॥ ॐ नमो भगवते वासुदेवाय ॥
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श्रीभगवानुवाच
मयोदितेष्ववहित: स्वधर्मेषु मदाश्रय: । वर्णाश्रमकुलाचारमकामात्मा समाचरेत् ॥
T: Bhagavan said: Taking full shelter in me, focussed on Swadharma as instructed by me, one should pursue the duties of his Varna and Ashrama and social responsibilities without being driven by desire.
अन्वीक्षेत विशुद्धात्मा देहिनां विषयात्मनाम् । गुणेषु तत्त्वध्यानेन सर्वारम्भविपर्ययम् ॥
T: The purified Atma should see how the bound Jivas immersed in sense pleasures mistake material enjoyments for the supreme truth of life and model all their activities thereby, facing only failure in the end.
सुप्तस्य विषयालोको ध्यायतो वा मनोरथ: । नानात्मकत्वाद् विफलस्तथा भेदात्मधीर्गुणै: ॥
T: In a dream, one sees many delectable objects of enjoyment, but they are mere figments of the mind's imagination and bear no real value. This is exactly the case of the bound Jiva who mistakes sense pleasures of the body to be his only reality, and this creates the sense of duality, I and mine, and so on.
निवृत्तं कर्म सेवेत प्रवृत्तं मत्परस्त्यजेत् । जिज्ञासायां सम्प्रवृत्तो नाद्रियेत् कर्मचोदनाम् ॥
T: Two things. The one dedicated to me, the Lord, should only do what is prescribed for achieving detachment and liberation, not those activities that draw one out to seek enjoyment from objects, even when these activities are recommended in scriptures as conferring earthly pleasures and benefits (The Vedas abound in both types of teachings).
यमानभीक्ष्णं सेवेत नियमान् मत्पर: क्वचित् । मदभिज्ञं गुरुं शान्तमुपासीत मदात्मकम् ॥
T: The one devoted to me should practise self-restraint always. He should see the true Guru who knows me and who is peaceful (having subdued all his senses) and worship that Guru as identical to me.
अमान्यमत्सरो दक्षो निर्ममोदृढसौहृद: । असत्वरोऽर्थजिज्ञासुरनसूयुरमोघवाक् ॥
जायापत्यगृहक्षेत्रस्वजनद्रविणादिषु । उदासीन: समं पश्यन् सर्वेष्वर्थमिवात्मन: ॥
T: The characteristics of a true seeker are: he is egoless, he is non-jealous, he is adept in his work, he has no attachment to people or things, and is a trustworthy friend to all. He is not easily tempted or excited. He considers the inner truth in everything. He does not envy anyone, and never speaks ill. He is within himself indifferent to wife, children, home and land as well as relatives and wealth which matter a great deal to most people. He thus sees everything holistically and equanimously as one's own Self. "No I and Mine".
विलक्षण: स्थूलसूक्ष्माद् देहादात्मेक्षिता स्वदृक् । यथाग्निर्दारुणो दाह्याद् दाहकोऽन्य: प्रकाशक: ॥
निरोधोत्पत्त्यणुबृहन्नानात्वं तत्कृतान् गुणान् । अन्त:प्रविष्ट आधत्त एवं देहगुणान् पर: ॥
T: The Atma and the body are like fire and firewood. The firewood cannot burn without fire, and indeed is not fire. The Atma and the material body possess different characteristics and are separate entities. Just as fire may appear differently as dormant, manifest, weak, brilliant and so on, according to the condition of the fuel, similarly, the Atma enters a material body and accepts particular bodily characteristics.
योऽसौ गुणैर्विरचितो देहोऽयं पुरुषस्य हि । संसारस्तन्निबन्धोऽयं पुंसो विद्याच्छिदात्मन: ॥
तस्माज्जिज्ञासयात्मानमात्मस्थं केवलं परम् । सङ्गम्य निरसेदेतद्वस्तुबुद्धिं यथाक्रमम् ॥
T: All subtle and gross matter and bodies are created through Prakriti and are a part of Bhagavan. The Maya casts the veil of ignorance that creates a sense of separateness while there is no real separation.
Therefore, by the cultivation of true knowledge, one should approach Bhagavan situated within oneself. By understanding the Lord’s pure, transcendental existence, one should gradually give up the false vision of the material world as an independent reality.
आचार्योऽरणिराद्य: स्यादन्तेवास्युत्तरारणि: । तत्सन्धानं प्रवचनं विद्यासन्धि: सुखावह: ॥
T: The ancient method of lighting the Yajna fire was invented by the Rishis. They rub the Yajna fire stick between two Arani sticks. For the Jnana Yajna fire, the Guru can be compared to the lower Arani stick, the disciple to the upper Arani stick, and the instruction given by the Guru to the third stick placed in between, which catches fire. The transcendental knowledge communicated from the Guru to the disciple is compared to the fire arising from the contact of these when vigorously rubbed, which burns the darkness of ignorance to ashes, bringing great happiness both to the Guru and the disciple.
वैशारदी सातिविशुद्धबुद्धिर्धुनोति मायां गुणसम्प्रसूताम् ।
गुणांश्च सन्दह्य यदात्ममेतत् स्वयं च शाम्यत्यसमिद् यथाग्नि: ॥
T: The knowledge that an obedient and qualified disciple gets kindled by his Guru is expert, very pure, adn destroys the ignorance of misidentfication with Gunas. By burning this false Guna sense, this insight identifies oneself with the Atma and puts out the ignorance just as a fire dies down when the fuel is finished.
अथैषाम् कर्मकर्तृणां भोक्तृणां सुखदु:खयो: । नानात्वमथ नित्यत्वं लोककालागमात्मनाम् ॥
मन्यसे सर्वभावानां संस्था ह्यौत्पत्तिकी यथा । तत्तदाकृतिभेदेन जायते भिद्यते च धी: ॥
एवमप्यङ्ग सर्वेषां देहिनां देहयोगत: । कालावयवत: सन्ति भावा जन्मादयोऽसकृत् ॥
T: My dear Uddhava, I have thus explained to you perfect knowledge. There is also a materialist view. According to that, the nature of man is to seek pleasures and run after objects and experiences. He works and enjoys the fruits. All people and entities are different from one another and they shall continue to exist thus forever. Matter has been there all along and so are people. This philosophy also implies repeated cycles of birth and death, pleasure pain and suffering in the inescapable wheel of Karma.
तत्रापि कर्मणां कर्तुरस्वातन्त्र्यं च लक्ष्यते । भोक्तुश्च दु:खसुखयो: को न्वर्थो विवशं भजेत् ॥
न देहिनां सुखं किञ्चिद् विद्यते विदुषामपि । तथा च दु:खं मूढानां वृथाहङ्करणं परम् ॥
यदि प्राप्तिं विघातं च जानन्ति सुखदु:खयो: । तेऽप्यद्धा न विदुर्योगं मृत्युर्न प्रभवेद् यथा ॥
T: The trouble withe the materialist view is that although the performer of fruitive activities desires perpetual happiness, it is clearly observed that he is often unhappy and only occasionally satisfied, thus proving that no one is in control of his or her destiny. When a person is always under the superior control of another, how can he expect any valuable results from his own fruitive actions?
This is also not a question of earthly competence. It is observed within the material world that sometimes even an intelligent person is not happy. Similarly, sometimes even a great fool is happy. The concept of becoming happy through expertly performing material activities is simply a misplaced confidence in one's ego. (In Sanskrit, ego = अहङ्कार = I am in charge/am the doer.)
Finally, even if people know how to achieve happiness and avoid unhappiness, they still do not know how they can overcome the power of death!
कोऽन्वर्थ: सुखयत्येनं कामो वा मृत्युरन्तिके । आघातं नीयमानस्य वध्यस्येव न तुष्टिद: ॥
T: When death hangs overhead constantly, how can one truly enjoy material pleasures? Isn't one like a man on the gallows, being led steadily toward one's execution?
श्रुतं च दृष्टवद् दुष्टं स्पर्धासूयात्ययव्ययै: । बह्वन्तरायकामत्वात् कृषिवच्चापि निष्फलम् ॥
T: Cultivating hopes of pleasures here or in heaven is fraught with the pain of competition, jealousy, and the perishable nature of these experiences. It is as difficult as agriculture in which pests, weeds, diseases and drought beset every crop.
अन्तरायैरविहितो यदि धर्म: स्वनुष्ठित: । तेनापि निर्जितं स्थानं यथा गच्छति तच्छृणु ॥
इष्ट्वेह देवता यज्ञै: स्वर्लोकं याति याज्ञिक: । भुञ्जीत देववत्तत्र भोगान् दिव्यान् निजार्जितान् ॥
स्वपुण्योपचिते शुभ्रे विमान उपगीयते । गन्धर्वैर्विहरन् मध्ये देवीनां हृद्यवेषधृक् ॥
स्त्रीभि: कामगयानेन किङ्किणीजालमालिना । क्रीडन् न वेदात्मपातं सुराक्रीडेषु निर्वृत: ॥
तावत् स मोदते स्वर्गे यावत् पुण्यं समाप्यते । क्षीणपुण्य: पतत्यर्वागनिच्छन् कालचालित: ॥
T: It is true that if one performs Vedic Yajnas without any mistake or contamination, one will attain heaven. But even this result, which is only achieved by the perfect performance of fruitive rituals, will be exhausted over time and heaven is not a final destination but a temporary accommodation until the Punya runs out. To go to heaven, one performs Yajnas to please the gods and win their favours. There, one enjoys godly pleasures. He travels in a heavenly vehicle, is sung to by Gandharvas, and entertained by Apsaras. In their company, he feels extremely happy. Little does he realise that his time is running out as his Punya stock is depleted over time! Then he will plunge down to the mortal world.
Until his Punya is used up, the Yajna performer enjoys life in heaven. When the pious results are exhausted, however, he falls down from the pleasure gardens of heaven, being driven against his desire by the force of eternal time.
यद्यधर्मरत: सङ्गादसतां वाजितेन्द्रिय: । कामात्मा कृपणो लुब्ध: स्त्रैणो भूतविहिंसक: ॥
पशूनविधिनालभ्य प्रेतभूतगणान् यजन् । नरकानवशो जन्तुर्गत्वा यात्युल्बणं तम: ॥
कर्माणि दु:खोदर्काणि कुर्वन् देहेन तै: पुन: । देहमाभजते तत्र किं सुखं मर्त्यधर्मिण: ॥
T: If a human being is engaged in Adharmic activities, either because of bad association or because of his failure to control his senses, then such a person will certainly develop a personality full of weaknesses of the flesh. He thus becomes miserly toward others, greedy, and always anxious to exploit women. When the mind is so polluted, one becomes violent and aggressive and ignoring Vedic injunctions, slaughters animals to enjoy their flesh. He begins to worship ghosts and spirits. Such a bewildered person falls fully into the grip of Adharma and thus goes to Naraka (hell). He will progressively get into more and more degraded bodies and increase his acts of Adharma. This is the lot of human birth which is bound to end in death.
लोकानां लोकपालानां मद्भयं कल्पजीविनाम् । ब्रह्मणोऽपि भयं मत्तो द्विपरार्धपरायुष: ॥
T: Uddhava, know me as Kaala, or Time. This is the inexorable force that all the gods and even Brahma are afraid of.
गुणा: सृजन्ति कर्माणि गुणोऽनुसृजते गुणान् । जीवस्तु गुणसंयुक्तो भुङ्क्ते कर्मफलान्यसौ ॥
यावत् स्याद् गुणवैषम्यं तावन्नानात्वमात्मन: । नानात्वमात्मनो यावत् पारतन्त्र्यं तदैव हि ॥
यावदस्यास्वतन्त्रत्वं तावदीश्वरतो भयम् । य एतत् समुपासीरंस्ते मुह्यन्ति शुचार्पिता: ॥
काल आत्मागमो लोक: स्वभावो धर्म एव च । इति मां बहुधा प्राहुर्गुणव्यतिकरे सति ॥
T: The three Gunas of Prakriti create Karma, and shape a man's nature. Being a prisoner of his own nature, man experiences the results of his good and bad Karma. As long as one is identified with one's own Guna-driven nature instead of the Atma, one is helpless in being stuck with duality and helplessness. One's only relationship with me then is as Karmadhyaksha, the dispenser of good and bad fruits of Karma. Those who live in this paradigm devote themselves to material enjoyment and are therefore always absorbed in lamentation and grief. Whenever they experience an upheaval due to the play of Gunas, people begin to describe me out of a sense of fear as Kaala, Paramatma, Vedic wisdom, the Universe, one's own Atma and so on, these descriptions being full of mere words and not any real experience.
श्रीउद्धव उवाच
गुणेषु वर्तमानोऽपि देहजेष्वनपावृत: । गुणैर्न बध्यते देही बध्यते वा कथं विभो ॥
Uddhava now asked: "Oh, Lord, the Jiva is situated in this world of Gunas, his body is made up of Gunas. How can he uncover his true self? How can he avoid being bound by Gunas? Is it ever possible?"
कथं वर्तेत विहरेत् कैर्वा ज्ञायेत लक्षणै: । किं भुञ्जीतोत विसृजेच्छयीतासीत याति वा ॥
एतदच्युत मे ब्रूहि प्रश्नं प्रश्नविदां वर । नित्यबद्धो नित्यमुक्त एक एवेति मे भ्रम: ॥
T: "Dear Lord Achyuta, how does one identify a liberated man? How does he behave, what does he accept, what does he reject, how does he sleep, and function? Indeed, you are the best among those who can answer me, Lord! My confusion is how a constantly bound Jiva can ever become a permanently liberated Atma!?
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