Baghawad Gita, Class 194: Chapter 15, Verses 7 to 12

Shloka # 15.8:

5.8 When the master leaves it and even when he
assumes a body, he departs taking these, as wind (carries away) odours from
their receptacles.

Continuing his teachings Swamiji said in the first six verses of the 15th chapter, Sri Krishna talked about samsara and also the means of crossing the ocean of samsara; otherwise called moksha and he defined moksha as merging into Brahman; that brahman which happens to be the very root and base of the creation. Brahma aikya prapthi or merger into Brahman is not a physical event, it is only dropping the notion, that I, the Jivatman, am away from the Brahman. Dropping the notion, which is purely a cognitive or intellectual event, is called moksha, that is why Vedanta Gyanam and moksha are treated synonymously, because Moksha is dropping the notion or wrong notion and any wrong notion is removed by right notion (we cannot say that) or by right knowledge. And Sri Krishna gave the definition of Brahman in the 6th important verse, which is based on the well-known upanishadic mantra: na tatra suryo bhati na chandratarakam, which essentially means that Brahman is the all-pervading consciousness.

Chaitanya
svarupam Brahman is
one which can objectify everything but which itself can never be objectified by
any means; it is the unobjectifiable subject, unobserverable observer; chaitanya
svarupam brahma.

And having defined Brahman in the sixth verse, from the seventh verse onwards, Sri Krishna introduced two important topics to show that Brahman alone appears in the form of everything. Just as God alone appears as varieties of ornaments, wood alone appears as different kinds of furniture or waker alone appears in the form of the dream universe; similarly, Brahman alone appears in the form of the universe. This is called sarvatmakatvam; Sarvatmakatvam means Brahman is everything. For the sake of convenience, the entire universe is divided into two parts; one is the chetana Jivas, the sentient living beings, and the other achetana prapancha, the insentient objects. So the creation is chetanam plus achetanam, the sentient Jiva plus the insentient jagat and in these verses Sri Krishna points out Brahman alone appears in the form of jiva also; Brahman alone appears in the form of jagat also. Jiva api brahmaiva, jagat api brahmaiva, sarvam brahma mayam jagat; which is beautifully revealed in all the upanishads, especially in the well-known Mundaka Upanishad Mantra, II.11.

Whether
you experience a sentient living and you are experiencing an insentient object,
everything is Brahman alone and of this from verse No.7 up to 11, Sri Krishna says
Brahman alone is in the form of Jiva.

This
is from verse No.7 to 11. Then from verse no.12 to 15, Sri Krishna says Brahman
alone is in the form of the inert universe also. Of this we are now seeing the
first part. Brahman alone is in the form of jeeva. And in this particular portion,
as I said in the last class, Sri Krishna is referring to himself as Brahman and
therefore the Brahman is replaced by the word I, in the first person singular; therefore
whenever we hear the word aham, or I, we should replace it by the word Brahman.
Therefore Sri Krishna said,

Shloka 15.7 &
15.8:

15.7 It is verily a part of Mine which,
becoming the eternal individual soul in the region of living beings, draws (to
itself) the organs which have the mind as their sixth, and which abide in
Nature.

15.8 When the master leaves it and even when
he assumes a body, he departs taking these, as wind (carries away) odours from
their receptacles.

I, the original all-pervading Consciousness, alone am present in every living being as the reflected consciousness; the chidabhasa chaitanyam obtaining in the mind. And this chidabhasa alone makes the body sentient and alive. Just as the pervading electricity alone makes the filament bright and the brightness of the light only makes the filament bright, appreciating the light, my mind has to appreciate the invisible electricity which is expressing as the light in the bulb; as the motion in the fan, as the magnifying power in the mike, as the heat in the ironing machine. So different expressions I experience, they are blessings of the one invisible electricity. Similarly, all our physical bodies are like bulbs, very fragile; and our subtle body, the sukshma shariram is like the filament; and atma or Brahman is like the electricity; or Brahman is comparable to electricity. Bulb is visible, filament is visible, and electricity is invisible. Similarly body is visible, mind is partially visible, whereas Conciousness is invisible. But the presence of electricity can be discerned through the functions of the bulb, fan, mike, radio, television, etc. Similarly, if all of us are alive and sentient, as Taittariya upanishad says:  If our breath is going out and coming in; all these are because of the chidabhasa obtaining within and chidabhasa itself is possible because of the original chit. And therefore Sri Krishna says every function of every organ reveals the presence of Brahman. And this is said beautifully in Kenopanishad as: Prana is prana because of the presence of consciousness; Eye is an eye because of the presence of consciousness and Ear is ear because of it. And this chidabhasa alone leaves the physical body at the time of death; after which alone the body which is so sacred, which is so divine, which is very much decorated bathed and shampooed and painted and lipsticked and all those things we do because it is alive; but the moment that chidabhasa quits; chit quits (be careful) the moment reflected consciousness leaves along with the reflecting medium; the mind is the reflecting medium, the mind leaves the body, the chidabhasa leaves the body and the sacred body has become an impure corpse.

It has become asoucham and the sooner it is disposed the better it is. What makes the difference between the dead body and live body? The scientists, the doctors; can only say that the functions have stopped but they can never say what was responsible for this function and what has left the body, they do not know. They cannot understand what is life, they cannot understand what is death. All others they know. What all others? What others, when there is only two. When the chidabasa leaves, it takes the all the pancha Gyaendriyani, pancha karmendriyani, and goes to another body, and starts its new business in a small shop.

And when this Jiva leaves this body, and shariram takes another body; we make such a big fuss about this change. And the rent is karma. Punyapapam prarabhda is the rent and when that is gone; it goes to another body; how does it go; along with a huge lorry of all the things. And he gave the example, just as the invisible wind carries the fragrance from the visible flower; the invisible chidabhasa carries the fragrance of life.

What
is the fragrance of life? Not powder and snow. The fragrance of body, is the very
life in the visible body; it goes to another set up. What does it do there?

Again
start the old business of LKG, UKG, college, get married, get children, get grand
children, then what? Pop off; then what; and again go to another place, it will
go on like that.

Shloka 15.9:

15.9 This one enjoys the objects by presiding
over the ear, eyes, skin and tongue as also the nose and the mind.

So
this invisible chidabhasa,
the reflected consciousness carries the entire sukshma shariram and
sukshma shariram includes all
the organs, pancha Gyanendriyani,
pancha karmendriyani panchca prana, manah, buddhi; and
all the sense organs. Sense organs means not the eye ball. It does not carry
the eye ball; but behind the eye ball, the perceptive power is there; which is
carried with the sense organ, that is taken.

When a new body comes, and there also only if the next body is a human body, where all the five sense organs can be used, if it is a tree body, the tree does not have five sense organs; so the tree has only the skin; the other four sense organs are not utilized. So therefore this sukshma shariram of the tree has got all the sense organs but they do not have the physical medium for utilization.

Here, Sri Krishna assumes, the Jiva goes to another human body and in that human body, the chakshur indriyam is placed in the chakshur golakam; the srothram indriyam, the invisible part, is placed on the srothra golakam, which is the called the physical part; indriyam is the invisible part, golakam is the visible part.

Similarly,
the srothra, tvak, chakshu,
rasana, all of them are placed in the respective slots that is said here. srothram,
ear, chakshu, the eye,
sparshanam, the skin,
invisible organ of touch, rasanam, the invisible organ of taste, grahnam, the organ
of smell, all of them are placed in the respective golakas and also adishtyaya mana. All
the sense organs have to be backed by the mind and therefore the mind also must
be located appropriately and according to the shastra,
hrdyam is the location of the mind; not the brain. According to shastra,
hrdyam is the golakam for the indriyam called mind. Which hrdyam? The physical
heart is golakam. The physical heart is the golakam, because golakam should be
visible Golakam must be the tangible part of the body, the tangible physical
heart is the golakam; mind is the indriyam; which is located there.

Adhishtaya means resorting to all these six organs, pancha Gyanendriyani and plus one anthakaranam, resorting to all of them. What does the Jiva do; start experiencing the new environment. If the parents are wonderful parents, the child would have a gala time. If the parents are terrible, the child would have only misery; poor innocent child, has harsh experiences right from the birth itself and what determines the type of experience? It is not child’s freewill, child was not consulted as to who should the parents; spouse can be chosen by svayamvaram; parents cannot be chosen, you are already born with parents; therefore what determines the innocent child’s life? It is determined by the purva janma karma. If it is punya karma; wonderful mom, wonderful dad, wonderful siblings, wonderful neighbour, wonderful place; if karma’s are not good, we are hearing lot of child abuse and all, and child cannot even protest; Now only some methods are suggested; child has to silently suffer. All because of purva janma punya and papa.

And remember all these are possible; the experience of pleasures or pain; both are possible because of the chidabhasa alone; A dead body cannot experience pleasure; nor can it experience pain. Therefore experience reveals the presence of life, which is chidabhasa. Which reveals the presence of Brahman, which is the chit, the all-pervading consciousness.

And therefore Sri Krishna says; every moment of life reveals Brahman, for a discerning mind. Every moment of life reveals Brahman. Just as every letter you read in your book, reveals the presence of the light all over; the presence of light is not revealed at a particular moment, every letter you read is because of the presence of light. Similarly every word I speak and every word you listen is because of Brahman. And a person asks for the proof of Brahman. It is like when mother asked her son to ask neighbor’s house to see if they had power or not. And the child was an obedient child; the child enters the neighbors house and sees the fan is on; the light is there; TV is running; Yet he tells them: My mother asked me to check up with you whether there is current in your house. A child can do that but if a grown up person asks, you will laugh. Similarly an immature person can ask for a proof of God; but for a mature person, the very question is a meaningless and ridiculous question. That is stated in the next verse.

Shloka 15.10:

15.10 Persons who are diversely deluded do not
see it even when it is leaving or residing (in this body), or experiencing, or
in association with the alities. Those with the eye of knowledge see.

So
while the previous verses were preparatory verses, this is the crucial verse.
So here alone Sri Krishna says, for a discerning mind, Brahman is recognizable
in every activity of the individual, in every function of the Jiva. Just as the
invisible electricity is discerned in every function of the electrical gadgets,
in every function of the Jiva,
Brahman is discerned. Of course, directly discern the function from the
functions, we discern the chidabhasa; reflected consciousness; and from the reflected consciousness;
we discern the original Conciousness, because we know that the original
consciousness alone appears as the reflected consciousness. When you want to apply kumkumam or chandanam or vibhuthi,
you see the mirror and you see the face upon the mirror in front of you, and
when you want to apply, you see the mirror but
apply the tilakam, where; on your face, and not on the mirror, because you know
that there is no difference between that face and this face. What you see is
that face, but what you discern or recognize
is this face. And if you find a black dot on your face, but you wipe here. What
does it mean? Seeing the abhasa
mukham, you
discern the original mukham. Similarly, I experience
the abhasa chaitanyam, every moment, I understand the original consciousness
and therefore Sri Krishna says mature people appreciate God in every breadth.

Gyanachakshu means people who have the eye of discernment, because it is not the physical eye that sees the electricity. Physical eye sees only the moving fan but I have got a third eye, called Gyana chakshu that tells me that behind the visible moving fan, there is an invisible electricity blessing it; because I know a fan by itself cannot move. If a fan can move by itself the increase in electricity tariff will not affect you. Similarly, this body is like the fan; and I discern through my third eye, the invisible Consciousness, which touches the body. Gyana chakshusa means the people who have the eye of understanding.

And what is the understanding? Body is inert by itself, mind is inert by itself; but both are now as though sentient; because of an extraneous factor. That is called chakshusa atma anatma viveka. Gyana chakshusa, those people, pashyanti, they discern, not through the physical eye, but the eye of understanding. What do they discern? The chidabhasa, the Jiva, which is none other than Brahman which has descended down; Brahman’s avataram is Java; because the original face alone has descended down on the mirror; Similarly, chit alone is in the form of chidabhasa, and that Brahman they recognize; Brahman in the form of chidabhasa.

And in what all ways that cidabhasa is playing in the body? sthitam; First we will take the word sthitam, which is very much present in the body, keeping the body alive. So sthitam means residing in the body. What is the proof; that very question is possible because of the chidabhasa or Brahman is there.

Bhunjanam means this Jiva
alone, this consciousness alone, experiences everything including shabda,
sparsha, rupa, rasa, gandha in the world.

I am aware of the sound; I am conscious of the So, Bhunjanam means experiencing the world. So it resides in the body, experiences the world and as even the experience comes; every experience generates a response; some of joy and some of sorrow.

Responses are broadly divided into three types: satvic
response, rajasic response and tamasic response.

Shankaracharya calls it sukha, dukha
and moha responses. And that is called here as said gunanvitham.

Thus the Jivatma is endowed with these threefold
reactions and every reaction reveals the presence of the Brahman in the body.

Therefore every response reveals the presence of the Jiva.
Therefore gunanvitham, Jivam, all these words are adjective to Jiva,
which is an image of what? Brahman. And such a Brahman, gyana chakshu
perceives or mature people recognize.

But vimudha, the immature people, the indiscriminate people, don’t see this. They think that the body has got consciousness of its own. Their philosophy is that consciousness is the property of matter, the material body. Such a philosophy is charuvaka matham, they do not believe in God. They say body has got natural life; God need not enliven the body. That is called materialistic philosophy. What do we say? Body can never have a life of its own; If body has life it is the gift of the Lord alone. Therefore vimudha do not recognize this.

Shloka
15:11:

15.11 And the yogis who are diligent see this
one as existing in themselves. The non-discriminating ones who lack
self-control do not see this one-though (they be) diligent.

So here Sri Krishna talks of the two types of people; the discerning, the vivekis and the non-discerning, aviveki. Just as I see only one fan, but I have discrimination, I know that there are two things; what I see is one; what I understand is two. These two are, the invisible electricity and visible fan. They are both intimately associated, but they are not one and same; they are separate entities.

Even after the destruction of the fan, the visible fan, the electricity continues to be there. Immediately he will recognize if one puts the hand inside. What I see is one; what I recognize is two. Similarly what I see in every living being is only one, but if I study vedanta, I know, there is a visible body and an invisible consciousness. Body will perish; consciousness will survive. And consciousness is, you have to remember, is not a part, property, or product of the body; it is an independent principle.

So Sri Krishna says yoginaha; yoginaha means the discerning people, mature people recognize this Brahman, which is present in the body as Jiva. They recognize this paramatma, present in the body-mind complex.

Present in what form? It is in the form of the reflected consciousness, RC.

 Here atma
has to be translated as body, mind complex.

Thus, body is a temple; Mind is the garbha griham, the sanctum;
and the consciousness is the deity.

Hence for moksha,
let me worship atma lingam residing in the body.

Thus sadhana chatushtaya
sampanna or qualified people, recognize this. And how do they accomplish that? Yathantaha
means putting appropriate effort. So, the discovery, this recognition is through
yathanta kurvanthaha. And what is prayathnam? All the spiritual sadhanas
are the prayathnam, which means what? One has to follow karma yoga, Upasana
yoga and Gyana yoga. In short by going through all the sadhanas,

Including attending the classes they recognize this great truth. Whereas
the other people who have not qualified, whose mind is not pure never recognize
the Lord in their hearts.

And that is why every day, before doing the puja, puja starts with atma puja, because the Lord is very much in the sanctum in the Mind and after atma puja, we invoke the Lord outside and they do bahya puja. So atma puja should be the beginning and the end as well.

Shloka
15:12:

15.12 That light in the sun which illumines
the whole world, that which is in the moon, and that which is in fire,-know
that light to be Mine.

With the previous verse, the first topic that Brahman alone is present in every body as the chidabhasa, the Jivatma is over. Paramatma alone resides in every body as Jivatma and that is why in our culture, anybody we meet we greet with namasthe; that means, tey namaha, my namaskaram to you; we know very well that person does not deserve namaskaram, but we still offer, because we know that behind this body mind, there is paramatma alone in the form of Jivatma, behind a unclean body mind; but paramatma, the Jivatma is ever shuddhaha.

Moving
to next topic, from 12th to 15^th verse, we are entering topic that
Brahman alone is in the form of the jagat; the inert universe as well.