Vibhaktam

avibhaktaṁ cha bhūteṣhu vibhaktam iva cha sthitam

bhūta-bhartṛi cha taj jñeyaṁ grasiṣhṇu prabhaviṣhṇu cha

avibhaktam—indivisible; cha—although; bhūteṣhu—amongst living beings; vibhaktam—divided; iva—apparently; cha—yet; sthitam—situated; bhūta-bhartṛi—the Sustainer of all beings; cha—also; tat—that; jñeyam—to be known; grasiṣhṇu—the Annihilator; prabhaviṣhṇu—the Creator; cha—and.

He is indivisible, yet He appears to be divided amongst living beings. Know the Supreme Entity to be the Sustainer, Annihilator, and Creator of all beings.

God’s personality includes His various energies.  All manifest and unmanifest objects are but expansions of His energy.  Thus, we can say He is all that exists.  Accordingly, Shreemad Bhagavatam states:

dravyaṁ karma cha kālaśh cha svabhāvo jīva eva cha

vāsudevāt paro brahman na chānyo ’rtho ’sti tattvataḥ   .

The various aspects of creation—time, karma, the natures of individual living beings, and the material ingredients of creation—are all the Supreme Lord Shree Krishna Himself.  There is nothing in existence apart from Him.

God may appear to be divided amongst the objects of His creation, but since He is all that exists, He remains undivided as well.  For example, space may seem to be divided amongst the objects that it contains.  Yet, all objects are within the one entity called space, which manifested at the beginning of creation.  Again, the reflection of the sun in puddles of water appears divided, and yet the sun remains indivisible. 

Just as the ocean throws up waves and then absorbs them back into itself, similarly God creates the world, maintains it, and then absorbs it back into Himself.  Therefore, He may be equally seen as the Creator, the Maintainer, and the Destroyer of everything.

Beyond darkness.

 jyotishaamapi tajjyotistamsaha paramuchyate |

jnyaanam jnyeyam jnyaanagamyam hridi sarvasya vishthitam || 17 ||
 
That is the light even among all the lights, and it has been spoken of as beyond darkness. It is knowledge, that which is to be known, and the goal of knowledge. It especially resides in the hearts of all.
 
jyotishaam : among all lights
api : even
tat : that
jyotihi : light
tamsaha : darkness
param : beyond
uchyate : has been spoken
jnyaanam : knowledge
jnyeyam : that which is to be known
jnyaanagamyam : goal of knowledge
hridi : hearts
sarvasya : all
vishthitam : especially resides
 
In prior verses, the “sat” or existence aspect of the eternal essence was highlighted. Here, the “chit” or awareness aspect is elaborated upon. Awareness or sentience is what makes an entity know about it surroundings as well about itself, as we had seen earlier. Shri Krishna says that the eternal essence is the “light among all the lights”. The word “light” in the Vedas refers to awareness, to knowledge. Which means that ultimately, it is the eternal essence that provides the power of awareness, the power to know, to all beings. Without the eternal essence, we would have no awareness, no sentience.

Now, just like the word “light” refers to knowledge, the word “darkness” refers to ignorance. By saying that the eternal essence is beyond ignorance, Shri Krishna points out the uniqueness of the awareness aspect of the eternal essence. If we light a lamp in a dark room, it dispels the darkness. We cannot have darkness and light coexist. However, the eternal essence is present in individuals who are ignorance of it, as well as those few rare individuals who have realized it. This unique ability of the eternal essence to illumine ignorance is why Shri Krishna calls it “beyond darkness”.
 
So, how can we use our antahakarana, our intellect, mind and senses, to realize that eternal essence? Shri Krishna provides a three step process. We use “jnyaanam”, the means of knowledge indicated in the twenty attributes such as humility mentioned earlier in the chapter, to gradually reduce the importance we give to upaadhis or conditionings. As we systematically study the scriptures under the guidance of a teacher, the eternal essence comes into our awareness as “jneyam”, the object of knowledge. But only through constant contemplation, reflection and meditation does the eternal essence becomes “jnyaanagamyam”, the goal of knowledge, where all notions of duality are removed and we remain established in the eternal essence.
 
Shri Krishna concludes this shloka by reminding us that all these three stages – preparation, study and reflection – are enabled only through the intellect, which is referred to here as the “hridi” or heart of all human beings. Only humans have the capability to access the eternal essence. That is why we come across the statement “a human birth is rare to attain” in many prominent spiritual texts.

 

asaktam

 

sarva—all; indriya—senses; guṇa—sense-objects; ābhāsam—

the perciever; sarva—all; indriya—senses; vivarjitam—devoid of; 

asaktam—unattached; sarva-bhṛit—the sustainer of all;

 cha—yet; eva—indeed; nirguṇam—beyond the three modes

 of material nature; guṇa-bhoktṛi—the enjoyer of the three

modes of material nature; cha—although

sarvendriya-gunabhasam sarvendriya-vivarjitam
asaktam sarva-bhrich chaiva nirgunam guna-bhoktri cha.

When we teach a child about electricity, it is natural to have some

doubts or questions about the nature of electricity.

Similarly, when we hear a description of the eternal essence,

we also will have questions and doubts. Shri Krishna now continues

 to proceed step by step towards explaining jneyam, the knowable

 which is the eternal essence, by answering three questions

with respect to its relationship with the organs of sense

(eyes, mouth etc) and organs of action (hands, legs etc).

First question: Can the eternal essence exist without the organs?

Shri Krishna says that the eternal essence can exist without

 the organs of action and sense, it is “devoid of the senses”,

 just like electricity can exist without the bulb. Organs of sense and action are one of the means by which the eternal essence expresses itself. It has the power to adapt itself to any form of expression, any upaadhi, just like electricity can power a heater as well as an air conditioner.

Then, can the organs of sense and action exist without the eternal

essence? The answer is no, since the eternal essence is

“sarvabhrit”, the supporter of all upaadhis in the form of “is-ness”

 or existence. In any language including English, we cannot

 say something exists without using the word “is” in some shape

 or form. The “is-ness” of everything is provided by the eternal

essence, like the water provides “is-ness” to the wave. But the

eternal essence always remains “asakta” or detached from the

upaadhis, just like a movie screen remains detached from the movie.
 
Now, we know from earlier chapters that the senses are made up of the three qualities or gunaas : sattva, rajas and tamas.

They go out into the world to chase sense objects, which are also made up of the very same gunaas. “Gunaa guneshu vartante”, the qualities are playing with the qualities. How does the eternal essence fit into this play of the senses?

Shri Krishna says that even these three qualities are upaadhis,

and therefore, the eternal essence is “nirgunam”, not attached

 to these qualities. When the senses play with their sense objects,the upaadhis of sattva, rajas and tamas are transformed into the upaadhis of joy, sorrow, delusion and so on. The mind, when it participates in this process, becomes the experiencer on account of presence of the eternal essence.

In all of these three answers, we find that the eternal essence is always unattached, whether it is to the organs of sense and actions, to their sense objects or to the three qualities. But when the eternal essence takes on the conditioning or the upaadhi of the organs, it as though moves, and it as though supports their existence. Also, when the eternal essence takes on the upaadhis of the three gunaas, it as though becomes the experiencer.

The key here is the phrase “as though”, since this addition or superimposition of upaadhis is only due to ignorance.

Let us now recap Shri Krishna’s explanation so far. In the last shloka, he said that the eternal essence is that which has hands, legs, eyes, mouth etc. In this shloka, he says that the eternal essence is that which has hands, legs, eyes, mouth etc as upaadhis or conditionings. In other words, he first said that the organs exist, and now he negates them by making them upaadhis. This process of assertion and negation is a technique known as “adhyaaropa apavaada”, a step by step means of getting closer and closer to the eternal essence.

Often people argue that God cannot have hands, feet, eyes, ears, etc.  But Shree Krishna says that God has all these, and to an innumerable extent.  We should never fall into the trap of circumscribing God within our limited understanding.  He is kartumakartuṁ anyathā

 karatuṁ samarthaḥ  

“He can do the possible, the impossible, and the reverse of the possible.”  

For that all-powerful God, to say that He cannot have hands and feet, is placing a constraint upon Him.   

However, God’s limbs and senses are divine, while ours are material.  The difference between the material and the transcendental is that while we are limited to one set of senses,

God possesses unlimited hands and legs, eyes, and ears. 

While our senses exist in one place,  God’s senses are everywhere.  Hence, God sees everything that

happens in the world, and hears everything that is ever said. 

This is possible because, just as He is all-pervading in creation,

 His eyes and ears are also ubiquitous.  The Chhāndogya

Upaniṣhadstates: sarvaṁ khalvidaṁ brahma (3.14.1)

“Everywhere is Brahman.”  Hence, He accepts food offerings made to Him anywhere in the universe;

He hears the prayers of His devotees, wherever they may be;

and He is the Witness of all that occurs in the three worlds. 

If millions of devotees venerate Him at the same time, He has no problem in accepting the prayers of all of them. 

anaadimat

 jneyam yattatpravakshyaami yajjnyaatvaamritamashnute |

anaadimatparam brahma na sattannaasaduchyate || 12 ||
 
I will describe that which is to be known, by realizing which, immortality is attained. The supreme brahman is without beginning, said to be neither manifest nor unmanifest.

jneyam : known
yat : which
tat : that
pravakshyaami : I will describe
yat : which
jnyaatvaa : having realized
amritam : immortality
ashnute : attain
anaadimat : without beginning
param : supreme
brahma : brahman
na : not
sat : manifest
tat : that
na : not
asat : unmanifest
uchyate : said

In the beginning of this chapter, Shri Krishna set out to explain what is kshetra or the field, and what is kshetrajnya or the knower of the field. He then set to list out various aspects of the field, which are also known as upaadhis or conditionings. This list included upaadhis such as the intellect, the mind, the five elements and so on. Shri Krishna also asserted there is only one knower of the field that is limited or conditioned by all of these upaadhis. He then gave us twenty attributes that we should cultivate in order to reduce the importance we give to these upaadhis, so that we can slowly uncover and get to the kshetrajnya, the knower of the field.
After assuming that we have cultivated these twenty qualities, and consequently learned how to reduce the importance of the field in our lives, Shri Krishna now gets to the main topic of this chapter. He says that he will now reveal what is the real knowledge, what all of us should know in this world as the culmination of all of our knowledge, what is “jneyam”. We learn so many things in our life through schools, colleges, professional training, street smarts and so on. But none of them can give us immortality. None of them can give us a permanent solution from the sorrows that we experience day in and day out. Each time we leave our self and go through our senses into the world to fulfill a desire, we generate sorrow, we create “death” in each such departure.
So then, what is this immortality-giving knowledge? Shri Krishna says that it is brahman, which is the very same eternal essence that is within us, and within everything else in the universe. It is “param” or supreme, beyond which nothing else needs to be known. It is “anadimat”, eternal, without any beginning, beyond all notions of time. It is not manifest, which means it is not accessible to the senses or the mind as an object of perception or a thought. But it is also not unmanifest. For instance, our unfulfilled desires lie dormant in our unconscious mind, but do not manifest as thoughts in our mind. The eternal essence is beyond our unconscious as well.
We now see why it is so difficult to understand the eternal essence. It is not like any object or form that can be described in words. It is also not an abstract concept that can be explained through logic, or by comparing it to something else or by combining one concept with another. In earlier chapters we saw how such situations can be handled with negation. If we want to instruct someone on how to select a maroon shirt, we tell them ignore all of the other colours of shirts. The one that is left will be the maroon shirt. Similarly, the eternal essence cannot be comprehended by our mind and senses because it is beyond the mind and senses. It can only be attained through negating everything that is not the eternal essence – by negating the upaadhis or fields.

Now, in the upcoming shlokas, Shri Krishna proceeds step by step to negate the upaadhis of the eternal essence, starting with the most visible ones.

svacha

 Shaucha  literally means purity, cleanliness and clearness. It refers to purity of mind, speech and body. Saucha is one of the Niyamas of Yoga It is discussed in many ancient Indian texts such as the Mahabharatha It is a virtue in Hinduism and Jainism. In Hinduism purity is a part of worship, an attitude or purity of mind an important quality for salvation. Purity is a mind pure and free of evil thoughts and behaviors.

Saucha includes outer purity of body as well as inner purity of mind. The concept of Saucha is synonymous with shuddhi (शुद्धि). LePage states that Saucha in yoga is on many levels, and deepens as an understanding and evolution of self increases.

Shaucha, or holistic purity of the body, is considered essential for health, happiness and general well-being. External purity is achieved through daily ablutions, while internal purity is cultivated through physical exercises, including asana (postures) and pranayama (breathing techniques). Along with daily ablutions to cleanse one's body, the concept of Shaucha suggests clean surrounding, along with fresh and clean food to purify the body. Lack of Saucha, such as letting toxins build in body are a source of impurity.

Shaucha goes beyond purity of body, and includes purity of speech and mind. Anger, hate, prejudice, greed, pride, fear, negative thoughts are a source of impurity of mind. The impurities of the intellect are cleansed through the process of self-examination, or knowledge of self (Adhyatma-Vidya). The mind is purified through mindfulness and meditation on one's intent, feelings, actions and its causes.

Vaikhanasa

The founder of the "Vaikhanasa Agama" tradition, Vikhanas, was considered an incarnation or emanation from Vishnu. He was a man of considerable vedic wisdom and is also sometimes associated with the creator, Brahma. He is generally portrayed as having a pale complexion, wearing golden clothes with four arms, and he is often depicted with his four disciples, to whom he taught to worship Vishnu. His image is often placed in the entrance of temples to Vishnu.

The "Vaikhanasa Agamas" are of particular importance to the Vaikhanasas, Hindu worshippers who devote to Vishnu as their primary god. They are mainly Brahmins. The "Vaikhanasa Agamas" place great significance on the images of gods and their consorts. They see the Godhead as the support of all. They teach that Vishnu will appear in the heart of devotees if they meditate as instructed. This ultimately leads to salvation

Among the Vaishnava Agamas that glorify Vishnu as the Supreme Principle, and as the Ultimate Reality, to the exclusion of other deities, the Vaikhanasa and Pancharatra are prominent. Some say, Vaikhanasa is the older tradition that is rooted in the orthodoxy of the Vedic knowledge. The Pancharatra, in contrast, is regarded relatively less conservative, a bit more liberal and closer to the Tantra ideology.

There are several explanations to the term Vaikhanasa.

Vanaprastha

44.1. According to one interpretation, Vaikhanasa is the ancient word for Vanaprastha (life of a forest dweller or hermit). Vanaprastha, according to the scheme of man’s lifespan as developed during the later Vedic age*, is the third stage (ashrama) in a man’s life. It is the stage prior to and in preparation for Sanyasa the last stage of total withdrawal from the world.

Although Vaikhanasa-s are not directly  mentioned in the Rig-Veda, there are references to them in the Anukramani Index to RV hymn at 9.66 , which is addressed to ‘Indra, Pavamana and one hundred Vaikhanasa’ ( RV_9,066.23.2 indur atyo vicakṣaṇaḥ). And, the RV hymn 10. 99 is addressed by Indra to ‘Vamra Vaikhanasa’. There are also reference to Vamra Vaikhanasa in Jaiminiya Brahmana at 3.99 and 3.215, which say that  : Puruhanma vaikhanasas loved animals , underwent austerity . He Visualized the Jagata saman (hymn) – (Vaikhanasam bhavathi jagatam sama) and  (Vaikhanasa va etani samany apasyan)

Here , Vaikhanasa hermits are said to be dear to Indra – indrasya priyā āsaṃ. Vaikhanasa quote extensively from Rig-Veda in which Indra is the principal deity. In the later times, Indra merged with Vishnu.

There are several references to Vaikhanasa-s in the Ramayana. At end of the Ayodhya-kanda while they were departing to the forest clad in bark–garments , it is said, the brothers Rama and Lakshmana adopted the ways of the hermits and vow of ascetic life (Vaikhanasam margam) – Rama –rakshamanau tato Vaikhanasam margam asthitah saha Lakshmanah –R. 2.57-58. Later in the Ayodhya kanda, the ways of living of the Vikhanasa hermits are described in detail. And again, in the Khishkinda–kanda there is a reference to the ascetic groups of Vaikhanasa-s and the Valakhilya-s (Tatra Vaikhanasa Nama Valakhilya maha-rishayah-R.4.40.60)

 In all these references, the Vaikhanasa-s are described as forest-dwellers, ascetics following a pristine way of life dedicated to Indra/Vishnu/

The Varnashrama system expanded  by Dharmashastras, mention that after fulfilling his family responsibilities and social obligations, say at the age of sixty or thereafter; and  at the end of his well-lived family-life , a man retires into forest , along with his wife (sa-pathnika), to lead a peaceful and contemplative  life of a recluse , away from the  worldly conflicts and its snares. The two live like trusted old friends; and, lead   a happy, contented and tranquil life. It is the fulfillment of the long journey they travelled together. As his sense of detachment ripens, the man finally accepts sanyasa; and,the wife returns home, to the family of her sons.

44.2. Vanaprastha, in its concept, is not an end by itself; but is deemed as a step to reach man’s highest aspiration, the liberation. The characteristic of its ascetic mode of life is detachment and contemplation.  Yet; it is the stage of life marked by selfless friendship, open-heartedness, mellow glowing wisdom and compassion towards all, including strangers , animals and plants. It is the maturity of life when positive attitudes and social virtues ripen.  Vanaprastha is not distracted by motives of personal gain (artha) or desire for pleasures (Kama). But, he does not lead a harsh and an arid life of self-mortification. That is because; he views the body and spirit as equal expressions of the divine. Vanaprastha stage is conceived as a well balanced rounding off to a worthy life.