THE HOLY GITA
CHAPTER NUMBER 09
RAJAVIDYA RAJAGUHYA YOGA OR THE YOGA OF THE SOVEREIGN SCIENCE AND SOVEREIGN SECRET:
VERSE NUMBER 06
Text in Transliteration:
yatha ‘kaasasthito nityam vaayuh sarvatrago mahaan
tathaa sarvaani bhootaani matsthaam ‘ty upadhaaraya
Text in English:
As the mighty wind moving everywhere ever rests in the Akasa, know you that so do all beings rest in Me.
COMMENTARY BY SWAMI CHIDBHAVANANDA:
Akasa is the origin and background of the other four elements. At the same time, it remains unattached to the other elements. Even so the manifested universe that has come forth from Brahman causes no modification or mutation in Him. An understanding of the way of Akasa aids the comprehension of Brahman.
COMMENTARY BY DR.S.RADHAKRISHNAN:
Space holds them all but is touched by none.
The teacher gives here an analogy. The space is the true universal, all-pervading infinite background on which aerial phenomena take place, but its nature is stable and immutable. So also the Infinite Self is one, not many. Though it is immutable being, it is the support of all the moves. It is not contained in any of the moving entities which are all ultimately dependent on the Self. And yet the Self supports the many. Air exists in space but it does not consist of space and has nothing essentially in common with it. It is only in such a sense that we can say things exist in God.
God’s utter transcendence, which is later developed by Madhva, comes out here. Even in Ramanuja’s account, the universe is the manifestation of the Divine; but in this verse it is said, that while God causes things to exist, He does not exist in them. They are there on account of His wondrous power. God so completely transcends the universe that He is separated from all worldly being and is opposed to it as the “wholly other.” This is the expression of a profound religious intuition.
COMMENTARY BY SWAMI SIVANANDA:
The Lord gives a beautiful illustration or simile in this verse to explain what He has said in the previous two verses. Just as the wind ever rests in the ether (Space) without any contact or attachment, so also all beings and objects rest in Brahman without any attachment or contact at all. These objects cannot produce any effect on It.
What kind of relationship is there between Brahman and the objects on this universe? Is it Samyoga, Samavaya or Tadatmya Sambandha? The relationship of the stick with the drum is Samyoga Sambandha. Let us assume that there is such a Sambandha (relationship or connection). There cannot be connection between all the parts because Brahman is infinite and the elements are finite. You may say that there is connection of the Ekadesa type. This is also not possible, because there can be such relationship only between objects which possess members or parts like the tree and monkey. (Ekadesa is partial). Brahman has no parts.
If you say that there is Samavaya Sambandha between Brahman and the objects or the elements, this is also not possible. The relationship between the attribute and the possessors of that attribute is called Samavaya Sambandha. The relationship between an individual Brahmin and the whole Brahmin caste is also Samavaya Sambandha. The relationship between hand and man, between the leg and the man is also Samavaya Sambandha. Such relationship does not exist between Brahman and the object or elements.
The third kind of relationship, Viz., Tadatmya Sambandha is seen to exist between milk and water, fire and the iron ball. Milk shares its qualities of sweetness and whiteness with water. Fire shares its qualities of brilliance, heat and redness with the hot iron ball. This too is not possible between Brahman and the object or elements, because Brahman is Existence-knowledge-Bliss Absolute and all-full and perfect; whereas the elements are insentient, finite and painful. How can they with quite contrary qualities have Tadatmya Sambandha with Brahman?
Therefore it can be admitted that the elements have only got Kalpita Sambandha (superimposition) with Brahman. That object which is superimposed on the substratum or support exists in name only. It does not exist in reality. Brahman is the support or the substratum for this world of names and forms. The world here includes all beings and their three kinds of bodies (physical, mental and causal). Therefore, the elements or the beings in this world are not really rooted in Brahman. They do not really dwell in Brahman. It is all in name only.
Vayu also means Sutratman or Hiranyagarbha. Bhuta also means the individual consciousness. Just as the ether in the pot is not distinct from the universal ether before the origin and after the destruction of the pot and even when the pot exists, and it is of the nature of the universal ether during the three periods of time, so also the individual soul is of the nature of Brahman during the three periods of time, past, present and future.
Just as all effects exist in a state of non-difference in their material cause before they appear, during their period of existence and after their destruction, so also the individual souls are not different from Brahman before the origin of the various limiting adjuncts like mind, intellect, etc., during the period of their existence and after their destruction.
Comments by the blogger:
Ultimately the Lord accepts all beings rest in Him. The previous two chapters must be read along with this stanza. In the fourth stanza the Lord said that all this universe is pervaded by Him, but in his unmanifest form which stands to reason. The manifest Lord cannot pervade this universe, for the three reasons I have enumerated under the stanza. In the same stanza the Lord makes a statement that all beings exist in Him, but He does not abide in them. In stanza five, he says nor the beings dwell in Him and that is His divine yoga. But he goes on record that He brings forth all the beings, but His Self does not dwell in them. Because Brahman is without limiting adjuncts and the beings limited by time, space and causation and thus they cannot possess the Brahman.
Now the Lord uses a simile which is most interesting for me for more than one reason.
The Lord says that as the mighty wind moving everywhere ever rests in the Akasa, all beings rest in Him. So the Lord is the resting place for us all but He does not acquire any baggage and is not encumbered because of us. He ever remains supreme. Though we are His creatures, we cannot bind Him by our limiting adjuncts. Swami Sivananda has ably exhausted all kinds of relationships between objects and objects and at last, comes to Kalpita Sambandha or superimposition. This philosophy is very deep and profound as Dr.S.Radhakrishnan says. “This is the expression of a profound religious intuition,” he says.
And it was given only to the Hindu saints and seers to find out the real relationship between the Universe and the beings on the one hand and the Lord or Brahman on the other.
All this apart, I have a question: Since the Lord Himself uses the simile about the air and ether or space, my question relates to Space itself.
The Prsna Upanishad states when the Lord wanted to create the world He went into meditation and created space and prana. Then he thought and believed both will create the world for Him. And the whole world came into existence from the space and prana. Prana means Power in a rude manner. There cannot be an equivalent to prana in English. Both space and Prana joined and created this world. The irreducible matter, atom of the matter is our basic personality. And according to a Tamil Writer, Sujatha Rangarajan, if the atom is magnified into the size of a circus tent, the Electron, Neutron and Proton and other elements including the atomic particles are seen just like a mustard seed. Then what happens to the rest of the circus tent? Why it is space! Inside the Atom the majority of the place occupied is the ether! All other powerful elements form just the size of a mustard seed! So our body is made of space and prana stands to reason!
But my question is what happens to the ether at the time of pralaya? It is imaginable that at the end of the day of Brahma (not Brahman, mind you) that the prana or power is withdrawn. But what about the ether? Can ether also be withdrawn during the night of the Brahma, the creator? Is it not beyond our imagination?
Another point about the ether or space is that according to the theory of Albert Einstein, the ether or space is round in nature. It stands to reason! It should be round like any other satellite like earth, moon, mars, etc. Everything is round or oval in our body too. All the nine gates are oval in size. Our eyes, mouth and the reproductive and excretory holes are oval. All the nine gates of this body are oval in size. What is in the andam or universe is in the pindam or human body. So the sky has been proved not only round in size but also finite. Because it extends endlessly or so it would seem, we attribute to the sky an infinity which it does not have.
After the Big Bang, the one cosmic body became millions of trillions. And many bodies are seen through the telescope to be going away from earth even now! This after so many light years since the Big Bang! So space extends almost without limit. But in actual fact, it is limited in nature and round in shape!
Ok, the ether or Space almost extends into the infinity. And it is only round in shape and limited in size. What could exist out of the orb of the Space! This is a trillion dollar question!
So when we, puny little creatures having very very limited time to live to work out our karma, think of the magnitude of the Space, we would conclusively come to the power of God! Our creator is a Master and all this creation, sustenance and destruction are said to be for His sport only! When we take time to think of the Power and Glory of our Lord or Brahman, we will come to have real faith in Him. And we will definitely take time to pray to Him daily.
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