nachiyar.

Wednesday, August 18, 2021

Friday, August 13, 2021

swathi Tirunal.

An milO

raagam: bhairavi

Aa:S R2 G2 M1 P D2 N2 S
Av: S N2 D1 P M1 G2 R2 S

taaLam: Adi
Composer: Swaati TirunaaL
Language:

pallavi

An milO mehabUb hamArO

caraNam 1

hO un tOri dAsi lAlA nandakuvar pyAro

caraNam 2

cun cun kaliyAm mai sEj banaun sEj palang rangmahal tumhArO

caraNam 3

atar abir gulAb lagAun prEm kaTAri sE mOkU nahi mArO

caraNam 4

padmanAbh prabhu phaNipara shAyi kabahun nahi mOkU nAth bisArO

5 of wealth

Wealth should be divided into 5 types.

One portion is to be set aside for dharma, one portion is for one's own sreyas, one portion to be used to augment one,s current wealth, one portion to be used to run everyday life, the one portion is to help one's relatives. As classified by Sukracharya to mahabali.

There is a sanskrit verse which says wealth faces many challenges. A demand on money comes in the form of the need to give Diana. If one gives Diana one is saved from the other three demands on it. If you do not give Diana then your wealth will be taxed by rulers and will get depleted. Or one can get robbed etc. But one can give only if one ishealthy and makes sufficient for himself he who cannot help himself cannot help others.

A healthy tree can bear flowers and fruits for others.

Thursday, August 12, 2021

all G people.

In his Varadaraja Stavam, Kooratazhvan gives niravadhi and niramha as qualities of Lord Varadaraja of Kanchi. Niramha means absence of undesirable qualities. Nirvadhya means He has no doshas. So both niravadhi and niramha mean the same. So why did Kooratazhvan use two different words to describe the same quality? He was a great scholar, and unless the two words could be explained differently, he would not have used them, said Valayapet Ramachariar in a discourse.

Niravadhi means Varadaraja is blemishless. Niramha means that those who worship Him also end up blemishless. In his Meivrata Mahatmyam, Vedanta Desika records Brahma’s reaction upon seeing Lord Varadaraja. Brahma said he could no longer find his terrible sins (kadu vinaikal) the moment he saw Varadaraja. So, the moment one sees Varadaraja, one’s sins vanish. Kooratazhvan attributes to Varadaraja all qualities of the Supreme One, thus indicating that Varadaraja is Brahman.

Kooratazhvan uses the word ‘sadaa’ (always) in verse 12, while describing His qualities, and sadaa can be prefixed before every quality of His. So He is sadaa niravadhi, sadaa niramha and so on. The Supreme One is unchanging, in terms of appearance and qualities. Varadaraja too is unchanging in any respect. Those who have witnessed His festivals over the years know this. Suppose a regular visitor to the temple is unable to go to a festival one year, he can visualise the entire procession, for he knows that nothing will vary. The alankara of the deity for each day remains fixed. So, if He is on the hamsa vahana, the absent devotee knows He will be clad in white, with the crown made by His devotee Venkatadri. Decorations remain the same every year, and so here we find changelessness.

Bringing one’s palms together and doing an anjali to Lord Narayana is the easiest way to worship Him, said Akkarakkani Srinidhi in a discourse. This simple act is enough to please Him. Alavandar, in his Stotra Ratnam, says that whoever offers an anjali to the Lord, at whatever time of the day, and even if he were to do this only once, it is enough to wipe out all his sorrows, and to contribute to his welfare. Alavandar, addressing the Lord, says that an anjali offered to Him will never be in vain. As Alavandar points out, the beauty of anjali is that anyone can do it. There are no rules about when to do it. No special rituals are to be followed to do an anjali. And yet, there are those who do not even do this simple act. Nammazhvar says that it is their fate that keeps them from doing that which is good for them.

In the Yuddha Kanda of Valmiki Ramayana, Rama tells Sugreeva that should a man approach one with folded palms (anjali), then regardless of whether that man is an enemy, or a beggar, or one seeking refuge, he should not be killed. Anjali is saranagati (surrender) through the body. Valmiki’s use of the word ‘deena,’ indicates surrender through the manas, and the poet’s use of the word ‘yaacantam’ indicates surrender through one’s words.

Vedanta Desika, in his Anjali Vaibhavam, says that if the Lord were about to punish us for our sins, we must direct towards Him the weapon known as anjali! The Lord will melt with compassion and drop the idea of punishing us. Every act has a purpose, but once we achieve our target, we no longer continue the same task. But when you do anjali, you get moksha, and in Sri Vaikuntha, what does one do, but offer anjali to the Lord? So anjali is something that continues even after the goal (moksha) is attained.

In this world, the course of karma is not easily understood. Even the devas are not able to comprehend the wonderful effect of actions. This is Vyasa’s observation on karma when Janamejaya seeks clarification about the law of karma in the Devi Bhagavata Purana, pointed out Sri K. Srinivasan in a discourse. Sastras explain that it is through karma that everything had its origin when the universe comprising the three gunas was created. The seed of karma has always been in existence with no beginning or end. The individual embodied soul, jiva, also arose along with karma. These jivas are born again and again owing to karma, and only when the karma ceases, the jiva is free from the cycle of birth. That is, the jiva no longer will be associated with the body.

Vyasa further added that the sages of yore have said that the Karmas done by the Jivas are of three kinds, auspicious, Satvik karma, inauspicious, Tamasic karma, and the mixed, Rajasic karma. These are further subdivided into three types: Sanchita, accumulated; Bhavishya, to be experienced in the future; and Prarabdha, already commenced. These karmas are always associated with the body. All embodied beings from Brahma onwards to the smallest ant are under the influence of karma. When the jiva undergoes pain, pleasure, old age disease and death, and whenever it gives vent to feelings of anger, hatred, etc, it is all owing to the karma effects. This is also called Fate. These are also linked to one’s past likes or dislikes.

Karma is the cause of the sun’s movement across the skies and of the moon’s waxing and waning cycles. Also, this entire universe comprising the movable and the immovable appears real owing to karma and its effects. That is why sages engaged in meditation to ascertain if the universe is real or not point out the presence of Maya.

The Vedas are timeless, with no specific author. The Vedas are profound, and cannot be easily understood. The help of a learned preceptor is needed to help one comprehend the full implication of any Vedic passage. There is a famous sloka, which says itihasa puranabhyam vedam samupabrmhayet. That means that one must study the Itihasas and Puranas, in addition to the Vedas. The reason is to enable a correct interpretation of the Vedas, said M.A. Venkatakrishnan in a discourse.

Of the two, Itihasas are given more importance, which is why they are mentioned first. Actually, there is a Paninian sutra, which says that when two words are being enunciated, the one with fewer letters must come first. In the case of Itihasa and Purana, the word ‘Purana’ has fewer letters. And yet Itihasa is used first. It may seem as if the Paninian rule is being flouted here, but it is not so. Panini maharishi also said that when two things are being spoken of, that which is superior must come first. So, when viewed in terms of this rule, it is only proper that Itihasa should precede Purana in a sloka.

But why are Itihasas superior to Puranas? Itihasa simply means that what happened was being reported. It is an account of something that took place at the very time when it took place. Itihasa means “This is what happened.” So, the chance of interpolations or additions are not there in the case of Itihasas. We have two Itihasas in Sanskrit — Ramayana and Mahabharata. Purana is the narration of something that happened long ago, and so the chance of some inaccuracies in presentation is possible. Puraa means “long back.” Purana means an account of long past events, which, however, seem to the listener or reader as if they are something relevant in the present.

The Bhagavad Gita is called Smriti Prasthana as it is part of the Mahabharata. Smritis derive their teaching from Sruti, the Vedas and the Upanishads, believed to be the source of all esoteric and metaphysical knowledge. So Sruti is revealed scripture, unlike Smriti that teaches the essence of the Vedas through divine incarnations, sages, etc.

In the section on Karma Yoga, when Krishna explains the path of karma, Arjuna has many doubts about the relative efficacy of Karma and Jnana. Adi Sankara’s Gita Bashya provides precise clarifications on such issues when the nuances of Vedic karma and dharma that people are expected to uphold with faith at all costs are clearly explained, pointed out Nannilam Sri V. Rajagopala Ganapadigal in a discourse. The Vedas have ordained two paths, Pravritti and Nivritti, to guide the active life of people, both as an individual pursuing spiritual goal and as a member in a social set up. Both paths are meant to lead to salvation. Pravritti dharma entails one to follow the worldly path and seek salvation, while Nivritti dharma is rooted in renunciation of the worldly aims. Both are meant to serve the needs of people born with inherent tendencies to either lead a life of action or of contemplation.

In other words, Pravritti pertains to ‘ashrama’ dharma and is the path shown by sages Marichi, Atri, Angiras and others. Nivritti is the path of renunciation and the jnana marga that the Sanatkumara sages exemplify. Those upholding Pravritti marga have been created to lead life to propagate the race; but still they lead disciplined lives and realise God by discharging the ordained duties in a detached and selfless manner without any personal gain or expectation. It is shown that Karma by itself cannot lead to salvation; but in the process of doing one’s karma one attains chitta suddhi and gains jnana by which he is likely to attain salvation.

In the Bhagavad Gita, Lord Krishna tells Arjuna about the nature of the body, what it is made up of, what is the purpose of the body, whether it is made of something material (jada) or of something intangible (ajada). But before He begins to explain about the body and the atma, He says that whatever He is going to say has already been said by sages and has been stated in the Vedas.

Moola prakrti is not a transformation of anything, but itself undergoes transformations. Take the example of gold. If gold is prakrti, then we do see it transforming into various kinds of jewellery. So, a bangle made of gold is a vikAra of gold. Can this bangle be the prakrti for something else? Yes, it can. So, some things have both the qualities of prakrti and vikrti. The five elements and the eleven indriyas belong to the category of just vikrti. In other words, they do not transform into anything else. So, everything in the Universe fits into one of these three categories — prakrti, prakrti-vikrti and vikrti, elaborated Valayapet Ramachariar in a discourse.

Kshetra, that is the body, is composed of the five elements — earth, water, fire, air and ether — and ahamkara, buddhi and prakrti. The Lord further says that the five karmendriyas, five jnanendriyas and manas are also present in the body. Desire and dislike are also in the body. However, this raises a question. Dislike, liking, pain and pleasure are experienced by the atma. So, how does the Lord say they are in the body? The reason is that without association with a body, the atma does not experience anything. So, the body is what makes the experience of sukha and dukkha possible for the atma. So, the question as to the purpose of the body is answered here. It makes possible experiences of various kinds for the atma.

Saint Vallalar prays for the company of the right people. He does not want to be associated with gossips, liars or those who argue all the time. He wants nothing but to sing the praises of Lord Shanmukha, who resides in the temple of Kanda Kottam, in the city of Chennai, elaborated M.A. Manickavelu in a discourse. Vallalar’s unshakeable faith in the Lord is evident in every verse of his Deiva Mani Malai. Such faith comes naturally to the jnani.

Vivekananda saw an idol of Lord Krishna being taken in a procession. “Look! Krishna is walking towards us!” Vivekananda exclaimed to the man beside him. But the man was skeptical. So Vivekananda put his hand on his shoulder and the man immediately saw Krishna walking towards them! But the moment Vivekananda took his hands off the man’s shoulders, he no longer saw Krishna, but only an idol. That is because only jnanis can see God.

When Vivekananda met Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, he had a question for him. Vivekananda asked him if he had seen God.

To this Ramakrishna replied: “Yes, I have seen God. I have seen Him as clearly as I now see you.” No one had ever made such an assertion to Vivekananda and he was amazed at the statement. Ramakrishna further said that one can even talk to God.

People shed tears over their relatives. But how many shed tears to have a glimpse of God? If one cries for God, one can see him, assured Ramakrishna. Ramakrishna himself used to weep when he worshipped Goddess Kali. Saint Manickavachagar says in a verse that if one cries, one can reach Him.

Sundarar says that even if he forgot Lord Siva, his tongue would go on chanting His name.

Tuesday, August 10, 2021

M a p

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10160214933037223&id=745532222&sfnsn=wiwspmo

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10160214933037223&id=745532222

Monday, August 9, 2021

Velu n

Velu Nachiyar, the little-known queen from Tamil Nadu, was the first Indian ruler to fight and triumph against the British. She did this in 1780, 77 years before the First War of Independence. Popularly known as ‘veeramangai’ (brave woman), she also devised the first recorded suicide bombing in history, with her Dalit commander-in-chief killed.

Born in 1730 to Raja Chellamuthu Vijayaragunatha Sethupathy and Rani Sakandimuthal, she was an only child. The royal couple thus raised her as they would have raised a male heir. She was trained in horse-riding, archery, and martial arts such as valari (throwing sickle) and silambam (fighting with a stick). She was also well-versed in several languages, including English, French, and Urdu.

When she was 16, Velu Nachiyar was married to Muthuvadugananthur Udaiyathevar, the prince of Sivagangai. They had a daughter together called Vellachi, and ruled over the kingdom for over two decades – from 1750 to 1772, until the year that Mathuvadugananthur Udaiyathevar was killed by the British.

After the British invaded Sivagangai with the son of the Nawab of Arcot and killed Velu Nachiyar’s husband in what is known as the ‘Kalaiyar Koil War’, she was forced to flee her kingdom with her daughter. She found safe haven at Virupachi in Dindigul, and lived there for eight years under the sanctuary of Gopala Nayaker.

During her stay in Dindigul, Velu Nachiyar met Haider Ali, the Sultan and the then ruler of Mysore. She conversed with him in Urdu and highly impressed him with her courage and perseverance. This led to her garnering unwavering support not just from Gopala Nayaker, but also from Haider Ali, who pledged to be her ally in her fight against the British. He even built a temple inside his palace as a sign of their friendship.

She was invited by the Sultan to stay at the Dindigul fort where she was respected like the queen that she was. Haider Ali also provided her with a monthly financial support of 400 Pounds and 5000 infantry and cavalry troops each. All of that combined with the weapons provided by the Sultan, helped Velu Nachiyar assemble a powerful army to drive away the British.

1780 was the year Velu Nachiyar bravely defeated the British in a brilliantly formulated coup. Her intelligence gathering agents found out where the British had stored their ammunition. A suicide attack was then devised to destroy all of it.

Kuyili, the commander-in-chief, gallantly volunteered to carry out the suicide mission. She doused herself in ghee and set herself on fire before jumping into the ammunition store, destroying every last bit of it. Kuyili is considered by many to be Velu Nachiyar’s adopted daughter, and is the first recorded suicide bomber in history.

Udaiyaal was also an adopted daughter of Velu Nachiyar. She too died in the battle against the British while blowing up their arsenal in another suicide attack. In her memory, the queen built an all-women army and named it after Udaiyaal.

After her victory over the British, Velu Nachiyar reigned over the Sivangangai kingdom for a decade. She made her daughter Vellachi heir to the throne. The Marudhu brothers, her fellow escapees from the Kalaiyar Koil War, were given administrative positions in the kingdom. To express her gratitude to Haider Ali for his immense and timely help, Velu Nachiyar constructed a mosque and church at Saragani. She further maintained friendly relations with Tipu Sultan, Haider Ali’s son, and loved him like a brother.

Vellachi, Velu Nachiyar’s daughter, succeeded her to the throne and ruled from 1790 to 1793.

The 66-year-old valiant queen passed away in 1796 in Sivagangai, her beloved kingdom. She had been suffering from heart problems and had been treated even in France.

Anyonya adyasa

Shri Krishna begins this topic by asserting that every other being in the universe has come into existence just like we have. The kshetrajnya, the higher aspect of Prakriti, has identified itself with the kshetra, the lower aspect of Prakriti. Each such erroneous identification creates the Purusha, also known as the jeeva, the individual soul. Subsequently, each Purusha has developed attachment to the qualities of Prakriti, accumulating selfish desires or karmas in the process. Billions of Purushas live out their lives in this world trying to exhaust their karmas, but in most cases, end up accumulating more karmas, and therefore, take birth again.

We have spoken of this erroneous identification several times, but have not delved into it deeply. The classic example to explain this erroneous identification is that of a burning hot iron ball. The iron ball has taken on heat, which is the property of fire. On the other hand, fire which is normally without shape, has taken on the property of the iron ball, which is round. Two things taking on each other’s properties is known as “anyonya adhyaasa” or mutual superimposition. The Purusha’s real nature is infinite, full of knowledge and bliss. Prakriti’s nature is finite, inert and sorrowful. Erroneous identification results in them exchanging their properties, as it were. This is how the Purusha assumes inertness of the body.

So our daily life is nothing but a Purusha interacting with several other Purushas, all of which are under the effect of this erroneous identification. There should be no hint of any arrogance that causes us to treat others differently just because we think that we have acquired more knowledge than them. In fact, whenever we emphasize differences between one another rather than similarities, even in worldly matters, we slip further away from liberation. But, developing an attitude of sameness towards everyone becomes difficult, especially when our minds are conditioned to differentiate rather than unify. Keeping this in mind, we learn to develop the correct attitude towards the world.

When a nation is fighting for its independence from an invader, freedom fighters always urge the citizens to emphasize that which is common among them and de-emphasize that which is different. In India, freedom fighters had to urge its citizens to overcome their differences of region and religion, and emphasize the idea of a united Indian nation. Unless the citizens stopped identifying themselves with a certain region/religion and started identifying themselves as Indians, there was no chance of India gaining independence.

Similarly, all of us tend to focus on each others physical appearances, words, ideas, thoughts, all of which are fundamentally perishable and transient. Shri Krishna urges us to develop and attitude where we shift our focus from the perishable to the imperishable. In other words, we learn to see the imperishable Ishvara in everybody and everything, including ourselves. We saw earlier that everything and every being is a combination of the kshetra and the kshetrajnya. We now stop identifying with the imperishable kshetra and start identifying with the imperishable kshetrajnya, which is Ishvara himself.

So then, this is the correct attitude, the correct vision, that we should develop. We are a product of Ishvara and Prakriti, therefore we should identify with the Ishvara aspect as our self, our “I”. In parallel, everything and everyone is also a product of Ishvara and Prakriti, therefore we should emphasize the Ishvara aspect which is present in everyone equally. We will come to the conclusion that the Ishvara aspect in us is the same as the Ishvara aspect in everyone else. Shri Krishna says that one who develops such a vision, one who sees the imperishable in the perishable, he truly sees, not anyone else.

Shri Krishna explains the result of developing an equanimous vision in this shloka. He says that one who sees Ishvara residing equally in everything and everyone, including himself, does not harm or kill his self by his own self. He says that we commit a kind of suicide whenever we do not focus on the imperishable and give too much importance to the perishable. We would very rarely get the urge to commit suicide. So how does this happen?

Whenever our body’s weight increases or decreases, we say “I am fat, I am thin”. Whenever our body falls ill and recovers, we say “I am sick, I am healthy”. Whenever our body is injured and healed, we say “I am injured, I am healed”. We taken on changes that happen to a mass of flesh and bones as our own changes. By repeatedly taking on this identification to the body due to ignorance of our true nature, we get stuck in an endless cycle of desire, action, birth and death. This entry into the cycle of birth and death is referred to as “killing of one’s self by one’s own self”.

Shri Krishna says that we need to develop samadarshanam, the vision of seeing the imperishable Ishvara in the perishable world. We need to stop identifying with the body, which is not ours to begin with. It belongs to the five elements that make up the universe, and will go back to them when it has run its course. We should identify with Ishvara who exists equally in us and in other beings. When we recognize that the Ishvara in us is the same Ishvara in everyone, we will attain the most supreme, the most pure state of Ishvara which is the state of brahman, the eternal essence. The instant we realize our identity with brahman, we attain liberation or moksha.

We have seen how to attach ourselves to Ishvara, how to identify ourselves with Ishvara in these shlokas. We also need to detach ourselves from Prakriti. We shall see how to do this in the next two shlokas.

Shri Krishna says that one who has truly assimilated the teaching of the Gita knows that actions, reactions, emotions, thought, logic, all these happen in the realm of Prakriti. Just like we lose fascination for machines once we know how they work, we should gradually stop being fascinated by Prakriti which is nothing but a machine that belongs to Ishvara. If this understanding seeps in, the shocks of world that we face daily will slowly lose their ability to shake us. We will perform our duties with our full attention and dedication so that we can exhaust our selfish desires, but leave the reactions and results to Ishvara because it is all happening in his Prakriti, his machine.

How do we go about doing this? The path to reduce our fascination with Prakriti is to increase our fascination with Ishvara. We do this by hearing stories of Ishvara, by attending satsanga, by associating with people who are devotees of Ishvara. The Gita itself contains chapters on the glory of Ishvara’s vibhootis, which can be read as daily meditations. Eventually, we begin to see the entire universe as part of Ishvara’s vishvaroopa, his universal form.

Now, even if we develop detachment towards the actions of Prakriti, our senses still get fascinated by variety, colour, form, diversity created by it. How do we deal with this aspect of Prakriti?

one who knows the workings of Prakriti knows that the whole universe is nothing but a play of the three gunaas or qualities of Prakriti. Inert substances have tamasic predominance. Movement is caused by rajasic predominance. Intelligence is caused by saatvic predominance. These three gunaas are the building blocks of the variety we see in the universe, and it is these three gunaas that have been evolving, changing, combining with each other throughout the timeline of the universe. This Prakriti, the three gunaas, is nothing but a power of Ishvara himself.

So then, how do we reduce our fascination for the three gunaas? Our attitude should be as follows. The variety of the universe, everything that I see, is a product of the three gunaas of Prakriti. This Prakriti is a machine, a mechanism that has been set in motion by Ishvara. But I also know that Ishvara in his purest form is infinite and all-pervading, and that he resides in everyone as the “I”, the self. Therefore, all of this variety and diversity is just an upaadhi, a conditioning of the self. When I see diversity, I am only seeing Ishvara, the self of all.

If we are able to develop this kind of attitude, this kind of knowledge, and stay rooted in it, we will shift our focus to Ishvara who is constant, and not the diversity of Prakriti that is ever changing. We will then attain unity with the eternal essence, with brahman, and achieve liberation.

As this chapter slowly comes to a close, Shri Krishna begins to describe the nature of the supreme self. Since this chapter gives prominence to logic, more so than any other chapter in the Gita, he wants to clear any doubts or misconceptions that we may harbour about the supreme self. The first doubt we may have is as follows. If Prakriti is without beginning, and the supreme self is also without beginning, what makes them different?

Shri Krishna says that the difference is cause by whether or not they have gunaas or qualities. So far, we have seen that Prakriti is nothing but the three gunaas of sattva, rajas and tamas. But the supreme self is “nirguna”, it has no association or association with any quality whatsoever. This is what makes it different than Prakriti. Also, Prakriti is constantly changing and perishing whereas the supreme self is imperishable. When something has association with qualities, like the human body has strength, it is bound to perish or decay. Since the supreme self has no qualities at all, it is imperishable. Prakriti, on the other hand, is every changing and perishable.

Another doubt is as follows. Does the supreme self get affected by the actions and reactions of Prakriti? Shri Krishna asserts that it does not. We have seen that the supreme self, due to ignorance, identifies itself with a body, a product of Prakriti. This is what is referred to in this shloka – it “resides” in the body. We have also repeatedly heard that the supreme self has nothing to do with Prakriti. It can never become the doer or the enjoyer of any actions. But due to the apparent identification with the body, the supreme self assumes that it is a doer and enjoyer. Since the identification is fake, not real, the supreme self can never get affected by the actions and reactions by Prakriti.

We may have understood the non-doership and non-enjoyership of the supreme self in theory, but it is still a little fuzzy. We need to clearly understand how the supreme self, in its real nature neither acts, nor experiences the results of its actions. To better explain this, Shri Krishna provides an illustration in the next shloka.

Many scriptures, including the Srimad Bhagavatam, describe the creation of the five great elements. Space was created first, followed by air, fire, water and then earth, each more tangible and visible than the one preceding it. Space, therefore, is the subtlest of elements. Its main property is indivisibility. We may put up walls and differentiate “my room” from “your room”, but the wall does not actually divide space at all. The wall is an upaadhi, something that mentally limits space, but cannot ever limit space in reality.

Another property of space that it is unaffected by whatever it contains. You can throw dust, water, glue, perfume, odour, anything at all into space, yet it remains unaffected. The air in a room may get affected by perfume or odour, not space. But more fundamentally, space provides existence to everything. Without space, no object can ever exist.

Shri Krishna says that the self is similar to space in these aspects. Like space is as though divided into rooms, the self is one but appears as though residing differently in different bodies. Like space never gets tainted by whatever is thrown at it, the self never gets impacted by the results, reactions, experiences and consequences of any action. All actions and reactions stay in the realm of Prakriti. And when we say statements like “this pot is round”, we should note that we cannot use the word “is” without realizing that the “is” is the “sat” or existence aspect of the self.

How should we bring this teaching into our life? Ultimately, all of us are craving for independence of one form or the other. For instance, the incessant drive to earn more wealth is towards gaining financial independence. Shri Krishna says that once we know that the self in us, the “I” in us is totally unaffected by any reaction or experience of the world, we will gain the highest and utmost level of independence, which is moksha or liberation. We just have to work at removing the ignorance of our true nature, which can only happen if we disassociate from Prakriti and associate with Ishvara.

The example of space in the previous shloka was meant to illustrate the unaffected and untainted nature of the self. In this shloka, the example of the sun is given to highlight the actionless nature of the self. The sun is located millions of miles away from the earth, yet it enables life on earth to exist. Minerals, plants, animals and humans, everything and every being survives only from the sun’s energy. But the sun never acts. All of the actions happen on our planet distinct and separate from the sun.

Shri Krishna says that the self in us, the “I” in us is similar in nature to the sun. The self or the knower of the field, the kshetrajnya, illumines or knows the actions taking place in the kshetra, the field, our body, which is a part of Prakriti. Furthermore, the self does not take on the notion of pride or doership in the actions of the body, neither does it get differentiated due to the differences or modifications of Prakriti, just like the sun never claims doership nor gets differentiated due to the variety of form on our planet.

So, if the self is the sole knower of all of the actions in our body, how does our intellect know things? With respect to the analogy of the sun, the intellect can be compared to a pool of water that reflects the light of the sun. The intellect is just an instrument that functions due to tje knowledge of the self. If the intellect is calm and steady, it works perfectly in interpreting the information sent to it from the mind and senses. If it is agitated or dull, it cannot work perfectly, just like the sun’s reflection is disturbed when the pool of water is agitated or muddy.

Here, Shri Krishna asserts that the self is of the nature of “chit”. It is knowledge,

After having understood the true nature of the self, the nature of the ignorance we are in, and also having understood the method of how to remove this ignorance, what is the result? Shri Krishna concludes this chapter by asserting that the one who has removed his ignorance through knowledge attain the supreme, which is moksha or liberation from the cycle of Prakriti’s creation and dissolution. The key to understanding this chapter is “viveka”, or discrimination, which was hinted at the beginning of this chapter by the words “idam shareera” or “this body”.

So then, the one who knows how to conduct his life in a manner such that he can distinguish between the unreal aspects and the real aspects, between the field and its knower, between Purusha and Prakriti, and learn to see the imperishable in the perishable as Ishvara, such a person is freed of the mechanisms of Prakriti, the cause of all beings. This is the goal of jnyaana yoga, which is summarized in the thirteenth chapter of the Gita. We will be able to attain this goal if we bring this teaching into our lives through constant reflection and meditation.