THE HOLY GITA

Thursday 4 April 2019

THE HOLY GITA CHAPTER 13 VERSE 33 KSHETRA KSHETRAJNA VIBHAGA YOGA OR THE YOGA OF THE DISCRIMINATION OF THE KSHETRA AND THE KSHETRAJ

THE HOLY GITA
CHAPTER NUMBER 13
VERSE NUMBER 33
KSHETRA KSHETRAJNA VIBHAGA YOGA OR THE YOGA OF THE DISCRIMINATION OF THE KSHETRA AND THE KSHETRAJNA:
TEXT IN TRANSLITERATION:
yathaa prakaasayaty ekah kritsnam lokam imam ravih
kshetram kshetri tathaa krrtsnam prakaasayati bhaarata
SANSKRIT WORDS AND PHRASES AND THEIR MEANING IN ENGLISH:
Yathaa = as: prakaasyati = illumines: ekah = one: krtsnam = the whole: lokam =  world: imam = this: ravih = sun: kshetram = the field: kshetri = the Lord of the field: tathaa = so: krtsnam = the whole: prakaasayati = illumines: bhaarata = O Bharata:
TEXT IN ENGLISH:
As the one sun illumines this whole world, so does the Lord of the Kshetra illumine the whole Kshetra, O Bharata.

COMMENTARY BY SRIMAT SWAMI CHIDBHAVANANDA:

The sun that illumines the world is one without a second. Even so, the Paramatman who gives spiritual luminosity to the entire universe is one without a second. All beings great and small, high and low, get their consciousness from the same Source. While the sunlight falls equally on all things, the merits and demerits of those things do not affect the sun in any manner. In the same way, the presence of the Paramatman in the hearts of the multitudinous beings ever shines in its original glory. The purity of the heart of the saint does not increase the profundity of the glory of the Paramatman. Neither does the impurity in the heart of the wicked diminish or tarnish the luminosity of the Lord. He remains ever in His glory while providing life, light and love to all beings.

SRIMAT SWAMI RAMAKRISHNA PARAMAHAMSA AS QUOTED BY SRIMAT SWAMI CHIDBHAVANANDA:

Brahman is like a luminous lamp. One may utilize the light of the lamp for reading holy books while another may make use of it for preparing false documents. It is from Brahman that all get their power of understanding. The various uses to which the intellects of the beings are put do not affect Brahman.    

COMMENTARY NOTES BY DR.S.RADHAKRISHNAN:

The knower of the field illumines the whole field, the entire world of becoming.

COMMENTARY BY SRIMAT SWAMI SIVANANDA:

The Supreme Self is one. It illumines the whole matter from the Unmanifested down to the blade of grass or a lump of clay, from the ‘great elements’ down to ‘firmness’ or ‘fortitude’. (Cf. Verses 5 and 6). Just as the sun is one, just as the sun illumines the whole world, just as the sun is not tainted, so also the Self is One in all bodies, It illumines all the bodies, and It is not contaminated.

Comments by the blogger:
The Lord of the Kshetra or the field or the whole Cosmos lights up all in the Cosmos, whether it is sentient or insentient. This sentiment is repeated in the Gita; there is but one and Only Brahman. The only Brahman inheres in all the sentient and insentient in this Universe! Does it mean that Brahman is split into as many beings and non-beings that are in this Universe? Of course not! Like the only sun lights up all in this world, Brahman fills all beings and non-beings in this world. This Universal Consciousness is peculiar to Hinduism. And it is the correct understanding too. This whole Universe is said to be the body of Ishwar. Veda means to know; we think that there are only four Vedas. But it is not so. This whole world is Veda in as much as we become more certain once we get to know this. Like the idea of ‘Akand Bharat’ Hindus have a Universal Understanding. Nothing here is extraneous. Everything is filled fully with Brahma. But the Upanishadic saying is that this whole World comprises just a minute fraction of Brahman! And Brahman did not suffer any loss after creating this Cosmos. And Brahman that remains after the creation of the Universe is not a finite and incomplete Brahman, but He inheres as full as He had been before Creation. This is an Upanishadic saying. Hindus, some three thousand years back, found out all about Brahman and this World! No other religion has this complete understanding of the Ultimate Creator. And another thing is that Hindus acknowledge that there are many a path to One God, unlike other religions which insist on the one and their only version of God. Everyone must support their viewpoint and all the others who do not accept their version as one of the many versions are called infidels. Truth has many facets and it gives us different vistas depending upon the angle of our vision. This world or the Cosmos too has two facets: one is, it is very material and real. And the other view is that the World is just an illusion. For those who practise Karma Yoga and the Yoga of Devotion, this Universe is very much real. In this respect, Hindus’ understanding of the World is like the viewpoints of other religions like Christianity and Mohammadanism. But for those who practise Jnana Yoga or the Yoga of Knowledge, this whole Universe or World is just a beautiful thought by Brahman! This aspect or facet of Understanding is singularly absent in the two other religions referred to above.