CHAPTER VIII
Imperishable Brahman
To discriminate between the higher and the lower nature of the Eternal Self, and identifying with the Higher, to play at will with all freedom and joy in the fields of its lower manifestations, is to be the perfect Man-of-Wisdom--a God upon the earth, ever-liberated from the threats and sorrows of the finite. The aim of Vedanta is to carve out of ordinary folk such blissful Men-of-Wisdom. In the earlier chapter, therefore, a vivid description of both Knowledge and Wisdom was elaborately given.
Continuing the idea contained in the previous chapter, Krishna starts with the glorification of the Man-of-Wisdom and declares that he is perfect not only because of his special knowledge and experience of the Self, but also because he becomes thereby a well-integrated personality at all levels of his existence and contacts with the world. He easily proves himself to be a man of godly efficiency and balance, in all situations and conditions, at all places and times.
In the preceding chapter, a mere mention was made that there is a practical aspect of Vedanta, apart from its theoretical literature, but no definite technique for carving out the Vedantic ideals in practice was given there. Here, however, the technique has been completely and fully explained, and the relationship between the Eternal Spirit and the delusory realm of names and forms, the lower prakriti, has been clearly indicated. Exemplary definitions indicating the Inexpressible, the Absolute Truth, are found in this chapter. Only a dull simpleton, vainly labouring to follow the path of pure reason and discrimination, cannot feel thrilled or uplifted to a divine height of inspiration by this chapter.
The last chapter concluded with a statement that the Man-of-Wisdom not only realises the Absolute Essence that sustains the world, but that he also, at once, comes to master the world-of-objects, the organs of perception-and-action, and the instruments-of-comprehension, so that he proves himself to be a dynamic "doer," ever carving out enduring successes all along, everywhere. Herein, this idea has been made more and more clear by Lord Krishna, with His explanations; when once we know the ocean, the waves, wavelets, the foam, and the lather are all known by us. Similarly, the Self is the Reality upon which all actions, the instruments-of-action, and the world-of-perceptions are super-imposed, and therefore, by knowing the Self everything is known.
|| Chapter-8 ||
Sources: The Holy Geeta
Imperishable Brahman
To discriminate between the higher and the lower nature of the Eternal Self, and identifying with the Higher, to play at will with all freedom and joy in the fields of its lower manifestations, is to be the perfect Man-of-Wisdom--a God upon the earth, ever-liberated from the threats and sorrows of the finite. The aim of Vedanta is to carve out of ordinary folk such blissful Men-of-Wisdom. In the earlier chapter, therefore, a vivid description of both Knowledge and Wisdom was elaborately given.
Continuing the idea contained in the previous chapter, Krishna starts with the glorification of the Man-of-Wisdom and declares that he is perfect not only because of his special knowledge and experience of the Self, but also because he becomes thereby a well-integrated personality at all levels of his existence and contacts with the world. He easily proves himself to be a man of godly efficiency and balance, in all situations and conditions, at all places and times.
In the preceding chapter, a mere mention was made that there is a practical aspect of Vedanta, apart from its theoretical literature, but no definite technique for carving out the Vedantic ideals in practice was given there. Here, however, the technique has been completely and fully explained, and the relationship between the Eternal Spirit and the delusory realm of names and forms, the lower prakriti, has been clearly indicated. Exemplary definitions indicating the Inexpressible, the Absolute Truth, are found in this chapter. Only a dull simpleton, vainly labouring to follow the path of pure reason and discrimination, cannot feel thrilled or uplifted to a divine height of inspiration by this chapter.
The last chapter concluded with a statement that the Man-of-Wisdom not only realises the Absolute Essence that sustains the world, but that he also, at once, comes to master the world-of-objects, the organs of perception-and-action, and the instruments-of-comprehension, so that he proves himself to be a dynamic "doer," ever carving out enduring successes all along, everywhere. Herein, this idea has been made more and more clear by Lord Krishna, with His explanations; when once we know the ocean, the waves, wavelets, the foam, and the lather are all known by us. Similarly, the Self is the Reality upon which all actions, the instruments-of-action, and the world-of-perceptions are super-imposed, and therefore, by knowing the Self everything is known.
|| Chapter-8 ||
Sources: The Holy Geeta
