Gita 18.61 Though we are controlled by material nature, we are still within the control of our Lord

Transcript

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3.61 Ishvara Sarva Bhutaanam Hrideshe Arjuna Tishthati Ramayan Sarva Bhutaani Yantra Ruhani Mayaya It’s one of the most well known verses of the Bhagavad Gita and it stresses on how we all are interacting with material nature and interacting with the supreme so broadly there are three truths to existence that is Jeev Jagat and Jagdish so Jeev is the soul which is what we are Jagat or Prakriti is the material nature and Jagdish or Ishvara is the supreme and for all of us this hierarchy is important to understand normally consciousness is considered to be above matter because consciousness is a part of the Paraprakriti the superior nature Krishna has said this in 7.5 in the Gita and further he has stated that actually although the soul is superior to matter but then he also says that that sorry not that he says to go beyond the three modes that is in 2.45 and he says that going beyond the modes is very difficult so matter as an insentient substance is subordinate to us but the material energy being governed or as it acts under the guidance of the lord’s potency Maya that has her inner clutches and being in her clutches it is good being in her clutches it is not easy for us to get out so this theme has been talked in the previous two verses also in this section 18.59 and 16 where Krishna tells Arjuna that you are under material nature and you cannot get out simply by wishing to get out you have to strive energetically and such energetic striving means that you have to work you have to labour and not just work or labour but endeavour in a proper way endeavour in a way that is harmonious with your Swabhava Swabhava Swabhava Swabhava Swakarma and Swadharma so Swabhava is our innate nature from Swabhava comes our Swakarma our prescribed duty now for a Kshatriya fighting the Swakarma that arises from the Swabhava but the Swadharma is what regulates the Swakarma Kshatriya may want to fight impulsively and fight for winning at all costs but Swadharma, the Kshatriya codes of Dharma ensure that the Kshatriya fights Dharmically so we can’t avoid Swakarma that arises from Swabhava but we can channel the Swakarma according to Swadharma so the previous two verses might give the impression that if we are bound to act according to our Swabhava then do we have any free will at all or are we just bound in material existence no we are not bound we certainly have free will and ultimately our free will is to surrender to Krishna as will be indicated in next verse but this verse is giving us a complete picture Swabhava, Swakarma these are shaped by the interaction of the Jeeva with Prakriti the kind of body we have body mind machine we have we are pushed to act in particular ways accordingly but beyond this we also have the supreme within us and that supreme is superior to us and superior to our superior to material energy and it is said that he is directing the wanderings of all living beings Ishwara Sarvabhootaanam for all living beings without exception Krishna has talked about this mood of Sarvabhootaanam earlier also when he has stated that all living beings are under the clutches of three modes 18.42 Krishna said that under these three modes of material nature all living beings exist not just those on earth but even those in heaven nobody is free from these but there is one being who is eternally free from these and that is the supreme that is Krishna that is the Ishwara so it is he who is present within us Sarvabhootaanam he is situated in the region of the heart not exactly the heart he is not dependent on the physical location he is situated in the region of the heart broadly speaking he is situated where the some resultant vector of the five airs that comes to neutral and Brahmayan Sarvabhootaani Yantra Rudhaani Maya Yantra Rudhaani Maya that means that we all are situated on the machine made of material nature and we can’t change the structure of this machine this machine is the way it is and it will function the way it is it is meant to a sports car will drive in a different way and a heavy duty truck will drive in a different way a motor bike will drive in a different way and a plane will drive in a different way but all of them are vehicles for taking a person to their desired destination so Brahmayan ultimately all these movements are controlled by the supreme so sometimes the word Brahmayan is used to indicate that the lord is causing our wanderings Brahman is to wander, Brahmayan is to cause to wander so is it that the lord is causing us to wander not exactly the lord is the ultimate cause, he is not the immediate cause just as the rains are the ultimate cause of all vegetation but specifically which vegetation grows where that is determined by us based on what kind of seeds are sown over at which place, so similarly the whole system by which we have a vehicle the overall material universe within which you can wander all this is created and arranged by the lord but which direction specifically we wander that is up to us in the next verse Krishna will tell that how we can take this wandering in an auspicious direction and thus attain release from our being bound within material nature so in this verse the thrust is that above material nature is the lord and by understanding him we understand that we are not bound to our body but we need to use our body under his direction to attain auspiciousness