THE HOLY GITA
CHAPTER 4
JNANA KARMA SANYASA YOGA OR THE YOGA OF RENUNCIATION OR ACTION IN KNOWLEDGE OR THE WAY OF KNOWLEDGE:
VERSE NUMBER 34
Text in Transliteration:
tad viddhi pranipaatena pariprasnena sevayaa
upadekshyanti te jnaanam jnaaninas tattva darshinah
Text in English:
Seek that enlightenment by prostrating, by questions and by service; the wise, the seers into the Truth will instruct you in that knowledge.
COMMENTARY BY SWAMI SIDBHAVANANDA:
A commercial attitude may be paying elsewhere but never in the realm of the knowledge divine. Even the secular study gets sanctified if the relationship between the teacher and the taught be wholesome. But the bond between the two in spiritual enlightenment is ever sacred. The disciple prostrates before the master as a mark of making himself over to the other. He adds to his attainments by raising submissive questions pertaining to the real and the non-real, bondage and freedom. Through a reverent personal service he offers himself as oblation in the sacrificial fire of the personality of the master. The body, speech and mind of the disciple are this way dedicated to the bestower of knowledge.
The master in his turn is all mercy to the disciple. He has no motive other than propagation of spirituality. As a burning lamp lights another, an enlightened soul alone can carry light to another competent enquirer. Spiritual fulfilment takes place this wise.
SRI RAMAKRISHNA AS QUOTED BY SWAMI SIDBHAVANANDA:
Of what avail are prayer and devotion to an aspirant who views his master as a mere human being? The disciple ought not to hold the master as a man. Before getting the vision of the Deity, the novice sees the form of the guru as a preliminary. This form metamorphoses into the Deity. The disciple thereby understands that God and guru are one and the same. The master awakens the spiritual consciousness in him. More than that, he leads the initiated into Brahman Itself.
If the aspirant is earnest about spiritual enlightenment, the Lord sees to it that he comes in contact with an enlightened one. Seek and the light is sent to you.
COMMENTARY BY DR.S.RADHAKRISHNAN:
Wise men will teach us the truth if we approach them in a spirit of service and reverent inquiry. Until we realize the God within, we must act according to the advice of those who have had the experience of God. If we accept what is said in the sastras or taught by the teacher in unthinking trust, that will not do. Reason must be satisfied. “He who has no personal knowledge but has only heard of many things cannot understand the meaning of scriptures even as a spoon has no idea of the taste of the soup.” We must combine devotion to the teacher with the most unrestricted right of free examination and inquiry. Blind obedience to an external authority is repudiated. Today there are several teachers who require of their followers unthinking obedience to their dictates. They seem to believe that the death of intellect is the condition of the life of spirit. Many credulous and simple-minded people are drawn to them not so much by their spiritual powers as by the publicity of their agents and the human weakness for novelty, curiosity and excitement. This is against the Hindu tradition which insists on jijnaasaa or inquiry, manana or reflection or pariprasna in the words of the Gita.
But mere intellectual apprehension will not do. Intellect can only give fragmentary views, glimpses of the Beyond, but it does not give the consciousness of the Beyond. We must open the whole of our inner being to establish personal contact. The disciple has to tread the interior path. the ultimate authority is the inner light which is not to be confused with the promptings of desire. By the quality of service and self-effacement, we knock down the obstructing prejudices and let the wisdom in us shine. Truth achieved is different from truth imparted. Ultimately, what is revealed in the scriptures (pranipaataa-sravana) must agree. We must consort with the great minds of the past, reason about them and intuitively apprehend what is of enduring value in them.
This verse makes out that in spiritual life, faith comes first then knowledge, and then experience.
Those who have experienced the truth are expected to guide us. The seers owe a duty to their less fortunate brethren and guide them to the attainment of illumination which they have reached.
COMMENTARY BY SWAMI SIVANANDA:
Go to the teachers (those who are well versed in the scriptures dealing with Brahman or Brahmanishthas). Prostrate yourself before them with profound humility and perfect devotion. Ask them questions, “O venerable Guru! What is the cause of bondage? How can I get liberation? What is the nature of ignorance? What is the nature of knowledge? What is the Antaranga-Sadhana (inward spiritual practice) for attaining Self-realisation?” Serve the Guru whole-heartedly. A teacher who is versed in the scriptures (Sastras) but who has no direct Self-realisation will not be able to help you in the attainment of the knowledge of the Self. He who has knowledge of the scriptures and who is also established in Brahman will be able to instruct thee in that knowledge and help thee in the attainment of Self-realisation. Mere prostrations alone will not do. They may be tinged with hypocrisy. You must have perfect faith in your Guru and his teaching. You must serve him whole-heartedly with great devotion. Now hypocrisy is not possible.
Comments by the blogger:
In verse 33 the Lord wants us to make wisdom-sacrifice. Wisdom is knowledge of the Self. Knowledge of other worldly things cannot be equated with this wisdom of one’s Self. Self-Knowledge is to be sought strenuously. Self-culture is the culture of real India.
In this verse, the Lord shows the way to seek that knowledge or enlightenment. There are three ways to seek: 1. By prostrating 2. By questions and 3. By service.
Prostration is not a mere act of lying at the feet of the master. It is more than that; it is a bhava or attitude. A disciple must give himself up to the master. He must have full confidence in the master’s ability to steer him toward knowledge of his own self. There cannot be any duration like the academic courses. And the guru or master will not reveal knowledge of the self until the right time comes. Self-Knowledge revealed to a person who is not spiritually ready will not of any help to the disciple. So with the confidence that the master knows when his disciple is ready for the revelation one must be patient.
By question means vichara or seeking. The master will teach the disciple the Sastras or Scriptures. Whenever the student does not understand a point he should prostrate and humbly phrase his questions in humble words. At last will come the mother of all questions. That question relates to one’s Self. The Prachna Upanishad describes six students who go around in search of knowledge. They hear about the greatness of the Sage, by name, Pippalata. They go to him and humbly question him about knowledge. Pippalata asks them to stay at his ashrama or hermitage for a year and then ask their questions. Thus the student’s truthfulness in the search of knowledge is subjected to severe tests. For knowledge imparted to a wrong person will not benefit him; it might even bring him great disaster in personal life.
By service means one should serve one’s teacher by his body, mind and soul. Whole- hearted service is a must. The disciple should turn into oil when the master asks for the mustard seed!
The Lord says thus one should get Self-knowledge.
OK, what about the modern hectic life? Can we each seek a master? Well, the time of Gita was very ancient and it is hard to say there could have been more than a ten million people in India! Or a twenty or thirty million in whole of undivided India! In those days Vanaprasta or going into the forest by the householders in their elderly age was possible. Today forests are being studiously destroyed to make way for human occupation! When India was about to attain Independence, there were just thirty million people in India. Today it has quadruped!
Where shall we go for masters?
Mahatma Gandhi’s one earnest seeking for a spiritual master was never fulfilled! At that time India had got just thirty million people! Now where shall we go for the masters?
This can be remedied by becoming members of some sat sanga or conglomeration of the faithful folks under a master like Amma in Kerala, Juggi Vasudev in Coimbatore and Sri Sri Ravishankar in Bangalore. They each do a great service to the seeking and the faithful.
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