2.10 Analytical Knowledge

52. Shree Krishna had previously said that people who are attached to worldly enjoyment get attracted to the flowery words of the Vedas, which propagate ostentatious rituals for gaining worldly opulences and attaining the celestial abodes. However, one whose intellect is illumined with spiritual knowledge no longer seeks material sense pleasures, knowing them to be harbingers of misery. Such a person then loses interest in Vedic rituals. The Muṇḍakopaniṣhad states:

"Realized sages go beyond Vedic rituals, after understanding that the pleasures one attains from fruitive karmas, in this life and in the celestial abodes, are temporary and mixed with misery."

53. As sādhaks advance on the spiritual path, within their minds their relationship with God becomes stronger. At that time, they find the Vedic rituals they were previously performing to be cumbersome and time consuming. They then wonder whether they are obliged to keep performing the rituals, along with their devotion, and if they reject the ritual and dedicate themselves fully to their sādhanā, will they be committing an offense? Such people will find the answer to their doubt in this verse. Shree Krishna says that to be fixed in sādhanā without being allured to the fruitive sections of the Vedas is not an offence; rather, it is a higher spiritual state.

Madhavendra Puri, the famous 14th century sage, states this sentiment very emphatically. He was a Vedic Brahmin and used to engage in extensive ritualistic practices, but then took to sanyās (the renounced order), and engaged wholeheartedly in devotion to Shree Krishna. In his later life, he wrote:

"I wish to apologize to all kinds of rituals as I have no time to respect them. So dear Sandhyā Vandan (a set of rituals performed thrice daily by those who have received the sacred thread), holy baths, sacrifices to the celestial gods, offerings to the ancestors, etc. please excuse me. Now, wherever I sit, I remember the Supreme Lord Shree Krishna, the enemy of Kansa, and that is sufficient to release me from material bondage."

Shree Krishna uses the word samādhāv-achalā in this verse, to refer to the state of steadfastness in divine consciousness. The word Samādhi has been formed from the roots sam (equilibrium) and dhi (intellect), meaning, "a state of total equilibrium of the intellect." One who is steadfast in the higher consciousness, unmoved by material allurements attains that state of Samādhi, or perfect Yog.

54. The designations sthita prajña (one with steady intellect) and samādhi-stha (situated in trance) apply to enlightened persons. Having heard from Shree Krishna about the state of perfect yog, or Samādhi, Arjun asks a natural question. He wishes to know the nature of the mind of a person who is in this state. Additionally he wishes to know how this divine state of mind manifests in a person's behavior.

Beginning with this verse, Arjun asks Shree Krishna sixteen sets of questions. In response, Shree Krishna reveals the deepest secrets of karm yog, jñāna yog, bhakti yog, austerity, meditation, etc. The sixteen sets of questions asked by Arjun are:

1. "What is the disposition of one who is situated in divine consciousness?

2. "If you consider knowledge superior to fruitive works, then why do you ask me to wage this terrible war?"

3. "Why is a person impelled to commit sinful acts, even unwillingly, as if by force?"

4. "You were born much after Vivasvan. How am I to understand that in the beginning you instructed this science to him?"

5. "You praised the path of renunciation of actions, and again you praised work with devotion. Please tell me decisively which of the two is more beneficial?"

6. "O Krishna, the mind is very restless, turbulent, strong and obstinate. It appears to me that it is more difficult to control than the wind." ?

7. "What is the fate of the unsuccessful yogi who begins the path with faith, but whose mind deviates from God due to untamed passions, and is unable to reach the highest perfection in this life?"

8. "What is Brahman and what is karma? What is Adhibhūta, and who are the Ādhidaiva? Who is Ādhiyajña and how does he dwell in this body? O slayer of the Madhu demon, how can those of steadfast mind be united with you at the time of death?"

9. "Please describe to me your divine opulences, by which you pervade all the worlds."

10. "I long to see your cosmic form, O Supreme divine Personality."

11. "You, who existed before all creation, I wish to know who you are, for your nature and workings mystify me."

12. "Between those who are steadfastly devoted to your personal form and those who worship the formless Brahman, whom do you consider to be more perfect in Yog?"

13. "I wish to know about Prakṛiti (Nature) and Puruśh (the enjoyer). What is the field of activities, and who is the knower of the field? What is the nature of knowledge, and the object of knowledge?"

14. "What are the characteristics of those who have gone beyond the three guṇas, O Lord? How do they act? How have they passed beyond the bondage of the guṇas?"

15. "Where do they stand who disregard the injunctions of the scriptures, but still worship with faith?"

16. "I wish to understand the nature of sanyās (renunciation), and how it is distinct from tyāg, or renouncing the fruits of actions."

55. Shree Krishna begins answering Arjun's questions here, and continues till the end of the chapter. Each fragment is naturally drawn towards its whole; just as a piece of stone is drawn by the force of gravitation towards the earth. The individual soul is a fragment of God, who is infinite bliss. Hence, the soul is a fragment of the ocean of infinite bliss, and it experiences the natural urge for bliss. When it strives to relish the bliss of the soul from God, it is called "Divine Love." But when, in ignorance of its spiritual nature, it thinks of itself as the body, and seeks to relish the bliss of the body from the world, it is called "lust."

This world has been called mṛiga tṛiṣhṇā in the scriptures, meaning "like the mirage seen by the deer." The sun rays reflecting on the hot desert sand create an illusion of water for the deer. It thinks there is water ahead of it and runs to quench its thirst. But the more it runs toward the water, the more the mirage fades away. Its dull intellect cannot recognize that it is running after an illusion. The unfortunate deer keeps chasing the illusory water and dies of exhaustion on the desert sand. Similarly, the material energy Maya too creates an illusion of happiness, and we run after that illusory happiness in the hope of quenching the thirst of our senses. But no matter how much we try, happiness keeps fading further away from us. The Garuḍ Purāṇ states:

"A king wishes to be the emperor of the whole world; the emperor aspires to be a celestial god; a celestial god seeks to be Indra, the king of heaven; and Indra desires to be Brahma, the secondary creator. Yet the thirst for material enjoyment does not get satiated."

But when one learns to turn the mind away from material allurements and renounces the desires of the senses, such a person comes in touch with the inner bliss of the soul and becomes transcendentally situated. The Kaṭhopaniṣhad goes to the extent of saying that one who has renounced desires becomes like God:

"When one eliminates all selfish desires from the heart, then the materially fettered jīvātmā (soul) attains freedom from birth and death, and becomes Godlike in virtue." Shree Krishna states in the above verse that a transcendentally situated person is one who has given up selfish desires and cravings of the senses, and is satisfied in the self.