Gita 15.17 Liberation is not just elevation out of illusion but also connection with the supreme reality

Transcript

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thank you Krishna has talked about two kinds of Purushas the Kshara and the Akshara fallible and infallible the conditioned and the liberated in the previous text 15.16 now he talks about how the Purushottama the supreme person is different from these two Purushottama Paramatma known as the Paramatma that Paramatma has entered the three worlds and he maintains he sustains he maintains the worlds he is the imperishable controller Paramatmeti Udharata known as the supreme soul this similar usage has come earlier in 13.23 Upadrishtana Mantacha Bharata Bhokta Maheshmarha Paramatmeti Chaapyukta Dehe Smin Purusha Paraha Paramatmeti Chaapyukta Paramatmeti Chaapyukta known as the Paramatma, the supreme being Dehe Smin Purusha Paraha he is the transcendental being situated in the body Purusha Paraha that is called the superior transcendental Purusha so there is Atma which refers to the soul and Paramatma refers to the supreme soul.
Now the Paramatma as a supreme being is by far the greater than the living being. Krishna has talked earlier also about in 13.3 he said that this, that he is situated in all living beings. So here he pervades all of existence, sustains all of existence.
So liberation does not lead to the merging of the soul with the super soul. Liberation leads to the binding of the living being with the supreme living being in a bond of devotion. That we talked about in 15.19. So it’s not a, so even after coming to the level of liberation, the soul doesn’t become the supreme soul.
Uttama Purushatva Anyaha. Liberation takes the soul out of illusion, but not to the level of supremacy. The difference between the worship and the worshipper is essential for the process of worship to be meaningful and thereafter joyful.
If we conceive that the worshipper and the worshipped are one ultimately, then what is the motivation for worshipping? The motivation remains only when we understand that actually worship is possible to the extent we recognize that we are subordinate and distinct from us as a supreme being and that supreme being is the ultimate goal for our life. That supreme being is our life’s ultimate purpose. So if we work diligently to connect with that all-attractive supreme being whose identity will be elaborated and elucidated in the next verse, then we can attain the supreme liberation.
Liberation is not just elevation out of illusion, but also connection with the supreme reality. So this verse acts as a bridge for that connection by declaring that there is a transcendental being who is a sustainer of all beings. The being that is a sustainer of all being is the Supersoul.
So if we consider that we as souls are caught in the world of illusion presently and our only way out is through the process of purification, not just of our desires but also of our conceptions. Materialism results because of the contamination of desires with respect to what is desirable in the outer world. Monism results because of the contamination of our conceptions of what lies beyond this world.
Either way, when we think we stay in illusion, when we think that the objects of this world are extremely attractive, then we stay caught by those objects. When we think that the reality beyond this world is simply a homogeneous, non-differentiated oneness, then we miss out on the ultimate reality that is accessible to those who are ready to purify themselves. So we need the steadiness by which we can move from one position to another, not just changing from illusion about this world to the illusion of the world beyond, but bhakti gives us the clear understanding of both this world and the world beyond.
In this world there are attractive objects but they reflect a spark of Krishna’s all-attractiveness and thus by becoming devoted to him, we get all the fulfillment that this world can offer us and more. And beyond this world, there is a supreme being. The oneness of spirit is a preliminary perception which is meant to pave the way to the richness within spirit, the richness of the loving reciprocations that fulfill the heart’s deepest aspirations for love and joy.
This verse does, after talking, the previous verse talks about generic spiritual reality which may be in this world conditioned or may be liberated as individual spark of consciousness. The next verse talks ahead about the supreme spiritual reality who is the sustainer of the world. And the next verse will talk about how that supreme reality is actually Krishna.