystem to fulfill limited desires (akin to seeking a single leaf of तुलसी from a तुलसी plant at the base of the पर्वत). People thus seek देवता शक्ति and not the परा. A practicing हिन्दू seeks limited desires by doing पूजा of देवता – श्रीलक्ष्मी for wealth (देवता शक्ति of a bullish stock market), श्रीदुर्गा for शक्ति (देवता शक्ति of powerful equipments that give security), श्रीसरस्वती for बुद्धि (देवता शक्ति of healthy mind), श्रीआंजनेय for बलम् (देवता शक्ति of good physique), श्रीगणेश for विघ्न निवारण (देवता शक्ति of a trouble free day) etc. Owing to our own स्वभाव, compelled by our own situation, we do resort to such देवता from time to time. ALL देवता ARE EXPRESSIONS OF ONE महादेव ONLY BUT WHEN WHAT WE SEEK IS LIMITED, WE LIMIT THE परा, WE BRING परा DOWN TO THE LEVEL OF OUR NEED. Whether we seek from नारायण or लक्ष्मी or हनुमान or शिव, when we seek limited benefits, we are seeking देवता power only since all are seeking is favourable ecosystem that are adequate to meet our limited desires only.

7:20/22 (3) – Whosoever approaches the देवता शक्ति of परा, if such a person has done commensurate कर्म (whether now or in the past), भगवान् fulfils such a काम that is tuned with the relevant देवता.  With the benefit secured, the conviction of such a person in such a देवता strengthens. Thus, if a stock trader made big gains during a big currency fall in the past, he will pray for a similar currency fall again to make money again. He eagerly worships for return of such situations again and again and even may even write articles in papers supporting for a currency depreciation. Now, if all such efforts lead to a currency depreciation and he makes money again, his आस्था in such a situation rises much more. While there is only ONE अदृश्य परा that grants all that one can desire, owing to one’s own स्वभाव, one seeks a specific देवता all their life. And परा allows such an आस्था to continue or persist since this at least brings focus and meaning to the life of such a person that is aligned to what the person is seeking. While an unstable mind of an असुर (seen in previous verse) makes one live an unhappy life, one seeking देवता of a certain kind gets what he seeks because of his or her ability to focus on his or her chosen goal. And thanks to such focus and persistence, परा grants the outcome to such a person. Better to have people with focus and persistence on something than people who have no conviction on anything.

अन्तवत्तु फलं तेषांतद्भवत्यल्पमेधसाम्।देवान्देवयजो यान्ति मद्भक्तायान्ति मामपि ।।7.23।।

7.23 But for those (तेषां तु) of limited wisdom (अल्प मेधसां), that fruit (तद् फलम्) is (भवति) also limited (अन्तवत्). The people who seek limited conceptions of Mine (देव यज:) will go to the देव (देवान् यान्ति) but My devotees (मद्-भक्ता: अपि) will come to Me (माम् यान्ति).

अव्यक्तं व्यक्तिमापन्नं मन्यन्तेमामबुद्धयः।परं भावमजानन्तोममाव्ययमनुत्तमम्।।7.24।।

7.24 The unintelligent (अबुद्धय:), not knowing (न जानन्त:) My (मम) supreme state (परं भावम्) which is changeless (that is not divisible) (अव्ययम्) and unsurpassable (अन्-उत्तमम्), think of (मन्यन्ते) Me (माम्)  who is not manifestable (अव्यक्तं)  that has become (आपन्नं) manifest (व्यक्तिम्).

7:23/24 (1) – The following flow of sentences is useful to be aware of here:

• As a person thinks, so become his words. 
  • As are his words, so become his actions. 
  • As are his actions, so become his habits. 
  • As are his habits, so becomes his character, and 
  • as becomes one character, so one becomes focussed on being within an ecosystem aligned to one’s own character; he remains there all his life as well as future lives. 

Thus, people remain where they are as per their own choice and decision. And भगवान् says here, whatever देवता one seeks, so he gets and remains there. One cannot blame परम् for choosing where one is. One seeks success in medicine, one dwells in such an ecosystem. One who seeks to earn wealth from trading dwells in such an ecosystem.

7:23/24 (2) – भगवान् calls people who choose to remain with a देवता as अबुद्धय: – this is not a castigation however. While the positive is that they remain within the ecosystem of their choice, it is negative from the perspective of ब्रह्मज्ञान since they have chosen to become happy with the limited. They are happy with the अपरा प्रकृति instead of the परा since देवता comes under अपरा and not परा. THEY ARE STAGNANT (as per आध्यात्म दृष्टि). They may be thriving in the ecosystem of their choice; this gives them a lot of joy too since they conclude that देवता is showering them with bounty. It is like a person who keeps getting happy scaling the Everest base camp again and again or a pig being happy born in a gutter again and again (Indra born as a pig is a story in पुराण who does not want to give up pig body even after he found out the truth about himself). But श्रीकृष्ण calls them अबुद्धय since they have not developed विवेक to discover or be aware of परा, the highest bounty, the अव्ययम्. Life after life, they stagnate from a ब्रह्म ज्ञान perspective. Equally, life is not easy for people choosing a certain देवता too since they have to do नित्य देव पूजा (meaning that they have to be fully focussed, work hard, be selfless, etc within their choice of ecosystem too to remain happy and successful). Essentially, these guys are good guys but constrained by their vision of the Highest; their ambition is limited by their own बुद्धि.

नाहं प्रकाशः सर्वस्ययोगमायासमावृतः।मूढोऽयंनाभिजानाति लोकोमामजमव्ययम्।।7.25।।

7.25 Being enveloped by योगमाया (योगमाया समावृतः), I (अहम्) am not (न) evident (प्रकाश:) to all (सर्वस्य). This world (अयं लोक:) which is deluded (मढ:) does not (न) know (अभिजानाति) Me (माम्)  who am birthless (अजम्) and undecaying (अव्ययम्).

वेदाहं समतीतानि वर्तमानानिचार्जुन। भविष्याणि च भूतानि मांतु वेद न कश्चन।।7.26।।

7.26 O अर्जुन, I (अहं) know (वेद) the past (समतीतानि) and the present (वर्तमानानि च) as also the future (भविष्याणि च) of all beings; but no one (न तु कश्चन) knows (वेद) Me (माम्)!

7:25/26 – People are deluded by My योगमाया. योगमाया (like the people living within the Matrix in the Matrix movie) makes people within it believe that their गुण orientation is true and that the world of name and form is true. Because they take it to be true, they are unable to discern or spot the changeless. It escapes their eye. They are deluded. Such people behave in predictable forms life after life. I thus know their past, present and future too. I know the future because if, for example a person is oriented with earning money or enjoying food or playing football, his character is geared to such activities only throughout life. Life after life, they remain in such ecosystems only. If they work hard, they will achieve more success on the football ground or if they do not work hard, they will not achieve so much success. But they will always remain on the football ground only life after life. Their future is defined by the path they take. None of such people know Me who is living within them and watching them thinking and doing the same thing life after life, year after year, day after day, hour after hour. They have taken their अपरा प्रकृति as their परा and are unable to grow beyond this. Thus they stagnate.

इच्छाद्वेषसमुत्थेन द्वन्द्वमोहेनभारत।सर्वभूतानि संमोहं सर्गेयान्ति परन्तप।।7.27।।

7.27 O भारत, O परन्तप, all beings (सर्व भूतानि) at birth (सर्गे), due to the delusion (मोहेन) of duality (द्वन्द्व) arising from (समुत्थेन) likes (इच्छा) and dislikes (द्वेष), all creatures become bewildered (संमोहं यान्ति) at the time of their birth.

येषां त्वन्तगतं पापं जनानांपुण्यकर्मणाम्। तेद्वन्द्वमोहनिर्मुक्ता भजन्ते  मांदृढव्रताः।।7.28।।

7.28 But those (येषां तु) men (जनानां) of virtuous deeds (पुण्य कर्मणाम्) whose sins (पापम्) have come to an end (अन्त-गतं), and who are freed (निर्मुक्ता) from the delusion (मोह) of the pairs of opposites (द्वन्द), worship Me (मां भजन्ते), steadfast in their vows (दृढव्रताः).

7:27/28 – People are born with innate prejudices acquired in the past. Thinking in terms of द्वन्द्व (duality) is thus innate in them. They are born with ideas of progressive – regressive, good – bad, valid – invalid, likes – dislikes, etc that are tuned with their own innate prejudices. One whose पाप कर्म has been exhausted (meaning prejudiced thinking has been brought down) and one who does पुण्य कर्म (meaning that all his कर्म are objective actions tuned with धर्म) is able to undertake कर्म without मोह. Such कर्म then become non-कर्म as all his कर्म are done with मन focussed on the परा, the अव्ययम्, and he therefore becomes free.

जरामरणमोक्षाय मामाश्रित्ययतन्ति ये। ते ब्रह्म तद्विदुःकृत्स्नमध्यात्मं कर्मचाखिलम्।।7.29।।

7.29 Those who (ये) strive for (यतन्ति) freedom (मोक्षाय) from old age and death (जरामरण) – taking refuge (आश्रित्य) in Me (माम्), they know (ते) that ब्रह्म (तद् ब्रह्म) in entirety (कृत्स्नम्) as अध्यात्म and they know (विदु:) all (च अखिलम्) about कर्म (कर्म).

साधिभूताधिदैवं मां साधियज्ञंचये विदुः। प्रयाणकालेऽपि च मां तेविदुर्युक्तचेतसः।।7.30।।

7.30 Those who (ये) know (विदुः) Me (मां) with the अधिभूत (स अधिभूत), अधिदैवं and with the अधियज्ञं (स अधियज्ञं) know Me (मां विदु:) even (अपि च) at the moment of death (प्रयाणकाले), steadfast in mind (युक्त चेतसः)

7:29/30 – श्रीकृष्ण throws a googly here – he uses six new technical terms all of a sudden. Maybe He was testing whether अर्जुन is listening with sincerity or not. If अर्जुन was not sincere, भगवान् would not have continued further. He says that at end of one’s life, one who knows the meaning of six terms will certainly reach the Changeless state – ब्रह्म, कर्म, अधिभूत, अधिदैव, अधियज्ञं & अध्यात्म. The next chapter begins with श्रीकृष्ण giving the meaning of these terms and focus on what is the गति that various people take post death. It is a very technical chapter and my own ज्ञान on this domain is limited but I will convey in tune with my reference books.

इति श्रीमद्भगवद्गीतासु उपनिषदसु ब्रह्मविद्यायां योगशास्त्रे श्रीकृष्णार्जुन संवादे ज्ञानविज्ञानो नाम सप्तमोध्याय:।