Gita 13.06 The subtle points towards the spiritual

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Gita 13.6 Krishna is answering Arjuna's question about Kshetra and Kshetra Ugyana, specifically about Kshetra and he says that the Kshetra is made up of certain elements, which are those elements, which are those components, he talks about them and he lists, as per the standard Sankhya mode of analysis, 24 components.

He states that Mahabhutane, Mahabhutane refers to the huge elements, the great elements, the gigantic elements, they are Bhumirapo, Nallovayu, Kama, what Krishna talked about in 7.4 earlier, earth, water, fire and ether. So, when we look at the material world and we try to analyze it into its components, we will see these fundamental elements. And we can see, things are made of earth, there is water, there is fire, like that.

Then, Ahamkara, Krishna lists this in a sequence that reflects the poetic meter and says Ahamkara, Ahamkara is arrogance or it is the element of ego. So, as we discussed earlier, the Ahamkara can refer to the object as well as it can refer to the concept. So, there is a subtle element, which is by the name of Ahamkara and there is a concept, which is associated with that subtle element.

So, in some places when Krishna uses the word Ahamkara, he refers to the concept, the feeling, that is there, the attitude that is there in us as Ahamkara. In other places, he refers to Ahamkara as the element. So, here when Krishna is analyzing material existence into its components, he is clearly referring to Ahamkara here as an element.

Mahabhutan Ahamkaro buddhir avyaktame vacham buddhi refers to the intelligence. Intelligence is one of the subtle elements and it is what enables us to discern. If you consider the functionality of all these elements, the gross elements, the sthula sharira as it is called the gross body, so the gross elements correspondingly, they comprise the material world, especially the first four elements, they comprise the visible or perceivable by the senses material world.

And then Ahamkara, the ego, acts as the connecting link between matter and spirit. It is the ego that forms the bond between the soul and the body. The functional connection between the two, between the soul and the body, that is further done through the buddhi and mana.

So, the buddhi, intelligence, is the discerning capacity, the capacity that enables us to understand who is who, to understand what needs to be done in our life for us to progress. Of course, what needs to be done for progressing will depend on our conception of progress. Krishna has talked earlier in 2.16 about yāniśyā sarva-bhūtānāṃ tasyāṃ jāgrati saṃyam yasyāṃ jāgrati bhūtānī sāniśyāpaśyato manah.

He said that materialists consider one thing as progressive and spiritualists consider quite a different thing as progressive, an opposite thing. But intelligence is what we use for making plans and execute and creating a template for executing them and then executing them. Avyakta is the unmanifest.

So, these elements which Krishna is listing, we can analyze them as they function within the body or we can analyze them as they exist or unfold during the process of creation. This process is described in the third gyanta of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and there it is stated that avyakta, the unmanifest material nature, the unmanifest substratum of material nature from which everything gets manifested. So, it's also called vijñāyas pradhāna and the important point is that Krishna says that from the substratum everything manifests and that avyakta that he analyzes, categorizes one of the components of the kṣetra, indriyā, daśayi-kaṁca and this is Krishna efficiently listing 11 elements in two words, indriyā, daśayi-kaṁca.

So, daśayika, that is 10 plus 1, that is 11. That refers to the five knowledge acquiring senses, the jñāna-indriyas, the eyes, the ears, the nose, the tongue and the skin and the five karma-indriyas, voice, speech we could say, hands, legs and excretory organ and the reproductive organ which also doubles as one of the excretory organs. So, here Krishna lists 11 elements.

These are also if you consider the bodily apparatus which we function in this world. Functioning is usually a matter of interacting. You know, wherever we are working, we take in our environment and then we give out, do something in that environment.

So, in the jñāna-indriya, we eat the karma-indriya and there are many places where the mind is classified as one of the indriyas. So, in fact, that is very consistent. Indriyāṇā manas chasmi.

Krishna says, in the 10th chapter when he's talking about Vibhuti yoga, he says the mind is, among the senses, he's manifested as the mind. That means the mind is the most forceful among the senses and by seeing its force, we can remember him. Now, later on also, he will, in the 15th chapter, 7th verse, he'll say manas chasthāṇi indriyāṇi, the mind along with the senses, chasthāṇi indriyāṇi.

And so, six senses. There he refers to the five knowledge acquiring senses and then the mind. So, usually when this word senses are used as a shorthand, we have to see the context.

Quite often they refer to the jñāna-indriyas. The karmendriyas also are also indriyas. But we have to see whether they are what is being referred to.

So, shashti-indriya, when it is there, then it is the jñāna-indriyas and the mind. I mean, the shayakam indriya and the shayakam cha, here the jñāna-indriyas, karmendriyas and the mind. The mind is like the integration center for the senses.

The various sensory inputs, the various data, the information that comes in from the various senses, it is integrated and it is integrated in the mind. And there, after being integrated in the mind, it is presented to the soul for perception and response, for evaluation response, of course. And after that, once a response is chosen, the mind is the means by which the decision is conveyed to the senses so that it can be executed.

And in that sense, this integration function of the mind can be understood through the example of the reins, which are what is compared to the mind in the chariot body metaphor, which is often used in the Upanishads for referring to the chariot body metaphor, for explaining the functionality of, explaining how the body functions. So, mind-body mechanism functions. Moving on, pancha-chendriya-gochara.

And then there is indriya-gochara. So, that which towards senses go, there is a sense objects. So, there is form, there is taste, there is smell, there is sound, and there is the tactile, there is a touch, there is object which we touch.

So, sense objects, it is interesting that we could say the sense objects are comprised of earth, water, fire, air, ether. Yes, that is true. But then the sense objects are classified as distinct also because these attributes are integrated with the sense objects in particular way so that the sense objects have an allure.

So, this Sankhya mode of analysis is often quite intricate and the purpose of the Bhagavad Gita is not to give an exhaustive explanation, it is simply to give a concise summary so that Arjuna's question is answered in brief. So, thus Krishna lists out the 24 elements. maha-bhutani-ahankaro, that is 5 plus 1, 6. uddhiravyakta-meva-ca, that is 7 and 8. indriyan-yashai-kam-ca, that is 11, that is to 19.

And then pancha-chendriya-gochara-ha, a 5 more, that makes it 24. Thank you. Bhagavad Gita 13.7.