Gita Study Mumbai 2012: 05.09-16 Understanding who is the actual doer

Transcript

This is an AI-generated transcript and may contain some errors.
we will be discussing 5.789 we discussed so now we will start with 10 points so now 5.7 there is a significant word on the page so I will read it let’s discuss this word it is a complex it is a compound word in grammatical sense it is compound many words are brought together and it makes meaning it is complex to understand so Atma Root Atma so what does this actually mean so Prabhupada explains this that He is dear to everyone and everyone is dear to Him that is our Prabhupada sarva-mūrta-ātma-mūrta-ātmā that means He sees that His own ātmā is like the ātmā of all living beings in the Māyāvādīs we interpret this to mean that He sees that His ātmā is the same as the ātmā of other beings sarva-mūrta-ātmā-mūrta-ātmā that the ātmā which is there in all bhūtas is the same as the ātmā which is there in me now there is can be one meaning of that but this is not the only meaning because there are several other verses where the reference is very clearly made Mahāyāvāham jāti nāsi means talking about individuality, eternal meaning it is King’s I, You and all these things will exist with all the individuals now and in the future so it says that and Krishna answered that Mahāyāvāham śuji was okay sarva-mūrta-ātmā 15.7 he talks about it 15.7 he has talked about it so one verse may give some sort of connotation which might seem impersonalist but if you look at the overall scripture, it’s quite clear so actually this word what it means Ramacharya explains that that for him, all living beings are as dear to him as himself, sarva-mūrta-ātmā that means he says that all living beings are dear Prabhupāda follows that explanation this can actually mean that all living beings are one that oneness can be either in existence or that oneness can be in affection that means actually all of us are belonging to one body, we are all gentle of one God, one absolute truth sarva-mūrta-ātmā 15.7 if you look at the context the person does not have a discriminating vision okay, this is my friend this is his, this is his he will have a differentiating vision and he will not do bad karma, he will not be neutral he will have good karma and that’s how he will stay free so that’s the meaning of this moving forward ramanyādāya karmāṇi ramanyādāya karmāṇi saṅghaṁ tattvā karodiyā saṅghaṁ tattvā karodiyā nityate nise pāpena nityate nise pāpena so the most well known of this inflexion of this verse is the ending part padma-patra-nivāmbhasa right, ambhasa is water water on a lotus leaf so just as water on a lotus leaf just flies it doesn’t stay over there, like that the karmic, even if they present some actions, these karmic reactions don’t enter into this, pass off why? because there is no attachment brahmaṇyādhāṁ karmāṇi brahmaṇyādhāṁ karmāṇi so he offers his karma to brahmaṇyādhāṁ that means again the word brahmaṇyādhāṁ actually Prabhupāda translated this as explaining the supreme personality of God and he offers his work to the supreme God brahmaṇyādhāṁ karmāṇi saṅgam tyaktvā krodhya so then if this brahmaṇ refers to absolute truth or refers to parmātmā, personality of God not written in the script, parmātmā then it can be that he is actually offering the fruits to parmātmā and so he is not attached to the fruit, so he cannot be bound na vande vidyam uśra it’s the flow of these words and if you look at the previous words what was it saying? I am not doing anything no one is doing right this is the sense of these are acting so he says this here brahmaṇ refers to mārtha so brahmaṇ refers to substratum of material energy and he says brahmaṇyādhāya karmāṇi actually all these karmas are happening because of material energy, I have got nothing to do with it, if we take it to this sense, then this is the opposite of prakṛti kriyāvāṇā there the person, actually prakṛti is doing everything but the person doesn’t understand that prakṛti is doing everything, he means karta āmita manya, but the previous verse eight times āyatā said naiva kīñcit karoṅi, actually prakṛti is only doing everything, I am not doing anything this verse is actually a contrast to 3.27 and with that understanding brahmaṇyādhāya karmāṇi, both meanings can be understood brahmaṇyādhāya refers to the absolute truth which is bhagavān then it is karmaṇyādhāya, it refers to bhagavān means bhakti so karmaṇyādhāya Śrīvāsa Prabhupāda explained it yad vāpa refers not just to sinful actions but all actions there is no actions restricted to this, because the person is not attached to the future now in the famous Vaiṣṇu song, the same analogy comes lotus flower in water, see that song so now there, actually same example is used but the purpose is different the context is different, there he is talking about the insubstantiality the temporality, the uncertainty of living existence so the same example but different context this is so well known that lotus the lotus when it comes in contact with water, water just flies on the floor, now a days many skyscraper buildings are made, they use a façade, which is called a lotus fan façade, lotus fan façade means there are huge big buildings made, 10 storey, 50 storey, something like that, and the façade, the front side is there it has to look attractive who is going to climb up and wash and clean it all we have 50 storey building, who is going to clean it where it looks good, not very practical, so what researchers found is that, let us observe lotus flower, we put water on it one of the portion of it, so like that they found out what is the chemical composition of the lotus leaf and then they took that and using that chemical composition they have made the façade of it, so what happens when they just throw water from the top the water just flies off it and whatever dust is accumulated on it, that also flies off it, so lotus and façade have become very popular so the same principle which we talked about earlier, it is recognised by science also right the water does its job Krishna talks about this observation of nature, so they may use it, some of them may not use it, Krishna talks about the same principle for understanding how a person can make a flower, if it doesn’t get bound by the actions of the soil Kāyena manasa buddhya Kāyena manasa buddhya Emaneniya Hirapi, Emaneniya Hirapi, Yogina Karmapurvanti, Yogina Karmapurvanti Sangam teppu ātma shuddhaye, Sangam teppu ātma shuddhaye so now the question may come up if a person is not attached to the truth of the world why should he work at all why should he work at all it is for ātma shuddhaye for the purpose of purification if a person works for the purpose of purification with all these, Kāyena manasa buddhya his body, his mind, his intellect now kevalai hiriri hirapi did not Acharya explain differently Prabhupāda explains even with his senses that means that spiritual life is to be pursued not just by thoughts and feelings but even with our physical actions so we should seek purification even by engaging our body senses so Kṛṣṇa Śrīla Prabhupāda explains kevalai means only the senses so he says that sometimes when sādhaka is practising bhakti or Karma Yoga and that time the mind will not be controlled but still at least engage the senses so the word kevala can mean even, keval can mean only, so both ways understanding gets valid so if keval means even then that means that even the senses are included in the pursuit of purification we didn’t want this abstract of the word, keval means only that means even if you cannot involve yourself mentally intellectually at least engage physically, this is how one practises for the sake of purification, Śrīla Prabhupāda talks about the perfection of the action jīva-yukta in the parapura means the person so here the person is doing the action for the sake of purification so Śrīla Prabhupāda in the parapura talks about the perfect stage at the perfected stage person will also keep acting so at that person he acts with what? karma-dāna or sādhaka, similar, he rides like the senses are there this is called as jīva-yukta so what does the word jīva-yukta mean? jīva-yukta means that the soul is situated in the body and the soul has no attachment that means the person has become liberated from material existence the person is only waiting for the karma to exist, so the body has its own karmic duration and the person has become liberated from material existence and then he is there in the body because the body has its own karmic life span and during the karmic life span the person stays in the material world without getting entangled so there are two kinds of muktis here so there is jīva-yukta and then there is vidheha-mukta jīva-yukta and then there is vidheha-mukta so vidheha-mukta means person who is free from the body vidheha-mukta means one who has given up his body so those great souls who are with us, they are jīva-yukta but they are not vidheha-mukta vidheha-mukta means they leave this body at that time because their body is completely given body is intone is madhi, body is not gone because it is already given so Jīva Goswami talks about this from the point of view of the bhāgvatas did I talk about this in the Aishwarya Gita course? those who are sādhanāsiddha but trigunātmika did I talk about this? three types of mahābhāgvatas he says the first type is svarūpa-siddha it is svarūpa-siddha do you remember? gunātmika what does that mean? that means the person has not only gone beyond the three modes but the person is also realigned with svarūpa and siddha second is gunātmika but not svarūpa-siddha that means the person has gone beyond the modes and the person has not yet realised his svarūpa he has gone beyond the three modes, he understands I am not the body I am the soul but as the soul what is my svarūpa and siddha? that is not convinced third he says he is not gunātmika and he is not svarūpa-siddha then how is he called a mahābhāgvata? because he is sthira sthira fixed so it is like to put it in a metaphorical way gunātmika and svarūpa-siddha means person’s both legs are in the spiritual world gunātmika but not svarūpa-siddha means one leg is in the spiritual world one leg is in the material world and not gunātmika not svarūpa-siddha but sthira means both legs are in the material world but eyes are fixed in the spiritual world eyes are fixed in the spiritual world so yes so prabhupāda that means what Krishna is talking about sādhaka stage prabhupāda is giving us the siddha stage also what is going to happen to such a person in the future prabhupāda describes that so it is interesting that even if the person is not gunātmika and not svarūpa-siddha still but actually they call that person a mahābhāgvata the person is fixed in the spiritual world nishtha-ruchi-yāsakti-bhāva so all the ruchi-yāsakti-bhāva all those are very long stages now after this the next section starts but before that the concluding verse summarises so Krishna is now telling how karma yoga is superior to jnana yoga karma yoga is if action is superior to inaction so he summarises this very simple yuddhā engage, connected karma-valaṅgatvā is engaged, not attached to the middle one what happens to this person śānti-māpuna-naishthikī naishthikī, steady he is not connected with transcendence, he is not connected with which other, what is he connected with? He is connected with the food, so it becomes bound and attached to the food, so it becomes bound.
So this is contrasting. Now this contrast, you have to be careful, this contrast is not between Karma Yoga and Karma Yoga. This contrast is between Karma Yoga and the Karma Karma, between the attached and the detached.
Krishna has already clearly established that Karma Yoga is equivalent to Jnana Yoga but Karma Yoga is easier. And then he is describing the continuum of consciousness of a Karma Yoga, in the last few verses. Now to drive home the point, he says actually the person doesn’t become bound because the person is not attached.
When somebody is attached, the person becomes bound. So Krishna contrasts this. So this verse is more or less similar to what was taught in the third chapter when Krishna said that the wise people don’t get bound.
So Krishna is talking about that contrast. Now Arjuna has a question. Still Arjuna has already clearly understood how can somebody act and not become bound.
So if I am acting, naturally I will get bound. Krishna has introduced in the previous verse the idea of understanding the senses are acting but I am not acting. Senses are acting but in India, in India, Krishna is not acting.
So now that concept Krishna analyses further. He says how one can act like that. And the Acharya is going through a lot of commentary to explain who is actually the Karta.
Who is the doer. Namah Dvare Kurete Nakuru Vanna Kaarayan Deva Guru Vanna Kaarayan So Sarva Karmani Namah Sarvani With the mind, one renounces all worlds. Namah Dvare Kurete One can live like that.
It does work. But if the mind understands, I am not living. This is because of the Sukham Purushithi.
You will live happily. Namah Dvare Kurete It is the modern city of 9 years. There is an elaborate analysis of this.
Puranjana story, where the city is compared to 9 years. Kauri is compared to the city of 9 years. Namah Kuru Vanna Kaarayan He doesn’t do.
He doesn’t cause anyone else to do also. So we will recite the next two verses and then I will discuss this. Prabhupada quotes from the Siddhashutra tradition where this metaphor of Namah Dvare Kurete again comes about.
We will understand the concept after discussing this in the next two verses. Na Kartrutvam Na Karmani Lokasya Sujati Prabho Na Karmapala Sanyogam Svabhavastu Pravartate Krishna said in the previous verse that actually you should understand that you are not the doer. And think like mental grounds all actions.
Such a person will not do nor will he make anyone else do. That means you will not be doing simple actions. And I am not causing you to do simple actions.
Then Na Kartrutvam Na Karmani Lokasya Sujati Prabho He does not do. He does not make anyone else do. Then he is not attached to this.
Then who is doing all this? Svabhavastu Pravartate Svabhav is material nature. So prakriti refers to material nature in general. Whereas Svabhav refers to the material nature as it is acting upon us.
As it has created impression upon us. So prakriti is not material nature. Svabhav is the impression that material nature has created on us.
All of us have our different Svabhav. Svabhavastu Pravartate Nature is acting. So now if nature is acting then who is in control of nature? This God is in control of nature.
So then is God responsible for what is happening? Nadatte Kastajit Paapam Vachai Vasukrutam Vihod Agyanena Vritam Jnanam Tena Muhyanti Jantavaham So Vishuddha is the word Jantavaham. Jantu This is the living entity. Muhyanti He is divided.
He is divided by Agyan. So because he is divided by Agyan He is responsible. So first part is saying Supersoul is not responsible.
Soul is responsible. Material nature is acting but material nature is dead. So then who is the initiator of action? It is not the soul actually.
It is the soul. Why the soul acts like this? Because of ignorance. Let us try to understand this now.
I will give several examples to illustrate this. Let us first start with There is a whole section in the Kartana Adhikaran in the third pada of the second chapter of the Vedanta Sutra where Baldev Vidyamukshan analyses Who is the karta? Who is the doer? So is the soul the doer or is the soul not the doer? Now if the soul is not the doer then there are several problems. What are the most obvious problems? Soul is not the doer? Why is he getting different reactions? If the soul is not the doer then he should not be suffering for anything.
That is one reason. Any other reasons? Let us try to see it both ways. If the soul is not the doer then whose reactions is he getting? If he has not done anything then why is he getting reaction? He is obviously suffering.
That is the first problem that comes up. Second problem comes Whom are the scriptures directed to? Whom are the scriptures meant for? Isn’t it? Obviously, materialism has now rejected the scriptures and changed their ways. Materialism is unconscious.
If the soul is not the doer then the scriptures become meaningless. Because if ultimately the nature is only acting the scriptures are telling do this, don’t do this. If we didn’t have the power to do this and not do this scriptures would be meaningless.
The first problem comes is what am I suffering if I am not the doer? Secondly, if I am not the doer if I don’t have the capacity to do anything then why are scriptures speaking it out? There is no need for scriptures. Surely, the limitation of this soul is the doer. Then why do the scriptures say the soul is not the doer? That is to indicate that the soul is not the independent doer.
So, soul is not the Swapantrakarta Soul is not the independent doer. That means when the soul wants also the soul cannot always act in its own ways. So, I may want to do something very well.
I may want to memorise all the Vasudha Bhaktas but I find it difficult to memorise one Vasudha Bhakta. I may want to do so many things in my life but I can’t do it. Although I want to.
So, if I am the doer I can do what I want. But I can’t do it. That’s why I am not the independent doer.
Then let me give you the example for this. Same point. What is the Karna? Let’s consider the example of a If a tree is cut then if a tree is cut the axe is the instrumental force and the woodcutter is the initiating force.
Now both have to be present. If the tree is to be cut and the axe is not present the woodcutter just hands cannot cut it. On the other hand, if the axe is there the woodcutter is not there.
The axe will not move. So, both are required. So, he says, similarly for actions in the world Prakriti is the instrumental cause and Jiva is the initiating cause.
That means So, if a conditioned soul wants to engage in sense gratification and the desire for sense gratification comes from the soul then the material nature provides the body and it provides the facility by which the soul should enjoy. That means the soul is the initiator and the material nature is the instrument for execution. So, now this example illustrates two factors.
One is the soul and nature. But actually, there are three factors in the action. The third factor is the super soul.
So, let’s look at another example that will illustrate how the super soul comes into picture. The criminal is jailed. The police is the instrumental cause.
The judge is the sanctioning cause and the criminal himself is the initiating cause. So, this means here when a criminal is arrested and put in jail, police is actually catching him and physically placing him in the jail. But that is done after he is sentenced by the judge which is the sanctioning cause.
But ultimately, why is the criminal put in the jail? Because he himself did the crime. Similarly, if a soul suffers, material nature is the instrumental cause. Super soul is the sanctioning cause.
Soul himself is the initiating cause. So, now this is another analogy which involves all the three factors. All the three factors, we understand them in coordination.
So, whenever anything happens, actually, the initiation of that activity begins with the soul. The soul develops and then everything else ends. So, another example that can be given is that if a small child his father was lifting big weights, the child comes along and says there was no weight.
The child comes along and says, standards are of big, huge dumbbells or whatever. He just puts his hand, he can’t lift it up. And his father says, I can’t lift it.
I lift it. Quietly, the father comes behind and puts his hand. The father lifts it.
I lifted it up. The child thinks. Actually, who is lifting it? The father is lifting it.
But the child is the initiator. In that example, the child is like the jiva, the initiator. The father is the super-soul.
And the hands of the father, they are actually doing the lifting. That is like butter in nature. So, the principle here is that the soul is always the initiator.
And because the soul is the initiator, the soul is responsible. So, now why does the soul initiate activities that are harmful to himself? Like Krishna describes in the song, agyanena uttam jnanam tena mayyant janma Because the soul is covered by ignorance, that is why the soul acts in this way. The soul does wrong activities because he is bound.
He is bound by ignorance. And the ignorance pushes him to the action of three modes. Let’s see if I can make it a little more dramatic.
This may take a little time. There is one box here. One box here and one box here.
Basically, there is a super-soul, there is a soul and there is butter in nature. And here there is the soul. And here there is material nature.
Now, all of this together, this whole thing together is the conditioned soul. In the conditioned soul, the soul is there, the body is there, the super-soul is there. So, now how things work is from the external point of view, some stimulus comes inside.
And then some action goes out. Here, stimulus means say, a person sees a sense object here. And then he engages in sense gratification.
Side of sense object comes and then there is sense gratification that happens. Is it too small or you are able to see? You are able to see? Yes. Yes, that’s what I showed you.
Now, here you put it. Now, how it works is the soul actually desires. Now, after the soul desires, then the super-soul sanctions.
And then material nature executes. So, I will draw this and then I will explain this once again. It’s not very complicated.
From the diagram, I am using three different colours to indicate different things. Let me make it clear. Is it clear? So, now how it works is this box you can see.
This whole box is the conditioned soul. So, it’s like this. Conditioned soul is the composite of soul, the body and super-soul.
All three are together. So, now from the external world, sense object comes again. Sense object comes in contact with the conditioned soul.
When sense object comes in contact, perception goes to the soul. So, through the eyes, perception goes to the soul. Soul desires.
I won’t mention this. Soul desires to enjoy this. Then that desire is sensed by the super-soul.
Desire is sensed by the super-soul. I should give the example that just as one senses the fragrance of flower without contacting it, then the super-soul senses our desire. And then, considering our karma, the super-soul desires whether this particular desire should be fulfilled or not.
And if it is to be fulfilled, the super-soul sanctions. Sanctions means the super-soul instructs material nature. The super-soul instructs us to do this.
When it is sanctioned, then what happens is, material nature is sensed. So, that’s how all our actions happen. Somebody is able to sing, and that person wants to sing.
So, the person’s soul initiates the whole thing by desiring to sing. But sometimes, even a good singer suddenly forgets the tune. Can’t sing.
Why does that happen? It’s because the super-soul has not sanctioned. All that it means is that it may be because of a particular person. I was telling earlier, sometimes cricketers go out of form.
They don’t want to go out of form, but they just go out of form. What happens in only that? So, they have the desire to hit a sixer, but they get a clean bowl. So, what happens? The super-soul doesn’t sanction anything to you.
So then, execution doesn’t happen. So, when the super-soul sanctions, the super-soul sees, does this person have the karma to get this particular action done? He has the super-soul sanctioned. And then material nature executes.
Material nature executes. So, that’s how things happen. Now, in this whole situation, in different contexts, the emphasis will be different.
Sometimes, the scriptures may say that actually, the soul is not the doer. When is that told? That emphasis is given when the emphasis is to be conveyed to the soul that don’t become attached to all the things that you are doing to the soul. Actually, you have got nothing to do with this girl.
You have got nothing to do with this body. And, if you understand this, then you will not become attached. So, if I can speak nicely, if I can sing nicely, if somebody can play nicely, whatever.
Now, if the person thinks, I can do this so well, I am such a great person. Then that contains attachment. That attachment creates bondage.
So, when the soul is to be conveyed this point that don’t be attached to this soul. At that time, the emphasis, you are not the doer. Actually, simply by the nature of attitude.
So, I may speak very nicely. I may be able to speak according to choice of English words. But, I myself don’t know the process by which it happens.
Actually, one of my friends is a sound engineer. He is trying to make a software by which they try to replicate human sound, human speech. We can have devices.
They have different kinds of music. Actually, they produce human sound, human speech. It’s impossible.
At best, a machine can produce human speech which is completely flat and voluminous. When we speak, there are so many emotions. There is modulation, there is pause, there is acceleration.
There is so much dimension. That cannot be produced. And, even the best engineers can’t produce it.
They don’t even know. How are we doing it? We don’t even know how we are doing it. Do we desire it? So, these executions are impossible.
Super simple execution. So, similarly, there is one phenomenon migrating birds. There are birds which stay in one part of the country at one time.
They travel to another part of the country. Sometimes, they travel to another part of the world. Thousands of kilometres they travel.
And, these birds, when they travel, actually, scientists are wondering how they travel. Now, there is an example. Let’s say, there is one devotee, Vishwa Vishwapurno, who has written a book called Nature’s Eye-Key.
It’s filled with very beautiful pictures. I don’t know whether there is their knowledge or not. Very beautiful picture.
He won an award also in an awarding event. So, there he describes how these birds, when they fly, what happens is sometimes, birds don’t have a very long experience. The birds are living in one particular place.
And, then they travel in the rainy season or whatever to another place. And, that journey takes a long time for people. So, they wonder, how do they know where they are supposed to go? Maybe, it’s because they are censored by the weather.
But, when they are going, sometimes, the direction in which they are going, the weather is more inclement for them. That means, if it’s hot over here, it’s cold. But, along the journey, it’s hot.
It’s hotter. So, if they are just going according to body sensations, they will not go towards the hotter direction. But, how do they know in advance that beyond the heat, there is a cold area? And, even if they know there is a cold area, how do they know the direction? They thought, maybe, you know, they have some sort of sensation by which they look at the stars and the sun and the moon and say, oh, this is the direction.
But, there they found that actually, even when it’s completely crowded, there are no stars, there is no sun, there is no moon, still, they are able to go. And, they decided, what will drive us? Well, they experimented. They caught birds, blindfolded them completely, and took them 1000 km away.
And, the birds will just fly up, round and round and round, like a rocket that is shot, straight go back to their nest. Now, human beings just can’t do that. If we are kidnapped and taken somewhere, we will have to have a map, which city am I in, how am I supposed to go? How will I go back? I have no idea.
I have no idea. But, these birds have an idea. They not only have an idea, they have a clear idea there.
So, now, they decided, maybe, there are some magnetic fields inside the brain of the birds. And, maybe, that magnetic field aligns with the magnetic field which is there on the earth. And, maybe, in harmony of those two magnetic fields, they get a direction.
But, actually, the brain of the bird is so small, and, more or less, the composition of the brain, our brain does not have any magnetic field like that, how will their brain have it? So, material level, the most baffling part of it is that, sometimes, some birds, they have a nest in a particular tree. And, then, they fly away to a distant part. And, then, they reproduce over there.
And, then, not only they reproduce over there, they die over there. And, when their children come, their children come back and stay on the same tree in the same nest. Now, how do the children come to know about that nest? It is completely incredible.
So, how does it happen? It happens because of those who are in the tree. A lady, for instance, says, ईश्वर सर्भूताना विद्धेशि अर्जुनतिष्ठति धावयन सर्वभूतानि यंदा रूडानि पाहया यंदा रूडानि पाहया So, all human beings are situated on a machine. A machine that is given by the religion.
Like the lantern is directed towards you. So, actually, in this verse, the literal translation, there is no directed. ईश्वर सर्भूताना विद्धेशि अर्जुनतिष्ठति All that it says is, in all living beings, ईश्वर is situated.
धावयन सर्भूतानि यंदा रूडानि पाहया Second part saying that, okay, the living entities are landed in the metal world on a machine of nature. श्लोग दून पाहया देखना नहीं है नहीं है It is a very precise word, directed. Because, if you have a movie, the director is not seen.
But the director is doing everything. So, like that, Supersoul is not seen. You just see only the birds flying here and birds flying there.
It is either a prime factor of the metal mechanism or not. They can’t find metal beings. But, how it happens? Supersoul lies.
Supersoul lies. So, then we want to free a conditioned soul from attachment or pride. At that time, the emphasis is telling, you are not the king.
Don’t become so proud. Don’t think you are such a talented person. On the other hand, then we want a person to take responsibility and leadership.
At that time, unless you do it, it won’t happen. We see, Bhagavad Gita Krishna has been telling, कर्थामितिमन्यते, everything is a fool. But then at the end, what does Krishna tell Arjuna? Now you have to decide what you want.
ना विम्रिष्येते वचेते जिते जिसका फूल Now decide what you want. At that time, Arjuna doesn’t say, I am not the Kartha. Why are you asking me to do it? What does he say? विम्रिष्येते वचेते जिते जिसका फूल So, that means, scriptures emphasise different points to convey different messages.
So, for that, I’ll conclude with this. Who is the Kartha? The scriptures want to free us from attachment and pride. Then they emphasise you are not the doer.
On the other hand, the scriptures want us to take responsibility and initiative. Then they assert, you are the doer. Actually, we are the doers, but we are not the only doers.
So, if we start taking credit for what we are doing, the scriptures will tell us, you are not the only person who is doing it. If you become proud, you become fetish and bound by it. On the other hand, if you are not doing anything, if you are not choosing the right action, it’s you who is doing it.
So, Krishna will tell in the last verse over there, of this section, he’ll say that once you have knowledge, then everything will be fine. … … … … … So, Gyanena, by Gyana, what will happen? Agyana Nashina Mashita, the Agyana will be destroyed. And that Gyana, what will happen? That Gyana is Aditya.
Aditya is sun. It is sunlight. … Now, here, Krishanacharya talks about the long purpose.
He emphasises the word Param. Param, he says, … … … … … This is a verse, which is talking about transition from Atma Gyan to Paramatma. So, till now, Krishna has been primarily talking in terms of the interaction of the soul and mind.
He’s talking about how the Prakriti is acting and the soul should think, I’m alright. Then you will not get problem. But now, here he says, actually, when one gets proper knowledge, then that knowledge will limit everything.
… … … … So, actually, Shri Radhipala explains that by Atma Gyan, one can be saved from bondage. Only by Paramatma Gyan, one can attain liberation. And how one will attain liberation, that will be described in the future lectures of this session.
Any questions? … Here it says ajnaanena avarham jnaanena, I use this word in front of Japanese, avarham jnaana nahi the, so avarham lust causes, so when I said like that, that jnaan is not an entity, what I meant is it is not conscious, it is not conscious, generally there are entities and there are objects, so entities are, generally speaking they are considered to be conscious, they are agents of actions, where the objects are, they are not agents of actions, they are the targets of action, on them action is going on, so I walk on the floor, so I am the agent of action and the floor is the object of action, generally speaking ajnaanena avarham jnaanena, so when ajnaan covers us, so what does the covering of ajnaan do? It misguides our action, even if the soul is in ignorance, the soul knows the truth, it is the conditioned soul only who desires sense gratification, it is you only who becomes avarham lusty, greedy, angry, so just as there is a white tube right over here, but if I put a red coating over this, then the same smoothing white light will become jarring red, so like that the soul has originally pure desires, but when the soul gets covered by lust, by ajnaan, so Krishna used basically different words, so when soul gets covered in the pure desires, the soul becomes perverted and those perverted desires are the cause of our action, so because the ignorance has been put on the soul because of the own past karma, therefore the soul himself is responsible and because the soul can change desires, scriptures talk about this, actually we are acting under the influence of ignorance, ignorance is a thing that actually covers, there are things and there are beings, so now what is the mind? Is it a thing or is it a being? It is a thing, but for all practical purposes, scriptures keep it like a being, thing means that it is non-living, being means that it is living, so subtle matter is normally, it is a thing, it is non-living, but because it is subtle, because it is so closely connected to the soul, it is like a software and a software seems to have a will of its own, prompt, do this, do this, don’t do this, keep prompting, keep prompting, so like that the subtle matter although it is a thing, it is like a programmed thing, that’s why it keeps prompting us and because it prompts us, it keeps prompting us, many of the times scriptures personify it, personify it means talk about it as if it is real, so we also say that lust is attacking me, actually lust is not attacking me, I am only the company to own desires, but that is a convenient way of understanding the dynamics of what is happening in the subconscious. Scriptures do use it frequently, but if you look at it from a philosophical perspective, scriptures give you quite a few, that matter, that even the mind and everything that happens in the mind, entities that occupy the mind, they are non-living, but beyond that there is maya and there are three modes of attenuation, the three modes of attenuation are controlled by maya and maya is a real entity, so the apparent activity of the mind that happens that is stimulated by maya, you can answer the question. As ignorance covers knowledge and so the desire arises, or does the desire cover the knowledge, so see how it is, both contribute to each other, which is the original thing, the soul desire is to enjoy self-fulfilment, so our desire is the original, but once when we come to this world, then there is a systematic process which occurs, what is that process, that because I act with ignorance, so that ignorance also triggers certain disorders, for example if a person is habituated to drinking, then he has become ignorant about the consequences of drinking, so now why did he start drinking, because of his own desire, that desire blinded him to its consequences, now when he is blinded to the consequences, the desire increases for him and he indulges in it further and that further indulgence blinds him further, so both contribute to each other, you remember I talked about earlier, there was ignorance, then there is sinful action and then there is continuation of mental existence, and mental existence means there is ignorance of it, so it’s a cycle, so both feed each other, the original is the desire, so what is this, I should describe it in three things, first is bhoga vancha, the desire is there, that desire means to indulge, Krishna says it, it is fine, it’s an obstacle in my sense, so as soon as we desire, now we may ask why do we desire, because we forget Krishna, we forget Krishna, so we desire to enjoy separately, as soon as we desire to enjoy separately, we go into maya, maya covers us further, that leads to further desires, that leads to further bondage, so both of them are like a continuum, it is a linear vicious cycle, so where do we break it, we break it just as the desire started it, desire will end it, so whatever, when we talk about the covering, what is basically conditioning, that is like a software code, that is like a programme which pushes in particular directions, so here in this particular, is the one, so here actually there is another additional factor, if you want to make things more complicated, is that actually buttery nature also pushes, buttery nature also pushes, buttery nature says, come on, do this, do this, enjoy this, so our mind also promises, tells us, pushes us, promises, that is there, so ultimately the soul chooses, the mind compels but doesn’t compel, so that way it is our own ultimately choice, just as it is our desire which caused our bondage, it is our desire that can bring the relationship, okay, that’s it, what about the intelligence, correct, so this is family focussing on actions, it is not talking about the dynamics of the mind and the intelligence, that is true, so then what will happen is, buttery nature will push me in particular direction, or other aspect of buttery nature will then do this, no, I am going to do this, so then what will happen, so will be desire, I want to do this, I don’t want to do this, so we are initiating the action, we engage in sense gratification, so we initiate the action, we go away from sense gratification, both options are there, I just saw a good question, so the desire comes but the intelligence can say no, so here when the word desire is used, it is used in sense of intention, I want to do it, so when the desire goes up to the level of intention, intents, I had earlier used the word initiates, so the soul, that means when the desire goes to the level of intention, there is a letter of Prabhupada, where apparently devotee asked Prabhupada, Prabhupada, I am so much troubled by sex desire, so Prabhupada said, Prabhupada said, to get sex desire is no problem, to act on sex desire is a big problem, so Prabhupada differentiates it very clearly, so here when you are talking about desire, it is a big thing, I want to do it, so if I don’t want to do it, the supersoul will not sanction it, when you want to do it, it will do the sanction, so thank you very much.
So as far as the Ajnaan is concerned, so look at the Ajnaan, is the Ajnaan just the absence of Ajnaan or is there some entity called Ajnaan, if you look at the first line of Shri Prabhupada, the information is described, at that time, the Brahmaji who is described by him, he creates the five elements, Brahma, Brahma, Mahamudra, all that are there, that means that there is actually a ontological object that creates the ethics, so it is not just the absence of knowledge, because what we experience is not just the absence of knowledge, but also the presence of knowledge, absence of knowledge would just be avadatmika chakri, avadatmika chakri makes me forget God, but prakshepatmika chakri gives me a false sense of God, forget I am the soul of one thing, forget I am the son of Krishna, the thing that I am a young man, that is another thing, so it is not just that our knowledge is covered, it is also that we have got a false sense of God, sometimes we compare our material existence to say a forgetful soul or a forgetful being called Anirishi, so it is not just that we have got Anirishi, after we get Anirishi, we also got a false sense of God, for God I am who I really am, but I am also thinking of myself as somebody else, so that secondly aspect is also understood, that is why it is not just the absence of knowledge, it is not just the absence of true knowledge, but also the presence of false knowledge, so both are different, false knowledge has to be removed and the true knowledge has to be provided. Questioner 1 – How do you distinguish between Mahayana and Hinduism? Swamiji – Where? Questioner 1 – Mahayana? Swamiji – Mahayana and Hinduism. Questioner 1 – Okay.