Bhagavad Gita Verse 30, Chapter 13

yadaa bhootaprithagbhaavamekasthamanupashyati |
tata eva cha vistaaram brahma sampadyate tadaa || 30 ||
 
When he realizes that the variety of beings is established in the one, and it is only an evolution of that (one), he then attains brahman.
 
yadaa : when
bhootaprithagbhaavam : variety of beings
ekastham : established in the one
anupashyati : realizes
tataha : from that
eva : only
cha : and
vistaaram : evolution
brahma : brahman
sampadyate : attains
tadaa : then
 
We came across the toddler who was fascinated by the phone ringing in the previous shloka’s discussion. Imagine that the same toddler sees a traffic signal for the first time. The signal turns bright red, then green, then orange. Sometimes, the orange light flashes for a few seconds. Sometimes it shows a left arrow, sometimes a right arrow. While the toddler is bewildered by the diversity of colours and lights generated by the traffic signal, we as adults are no longer fascinated by it. We know that the basis of the diversity is 3 bulbs, and some electronic circuit that switches these bulbs on and off.
 
Similarly, one who knows the workings of Prakriti knows that the whole universe is nothing but a play of the three gunaas or qualities of Prakriti. Inert substances have tamasic predominance. Movement is caused by rajasic predominance. Intelligence is caused by saatvic predominance. These three gunaas are the building blocks of the variety we see in the universe, and it is these three gunaas that have been evolving, changing, combining with each other throughout the timeline of the universe. This Prakriti, the three gunaas, is nothing but a power of Ishvara himself.
 
So then, how do we reduce our fascination for the three gunaas? Our attitude should be as follows. The variety of the universe, everything that I see, is a product of the three gunaas of Prakriti. This Prakriti is a machine, a mechanism that has been set in motion by Ishvara. But I also know that Ishvara in his purest form is infinite and all-pervading, and that he resides in everyone as the “I”, the self. Therefore, all of this variety and diversity is just an upaadhi, a conditioning of the self. When I see diversity, I am only seeing Ishvara, the self of all.
 
If we are able to develop this kind of attitude, this kind of knowledge, and stay rooted in it, we will shift our focus to Ishvara who is constant, and not the diversity of Prakriti that is ever changing. We will then attain unity with the eternal essence, with brahman, and achieve liberation.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 29, Chapter 13

prakityaiva cha karmaani kriyamaanaani sarvashaha |
yaha pashyati tathaatmaanamakartaaram sa pashyati || 29 ||
 
One who sees all actions as performed by Prakriti alone, and the self as actionless, he sees (clearly).
 
prakityaa : by Prakriti
eva : alone
cha : and
karmaani : actions
kriyamaanaani : performed
sarvashaha : all
yaha : one who
pashyati : sees
tathaa : and
aatmaanam : self
akartaaram : actionless
saha : he
pashyati : sees
 
Imagine that a toddler sees a phone for the first time. He is fascinated each time it rings, and mistakenly thinks that by raising his hand, he makes the phone ring. But, if an adult has a never-ending fascination with a phone ringing, or has a mistaken notion about why it rings, we will think that there is something wrong with him. If an adult is overly fascinated by machines, it is because he lets the three gunaas of Prakriti still entice him, attract him. In general, once we know how a machine works, we are not overly fascinated or concerned with it.
 
Shri Krishna says that one who has truly assimilated the teaching of the Gita knows that actions, reactions, emotions, thought, logic, all these happen in the realm of Prakriti. Just like we lose fascination for machines once we know how they work, we should gradually stop being fascinated by Prakriti which is nothing but a machine that belongs to Ishvara. If this understanding seeps in, the shocks of world that we face daily will slowly lose their ability to shake us. We will perform our duties with our full attention and dedication so that we can exhaust our selfish desires, but leave the reactions and results to Ishvara because it is all happening in his Prakriti, his machine.
 
How do we go about doing this? The path to reduce our fascination with Prakriti is to increase our fascination with Ishvara. We do this by hearing stories of Ishvara, by attending satsanga, by associating with people who are devotees of Ishvara. The Gita itself contains chapters on the glory of Ishvara’s vibhootis, which can be read as daily meditations. Eventually, we begin to see the entire universe as part of Ishvara’s vishvaroopa, his universal form.
 
Now, even if we develop detachment towards the actions of Prakriti, our senses still get fascinated by variety, colour, form, diversity created by it. How do we deal with this aspect of Prakriti? Shri Krishna covers this next.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 28, Chapter 13

samam pashyanhi sarvatra samavasthitameeshvaram |
na hinastyaatmanaatmaanam tato yaati paraam gatim || 28 ||
 
For, he who sees Ishvara established equally everywhere, does not kill his self by his own self. That is why he attains the supreme state.
 
samam : equal
pashyan : he who sees
hi :for
sarvatra : everywhere
samavasthitam : established equally
eeshvaram : Ishvara
na : not
hinasti : kill
aatmanaa : his self
aatmaanam : by his own self
tataha : that is why
yaati : attains
paraam : supreme
gatim : state
 
Shri Krishna explains the result of developing an equanimous vision in this shloka. He says that one who sees Ishvara residing equally in everything and everyone, including himself, does not harm or kill his self by his own self. He says that we commit a kind of suicide whenever we do not focus on the imperishable and give too much importance to the perishable. We would very rarely get the urge to commit suicide. So how does this happen?
 
Whenever our body’s weight increases or decreases, we say "I am fat, I am thin". Whenever our body falls ill and recovers, we say "I am sick, I am healthy". Whenever our body is injured and healed, we say "I am injured, I am healed". We have taken on changes that happen to a mass of flesh and bones as our own changes. By repeatedly taking on this identification to the body due to ignorance of our true nature, we get stuck in an endless cycle of desire, action, birth and death. This entry into the cycle of birth and death is referred to as "killing of one’s self by one’s own self".
 
Shri Krishna says that we need to develop samadarshanam, the vision of seeing the imperishable Ishvara in the perishable world. We need to stop identifying with the body, which is not ours to begin with. It belongs to the five elements that make up the universe, and will go back to them when it has run its course. We should identify with Ishvara who exists equally in us and in other beings. When we recognize that the Ishvara in us is the same Ishvara in everyone, we will attain the most supreme, the most pure state of Ishvara which is the state of brahman, the eternal essence. The instant we realize our identity with brahman, we attain liberation or moksha.
 
We have seen how to attach ourselves to Ishvara, how to identify ourselves with Ishvara in these shlokas. We also need to detach ourselves from Prakriti. We shall see how to do this in the next two shlokas.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 27, Chapter 13

samam sarveshu bhooteshu tishthantam parameshvaram |
vinashyatsvavinashyantam yaha pashyati sa pashyati || 27 ||
 
He who sees the supreme lord established equally in all beings, as the imperishable within the perishable, he sees (correctly).
 
samam : equally
sarveshu : all
bhooteshu : beings
tishthantam : established
parameshvaram : supreme lord
vinashyatsu : perishable
avinashyantam : imperishable
yaha : who
pashyati : sees
saha : he
pashyati : sees
 
When a nation is fighting for its independence from an invader, freedom fighters always urge the citizens to emphasize that which is common among them and de-emphasize that which is different. In India, freedom fighters had to urge its citizens to overcome their differences of region and religion, and emphasize the idea of a united Indian nation. Unless the citizens stopped identifying themselves with a certain region/religion and started identifying themselves as Indians, there was no chance of India gaining independence.
 
Similarly, all of us tend to focus on each others physical appearances, words, ideas, thoughts, all of which are fundamentally perishable and transient. Shri Krishna urges us to develop and attitude where we shift our focus from the perishable to the imperishable. In other words, we learn to see the imperishable Ishvara in everybody and everything, including ourselves. We saw earlier that everything and every being is a combination of the kshetra and the kshetrajnya. We now stop identifying with the imperishable kshetra and start identifying with the imperishable kshetrajnya, which is Ishvara himself.
 
So then, this is the correct attitude, the correct vision, that we should develop. We are a product of Ishvara and Prakriti, therefore we should identify with the Ishvara aspect as our self, our "I". In parallel, everything and everyone is also a product of Ishvara and Prakriti, therefore we should emphasize the Ishvara aspect which is present in everyone equally. We will come to the conclusion that the Ishvara aspect in us is the same as the Ishvara aspect in everyone else. Shri Krishna says that one who develops such a vision, one who sees the imperishable in the perishable, he truly sees, not anyone else.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 26, Chapter 13

yaavatsanjaayate kinchitsattvam sthaavarjangamam |
kshetrakshetrajnyasamyogaattadviddhi bharatarshabha || 26 ||
 
Whatever being is born, inert or moving, know that to have come from the union of kshetra and kshetrajnya, O foremost among the Bharatas.
 
yaavat : whatever
sanjaayate : born
kinchit : any
sattvam : being
sthaavaraha : inert
jangamam : moving
kshetrakshetrajnyasamyogaat : union of kshetra and kshetrajnya
tat : that
viddhi : know
bharatarshabha : O foremost among the Bharatas
 
We now shift our attention from the nature of the “I” to the nature of the world. We may be able to experience our true nature as the saakshi, the witness, in deep meditation. But most of us still have to transact in this world, still deal with our friends, our relatives, our co-workers and so on. How should our attitude be towards the world after we have understood, at least in theory, what our true nature is? We cannot, and should not, think of ourselves as something special, and as everyone else as useless forms on an IMAX screen, per the illustration used in previous shlokas. Now, in this sequence of shlokas, we learn to develop the right attitude, the right vision towards the world.
 
Shri Krishna begins this topic by asserting that every other being in the universe has come into existence just like we have. The kshetrajnya, the higher aspect of Prakriti, has identified itself with the kshetra, the lower aspect of Prakriti. Each such erroneous identification creates the Purusha, also known as the jeeva, the individual soul. Subsequently, each Purusha has developed attachment to the qualities of Prakriti, accumulating selfish desires or karmas in the process. Billions of Purushas live out their lives in this world trying to exhaust their karmas, but in most cases, end up accumulating more karmas, and therefore, take birth again.
 
We have spoken of this erroneous identification several times, but have not delved into it deeply. The classic example to explain this erroneous identification is that of a burning hot iron ball. The iron ball has taken on heat, which is the property of fire. On the other hand, fire which is normally without shape, has taken on the property of the iron ball, which is round. Two things taking on each other's properties is known as "anyonya adhyaasa" or mutual superimposition. The Purusha's real nature is infinite, full of knowledge and bliss. Prakriti's nature is finite, inert and sorrowful. Erroneous identification results in them exchanging their properties, as it were. This is how the Purusha assumes inertness of the body.
 
So our daily life is nothing but a Purusha interacting with several other Purushas, all of which are under the effect of this erroneous identification. There should be no hint of any arrogance that causes us to treat others differently just because we think that we have acquired more knowledge than them. In fact, whenever we emphasize differences between one another rather than similarities, even in worldly matters, we slip further away from liberation. But, developing an attitude of sameness towards everyone becomes difficult, especially when our minds are conditioned to differentiate rather than unify. Keeping this in mind, we learn to develop the correct attitude towards the world in the next shloka.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 25, Chapter 13

anye tvevamajaanantaha shrutvaanyebhya upaasate |
tepi chaatitarantyeva mrityum shrutiparaayanaahaa || 25 ||
 
But others, not knowing this, worship what they hear from others. Those who follow what they have heard, they too overcome death.
 
anye : others
tu : but
evam : this
ajaanantaha : do not know
shrutvaa : hearing
anyebhyaha : from others
upaasate : worship
te : they
api : too
cha : and
atitaranti : overcome
eva : surely
mrityum : death
shrutiparaayanaahaa : those who follow what they hear
 
Whenever we want to learn something new, we do one of two things. We either listen to the advice of an expert, or read a book written by an expert. We study their teachings, we put their teachings into practice. Slowly, we begin to understand what they are talking about, and someday, become an expert ourselves. All this becomes possible only when we have faith in the teacher, and when we diligently follow their instructions. The forum in which we obtain knowledge through contact with knowers of that which is the ultimate reality, the "sanga" with the "sat", is known as "satsanga".
 
Shri Krishna says that if we are not qualified to follow any of the techniques mentioned in the previous shloka - dhyaana, saankhya or karma yoga - we need not worry. We can obtain the same result of those techniques if we find a competent guru and diligently follow the path prescribed by them. Just hearing the teaching is not enough. If the doctor gives you a list of foods to avoid eating, you will not improve your health unless you follow their instructions. Similarly, we must become “shruti paraayanaha”, uphold the teachings as the ultimate goal of our lives. Satsanga should become an integral part of our lives.
 
So then, what is the result of those who follow this path? They will be able to overcome death, in other words, they will achieve liberation. Death does not just refer to the loss of the physical body. Every time we get fascinated by the material world and rush to act with selfish desires, we forget our true nature and take on the role of a doer, an experiencer, a meritorious actor or “puntyaatmaa” or a sinner. Each time we forget our true nature as the blissful eternal essence to rush out into the world and eventually experience sorrow, we “die” as it were. So therefore, Shri Krishna says that one who simply follows the instructions of their guru diligently will overcome death.
 
In these two shlokas, Shri Krishna covered the types of spiritual techniques required to access the Purusha within. He now begins a new topic in the next shloka.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 24, Chapter 13

dhyaanenaatmani pashyanti kechidaatmaanamaatmanaa |
anye saankhyena yogena karmayogena chaapare || 24 ||
 
Some behold the self in the self by the self through meditation, others through Saankhya and yoga, and others do so through karma yoga.
 
dhyaanena : through meditation
aatmani : by the self
pashyanti : behold
kechit : some
aatmaanam : the self
aatmanaa : in the self
anye : others
saankhyena : through Saankhya
yogena : yoga
karmayogena : through karma yoga
cha : and
apare : others
 
So far, it seems like we have studied two unrelated topics in our study of the Gita. One one hand, we studied techniques such as saankhya yoga, karma yoga, dhyaana yoga or meditation and bhakti yoga as techniques to access Ishvara. One the other hand, we came across the two-fold downfall of the Purusha, through ignorance of our true nature and subsequent attachment to the gunaas or qualities. In this shloka and the next, Shri Krishna methodically connects these seemingly unrelated topics.
 
Before we are ready to remove the ignorance of our true nature, we need to deal with our attachment to the three gunaas of Prakriti. In simple terms, we need to deal with our selfish desires. The technique of dealing with our selfish desires depends upon the capability of the seeker. Shri Krishna says that the most advanced seeker has mastered the technique of dhyaana yoga or meditation. They can directly contact the eternal essence “in the self through the self”, which means that they can access the eternal essence through their intellect. This topic was covered in the sixth chapter.
 
For those who do not have mastery over meditation, saankhya yoga or the yoga of discrimination is recommended. This was the topic of the second chapter. Here, the seeker has great command over their intellect. They can constantly separate the eternal essence from the three gunas, the Purusha from Prakriti, through viveka or discrimination. “The three gunaas, sattva, rajas and tamas are objects of my perception, I am their witness, eternal and distinct from them.” This is how they think all the time. Some commentators interpret the phrase “saankhya and yoga” to include “ashtanga yoga”, which is the technique of accessing Ishvara through yogic exercises and breathing.
 
For those who cannot practise saankhya yoga or ashtanga yoga, karma yoga, the yoga of selfless action, is recommended. This was the topic of the third chapter. Most of us fit into this category. When actions are performed with the idea of dedication to Ishvara, the mind is gradually purged of selfishness. Such a pure mind becomes ready to receive and internalize the knowledge of one’s true nature described in the present chapter.
 
Now, what happens if we cannot follow any of these techniques? Shri Krishna explains the simplest technique in the next shloka.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 23, Chapter 13

ya evam vetti purusham prakritim cha gunaih saha |
sarvathaa vartamaanopi na sa bhooyobhijaayate || 23 ||
 
He who thus knows Purusha and Prakriti, along with the gunaas, no matter what his conduct, is never born again.
 
yaha : he who
evam : thus
vetti : knows
purusham : Purusha
prakritim : Prakriti
cha : and
gunaih : gunaas
saha : along with
sarvathaa : whatever
vartamaanaha : conduct
api : no matter
na : not
saha : he
bhooyaha : again
abhijaayate : born
 
To better understand this shloka, let us quickly take a look at the theory of karma. It says that each of us comes with three types of karmas, which are unfulfilled desires that become seeds of future actions. Total karmas or “sanchita” karmas are the entire stock of our karmas. Present life karmas or “prarabdha” karmas are those karmas that are activated in our present life. Expected karmas or “agaami” karmas are those karmas that will be generated due to the results of actions in the present life. These karmas get added to our sanchita karmas, our stock of karmas.
 
As an illustration, consider this. The arrows in an archer’s quiver are sanchita karmas, the arrows that have left his bow are prarabdha karmas, and the arrows that are loaded on the bow are agaami karmas. The Vedas assert that so long as an individual maintains a stock of karmas, he has to take on a body to exhaust those karmas. In each birth, a portion of the stock of karmas is allocated to the individual so that he can exhaust them. By generating further selfish desires, the individual adds to his stock of karmas, and the cycle of birth goes on indefinitely.
 
Shri Krishna says that the one who has properly understood the relationship between Purusha and Prakriti, one who has understood the identification of the eternal essence with Prakriti due to ignorance and the consequent rushing after the gunaas, is never born again. This means that his stock of karmas is destroyed, just like a spark of fire destroys dry hay. He does not generate any further selfish desires, because he is no longer fascinated by the play of the three gunaas. Why does this happen? When one realizes that selfish desire is created by ignorance of one's true nature, it wipes out any notion of selfishness completely. There is no longer an urge to come into contact with Prakriti.
 
Now, this person still has to deal with his prarabdha. His present life karmas continue to be active until his body drops off, after which he does not have to take any further births. The word “api” in the shloka indicates that the individual can continue to perform his duties even if he has realized his true nature as the eternal essence, just like king Janaka continued to rule his kingdom even though he had achieved liberation.
 
Shri Krishna concludes the topic of Purusha and Prakriti with this shloka.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 22, Chapter 13

upadrashtaanumantaa cha bhartaa bhoktaa maheshvaraha |
paramaatmeti chaapyukto dehesmin purushaha paraha || 22 ||
 
He who is the witness, the permitter, the nourisher, the experiencer, the master and who is also spoken of as the supreme self, is the supreme Purusha in this body.
 
upadrashtaa : witness
anumantaa : permitter
cha : and
bhartaa : nourisher
bhoktaa : experiencer
maheshvaraha : master
paramaatmaa : supreme self
iti : in this manner
cha : and
api : also
uktaha : spoken
dehe : body
asmin : this
purushaha : Purusha
paraha : supreme
 
Imagine that your grandfather comes to stay in your apartment for a short vacation. Seeing a new senior citizen in the building, the apartment complex association invites him to one of their cultural programs. Your grandfather thoroughly enjoys it. Next, the association asks him permission to host their next weekly meeting in your apartment, which he readily agrees to. He is so excited about the meeting that he prepares tea and snacks for them. By the next weekly meeting, he has become so involved in the association meetings that he feels the need to vote on issues that he strongly feels about. He gets so involved that it is just a matter of time before he is elected president of the apartment complex association.
 
Your grandfather, who had nothing whatsoever to do with the building, started out as a pure witness, then become the permitter, nourisher, experiencer and subsequently the master of the building association. Similarly, Shri Krishna says that the eternal essence that has nothing whatsoever to do with Prakriti, develops a strong identification with a body. By taking various upaadhis or conditionings such as the body, the mind, the vital forces, the intellect and so on, it becomes the permitter, the nourisher, the experiencer and the master of this body, just like your grandfather took on various roles as a member of the apartment complex association.
 
Practically speaking, we don’t need to worry too much about this. All that we need to know that we don’t have to go out into the world hunting for Ishvara. Ishvara is resident in our body as the permitter, nourisher, experiencer and so on. He is the paramaatmaa, the supreme self resident as the “I” in all beings. This is how we have to understand what Purusha means. The more we pay attention to the Ishvara aspect in us, the less importance we give to the upaadhis, especially the ego. People who have reached the pinnacle of their spiritual journey eventually lose their individuality and themselves become the universal witness, the upadrashtaa, remaining unaffected by the goings on of Prakriti.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 21, Chapter 13

purushaha prakritistho hi bhungkte prakritijaangunaan |
kaaranam gunasangosya sadasadyonijanmasu || 21 ||
 
Purusha, when seated in Prakriti, experiences the qualities born of Prakriti. Attachment to these qualities is the cause of his birth in good and evil wombs.
 
purushaha : Purusha
prakritisthaha : seated in Prakriti
hi : only
bhungkte : experiences
prakritijaan : born of Prakriti
gunaan : qualities
kaaranam : cause
gunasangaha : attachment to qualities
asya : his
sadasadyonihijanmasu : birth in good and evil wombs
 
Imagine that two young brothers and their grandmother are watching a boxing match on TV. One brother is a huge fan of boxer A, and the other brother of boxer B. The two brothers get so involved in the match that they feel they themselves are in the boxing ring. The brothers start throwing punches in the air, mimicking the actions of the boxers. Also, when boxer A punches boxer B, the first brother feels exhilaration whereas the second brother feels pain. All this time, their grandmother is watching the match without any of these reactions.
 
This involvement with the boxers doesn’t end with the match. Boxer A always likes to wear a headband, so the first brother starts to wear headbands in the house. Boxer B always snaps his fingers at the end of every sentence, so the second brother begins to do that as well, much to the annoyance of his parents. Both the brothers have become so infatuated with their boxers that they take on their likes and dislikes. We may think that such behaviour only happens with children and teenagers, but something similar has happened to all of us, causing us to get trapped in samsaara.
 
We are stuck twice in samsaaraa. First, Shri Krishna says that the eternal essence has mistakenly identified itself with one body due to avidyaa or ignorance, just like the brother identified himself with boxer A. Instead of watching the IMAX movie of the universe like the grandmother, we get stuck to one character in that movie. When the eternal essence as though gets deluded with ignorance, it becomes the Purusha, and becomes “seated in Prakriti”. It forgets it real nature as infinite, indivisible and blissful. It assumes the properties of our body and thinks itself to be finite, divisible and sorrowful.
 
Second, having identified with a finite body, having taken the "upaadhi" or conditioning of a body, we get attached to the play of Prakriti, the play of the three gunaas or qualities. We get so attached to the forms of Prakriti that we generate selfish desires in order to repeatedly contact these forms, which are nothing but objects and people. Seeking a shinier car is a mistaken attempt to find joy in the car instead of understanding our true nature as joy itself. We become the brother who starts wearing a headband to feel happy, just because boxer A does so, when the brother was happy even before he know what boxing was.
 
So then, how do we get out of this two step problem of samsaara which causes us to “take birth in good and evil wombs”? We solve step one - attachment to gunaas - through vairaagya or dispassion, we learn to slowly wean ourselves off the influence of the three gunaas. We then solve step two - ignorance of our true nature - through jnyaana or knowlege, when we learn of our real nature as the eternal essence and internalize it through meditation.
 
An illustration of Purusha getting entangled in Prakriti is taken up next.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 20, Chapter 13

kaaryakaranakartritve hetuhu prakritiruchyate |
purushaha sukhaduhkhaanaam bhoktritve heturuchyate || 20 ||
 
With regard to the source of actions in the body and its instruments, Prakriti is said to be the cause. With regard to experiencing joy and sorrow, Purusha is said to be the cause.
 
kaarya : body
karana : instruments
kartritve : source of actions
hetuhu : cause
prakriti : Prakriti
uchyate : it is said
purushaha : Purusha
sukhaduhkhaanaam : joy and sorrow
bhoktritve : experience
hetuhu : cause
uchyate : it is said
 
Let us bring back the example of the movie projector from the seventh chapter so that we can better understand this shloka. Imagine a gigantic IMAX screen on which Prakriti or nature projects the life of every human being in the world. Think of it as the world’s largest soap opera. We can now examine the first half of this shloka. It shows what Prakriti can create through its projections. It can project “kaarya”, the body of a person. It can project “karana”, the instruments of the body which include the five organs of sense, five organs of actions, the mind, the intellect and the ego. It can not just project one body, but every body in the world.
 
Now, here comes an important point. Shri Krishna says that Prakriti is the source of all actions in this world, not the Purusha. We are now coming back to the topic that was hinted upon in the karma yoga chapter. Typically, most of us attribute the agency, or the doership of our actions, to our own self. We say “I did this”, “I did not do that” and so on. Shri Krishna makes it perfectly clear that the intellect, the ego and the mind in our body receive input from our senses, filter it through our vaasanaas, and send instructions to our organs of action. All this is going on within the realm of Prakriti, that continues projecting the IMAX movie of the world. In other words, the “I” does not do anything, but Prakriti does everything.
 
Next, the role of the Purusha is described. The Purusha is the awareness principle, the knowledge principle present in the body. From our perspective, he is concerned with the experience of only one body out of the millions of bodies in that IMAX movie - our body. What is his role? His role is to know. If we put a drop of a bitter liquid on our tongue, it sends an electrical current to the mind based on the chemical makeup of the bitter liquid. But ultimately, it is only the Purusha that has the capacity to come up with the knowledge that “this liquid is bitter”. On one level, Purusha knows what the senses and the mind report. Without the Purusha, there will be nothing to know what Prakriti has projected. It would be like projecting a movie without an audience to see it.
 
So then, when this knowledge of bitterness is filtered through our vaasanaas or our “programming”, it can result in either joy or sorrow. Some of us like bitter taste, some of us don’t. This difference comes from the variety in our vaasanaas, our individual programming. So whenever external objects are arranged by Prakriti in a pattern that is conducive to our vaasanaas, the Purusha experiences joy. In other words, whenever we say “I am happy”, it is the Purusha experiencing happiness. Similarly, sorrow is also experienced when objects are undesirable.
 
Here, encapsulated in these two lines of this shloka, is the state of our lives. Our body with its organs interacts with other bodies in this world. It performs actions whose results are experienced by the Purusha as joy and sorrow. The cycle of joy and sorrow continues from one action to another action, from one experience to another experience. This is “samsaara”.
 
Now, there seems to be a problem. Right from the second chapter, we have been told that our true nature is the eternal essence. It pervades the entire universe. It is eternal, indestructible and indivisible. We have also been told that Prakriti, through some inexplicable magic, projects the entire universe of names and forms. How then, does the third entity called Purusha come into being? And also, how does it take on one body out of all the bodies in the world as its own, and experience only that body’s joy and sorrow?
 
Shri Krishna reveals the root cause of samsaara, of our repeated experience of joy and sorrow, in the next shloka.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 19, Chapter 13

prakritim purusham chaiva viddhyanaadi ubhaavapi |
vikaaraanshcha gunaanshchaiva viddhi prakritisambhavaan | | 19 ||
 
Know that surely, both Prakriti and Purusha are without beginning. Also, know that in fact, all modifications and qualities are born of Prakriti.
 
prakritim : prakriti
purusham : purusha
cha : and
eva : surely
viddhi : know
anaadi : without beginning
ubhau : both
api : also
vikaaraan : modifications
cha : and
gunaan : qualities
cha : and
eva : in fact
viddhi : know
prakritisambhavaan : born of prakriti
 
Shri Krishna now describes how we fall into the trap of samsaara, the cycle of birth and death. In many respects, this topic is a continuation of the discussion of higher and lower prakriti from the seventh chapter. Let us quickly recap what we saw there. We learnt about two aspects of Ishvara, the lower and the higher. The lower nature comprises the five elements plus the mind, ego and intellect. The higher nature comprises the life-giving force which is also the experiencer, the subject. In this manner, Ishvara is established as the ultimate cause of the universe.
 
Here, the lower nature is termed “Prakriti” and the higher nature is termed “Purusha”. First, Shri Krishna says that both these aspects of Ishvara are without beginning, they are eternal. This is because Ishvara himself is eternal, so it logically follows that his aspects must also be eternal. But we also have to note that something which has no beginning can have an end. We will come back to this point later in the discussion.
 
The second statement here states that all modifications and qualities are born out of Prakriti. Maaya and prakriti refer to the same thing. Prakriti is a power wielded by Ishvara. It is beyond the comprehension of our intellect since our intellect itself is a product of Prakriti. The only way to understand Prakriti is to think of it as a magician’s illusion. This Prakriti gives rise to five elements that produce the entire visible universe. These combinations or modifications of Prakriti are termed as “vikaaraas”. Prakriti also comprises the three “gunaas” or qualities which are sattva, rajas and tamas. These qualities manifest as mental states such as happiness, sorrow and attachment.
 
In other words, if we go back in time, if we press the rewind button, we will see that everything merges back into Prakriti, everything has come from Prakriti. Now, let us get practical. Whenever we experience emotions such as sorrow, grief, anger and so on, it is Prakriti that creates it, not the self, not the "I". This is what was explained in the shloka. But, when anger arises in our mind, for instance, we always say "I am angry". How do we come to the conclusion that the "I" is angry when it is Prakriti that created the anger? This is taken up next.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 18, Chapter 13

iti kshetram tathaa jnyaanam jneyam choktam samaasataha |
madbhakta etadvijnyaaya madbhaavaayopapadyate || 18 ||
 
In this manner, the field, as well as knowledge, and that which is to be known, has been described in brief. By understanding this, my devotee becomes qualified to attain my state.
 
iti : in this manner
kshetram : the field
tathaa : as well as
jnyaanam : knowledge
jneyam : which is to be known
cha : and
uktam : has been described
samaasataha : in brief
madbhaktaha : my devotee
etat : this
vijnyaaya : understanding
madbhaavaaya : my state
upapadyate : qualified
 
Shri Krishna concludes the current topic in this shloka. He spoke about “kshetra”, the field, in shlokas five and six. The field comprises twenty four aspects which are the building blocks of the universe. This includes the five great elements, the intellect and others. The field also comprises seven modifications by which the individual comes into contact with the world. These include desire, hatred and others. The field works like a machine, but is devoid of awareness in itself and is inert. It need to borrow awareness from some other source. This source is the eternal essence, it is “jneyam”, that which is to be known. The field acts as an upaadhi, something which as though limits and conditions the eternal essence.
 
If we are attracted by the dance of an ocean’s waves, we will never be able to appreciate the grandeur and beauty of the entire ocean, because our attention will be on the waves which are upaadhis that as though limit our understanding of the ocean. Similarly, if we need to understand the eternal essence, we have to learn how to gradually minimize the impact of the upaadhis of the field, and shift our attention to the eternal essence. “Jnyaanam”, the means of knowledge that enables us to mentally remove these upaadhis, is elaborated in shlokas seven to eleven.
 
Once we have learnt how to mentally remove upaadhis, we are ready to understand the eternal essence. From shlokas twelve to seventeen, Shri Krishna uses paradoxes and contradictions to explain the nature of the eternal essence. Our intellect is a product of the field, and will never grasp what the eternal essence is. Paradoxical statements like “it is near, yet it is far” are used so that our intellect doesn’t mistakenly turn the eternal essence into yet another concept.
 
Shri Krishna says that those who have inquired into the eternal essence in the manner prescribed above are qualified to attain the state of Ishvara, which is liberation. But this state cannot be attained unless we become devotees of Ishvara. A devotee means one who knows that whatever he sees, hears or touches is nothing but Ishvara, and that Ishvara is residing in him as his self. Only one who has such a firm conviction through meditation that everything, including himself, is ultimately Ishvara, will attain liberation.
 
Now, does all this explanation help me understand what ultimately causes me to experience sorrow in my life? In the next shloka, Shri Krishna begins a new topic to explain this issue in detail.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 17, Chapter 13

jyotishaamapi tajjyotistamsaha paramuchyate |
jnyaanam jnyeyam jnyaanagamyam hridi sarvasya vishthitam || 17 ||
 
That is the light even among all the lights, and it has been spoken of as beyond darkness. It is knowledge, that which is to be known, and the goal of knowledge. It especially resides in the hearts of all.
 
jyotishaam : among all lights
api : even
tat : that
jyotihi : light
tamsaha : darkness
param : beyond
uchyate : has been spoken
jnyaanam : knowledge
jnyeyam : that which is to be known
jnyaanagamyam : goal of knowledge
hridi : hearts
sarvasya : all
vishthitam : especially resides
 
In prior verses, the “sat” or existence aspect of the eternal essence was highlighted. Here, the “chit” or awareness aspect is elaborated upon. Awareness or sentience is what makes an entity know about it surroundings as well about itself, as we had seen earlier. Shri Krishna says that the eternal essence is the “light among all the lights”. The word “light” in the Vedas refers to awareness, to knowledge. Which means that ultimately, it is the eternal essence that provides the power of awareness, the power to know, to all beings. Without the eternal essence, we would have no awareness, no sentience.
 
Imagine a classroom of students that are taking an examination. The student on the last bench can see all of the students in front of him. The student seated in the second to last row can see other students, but not the last row student. Also, the student in the front row cannot see the student in the last row. The awareness provided by the eternal essence is like the student in the last row. The next student is the intellect, followed by the mind and the senses. In other word, the eternal essence gives awareness to the intellect, which gives it to the mind, and then to the senses. But the mind, intellect and senses cannot immediately contact the eternal essence.
 
Now, just like the word “light” refers to knowledge, the word “darkness” refers to ignorance. By saying that the eternal essence is beyond ignorance, Shri Krishna points out the uniqueness of the awareness aspect of the eternal essence. If we light a lamp in a dark room, it dispels the darkness. We cannot have darkness and light coexist. However, the eternal essence is present in individuals who are ignorance of it, as well as those few rare individuals who have realized it. This unique ability of the eternal essence to illumine ignorance is why Shri Krishna calls it “beyond darkness”.
 
So, how can we use our antahakarana, our intellect, mind and senses, to realize that eternal essence? Shri Krishna provides a three step process. We use “jnyaanam”, the means of knowledge indicated in the twenty attributes such as humility mentioned earlier in the chapter, to gradually reduce the importance we give to upaadhis or conditionings. As we systematically study the scriptures under the guidance of a teacher, the eternal essence comes into our awareness as “jneyam”, the object of knowledge. But only through constant contemplation, reflection and meditation does the eternal essence becomes “jnyaanagamyam”, the goal of knowledge, where all notions of duality are removed and we remain established in the eternal essence.
 
Shri Krishna concludes this shloka by reminding us that all these three stages - preparation, study and reflection - are enabled only through the intellect, which is referred to here as the “hridi” or heart of all human beings. Only humans have the capability to access the eternal essence. That is why we come across the statement “a human birth is rare to attain” in many prominent spiritual texts.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 16, Chapter 13

avibhaktam cha bhooteshu vibhaktamiva cha sthitham |
bhootabhartri cha tajjneyam grasishnu prabhavishnu cha || 16 ||
 
And undivided, yet it exists as though divided in all beings. That, which is to be known, is the nourisher of beings. It is the devourer, and it is the creator also.
 
avibhaktam : undivided
cha : and
bhooteshu : all beings
vibhaktam : divided
eva : as though
cha : and
sthitham : exist
bhootabhartri : nourisher of beings
cha : and
tat : that
jneyam : to be known
grasishnu : devourer
prabhavishnu : creator
cha : and
 
Shri Krishna continues to elaborate upon the topic of jneyam, that which is to be known, which is brahman, the eternal essence. Here he further describes the distortion created by upaadhis or conditionings in our understanding of the eternal essence. He begins by asserting that the eternal essence is undivided, it is unbroken and continuous. It cannot be chopped up into pieces. But due to the effect of space as an upaadhi, it appears as if the eternal essence exists differently in various beings.
 
We can go back to the example of the clay pot and space. If we have a hundred pots on the floor, it appears as though the space in the room is divided into a hundred “pot-spaces”, due to the boundary created by the wall of each pot. But in reality, space can never be divided or chopped up. Or we can also look at the example of electricity, which looks like it functions differently in each appliance, but is really one continuous circuit that begins at the power plant. If our senses cannot access upaadhis such as pots or appliances, they mistakenly assume that subtle things such as space and electricity are absent. Similarly, the body of a living entity serves as an upaadhi where we can feel the presence of the eternal essence.
 
So if there is only one continuous and undivided eternal essence, how do we account for all of the creation, sustenance, and destruction of names and forms in the universe? Shri Krishna says that ultimately, it is the eternal essence that provides the foundation for the lifecycle of the universe. Waves are created, sustained and dissolved back into the ocean. If we pay attention to the waves, we lose sight of the ocean that is one undivided foundation which is behind all of the waves. We come back to the same point again : the eternal essence provides existence, the “is-ness”, to all names and forms in the universe.
 
Now, if the eternal essence cannot be comprehended by the senses, is it dark and empty like a black hole? This is clarified in the next shloka.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 15, Chapter 13

bahirantashcha bhootaanaamacharam charameva cha |
sookshmatvaattadavijnyeyam doorastham chaantike cha tat || 15 ||
 
Existing outside and inside all beings, moving as well as non-moving. It is very subtle, so it is beyond comprehension. It is distant, yet it is near.
 
bahihi : outside
antaha : inside
cha : and
bhootaanaam : all beings
acharam : non-moving
charam : moving
eva : also
cha : and
sookshmatvaat : very subtle
tat : it
avijnyeyam : beyond comprehension
doorastham : distant
cha : and
antike : near
cha : and
tat : it
 
As Shri Krishna lists the indicators of the eternal essence, we may be tempted to start looking for it with our eyes, just like we look for a lost object in the house. However, we need to continuously remind ourselves that the eternal essence is neither an object nor a concept that can be grasped by the mind. Shri Krishna uses the Upanishadic style of describing the eterna essence through contradictions and paradoxes in this sequence of shlokas, and especially in the current shloka.
 
The first contradiction mentioned is that the eternal essence is both inside and outside all inert and living entities. This point cautions us against conceptualizing the eternal essence as limited by space, as if it is only available in one location and not the other. A somewhat crude analogy is mobile phone signals, which are essentially radio waves. Radio waves are all-pervasive and they penetrate all solid objects, enabling us to make phone calls from inside as well as outside buildings.
 
The second contradiction is that the eternal essence is to be known as the ultimate knowledge, yet it is beyond comprehension, due to its subtle nature. Using the radio waves analogy, we can say that none of our senses can detect radio waves. But if we know how to build a device that can access radio waves, we can harness their power to our advantage. Similarly, the eternal essence remains beyond the comprehension of those who have not purified their mind. But for those who have purified their mind, and followed a systematic method of enquiry under the guidance of scriptures and a teacher, it is ever accessible.
 
This leads us to the third contradiction. For those who have enquired about the nature of the eternal essence systematically, it is immediately available at all times as the self, the “I” within us. But for those who are ignorant, it is far away. Shankaraachaarya says that it is unattainable even in millions of years for such people. Whenever we focus on names and forms, we lose sight of the self. But when we remove the upaadhis of names and forms, we come back to the self, the “I”, that is behind all the names and forms, just like the movie screen.
 
Note that any time we use analogies such as radio waves, we are trying to conceptualize the eternal essence which is beyond all conception. We need to consider such analogies as helpful pointers, and nothing more.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 14, Chapter 13

sarvendriyagunaabhaasam sarvendriyavivarjitam |
asaktam sarvabhrichchaiva nirgunam gunabhoktri cha || 14 ||
 
Illuminating the sense functions, yet devoid of the senses. Unattached, yet the supporter of all. Without qualities, and also experiencer of qualities.
 
sarvendriyagunaabhaasam : illuminating sense functions
sarvendriyavivarjitam : devoid of the senses
asaktam : unattached
sarvabhrit : supporter of all
cha : and
eva : also
nirgunam : without qualities
gunabhoktri : experiencer of qualities
cha : and
 
When we teach a child about electricity, it is natural to have some doubts or questions about the nature of electricity. Similarly, when we hear a description of the eternal essence, we also will have questions and doubts. Shri Krishna now continues to proceed step by step towards explaining jneyam, the knowable which is the eternal essence, by answering three questions with respect to its relationship with the organs of sense (eyes, mouth etc) and organs of action (hands, legs etc).
 
First question: Can the eternal essence exist without the organs? Shri Krishna says that the eternal essence can exist without the organs of action and sense, it is “devoid of the senses”, just like electricity can exist without the bulb. Organs of sense and action are one of the means by which the eternal essence expresses itself. It has the power to adapt itself to any form of expression, any upaadhi, just like electricity can power a heater as well as an air conditioner.
 
Then, can the organs of sense and action exist without the eternal essence? The answer is no, since the eternal essence is “sarvabhrit”, the supporter of all upaadhis in the form of “is-ness” or existence. In any language including English, we cannot say something exists without using the word “is” in some shape or form. The “is-ness” of everything is provided by the eternal essence, like the water provides "is-ness" to the wave. But the eternal essence always remains “asakta” or detached from the upaadhis, just like a movie screen remains detached from the movie.
 
Now, we know from earlier chapters that the senses are made up of the three qualities or gunaas : sattva, rajas and tamas. They go out into the world to chase sense objects, which are also made up of the very same gunaas. "Gunaa guneshu vartante”, the qualities are playing with the qualities. How does the eternal essence fit into this play of the senses?
 
Shri Krishna says that even these three qualities are upaadhis, and therefore, the eternal essence is “nirgunam”, not attached to these qualities. When the senses play with their sense objects, the upaadhis of sattva, rajas and tamas are transformed into the upaadhis of joy, sorrow, delusion and so on. The mind, when it participates in this process, becomes the experiencer on account of presence of the eternal essence.
 
In all of these three answers, we find that the eternal essence is always unattached, whether it is to the organs of sense and actions, to their sense objects or to the three qualities. But when the eternal essence takes on the conditioning or the upaadhi of the organs, it as though moves, and it as though supports their existence. Also, when the eternal essence takes on the upaadhis of the three gunaas, it as though becomes the experiencer. The key here is the phrase "as though", since this addition or superimposition of upaadhis is only due to ignorance.
 
Let us now recap Shri Krishna’s explanation so far. In the last shloka, he said that the eternal essence is that which has hands, legs, eyes, mouth etc. In this shloka, he says that the eternal essence is that which has hands, legs, eyes, mouth etc as upaadhis or conditionings. In other words, he first said that the organs exist, and now he negates them by making them upaadhis. This process of assertion and negation is a technique known as “adhyaaropa apavaada”, a step by step means of getting closer and closer to the eternal essence.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 13, Chapter 13

sarvatahapaanipaadam tatsarvatokshishiromukham |
sarvatahashrutimalloke sarvamaavritya tishthati || 13 ||
 
With hands and legs everywhere, with eyes, heads and mouths everywhere, with ears everywhere, it is established in all the worlds, pervading all.
 
sarvataha : everywhere
paanipaadam : hands and legs
tat : it
sarvataha : everywhere
akshishiromukham : eyes, heads and mouths
sarvataha : everywhere
shrutimat : eyes
loke : worlds
sarvam : everywhere
aavritya : pervading
tishthati : established
 
How does a child come to learn about electricity? The teacher does not directly tell him that “electricity is defined as a form of energy resulting from the existence of charged particles such as electrons or protons”. The teacher uses what the child already knows and imparts the knowledge to him step by step. So the teacher may first say that to the child: wherever you see bright light in a bulb, that is electricity. Once the child has grasped this concept, then the teacher may say: wherever you see wires connected, that is electricity. Slowly, as the child is able to understand the nuances of atoms and electrons, the teacher then reveals to him the technical definition.
 
Shri Krishna uses a similar process to gently reveal the nature of brahman, the eternal essence, also known as "jnyeyam" or the knowable, to us. Now, it is quite easy for us to see action and sentience - the power to experience things - in living creatures everywhere. So Shri Krishna says that wherever we see action in living beings, symbolically represented by the phrase “hands and legs”, we should recognize the presence of the eternal essence. Furthermore, wherever we see sentience in living beings, symbolically represented by the phrase “eyes, heads, mouths and ears”, we should recognize the presence of the eternal essence.
 
Going back to the example of the child learning electricity, the child may sometimes think that the electricity in a bulb is different than the electricity in a fan, or that the bulb limits the flow of electricity to the fan. To remove any similar misconceptions about the eternal essence, Shri Krishna says that the eternal essence pervades everywhere. In other words, it is only one eternal essence that is functioning through the organs of knowledge and action of all living creatures in all of the worlds, and that one organ does not limit the functioning of the eternal essence in another organ.
 
An example commonly used to illustrate this notion is that of space and pot-space. The space that is in a clay pot and the space outside it is the same. But just because the walls of the pot surround it, we label the space inside as “pot-space”. The pot is a classic example of an upaadhi, something that as though limits the space in it, but does not do so in reality. Space, then, pervades all pots. Similarly, the organs of all living creatures may seem to limit the eternal essence, but not so in reality.
 
Having established the starting point for realizing the eternal essence, Shri Krishna goes one step further in the next shloka.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 12, Chapter 13

jneyam yattatpravakshyaami yajjnyaatvaamritamashnute |
anaadimatparam brahma na sattannaasaduchyate || 12 ||
 
I will describe that which is to be known, by realizing which, immortality is attained. The supreme brahman is without beginning, said to be neither manifest nor unmanifest.
 
jneyam : known
yat : which
tat : that
pravakshyaami : I will describe
yat : which
jnyaatvaa : having realized
amritam : immortality
ashnute : attain
anaadimat : without beginning
param : supreme
brahma : brahman
na : not
sat : manifest
tat : that
na : not
asat : unmanifest
uchyate : said
 
In the beginning of this chapter, Shri Krishna set out to explain what is kshetra or the field, and what is kshetrajnya or the knower of the field. He then set to list out various aspects of the field, which are also known as upaadhis or conditionings. This list included upaadhis such as the intellect, the mind, the five elements and so on. Shri Krishna also asserted there is only one knower of the field that is limited or conditioned by all of these upaadhis. He then gave us twenty attributes that we should cultivate in order to reduce the importance we give to these upaadhis, so that we can slowly uncover and get to the kshetrajnya, the knower of the field.
 
After assuming that we have cultivated these twenty qualities, and consequently learned how to reduce the importance of the field in our lives, Shri Krishna now gets to the main topic of this chapter. He says that he will now reveal what is the real knowledge, what all of us should know in this world as the culmination of all of our knowledge, what is “jneyam”. We learn so many things in our life through schools, colleges, professional training, street smarts and so on. But none of them can give us immortality. None of them can give us a permanent solution from the sorrows that we experience day in and day out. Each time we leave our self and go through our senses into the world to fulfill a desire, we generate sorrow, we create "death" in each such departure.
 
So then, what is this immortality-giving knowledge? Shri Krishna says that it is brahman, which is the very same eternal essence that is within us, and within everything else in the universe. It is “param” or supreme, beyond which nothing else needs to be known. It is “anadimat”, eternal, without any beginning, beyond all notions of time. It is not manifest, which means it is not accessible to the senses or the mind as an object of perception or a thought. But it is also not unmanifest. For instance, our unfulfilled desires lie dormant in our unconscious mind, but do not manifest as thoughts in our mind. The eternal essence is beyond our unconscious as well.
 
We now see why it is so difficult to understand the eternal essence. It is not like any object or form that can be described in words. It is also not an abstract concept that can be explained through logic, or by comparing it to something else or by combining one concept with another. In earlier chapters we saw how such situations can be handled with negation. If we want to instruct someone on how to select a maroon shirt, we tell them ignore all of the other colours of shirts. The one that is left will be the maroon shirt. Similarly, the eternal essence cannot be comprehended by our mind and senses because it is beyond the mind and senses. It can only be attained through negating everything that is not the eternal essence - by negating the upaadhis or fields.
 
Now, in the upcoming shlokas, Shri Krishna proceeds step by step to negate the upaadhis of the eternal essence, starting with the most visible ones.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 11, Chapter 13

adhyaatmajnyaanamnityatvam tattvajnyaanaarthadarshanam |
etajjnyaanamiti proktamajnyaanam yadatonyathaa || 11 ||
 
Steadfastness in the knowledge of the self, contemplation on the goal of the knowledge of reality. This has been spoken of as knowledge. That which is other than this is ignorance.
 
adhyaatmajnyaanam : knowledge of the self
nityatvam : steadfastness
tattvajnyaana : knowledge of reality
artha : goal
darshanam : contemplation
etat : all this
jnyaanam : is knowledge
iti : this
proktam : has been spoken
ajnyaanam : ignorance
yat : that which
ataha : of this
anyathaa : other than
 
Shri Krishna adds two final entries to the list of twenty attributes that help us reduce the importance we give to the kshetra or the field. “Adhyaatma” refers to the self, the “I” in us. “Jnyaanam” is knowledge, and “nityatvam” is constant dwelling in that knowledge. For instance, once we know that the sun is a star and that the earth revolves around it, we never forget it, even when we appreciate the beauty of a sunrise or a sunset. Similarly, we can mourn the loss of a loved one, without letting that incident obscure our knowledge that the human body is ephemeral.
 
“Tattva jnyaana artha” is the goal or the culmination of the knowledge of reality, which is moksha or liberation. We will constantly contemplate on the self only if we feel that liberation is worthwhile, that it is valuable. On the other hand, if we value material goals more than liberation, we will waver in our commitment to inquiring about the self. Therefore, if we are able to make liberation our end goal, we will easily practice all the other attributes that we have studied in the previous few shlokas.
 
Shri Krishna concludes this topic by asserting that what has been spoken of so far is the means of knowledge, it is jnyaanam. Anything that does not provide this means of knowledge is ignorance, it is ajnyaanam, it will only serve to further entangle us in the material world. For instance, if we practice arrogance instead of humility, that is out of ignorance. It will lead us away from the path of liberation. We are urged to lead an intelligent, ignorance-free life in the Gita, right from the beginning when Shri Krishna glorified buddhi yoga in the second chapter.
 
So then, if all this was the means of knowledge, what knowledge does it reveal to us? This topic is taken up next.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 10, Chapter 13

mayi chaananyayogena bhaktiravyabhichaarini |
viviktadeshasevitvamaratirjanasamsadi || 10 ||
 
Single-pointed devotion in me through unwavering yoga, going to solitary locations and disinterest in the assembly of people.
 
mayi : in me
cha : and
ananyayogena : single-pointed yoga
bhaktihi : devotion
avyabhichaarini : unwavering
viviktadesha : solitary locations
sevitvam : going to
aratihi : disinterest
janasamsadi : assembly of people
 
Shri Krishna adds three further attributes that help us reduce the impact of the field or the kshetra. He stresses upon the importance of single-pointed devotion by bringing up the word “vyabhichaari”. At one level it means wavering or unsteady, but at another level it refers to someone who is unfaithful to their spouse. True devotion to Ishvara has to be “avyabhichaari” or unwavering, where there is no “anya”, no other goal such as getting good marks in our exams, or generating extra profit in our business. We only ask such material goals when we doubt the omniscience, the all-knowing nature of Ishvara.
 
“Vivikta desha” refers to a location that is pure and conducive to meditation and contemplation. But this does not suggest retiring to a forest. It means finding a time and place everyday where we can be free of distractions such as cell phones, television and Internet. If we are constantly pulled into the world by such distractions, contemplation upon Ishvara becomes impossible. But if we spend ten to fifteen minutes without any distractions, and make it a habit, we will automatically begin the process of quietening our mind and contemplating upon Ishvara.
 
“Jana samsad” means assembly of people. And we all know that wherever two or three people meet without any agenda, there is going to be discussion about all the goings on in the world, or even gossip. This assembly of people forces one to join in the conversation and again get sucked into praakrita or material interests. Now “ratihi” means one who revels. So therefore, one who prefers not to indulge in such gossip is called “janasamsadi aratihi”. In fact, as our devotion towards Ishvara increases, interest for external stimuli, including meeting constantly, will slowly subside.
 
Shri Krishna adds two more attributes in the next shloka to conclude this topic.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 9, Chapter 13

asaktiranabhishvangaha putradaaragrihaadishu |
nityam cha samachittatvamishtaanishtopapattishu || 9 ||
 
Remaining unattached, without identification with one's son, spouse, home and others, and constant equanimity of mind when favourable or unfavourable (situations) are attained.
 
asaktihi : non attachment
anabhishvangaha : lack of identification
putradaaragrihaadishu : in son, spouse, home and others
nityam : constantly
cha : and
samachittatvam : equanimity of mind
ishtaanishta : favourable or unfavourable
upapattishu : in attainment of
 
Shri Krishna adds three more qualities that help us reduce importance of the kshetra in this shloka. The first one is asaktihi, a detached attitude towards people, objects and situations. Aasakti is extreme attachment whereas asakti is lack of attachment. Only when we are away from our daily routine, perhaps on vacation or on a retreat, do we know our level of dependence, and even addiction, to objects, people and situations. Beginning from a cup of coffee in the morning to television in the evening, we rely on external factors to give us joy, and conversely, experience sorrow when they are not available for our enjoyment.
 
A particularly difficult type of attachment is the strong identification we have with our immediate family and home, which is why Shri Krishna has specifically called it out in this shloka. "Abhishvangaha" is the placement of our future comfort, joy and happiness in our spouse, our children and our home. It is the thought that "in my old age, I do not have to worry, my spouse, or my child will take care of everything, and I can retire in my house peacefully". This kind of identification is one step worse than attachment, because we do not see any difference between us and our spouse, our children and our home. Any sorrow that affects our spouse becomes our own sorrow. We should of course partake in joy and sorrow with our family members, but only to the extent of our responsibilities. If we go overboard, we will not be able to negate this aspect of kshetra, and consequently, not be able to contemplate the eternal essence. "Anabhishvangaha" is one who can remain detached in this situation.
 
The third quality mentioned here is "samachittatvam", maintaining equanity of mind in favourable or unfavourable situations. Shri Krishna has stressed this qualiti repeatedly in various contexts. Even in the very beginning, in the second chapter, he praised equanimity by saying "samatvam yoga ucchyate". Now, he urges us to maintain this attitude at all times. This can only work if we figure out how to prevent our mind from labelling situations as favourable or unfavourable. One way of doing so is to submit all the results of actions to Ishvara as an offering, and accept any situation as a blessing from him. We can also train our mind through intense meditation to stop this sort of labelling.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 8, Chapter 13

indriyaartheshu vairaagyamanahankaara eva cha |
janmamrityujaraavyaadhiduhkhadoshaanudarshanam || 8 ||
 
Dispassion towards sense objects, absence of ego, as well as constant perception of sorrow towards birth, death, old age and disease.
 
indriyaartheshu : sense objects
vairaagyam : dispassion
anahankaara : absence of ego
eva : also
cha : and
janmamrityujaraavyaadhi : birth, death, old age, disease
duhkhadoshaanudarshanam : constant perception of sorrow
 
Shri Krishna continues listing the attributes that help us reduce the importance of the kshetra or the field. Here he lists dispassion of sense objects, absence of ego and investigation into the modifications of the human body as three further attributes in addition to the nine mentioned in the previous shloka.
 
We have five sense organs that can contact the world and perceive objects. They have raaga (attraction), dvesha (hatred) or viraaga (indifference) towards objects. If we see a lump of clay, for example, we have neither attraction or hatred towards it. The mind is not disturbed when the senses remain free of the labelling of raaga or dvesha. When our senses develop indifference towards every object that they perceive, it is the state of vairagyam or dispassion towards sense objects. So, regardless of whether the object in question is in front of us or someone reminds us of that object, our mind remains unaffected by its presence.
 
Previously, we came across the term "abhimaan" which meant a sense of mine-ness towards external attributes such as wealth, power, position and so on. "Ahankaara" in this context is a stronger form of abhimaan where we develop a sense of mine-ness towards our own body, mind and intellect. If one has pride about a gold medal in mathematics, that is abhimaaan. But if one is proud about one's intelligence, that is ahankaara. Anahankaara is the absence of such pride, and it is born out of constant dispassion or vairagya towards the body and its temporary nature. Moreover, even a simple bit of contemplation will reveal that for the majority of the population, there is always someone who will eventually overtake us with a better body, mind and intellect.
 
So far we came across pleasure derived out of sense objects, as well as pride in the functioning of the body, mind and intellect. Both these notions stem from the assumption that our body will remain healthy and fit eternally. But, even if we walk the corridor of any hospital for five minutes, we see the silliness in holding on to that assumption. "Dosha-anudarshanam" is the constant, repeated perception of sorrow in all of these states of the body, not just when we visit the hospital. Now, although we consider disease, old age and death as sorrowful, Shri Krishna adds birth to this list as well. It is full of suffering for both the child and the mother. In the Dasbodh of Swami Ramdas, as well as the Shiva Apraadha Stotram of Shankaraachaarya, there is an elaborate description of the painful process of birth.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 7, Chapter 13

amaanitvamadambhitvamahimsaa kshaantiraarjavam |
aachaaryopaasanam shaucham sthairyamaatmavinigrahaha || 7 ||
 
Humility, unpretentiousness, non-injury, forgiveness, straightforwardness, service of the teacher, purity, steadfastness, self control.
 
amaanitvam : humility
adambhitvam : unpreteniousness
ahimsaa : non-injury
kshaantihi : forgiveness
aarjavam : straightforwardness
aachaaryopaasanam : service of the teacher
shaucham : purity
sthairyam : steadfastness
aatmavinigrahaha : self control
 
Let us do a quick recap. Shri Krishna began this chapter with a brief explanation of what is the field or kshetra, and who is its knower or kshetragnya. He then asserted that there is only one knower of all the fields in the universe. After that, he categorized twenty four items that can be each considered as a field. From this shloka, Shri Krishna changes the topic from theoretical description to extremely practical techniques that help us bring this teaching into our daily lives. These techniques train us to spot the field or upaadhi that we are giving importance and subsequently reduce the level of importance we give to it. The less importance we give to any of these twenty four upaadhis, the closer we are to realizing our oneness with the eternal essence that is beyond any field or upaadhi.
 
"Maana" means overestimation of one's own self-worth. This self-worth can be derived from health, wealth, power, beauty, control, position, any of these characteristics. Acknowledgement that we have one or more of these characteristics, a correct assessment of these characteristics is fine, but when pride or "abhimaan" derived from these characteristics makes us crave extra attention or put down someone else, it is to be avoided. "Amaanitvam" is an absence of pride about any of the above-mentioned characteristics. "Dambha" means pretentiousness or falsehood. In the case of abhimaana, we had some characteristic in us that made us puff up with pride. In dambha, we derive a false sense of pride where there is no positive trait to speak of whatsoever. It is completely hollow pride. We see examples in bollywood movies where the boy will rent or steal a fancy car in order to impress his girlfriend. If we have this trait in us, very few people will trust us to do any task well. It is easy to see through people who have dambha. So then, "adambhitvam" is utter absence of pretentiousness.
 
"Himsaa" means injury in a very broad sense of the word. There are five afflictions that are mentioned in the Yoga school of philosophy: ignorance, arrogance, desire, hatred and fear of death. Whenever we cause any of these afflictions or kleshas in any other person, we are injuring that person. When we do not cause any of these afflications, we demonstrate ahimsaa or non-injury. "Kshaantihi" is an attitude of forgiveness that comes out of extreme titkshaa which is forbearance and tolerance. If we do not have this quality, we will get angry, flare up and lose our equanimity at every little jab or insult that anyone throws at us. In the second chapter Shri Krishna had emphasized the quality of forbearance as a means to achieve equanimity as well. The attitude of forgiveness developed through forbearance is similar to that of a mother who forgives any mistake committed by her child.
 
"Aarjavam" refers to straightforwardness, an absence of crookedness in dealing with the world. It is derived from the root "riju" which is the root of the word "Arjuna" as well. This quality is reflected in us when our thoughts are aligned with our actions. Even children can see through someone who says one thing and does something else. "Aacharya" refers to someone who collects the essence of the scriptures, like a honeybee collects nectar from flowers. Giving respect to such a learned master is called "aacharya upaasanam". By doing so, we acknowledge that we do not know everything, and that we are ready to follow the path laid out by the teacher, no matter how much it hurts our ego.
 
"Shaucham" is purity of the body and the mind. The ritual of pooja is emphasized in Indian children because in that short period of time, we learn to maintain a high degree of external purity. If we reflect on this as we get older, that notion of external purity slowly seeps into our mind, and encourages us to develop purity in thought as well. "Sthairyam" is the strength to remain firm in one's convictions, to remain steadfast in what we do. If we decide to meditate for ten minutes daily but cannot even do so for a couple of days, we will not be able to tackle much more challenging aspects of our material and spiritual journeys. "Aatmaa vinigraha" is our ability to control our mind from its natural tendency to run after sense objects. The sense organs, which are under the control of the mind, have a natural tendency to go outwards. Through self control, we learn to turn them inward.
 
Shri Krishna covered nine qualities in tihs shloka. There are eleven more that are covered in the next few shlokas.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 6, Chapter 13

ichchaa dveshaha sukham duhkham sanghaataschetanaa dhritihi |
etatkshetram samaasena savikaramudaahritam || 6 ||
 
Desire, hatred, joy, sorrow, assembly, awareness, fortitude. This field with its modifications has been illustrated in brief.
 
ichchaa : desire
dveshaha : hatred
sukham : joy
duhkham : sorrow
sanghaataha : assembly
chetanaa : awareness
dhritihi : fortitude
etat : this
kshetram : field
samaasena : in brief
savikaram : with modifications
udaahritam : has been illustrated
 
Previously, Shri Krishna explained the creation and make-up of the world and the individual as comprised of 24 constituents. Now he explains how the individual comes into contact with the world. We saw in the last shloka that all of us come with a stock of unfulfilled desires or vaasanas that causes the individual to be born in this world. Shri Krishna says that the sprouting of desires or “ichchaa” causes us to approach the world for fulfillment of those desires. If we obtain what we desire, we experience joy, and if we don’t obtain it, we experience sorrow. If something repeatedly gives us sorrow, we develop a sense of hatred or “dvesha” towards it.
 
Desire, hatred, joy and sorrow are modifications or changes in the inner instrument, the antahakarana. The antahakarana always wants to create a sense of wholeness or completeness out of the diversity of limbs, hair, nerves, nails etc that make up one body. But it also wants to keep this collection of what it calls the body distinct from everything else in the world. This notion of completeness is called “sanghaata” meaning assembly, and the will to preserve the assembly and keep it distinct from the world is called “dhriti” or fortitude. All biological desires arise from this desire to maintain the body as a distinct single entity.
 
Now we come to the modification of the antahakarana that gives it the quality of awareness and sentiency, known as “chetanaa” or awareness. Though we may be tempted to think that this sentiency in the antahakarana is the soul, the aatmaa, the eternal essence, it is not. It is a borrowed kind of awareness caused by a reflection of the eternal essence in the antahakarana, just like a pot filled with water reflects the sun in it. In fact, chetanaa and the six other modifications mentioned in this shloka are variously assumed to be the eternal essence by various schools of philosophy. Shri Krishna asserts that everything mentioned in this shloka and the prior shloka is not the eternal essence. It is kshetra, the field.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 5, Chapter 13

mahaabhootaanyahankaaro buddhiravyaktameva cha |
indriyaani dashaikam cha pancha chendriyagocharaahaa || 5 ||
 
The great elements, the ego, the intellect, the unmanifest, and also the ten senses, and the one, and five objects of senses.
 
mahaabhootaani : great elements
ahankaaraha : ego
buddhihi : intellect
avyaktam : unmanifest
eva : also
cha : and
indriyaani : senses
dasha : ten
ekam : one
cha : and
pancha : five
cha : and
indriyagocharaahaa : objects of senses
 
Nowadays, most computers have the ability to go into sleep mode, where all the running programs are saved in a file on the disk in such a way that they are brought back to life as soon as the computer is switched on again. Similarly, when the universe comes into existence, its entire state is restored from avyaktam, the unmanifest "file" containing the sum total of every unfulfilled desire. We then begin to see faint outlines of the universe, just like the computer first draws the outlines of the windows on the screen. This state is known as buddhi. We finally see the universe in full colour, in all its glory, just like we see a fully painted screen on our computer. This state is known as ahankara. This fully painted screen is created by combining three colours - red, blue and green - in various ways.
 
Similarly, the entire universe is created by combining the five great elements - space, air, fire, water and earth - in various ways. As humans, we are also comprised of those same five great elements. But, each of us looks and behaves differently than the other due to the difference in our "programming" - the avyakta, also known as vaasanaas or unfulfilled desires. Also, there is something within us that give us the ability to think, feel and act, which we do not see in inert objects. This is the inner instrument or the antahakarana. It is comprised of the buddhi or intellect which plans and decides, the ahankaara or ego which creates a sense of agency or I-ness and the mind which thinks and feels, referred in the shloka as "ekam" or the one.
 
The mind receives stimuli from five sense organs - ears, skin, eyes, tongue and nose which run after their objects - sound, touch, form, taste and smell, respectively. The mind also controls five organs of action - mouth, hands, legs, genitals and bowels. The five elements, the five sense organs, their five corresponding sense objects, the five organs of actions, the mind, the intellect, the ego and the unmanifest - these make up the twenty four categories of the universe mentioned in the Saamkhya school of philosophy.
 
In just one shloka, Shri Krishna has explained the entire process of cosmic creation and its building blocks, as well as the specific factors that enable humans to think, feel and act. Plants and animals are also made up of similar building blocks, although not as fully expressed as in humans. Whenever we develop anxiety or frustration that this world is becoming too complex to understand, we can refer to this shloka and understand that at its core, the world is quite simple. Also, whenever we develop the mistaken notion that we are independent and do not need anything from this world, this shloka shows us our oneness with the world. Now this shloka only provides a static view of the world. How do we account for all the dynamism, the movement, the give and take between one human being and the rest of the world? This is explained in the next shloka.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 4, Chapter 13

rishibhirbahudhaa geetam chandobhirvividhaihi prithak |
brahmasootrapadaishchaiva hetumadbhirvinishchitaihi || 4 ||
 
Sages have sung (about the field and its knower) in many ways, it has been stated in various Vedic chants and also in the logical and conclusive texts of the Brahma Sootras.
 
rishibhihi : by sages
bahudhaa : many ways
geetam : sung
chandobhihi : Vedic chants
vividhaihi : various
prithak : distinctly
brahmasootrapadaihi : Brahma Sootra texts
cha : and
eva : also
hetumadbhihi : logical
vinishchitaihi : conclusive
 
Shri Krishna glorifies the knowledge of the field and its knower in this shloka. He affirms that this very same knowledge was first revealed to the rishis or sages, and is not something that has been invented in the Gita. It was then documented in the four Vedas: the Rik, Saama, Yajur and Atharva. It is to be found in all three sections of each of these Vedas: the Samhitaa (hymns), Braahmanaa (theology) and Upanishads (discourses on divine knowledge). It is important to note that this knowledge was revealed to the sages in their meditations, and not authored as an original composition by anybody. Since this knowledge is beyond the realm of the senses and the mind, it could not have come from any one person's mind. It had to come from direct experience arrived at through meditation.
 
Now, even if we are able to access this divine knowledge by studying the Vedas, we cannot assimilate this knowledge without the help of logic. We need something that can explain, step-by-step, what is revealed in the four Vedas. We also need logic to reconcile apparent contradictions that we as students come across while studying the Vedas. The Brahma Sootras, authored by Vyaasa, use logic and reason to present the knowledge of the Vedas in a precise, formula-like method. Each sootra in that text is hardly two or three words long, but is packed with so much information that commentators like Shankaraachaarya write pages and pages to explain just one sootra.
 
The Bhagavad Gita, the Upanishads and the Brahma Sootras are known as the "Prasthaana Traya", and together provide a comprehensive compendium of knowledge about the field and its knower, as well as practical training on how to go about it. Of the three, the Bhagavad Gita is closest to the understanding of a common man. Shri Krishna instructs us to learn about the field and the knower in brief such that we can progress in our spiritual journey. But if we want to delve deeper into the details for academic reasons, we are more than welcome to read the Vedas and the Brahma Sootras. He now proceeds to talk about the field, the kshetra, in detail.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 3, Chapter 13

tatkshetram yachcha yaadrika cha yadvikaari yatashcha yata |
sa cha yo yatprabhaavashcha tatsamaasena me shrunu || 3 ||
 
And what is that field, and of what is its nature, and what are its modifications, and from where it was born; and who is he and what are his powers, listen from me in brief.
 
tat : that
kshetram : field
yat : which
cha : and
yaadrika : what is its nature
cha : and
yadvikaari : what are its modifications
yataha : from where it was born
cha : and
yat : who is
saha : he
cha : and
yaha : what
yatprabhaavaha : his powers
cha : and
tat : that
samaasena : in brief
me : from me
shrunu : listen
 
Since we covered a lot of ground in the prior two shlokas, let us do a quick recap. Shri Krishna said that there is only one kind of knowledge that has to be known by a seeker: that there are several bodies or conditionings called fields, and there is just one knower of the field that is as though limited by these bodies due to ignorance or avidyaa. Since there is a lot more to be said about this subject, Shri Krishna lists all the relevant topics that he has to cover.
 
With regards to the kshetra, the field, we have to learn about what it is, what are its characteristics, how does it undergo modifications and what it its source. With regards to the knower of the field, the kshetragnya, we have to also learn what it is, what are its powers and what are its effects. This is the theoretical aspect of this chapter. All this will be covered in just a few shlokas, or “in brief” from Shri Krishna’s standpoint, but we will study it elaborately.
 
Another topic that will be covered in this chapter is the comparison between the individual and the world, how does the individual come in contact with the world, how does he transact with the world, and what are the means of knowledge he can use to maintain the awareness of the field and its knower throughout his life. This is an extremely practical and useful aspect of this chapter.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 2, Chapter 13

kshetragnya chaapi maam viddhi sarvakshetreshu bhaarata |
kshetrakshetragnayorjnyaanam yattajgnyaanam matam mama || 2 ||
 
And also, understand that I am the knower of all fields, O Bhaarata. That knowledge which pertains to the field and its knower, in my opinion, that is (real) knowledge.
 
kshetragnya : knower of the field
cha : and
api : also
maam : I
viddhi : understand
sarvakshetreshu : all fields
bhaarata : O Bhaarata
kshetrakshetragnayoho : field and its knower
jnyaanam : knowledge
yat : that which
tat : that
jnyaanam : knowledge
matam : opinion
mama : my
 
Shri Krishna began the previous chapter by defining two terms: kshetra which means field, and kshetragnya which means the knower of the field, one who knows himself as distinct from the field. In this shloka, Shri Krishna uses these terms to indicate the identity or oneness of the kshetragnya in all kshetras. Let us try to understand this very important point. Like Arjuna did in the first chapter, most of us consider our self, our "I", as this body, and therefore get stuck in the sorrows of this world. As we understand the message of the first six chapters, we understand that we are the eternal essence which is different than our body. We then understand from the next six chapters that Ishvara is the foundation of this world as the lower Prakriti or matter, and higher Prakriti or consciousness. Now, in this shloka, Shri Krishna says that there is no such distinction between the individual eternal essence and the foundation of this world. There is only one kshetragnya, and any notion of separation is illusory, caused by avidyaa or ignorance. This is the great statement, the mahaa vaakya "Tat Tvam Asi" of the Vedas. You and Ishvara are the same in essence, there is no difference.
 
When we first hear someone say that we are the same as Ishvara, we don't find it quite logical. We say, how can a body that is five feet eight inches tall be the same as Ishvara who is large enough to contain all the planets and stars of the universe within him? To answer this, we have to first remember that "Tat Tvam Asi" is not meant to be taken literally. Again, let us proceed step by step. First, let us understand the term "upaadhi". It means something that limits or conditions a more general thing. A wave is an upaadhi of water. A light bulb is an upaadhi of electricity. An ornament is an upaadhi of gold. We can obtain the general thing that the upaadhi limits or hides by a process of mental removal. Mentally remove the wave, and you get water. Mentally remove the bulb, you get electricity. Mentally remove the ornament, you get gold. We can take this even further. Mentally remove the labels Mercedes Benz and Maruti 800 from the word car, and you get metal, rubber, petrol and plastic. Mentally remove the labels Indian and American from the word person, and you get flesh, bones and blood.
 
Now, having undersood what an upaadhi is, and how it can be mentally removed, let us proceed to understand what the word "Asi" in "Tat Tvam Asi" indicates. It is not to be literally interpreted as Tvam (You) Asi (are equal to) Tat (Ishvara). Asi means "are equal to, when you remove the upaadhi". If we apply this meaning, the mahaa vaakya reads : Tvam (You) Asi (are equal to) Tat (Ishvara) when you remove both the upaadhis of You and Ishvara. I as a human have the upaadhi of the physical body and everything it contains. Ishvara has the upaadhi of the entire universe in its visible form including all the trees, plants, animals, people, stars, planets etc that we see with our senses. If we mentally remove our body as an upaadhi, and we also mentally remove the visible universe as an upaadhi, we are left with the same eternal essence in both cases. That same eternal essence, that same kshetragnya, is present in all kshetras, which are the same as upaadhis.
 
Another meaning of the word "upaadhi" is title or qualification, which can help us understand this shloka in a different way. Let's say there are two brothers in a house. One of them has a PhD in physics, and the other is a manager in a multinational. When each of them is in their respective offices, they use their titles as part of their job responsibilities. But when they perform a pooja or a holy ritual, lets say, they mentally remove their upaadhis or titles. If they did not remove their titles, their conversation would go like this: "Hey PhD in physics, do this. Hey manager, pour the clarified butter". They would never see that they are really the same family under the titles that seemingly create differences. This means that removing upaadhis to realize our oneness with Ishvara can be difficult, but it is not impossible. We know how to remove small upaadhis. Shri Krishna will teach us how to remove the biggest upaadhis in this chapter through practical techniques. He says that ultimately, knowledge of the kshetragnya, the kshetras or upaadhis, and how to realize oneness under the kshetras, is the ultimate knowledge that one has to learn, and not any other type of knowledge.