Bhagavagd Gita - Session 40- Track 4008

Question: The purpose of the…

The purpose of course, is not yet revealed, but you have attracted yourself, surely you are not, as it were, fallen into an error, karṣati, you have deliberately, you have chosen, so there is surely a purpose in it. Why you have chosen?

utkrāmantaṁ sthitaṁ vāpi bhuñjānaṁ vā guṇānvitam |,

“Whether you are moving about, whether you are stable, whether you are enjoying, bhuñjānaṁ; vā guṇānvitam, you are enjoying the Gunas…”, Sattwa, Rajas and Tamas…it is a very rapid statement because again Sri Krishna does not repeat that all these senses are part of Prakriti and Prakriti is triguṇātmaka, this is all assumed because this is already told earlier…so, whether you are moving about, or you are stable, or you are enjoying, or you are absorbed in the Gunas…

vimūḍhā nānupaśyanti, “…those who are ignorant, they don’t see that this is the Jiva which experiencing all these things, but”…

paśyanti jñāna-cakṣuṣaḥ ||10|| (XV)…”but those who are awaken in knowledge, they know that Jiva is enjoying”.

So, even in the state of bondage, you do not know that you are in bondage. As Shankaracharya says: “The mark of ignorance is that it is not suspected”, you do not have the suspicion that you are ignorant, you don’t even doubt that you are doubting, you are in the state of doubt, but you do not know that you are doubting. You are doubting, but you are doubting that you are ignorant. It is taken for granted: you don’t know that you are bound. You become aware of bondage only when certain circumstances press you down, then you feel: why? Why this? And then the starting point of freedom begins.

yatanto yoginaś cainaṁ paśyanty ātmany avasthitam |,

yatanto, making a big effort, yoginaś cainaṁ paśyanty, the Yogins comes to perceive it by great effort, ātmany avasthitam, they become settled in themselves…

yatanto ’py akṛtātmāno nainaṁ paśyanty acetasaḥ ||11|| (XV)

…but those who are ignorant, who do not get awakened, akṛtātmāno,(it is a very important word), those who do not develop; kṛta means ‘one who develops’, individuals, (ātmāno means individuals) who develop the spiritual element in them, they are akṛtātmāno.

Those who remain only body-life-and-mind as they are and don’t allow the development of Jiva in the body life and mind they are akṛtātmāno. Jiva is present, but they are absolutely bound in the body-life-and-mind so much, they do not make an effort, or even if they make an effort but if they are absolutely ignorant, and they do not want to be awaken, then they do not develop that Jiva in their body, life and mind. Development of Jiva in the body, life and mind is kṛtātmā, all of us we become aware of Jiva’s presence and if we begin to develop…

This is the concept of the ‘psychic being’, the Jiva when developed in the body, life and mind is the ‘psychic being’. A formation takes place which is aṅguṣṭhamātraḥ in the beginning, this is the Katha Upanishad statement (IV, 12&13) that the Jiva when it begins to develop in the body , life and mind, it is first in the shape of aṅguṣṭha-mātraḥ, it looks as if it is a small little thumb in the ocean of ignorance (body, life and mind), afterwards, it begins to grow more and more, it becomes a lotus, then you realise what you are truly and then you understand what is Jiva, Jiva which is unborn becomes realised when this kṛtātmā, when this ‘psychic being’ develops.

But those who do not develop, they are akṛtātmāno, they do not develop that consciousness, the Jiva consciousness; yatanto ’py, even if they try but remain ignorant, if they do not do Yoga…in the first sentence yatanto, they are trying, but who is trying, yogina, if you become Yogi and if you try then you will see it, but otherwise even if you try but you do not become Yogi, then, nainaṁ paśyanti, you will not see it.

Question: Does kṛtātmā can be translated as ‘the psychic being’?

Yes, you can do that.

yad āditya-gataṁ tejo jagad bhāsayate ’khilam |
yac candramasi yac cāgnau tat tejo viddhi māmakam ||12|| (XV)

“When you realise…” Now comes the question of your release. We can see in 3, 4 sentences, bondage is described, experience of bondage is described, effort is described, coming out of bondage is described, you become liberated and then what do you realise? “…you realise tejo, you realise the light. What light? āditya-gataṁ tejo, the light which is burning in the suns, by which the whole world becomes illumined yad āditya-gataṁ tejo jagad bhāsayate ’khilam |, yac candramasi, whatever is the moon, whatever light is in the moon, yac cāgnau, whatever is in the fire, tat tejo viddhi māmakam ||, it is that light that you realise is Myself, is My light.” So, this is the first experience of release from bondage: you first experience the light of the Divine.