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GG 13 Nature, the Enjoyer, and Consciousness

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His Divine Grace
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada



Chapter 13
Nature, the Enjoyer, and Consciousness

arjun kahilen:
prakṛtir ār puruṣa kṣetra ye ksetrajña
jānibār icchā mor āmi nahi vijña
seirūp jñān ār vijñāna ki hay
keśava āmāke kaha kariyā niścay
śrī-bhagavān kahilen:
he kaunteya! e śarīra kṣetra nām tār
ihāra ye jñātā sei kṣetrajña vicār

Texts 1-2: Arjuna said: O my dear Kṛṣṇa, I wish to know about prakṛti (nature), puruṣa (the enjoyer), and the field and the knower of the field, and of knowledge and the object of knowledge.
The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: This body, O son of Kuntī, is called the field, and one who knows this body is called the knower of the field.

āmio kṣetrajña bujha sakala śarīre
he bhārata, antaryāmī kahe se āmāre
sei kṣetra ār kṣetrajñer yevā jñān
āmāra vicāre hay sei śuddha jñān

Text 3: O scion of Bharata, you should understand that I am also the knower in all bodies, and to understand this body and its knower is called knowledge. That is my opinion.

sei kṣetra ār kṣetrajñera vicār
ki tār svarūp kimbā ki tār vicār
ki tār prabhāva kimbā kothā hate hay
śuna tumi kahi āmi kariyā niścay

Text 4: Now please hear My brief description of this field of activity and how it is constituted, what its changes are, whence it is produced, who that knower of the field of activities is, and what his influences are.

dārśanik ṛṣi kata kareche vicār
smṛti chande kata vale nāhi tār pār
kintu vedānta vākye yuktira sahita
ye vicār kariyāche lāgi lokahita
sei se vicār jāna susiddhānta mat
sakalera grahaṇīya chāḍi anya path

Text 5: That knowledge of the field of activities and of the knower of activities is described by various sages in various Vedic writings. It is especially presented in Vedānta-sūtra with all reasoning as to cause and effect.

kṣiti, ap, tej, vāyu, vyom mahābhūta
ahaṅkār, buddhi ār man avyakta sambhūta
cakṣu, karṇa, nāsikā, jihvā, tvak yāhā jāni
pāyu, pād, peṭ, liṅga ār yāhā pāṇi
sei daś vāhya-ār man se antare
ekādaś indriya se śāstrera vicāre
rūp, ras, gandha, śavda, sparśa ye viṣay
cavviśa se tattva bujha kṣetra paricay
ihādera ye vicār kare viśleṣaṇe
kṣetra-tattva sei vijña bhāla-rūpa jāne
icchā, dveṣ, sukh, duḥkha ār ye saṅghāt
sthūl deha parimāṇ pañca mahā-bhūta
cetanā śakti ye hay jīvera ādhār
tār saṅge dhṛti jāna kṣetrera vikār
ataev ei sab ekatre se kṣetra
sthūla sūkṣma jaḍa vidyā sei ye sarvatra

Texts 6-7: The five great elements, false ego, intelligence, the unmanifested, the ten senses and the mind, the five sense objects, desire, hatred, happiness, distress, the aggregate, the life symptoms, and convictions—all these are considered, in summary, to be the field of activities and its interactions.

amānitva, adāmbhitva, ahiṁsā ye kṣānti
saralatā, guru-sevā, śouca, dhairya, śānti
āṭmāra nigraha yāhā indriya viṣaye
vairāgya nirahaṁkār sakala āśaye
janma, mṛtyu, jarā, vyādhi duḥkhera darśan
anāsakti strī putrete gṛhera prāṇgaṇ
udāsīn parivāre sukhete duḥkhete
nitya samacitta iṣṭa aniṣṭa madhyete
āmāte ananya-bhakti avyabhicāriṇī
nirjana sthānete vās grāmya nivāraṇī
adhyātma jñānera kare nityatva svīkār
tattva-jñān lāgi kare darśana vicār
sei se jñānera carcā vikāre nāś
ajñānatamera nām anyathā prakāś

Texts 8-12: Humility; pridelessness; non-violence; tolerance; simplicity; approaching a bona fide spiritual master; cleanliness; steadiness; self-control; renunciation of the objects of sense gratification; absence of false ego; the perception of the evil of birth, death, old age and disease; detachment; freedom from entanglement with children, wife, home and the rest; even-mindedness amid pleasant and unpleasant events; constant and unalloyed devotion to Me; aspiring to live in a solitary place; detachment from the general mass of people; accepting the importance of self-realization; and philosophical search for the Absolute Truth—all these I declare to be knowledge, and besides this whatever there may be is ignorance.

jñānera jñātavya yāhā tāhā bali śuna
jānile se tattva habe amṛtera pān
sei brahma-tattva-jñān āmāra āśrita
anādi se sat ār asat atīta

Text 13: I shall now explain the knowable, knowing which you will taste the eternal. Brahman, the spirit, beginningless and subordinate to Me, lies beyond the cause and effect of this material world.

sarva-sthāne hasta-pada nahe nirākār
sarva-sthāne cakṣu śir kata mukh tār
sarvatra śravaṇa sarva āvaraṇa sthān
tini chāḍā tribhuvane nāhi kichu āna

Text 14: Everywhere are His hands and legs, His eyes, heads and faces, and He has ears everywhere. In this way the Supersoul exists, pervading everything.

tṅāhā hate indriyādi hayeche prakāś
jaḍendriya nāhi tār sarva-guṇābhās
anāsakta sarva-bhūt tini se nirguṇ
sakala guṇera bhoktā tini cirantan

Text 15: The Supersoul is the original source of all senses, yet He is without senses. He is unattached, although He is the maintainer of all living beings. He transcends the modes of nature, and at the same time He is the master of all the modes of material nature.

sakala bhūtera tini antare vāhire
tṅāhā hate hay sab cara vā acar
ati sūkṣma tattva tāi avijñeya
yugapat bahu dūre nikaṭeteo hay

Text 16: The Supreme Truth exists outside and inside of all living beings, the moving and the non-moving. Because He is subtle, He is beyond the power of the material senses to see or to know. Although far, far away, He is also near to all.

avibhakta hai-yāo vibhaktera mata
akhaṇḍa samaṣṭi tini vyaṣṭi-rūpe sthita
sarva-bhūta bhartā tini saba janmadātā
tini-i sabār punaḥ saṁhārera kartā

Text 17: Although the Supersoul appears to be divided among all beings, He is never divided. He is situated as one. Although He is the maintainer of every living entity, it is to be understood that He devours and develops all.

samasta jyotira tini parama ādhār
cinmaya tṅāhār jyoti jaḍa para ār
jñānamaya rūpa tāṅr jñānagamya jñeya
sakalera hṛdi-mājhe tini adhiṣṭheya

Text 18: He is the source of light in all luminous objects. He is beyond the darkness of matter and is unmanifested. He is knowledge, He is the object of knowledge, and He is the goal of knowledge. He is situated in everybody's heart.

ei kahinu tattva kṣetra jñān jñeya
vijñāna tāhāra nām paṇḍitera priya
e vijñān bujhiyā se mor bhakta hay
tattva śuddhi jñāna hay bhaktira āśray

Text 19: Thus the field of activities (the body), knowledge and the knowable have been summarily described by Me. Only My devotees can understand this thoroughly and thus attain to My nature.

prakṛta puruṣa hay anādi se siddha
anādi kāla hate ubhaya saṁvṛddha
vikārādi guṇa yata prākṛta sambhava
prākṛta puruṣa yei tār anubhava

Text 20: Material nature and the living entities should be understood to be beginningless. Their transformations and the modes of matter are products of material nature.

kārya vā kāraṇa hay prakṛtira dān
bhogera kāraṇa sei puruṣei han

Text 21: Nature is said to be the cause of all material causes and effects, whereas the living entity is the cause of the various sufferings and enjoyments in this world.

prākṛta haiyā jīv bhuñje sei guṇ
prakṛtira guṇa sab prakṛtira dān
prākṛta guṇera saṅga ucca-nīca yoni
sadasad janma hay anya nāhi gaṇi

Text 22: The living entity in material nature thus follows the ways of life, enjoying the three modes of nature. This is due to his association with that material nature. Thus he meets with good and evil among various species.

se jīvera baddha rūpe paramātmā saṅge
upadeṣṭā anumantā han tini raṅge
maheśvara tini bhoktā puruṣe parama
jīvera uddhāra lāgi tini saṅge han

Text 23: Yet in this body there is another, a transcendental enjoyer, who is the Lord, the supreme proprietor, who exists as the overseer and permitter, and who is known as the Supersoul.

sei se jñānera dvārā puruṣa prakṛti
puruṣera ye prākṛta guṇera svīkṛti
ye bujhila vartamān haiyā sarvathā
punarjanma nāhi tār nahe se anyathā

Text 24: One who understands this philosophy concerning material nature, the living entity and the interaction of the modes of nature is sure to attain liberation. He will not take birth here again, regardless of his present position.

bhakta-gaṇ cidāśraye sadā dhyāne rata
prema-cakṣe paramātmāke darṣana satata
sāṁkhya-yogī jñāna dvārā ālocanā kare
karma-yogī bhagavāne karmārpaṇa kare

Text 25: Some perceive the Supersoul within themselves through meditation, others through the cultivation of knowledge, and still others through working without fruitive desires.

anya sādhāraṇ lok bujhe nā se kichu
śravaṇāntar upāsanā tārā kare kichu
tārāo tvariyā yāy e saṁsār hate
yadi śruti-parāyaṇa sādhura saṅgete

Text 26: Again there are those who, although not conversant in spiritual knowledge, begin to worship the Supreme Person upon hearing about Him from others. Because of their tendency to hear from authorities, they also transcend the path of birth and death.

sthāvara jaṅgama yata janmeche janmābe
kṣetra kṣetrajñera saṁyoga prabhāve

Text 27: O chief of the Bhāratas, know that whatever you see in existence, both the moving and the non-moving, is only a combination of the field of activities and the knower of the field.

se saba bhūtete samasthita bhagavān
darṣana karite pāre kona bhāgyavān
bhagavān avinaśyat vastu tāhāra bhitare
vinaśyat dharma tini svīkāra nā kare

Text 28: One who sees the Supersoul accompanying the individual soul in all bodies, and who understands that neither the soul nor the Supersoul within the destructible body is ever destroyed, actually sees.

sakaler madhye sama thakena īśvar
dekhite samartha hay yei tatpar
ye ātmāke adhaḥpāt kabhu nāhi kare
kupathagāmī se duṣṭa mana dvāre

Text 29: One who sees the Supersoul equally present everywhere, in every living being, does not degrade himself by his mind. Thus he approaches the transcendental destination.

prakṛti-pradatta deha indriyādi dvārā
prakṛti-i sādhe karma jīvera se sārā
kintu ātma-tattva jīv kichu nāhi kare
jṅāhāra darśana sei se dekhite pāre

Text 30: One who can see that all activities are performed by the body, which is created of material nature, and sees that the self does nothing, actually sees.

prākṛtik vaicitrye yevā ekatva darśane
sarva-bhūtera pṛthak bhāv samartha se mane
sṛṣṭi sthiti vistār sei yevā jāne
samartha se jan dṛṣṭi brahma sampādane

Text 31: When a sensible man ceases to see different identities due to different material bodies and he sees how beings are expanded everywhere, he attains to the Brahman conception.

brahma-jñānī jīv nitya parama avyay
nirguṇa anādi tattva nirlipta se ray

Text 32: Those with the vision of eternity can see that the imperishable soul is transcendental, eternal and beyond the modes of nature. Despite contact with the material body, O Arjuna, the soul neither does anything nor is entangled.

yemana sarvagata vyom,          sukṣma tattva anupam,
sarvatra sambhav vicaraṇ
tathāpi se lipta nahe,          nijera svatantra rahe,
sei-rūp ātma vicaraṇ
sarvatra vyāpiyā dehe,          kūṭastha pṛthaka rahe,
mahābhūte nahe se milan
tathā brahma-bhūta jīv,          ātma-tattva haye śiv,
deha-dharme lipta nāhi han

Text 33: The sky, due to its subtle nature, does not mix with anything, although it is all-pervading. Similarly, the soul situated in Brahman vision does not mix with the body, though situated in that body.

surya yathā prakāśaye akhila jagat
ek deśe ekā thāki samrāṭa mahat
he bhārat sei-rūp kṣetrī prakāśay
ekā eksthāne thāki kṣetra deha-may

Text 34: O son of Bharata, as the sun alone illuminates all this universe, so does the living entity, one within the body, illuminate the entire body by consciousness.

kṣetra ār kṣetrajñer tattva-jñān cakṣe
dekhibār śakti hay se yāhār pakṣe
ek kṣetrajña se jīv anya paramātmā
ubhayer kṣetre vās kṣetra viśeṣātmā
tār mokṣa jaḍa-niṣṭha pravṛtti haite
sukhe vās para-vyome jaḍa deha ante

Text 35: Those who see with eyes of knowledge the difference between the body and the knower of the body, and can also understand the process of liberation from bondage in material nature, attain to the supreme goal.

bhaktivedānta kahe śrī-gītāra gān
śune yadi śuddha bhakta kṛṣṇagata-prāṇ

Thus Bhaktivedānta sings the song of Śrī Gītā, with the hope that hearing this, Kṛṣṇa conscious pure devotees will be pleased.