Each shloka (verse) is explained in detail. But attachment to the gunas leads a person to be born for good or evil. Ká¹£etraká¹£etrajñasaṁyogāt tad viddhi bharatará¹£abha: Anything that is born has significance as an individual only because both purusha and prakriti are set together in some proportion. It is something that has become an insight into the nature of truth, and the whole personality scintillates with the radiance of this knowledge. Satvata-tantra: visnos tu trini rupani purushakhyany atho viduh ekam tu mahatah srastr dvitiyam tv anda-samsthitam Karmayogena cāpare: There are some, like Raja Janaka, who attained perfection through action, because actually they do not perform any action. He is the ultimate reality and the paramam gatim. The Thirteenth Chapter is very important. It should be understood that the evolution of the body, the senses, the gunas or modes of material nature of goodness, passion and ignorance and their modifications such as happiness, misery, delusion all arise from prakriti. THIRTEENTH CHAPTER. PRAKRITI TAMASIC ATMAN PURUSHA 13. The Bhagavad Gita finds a place in this stupendous record of human activities, aspirations and achievements. Consciousness is different from the body; therefore, when there is bodily action—which is nothing but the action of prakriti, because the body is made up of prakriti’s three gunas—we begin to imagine, “I am doing something. Prakriti - Material Nature . Prakriti and Purusha - Uddhava said: “O Krishna, though the Prakriti and Purusha seem by nature distinct from each other, yet their distinction is not evident as they are never found apart. Know that both Purusha and Prakriti are beginningless; and know also that all modifications and qualities (gunas) are born of Prakriti. Similar to that is this statement: yo māṁ paśyati sarvatra sarvaṁ ca mayi paśyati (6.30). The lower self merges itself in the higher Self. If we can visualise things in this manner, we have attained Brahman at once. Prakriti or Prakruti (from Sanskrit language प्रकृति, prakṛiti), means "nature". Again I have to emphasise, knowing does not mean reading the Gita and intellectually comprehending the linguistic meaning or the dictionary meaning of the word, but imbibing the spirit of the teaching, and making it part and parcel of our very blood and veins. On the one hand, the spatial extension of the Supreme Being is prakriti; on the other hand, it is omniscience acting, which is purusha. You will not be reborn, because at least you have heard what is being said. The “coming near” is a figure of speech, an adaptation to our ideas of time and space, for we cannot posit “nearness” of that which is timeless and spaceless–Spirit. Only external things are in that person’s memory; the Self is completely obliterated from experience. In the Thirteenth Chapter of the Bhagavadgita, we have covered the theme which touched upon the ká¹£etra and the ká¹£etrajña, individually as well as cosmically, and the relationship between the individual and the cosmic.We also went through the list of virtues, qualities that characterise a … (13.20) The Purusha associating with Prakriti (or matter), enjoys the Gunas of Prakriti. (20) Purusha within Prakriti Undergoes Prakriti’s gunas; Birth in good and evil wombs comes From his attachment to gunas. Because of association with the gunas (qualities), the division of reality and unreality take birth. That is why there is an instinct in everyone not to die. The Prakriti is said to be the cause of production of physical body and organs (of perception and action). The farmer is the physical body the farmer is connected to, and it is tempoerry. When the water is stable, the reflection of the sun in it appears to be stable; and if the water is turbid, the reflection appears to be turbid. In chapter 13, Arjuna asks for knowledge about prakriti and Purusha.Arjuna asks: “What is knowledge and what is it that is to be known?” In those days, none of the spiritual teachers gave lectures. The word maya appears in the Rig Veda, the most ancient of the Vedas, and Purusha is a recurring theme in the Upanishads. Actually, there is no conscious action. Purusha’s meaning is, simply put, the soul. Includes a poem. Purusha alone seated in Prakriti enjoys the qualities produced by Prakriti. Yet the sun is not in any way responsible for what is happening in the world. Regarding this commentary, I feel that there is some difficulty in entirely accepting what Sankaracharya says, because it implies that God does not properly understand what creation is; therefore He requires a police guard to restrain Him so that He may not go on creating infinitely. An introduction to the Bhagavad Gita along with study resources can also be found here. That is, it contemplates the particular type of universe that is to be manifested. A summary of each chapter of the Bhagavad Gita is also included. Purusha is the seer and prakriti, the object of sight. We will be in ecstasy at that time. Kārya kāraṇa kartṛtve hetuḥ prakṛtir ucyate (13.20): Prakriti is the cause of the origin of the causal chain. Are we touching the fire, or are we touching the iron rod? While commenting on the meaning of this verse, Sankaracharya does not seem to be very eager to say anything specific to clear our doubts. I am doing the action and, therefore, the fruit of that action should come to me.” Hence, karma phala comes as a recompense for the feeling that one is doing. Similarly, this contact of consciousness with matter—purusha with prakriti—makes it appear that there is enjoyment, and that there is an agency in action. It is in that manner that the Self is known through the self, by the self, by intense meditation on the nature of the higher Self. (22) He who thus knows the Purusha And Prakriti with the gunas, Read more about Purusha and its meaning in The Bhagavad Gita. It is a key concept in Hinduism, formulated by its Samkhya school, and refers to the primal matter with three different innate qualities whose equilibrium is the basis of all observed empirical reality. Purusha, resting in Prakriti, witnesses the play of the gunas born of prakriti. Their activity is impossible unless the light of the kutastha, the Atman, is shed on them. See more ideas about Hindu gods, Shakti, Gods and goddesses. In this light, creation does not seem to be an unnecessary action of God. As such it is imbued with the seed of twenty-four attributes, the workings of which give birth to all manifestation. People die, everything perishes, and all things get destroyed. The Bhagwad Gita declares prakriti to be responsible for bringing into existence creation and its instruments. Just as the transcending principle is referred to as Purushottama in the Fifteenth Chapter of the Gita, Spinoza uses the word ‘substance’ to designate the Absolute Reality; and the qualities of this substance are like the two wings of a bird. If the satsanga is properly conducted and we are honest in our participation in that satsanga, that satsanga itself will be sufficient not only for purification of the self, but it will even act as a supreme meditation itself. This knowledge is not something that is understood by the intellect. The cause-and-effect relationship is operative only in the realm of prakriti, whereas pain and pleasure are experienced by purusha: purushah sukha-duhkhanam bhoktrtve hetur uchyate. He is a liberated person. I am not going into that subject now. (21) The Supreme Purusha is called The Looker-on in this body: The Permitter, the Supporter, Experiencer, Lord, and Self. Purusha is male energy, and signifies spirit or consciousness. You will cross over the realm of death—mrtyum atitaranti. I am going a little ahead of the ordinary commentaries on this verse, which are very brief—not to contradict them, but to elucidate them a little more. Everything in the world is gross; therefore, consciousness—which is the subtlest of being—cannot actually get involved in anything in this world, the two being dissimilar in nature. The literal translation of this verse is: Know that prakriti and purusha are beginningless, and their modifications and their qualities originate, manifest, from prakriti. Prakriti and Purusha - Uddhava said: “O Krishna, though the Prakriti and Purusha seem by nature distinct from each other, yet their distinction is not … The latter is technically not an entity as it cannot be measured. And, as I mentioned, the threefold contact brings about a threefold experience: pleasurable, unpleasurable or static. Now there is a reference, as a kind of diversion, as it were, to the methods of practice. Really, consciousness does not enjoy and does not suffer. If we pour something fragrant into the vessel, the space inside it does not become fragrant; or if we put something bitter into the vessel, the space inside it does not become bitter. When water moves, the sun that is reflected in it also appears to move. That is to say, an individual who can have the experience of the manifestation of his or her or its potencies on earth, or in the world, cannot be taken to heaven because there the experience will not be possible; or those who are to experience their potencies in a realm like heaven should not be brought to the earth, inasmuch as the nature of the world is exactly in a state of harmony with the inhabitants thereof, and not with the inhabitants of other realms. Upadraṣṭānumantā ca bhartā bhoktā maheśvaraḥ, paramātmeti cāpyukto dehesmin puruá¹£aḥ paraḥ (13.22): In spite of all this drama of involvement—the joy and sorrow of birth in various species of yonis—there is hope. This video is unavailable. Such a person who has this knowledge which is identical with being can behave in any way—sarvathā vartamānopi—but there will be no rebirth, because no karma accrues to that person. Varieties of sadhana are mentioned in different places in the Bhagavadgita, and some of the diversities of sadhana are stated in the Fourth Chapter: daivam evāpare yajñaṁ yoginaḥ paryupāsate, brahmāgnāvapare yajñaṁ yajñenaivopajuvhati (4.25), etc. This will is a delimitation imposed by itself on itself. 21 Purusha, resting in prakriti, witnesses the play of the gunas born of prakriti. Self-consciousness and the desire to survive are implanted in all species in creation by the operation of this all-pervading Universal Consciousness. He does not feel that there is any meaning in an infinite operation because creation would be perpetually going on and never come to an end, inasmuch as God is infinite; therefore, there would be only creation for ever and ever. Srimad-Bhagavad-Gita, English translation and commentary by Swami Swarupananda, [1909], at sacred-texts.com. Brahmārpaṇaṁ brahma havir brahmāgnau brahmaṇā hutam, brahmaiva tena gantavyaṁ brahmakarmasamādhinā (4.24): The performer of the action, the deed that is performed, and the process of the action are all like the waters of the ocean rumbling within themselves and, therefore, nobody does any action. (21) The Supreme Purusha is called The Looker-on in this body: The Permitter, the Supporter, Experiencer, Lord, and Self. Here also there is a brief statement of the varieties of spiritual practice, or sadhana. 21 Purusha, resting in prakriti, witnesses the play of the gunas born of prakriti. Now the Lord refers once again to the kartrtva and akartrtva aspects of the human individual in relation to prakriti’s modes—sattva, rajas and tamas. The Prakriti is said to be the cause of production of physical body and organs (of perception and action). That is, they behold the Universal Self in their own self, and they behold their own self in the Universal Self. He will not harass you with hard disciplines. The doctrine of the Bhagavadgita does not regard prakriti and purusha as totally independent contending parties; and that they are aspects of the Supreme Purusha, or Purushottama, will be told to us in the Fifteenth Chapter. But the movements of prakriti in this manner or that manner—as sattva or rajas or tamas—makes the consciousness, the purusha, feel as if it is transparent and happy when it is in contact with the sattva of prakriti; it is disturbed, agitated, angry and passionate when it appears to be reflecting through the rajoguna of prakriti; and it is very slothful, lethargic and static when it is in contact with the tamasic quality of prakriti. The Purusha (or the consciousness) is said to be the cause of experiencing pleasures and pains. Shines in the form of the kutastha chaitanya, or consciousness ) together paśyati... It is conscious, are gross ; birth in good and evil wombs comes from his to. 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