Lord Krishna addresses Arjuna:
O Arjuna! This body is the field of knowledge (kshetra), and the one who knows it is called the knower of the field (kshetrajna). (XIII; 1)
O Arjuna! Know Me as the knower of the fields within all the fields. The knowledge of the field and the knower of the field I deem as true knowledge. (XIII; 2)
When we commit mistakes, we know we are committing mistakes. If we are stealing, we know we are stealing. There is somebody within who is watching all the time. That somebody is none other than the Spirit or Kshetrajna—the knower of the field.
Hear the explanation of what the field is, its nature, modifications, whence each one comes; who is the knower and what is his power. (XIII; 3)
This has been recited by the sages in several ways and in various verses and also verified logically and conclusively in texts such as the Brahmasutra. (XIII; 4)
The five elements, the ego, intellect, nature, the ten senses, the mind, and the five objects of the sense of perception. (XIII; 5)
In the light of the Spirit, we are aware of the five elements, ego, intellect, mind, the ten senses, and the objects of perception. We have to purify all of them to reflect the Divine light.
The body is made of the five elements, and at a subtle level, each element can be purified through its corresponding chakra:
- Earth at Mooladhara chakra,
- Water at Swadisthan chakra,
- Fire at Nabhi chakra,
- Air at Heart chakra,
- Ether at Vishuddhi chakra,
- Ego at Agnya chakra.
Desire and hate, pleasure, pain, and sustenance; is briefly the field and its modifications. (XIII; 6)
The mind is the field. Desire, hate, pleasure, and pain are its modifications. When the expectations of the mind are not met, it goes into an anxiety mode. Conversely, when its expectations work, it goes into a pleasure mode. Both are the opposite sides of the ego. For instance, when the ego is stirred, we feel elated, but when it is pricked, we feel depressed.
The fly is irresistibly attracted to sweets. It is the nature of mosquitoes to bite; likewise, it is human nature to defend itself from them. There appears to be an apparent conflict of interest between the mosquito and humans. Humans find the mosquito harmful, but the mosquito simply abides by its natural mode.
Humility, absence of deviousness, non-violence, forgiveness, perseverance, honesty, service to the guru, purity, balance, and self-control. (XIII; 7)
In the path of yoga, a seeker has to become humble. Newton said, “I am like a little child collecting pebbles on the shore of knowledge.” Without humility, it is not possible to understand the field of knowledge. However, humility cannot be engendered or superimposed. More often than not, a religious person or a scholar is not humble at all. He is proud of his spiritual attainment or knowledge and disdainful of others.
Similarly, the one who considers himself to be virtuous could suffer from the ego of being virtuous.
One often comes across charitable people who boast about how much they have donated in charity. Likewise, those who are honest boast about their honesty. Some who are truthful like to prove how everyone else is a cheat. Again, the righteous may have the ego of self-righteousness.
A servant may be very humble to his master out of compulsion, but he may treat others arrogantly.
Perhaps, we could draw a lesson of humility from the life of Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi. She washed the feet of Her disciples. They protested that they could not bear their Holy Mother to wash their feet. She smiled,
“I wash your feet so that you may remember to approach all humankind with humility, be they high or low.”
The other quality pointed out by Lord Krishna is non-violence. It not only implies physical non-violence but also mental non-aggression. Imposing our ideas upon others or criticizing them is a subtler aggression.
Conversely, taking in aggression fuels as much sickness as aggressing others. For instance, the sickness of guilt comes from absorbing aggression. Instead of feeling guilty about past mistakes, it is better to forgive and move on. If we don’t forgive, the ego takes refuge in guilt, and thereby, instead of making amends, it perpetuates the fault.
History not only records wars but also shows how the victors imposed their so-called civilized culture on the natives. But there were also exceptions. For instance, when the Iranian refugees landed in India, they sought shelter from the local ruler. The ruler had reservations about their influence upon his native culture. The Parsi priest held a tumbler of water and poured a pinch of salt into it. The salt dissolved in the water.
In a world breathless with impatience, it is rather difficult to talk of perseverance. But the field of knowledge is an organic process, and to reap its fruit, we have to persevere. First, the seed sprouts, then the roots go down, next the shoots come out, thereafter the stem is formed and bears leaves—when the season comes, the flowers bloom and finally bear fruit.
Service to the guru is no doubt an important element in understanding the field, but in most cases, the disciples are so awestruck by their guru that they miss out on the core of his teaching.
Our Lord Jesus Christ reminded his disciples:
“Why call ye me Lord, and do not the things which I say?” (Luke 6:66)
Thus, to understand the field of knowledge depends on truthfulness, and not pretence. As Shakespeare pointed out, “To thine own self be true.”
To be true to the self, we have to do an honest self-audit without being selective. A straightforward attitude cuts across the winding alleys of the mind and shines the sterling quality of truth.
Detachment from the objects of senses, egolessness, introspection on suffering of birth, death, old age, and disease. (XIII; 8)
Like a spider gets trapped in its own web, we too get trapped in a web of our own making – a world where our ambition keeps us in a constant state of competition, discontentment, and tension.
How do we break through our self-made web? As we turn our attention inward, introspection provides the answer. We not only see through the layers of thoughts but also the glue that attaches them. Thereafter, it becomes possible to detach ourselves from them.
Dispassionate towards son, wife, home, wealth, and alike, and maintaining constant equanimity in all desirable and undesirable occurrences. (XIII; 9)
Zen compares life to the gentle flow of a river. If the river gets attached to the banks, it overflows. Likewise, if we want to flow through life, we have to navigate through the banks without attachment to our relations, home, wealth, and conditionings.
Says Kabir,
“I have neither a roof nor a hut,
Nor a house nor a village,
Thy name alone, O Hari, will suffice.”
When the name of God suffices and He is everywhere, then who is a friend and who is a foe? Who is high and who is low?
Of course, this does not imply that one becomes devoid of feelings. On the contrary, one is so lost in the love of God that attachment, pleasures, and woes pale into insignificance—neither praise nor blame makes any difference.
Single-minded devotion to Me, absorbed in yoga, staying in quiet places, avoiding crowds. (XIII; 10)
In the early stages, a seeker desires to disconnect from the chaos of the world. He seeks refuge in the tranquility of seashores or solo walks in the mountains. He needs a quiet space to listen to the music of his heart.
When his heart opens, his compassion starts flowing spontaneously. His compassion is such that it wants to transform the world. For that, he is no more afraid to face the chaos of the world.
Perhaps those who try to escape from the world are not yet integrated. The great saints did not escape to the Himalayas but faced the Kurukshetras of their times. For the one who is entrenched in his Spirit, the Kurukshetra becomes just a child’s play!
Absorbed in spiritual quest, perceiving the epitome of knowledge as God-realization; this is proclaimed to be true knowledge, all else is non-knowledge. (XIII; 11)
Knowing that we don’t know is the way to know. But whatever we know through the ego is non-knowledge (avidya), and whatever we know through the Spirit is true knowledge.
The laws of the macrocosm and the microcosm coalesce. For instance, if we want world peace, then we have to be at peace within. The human brain has the capacity to produce waves on both sides because it lives in the relative. The divisions are created by the relative, but as we develop rapport with the absolute, we go beyond the relative.
I will reveal to you the object of knowledge, and by knowing it, one will attain the eternal. It is the Supreme Brahman who is without a beginning and who is said to be neither the existent nor the non-existent. (XIII; 12)
It is indeed a big riddle to understand the Supreme Creator as one who is neither the existent nor the non-existent. It is hard to accept how the multiplicity of forms in the universe could be created by something non-existent.
The scriptures tell us that the formless Supreme Creator emits waves of vibrations. The waves create the illusion of form. However, when the Divine light comes into our attention, it becomes possible to detect the formless underlying the form.
He has hands and feet on every side, eyes, heads, and faces on every side, and ears everywhere. He abides in the world, pervading everything. (XIII; 13)
He is the consciousness of all the senses, yet beyond them. Detached from them, yet sustaining them. Devoid of gunas (modes of nature), yet their enjoyer. (XIII; 14)
The modes of nature divert our attention from the reality of God. As the mind does not have the capacity to escape their propensities, it becomes enslaved. However, the Spirit cannot be enslaved because it has a mirror-like quality that reflects everything and therefore enjoys everything without being a part of it. Thus, the more sensitive the mirror, the more it reflects the Divine light.
He is outward and inward in all beings. He is in motion and motionless. He is too subtle to comprehend. He is distant yet close. (XIII; 15)
The Spirit is like the nucleus in the body, and the body is like a cell in a bigger body. That is, the cell is not apart from the cosmic body.
Hence, Prophet Mohammad revealed that God is closer to us than our veins. Kabir says:
“Hindus call Him Ram,
Muslims call Him Allah,
But the God of Kabir pervades everything.”
He is indivisible, yet appears divisible among the beings. He is comprehended as the sustainer of all beings, destroying them and yet again creating them. (XIII; 16)
The white light of the sun contains all the colors of the rainbow, but we do not see them. However, when its shafts reflect on a crystal, the white light subdivides itself into different colors. Likewise, though the divine appears indivisible, he subdivides as human beings.
Says Kabir,
“The conscious and the unconscious are indivisible.
He is neither revealed nor hidden.
There are no words that can describe Him.
O friend, Kabir is lost in His search.
When the drop is lost in the ocean, how can it be found?”
He is the light of the lights, declared to be beyond ignorance. He is knowledge, the intent of knowledge, and the goal of knowledge. He dwells in every heart. (XIII; 17)
God dwells in every heart, but we don’t experience it till the Spirit comes into our attention. The movement of the intellect is linear, and hence, it cannot see the other tracks. However, the light of Lord Krishna leads us atop the mountain from where we can see all the tracks. We can see the track of ignorance and also the track of Divine knowledge.
“Farid, why wanderest thou in wild places,
Trampling thorn under thy feet?
God abides in the heart;
Seek Him not in lonely wastes.”
Thus, knowledge, the field of knowledge, and the intent of knowledge have been briefly revealed. Knowing this, my devotee attains me. (XIII; 18)
Know that Nature (Prakriti) and Spirit (Purusha) are both without a beginning. That all temporal forms and modes are born of perennial Nature (Prakriti). (XIII; 19)
Nature is said to be the cause and the instrument. The spirit is said to be the cause of the consciousness of pleasure and pain. (XIII; 20)
When the Spirit (Purusha) penetrates Nature (Prakriti), he experiences the modes born of nature. Attachment to the modes becomes the cause of his birth in good or evil beings. (XIII; 21)
Purusha is the primordial Father – the Yang. Prakriti is his desire, the Primordial Mother – the Yin. The interaction between these opposite and complementary forces creates the modes of nature – Tamas, Rajas, and Satwa. In reality, it is between the first two modes that the play of duality takes place, while the third, Satwa, appears as a potentiality in the perfect balance of the other two.
It draws a parallel in Taoism, where the ultimate reality or Tao is reached by the perfect balance of Yin and Yang.
Lao Tse states:
“There is a thing inherent and natural
which existed before heaven and earth.
Motionless and fathomless,
It stands alone and never changes.
It pervades everywhere
and never becomes exhausted.
It may be regarded as the mother of the universe.
It does not know its name.
If I am forced to give it a name,
I would call it Tao.
And I name it as the Supreme.”
The Spirit dwelling within the body is the witness and the catalyst. It is the sustainer, the experiencer, the Lord, and the Supreme self. (XIII; 22)
At a party, while having a merry time, a thought comes of the next day’s work, and then a regret that this pleasurable moment will end. At that instant, the joy ends. But as we connect with the Spirit, we attain a state of being, not becoming, where the joy is unending.
The Spirit is the reflection of God Almighty and is also the witness of the modes. It is the catalyst that sustains all things—living and non-living, active and inactive, static and dynamic, gross and subtle.
He who knows in truth this Spirit (Purusha) and Nature (Prakriti) with its changing modes— in whatsoever way he may act, he is not bound by rebirth. (XIII; 23)
Though the three modes of nature surround the Spirit, it is not affected by them. The modes are what Zen calls the phenomenon of change. Nothing is static in the course of nature—one cycle has to end for the next one to begin.
For instance, the earth nourishes the seed to sprout because there is a binding force in both the seed and earth. It is a living process by which the sprout grows into a tree, its dead leaves return to the soil, and the soil, in turn, nurtures the seeds. The one who understands the transitory nature of the modes does not gravitate towards them and hence is released from the bondage of rebirth.
Some realize the self within their own self by meditation, some by the path of Sankhya (knowledge), and others by the path of Karma yoga (selfless action). (XIII; 24)
Others, unable to pursue these paths, learn by hearing from enlightened beings. They, too, get released from rebirth by devotedly pursuing the hearings. (XIII; 25)
Lord Krishna has provided the medicines for all the problems, but if a seeker does not know how to use them, he can seek an enlightened being who has tried and tested them. Even pursuing his advice with devotion can release one from the cycle of birth and death.
O Arjuna! Understand that whatever being that is born, moving or unmoving, comes from the union of the field (Prakriti) and the knower of the field (Purusha). (XIII; 26)
It is known that the Big Bang led to the manifestation of the universe. But prior to it, the primordial Divine Power (Parabrahma) is said to exist without any attributes. Thereafter, the primordial power subdivided into Purusha, the primordial divine power of the primordial Father, and the primordial Mother or Adi Shakti. The whole creation manifested due to the reflex of these two primordial forces.
These two principles manifest as consciousness and matter in us. Matter dominates our consciousness, and thereby gives us an illusion of a separate identity. For instance, when we identify with the hero of a film, we share his aspirations and excitement. We get emotionally involved, and even weep. In the same way, Purusha, the knower of the field, gets identified with Prakriti, the field.
He who perceives the Supreme Being equally residing in all beings that are undergoing dissolution; he truly perceives. (XIII; 27)
We are made in the image of God, but let us not be confused by the word “image.” Image means the reflection—we reflect God Almighty, but we are not God. In the evolutionary process till the non-living stage, the Spirit does not reflect. Thereafter, it starts reflecting till the human stage, where it reflects fully, but is not in human awareness.
As the evolutionary process progressed, the reflectors became fine-tuned, but some reflected it more in their character than others. The one who perceives that the Spirit does not perish when the object that is reflected in the mirror perishes, he truly perceives.
Perceiving the Supreme Being equally residing everywhere, he does not hurt his inner self by his self; thus, he attains the highest state. (XIII; 28)
Though God resides in all beings, His reflection depends on the reflector—the more sensitive the reflector, the better the reflection.
When the Spirit sees its reflection in others, then who is the other? Each one is the reflection of one’s self. If we are part and parcel of the same divine body, then how can one part harm the other? Christ said, “Love thy neighbor as thy self”—because the neighbor becomes our part and parcel. Similarly, the mother feels her child’s pain because it is her reflector, and hence, she does not hurt her own child.
He who perceives that all works are done by nature (Prakriti) and the self is not the doer, he truly perceives. (XIII; 29)
Lord Krishna reminds us that the Spirit silently witnesses the drama of life but does not act it out. The ego cannot see itself. But if it believes that it is the Spirit, it deceives itself. The Spirit laughs at the deception of those fundamentalists who wage war in the name of God. What distinguishes the Spirit from the mind is that it does not enact the drama.
The Spirit is the witness behind the scene—it watches the spectrum, the movements of the mind, its interplay, the meeting and parting of thoughts, their remolding and breaking. But it does not take upon itself any merit or demerit of the action.
When the self perceives the multiplicity of beings unified in the Supreme One and emanating from it, then he attains the Supreme Being. (XIII; 30)
Science helps us to understand what is around us. Hence, there is no quarrel between science and God. All science has come from God anyway. For long, scientists have dreamt of the grand unification theory that envisages the total unification of all energies. It has changed the role of science in understanding the laws of the universe. According to Albert Einstein, “Everyone who is seriously involved in the pursuit of science becomes convinced that a Spirit is manifest in the laws of the universe—a Spirit vastly superior to man.”
Advances in Neuroscience affirm that our brains are wired to connect. At a deeply fundamental level, the separate parts of the universe are connected in an infinite and immediate way, and the one who perceives the multiple beings unified in the Supreme Being attains the Supreme Being.
O Arjuna! Being without any beginning and free from the changing modes, the Supreme Being is indestructible. Though residing in the body, He does not act nor is affected by anything. (XIII; 31)
Though the three modes manifest as the three states of the mind, the fourth state of consciousness is untouched by the modes. As long as the Spirit resides in the being, their play goes on, but no sooner than it withdraws, it stops.
Just as the ever-present ether by virtue of its subtlety is not affected, similarly, the Spirit residing in the body is not affected. (XIII; 32)
Human awareness allows us to go behind thoughts and see their source. Thus, it gives us the plasticity to adapt to them. That’s how our ancestors increased their chances of survival despite the twists and turns of evolution. But it did not satiate their seeking. No doubt, their awareness grew deep, but still, they did not achieve absolute awareness.
Absolute awareness comes with the awareness of the Spirit. The Spirit brings us peace and contentment. It enables us to witness people without being turned off by their aggression. Furthermore, it enables us to enjoy the melody of the Spirit in diverse cultures. But wait, it allows us to laugh at human awareness that thinks it does everything!
O Arjuna! Just as the sun illumines the entire universe,
similarly the knower of the field illuminates the entire field. (XIII; 33)
Although the Spirit enjoys the humor behind everything, it is untouched by its play. But its play is only possible because of the Spirit’s light.
Those who discern with the eyes of wisdom the difference between the field and the knower of the field and also the deliverance of beings from nature; they attain the highest state. (XIII; 34)
The one who can remove the chaff from the grain has discretion. Through discretion, he sees things as they are – the absolute from the relative. Thus, through discretion, he transcends the relative world woven by the three modes and attains the state of absolute consciousness.