Gita 18.14 God is the fifth factor as well as the foundation of all factors

Transcript

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Bhagavad Gita 18.14 adhishthanam tatha kartha karanam chipratak vidham vibhidhash chipratak cheshta daivam chaivatra panchamam adhishthanam tatha kartam Krishna is here describing the ways in which various factors contribute to our actions leading to results and in that connection he states that first and foremost you have to understand that if anything any action is taking place in this world in the material world the material side of it is important adhishthanam the field in which action is happening that is a vital component in determining the result if somebody wants to plough land and grow crops if the land is infertile if it is barren then no amount of effort is going to help what is needed essentially is the clear understanding that the area of action has to be appropriate this can refer to the body adhishthanam or it can refer to the field of action wherever the action is being done of course even in the barren land by some appropriate process by putting some fertilizers for example we can make things workable but to make such things workable we do need to recognize that things don’t work on their own things need a serious level of application and effort adhishthanam karta that brings us next step to the doer person who is doing the action if a cricket match is being played and if the pitch is a baller’s paradise then the batsman cannot have free stroke play the batsman has to be very cautious and work very gradually to score the runs so the field of action is important then the doer, who is the person doing the action if an expert batsman is there then they may be able to play even on a difficult pitch and beyond that karanam karanam refers to the particular senses that are involved in action the body has to be fit for a sports player but not just the body the specific limbs of the body which are involved in that particular action are especially important, karanam they are the instruments through which action happens if that instrument is not right that instrument is not working nothing will work if a singer has to sing then their senses, particular ones with which they are going to act they have to be proper this is the field of action and specific tool with which we are going to do the action so if you consider this is an analytical frame there is the person who is doing the action there is the area where the action is being done, there is a tool with which the action is done, karanam vipruthak vidha there are different senses required in different situations for different actions the sense required for tasting food is different from say the sense required for looking at the artistry of a particular image that has been designed vipruthak cheshta and even when we are trying to do something usually things don’t work out properly on their own there is a lot of endeavor that is required and that vipruthak cheshta various endeavors that are required those we can say refer to the situation in which the endeavor the person doing the effort actually contributes and then daivam chaivatra pachyamam and then beyond that there is destiny destiny is the factor beyond our control which also has to work alright which has to work properly for things to manifest there are some people who say that if we are not getting the results it is simply because we are not putting enough efforts well that is a possibility but that is not the only possibility another equally valid possibility could be that we have put in the effort but sometimes things are just not meant to be sometimes things just don’t happen despite the best effort that we may put in so in such situation we need to acknowledge that we at our core are finite even if we put in lot of effort to get things done still there is no guarantee that they will work out therefore we need to slowly and steadily both put in our efforts and acknowledge the role of destiny so instead of work as if everything depends on you pray as if everything depends on god there are various ways in which you could analyze this for example jiva, ishvara and prakriti, all three have to come together for the action to happen so jiva desires the ishvara sanctions and the prakriti executes so here we could say the adhishtanam and the karanam they are a part of the prakriti and the jiva and the cheshta are the part of the endeavor are the part of the jiva, sorry karta and endeavor something which the jiva does and then daiva is the ishvara so we also say that karma plus daiva plus kala leads to phala so here we could say that the kala factor which is there kala factor is just natural is a part of nature and in this particular equation we have not included we just understood that the cheshta is required for a particular amount of time and cheshta will eventually lead to the result and the result will take its own time so we could say cheshta, the endeavor component includes the time duration by which the result will manifest and then sometimes we also say that actually god is not just one of these factors god is the one who underlies all these factors so there are different ways of looking at this one frame of reference would be that yes things that are not in our control those god has to make them work out right and when they work out right then we get the results so in that sense god is the god is a factor separate from our endeavors and god is the person, god is the we could say the wild card in the equation how his will will turn out we don’t know but at the same time if we have a more inclusive understanding of god we understand that he is not just one being among many beings he is the one being underlying all beings and that’s why we are also parts of god even the adhishtanam is part of god the karanam is part of god the endeavor cheshta that we do that is also not possible without the grace of god so from this inclusive understanding say when somebody like arjuna expert archer then it is not that krishna’s expertise ensures that arjuna’s archery will lead to success but it is krishna who is also manifesting as arjuna’s expert archery so paurusham rishu paurusham rishu means that i am endeavor in human beings and unless sorry i am ability in human beings krishna also says i am endeavor, i am adventure, i am victory so this inclusive understanding of god that he is not just one being among many beings, he is the one being underlying all beings so both the ability within the individual and destiny beyond the ability which translates that ability to success everything is by the arrangement of everything is sustained by krishna without him nothing would be possible and thus daiva while one level it can be seen as the fifth factor it can also be seen as another mayabhutu characharam that there is nothing beyond me that exists everything is sustained by me that is also another way of looking at it so we will consider this five actions further in the next verse thank you