Shri Bhagavad-Gita 16 страница

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another manner,I am the Most Superior above all things.

There is not a second who is fit to be so characterized.

But the world knows Me not as such, i. e., knows Me

not as above and beyond all sdtvika, rdfasa and tdmasa

things; knows Me not as the Exalted Being possessed of

the multitudeofthe extraordinary Blessed Qualities;knows

Me not as That(joy)compared with which no other thing

exists which can,the least, claim to any of the characteris

tics which constitute that Joy.*

Avyaya=^\\^Exhaustless=The Infinite=The Change

less.

Though I am Such,theignorant world, consisting of

devas, man, animals, trees fete).,fascinated by the tri

vial and ephemeral tri-quality-full objects,—appearing as

bodies and senses,adopted to furnish enjoyments to crea

tures according to the dispensations ofold(prior)karmas—

recognises Me not as Such.

(If Arjuna should ask:—). '

1.° Meaning is, that all delights are

found in Me, the Brahm; for says

Chk: Up®: II-14-4; ‘Sarva-Kamas

sarva-Gandhas-sarva - Rasah. 7Zazt:

Op: Aran: VIUI-1: ‘Raso vai Sah’

etc.

How is it that, when

Thou dostexist—the Immeasurable Beatitude,the Eternal,

the Changeless, Who surpassest every delight that world-

objects are capable ofaffording,—(how is it)desire arises in

all enjoying atmas for the most vulgar, guna-impregnated,

and inconstant pleasures?', the answer is:—

&c.

'Verily is this, My divine guna-imbued maya,

hard to surmount.'

Inasmuch as this my —permeate with the

characteristics of satva, rajas, and tamos,—is daivi or

created by Me,—^the Deva—,for purposes ofsport {div=.\.o

play with, being the root-meaning),it is difficult for all to

overcome it.

Its designation by the term mayd is on account of its

power to produce marvellous effects(the protean phenomi-

nal nature=matter),analogous to such effects as the magic

missiles(arrowsetc.,used in war)of Asuras^and Rakshasas*

produced,as stated,for example,in:—

'Then the discus. Sudar^na,despatched by Bhagavan,

and wreathed in flames,—at His mandate—,arrived. By

this rapidly whirling discus,the body ofthe youth (Prah-

lada) was shielded, and the thousand magic(=marvellous

=fndyd)designs of^ambara(on the youth),(failed one after

another."

1. Asuras are the demons of the

first order descended from Diti by

Kasyapa, in perpetual hostility with

the Devas or gods.

2, Rakshasas are the imps, fiends

and goblins who wage war with men

disturbing sacrifices, eating them &c.

3. Vish: Pur; I-19, 20 (Tato

Bhagavata tasya rakshartham ctc.,)

4. Maya never signifies what is

false or unreal. Vide, Introduction

to Thebaut’s Veddnta-Sitras, Voll,

p: XCIV. Vide, Colebrook’s

Hindus, p: 242. Vide, Sandilya

Stttra, 42: ‘Saktitvin naenritam

vedyam,

Theterm tndyd never signifies whatisfalse.* The term

mdydvi is applied to one who produces real impressions on

anothers'imagination. The effect is real though the cause

is illusory. The magician (indrajalikd), by his art of

conjuring,produces marvellous effects by means ofincant

tions or herbs,so that when mdydvi designates a producer

ofreal effects,the term mdyd denotes the real incantation

or the herb itselfthrough which such effects are produced.

Wherever therefore the term mdyd is found used,that

itinvaribly means'that whichis capable ofproducing mar

vellous protean effects'is universally acceptable. Whileso

when it may happen to be used so as to mean an unreality

instead ofthe real impression which is produced on the

imagination,such application is but figurative. (So that

the universal sense is not to besacrificed toa partial figura

tive sense). As for example,when they say:—

Maftchak kro5anii=^the cots cry': they mean that those

who lie on the cots,cry'.

This mdyd(or matter considered in its aspectofprodu

cing marvellous effects), sated with gunas, is verily of

Bhagavan (Lord). It is the mdyd that is alluded to in:—

'Prakfiti(matter)is to be apprehended by (the term)

mdyd;and the Great Lord by(the term)mdyt.'*

The work that mdyd does is to veil the true nature of

Bhagavan,and lure men to find their pleasures in itself.

Hence,all the world,bewitched by this mdyd ofBhaga

van,fails to recognize Bhagavan,Who is ofimmeasurably

Superb Blissful Nature.

The way ofdeliverance from(this)mdyd is now stated;

&c.

[4. '

Those alone who resort to Me as their Refuge

overcross this maya,'

1. Thisis the figure metonymy

in Samskrit Rhetoric, as for example

‘a hundred lances’ means the hundred

men who bear the lances; ‘read

Bacon’ means, read the works of

Bacon.

2. Suet: Op: 10. (mayan-tu

prakritim vidyat mayinan-tu Mahes-

varam). Cp. Svet: Up° : IV-9 (asman

may! syijate visvam etat).

Those, who resign themselves to Me alone as their

Refuge and Protection,—Me, the Firm-Willed,—Me, the

most Merciful—Me,theJust Shelter to all worlds—,shall be

able to cross beyond this guna-full mdyd. In other words

such people abjure mdyd, and exclusively devote them-,

selves to Me.

If it be asked why do not all adopt this PathofResig

nation to Bhagavan (prapotti) conducive of devotion to

Him,the reason is given:—

•T TT &c.

15. '

Men of evil deeds, the ignorant,ignoble men,

divorced of understanding by maya, and men

of demoniac nature, do not resort to Me.''

Men of evil or wicked deeds are offour kinds, distin

guished by the deeds done by them. It is those who do

not come to Me in resignation.

The four kinds of wicked men are:—

(1) mudhdh—^t ignorant: those of wrong 01

perverted understanding, those who think what is God's

own as theirs, for example the atma (soul) which is

specihcally characterized as that which is essentially liege to

(or the property of)Bhagavan ; an in the same way all the

objects ofenjoyment(the world) (they consider as their

own).

(2) the nar-ddhamdh=ih!& ignoble men: those who,

albeit knowing My nature in a general way, are yet

distant with respect to My love (or loving Me).

(3) the mdyayd apahrita-jildndh=\hos& who have for

feited the understanding they had acquired concerning Me

and My Sovereign Glory by means ofirrelevant and adverse

specious reasonings (or logic).

(4) the diuram bhdvam dsritdh=\hosQ of demoniac

nature: those whose well-settled understanding as re

gards Me atid My Sovereign Glory serves them only as

means to cultivate enmity with Me.

In the order stated, one class is more sinful than the

other.

*1^ &c.

16. 'Four classes of men,of good deeds, O Arjuna,

Lion ofthe Bharata-racel, worship Me:(i)the

fortune-wrecked, (3) the soul-seeker, (2) the

fortune-seeker,and (4)the God-seeker.'^

The men of virtuous deeds (sukritinah), seek Me as

their Asylum,and worship Me alone.

1. Vide, Sandilya-Siitra 72: ‘Gau-

nam traividhyam.’ Also Read Vish :

III-8-6: ‘‘Bhaumam mano-

svargam, svargi-vandyajicha

yat padam, prapnotyaradhite Vish-

nau Nirvanam api ch-otthamam.”

2, Avta=' The impoverished and

ditressed soul= He who, having been

possessed of power and fortune and

‘ lost the same, seeks to be re-instated

in the same.

3. Arth-drtht= ‘The novice in

fortune-seeking = Ele who, having

wmever before tasted the sweets of

Pur ;,

ratham

power and fortune, has come to desire

the same. Aspirants of this class, and

those coming under the class mention-

ed in the last preceding note, are, to-

gether, included in one generic group,

as being alike, seekers of power and

fortune (atsvary-arthinah)’

4. /ijfdsu=x‘ The seeker of: self

knuwledye and self-satisfaction,’ prays

the Lord, only to enable him to attain

such goal by being released from

entanglement in material bodies.”

(Sri Yogi Parthasarathi Aiyangar’s

Engl: Trans: of 7atva-traya, p. 64,

They are offour classes,as distinguished by theirseve

ral acts of virtue. In the order they are treated of{infra)

each class is more superior than the preceding, by virtue

of more and more meritorious deeds which they do, by

which they are more elevated and exalted. They are:

(1). The the distressed, or he who has lost

fortune etc., which he is earnestly longing to recover.

(2). The arthdrihi^=ih.Q fortune-seeker,or he who is

in questoffortune which had never been possessed before.

(3). The jijHdsu>=ihe soul-seeker or the soul-wise

person or he who is in quest of atma, or who aspires to

realize atmaper se,or in its state as dissociated from matter.

Pure %t\{-knowledge distinguishes this class,and hence one

belonging to it is called jijfldsu, or he who is'

anxious

to knowy or anxious of knowledge(regarding atma).' And,

(4). They;«anP=the sage, or the God-wise person, or

he who has the wisdom to know that atma (soul) is essen

tially characterized by its being essentially related as liege

to Lord, as declared in;{itastv-anydm etc)=^ but know My

other nature, superior than that' (VII-5). The jflani

therefore does not halt or stop away at the point where he

may cognize the mere matter-distinct atma, butjourneys

onward to reach the Lord. It is he who thinks the Lord

as the fulfilment of the very height of his ambition,

&c.

17. 'Ofthese,the jftani is distinguished, as the ever-

united and single-loving. Very dear indeed am

I to the jflani; he also is dear to Me.'

Ofthese four classes, thejHdni or the God-lover is the

mostdistinguished, for he is, nitya-yuktak and eka-bhaktih.

ever-united, i.e.y ever-united to Me,by

reason of My being his sole Goal. Others establish rela

tions with Me only so long as their objects of desire are

gained [or classes(1),(2),(3), verse i6,ante\

Eka-bhakiih=smg\&-\o\'mg, i.e., I am to the Jfidni,his

exclusively single Object oflove; to the others, their love

for Me has but the motive ofgaining their several objects

of desire, using Me as butthe means by which to gain them.

1. /flani=‘ The seeker of know-

ledge concerning God, and the sole

satisfaction of God’=he who, being

enlightened (/#ai), stops not with

he merely disembodied soul-essence,

but desires to reach the Lord, hold-

ing the Lord alone tu be his Goal,

for, he fully realizes, and thence is

ever loyal to, and delights solely in

enjoying, the Lord in all His. Uni-

versal Sovereignty.’ S7Z Yogi Paertha-

sdratht <Atyangar’s,

of Zatva-traya, p. 65.

page 262,

Engl: Trans:

Vide note 1,

Hence thejfl&ni is Mj' Elect.

And what is more?:—

To the I am the Object ofhis most passionate

love. Atyartha=mo?,\., means beyond description or beyond

utterance or expression.^ ThejftanVs love for Me is so

deep and abundant,—so it is meant—that even for Me,the

Omniscient and Omnipotent, it is difficult to fathom.

His love(for Me)can have no limits assigned to it, as

in the case of Prahlada,—the pre-eminent among the

j'Hanis,—of whom it is said:—

'Tjiough bitten by huge snakes, he did not know(or

feel) he had a body; so much was his mind devotionally

immersed in Krishna; so transported by raptureinduced by

incessant recollections of Him ?*

He also'^ is similarly loved by Me.

•35Krt^&c.

18. 'Noble are they all; butthejflanY is to be known as

My very soul. Is not he Mysole-devoted, de

pendent on Me as the only Unsurpassed Goal?'

Inasmuch as they all* resort to Me,they all are noble.

I. Cp: the striking parallel to

Bhakti in the words of St: Angustine:

‘* Outd est credere in Deum? credend

amare, tredendo diliveere, credendo in

eum tre, et ejus membris incorpor-

art.’ Meaning: what is to believe in

God? Believing is loving (with passion-

ate warmth=the love of emotion) ;

Believing is loving (with reasoned

attachment =the love of esteen:): Be-

lieving is to pass in to Him, to be in-

corporated with his:members,

2. Visknu-purdna:1-17-39. ‘Satv-

asakta matih Krishne dasyamano

mahoragaih, na vived-dtmano gatram

tat-smrity-ahlida-samsthitah’.

3- Also has here the force: ‘Afy

love to him is cool compared with the

warmth and intensity of Ais love to

Me. Or, it is impossible, even for

Me, to sufficiently reciprocate his

love for Me.’

4. The four classes mentioned in

yerse 16. ante,

Noble or generous {uddrah) are they, inasmuch as when

they accept any little gift from Me—(this is their generosi

ty, that when out-oflove for Methey acceptany littlething

from Me,they do Me an act of great favour)—I shall have

to consider that by that act of their acceptance ofthe gift

they paid Me with their all.'

As for the jfldni, I deem him as My own self(or

soul),i. e., My very life dependson him. If it be asked how,

the reason is that in the same manner that he cannot live

without Me,—his Highest Goal,—I cannotlive withouthim.

Verily therefore is he My very life(atma).

&c.

19. Become wise at the end of many births, one

worships Me. Thathigh-souled saint{mahdtma)

is very rare, to whom Vasudeva* is all®.'

It takes not a few births of meritorious works, for one

to rifien into that consummate wisdom that the soul is by

nature tlie servant ofthe Lord. It takes many births ofa

meritorious kind, at the end of which one will know:'

am essentially liege (^sha)to Vasudeva; my doings, my

(nature) and my very being, dependent on Him. As for

Him, He is most Superior by His countless Glorious

Attributes?' Then is hejAdnavdn, the sage or the wise or

illuminated person. This is how he reflects:'Vasudeva is

My Highest Goal, Vasudeva is My Way; whatsoever my

heartlongeth,all that is Vasudeva to me,'* Such is the high-

souled one who is very rare to be found "in the world.

Va.sudeva is All'to me,' means that which was decla

red to be the nature ofthejUdni in:

{Priyo hi eic.,)'

Very dear indeed am I to the jUdni'

(vii-17)and,

1. Cp. ‘God's paid when man re-

ceives the gift.’

2. This is the 334th, 7ooth and

714th name of God. See Mahd-bhd.

Moksha Dharma-166; Ud: par :68-3 ;

and Vish : pur : i-2-12. Vasudeva has

four hypostases, Para- Vasudeva, Vyii-

he .-Vasudeva, Vasudeva’s Son, He

who permeates all and sports. Vide

note 2, p: 261.

3. Cp. with VIT-3.

4. He who looks on God as his

father, friend, mother, lover etc., and

all. Cp. Sud; Up.° 6, and Bhs

Gi, X1-17-

{Asthitas etc.,)'Is not he My sole-devoted, dependent

on Me as the only Unsurpassable Goal?' (vii-i8).

And thejflanavdn,or the wisdom-ripe is he who is of

the kind described in these verses, (a real God lover=

the Bhakta).

The knowledge or wisdom of thisjUdni is such as is

declared in:—

{BhUmir dpo etc)'Earth, water etc' and egotism

is the eight-fold division of My Nature'(vii-4)

{Apareyam etc.,)'But this is inferior. Know My other

Nature superior than that, the living Nature'(vii-5); where

the essentially dependent (or allegiant) nature of the two

Categories of Matter and Soul, on the Supreme Spirit, is

pointed out. Again is his wisdom such as is declared in:—

(AAam kritsnasya etc.,) I am the Origin and the End

ofall the Kosmos. (vii-6).

{Mattah parataram etc.,)'Naught whatever higher than

I exists, Dhanafijaya!' (vii-7).

(Ye-ch-aiva etc.,)'Those things that are satvika, and

those rajasa and tamasa know,they all deduce from Me

alone. But I am not in them,in Me are they.'(vii-12);

It is evident from these (verses) that both the two

Natures(Matter and Soul), in both their conditions ofcause

and effect,are dependent on the Supreme Spirit for their

very existence, character and impulses, and that the

Supreme Spirit is in every way Superior to all.^

Hence,he who possesses this wisdom, is the

That such a jfidni is most rare is further dwelt on:—

I, Cp;'We live and move and have our beingin Him,(Acts,xvii-28)

20. '

Deprived ofknowledge by various desires, and

impelled by nature,' men take to worship other

divinities {devatds), imposing on themselves

appropriate obligations therefor.'*

All worldly people indeed are impelled by their

materialinclinations. Theyare environed bysuch influences,

it is meant. The material inclinations or impulses are

the tendencies or instincts ofold sins, in relation to guna-

impregnate objects. These tendencies give birth to fresh

longings for guna-sated things. And these desires rob

peopleoftheir knowledge(orunderstanding)concerning Me.

In order to gain their (material)desires,they resorttoother

lower deities different from Me, like the ordinary deity

Indra etc. And observing such ritualistic rules and regula

tions as are laid down (in ^astras),in order to propitiate

such lowerdivinities,they place faith in them,and worship

them.

1. These are tendencies, or natural

instincts derived from habits culti-

vated in prior lives. These old

reminiscences influence man.

2. Obligations are the course of

conduct one will have to adopt in or-

der to propitiate, and ingratiate one-

self into the graces of any of the low-

ers gods of his choice. —

3. Cp, Tarts Ups Sikshd-valli.s-1

(angan anya devata&h).

4. Bri: Up°. §-7-9 (Va aditye tish:

than Yam adityo na veda, Yasy adityas

sariram) :

21. 'Whatsoever body(form)a devotee wisheth, in

faith, to worship, that very faith in him do I

render firm.'

Even those other deities (Indra)constitute My body.®

Though ignorant ofthis truth as enounced in such Sruti

texts:—

Who is seated in the sun,(but) Whom the sun know-

eth not, of Whom the sun is body'etc.,* yet, whoso wishes

to worship Indra etc., who form My body,I grant him

unwavering faith for that very worship he desires, knowing

as I do that his faith is pinned to that which in fact consti

tutes My own body.^

Unwavering or firm faith=unhindered or undisturbed

faith.

gcTqrsnpfT &c.-

22. '

Possessed with that faith, whoso devotes himself

to that worship,obtains thence his wishes, but

theyare verily granted by Myself.,

Whoso, then, with such unhampered faith(granted by

Me) lovingly worships Indra etc., he obtains from such

worship ofIndra and other lower deities, who but form My

body, his several desires. But these desires are decreed

and granted by Myself.

When the votary is engaged in his worship of Indra

etc.,he is,indeed,ignorant that they constitute My body,

and that worship rendered to My body is worship to Myself.

And yet I consider the worship,forsooth, as My worship,

and it is Myself Who grant the desires longed for by

the worshipper.*

^&c.

23. '

But to those of small understanding,(all)fruit

has an ending. The votaries ofthe deities join

the deities; My votaries join Myself.'

The fruits or rewards which the witless men who

worship lower deities like Indra etc.,obtain, are trivial and

transient. Why?

Because the worshippers of Indra ptc., go to those

very divinities whom they worship. The blessed state of

Indra etc.,is indeed restricted,and lasts, besides, for a time

only. The worshippers achieve but that blessed state as is

on a par with that of Indra etc., but when Indra and other

deities reach the end of their happy state, they fall; with

them do their worshippers necessarily also fall.

As for My worshippers, they also perform the very

same acts of worship as those men, but they do them with

the knowlec^e that they are acts ofMj/ worship; and do

them with^egard for their appropriate fruits; do them as

acts having for their reward nothing else than the plea

sure they afford Me. My devotees, thus, attain to Myself,

and they do not return (or fall, as the others do). Verily so,

it is declared:—

(Mdmupetyaetc.,)'But,byjoining Me,Kaunteya! there

is no re-birth.'(viii-i6).

In the following verse, the Lord says: there are peo

ple who disregard even My Avatars among men under

taken for the express purpose that they may have easy

access to Me.

24. 'The unwise,ignorant ofMy superior,infinite and

exalted nature, take Me as though one, un-

manifest, became manifest.

My superior^ infinite and exalted nature is, that I am

the Adorable, by all acts of worship,—I am the Lord of

all,—I am He, Whose essence and attributes are unfathom

able by speech or thought. Never relinquishing this(Div

ine)nature ofMine,I am yet born as the son of Vasudeva,

actuated by motives of compassion and affection, so that I

may be accessible to all. But senseless people do not

understand Me as such, but take Me to be like any other

physically born son ofa king,forced by necessity of karma

to be brought into patency from an antecedent state of

latency.

Such men do not seek Me as their Shelter, and do not

worship Me by their acts.

Why is He not revealed (to all)? Reason:—

frri SRiPU: &c.

25. '

Enveloped—in yoga-maya,I do notshine to all.

This ignorant world knows Me not as the

Birthless and Deathless.'^

I am not obvious to all, as I am enveloped in that

congeries of material units(=the compound, called the

hody=jyoga),taking the form ofthe human, and appearing

to mortals as but a human shape, the usual habitat to

which the embodied (karma-bound)souls are accustomed.

Just because I appear anthropomorphic, the blin^

world does not understand that corporeity (or incarnation)

is,in purpose,assumed with a view to be within the reach

of all.

Albeit that Myfeats(or miraculous acts)transcend the

powers of Vayu and Indra (Symbols ofthe mighty forces

of Nature,the Deified Powers of the wind,ofthefirmament

etc)., and that Mylustrous glory dimsand darkens the light

ofthe sun and the glare ofthe fire,the stupid world knows

Me not,—^just because of My appearance as human,—as

the Birthless (because I am the Causa Causorum), and

Deathless(being the Lord of all).

&c.

26. '

All beings that were, are, and will be,/know,

Arjuna!. But Me,not one knows.'*

I know all the creaturesofthe past,of the present,

and of the future, but none knows Me.' This is

meant to say that while to Me, all creatures, whether

existing in the past, the present or the future,are objects

of constant loving concern,no one discerneth Me as Vasu-

deva Incarnate,a Ready Refuge to him who may seek.

Hence, thejfldniox wisdom-ripe sage is very rare{See

Proem to verse 20).

Because:—

&c.

27. 'By infatuation ofthe'pairs,'induced by lovesand

hates,O foe-harassing Bharata!, all beings get

fascinated at time of creation.

From the very start of Incarnate existence, all crea

tures are inveigled into the trap set by the 'pairs'—cold-

heats,joy-griefs etc'—, generated by desires and aversions.

The purport is,thatin whatever guna-sated objects,—

vis., the pairs of opposites, happiness, misery etc., in one's

past birth,—he had experiences oflovings and hatings,they

are transmitted to succeeding births as tendencies or predi

lections present attime ofbirth,and these sameloving-and-

hating-opposites develope and ensnare creatures. The

creatures that were under this enchantment, appear as if

constituted ofthose very natures, and feel foreign to the

(spiritual)feelings ofjoyand griefconsequent(respectively)

on their union' with, or separation from, Me. But the

jftanl's or the God-saint's nature is essentially that of

feeling joy only when in company with Me,and grief, only

when severed from Me. Of such a nature, scarcely a

creature is born.

TPt &c.

28. 'But when sinsofmen ofvirtuous deeds have come

to an' end, then do they have their full dis-

charge from the witcheryof'the pairs and with

a will resolute, worship Me.'

'Men of virtue' are those in whose case sins have dis

solved away,—sins descended from an immemorial past,

and obstructing them from becoming God-ward—sins

which had been the cause of his longings and aversions.

Exhausted become thesesinsby virtueofhigh meritsacquir

ed during many lives. Determined by the various degrees

ofsuch merit, men take shelter under Me,and are delivered

from the guna-sated beguilements. They make a firm

resolveto devotethemselves to My worship,seekingeither:-

(1). Great fortune (riches, power etc.,){aisvary-arthi)y

(2). Enfranchisement from dotage and death{kaivafy-

drthi)*

(3) Myself, as their Goal,{moksha-arthiy

Enumeration is now(briefly)made ofthe qualifications

which the above-said three classes ofthe Lord's own vota

ries, have to acquire,and the requisites ofknowledge (they

have to cultivate).

&c.

29. '

Those who strive for deliverance from dotage

and death,(have to)know (r)the Tad-brahma,

(2) the whole Adhyatma and (3)all Karma.*

Deliverance from dotage and death' means the dis

junction from matter-connections, and achieving atma-

realization in its distinctness therefrom.®

Those who seek and worship Me with this object have

to know what Tad-brahma^>is,whatthe whole Adhyatma^is,

and what all the Kartnc^ is.

1. This includes the aspirants, erta

and arthirthi (vide, verse 16, a#te).

2. Thisisthe class; si/#aszu (opscet),

3. This isthe class: /#dni(op: cit).

Vide, Foot notes also under verse 16.

4. This technology is fully explain-

ed in the Succeeding Lecture, the

Eighth.

5 This aspirant is the Aevaf? or

Soul-Seeker, the sejndsu of verse 16,

ante. Vide-Commentary (36,000 7d)

of Bhagavad- Viskaya, Voll, pz 434.

Those,the others, (have to) know Me as Adhi-

bhutaS as Adhidaiva', and as Adhiyajfla ; and

allofthem(have to)know Me,at time of death,

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