॥ ॐ नमो भगवते वासुदेवाय ॥
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श्रीउद्धव उवाच
कति तत्त्वानि विश्वेश सङ्ख्यातान्यृषिभि: प्रभो । गायन्ति पृथगायुष्मन्निदं नो वक्तुमर्हसि ॥
T: Uddhava enquired: My dear Lord, How come different sages count different numbers of elements as making up this universe? What causes these different counts? Kindly clarify to me!"
Sri Krishna must have had a smile on his face and a chuckle in his voice as he clarified the basis of several different ways of counting the elements. He said that since all the sages too are functioning in the realm of Maya, their different perceptions are excusable! So are their frenetic debates!
एकस्मिन्नपि दृश्यन्ते प्रविष्टानीतराणि च ।
T: The world is made up of root causes and their cascading effects that cause modifications and effects. This is a natural phenomenon of Prakriti and how you cut the cake is up to you, based on YOUR OWN GUNAS! So many counts take intermediate effects as causes and arrive at a different number of elements=causes.
Essentially, there is Purusha who is beyond Prakriti, and Prakriti is what causes the basic elements to combine in different ways under the influence of the three Gunas, Sattva, Rajas and Tamas. Indeed it is astonishing to see how many phenomena are analysable from this basic model!
But one question is vital. Is the Jiva different from Ishwara? Bhagavan says that even here, people have two points of view!
अनाद्यविद्यायुक्तस्य पुरुषस्यात्मवेदनम् । स्वतो न सम्भवादन्यस्तत्त्वज्ञो ज्ञानदो भवेत् ॥
T: First view: Because a person has been covered by ignorance since time immemorial, he is not capable of effecting his own self-realization! It is like a man is locked up in a cabin. How can he open the lock outside? So there must be some other personality who is in factual knowledge of the Absolute Truth, i.e. none other than Ishwara or Paramatma, who holds the key, i.e. can impart this knowledge to the person inside and release him from this bondage. This is what is Bhagavan or Guru in action.
पुरुषेश्वरयोरत्र न वैलक्षण्यमण्वपि । तदन्यकल्पनापार्था ज्ञानं च प्रकृतेर्गुण: ॥
T: Second View: There is no difference between Jiva and Ishwara. All ignorance stems only from the Gunas, and ignorance is only the function of Prakriti. The Purusha within, whom you call Jiva, or Ishwara, is always immaculate! Nature exists originally as the equilibrium of the three material modes or Gunas, which pertain only to Prakriti, not to the transcendental spirit soul or Atma. These modes — goodness, passion and ignorance - are the effective causes of the creation, maintenance and destruction of this universe. Atma merely transits through these modfications being unaffected within.
Bhagavan now is magnanimous in representing the different counting of elements and the views of philosophers faithfully. That simply shows how much he cares for even the philosophers, who always function under Maya!
Uddhava has now an existential doubt. How to separate the Purusha and Prakriti co-resident in man? How to know what is happening?
Bhagavan gives a beautiful analogy! Take the example of seeing or vision.
A man's faculty of sight, the visible form of the object, and the reflected light of the sun causing an image to form within the aperture of the eye, all these three work together to reveal one another. But the original sun standing in the sky is self-manifested. Similarly, the Supreme Soul, or Paramatma, the original cause of all entities, who is thus separate from all of them, acts by his Self-luminosity. This is his transcendental nature as the ultimate source of manifestation of all mutually manifesting objects.
So all perception has three components - Adhi-Daivika (the sun!), Adhi-Atmika (the seer in the eye) and Adhi-Bhautika ( the material object reflecting light to form the image).
आत्मा परिज्ञानमयो विवादो ह्यस्तीति नास्तीति भिदार्थनिष्ठ: ।
व्यर्थोऽपि नैवोपरमेत पुंसां मत्त: परावृत्तधियां स्वलोकात् ॥
T: The speculative argument of philosophers — “This world is real,” “No, it is not real” — is based upon incomplete knowledge of the Supreme Soul Paramatma and is simply aimed at understanding material dualities. Although such an argument is useless, persons who have turned their attention away from me, their own true Self, are unable to give it up.
Bhagavan now says that our perception of life is always limited and somewhat faulty.
Although the illumination of a lamp consists of innumerable rays of light undergoing constant creation, transformation and destruction, a person with illusory intelligence who sees the light for a moment will speak falsely, saying, “This is the light of the lamp.” In other words, we tend to freeze and label phenomena as constant states.
While one stands on the bank and observes a flowing river, ever-new water passes by and goes far away, yet a foolish person, observing one point in the river, falsely states, “This is the water of the river.” Similarly, although the material body of a human being is constantly undergoing transformation, those who are simply wasting their lives falsely think and say that each particular stage of the body is the person’s real identity.
A new person does not actually take birth out of the seed of past activities, nor, being immortal, does he die. By illusion, the living being appears to be born and to die, just as fire in connection with firewood appears to begin and then cease to exist. In other words, life after life, the Jiva is on a continuous, unbroken journey of change!
We can watch a tree sprout from a seed, stand tall, and ultimately die. We are its witness. In the same way, the witness of the birth and death of the material body remains separate from it. The brave seeker after Truth remains a witness, even if he has to suffer a thousand insults and troubles, being truly disconnected from this play of Prakriti, birth after birth!
This makes Uddhava exclaim with great fervour:
विदुषामपि विश्वात्मन् प्रकृतिर्हि बलीयसी । ऋते त्वद्धर्मनिरतान् शान्तांस्ते चरणालयान् ॥
T: "Dear Bhagavan, even the greatest minds, learned scholars, are but under the control of Prakriti or Maya and its Gunas! Indeed, only those surrendered to your feet, oh Bhagavan, in Bhakti Dharma (i.e. Bhakti Yoga), are able to tame its torments, and remain unaffected, in total peace!"
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