Bhakti Shastri (118) – Bhagavad Gita Chapter 13 Text 01 to 03

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Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Welcome back to our Bhagavad Gita Bhakti Shastri course we are now in the 13th chapter beginning with the gyana section of the Bhagavad Gita chapters 1 to 12 is about karma and how karma leads to bhakti chapter 7 to 12 is about bhakti and chapters 13 to 18 is about gyana and how gyana leads to bhakti so here the 13th chapter begins with a question from Arjuna and as I discussed earlier in the 10th chapter not necessarily in the beginning but in the 10th chapter after Krishna stops speaking in the 11th verse of Jyotishloki Bhagavad Gita Arjuna asks a question and that leads the discussion forward. So in the 10th, 11th 12th and 13th chapters the topics of discussion are generated by Arjuna’s questions so now we may ask what generates Arjuna’s questions it is not necessary that something in the previous chapter normally necessarily has to lead to that question yes we discussed how in the 10th chapter in the 11th chapter the question comes from the 10th chapter. At the end of the 10th chapter Krishna has said that in 10.42 that that by one fragment I pervade the whole creation.
I pervade and sustain the whole creation so then based on that Arjuna asks the question can you show me the Viratrupa. But that is only one of the stimulants for that question. Another question also is that Arjuna wants to have a visual verifiable demonstration of Krishna’s supremacy for all time as a pramana, as a standard then in the 10th chapter itself the question on Vibhuti is not necessarily immediately related with something before it is based on the understanding that yes Krishna, one has to think about Krishna but it is difficult to think about Krishna at all times so how can one think about Krishna within material nature.
In the 12th chapter question is not immediately related with the 11th chapter and 13th chapter question is also not immediately related with the 12th chapter or anything that comes before that The Bhagavad Gita is a discussion which happens in different ways. Sometimes when we meet a learned teacher that learned teacher may speak on one subject and after the class is over we may not restrict ourselves to asking questions only with respect to that subject. If we have some general philosophical doubts also we may ask those.
Similarly when Arjuna asks questions his questions are not necessarily limited or connected to what was discussed earlier Arjuna is living in a Vedic culture and there are many terms which he has already heard and he would like to have those terms clarified so we discussed earlier how terms are verbal and concepts are intellectual. So both need to be clarified. So for example in the 12th chapter when he asks about who are more intimately united with him those who worship the personal manifestation or the impersonal manifestation.
So that is a conceptual clarification. There are not necessarily any specific terms involved. But now here Arjuna in the 13th chapter when he asks a question he will be using some specific terms.
Of course those terms are associated with concepts but he is asking what do those terms mean. So let’s look at the 13th chapter overview and then we will go into the verses one by one. So we have Arjuna’s six questions.
In the six questions that is Kshetra and Kshetragya So those questions are answered progressively by Krishna. So the answer to the question about what is Kshetra and what is the Kshetragya that is from verses 2 to 7 so actually this is the third and fourth question which is answered first. Then what is Jnana is answered in 8 to 12.
Then what is Jnana is answered in 13 to 19. This is the answer to the fifth and sixth question. Then Krishna comes back to answer the first and second questions.
So that is what is Prakriti and what is Purusha how do they interact. And then how does it all come together. So 27 to 35 is like a bonus section where Krishna offers Jnana Chakshu.
The eyes of knowledge by which one can see reality reality beyond how it appears at a material level at material level of perception. So to see with philosophical vision instead of just material vision that is what the last section enables one to do. So let us now look at Arjuna’s questions and Krishna’s answer So Arjuna is asking six terms.
What is Prakriti and what is Purusha This I wish to know. Vedita means to know that the Kshetra is the field of knowledge and knower So Jnana is literally speaking knowledge Jnana is that which is to be known So now these terms are familiar terms in the Vedic context but what do they exactly mean that is what Arjuna wants to know. Krishna replies So this body Krishna points to Arjuna’s body and he says this body is the Kshetra.
It is called as Abhidhiyate Abhidhiyate means it is known as what knows it that entity is known as So Tadvidaha means those who know this Tadvidaha. Vidaha means to know. Tad is that So Krishna is quoting here the knowers of the subject He says the knowers call this body the Kshetra and the knower as Kshetragyam.
So in one sense Krishna doesn’t tell who is the knower. He just says one who knows it is called the Kshetragyam Now before we go into the technicalities of the verse. First an important point with respect to Pathantara Pathantara means in traditional culture when there were people who were called as copiers or transcribers you know they would their job was that they would have to rewrite the scripture not in terms of editing but keeping it same and copying it because when the scriptures are there generation after generation they don’t last.
The paper gets decayed. The paper gets spoiled and then we have to copy that and there were no Xerox machines or something like that in the past. So people would have to write it manually So while writing manually sometimes there would be a Pathantara Bheda.
Bheda means difference. Pathantara means and there are different different versions of the same manuscript So this is the technical word used for this is recension So recension means a different rendition of the manuscript. So for example there may be some renditions where some words might be slightly different.
So there is a prayer of Prahlad Maharaj where No So here it is described that this is the first prayer among the series of prayers that Prahlad Maharaj offers to Lord Narasimhadeva and there in he prays that my dear Lord Devatas like Brahmaji whose words are like a flow of they couldn’t satisfy you. I have been low born how can my words satisfy you So the word here is Gatayo. Gatayo Now in some recensions instead of Gatayo it is Matayo Now if you look at the overall meaning the meaning doesn’t change so much It remains the same.
So Gatayo means like the flow. Matayo means their opinion So either way the word doesn’t affect much the overall understanding of the verse So like that there are often different recensions with minor variations among them and generally within the traditional circles whenever any commentary is written for say Vyasatirtha. Vyasatirtha is a famous Madhava scholar when he writes a commentary generally the first thing that he would do is he would deal with the issues of differences in various recensions and he would say ok in this recension I found this verse to be like this in this recension I found this verse to be like this and then he would address those issues because this recension is a little older or this recension is more coherent or this is a recension which is more authorised because we have it coming down in the tradition and this is what has been commented on.
So then I choose this recension So it is a well known possibility to err as human and when humans are copying things it is always possible that some error can come up. So when the error comes up at that time how is the error dealt with? By comparing with various recensions. So that is a natural thing which is done so as to ensure that the human error factor is minimised.
But overall when the scriptures are preserved in the tradition then the variations in the recensions become less and less and especially if a book has been preserved in the tradition and especially if a book has been commented on then the commentary is normally preserved within that tradition and along with that the verse is also preserved. So then it becomes clear ok this is the verse which this particular Acharya has commented on and that way both remain the same. So for example we have Sridhar Swami’s commentary which almost goes down to nearly somewhere like a thousand years old on the Bhagavatam and we have the Bhagavatam today and we see practically all the verses are the same.
So what does it indicate? That for a thousand years things have not changed and similarly we have Shankaracharya’s Bhagavad Gita and his commentary and similarly we look at the Bhagavad Gita which we have and we look at his commentary on the same verses. So the commentaries of different Acharyas may be different but when the commentary is preserved along with that the verses are also preserved. So we can say that at least for a thousand five hundred years Shankaracharya came almost fourteen hundred years ago.
So the verses of the Gita also have not changed and which is remarkable and which is indicative of the enormous amount of care that has been taken for preserving the fidelity of the scripture. So when we talk about preserving the fidelity of the scripture what exactly do we mean by that? That means now ultimately the scriptures are not just texts which are present in some manuscript, some form of manuscript or some leaves or some kind of paper or whatever. The scriptures are also living wisdom that is present in the hearts of those who have internalised the preaching of scriptures and I am already their life accordingly.
So why am I talking about all this right now? Because in some generally even secular scholars of the of religion those who have studied the Bhagavad Gita they acknowledge Bhagavad Gita is one of the stablest scriptures in terms of manuscript in terms of say the agreement in various recensions. So there are very very few disagreements in terms of what the content of the Gita is. So as I mentioned earlier there was a commentator called Abhinav Gupta.
You know he tried to prove that the Bhagavad Gita, he was a Shaivite Kashmiri Shaivite and he tried to prove that the Bhagavad Gita leases conclusion that Shiva is the supreme absolute truth. Now it is entirely untenable conclusion because the word Shiva doesn’t come also in the Bhagavad Gita so much. But even in his commentary there are not much differences in the verses.
So that means even he recognised that he cannot that the verses are the same and the verses cannot be changed because there are so many copies of the book available. And if one somebody just tries to change, insert some words or remove some words then it creates a lot of, then it will immediately be caught and pointed out. You know that time although the modern means of technology were not there but still there was severe and serious intellectual intellectual competition, you could say even warfare among the various schools of thought that were prevalent.
And everybody had to use logic and scripture to establish the validity and veracity of their school of thought. So nobody could go around playing around changing the content of the scripture itself. So the point is in some recensions of the Gita, although the Gita overall is very stable 13.1 is not present.
13.1 is Arjuna’s question. So now for argument’s sake even if we say Arjuna never asked this question actually it makes no difference because essentially even without Arjuna’s question the topic is slightly a tangent. Even if there is no question by Arjuna what Krishna is going to speak is not going to change.
The verses are there as it is. And then the question itself begs itself why did the why did Arjuna, Krishna suddenly start speaking on this topic of Kshetra, Kshetragya and Gyan and Gaya and Purusha and Prakriti. So our Acharyas generally included this verse in their commentaries in the Gita as the starting of the chapter 13.
Some traditional scholars may not include it and we don’t have to get into a debate over that. If you look at the question, it brings some sort of context and continuity to the topic that Krishna takes up. And without it there seems to be sudden shift, sudden jump and that’s why it is tenable that Arjuna would have asked a question.
But we don’t have to be absolutely insistent about it. If some people want to say that this verse was not there, ok it’s not there. In the Gita Press Gita which is widely distributed in India Arjuna’s question is often not kept over there.
So either way the important point is not the presence or absence of the question. The important point is the understanding the concepts that are explained over here. So let’s go to those concepts.
So that means even if the verse is not there as a question still then what we have to accept is Krishna suddenly starts talking about a different topic. And why does Krishna suddenly start off talking about a different topic? Because Krishna wants to clarify concepts further. Krishna has explained how bhakti is superior to jnana, is to impersonal worship which is also a part of jnana.
But now Krishna wants to clarify other terms. So there is Sankhya. Sankhya, this word has come earlier in the third, fourth and fifth chapters especially.
Sankhya has come so Sankhya is analysis of material nature into its components so that one can go beyond and ultimately attain to a clear understanding of what lies beyond matter. So the material world has so much variety which is quite captivating and bewildering that we just get caught up in the forms and the appearances. But once one understands that these forms and appearances are made by some fundamental elements and they themselves are not very captivating.
If just air is blowing along you know air is not going to captivate me. Nor is water going to captivate me. It’s not that I say a glass of water is going to captivate me.
It’s not that I am going to be constantly lost fascinated, finding the whole thing irresistible. No, I will be wanting to just get a get a drink of water if I need it if I am thirsty. But otherwise I won’t be at all concerned about it.
It is not going to distract me so much. So when we look at, analyse the material world into its components then we understand these components are not very attractive. There is no need for me to get captivated by these material things.
And then we can go beyond and look at what is it that brings us alive what is the real substance, what is it that actually is the basis of life and love. And that we go to the spiritual reality where there is a soul and there is ultimately a super soul. So here the focus is on analysing matter and its interaction with consciousness.
So Srila Prabhupada calls this chapter as Nature, the Enjoyer and Consciousness. Nature, the Enjoyer and Consciousness. So now how does this nomenclature come about? Nature, the Enjoyer and Consciousness.
So there is, what is Krishna’s question? Sorry Arjuna’s question is, what is Kshetra, what is Kshetra? What is Purusha, what is Prakriti, what is Jnana and what is Jnana? So in this if you see generally speaking one of them is conscious, the other is not so much. So Prakriti is not conscious, Kshetra is not conscious. Jnana is conscious, Purusha is conscious and Purusha is conscious.
So Jnana, Purusha and Kshetra they are conscious. So now as we move forward we will see how these terms, they basically there are three entities which we have been talking about. So there is, as we have discussed earlier, the Tattvatraya Jagat, Jiva and Jagadish.
So Jagat refers to material nature, that is Prakriti and Purusha, that is Prakriti and Kshetra. Then Jiva can be the Prakriti, sorry Jiva can be the Purusha or Jiva can be the Kshetragya. Similarly Ishvara can be the Kshetragya or Ishvara can be the Kshetra.
It can be the Purusha also. We will discuss this as we move forward. Right now it might seem a little bit abstract and confusing.
But the point is these three entities. So nature basically refers to material nature. Then joy refers to the Jagadishvara that is Supreme Lord and consciousness refers to the Jiva.
That’s how Prabhupada uses this name. So now let’s look at Srila Prabhupada’s purport. So the field of activity is the body.
So now what is exactly the meaning of Kshetra? Kshetra is a part of Prakriti. Prakriti is material nature. Now all around me, all around you is material nature.
But we can’t control all of material nature. We can control only some of its parts. For example if I am sitting here, I am able to move my hand up and down.
But I can’t move your hand up and down. I can’t control material nature beyond what is my jurisdiction of influence. So the Kshetra refers to the area of influence.
So at a preliminary level the Kshetra is the body. All of us have some influence over the body. Of course we do not have complete influence or complete control over the body.
There is much that happens in the body at a subconscious level. That means not subconscious in terms of psychologically subconscious. I am talking of say subconscious in terms of involuntary.
Right now I am breathing. So I am not conscious that I am breathing. Similarly all of you are breathing.
Inside your body blood circulation is happening. Digestion is happening. So all these are happening at an involuntary level.
And we are not conscious of them. But still we do have some influence over what happens to the body. And what we can do with the body.
So this is our ordain Kshetra. And different living entities have different levels of Kshetra. Amoeba has a very very tiny Kshetra.
Its body, inside the amoeba is also soul. But that soul because of past karma has been given a Kshetra with a very small influence. Of course it may also have its power in its own ways.
It can also fulfil its needs for eating, sleeping, mating, defending. It also has defence mechanisms. It also has ingestion mechanism.
It also has reproduction mechanism. So in that sense it is there. But beyond that the important thing is that we have to recognise this particular overall understanding of scripture to be not indicative of the specifics involved but of the broad principles involved.
What do I mean by this? Actually when we talk about Kshetra the word in a very narrow sense the word Kshetra can refer to a field. So agriculture. In agriculture a farmer has a field.
That is in a narrow sense. But in a general sense the word Kshetra is used for many other functions. It is also used for what is your field? That means are you an engineer? Are you a doctor? Are you a business executive? Are you some kind of specialist or what? So that’s what’s your field.
So the word field has many meanings. So that means when I say that somebody is an instrumentation control engineer. What does that mean? That means that person has that expertise in that field, has some amount of control and mastery in that field.
So like that all of us have a Kshetra. So an eagle has been given a by the past karma the soul has done earlier that particular soul has been given the body of an eagle. And an eagle flies fearlessly as a as an eagle over there.
So like that there are different living entities which act in different ways. And all these living entities which act in different ways are all focussing on simply one thing. That one thing is the practise of they are trying to fulfil their desires in terms of eating, sleeping, mating and defending.
And beyond that they are not involved in any further metaphysical quest. But in the human form the Kshetra has become a little more evolved. Or rather our interaction with the Kshetra has become much more evolved.
The scientists may say that we have more brain substance than animals, than monkeys. And our brain cells are capable of more data processing. That may be true.
But that is a facility that is being provided. The soul that is conscious, the conscious soul is using this facility for doing more more deep thinking, more intellection. So it’s like a child may have a small device with a little bit remote.
So the child has a toy. Press this button, the toy starts. Stop the button, the toy starts.
Even if there is some IC chip or something like that inside that remote device, that is a very preliminary technology. Now if the child is given a sophisticated laptop with all kinds of applications, the child’s intelligence will be limited and the child will not be able to do much with that laptop. Why? Because the child doesn’t have the intelligence about how to use the laptop.
So, scientists did an experiment. They had an idea that everything can come by chance. So they took some monkeys.
This is a real experiment which was done by scientists. They took some monkeys, a dozen monkeys, and they placed them in a sealed room with transparent walls. And they placed 12 computers in front of them, one computer for each monkey.
And then their idea was, one of the scientists had made a claim that if we just give a monkey enough time and let the monkey type, type, type, then what will happen? The monkey will actually be able to go ahead and write the whole hamlet. The monkey will be able to write the whole hamlet. How does that work out? The monkey is able to write the whole hamlet because ultimately everything happens by chance.
So, the monkey can also keep typing, typing, and if it keeps typing, then it can eventually write everything. So, when it writes everything in this way, at that time, it is able to indicate, this will be a demonstration that ultimately everything can come by chance. So, even the literary creations which are poetic or literary masterpieces, they can also come by chance.
Now, when they put the monkeys in a computer, in a computer lab with many computers, what did the monkeys do? Now, some monkeys started playing with the computers. Some monkeys started passing urine on the computer. Some monkeys started beating the computer.
And a few monkeys started typing on it. You know, you can’t control the typing. And they type, type, type also.
But actually, even if they did it for 7 full days, all that happened was, they just got some garbage. No matter how much we try to see what has come about, the monkeys don’t understand. And because they don’t understand, they can’t produce anything.
So, actually, I have written a whole article about this on my website and my science and spirituality book called When Monkeys Started Typing. So, it’s analysis and it’s indicative of the point that it’s not just the technological gadgetry that is important. Along with the technological gadgetry, there has to be an evolved intelligence which can use that gadgetry.
So, the brain is like the gadgetry. So, the animals may not be able to do philosophical thought. And somebody may say, that is because their brain is not developed.
That is true. The brain is not developed. But the brain is just a facility.
Even if the brain is developed, say, if a monkey is placed in front of a computer, that means it is given a device which has much more data processing capacity. But then it itself does not have the intelligence to use it. So, like that, the soul is the source of consciousness.
And the soul has to use the brain. So, the human brain has much more capacity to, it is a tool. And as a tool, it has more sophistication than the tools which are animal brains.
But still, no matter how sophisticated the tool may be, the artist, the artisan, the person who is using the tool, that person also has to have that level of capacity, that level of skills. So, the soul has more evolved consciousness. When we say soul has more developed consciousness, that doesn’t refer just to the more developed brain.
That refers to actually, the subtle body is also covering on the soul. And the subtle body, that covering, that covering which is there of the contamination of lust, of the contamination of ignorance, that is lesser in a human body as compared to a non-human, sub-human body. So, the important point to recognise here is that the Kshetra which we human beings have, this has greater capacity for spiritual enquiry and spiritual realisation than the other Kshetras have.
So, this is the Kshetra. And Prabhupada explains to the example of a painter, how one should not confuse everything. So, these are, the Kshetra and the Kshetravya are different.
The soul and the body which is operated, which is being operated by the soul, they are different. So, the body may have greater capacity, but the soul also has greater capacity in terms of a more refined, a more developed consciousness by which the soul can perceive things. So, let’s look at Prabhupada’s purport here.
So, Prabhupada explains how the owner is distinctly Kshetragya. So, this Kshetragya means, I know my field. So, for example, I know that, okay, I am a male or somebody else, I am a female, I am an Indian.
All this is, this awareness is called as Kshetragya. Now, Prabhupada explains the flow of the chapters also and after that, he moves forward and then he goes into the, let’s look at the example of the painter which comes in the next verse. So, let’s go to the next verse now.
So, first Krishna has described that one who knows this is the Kshetragya. So, now who exactly is the Kshetragya? That’s 13.3. He described that there are two Kshetragyas over here. Kshetragyam chaapimam viddhi sarvakshetreshu bharata Kshetra Kshetragya yor gyanam yataj gyanam matam mama Kshetragyam So, Kshetragyam, one who is the knower of the Kshetra.
chaapimam viddhi, I know that I am also the Kshetragya. But what kind of Kshetragya am I? sarvakshetreshu bharata chaapimam viddhi sarvakshetreshu That I know all the fields. I know all the fields.
Kshetra Kshetragya yor gyanam So that the knowledge of Kshetra and Kshetragya this knowledge yataj gyanam matam mama This actually is what I define in my understanding is knowledge. Krishna is saying matam mama. Now Krishna may use the word matam mama, my opinion it might seem to decrease the weight.
Oh, it’s just his opinion. Different people have different opinions. Actually, when Krishna uses the word matam mama we understand that he is the absolute truth.
And because he is the absolute truth therefore whatever he speaks is the ultimate reality. And his opinion actually coincides with reality. Our opinion may also coincide with reality.
But there are varying degrees of coincidences. And there are possibilities of divergences also of varying degrees depending on how accurate our perception is. How accurate our judgement is.
But Krishna’s opinion is the final authority. Because his opinion completely coincides with reality. That’s how it is and that’s how he sees it.
There is no illusion that covers Krishna ever. Because illusion is his potency. Clouds don’t cover the sun.
Similarly, the illusory energy doesn’t cover Krishna. So Krishna is saying matter, spirit basically matter and spirit. Knowledge of these two is knowledge according to him.
So in modern science, in modern education generally we just have material knowledge. We don’t have so much spiritual knowledge. We study matter in its various combinations and its permutations.
Krishna is saying matter and spirit. This is according to me knowledge. So Krishna is saying that knowledge means to have a broad understanding of all of reality.
Matter and spirit. Now in the Kshetragya, Krishna mentions that there are two kinds of Kshetragya. So it means we should know both kinds of Kshetragya.
We should know the soul and we should also know the super soul who is actually the knower of all bodies. Now I know my body. For example, if there is some pain in my back I will know about that.
But actually I don’t know everything about everything. Krishna on the other hand because he is present in the super soul in all living beings, he is the Kshetragya for all living beings. So that means knowledge means knowledge of matter, knowledge of the soul and knowledge of the super soul.
All three knowledges are actually called the complete knowledge. So Kshetragyam chaapi maam viddhi Kshetragyam chaapi maam viddhi Kshetragyam chaapi maam viddhi that maam viddhi refers to that there is Arjuna you should know that I am also the Kshetragya. I am also the Kshetragya.
How am I the Kshetragya? Because Krishna is also present in all living beings. Now sometimes the impersonalists try to interpret this verse to mean that the Kshetragya is also me. That means that the previous verse it was said that So one who knows this is called the Kshetragya.
So people extend that and they say that actually Kshetragyam chaapi maam viddhi Sarva Kshetre Shubhara Actually I am the Kshetragya. So they try to conflate these two verses and they try to say both refer to the same reality. Both refer to the same person and not to different persons.
And that is not true. That is misleading. That is wrong.
Why is it wrong? Because it is grammatically and logically also it is incorrect. We all know that we are not Sarva Kshetre Shubhara. Are we Kshetragya of all bodies? No, obviously we are not Kshetragya of all bodies.
We are Kshetragya of our own body and even of our own body we are only partially Kshetragya. We do not know everything that happens inside the body. But we certainly don’t know anything that happens in another’s body.
You know, if we were all Kshetragya, then the doctors would not need to do any diagnosis in terms of having some sophisticated instruments and talking with the patient. The doctor would just say, I am also in your body so I can know whatever is the problem with you. No, that won’t work.
It doesn’t work like that. So even from a practical, functional point of view, we say, I mean understand clearly that we do not know everything that happens in everyone’s bodies. And if we see also what Krishna is telling over here that I am also the Kshetragya.
Krishna is, what he is essentially saying is that so if I say that say, X is in the room and I am also in the room. What does it mean? It means that X and I are not the same. Because otherwise I would not have used the word also.
X is in the room, I am in the room. Now that may be, am I X? That sort of question might come up. But once the word also comes over there, X is in the room, I am also in the room.
Sure means also. Then what it indicates is that actually these are two different entities, both of whom are present over here. And in this way, one can understand that Krishna is talking about two different people.
So let’s look at the purport now. So, Prabhupada uses this interesting word super-knower. I am the super-knower.
So actually this super-soul is Prabhupada’s rendition. Not as far as I have seen, I have not seen other spiritual teachers use this word. Just like there is super-man, you know.
Like there is super-soul. So the soul with superior capacities. There is ordinary soul and there is super-soul.
So like that Prabhupada is using the word super-knower also. So the word super is used as a super-relative, you know, to indicate. If somebody says that, that was an exciting match, that was a cool match, that was a super-cool match.
So it just indicates super-relativeness. Prabhupada improvises these words and uses them to indicate the philosophical truth and also to present in a way that people can connect with it. Super-knower.
So Sarvesh Sritre Subharath. So Prabhupada used the example of a king and the citizens. The king is the original proprietor.
So in every country, when there was a feudal rule at that time, not necessarily feudal rule, when there was the monarchy, so at that time the king would be considered to be the owner of the whole kingdom. But at the same time, within the king’s overarching ownership, there would also be further ownership. This kingdom belongs to, this area belongs to this particular person.
This area belongs to this particular person. This area belongs to this particular person. So like that, different areas belong to different people.
That’s how it would be. So like that, our bodies do belong to us in one sense. In what sense? Yeah, they are under our control right now.
That also of course is partial control, temporary control. But there is some control is there. But beyond that, these bodies are not in our control in the sense that they belong to the Supreme Lord.
So we are not owners, we are tenants. We are tenants. How tenants? Because a tenant has some control over the house, but the tenant can be evicted anytime.
So like that, we do have some control. Right now I am able to speak, but death can come at any moment and I may be evicted from this body. And when I am evicted, then I have to go to whatever destination I am told.
That’s how it will work. So we will be evicted accordingly. So he is the original controller of the senses.
The word Hrishikesh is used also for Krishna as Prabhupada quotes in the Parpot that actually we are the controller of our senses, but Krishna is the super controller, the ultimate controller of all the senses. So in this way, actually Krishna is sarva-kshetre-shubhārata, he is the knower of all senses. Then Prabhupada quotes from the Vedic literature over here.
kṣetrāṇi hi śarīrāṇi bījaṁ ca api śubhāḥ śubhe tāṇivete sayogātmā tathā kṣetrajña ucyate kṣetrāṇi hi śarīrāṇi that body is called as kṣetrāṇi hi śarīrāṇi bījaṁ ca api śubhāḥ śubhe So just as in the field seeds are sown, similarly we do activities which are śubha and asubha. So they become like the seeds. tāṇivete sayogātmā tathā kṣetrajña ucyate So one who knows this is called as that yoga ātmā is called as kṣetrajña.
So basically this Sanskrit verse which Prabhupada did not give a reference for it explains who is a kṣetra and who is a kṣetrajña. tāṇivete sayogātmā tathā kṣetrajña ucyate That means that such a person is the actual kṣetrajña. Now moving forward now what is this referred to? This can refer to the ātmā, it can also refer to the Paramātmā.
So we do a śubha and śubha but we do not necessarily know about what is śubha and what is asubha. But the Supreme Lord knows what is śubha and what is śushubha and accordingly He acts. So that is accordingly He gives us the rewards for our actions.
He doesn’t act Himself. He acts indirectly just as a judge acts. then Prabhupada gives this example So one should not confuse the painter, the painting and the easel.
What is Prabhupada referring to over here? The painter, the painting and the easel. So this is an approximate example. It is not an entirely technically precise example.
The point is that ultimate doer is the Supreme Lord. So He is like the painter. And the easel is the canvas on which the painting happens.
That is material nature. And the painting is basically the living entity who has a particular ká¹£etra. So praká¹›ti is material nature.
Ká¹£etra is the particular area of material nature over which I have control. So ultimately everything that is happening within material nature is happening under the control of the Supreme Lord. So the Lord is the painter.
The painting is the living entity. And the canvas on which it is painted is material nature. Now of course this particular example as I said is approximate, it is not entirely accurate because it does not incorporate the point of the agency, the free will, the capacity for choice which the living entity has.
So here the living entity is compared to a painting over here. The painting doesn’t have its own free will. But the point again is that the emphasis of this verse is to talk about how there is a super knower.
How there is a supreme knower who is the super soul. And he is the ultimate doer also. He is the supreme knower and he is the ultimate doer.
Without his sanction nothing can happen. Prabhupada quotes further from the Śrīta-śruta-rūpa-niṣad. bhokta-bhogyaṁ pretaṁ ca matvaḥ sarvaṁ proktam tri-vidhaṁ brahma-metad So here, Prabhupada is quoting that bhokta-bhogyaṁ pretaṁ ca matvaḥ So pretaṁ, preritāraṁ, sorry, preitāraṁ ca matvaḥ So, the jīva, the supreme lord and material nature, all three can be used, can be referred to by the word Brahman.
Because all three are ultimately manifestations of Brahman. Of course, they are different kinds of manifestations, but they are manifestations. So Prabhupada explains how they are not one, they are different.
And to mistake them entirely to be one is to misunderstand the nature of the absolute truth. So before we go into this verse now, this goes into a little bit of technicalities. Let’s look first at some other concepts.
So this may seem what is happening with kṣetra and kṣetrajña? So first, I think we have discussed this concept. There is citta. Citta is the original consciousness of the soul.
That is parasa citta-ananda. Citta is the consciousness rooted in the material world. The consciousness rooted in the material world.
So what does this citta and citta difference signify? We will discuss this when we come to it a little later. But, with respect to our particular current understanding, the soul has original consciousness which is capable of perceiving spiritual reality also. But right now, I cannot perceive.
Supersoul is sitting next to me only, but I can’t perceive. My consciousness is locked in matter. It’s like a person watching a movie and the person has the capacity to look at the theatre all around.
But the person is so caught in watching the movie, the person can’t perceive anything else. All that is perceived is just whatever is being displayed on the movie, theatre, on the screen like that. So that’s how it happens to all of us.
That’s how we also get caught in illusion. Citta and citta. And then, I’ll come back to citta and citta difference, but the point is that how does the soul get connected with the material world, physical kshetra? It is because its consciousness gets locked in a particular area.
So now in the Upanishads, there are two ways of acquiring knowledge. There is vyasthi and there is samasthi. So vyasthi is from individual to universal and samasthi is from universal to individual.
What does it mean? From individual to universal or universal to individual? The point is that from individual to universal means, Prabhupada would often say, we are persons, I am a person, you are a person, my father is a person, your father is a person, your parents are people, persons. Therefore, God must also be a person. So that is from individual to universal.
We observe ourselves, we study ourselves and based on the study of ourselves, we try to infer. If I am a part of God, so if I have these characteristics, what will be the characteristics that are present in the absolute truth? So like that we move from individual to universal. And the other way of looking at it is samasthi is from universal to individual.
That means that we look at the totality of creation and then we try to think, okay, if this totality of creation is like this, then what would the individual be like? So that is how we try to figure out. This is basically two approaches to trying to understand the reality. So, you know, in our day-to-day experiences, we work both ways.
Science makes specific observations and after making specific observations, it tries to come up with universal patterns. And then, for example, Newton observed the fruit falling and based on that he came up with the laws of motion. And once he came up with the laws of motion, after that subsequent motion that is observed, that is observed using a, that is observed using the frame of reference that is provided by the laws of motion and some other similar advances in physics.
So, just as there is this process of, for specific observations, the generic principles in terms of laws and then making sense of specific observations thereafter. So, basically, these are two methods, methods of intellection, methods of understanding what is the nature of reality. So, now, moving forward, what does Kshetra refer to? Kshetra, as I said, refers to the area, the field of activity.
So, a Prime Minister may have as a Kshetra the whole country. The Prime Minister can tell, okay, I am going to declare an emergency. The whole functioning of the state can change accordingly.
A child may have a Kshetra and a child may tell that, okay, now, in my backyard where I am playing, I declare emergency. So, nobody can do anything without my permission. The child may have some pets and the pets may become very quiet.
Our master wants us to be disciplined. Of course, this sort of Kshetra is also conditional. The Prime Minister may decide, I want to make emergency, but the Prime Minister may get a heart attack and die.
So, that’s also possible. But the important point is that, not that there is a, the principle is the same. Different people have different Kshetra and they try to control the Kshetra.
So, now, when we talk about Kshetragya, so, the point of yasthi and samasthi is here that just as we are knowers, Supreme Lord is Supreme Knower. So, what we know in a very tiny infinitesimal quantity, the Lord knows in an infinite quantity. And the similarities are, both of us are qualitatively the same.
So, now, when we want to look at the concept of Kshetragya, let’s look at it in another way. So, there are different koshas. So, brahma, pacha, puchcha, puttistha, Prabhupada will say one of these purports over here.
There is annamaya, there is pranamaya, there is jnanamaya, vijnanamaya and anandamaya. What are these five koshas? The koshas are, as it is said over here, they are objective levels of God energy and subjective levels of individual realisation. There is no need to be intimated by the terms here.
A simple way to understand this is, if I am a citizen of India, then I have a citizenship card. So, citizenship is also an objective, it’s an objective reality. A Pakistani citizen is not an Indian citizen.
An Egyptian citizen is not an Indian citizen. So, citizenship is an objective reality. By the same time, while it is an objective reality, along with that there is also subjective acceptance of that reality, subjective capacity to accept that reality.
So, there might be a dog in India, but the dog doesn’t think I am an Indian. The dog doesn’t even know that there is something called concept of India. So, now the dog is physically, geographically living in the area that is called India.
But, the dog doesn’t have the conception by which it can understand that I belong to India. Human beings, on the other hand, they can have that subjective level of understanding. So, citizenship is a nationality, citizenship is an objective reality in terms that some people are citizens, some people may not be citizens.
And then beyond that, subjective reality, there is also the objective reality. What is the objective reality? An objective reality is that, sorry, there is a subjective conception also, whether I understand it or not. So, these five levels of energy, five levels, five koshas, they are in this way both subjective and objective.
Let’s look at the first one, then we’ll understand what Annamaya is. So, actually the word Maya means to be full of. So, Annamaya refers to be full of food.
What does it mean? That means, at the Annamaya level, the conception of life is for eating, existence is eating. When a small baby is born, the baby, as soon as placed near the mother and starts taking the mother’s breast milk. And then after that, because that is the source of, that is the source of nutrition, the source of security, when the baby is able to put its mouth on the mother’s breast and drink milk, it gets not only nutrition over it, it’s security, safety.
There is a pattern, there is a certain sense of certainty that comes because of that. So, from that life-saving and life-shaping experience onwards, the baby’s existence is defined through the potentiality of the presence of food. That means, for a baby, everything is food.
Generally, we have seen babies, you know, they take their finger and they put it in the mouth. And they keep sucking it, sucking it, sucking it. And sometimes the mother is not there, then some other male relative is there.
Then they may just put the finger in the mouth. Then the baby is thinking, I was thirsty, so maybe some milk will come out. And they keep sucking, keep sucking the finger itself.
So, like that, different people suck in different, so basically the baby defines everything in terms of food. It’s an annamaya kosha. That means everything is food.
Sometimes the babies have to be kept very careful. The baby may pass out its own waste products and then we need to pick it up and put it in its mouth also. Why? Because for us it may be revolting to think about it only.
We won’t even want to get our nose or mouth anywhere near that stuff. But for the baby everything is defined in terms of food. So, annamaya kosha.
They see everything as potential food. So, now, is it that there is some kind of covering on the consciousness because of which everything is annamaya kosha? It’s not a physical covering. All this is subtle.
So, that means a living entity can be in the annamaya kosha. So, annamaya kosha is one level of consciousness. So, it’s an objective reality.
It’s a level of consciousness. But subjectively some people may be in annamaya kosha, some people may not be in annamaya kosha. Animals, also in the initial stage they are in annamaya kosha where everything is basically distinguished based on food.
So, beyond that annamaya kosha next kosha is pranamaya kosha. So, in pranamaya kosha one starts seeing everything in terms of potential food. Its relevance to life.
So, maybe we are putting everything in the mouth but then maybe it is a candle and puts it in the mouth. It starts crying after that. Then after that I start understanding, oh, actually I cannot decide everything based on whether it’s eatability.
I have to see its survival value. So, most animals are primarily in pranamaya kosha. Our Darwin talked about survival of the fittest.
Prabhupada accepted the principle of survival of the fittest. But, of course, Prabhupada had his own rebuttal. He said, even the fittest don’t survive.
In the struggle for material existence nobody survives actually. Everybody dies. But the point is, that is the objective fact of animal kingdom.
That everybody is in the pranamaya kosha. Everybody is trying to live. And the animals are eating food and they are also being afraid that deer may be grazing and eating grass at the same time deer is also afraid.
Maybe some tiger will come and pounce on me and tiger will eat me up also. So, like that is pranamaya kosha. So, generally pranamaya kosha is passionate, in the mode of passionate ignorance and beyond that there is jnanamaya.
So, at this stage, first initially everything is seen as food. At the level of pranamaya one starts understanding, okay, I have a particular existence and I have to maintain my existence. This is quite a gross bodily consciousness.
So, at the level of jnanamaya kosha, one becomes a philosopher. One starts becoming more aware of ideas and concepts. That is, one is aware of the subtle body at that particular time.
And the consciousness is evolved and one starts thinking of one’s subtle body. So, one starts thinking about one’s thoughts. See, all conscious beings think.
But not all conscious beings can think about their thinking. We need to think about our thinking. And that capacity for thinking about our thinking requires self-awareness.
Requires the capacity to distance ourselves. Okay, I am feeling angry now. But I don’t need to feel angry.
So, I look at my thoughts. There is nothing really so serious that I should have become angry about this. So, thinking about our thinking, that capacity is what characterises the jnanamaya kosha.
Actually, the jnanamaya kosha and the further koshas, further levels, they can be experienced only by human beings. Other animals cannot experience it so much. So, beyond the jnanamaya kosha, there is the vijnanamaya kosha.
At the level of the vijnanamaya kosha, the nomenclature may be slightly different depending on different versions of the books that were used. But overall, the broad understanding of the concepts is similar. So, at vijnanamaya, one starts becoming aware of the Atma.
One starts understanding that beyond the body is the soul. And the soul is the basis of consciousness. The soul is the basis of awareness.
The soul is the basis of all the action that is happening in the body. And beyond that, there is anandamaya. In anandamaya, one starts becoming conscious of the Supreme Lord.
When one is conscious of the Supreme Lord, then there is supreme happiness in relationship with that. That’s what it seems to be. There is supreme happiness available.
But one has to become purified. So, these are different levels of consciousness. And we have to move towards the higher levels of consciousness.
And the more we rise towards the higher levels of consciousness, the more we will be able to actually relish deeper stability, deeper security, deeper satisfaction. Because we are sort of excavating the cosmic onion. You know, not excavating, but peeling the cosmic onion.
Excavating a buried treasure. So, onion, there are many layers which are removed. And then the nutritious part comes.
So, like that, in the initial koshas, one is caught in the peels of the onion. But as one goes towards the more advanced koshas, gyanamaya, vijnanamaya, anandamaya, then one goes beyond all coverings to the substance. The real substance is what? The soul, the person loves Krishna.
We love Krishna and Krishna loves us. And when we come to that reality, that is the ultimate perfection of life. So, we will continue this chapter in the next class.
Thank you very much. Hare Krishna.