Gita 13.35 Knowledge helps us perceive and achieve spiritual reality

Transcript

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thank you Bhagavad Gita 13.35 this way the knowledge of Kshetra and Kshetra Gyan this knowledge what happens about it Antaram Gyanachakshusha that is the distance between the two of them the difference between the two of them actually Gyanachakshusha when you perceive this with knowledge then what happens Bhuta Prakriti Moksha that one can be liberated from material existence and thereafter one can attain the supreme destination they can attain life’s ultimate perfection so here Krishna is talking in many terms one of the most important terms he is talking about that actually he is saying that this is the end of the 13th chapter where Krishna has already described many things and he is especially described as Arjuna had asked three questions Purusha, Prakriti, Kshetra, Kshetra Gyan Gyan Gyan please explain these to me so Arjuna has Krishna’s questions have been answered and he has further put it all together in a holistic perspective and that integrated perspective is what is provided here by Krishna to Arjuna and Krishna is concluding that so he says that actually the defining illusion of material existence is the conflation of the body with the soul when people equate the body with the soul that equalization is what causes bondage that equalization is what causes illusion that equalization is what causes the soul to become trapped in material existence so Krishna’s teachings to Arjuna begin with the declaration that Arjuna you are different from the body you are the soul so similarly Krishna’s descriptions to Arjuna here in this 13th chapter which is the first section of which is the first chapter in the gyana section of the Bhagavad Gita they also conclude with a similar declaration wherein Krishna tells Arjuna that actually you are as the soul you are different from the body and that is you have to understand this with the eyes of knowledge so essentially the purpose of scriptural knowledge is to acquire this vision and to the extent we acquire to the extent we acquire this vision to that extent we will be able to move forward in our life to that extent we will be able to progress towards perfection so unless we are able to focus on this defining understanding that actually without the purification coming from devotion that without the determination coming without the determination coming from the resulting purification conviction determination coming from that we cannot really act on the level of the soul so in this chapter Krishna has stated Madh Bhakta Eta Dvijnaya Madh Bhavaya Upapadhyate in 13.18 he has talked 18-19 towards conclusion of the Kshetra towards the Jnana and Jnana section he says Madh Bhakta Eta Dvijnaya it is only my devotees who can know this so Jnana Chakshu is ultimately not just a Chakshu which is analytical and intellectual yes it is analytical intellectual but the analytical intellectual conclude in the devotional and that devotional thrust is the focus of Bhakti the devotional thrust is what we need if you want to move to Krishna and to attain him without the devotional thrust whatever we do it will not be sustainable it will not be tangible in terms of having long term transformational effects so the word Jnana Chakshu the eyes of knowledge Krishna will use this again in the 15th chapter so he says that how the soul resides in the body how the soul leaves the body and how within the body the soul acts under the modes all this can be perceived by those who have the eyes of knowledge and those who do not have the eyes of knowledge they cannot see in general knowledge is meant to enhance our vision when we when we have the mechanical knowledge of how a car works then when we hear the sound of a car running that itself can give us some idea something is wrong in this car and probably something is wrong in this so that way this mechanical understanding so knowledge it increases not just the capacity for seeing it also increases the capacity so the visual or the aural information in a particular sense the eye but how do we make sense of it that is what is the feature or the gift of knowledge so we all need knowledge so that we can make sense of things and Krishna says that he has given this knowledge for Kshetra Kshetra Gayor but more than that it is not theoretical knowledge the second part is bhuta prakriti moksham cha he has also given the knowledge by which bhuta prakriti moksham that the soul can attain liberation from material existence ye vidur yanti te param that one can attain supreme perfection through ye vidur yanti te param one can attain life’s supreme destination Krishna is pointing to how the gyana that is given in the 13th chapter is meant for enhancing our vision and facilitating promoting our liberation so what is the param gatim yanti te param Krishna has also talked about how his abode is supreme destination he will mention this in the 15th chapter later yam prapya nivartante tad dhama paramam mama 15 points he has talked about how that abode is not illuminated and does not come back to this world and similar themes have been talked about in the earlier sections of the Bhagavad Gita also where Krishna has talked about say for example 8.15 and 16 that his abode is the highest brahma bhuvana loka punaravartino arjuna mam upetitu kaunteya punar janmana vidyate that those who attain him do not take birth in this world again so he is saying over here that actually mam upetita that higher than attaining the abode of Brahma is attaining Krishna’s abode so he has also said that and more clearly he has identified in 8.21 avyakta ksharitya uktas tamahu paramam gatim yam prapya nivartante tad dhama paramam mama so Krishna says dhama refers to dhama clearly refers to abode and paramam dhama so my supreme abode and Krishna says param paramam gatim that this is the supreme destination so actually Krishna is very clearly providing the information about what the supreme destination is it is his abode so even through the jnana chakshu that is offered in the 13th chapter along with the bhuta prakriti moksha the method for liberation from material existence which is mad-bhakta etadvijnaya mad-bhavayopapadyate which is the process of bhakti I mentioned in 13.19 Krishna is clearly saying that by doing this the purpose is that we all can attain his eternal abode so even in the jnana section the conclusion stresses not on jnana per se just intellectual understanding but on the devotional destination of Krishna’s eternal