THE HOLY GIT
CHAPTER NUMBER 13
VERSE NUMBER 10
KSHETRA KSHETRAJNA VIBHAGA YOGA OR THE YOGA OF THE DISCRIMINATION OF THE KSHETRA AND KSHETRAJNA:
TEXT IN TRANSLITERATION:
mayi chaa ‘nanyayogena bhaktir avyabhichaarinee
vivikata desa sevitvam aratir janasamsadi
SANSKRIT WORDS AND PHRASES AND THEIR MEANING IN ENGLISH:
Mayi = to: cha = and: ananya yogena = by the yoga of non-separation: bhaktih = devotion: avyabhichaarinee = unswerving: vivikta desa sevitvam = resort to solitary places: aratuh distaste: janasamsadi = for the society of men.
TEXT IN ENGLISH:
Unswerving devotion to Me in yoga of non-separation, resort to sequestered places, distaste for the society of men;
COMMENTARY BY SRIMAT SWAMI CHIDBHAVANANDA:
Mind in its entirety must be dedicated to the Lord, with the strong conviction that there is nothing else worthy of interest. The way of the devotee is never to divide and distract his mind between the Real and the Unreal. His constant absorption is and ought to be in the Lord.
A place endowed with natural beauty, pleasing and elevating to the mid, quite healthy and free from disturbance by wild animals is to be selected by the sadhaka for his residence. Company of the holy ones at the initial stage and severance from them too, at the advanced stage, is a spiritual necessity to the sadhaka progressing in the path to perfection.
SRIMAT SWAMI RAMAKRISHNA PARAMAHAMSA AS QUOTED BY SRIMAT SWAMI CHIDBHAVANANDA:
The moth abandons darkness and rushes to the light of the lamp. The ant would rather give up its life than sever contact with the juice. Even so, the devotee is ever intent on the Lord and he has no other concern in life.
COMMENTARY BY SRIMAT SWAMI SIVANANDA:
The man of wisdom is firmly convinced that there is nothing higher than Me and that I am the sole refuge. He has unflinching devotion to Me through Yoga without any thought for other objects. His mind has merged or the ocean becomes completely one with it, even so, he, being united with Me, worships only Me. This is Ananya Yoga or Aprithak Samadhi (Yoga of non-separation or the super-conscious state in which the devotee feels that he is non-distinct from God). Such devotion is a means of attaining knowledge. Such a devotee will never give up his devotion and worship even when he is under great trials and adversities.
Viviktadesasevitvam: He lives on the banks of sacred rivers, in caves, in the mountains, on the shores of seas or lakes and in beautiful solitary gardens where there is no fear of serpents, tigers or thieves. In solitary places, the mind is quite calm. There are no disturbing elements that can distract one’s attention. You can have uninterrupted meditation on the Self and can enter into Samadhi quickly.
Society of men: Distaste for the society of worldly-minded people, not of the wise, pure and holy. Satsanga or association with the wise is a means to the attainment of the knowledge of the Self.
Comments by the blogger:
Here the Lord of Gita recommends the ways one could take toward God-realisation. He has already stated that true knowledge means the knowledge about the kshetra and kshetrajna. How to obtain that knowledge, is the question here. For this, the Lord of Gita says the sadhaka or practitioner should have unswerving devotion to Him by the practice of the Yoga of non-separation. The Lord further says and recommends the way of the culture of Soul or Atman. According to the Lord of Gita, the sadhaka or the practitioner must go to some solitary place. And it is highly recommended that a healthy state of mind which abhors the society of men.
Is this possible for all?
We all are not equally devout to the Lord. And many of us would shun the spiritual path if the Gita declares solemnly that one should practise the Yoga of non-separation. And further one should leave one’s house and the society, one’s family members and others and go to some solitary place in quest of Knowledge about the ksheta and the kshetrajna.
Still, the Lord says in clear terms that one who wants to obtain the kind of knowledge as recommended one must make such sacrifices and to somewhere in the forests and in absolute solitary state one should seek the knowledge of the kshetra and kshetrajna!
The problem here is that all people are ready for such an elevated form of life and spiritual seeking.
There is a certain amount of attachment to this worldly life in all of us. And it is not chided by the Lord of Gita. He shows four ways of Yogic path. One should think for himself and choose among these four types of Yoga, namely, the yoga of devotion, the karma yoga or emancipation through working out one’s karma in this world. The Hinduism does not recommend that everyone should leave the house and family and with hatred for human society, go into the forests and seek knowledge. If that were the opinion of the Lord of Gita, then why should He show the path of Karma Yoga? Karma yoga says and lays down the principle of staying in the worldly life and carry out one’s own duty with a detached mind so the practitioner of this yoga will shun from the wish to harvest the fruits of one’s actions. The Karma Yoga is not for those people who want to shun human society and go to some solitary places and seek the Knowledge of kshetra and kshetrajna. Karma Yoga very much depends on the average householders like us. We, according to it, should not be a harvester of the fruits of our actions.
So no one can say that the study of Gita is only for those who want to take to Sanyasa. There is such a misunderstanding about the tenets of the Holy Gita. That is why people, even very pious persons, say that one should not make a study of The Gita when one is leading a worldly life. And further, The Holy Gita is not for those persons who do not want to shun the society. So many Hindus do not have a commentary of Gita in their houses. You can find any number of other Scriptural books, like Ramayana, the great epic. Even here there is a misunderstanding that Ramayana is very ideal for those who are average householders and they should not read the other epic, Mahabharata! For if one keeps that great book, there would be constant quarrels in the house and there would be no peace!
This is not true.
It is up to the sadhka or the individual practitioner to take to any one of the four Yogas, namely, Karma Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, Raja Yoga and Gnana Yoga.
The Gita speaks about the three kinds of the tendency in human beings. This tendency is called the gunas. The three Gunas or tendencies are Sattva, Rajas and Tamas. The Hinduism holds that the whole Universe has these three Gunas or Tendencies. And the individual human beings are also having and guided in life by these three Gunas or Tendencies. Only the Hinduism has laid down the particular kind of duties for the practitioner of each Yoga. And Karma Yoga and The Bhakti Yoga are for the ordinary householders like us. I mean many of us. There might be exceptions and many of the viewers and readers of this blog might have a preponderance of the Sattva Tendency which facilitates one’s spiritual quest for knowledge. And for those who are sentimental like me, the Bhakti Yoga or the yoga of Devotion is recommended by Gita. And those who are bound to an activated state and cannot sit in one place and ponder about the life here and hereafter and also about the Creator of this Universe, Karma Yoga is recommended by the Lord. Raja Yoga is for those who can practise the culture of the concentration of the Mind. And the Gnana Yoga is for those who contemplate about high-flown questions in the spiritual field.
This is why I say that this sloka or verse should not be mistaken and one should not think the prayerful study of the Holy Gita is not for average and ordinary householders. We should make a regular study of the Holy Gita Book and that will have tremendous influence in us and would show the way how we should live.
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