Sankhya Yoga 2.12

 From slokas 2.12 to 2.25 the teaching of self knowledge is given. Slokas 2.14 and 2.15 describe the anatma (non self).

Before entering the next sloka, we will see some points of atma and anatma as an introduction.

Anatma ( the non self)

The non self is the known. Drishyam. 

It consists of three main bodies (Sharira)

Sharira - sthula sharira + suskshma sharira + karna sharira

Sthula sharira (the gross body) - this is the physical body. All bodies are made of five elements (pancha boothas) namely air, fire, earth, water and space.

Sukshma sharira (the subtle body) - the subtle body is made up of the following.

Jnanendriyas (5) - the powers of eyes, tongue, nose, ears and skin. ( sense of vision, of taste, of smell, of sound and of touch.)

Karmendriyas (5) - the senses that perform action. ( hands, legs, speech, anus, etc.)

Pranas (5) - prana, apana, vyana, samana and udana.

Sukshma Sharira = jnanendriyas (5) + karmendriyas (5) + pranas (5) + mana:(mind) sankalpa vikalpathmakam mana: mind is of the nature of resolution and wavering + buddhi (intellect) + chitta (faculty of memory) + ahankara (ego).

We can say the sukshma sharira is made of the above nineteen principles. But this division is only for convenience. In other areas, Shastra may divide the constituents into a different number. We must understand that all the above principles too are considered as a sharira, and hence as the non self.

Atma (The Self)

Atma is the one who knows all the three shariras. It is called drk.

Atma is of the nature of pure consciousness. It is also called chit or chaitanyam. It is of the nature of knowledge.

Sri Krishna asks Arjuna the following questions.

1) Are you suffering about the atma of Bhishma and Drona?

2) Are you suffering because of the anatma of Bhisma and Drona?

3) Are you suffering because of the uncertainty that what you are about to do is adharma?

Krishna’s teaching is aimed at answering these questions.

Verse  2.12 Atma is eternal therefore imperishable.(Hence anatma is transient and therefore destructible)

न त्वेवाहं जातु नासं न त्वं नेमे जनाधिपा |

न चैव न भविष्याम: सर्वे वयमत: परम् || 12||

na tvevāhaṁ jātu nāsaṁ na tvaṁ neme janādhipāḥ

na chaiva na bhaviṣhyāmaḥ sarve vayamataḥ param

na—never; tu—however; eva—certainly; aham—I; jātu—at any time; na—nor; āsam—exist; na—nor; tvam—you; na—nor; ime—these; jana-adhipāḥ—kings; na—never; cha—also; eva—indeed; na bhaviṣhyāmaḥ—shall not exist; sarve vayam—all of us; ataḥ—from now; param—after

Never was there a time when I did not exist, nor you, nor all these kings; nor in the future shall any of us cease to be.

Krishna gives three important points here. The self is eternal; there is only one self and the physical body is only an appearance (upadi).

The self is eternal (atma is nityam)

Absence of any object in this world is experienced before its birth and after its destruction. Hence nothing in this world is eternal. Any object comes into being at one point of time and ceases to be at another. The physical body is of this kind. But we superimpose the self (the real owner of the feeling of I) on this body and celebrate birthdays for this body. But in reality what is born is only a name and a form. We do not know this. We superimpose the changes like ageing that happen to the body on the self and grieve about the change. Krishna here removes the wrong notion by providing double negatives. He says there was never a time when he, Krishna, did not exist, not only he, for Arjuna may think since he is the lord he is capable of existing at all times, nor did Arjuna himself, nor all these kings. The self is never born. So for the self there was, will  never be a time that it did not exist. Because atma is nityam (the self is eternal).

There is only one self (atma is aekam)

When Krishna says that there will never be a time where himself, Arjuna or kings cease to be, he does not say this based on their physical bodies. The bodies are only an appearance on the self. The bodies of Krishna, Arjuna and other kings are limited by time, form and attributes and are transient. Atma is not limited by any of the above and is eternal. Just as pots come and go while pot space remains, physical bodies come and go while the self remains unaffected. The pot space inside every pot is the same. In fact the same space pervades the inside and outside of a pot. The space is not inside the pot but the pots are in space. Likewise the self is the same in every physical body. In fact the self is not in the body; all bodies are in the self which pervades anything and everything. Which brings to the second conclusion. There is only one self (atma aekam)

The physical body is only an adjunct or an appearance (upadi)

उप समीपे स्थित्वा स्वीयं धर्मं रूपम् अन्यत्र अादधाति इति उपाधि:

(Upa sameepe sthithva sveeyam dharmyam rupam anyathra aadadhathi ithi upadi:)

That which lends its attributes to another which is closer to it is called upadi. I would like to roughly translate this word as adjunct or appearance.

As you can see, appearance is not a proper translation for the word upadi, hence the definition is given. When a glass prism is placed near a red rose, the glass prism borrows the red color from the flower and appears a red prism. The color red is not the inherent quality of the prism, but only an attribute lent by the flower. The flower is the upadi here. The physical body lends its attributes such as being born, growing, deteriorating, dyeing etc to the self. Hence the physical body is called the upadi. If one takes oneself as good as the body, then one thinks one is born, grows, ages and dies. Like even the glass prism only appears red and is not red in color in actuality, the self only appears to have a physical body while in reality it neither has a body nor is it dependent on it. With deeper understanding of the difference between the self and Upadi, we will be able to appreciate the meaning of this verse much better.

Sankhya Yoga 2.11

 The beginning of Gita

श्रीभगवानुवाच |

अशोच्यानन्वशोचस्त्वं प्रज्ञावादांश्च भाषसे |

गतासूनगतासूंश्च नानुशोचन्ति पण्डिता: || 11||

śhrī bhagavān uvācha

aśhochyān-anvaśhochas-tvaṁ prajñā-vādānśh cha bhāṣhase

gatāsūn-agatāsūnśh-cha nānuśhochanti paṇḍitāḥ

śhrī-bhagavān uvācha—the Supreme Lord said; aśhochyān—not worthy of grief; anvaśhochaḥ—are mourning; tvam—you; prajñā-vādān—words of wisdom; cha—and; bhāṣhase—speaking; gata āsūn—the dead; agata asūn—the living; cha—and; na—never; anuśhochanti—lament; paṇḍitāḥ—the wise

The Supreme Lord said: While you speak words of wisdom, you are mourning for that which is not worthy of grief. The wise lament neither for the living nor for the dead.

Krishna starts his teaching from this sloka. Hence this sloka is called upakrama sloka. The tradition of vedantic teaching is to provide the essence of the teaching in the beginning sloka itself. In this sloka too, the essence of Bhagavad Gita is given.

Panda means atma jnana (self knowledge). Pandita means people who have self knowledge. Krishna says pandita na anu shochanti - Wise do not grieve. This indirectly means only ignorant people grieve. Hence the journey of self knowledge is given in the following manner.

Wise don’t grieve ----> only ignorant people grieve ----> Hence the reason for sorrow is ignorance of one’s self-----> removal of sorrow is achieved by the removal of ignorance of one’s self. Hence the essence of teaching is shoka nivritti (removal of sorrow) by imparting self knowledge. Here the sadhyam (goal) is removal of sorrow. Sadhanam (instrument) is self knowledge.

What is the reason for grief or sorrow?
Is death in itself a cause for grief? Or the thinking that the one who has deceased is somehow related to me brings about grief? Bondage comes from the attitude that this is me or mine in a situation. This is called memind syndrome. Hence in order to remove someone’s grief, we do not require them to change the situation. If one changes the attitude that I am related to that situation or the things which are related to that situation are mine, the very attitude itself removes the sorrow.

Let us analyze if atma (the self) is the cause of grief or the anatma (the things apart from the self). If atma is the cause of grief then one need not bother removing grief. If atma’s nature is grief, it must be unalterable, for it is its nature. It is better to leave it alone. If jumping from one branch to another is a monkey’s nature, then we should just let nature be. We can not possibly do anything about changing it. Therefore if atma is the reason for sorrow, then that fact would not be a problem for one.

Is anatma the cause of sorrow? Anatma means anything living or inanimate apart from the self. If one or few of them become the cause of suffering, it is due to my validation of those things as mine. Only things that I consider mine can give me grieve if they are lost or damaged. The thinking mine (mamakaram) stems from the thinking that I am of a certain nature. So in order to remove sorrow one needs to do atma anatma vichara (an enquiry into self and non-self). This is the theme of Bhagavad Gita.

Who Am I?

By nature, every living being in this world has a mistaken identification about the nature of their Self. Every human being is born with ignorance about one’s own nature. The ignorance about the self has no beginning but it has an end. Ignorance once removed will never return. 

The result of ignorance is superimposition (adhyasa). For example, in the dim light, we look at something and are scared as though it is a snake, while in reality it is only a rope. We superimpose the non existent snake on the existing rope due to the dim light. In the same way, due to ignorance of the self, we superimpose the I on things that are not the self and suffer because of  wrong identification. The vedantic teaching removes this wrong identification and enables the seeker to rest his identification on his true self.  The job of vedanta is not to change situations, but change one’s attitude towards the situation. 

The foundation of yoga

The first step for yoga is indirectly taught here. Krishna says Arjuna talks like a wise man while suffering and complaining like an ignorant person. Many of us too do this mistake. We say one thing, feel something else while doing an entirely different thing. Yoga is the unity of thought, word and action. It is the duty of a seeker to keep all these three in one straight line. If this unity does not happen, then one’s energy is scattered in different directions. Hence One should start practicing the yoga of keeping one’s thoughts, actions and words in unison. Only then he attains the spiritual strength to pursue self knowledge.

Krishna says nothing in this world is worthy of grief, not even the dead, nor the living. He says wise don’t grieve. For anything. Hence it leads one to conclude that whoever grieves is not wise, but ignorant. He will be curious to know the nature of this ignorance and the ways in which one can become wise. Krishna answers these questions in the subsequent slokas. In fact, the entire Bhagavad Gita speaks exclusively about the qualifications, the path to self realization and the benefits of self realization.

Sankhya Yoga 2.10

 Verse 2.10

तमुवाच हृषीकेश: प्रहसन्निव भारत |

सेनयोरुभयोर्मध्ये विषीदन्तमिदं वच: || 10||

tam-uvācha hṛiṣhīkeśhaḥ prahasanniva bhārata

senayorubhayor-madhye viṣhīdantam-idaṁ vachaḥ

tam—to him; uvācha—said; hṛiṣhīkeśhaḥ—Shree Krishna, the master of mind and senses; prahasan—smilingly; iva—as if; bhārata—Dhritarashtra, descendant of Bharat; senayoḥ—of the armies; ubhayoḥ—of both; madhye—in the midst of; viṣhīdantam—to the grief-stricken; idam—this; vachaḥ—words

O Dhritarashtra, thereafter, in the midst of both the armies, Shree Krishna smilingly spoke the following words to the grief-stricken Arjuna.

Sanjaya says Krishna started his teaching as though smiling. Krishna’s smile can be interpreted in various ways. He is delighted that at last Arjuna has attained the mental maturity to surrender and to listen to his teaching. Or he smiled realizing that the knowledge he is going to impart in Arjuna will relieve him of his mental struggle and suffering without much difficulty. Or the knowledge he is going to impart in Arjuna has the ability to bring about ultimate pleasure in him; He smiled knowing that finally Arjuna has become a suitable reservoir for this knowledge. Another interpretation could be that Krishna smiled because Arjuna has paved a way for the knowledge to be imparted to the world and this is an opportunity for the lord to present his teaching to the world. 

We must notice that Krishna starts his teaching in the battlefield itself. This shows that if a student, with the right qualifications, surrenders to a teacher, the place, time or situation don’t matter for the teaching to happen.

Sankhya Yoga 2.9

 सञ्जय उवाच |

एवमुक्त्वा हृषीकेशं गुडाकेश: परन्तप |

न योत्स्य इति गोविन्दमुक्त्वा तूष्णीं बभूव ह || 9||

sañjaya uvācha

evam-uktvā hṛiṣhīkeśhaṁ guḍākeśhaḥ parantapa

na yotsya iti govindam uktvā tūṣhṇīṁ babhūva ha

sañjayaḥ uvācha—Sanjaya said; evam—thus; uktvā—having spoken; hṛiṣhīkeśham—to Shree Krishna, the master of the mind and senses; guḍākeśhaḥ—Arjun, the conqueror of sleep; parantapaḥ—Arjun, the chastiser of the enemies; na yotsye—I shall not fight; iti—thus; govindam—Krishna, the giver of pleasure to the senses; uktvā—having addressed; tūṣhṇīm—silent; babhūva—became 

Sanjaya said: Having thus spoken, Gudakesh, that chastiser of enemies, addressed Hrishikesh: “Govind, I shall not fight,” and became silent.

Sanjaya understood what dhritarashtra must be thinking. He must have wanted his son’s side to win the war and conquer the kingdom. By addressing Arjuna as Gudakesa (the one who conquered sleep) Sanjaya reminds Dhritarashtra that Arjuna has the control over his mind and body. He was also addressed as Paranthapa (the chastiser of enemies), which means he has the ability to destroy all his enemies. 

Lord Krishna here is addressed as Hrsikesa (The lord of sense organs). He is the controller of mind and senses. Not only that, he is Govinda, the one who knows all living beings in and out. He knows what goes on in Arjuna’s mind and he will solve the crisis happening in his mind. 

Having presented his side of the argument as to why he should not take part in war and proclaimed that he seeks solution from lord Krishna for his problem, Arjuna surrenders his horses, the chariot and his life to lord Krishna and becomes silent. Since he decided he would hear from Krishna, he kept his mouth shut so Krishna could instill some sense into his mind.

Sankhya Yoga 2.8

Image Courtesy: Anusha Jekay 

Verse 2.8 The four fold qualifications

न हि प्रपश्यामि ममापनुद्याद्

यच्छोकमुच्छोषणमिन्द्रियाणाम् |

अवाप्य भूमावसपत्नमृद्धं

राज्यं सुराणामपि चाधिपत्यम् || 8||

na hi prapaśhyāmi mamāpanudyād

yach-chhokam uchchhoṣhaṇam-indriyāṇām

avāpya bhūmāv-asapatnamṛiddhaṁ

rājyaṁ surāṇāmapi chādhipatyam

na—not; hi—certainly; prapaśhyāmi—I see; mama—my; apanudyāt—drive away; yat—which; śhokam—anguish; uchchhoṣhaṇam—is drying up; indriyāṇām—of the senses; avāpya—after achieving; bhūmau—on the earth; asapatnam—unrivalled; ṛiddham—prosperous; rājyam—kingdom; surāṇām—like the celestial gods; api—even; cha—also; ādhipatyam—sovereignty

I can find no means of driving away this anguish that is drying up my senses. Even if I win a prosperous and unrivalled kingdom on the earth, or gain sovereignty like the celestial gods, I will be unable to dispel this grief.

Our life’s journey and goal of life are based on our own conclusion about the reason for our sorrow and what we believe to be the remedy for it. If one thinks money will solve all his problems, he will be seeking to earn and accumulate money all his life. Hence it is very important to know what will solve one’s problems. Arjuna here expresses his understanding that even if he attains the kingdom and wealth which might be the best in the world or a position in the other world, they will not wipe away the sorrow that scorches his senses and mind.  He surrenders to lord Krishna with this understanding. He expects Krishna to show him the right way and remove the suffering in his mind.

Sadhana Chatustaya Sampatti

If one wants to learn Shastra and attain its benefit, he should have attained some qualifications prior to the learning. The one who has these qualifications is called the adhikari. The  qualifications are called the sadhana chatushtaya sampatti. The four fold qualifications. Sadhana- qualification; chatushtaya- four fold; sampatti - wealth. These qualifications are the real wealth one can have. The one who has attained these qualifications is called a sampanna:

The four qualifications required before practicing Gnana Yoga are:

(1) Vivekam : Nithya anitya vastu viveka: 

The ability to differentiate between permanent and impermanent. With our own experience and through others’ experience, we should be able to appreciate that nothing in this world is permanent, while realizing that there should be a permanent thing based on scriptural evidence. This qualification fructifies in oneself through prolonged practice of Karma yoga. Krishna teaches elaborately about karma yoga in the later part of the second chapter and in the third chapter.

(2) Vairagyam

The mental state of detachment from the sense pleasures and worldly objects. The artifice to achieve this qualification is called anu darshanam. One has to see the impermanence of things over and over again. This practice will institute vairagya in oneself. Vairagya is the most difficult qualification to achieve due to the latent impressions called vasanas in one’s mind. We have to make a persistent effort to attain this quality. Frequently bringing forth the futility and impermanence of worldly things to the mind, we will be able to overcome our vasanas gradually and attain vairagya.

(3) Shamadi shatka sampatti.

This qualification includes six qualities.

(i) Shama: - disciplining of the mind.

(ii) Dhama:-  Disciplining of the sense organs

(iii) Uparama:- or Uparathi: - The continued practice of Shama: and Dhama:

(iv) Titiksha - Endurance. The ability to endure dualities such as heat and cold, pleasure and pain etc. Krishna teaches specifically about this quality in the fourteenth sloka of the second chapter. Mathra sparshasthu kountheya…”

(v) Shraddha - Trust pending enquiry. Shraddha is often crudely translated as belief or faith. But Shraddha is a fairly untranslatable word. One needs to have absolute trust in shastra, the teacher who teaches the shastra and the existence of an ultimate reality. Though at the beginning of his quest, the existence of reality is not completely known to the seeker, he must have the faith on shastra and his teacher. He must be aware that both shastra and the teacher exist only for the seeker’s benefit and they do not require or expect any personal gain through exposing the seeker to shastra. In the course of proper study of Shastra, the seeker will come to realize the ultimate reality and appreciate the efforts of the teacher and shastra.

(v) Samadhanam - The ability to fix one’s mind on a given subject for a prolonged period of time. This quality is extremely important because the study of shastra leads one to the realization of the ultimate and it requires steady and unwavered focus for a long period of time. One needs to practice samadhanam through the practice of meditation and japa. This quality too is not achieved easily and you require patience and commitment to achieve this quality.

(4) Mumukshutva - A strong desire to achieve freedom from bondage (Moksha). This desire is cultivated through the practice of Jnana yoga (Study of shastra under a competent teacher). 

Sankhya Yoga 2.7

Image courtesy: anushajekay

2.7 The fourth qualification, surrender is happening here in Arjuna.

कार्पण्यदोषोपहतस्वभाव:

पृच्छामि त्वां धर्मसम्मूढचेता: |

यच्छ्रेय: स्यान्निश्चितं ब्रूहि तन्मे

शिष्यस्तेऽहं शाधि मां त्वां प्रपन्नम् ||2.7||

kārpaṇya-doṣhopahata-svabhāvaḥ

pṛichchhāmi tvāṁ dharma-sammūḍha-chetāḥ

yach-chhreyaḥ syānniśhchitaṁ brūhi tanme

śhiṣhyaste ’haṁ śhādhi māṁ tvāṁ prapannam

kārpaṇya-doṣha—the flaw of cowardice; upahata—besieged; sva-bhāvaḥ—nature; pṛichchhāmi—I am asking; tvām—to you; dharma—duty; sammūḍha—confused; chetāḥ—in heart; yat—what; śhreyaḥ—best; syāt—may be; niśhchitam—decisively; brūhi—tell; tat—that; me—to me; śhiṣhyaḥ—disciple; te—your; aham—I; śhādhi—please instruct; mām—me; tvām—unto you; prapannam—surrendered

I am confused about my duty, and am besieged with anxiety and faintheartedness. I am your disciple, and am surrendered to you. Please instruct me for certain what is best for me.

Here Arjuna emphatically announces his surrender. He clearly proclaims himself to be the Lord’s disciple. He begs the lord to tell him that which is sreyas for him.

Sreyas (Goodness)

In the Kathopanishad, Yama blesses Nachikethas with three boons. Nachiketas uses the first two boons for the benefit of his fathers and others. He decides to use the third boon for himself. He wants to clear his doubt about death. He asks Yama, “Some people say that man exists even after death and some say no he does not. I want to use my third boon to get an answer for this question.” Yama first hesitates to answer and then, after examining Nachiketas for his qualification as a disciple, he starts to teach him.

In every situation in a man’s life, he is endowed with a choice to choose from one of two things. Preyas (Pleasure) or Sreyas (Good).

Sreyas can be translated as goodness, liberation, righteousness or attainment of mental peace, while Preyas can be understood as pleasure, security, wealth.

Nachiketas asked Yama to explain about this Sreyas. Arjuna too declares that he does not need any pleasure or security for his life and asks Lord Krishna to teach him about the Sreyas, what is essentially good for him. At this instance Arjuna transforms himself into a disciple. Hence the friend, the charioteer and a relative becomes a teacher for Arjuna. We must realize that for the one who surrenders himself and becomes a disciple, the teacher will appear instantaneously.

The word Shisya in Sanskrit means the one who is qualified to be taught. Shasane yogya: shisya:

Goodness is of two kinds. Relative and ultimate. Arjuna here asks Krishna to tell him which is relatively good for him in that particular situation. But Lord Krishna teaches him which is ultimately good for him, and eventually for mankind.