Source
Texts:
Jñâna
Yoga
Text
1
The
Supreme Lord said: 'Seeing the world with its material nature
and enjoyer as based on one soul, should one not praise, nor
criticize someone else's nature and activities.
The
Supreme Personality of Godhead said - One should neither
praise nor criticize the conditioned nature and activities
of other persons. Rather, one should see this world as
simply the combination of material nature and the enjoying
souls, all based on the one Absolute Truth.
Text
2
He who praises
or criticizes someone else's nature and actions quickly looses
sight of his own interest getting caught in the
inessential.
Whoever
indulges in praising or criticizing the qualities and
behavior of others will quickly become deviated from his own
best interest by his entanglement in illusory
dualities.
Text
3
When
the bright of the one residing within the material encasement
is overcome by sleep is there the experience of the illusory
[of dreams] or the deathlike of having lost
consciousness; the same way [not that bright] sees a
person the objective variety.
Just
as the embodied spirit soul loses external consciousness
when his senses are overcome by the illusion of dreaming or
the deathlike state of deep sleep, so a person experiencing
material duality must encounter illusion and death.
Text
4
What would be
the good or bad of this insubstantial duality, that, meditated
in the mind and expressed in so many words, indeed lacks in
truth [*].
That
which is expressed by material words or meditated upon by
the material mind is not ultimate truth. What, therefore, is
actually good or bad within this insubstantial world of
duality, and how can the extent of such good and bad be
measured?
Text
5
Shadows, echoes
and mirages, though mere projections, create motives; the same
way gives the body and all of its material conceptions rise to
fear till the day one dies.
Although
shadows, echoes and mirages are only illusory reflections of
real things, such reflections do cause a semblance of
meaningful or comprehensible perception. In the same way,
although the identification of the conditioned soul with the
material body, mind and ego is illusory, this identification
generates fear within him even up to the moment of
death.
Text
6-7
The Supreme
Soul alone creates the universe and is created as its Lord,
protects and is protected as the Self of all Creation and
withdraws and is withdrawn as the Controller; accordingly no
other entity can be ascertained as existing apart from Him, and
thus has this threefold appearance established within the
Supreme Self and consisting of the modes no [other or
independent] basis; know that the threefold [of the
seen, the seeing and the seer to resp. the tamas, the rajas and
the sattva] is a construct of the illusory energy
[under the influence of Him in the form of Time, see also
B.G. 14:
19].
The
Supersoul alone is the ultimate controller and creator of
this world, and thus He alone is also the created.
Similarly, the Soul of all existence Himself both maintains
and is maintained, withdraws and is withdrawn. No other
entity can be properly ascertained as separate from Him, the
Supreme Soul, who nonetheless is distinct from everything
and everyone else. The appearance of the threefold material
nature, which is perceived within Him, has no actual basis.
Rather, you should understand that this material nature,
composed of the three modes, is simply the product of His
illusory potency.
Text
8
The one who,
being fixed in the knowledge laid down and realized by Me,
knows this, does not blame or praise [in looking for
another cause], he wanders the world like the sun does
[see B.G. 2:
57,
13:
13,
13:
32,
14:
22-25].
One
who has properly understood the process of becoming firmly
fixed in theoretical and realized knowledge, as described
herein by Me, does not indulge in material criticism or
praise. Like the sun, he wanders freely throughout this
world.
Text
9
From direct
perception, logical deduction, scriptural truth and one's
selfrealization knowing that the inessential has a beginning
and an end, should one free from attachment move about out here
[see also B.G. 2:
16].'
By
direct perception, logical deduction, scriptural testimony
and personal realization, one should know that this world
has a beginning and an end and so is not the ultimate
reality. Thus one should live in this world without
attachment.
Text
10
S'rî
Uddhava said: 'O Lord of whom might be the experience of the
material existence? It is not exactly of the soul, the seer
that is self-aware, nor is it of the body, the seen that has no
experiencing self of its own.
S'rî
Uddhava said - My dear Lord, it is not possible for this
material existence to be the experience of either the soul,
who is the seer, or of the body, which is the seen object.
On the one hand, the spirit soul is innately endowed with
perfect knowledge, and on the other hand, the material body
is not a conscious, living entity. To whom, then, does this
experience of material existence pertain?
Text
11
The soul
inexhaustible, free from the modes, is pure and stands in its
own light uncovered like a fire, while the material body is
like firewood, without understanding; to which of them is the
experience of a material life out here?'
The
spirit soul is inexhaustible, transcendental, pure,
self-luminous and never covered by anything material. It is
like fire. But the nonliving material body, like firewood,
is dull and unaware. So in this world, who is it that
actually undergoes the experience of material life?
Text
12
The Supreme
Lord said: 'As long as the attraction of the soul goes out to
the body, the senses and the vital force, will the material
existence - fruitful as it is for the time - be meaningless
though, for lacking in discrimination.
The
Supreme Personality of Godhead said - As long as the foolish
spirit soul remains attracted to the material body, senses
and vital force, his material existence continues to
flourish, although it is ultimately meaningless.
Text
13
Even though the
substance is nonexistence [non-permanence], does the
material condition [in its elements] not cease to be
and is there, contemplating like in a dream the objects of the
senses, the arrival of disadvantages [compare
3.27:
4,
4.29:
35 &
73,
11.22:
56, B.G.
2:
14].
Actually,
the living entity is transcendental to material existence.
But because of his mentality of lording it over material
nature, his material existential condition does not cease,
and, just as in a dream, he is affected by all sorts of
disadvantages.
Text
14
That
[dream] which to the one not awake in his sleep
presents many undesirable experiences, does to the one awakened
certainly not give rise to confusion.
Although
while dreaming a person experiences many undesirable things,
upon awakening he is no longer confused by the dream
experiences.
Text
15
The
lamentation, elation, fear, anger, greed, confusion, hankering
and such, appear with the birth and death of one's
identification with the body [ahankâra]
and not with the soul [that doesn't take birth or die, see
11.22:
12,
11.23:
50-56,
11.25:
30].
Lamentation,
elation, fear, anger, greed, confusion and hankering, as
well as birth and death, are experiences of the false ego
and not of the pure soul.
Text
16
Haughty
dwelling within the self of the material body, the senses,
life-air and the mind, assumes the living being his form
according the gunas and the karma and is he, relating to the
thread of the greater nature, thus variously described as he
runs about in the material ocean under the strict control of
Time.
The
living entity who falsely identifies with his body, senses,
life air and mind, and who dwells within these coverings,
assumes the form of his own materially conditioned qualities
and work. He is designated variously in relation to the
total material energy, and thus, under the strict control of
supreme time, he is forced to run here and there within
material existence.
Text
17
This with no
[other] basis in many forms, to the mind, the speech,
the life force, the gross body and the fruitive action being
represented, will, with the sword of transcendental knowledge
that was sharpened in worship, be cut down by a sober sage who
free from desires wanders the earth.
Although
the false ego has no factual basis, it is perceived in many
forms - as the functions of the mind, speech, life air and
bodily faculties. But with the sword of transcendental
knowledge, sharpened by worship of a bona fide spiritual
master, a sober sage will cut off this false identification
and live in this world free from all material
attachment.
Text
18
Spiritual
knowledge [entails] the discrimination [of spirit
and matter], the scripture and the penance; the direct
experience, the historical accounts and the following logic;
and that which alone indeed is there from the beginning to the
end of this [creation] and which is the same in the
middle as the Time and Ultimate Cause [of
brahman,
the Absolute Truth, see also B.G. 10:
30,
33,
11:
32 and
kâla].
Real
spiritual knowledge is based on the discrimination of spirit
from matter, and it is cultivated by scriptural evidence,
austerity, direct perception, reception of the
Purânas' historical narrations, and logical inference.
The Absolute Truth, which alone was present before the
creation of the universe and which alone will remain after
its destruction, is also the time factor and the ultimate
cause. Even in the middle stage of this creation's
existence, the Absolute Truth alone is the actual
reality.
Text
19
Just as gold,
before being wrought, in the middle being utilized, and
thereafter, is only that to everything golden, do I the same
way exist in the various designations of this
[creation].
Gold
alone is present before its manufacture into gold products,
the gold alone remains after the products' destruction, and
the gold alone is the essential reality while it is being
utilized under various designations. Similarly, I alone
exist before the creation of this universe, after its
destruction and during its maintenance.
Text
20
This spirit of
condensed knowledge in its three conditions [of
wakefulness, sleep and unconscious sleep], is my dear,
manifesting through the modes as the causing [of
rajas], the caused [of tamas] and the causer
[of sattva, compare 11.22:
30], the
fourth factor that being separate is the single truth to each
of them.
The
material mind manifests in three phases of consciousness -
wakefulness, sleep and deep sleep - which are products of
the three modes of nature. The mind further appears in three
different roles - the perceiver, the perceived and the
regulator of perception. Thus the mind is manifested
variously throughout these threefold designations. But it is
the fourth factor, existing separately from all this, that
alone constitutes the Absolute Truth.
Text
21
That which
wasn't there before nor is there afterwards, isn't there in
between but as a designation; whatever that is created and is
made known by something else, is actually only that something
else; that is how I think about it.
That
which did not exist in the past and will not exist in the
future also has no existence of its own for the period of
its duration, but is only a superficial designation. In My
opinion, whatever is created and revealed by something else
is ultimately only that other thing.
Text
22
The spiritual
reality of God as established in its own light manifests the
Absolute Truth as the variety of the senses, their objects, the
mind and the transformations and for that reason does does this
creation, that of the mode of rajas is subject to modification,
shine forth, though it is not really there [see also
siddhânta].
Although
thus not existing in reality, this manifestation of
transformations created from the mode of passion appears
real because the self-manifested, self-luminous Absolute
Truth exhibits Himself in the form of the material variety
of the senses, the sense objects, the mind and the elements
of physical nature.
Text
23
This way by
discriminating logic clear about the Absolute of the Spiritual
Truth should one, expert by refuting what's beside the point,
cut down the doubt regarding the self and satisfied in one's
own spiritual happiness desist from all lusty
[unregulated] matters [see B.G.
3:
34].
Thus
clearly understanding by discriminating logic the unique
position of the Absolute Truth, one should expertly refute
one's misidentification with matter and cut to pieces all
doubts about the identity of the self. Becoming satisfied in
the soul's natural ecstasy, one should desist from all lusty
engagements of the material senses.
Text
24
The body made
of earth is not the true self, nor are senses, their gods or
the life air; the external air, the water, the fire or the mind
just after the food; nor are the intelligence, the material
consciousness, the I that thinks itself the doer, the ether,
the earth, material things or the original state of
balance.
The
material body made of earth is not the true self; nor are
the senses, their presiding demigods or the air of life; nor
is the external air, water or fire or one's mind. All these
are simply matter. Similarly, neither one's intelligence,
material consciousness nor ego, nor the elements of ether or
earth, nor the objects of sense perception, nor even the
primeval state of material equilibrium can be considered the
actual identity of the soul.
Text
25
What 's the
merit of one who perfect in concentrating his senses - that
basically belong to the gunas - and who rightly has ascertained
My personal identity; and on the other hand what blame indeed
would there be for a mind distracted? What of the sun to which
clouds gathered or dispersed?
For
one who has properly realized My personal identity as the
Supreme Godhead, what credit is there if his senses - mere
products of the material modes - are perfectly concentrated
in meditation? And on the other hand, what blame is incurred
if his senses happen to become agitated? Indeed, what does
it mean to the sun if the clouds come and go?
Text
26
Just as the sky
is not entangled by the coming and going qualities of the
seasons or the qualities of the air, the fire, the water and
the earth is likewise the All-pervading superior to
contaminations by the modes of sattva, rajas and tamas, the
notions of ego or the causes of evolving through successive
states [see also 1.3:
36,
3.27:
1, B.G.
7:
13].
The
sky may display the various qualities of the air, fire,
water and earth that pass through it, as well as such
qualities as heat and cold, which continually come and go
with the seasons. Yet the sky is never entangled with any of
these qualities. Similarly, the Supreme Absolute Truth is
never entangled with the contaminations of goodness, passion
and ignorance, which cause the material transformations of
the false ego.
Text
27
Yet must
meanwhile the attachment in the qualities that spring from the
deluding energy be shunned, until by My bhakti-yoga firm
[being differently attached, see B.G. 7:
1], the
dirt of the mind of passion is eliminated [see B.G.
14
and **].
Nevertheless,
until by firmly practicing devotional service to Me one has
completely eliminated from his mind all contamination of
material passion, one must very carefully avoid associating
with the material modes, which are produced by My illusory
energy.
Text
28
The same way as
a disease imperfectly treated repeatedly rising up gives man
distress, will the mind not purified from its contamination of
karma torment the imperfect yogî who [still] is
of all kinds of attachments.
Just
as an improperly treated disease recurs and gives repeated
distress to the patient, the mind that is not completely
purified of its perverted tendencies will remain attached to
material things and repeatedly torment the imperfect
yogî.
Text
29
Those imperfect
yogîs who are commanded by impediments in the form of
human beings [family members, disciples etc., see e.g.
s'iks'âshthaka-4]
sent by the thirty gods [see tridas'a]
will, on the strength of their perseverance in their previous
life once more engage in the yogapractice, but never again be
trapped in the fruitive labor [see also
11.18:
14, B.G.
6:
41-42].
Sometimes
the progress of imperfect transcendentalists is checked by
attachment to family members, disciples or others, who are
sent by envious demigods for that purpose. But on the
strength of their accumulated advancement, such imperfect
transcendentalists will resume their practice of yoga in the
next life. They will never again be trapped in the network
of fruitive work.
Text
30
The
normal living entity is, of fruitive labor being in transition,
impelled by some force or other so up to the point of death
whereas the intelligent one, though situated in the material
position, is not [that fickle], having given up
material desire by the experience of his own
happiness.
An
ordinary living entity performs material work and is
transformed by the reaction to such work. Thus he is driven
by various desires to continue working fruitively up to the
very moment of his death. A wise person, however, having
experienced his own constitutional bliss, gives up all
material desires and does not engage in fruitive
work.
Text
31
He whose
consciousness is fixed in the true self doesn't take notice of
the standing, sitting, walking or lying down; urinating, eating
food or doing whatever else that manifests from his conditioned
nature.
The
wise man, whose consciousness is fixed in the self, does not
even notice his own bodily activities. While standing,
sitting, walking, lying down, urinating, eating or
performing other bodily functions, he understands that the
body is acting according to its own nature.
Text
32
The one
intelligent doesn't take anything else as essential; whenever
he sees the not really [independently] existing things
of the senses, refutes he the separateness by logical
inference, so that they are like in a dream that disappears
after waking up.
Although
a self-realized soul may sometimes see an impure object or
activity, he does not accept it as real. By logically
understanding impure sense objects to be based on illusory
material duality, the intelligent person sees them to be
contrary to and distinct from reality, in the same way that
a man awakening from sleep views his fading dream.
Text
33
The variety of
ignorance, by the activities of the modes taken as being
identical to the soul of yore, My dear, comes to an end again
by consideration alone; the soul on the contrary is never
assumed nor ever abandoned.
Material
nescience, which expands into many varieties by the
activities of the modes of nature, is wrongly accepted by
the conditioned soul to be identical with the self. But
through the cultivation of spiritual knowledge, My dear
Uddhava, this same nescience fades away at the time of
liberation. The eternal self, on the other hand, is never
assumed and never abandoned.
Text
34
As indeed
happens with the sun rising, is the darkness of the human eyes
vanquished - but that [rising] does not create what
exists; similarly does the adroit investigation of the true of
Me destroy the darkness in a person's intelligence [but not
create the soul].
When
the sun rises it destroys the darkness covering men's eyes,
but it does not create the objects they then see before
them, which in fact were existing all along. Similarly,
potent and factual realization of Me will destroy the
darkness covering a person's true consciousness.
Text
35
This
selfluminous, unborn, immeasurable Greatness of Understanding
aware of everything is the One Without a Second where words
find closure, and by Whom impelled the speech and life airs
move.
The
Supreme Lord is self-luminous, unborn and immeasurable. He
is pure transcendental consciousness and perceives
everything. One without a second, He is realized only after
ordinary words cease. By Him the power of speech and the
life airs are set into motion.
Text
36
Whatever the
notion of duality the self might have is but a delusion to the
unique soul, as it indeed has no basis outside of that very
self [compare 7.13:
7].
Whatever
apparent duality is perceived in the self is simply the
confusion of the mind. Indeed, such supposed duality has no
basis to rest upon apart from one's own soul.
Text
37
The dualistic
imaginative interpretation [in terms of good and bad, see
also 11.21:
16] by
so-called scholars of this in names and forms perceivable
duality which unmistakably consists of the five elements, is
only vain [see also 5.6:
11].
The
duality of the five material elements is perceived only in
terms of names and forms. Those who say this duality is real
are pseudoscholars vainly proposing fanciful theories
without basis in fact.
Text
38
The body of the
yogî who immature tries to engage in the practice of
yoga, may be overcome by the disturbances which rose; in that
connection is the following the prescribed rule of
conduct:
The
physical body of the endeavoring yogî who is not yet
mature in his practice may sometimes be overcome by various
disturbances. Therefore the following process is
recommended.
Text
39
Some
disturbances may be eradicated by postures
[âsanas]
combined with concentration [dhârana],
penance [tapas,
***],
mantras
and medicinal herbs.
Some
of these obstructions may be counteracted by yogic
meditation or by sitting postures, practiced together with
concentration on controlled breathing, and others may be
counteracted by special austerities, mantras or medicinal
herbs.
Text
40
Some of the
inauspicious situations can step by step be overcome by
constantly thinking of Me [Vishnu-smarana]
by the celebration of My names and such
[japa,
sankîrtana]
and by following in the footsteps of the masters of yoga
[see also B.G. 6:
25].
These
inauspicious disturbances can be gradually removed by
constant remembrance of Me, by congregational hearing and
chanting of My holy names, or by following in the footsteps
of the great masters of yoga.
Text
41
Some
[yogîs] by various means fixed in youth making
this selfcontrolled material body fit thus engage for mystic
perfections [siddhis].
By
various methods, some yogîs free the body from disease
and old age and keep it perpetually youthful. Thus they
engage in yoga for the purpose of achieving material mystic
perfections.
Text
42
By the ones
conversant is that not honored, sure that that endeavor is
quite useless, because the body, like the fruit of a tree, is
perishable [see also 11.15:
33].
This
mystic bodily perfection is not valued very highly by those
expert in transcendental knowledge. Indeed, they consider
endeavor for such perfection useless, since the soul, like a
tree, is permanent, but the body, like a tree's fruit, is
subject to destruction.
Text
43
The one
intelligent seeing how someone regularly executing yoga attains
fitness, takes, dedicated to Me giving up [any ulterior
motive] in yoga, no [great] faith in that
[*4].
Although
the physical body may be improved by various processes of
yoga, an intelligent person who has dedicated his life to Me
does not place his faith in the prospect of perfecting his
physical body through yoga, and in fact he gives up such
procedures.
Text
44
The yogî
executing this process of yoga is, free from hankering having
taking to the shelter of Me, not checked by obstacles and
experiences his own [soul's] happiness.
The
yogî who has taken shelter of Me remains free from
hankering because he experiences the happiness of the soul
within. Thus while executing this process of yoga, he is
never defeated by obstacles.
*:
Contrary to popular notions that the medium would be the
message, is stated here clearly that the medium is not the
message. The words and the ideas, and also the so-called fixed
form of things, are all false relative to the original truth,
the message, the essence. That what is expressed is the
essence, not the expression itself. So is the one living being
of the person and the living material nature with her Time as
the masculine aspect, the essence and are all ideas, fixed
things of it and words about it actually false. Thus we have
the paradox of the in itself false expression in words and
ideas, this sentence before you as a reader e.g., of what is
true on itself as the wholeness of life. So there are idols of
Krishna being worshiped with the tre strict warning not to
consider them as something material. Thus are praise and
criticism, good and bad, notions missing the point of what is
objectively the value free reality of brahman, the
Absolute Truth of the reality free from illusion outside as
well as inside. Or as one says these days: science is
value-free.
**:
The purport of this is that, even though the material nature as
His gigantic virât-rûpa form is nondifferent from
the Supreme Lord (as elaborately described in this and other
chapters), one who has yet to conquer material desire must not
artificially seek solace in material things, declaring them to
be nondifferent from the Lord [see p.p. 11.28:
27].
***:
Concerning penance the beginner is reminded of the fact that
voluntary penance, voluntary suffering, is better than penance
enforced from the outside in the form of a disease, legal
prosecution, shortage, calamities etc. Like the Jews in Exodus
would be ready to leave Egypt one should be ready for the
coming of the Lord [see also 11.17:
42
and B.G. 2:
40,
12:
16].
*4:
Here one is reminded that characters like Râvana
and Hiranyakas'ipu
also practiced yoga and attained fitness; attaining perfections
that way can also be a demoniac thing and is thus not the
object of belief as stated here. Rather attaining the Lord is
the motive for the yogî. Control and order is a nice
thing to achieve, but without the Lord is it just as well a
thing of the devil.
