Monday, February 4, 2013

Bhagavad Gita Verse 34, Chapter 13

kshetrakshetrajnyayorevamantaram jnyaanachakshushaa |
bhootaprakritimoksham cha ye viduryanti te param || 34 ||

 
Those who, by the eye of wisdom, perceive the distinction between the field and its knower in this manner, and relinquishment from the cause of all beings, they attain the supreme.
 
kshetrakshetrajnyayoho : field and its knower
evam : in this manner
antaram : distinction
jnyaanachakshushaa : eye of wisdom
bhootaprakriti : cause of all beings
moksham : relinquishment
cha : and
ye : those who
viduhu : perceive
yanti : attain
te : they
param : supreme
 
After having understood the true nature of the self, the nature of the ignorance we are in, and also having understood the method of how to remove this ignorance, what is the result? Shri Krishna concludes this chapter by asserting that the one who has removed his ignorance through knowledge attain the supreme, which is moksha or liberation from the cycle of Prakriti’s creation and dissolution. The key to understanding this chapter is "viveka", or discrimination, which was hinted at the beginning of this chapter by the words "idam shareera" or "this body".
 
Take the case of a forensic investigator who is hired to detect counterfeit currency notes. On the first day of his job, he will not be able to spot the difference between a fake note and a genuine note. After learning about the visual differences between what’s fake and what’s genuine, and after practising to spot those differences over a period of time, his eye will begin to see minute details that the average eye cannot see. This ability to separate the real from the unreal is discrimination, which is the “eye of wisdom” mentioned in the shloka.
 
So then, the one who knows how to conduct his life in a manner such that he can distinguish between the unreal aspects and the real aspects, between the field and its knower, between Purusha and Prakriti, and learn to see the imperishable in the perishable as Ishvara, such a person is freed of the mechanisms of Prakriti, the cause of all beings. This is the goal of jnyaana yoga, which is summarized in the thirteenth chapter of the Gita. We will be able to attain this goal if we bring this teaching into our lives through constant reflection and meditation.
 
om tatsatiti shreematbhagavatgitasupanishadsu brahmavidyaayaam yogashaastre shreekrishnaarjunsamvade kshetrakshetrajnyavibhaagayogo naama trayodashodhyaayaha || 13 ||

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