Gita 13.18 All objects of knowledge are meant to direct us to the objective of knowledge

Transcript

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thank you Bhagavad Gita 13.18 jyotisham apitajyotis tamasah paramucchate jnanam jnanagamyam rudhisarvasya vishthitam so here Krishna is speaking and he says he is talking about the absolute truth, the genya and he continues the description of the attributes of that absolute truth who is the ultimate object of knowledge and he says jyotisham apitajyotis jyotisham that in all luminous objects he is the luminosity jyotisham apitajyotis tamasah paramucchate that he is beyond darkness beyond ignorance, tamas can refer to darkness tamas can refer to ignorance jnanam jnanam jnanagamyam the absolute truth is knowledge jnanam jnanam is the object of knowledge and is the jnanagamyam it is the approach through knowledge rudhisarvasya vishthitam is situated in the hearts of all living beings so now this idea that the absolute truth is the source of the luminosity of everything luminous that is something which has been talked about earlier also in the Gita and aditya varanam tamasah parasat tamasah paramucchate that theme is also there that absolute truth is beyond darkness beyond ignorance aditya varanam is effulgent so now whenever we are in darkness we instinctively look for light we are not comfortable with darkness because darkness incapacitates us just like if we don’t have energy then we feel incapacitated to do anything so similarly darkness incapacitates us because it prevents us it takes away our facility to do things how can I do this how can I do that what should I do and in this way jyotisham apitajyotis thus actually we are incapacitated by darkness and then we naturally look for light whenever we are in darkness and the way we move towards light is by the practice of devotion by the practice of cultivation of spiritual knowledge internalization of spiritual knowledge because such internalization will enable us to move closer to Krishna and to attain Krishna jyotisham apitajyotis tamasa parmuchyate so whenever we see any source of light if we are in dark and we see a candle or a torch or we see a turn on a tube light a flashlight then we can think oh this light is Krishna because ultimately mechanism by which light is manifested that mechanism is arranged by Krishna tamasa parmuchyate there is darkness in this world but the absolute two things is beyond darkness and then gyanam gyanam gyanagamyam gyanam refers to knowledge gyanam refers to the object of knowledge now gyanagamyam can refer to different things so here actually the Gita is taking us to a much more evolved and integrated understanding till now there was a there was a analytical understanding where analytical understanding means that there was ok this is gyanam this is gyanam this is this this is that that sort of definitional approach was being used over here so now the there is an integrated understanding ok this is gyanam this is gyanam but ultimately both gyanam and gyanam are also the absolute truth so here there is devotional culmination of sankhya analysis through integration like sankhya focuses on analysis of matter and spirit ok this is matter this is spirit but then the bhakti wisdom helps us understand that both matter and spirit are coming from Krishna and thus they are meant to take us towards Krishna and thus we can have that integrated understanding where matter and spirit move towards can be connected with their source so similarly we can analyze ok this is gyanam this is knowledge this is the object of knowledge but then it is here it is an integrated sense stated that actually gyanam gyanam they are all one that gyanam gyanam they are both manifestations of the absolute truth so knowledge is what we cherish because knowledge enables us to do so many things in life and that knowledge which we cherish is a manifestation of the absolute truth gyanam gyanam and the object of knowledge of course is there can be many objects of knowledge but ultimately the supreme object of knowledge is Krishna the absolute truth and all objects of knowledge they are meant to they are manifesting whatever little abilities or attractiveness whatever potentiality they have because of the absolute truth gyanam Krishna had talked about this in 10.41 when he said all that is opulent, beautiful, glorious it all springs from the spark of my splendor and then there is gyanagam so approach through knowledge that which is to be attained through knowledge so we could say that the object of knowledge so there is the object of knowledge, there is the objective of knowledge or the goal of knowledge so we can know many things for example Ayurveda which is the the branches of knowledge within the Vedic wisdom tradition it focuses, it does analyze material phenomena quite extensively in terms of what things happen in the body and how they are to be understood and how imbalances in the body are to be rectified so the interconnectedness of material phenomena is not rejected or neglected understanding that is stressed in a systematic way in these books at the same time from a devotional perspective it is understood that okay, this particular herb may have this attribute, this particular germ may have this particular ability to hurt, now where do all these come from, they come from the supreme so that capacity to connect the parts with the whole, that capacity to connect the the the various items of knowledge that we may encounter in this world with the ultimate source of knowledge the ultimate goal of knowledge the ultimate object to be known all that is talked about in Gyanam, Geyam, Gyanagamyam so we can say there are many objects here to be knowable I have got a new cell phone, I want to know what its features are and I want to know what all apps are available so all that is knowledge, that’s good if that’s what is required for a service we can know it, but then also we have to think further okay, ultimately what is the point of all this I want to know the absolute truth I want to love the absolute truth and it is that absolute truth which is which makes the existence of all things possible priti sarvasya vishchitam so in case the preceding verse’s description was too paradoxical to be comprehensible which aspect of the absolute truth is inside and outside which aspect of the absolute truth is attach and detach is say affectionate enough to maintain but detach himself to be willingly uninvolved all that is discussed is sort of given in a succinct way over here and we need to recognize that our own insecurities can sometimes steal us away from far more lasting and enduring relationships in our life so rather than succumbing to those impulses we can focus on doing what it takes to connect our consciousness with the absolute, purify ourselves and thereby we can have illumination manifest in our heart when thus we become illumined we understand that actually we are not alone in this world that there is the absolute truth with us and he is present in our hearts and that imminent manifestation of the absolute truth as a super soul is what is discussed over here in this verse priti sarvasya vishchitam