Hare Krishna! If you want "Shri Krishna Loves You" daily post |
|| जय श्री कृष्ण ||
॥ श्रीमद्भगवद्गीता ॥ 18.17॥
_यस्य नाहङ्कृतो भावो
बुद्धिर्यस्य न लिप्यते ।_
_हत्वापि स
इमाँल्लोकान्न हन्ति न निबध्यते॥_
भावार्थ :
जिस पुरुष के अन्तःकरण में 'मैं कर्ता हूँ' ऐसा भाव नहीं है तथा जिसकी बुद्धि सांसारिक पदार्थों में और कर्मों
में लिपायमान नहीं होती, वह पुरुष इन सब लोकों
को मारकर भी वास्तव में न तो मरता है और न पाप से बँधता है। (जैसे अग्नि, वायु और जल द्वारा प्रारब्धवश किसी प्राणी की हिंसा होती देखने में आए
तो भी वह वास्तव में हिंसा नहीं है, वैसे ही जिस पुरुष का
देह में अभिमान नहीं है और स्वार्थरहित केवल संसार के हित के लिए ही जिसकी
सम्पूर्ण क्रियाएँ होती हैं, उस पुरुष के शरीर और
इन्द्रियों द्वारा यदि किसी प्राणी की हिंसा होती हुई लोकदृष्टि में देखी जाए, तो भी वह वास्तव में हिंसा नहीं है क्योंकि आसक्ति, स्वार्थ और अहंकार के न होने से किसी प्राणी की हिंसा हो ही नहीं सकती
तथा बिना कर्तृत्वाभिमान के किया हुआ कर्म वास्तव में अकर्म ही है, इसलिए वह पुरुष 'पाप से नहीं बँधता'।)॥१७॥
Meaning:
One who does not have the
notion that I am the doer, whose intellect is not tainted, he does not kill,
nor is he bound, even by killing these beings.
EXPLANATION:
Previously, we came across
the incorrect understanding of action. Whenever we think "I am performing
this action", it is incorrect, born out of ignorance, it is durmati. Shri
Krishna now gives us the correct understanding. When we think that "this
action is being performed by the five factors of Prakriti, not by me",
this is the correct understanding, this is sumati. And after the action is
performed, we do not let the result of the action impact us. In other words, we
are not attached to the reward of action.
The most common concern
towards this kind of understanding is that it will make us weak and fatalistic,
especially when we are still engaged in karma yoga. That is why it has to be
combined with the idea of selfless service. A modern interpretation of this
notion is : do your best, and leave the rest. As we continue our journey in
karma yoga, our selfish desires and vaasanaas will slowly wither away, paving
the way for the knowledge of the self in the second chapter to take root in our
mind. Then we will come to the realization that only the self, the aatmaa is
real or sat. Actions are in the realm of Prakriti, of Maaya, which is asat or
illusory.
Per Shri Shankarachaarya’s
commentary, this shloka embodies the sum and substance of the Gita and even of
all the Vedas. We start our lives thinking that we are the body. The scriptures,
the Vedas, tell us that we are not the body, we are the jeeva who has to use
his body and mind to perform selfless service. Now, at the conclusion of the
Vedas, Veda-anta, we are told that we are beyond the jeeva. This attitude of
non-identification with the doership of actions differentiates a sanyaasi, a
monk, from a tyaagi, one who has renounced action, per the original question of
Arjuna in this chapter.
With the words "he
kills, but does not kill", we are transported back to the second chapter,
where Shri Krishna was convincing Arjuna to engage in the Mahaabhaarata war. So
then, what is left? From a practical standpoint, we still have to deal with
science of action. Unless we understand it fully, we will never be able to
distance ourselves from the notion of doership. Shri Krishna continues his
analysis of action from the standpoint of the three gunaas, since he has proven
that action is in the realm of Prakriti.
Shri Krishna says that our
entire life is steeped in the incorrect notion that we perform actions. With
regards to the analogies taken up, the self is stationary, and Prakriti is
moving. But we do not see this because our intellect is untrained. It is akrita
buddhi. We have not imbibed the knowledge that action is performed by the five factors
mentioned in the prior shlokas. The scriptures, and Shri Krishna, are
repeatedly informing us that ultimately Ishvara’s Prakriti is performing all
the actions, not our self, not the aatmaa, not the eternal essence. But we fail
to see this. We are durmati, we have a perverted understanding.
Unless someone hears this
statement from a teacher well versed in the scriptures, this ancient
misunderstanding never comes up for questioning. The most common understanding
is that the body is the self, the aatmaa. Some other people think that the
jeeva, the individualized soul, is the aatmaa. But both these schools of
thought attribute action to the aatmaa, which is incorrect. Furthermore, even
the results of the actions go to the Prakriti. They do not go to the self, the
aatmaa. The aatmaa is kevala, it is untainted, pure, and incapable of any
change, modification or action. So then, what is the correct understanding?
This is taken up next.
Chant the mantra you have faith in
No comments:
Post a Comment