bhagavad gita according to gandhi chapter 15

THE BHAGAVD GITAACCORDING TO

GANDHIT K G NAMBOODHIRI

THIRUVALLA, KERALAPresentation adapted from

The Bhagavad Gita According to Gandhi, Orient Paperbacks,2011

T K G Namboodhiri


GANDHI

T K G Namboodhiri

CHAPTER 15

PURUSHOTHAMA YOGA


GANDHICHAPTER 15 - Introduction

In this Chapter Lord Krishna cites the Ashvattha or banyan tree as a metaphor to symbolise the material manifestation– this world– as a place of bondage & enslavement for the Atman or the Immortal Soul trapped as a Jiva in the Samsara of the perpetual cycle of birth & death. Then He goes on to describe the Universal Soul or PURUSHOTHAMA.

T K G Namboodhiri


GANDHIVerses 15.1 & 15.2

The Lord said:With its root above & branches below, the Ashvattha tree, they say, is imperishable; it has Vedic hymns for leaves; he who knows it knows the Vedas.Above & below its branches spread, blossoming because of the gunas, having for their shoots the sense-objects; deep down in the world of men are ramified its roots, in the shape of the consequences of action.Ashvattha means this transient world, which is changing every moment. The Vedas are inscribed on every leaf of the banyan tree. The tree of the world grows from the navel of Brahman. There is another world with its root below; whose leaves are the various objects of sense-pleasure; that world is the world of desire. One who understands this banyan tree knows dharma. In the first verse Shri Krishna shows the means of going beyond this world. In the second verse, he has described the world from another point of view, that of the ignorant man.

T K G Namboodhiri


GANDHIVerse 15.3

Its form as such is not here perceived, neither is its end, nor beginning, nor basis. Let men first hew down this deep-rooted, Ashvattha with the sure weapon of detachment.The real form of the banyan tree—this world– is difficult to perceive. Few understand where it ends, where it begins. But with strong will & determination one must get free of the entanglements of this tree of material life & seek supreme consciousness. Non-attachment is the weapon to cut down this tree of Samsara. A man who knows the real nature of this world & also knows dharma, is a man who possesses spiritual knowledge. The Imperishable Atman is eligible for attaining the Supreme Consciousness of Brahman & free itself from the bondage of this world & the perpetual cycle of birth & death by detachment from all desires & pursuits.

T K G Namboodhiri



Let him pray to win to that haven from which there is no return & seek to find refuge in the Primal Being from whom has emanated this ancient world of action.To that imperishable haven those enlightened souls go– who are without pride & delusion, who have triumphed over the taints of attachment, who are ever in tune with the Supreme, whose passions have died, who are exempt from the pairs of opposites, such as pleasure & pain.They who crave to win that haven—the Supreme State--- are indifferent to honour & insult; they are absolutely free from delusion & have triumphed over attachment. They, who always contemplate on the Atman, whose cravings for objects of senses have subsided, are the enlightened souls who go to that imperishable haven.

T K G Namboodhiri


GANDHIVerse 15.6

Neither the sun, nor the moon, nor fire illumine it; men who arrive there return not--- that is My supreme abode.Lord Krishna describes the Supreme Abode of Brahman to which liberated souls go. This abode is not lit by the sun, moon or fire. It shines with its own light. Men who reach there do not return to the world of birth & death.

T K G Namboodhiri



A part indeed of Myself which has been the eternal Jiva in this world of life, attracts the mind & the five senses from their place in Prakriti.When the Master (of the body) acquires a body & discards it, He carries these with Him wherever He goes, even as the wind carries scents from flower-beds.The Atman, or the Immortal Soul, in the Jiva or embodied being, is a manifestation of the Supreme Being. It migrates from Jiva to Jiva. When Jiva acquires a new body, it takes along with it in a subtle body, the mind & the senses from the previous body, like the breeze transporting to another location the fragrance of flowers it has come into contact with.

T K G Namboodhiri



Having settled Himself in the senses-ear, eye, touch, taste & smell- as well as the mind, through them He frequents their objects.The deluded perceive Him not as He leaves or settles in ( a body) or enjoys (sense-objects) in association with the gunas; it is only those endowed with the eye of knowledge that see Him.We see only the world, but do not see God who is immanent in it. The ignorant are not able to discriminate between the Atman & the physical body. Lacking the spiritual intelligence, they are oblivious of the reality that the Atman is distinctly different from the body & the senses, even though it is experiencing the senses when dwelling within the body, or when transmigrating from the body or entering a new body.

T K G Namboodhiri



Yogis who strive see Him seated in themselves; the witless who have not cleansed themselves see Him not, even though they strive.The light in the sun which illumines the whole universe & which is in the moon & in the fire– that light, know thou, is Mine.They alone, who have become purified, who have suffered in the furnace of tapas, will see things correctly. Sri Krishna tells that the Supreme is the source of light in the sun, moon & fire.

T K G Namboodhiri



It is I who penetrating the earth, uphold all beings with my strength, & becoming the moon– the essence of all sap---nourish all herbs.It is I who, becoming the Vaishvanara Fire & entering the bodies of all that breathe, assimilate the four kinds of food with the help of the outward & the inward breaths.Pervading the earth, I uphold all beings with my strength, & becoming the moon, the producer of all sap, nourish all herbs, food-crops & all else that grows in the fields. I, as Vaishvanara fire- the heat that digest food- digest the four types of food (what is sucked, licked, drunk & eaten)that all creatures take.

T K G Namboodhiri



And I am seated in the hearts of all; from Me proceed memory, knowledge & intellect– the dispelling of doubt—it is I who am to be known in all the Vedas, I, the author of Vedanta & the knower of the Vedas.There are two beings in the world: Kshara (perishable) & Akshara (imperishable). Kshara embraces all creatures, & their permanent basis is Akshara.I am the origin of all memory, knowledge & intellect. I am the entity to be known through the Vedas which I have created.In this world there are only two beings– akshara & kshara. Kshara means all beings which are subject to death, & have name & form. The Immutable Reality behind them, the power of which sustains all, is akshara- the immortal Soul.

T K G Namboodhiri



The Supreme Being is surely another– called Paramatman, who as the imperishable Ishvara, pervades & supports the three worlds.Because I transcend the Kshara & am also higher than the Akshara, I am known in the world & in the Vedas as Purushothama (the Highest Being).Because I transcend Kshara, that is, the world of name & form, and am also higher than Akshara, the world & the Vedas know Me as Purushothama, the highest among all beings.

T K G Namboodhiri



He, who, undeluded, knows Me Purushothama, knows all; he worships Me with all his heart, O Bharata.Thus I have revealed to thee, sinless one, this most mysterious Shastra; he who understands this, O Bharata, is a man of understanding, he has fulfilled his life’s mission.He is above all opposites. Once we have risen above this world, which is but Maya, need we think of God as its author?Sri Krishna concludes this chapter saying that He has disclosed to Arjuna this most secret Shastra; he who understands this becomes a man of understanding, fulfils his life’s mission & also becomes free from his debt.

End of Chapter 15.

T K G Namboodhiri

bhagavad gita according to gandhi chapter 15

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