THE HOLY GITA
CHAPTER 5
SANYASA YOGA OR THE RENUNCIATION:
VERSE NUMBER 15
Text in Transliteration:
naa ‘datte kasyacit paapam na chai ‘va sukrrtam vibhuh
ajnaanenaa ‘vrtam jnaanam tena muhyanti jantavah
Text in English:
The omnipresent does not take note of the merit or demerit of any. Knowledge is veiled by ignorance
COMMENTARY BY SWAMI SIDBHAVANANDA:
Prakriti or Nature is constituted of five elements—akaasa, vaayu, agni, aapah and prithivi (ether, air, fire, water and earth.) Akasa which is equated with space, is the substratum on which the other four elements play their parts. Good and evil emanate from them in the course of their interaction; but Akasa remains unaffected by these modifications. In the same way Iswara remains unaffected by the merits and demerits in beings. A crystal glass seems to take the hue of the flower brought to its proximity; but actually the crystal remains ever itself. Similarly, Atma seems to take the characteristics of Prakriti, while actually It does not. People who are in ignorance impose the traits of Prakriti on Atman and get deluded.
The relationship between Purusha and Prakriti is very well explained in these two verses. Iswara is Bliss and Perfect Poise. Karma has no place in His Blessedness. Prakriti gets itself vitalized in the proximity of Purusha. Jivatman gets bound when he identifies himself with Prakriti; he gets emancipated when he detaches himself from Prakriti . and this is the essence of Vedanta.
SRI RAMAKRISHNA AS QUOTED BY SWAMI SIDBHAVANANDA:
The burning lamp gives light to one and all, all round it. Some use that light for cooking their food, others for reading scared books and yet others for forging false documents. The merits and demerits in these several acts do not in any way affect the light coming from the lamp. In this wise the consciousness equally present in all beings makes all sorts of activities deeds, however, of beings do not go to the Pure Consciousness, which is Iswara.
COMMENTARY BY DR.S.RADHAKRISHNAN:
vibhuh; all pervading. Each soul is not a separate monad, eternal and changeless. Vibhuh refers either to the Self of the jnanin or the Supreme Self, which are identical in Advaita Vedanta.
Ajnanena; by ignorance. It is the ignorance which makes us believe in the ultimateness of the multiplicity. Jnanam; wisdom. It is the wisdom which is the one basis of all distinctions.
Knowledge is enveloped by ignorance. Consequently man is deluded. He thinks, “I act. I enjoy. I have done such and such a meritorious act. I will get such and such a fruit. I will enjoy in heaven. I will get a birth in a rich family.”
Of anyone; even of His devotees.
Man is bound when he identifies himself with Nature and its effects—body, mind, Prana or the life-force, and senses. He attains freedom or Moksha when he identifies himself with the immortal, ‘actionless’ Self that dwells within his heart. When “I” does not act how can God accept good or evil deeds? (Cf. V.29)
Comments of the blogger:
One of the attributes of the Lord is his presence everywhere. He is omnipresent. It is very important to note this point. God does not take the merit or demerit of the individuals. Why? The answer has been given in the previous verse, when the Lord says that the Lord does not create agency or actions for the world; He does not create union with the fruits of action. Nature does all this.
Thus both the sections must be read jointly. How can God take into account the merit or demerit of the individuals while he openly declares that he does not create agency or actions for the world? How can He take the good and bad actions of the individuals when He does not create, on his own words, union with the fruits of action? He has simply left these things to Nature.
But there is significance in the statement that He does not take note of the merit or demerit of any, inasmuch as that even the rapists of Nirbhaya can worship Him and ask for forgiveness if the same is sincere and not ritual. But Nature would take care of them and give them beastly births in the next incarnations. But the sincere asking for forgiveness would make the tortured individuals to go through life with that much of fortitude as will not be available otherwise.
Actions themselves do not taint. It is the manner in which it is carried out that count.
But when the actions are done by individuals with the ego of “I do this and that” then it will bind and taint the individuals. Then whether it is good action or bad will not count as the doer must come back here to enjoy the fruits of the good or bad action. Good and noble actions carried out with ego do taint the individuals as much as the bad acts.
God remains supremely unconcerned by both types of actions.
When the utterance in the stanza number 14 is taken into account in interpreting the present one then the confusion for the Sanskrit word vibhuh (all pervading) will not arise. It certainly refers to the Omnipresence of the Lord and not the liberated individual Self. Of course, what happens to the Liberated Souls is open to arguments: while the Vedantins argue that the liberated soul mingles with the Lord and become Him seamlessly, those who put forward the theory that the liberated souls individually exist in bliss like that of God’s. Here no room for any doubt about the word Omnipresent can be attributed while taking the words of the Lord in stanza number 14 of this chapter.
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