Verses 15.15–15.16
सर्वस्य चाहं हृदि सन्निविष्टो मत्त: स्मृतिर्ज्ञानमपोहनं च | वेदैश्च सर्वैरहमेव वेद्यो वेदान्तकृद्वेदविदेव चाहम्
sarvasya cāhaṁ hṛdi sanniviṣṭo mattaḥ smṛtir jñānam apohanaṁ ca / vedaiśca sarvairahameva vedyo vedānta-kṛd vedavid eva cāham / / 15.15
I am seated in everyone’s heart and from Me came memory, knowledge and their loss. I am known by the Vedas; indeed, I am the Creator of Vedānta and I am the knower of the Vedas.
द्वाविमौ पुरुषौ लोके क्षरश्चाक्षर एव च | क्षर: सर्वाणि भूतानि कूटस्थोऽक्षर उच्यते
dvāvimau puruṣau loke kṣaraścākṣara eva ca / kṣaraḥ sarvāṇi bhūtāni kūṭasthokṣara ucyate / / 15.16
There are two things, the perishable and the imperishable, in this world. There are the living beings who are perishable while there is the unchangeable, the imperishable.
Kṛṣṇa says that He is seated in everyone’s heart, sarvasya ca aham hṛdi sanniviṣto. He is memory, He is knowledge, He is forgetfulness, mattaḥ smṛtir jñānaṁ apohanaṁ ca (15.15). What does this mean? How does our mind work? How does it invent beliefs? We don’t even know where our mind is. If I ask you where your mind is, you will point to your head. That’s not your mind. Every cell in our body has inbuilt intelligence. These cells constantly regenerate themselves. These cells present everywhere make up our body-mind system. Therefore, there is no one place where our mind is definitely located; certainly it is not in our head!
Intellect and Intuition All our decisions are influenced by our past experiences that are stored as root thought patterns in our unconscious mind. This unconscious area or the root where the mind is born is powerful enough to make you feel powerless or powerful. It can be used in three ways: at the instinct level, intellect level or intuition level. As long as the unconscious is overloaded with negative memories and restlessness, it works at the instinct level. We decide instinctively, Puruṣottama Yogaḥ No Questions, Only Doubts 1117 unconsciously, just like an animal does. Next is the intellect level. Here, we are conscious; we make decisions logically, but we don’t have extra enthusiasm or energy.
We are not creative or innovative; we don’t take big steps; we don’t grow. We don’t experience the space of possibility and expansion. We make decisions in a logical and conscious way, that’s all. When we are at the intellect level, we are not tired; yet we are not energetic either. We are in a break-even state. At this level, we do not use our potential to the maximum. Constant completion with our root thought patterns, and bringing integrity in our words, authenticity in our actions melts the intellect layer. The level where we can actualize our entire potential with power of thinking, power of words, power of feeling and power of living is the intuition level.
This is the space of completion and creation. If we can infuse deep silence and completion into the unconscious zone and replace root thought patterns, then we are at the intuition level. Please listen, if you come to a decision without a thought, you are living in the space of intuition. If you come to a decision after multiple thoughts, it is ignorance. If you come to a decision after one clear flow of thoughts, it is called intelligence. If you come to a decision without any thought, it is called intuition. Please understand, I really tell you, completion is equivalent to inner cleansing. All your muscle-memories come to peace and rest in peace.
The greatest wealth lies within, not outside. The greatest joy lies within, not outside. In the outside world, every experience of joy is followed by sorrow. Joy creates expectations and when expectations are not fulfilled, they lead to sorrow. When the search begins inside, expectations drop, attachments drop and a new joy of completion happens. That joy is eternal, never ending. It is Ānanda, Nityānanda, eternal bliss. Because we are unaware of this, we search outside for happiness, because that is the only way we know. In his commentary on the Gītā, Ādī Śaṅkara says that memory and knowledge come from Kṛṣṇa to those who do good enriching deeds and loss of memory and knowledge to those who do evil deeds.
The reference to memory and knowledge here is to the understanding of our true nature, the understanding and realization that we are one with the Divine, that Kṛṣṇa is seated in our hearts. Perishable and Imperishable Puruṣa Kṛṣṇa takes Arjuna into a deeper understanding. Kṛṣṇa talks about puruṣa, the principle of energy that underlies our existence. Sāṅkhya philosophy talks about puruṣa and prakṛti. Puruṣa, in one sense is energy, and prakṛti is matter. Puruṣa is the unmoving, passive energy principle, whereas prakṛti is the active material principle. Puruṣa is the male principle; prakṛti is the female principle. Puruṣa is Śiva and prakṛti is Śakti. Kṛṣṇa goes beyond that philosophy. He says Puruṣa is twofold, one imperishable and the other perishable.
He says all living beings are the perishable puruṣa and they are situated in the imperishable energy. dvāv imau puruṣau loke kṣaraś cākṣara eva ca I kṣaraḥ sarvāṇi bhūtani kūṭa-stho ‘kṣara ucyate II 15.16 In earlier chapters, Kṛṣṇa has covered in depth, these aspects of prakṛti, which operate through the mind, senses and the attributes, the three types of guṇa. Here, He expands upon puruṣa. Puruṣa is the Ultimate Energy from which all emanates. ‘īśā vāsyaṁ idaṁ sarvaṁ’ says the Īśāvāsya Upaniṣad , ‘All that exists is energy.’ When Einstein read this verse from the Upaniṣads, written possibly tens of thousands of years ago, he said, ‘I felt proud that I had discovered that matter is energy.
Many thousand years ago, these Sages knew this, and also knew that matter arises from energy. The last step in science is the first step in spirituality.’ Puruṣottama Yogaḥ No Questions, Only Doubts 1119 More and more, scientists are beginning to sound like the Eastern Mystics. They no longer have the attitude of scientists of a hundred years ago who felt that they were rewriting the laws of Nature. Our Vedic scriptures said this over thousands of years ago. Śaṅkara has said again and again that the Seer influences what is seen. That was over a thousand years ago. The primal energy principle, puruṣa is like potential energy. It is energy, but passive.
It is the operating principle behind the entire Universe. Without this energy, nothing will exist. Nothing will live. Kṛṣṇa says that there are two kinds of puruṣa: one is eternal, akṣara and one perishes, kṣara. The puruṣa that perishes is the body-mind energy embedded in all beings, including humans. This energy has a definite, limited lifetime. It is always changing. There is nothing permanent about it. It is programmed for deterioration and destruction. The puruṣa that is kūṭastha is the imperishable aspect of this energy. It is the energy of the spirit that is indestructible, akṣara. It is the Soul that is forever, that which cannot be destroyed. Kṛṣṇa points out that primal energy manifests in different ways, as perishable and imperishable.
Both are aspects of primal energy. One is destroyed and the other lives. One who realizes this difference and understands the true nature of puruṣa is liberated. Rāmakṛṣṇa Paramahamsa beautifully narrates: An arrogant scholar was very proud of his learning. He was a great Advaitic (non-dualitistic) scholar and did not believe in the various forms of God. Then, God came to him one day. The mother goddess appeared before him in all Her splendor. She came as the primal energy, Parāśakti. The scholar was in a swoon for a long time. When he woke up, he shouted, ‘Ka, Ka, Ka.’ He could not fully pronounce ‘Kāli,’ the name of the goddess whom he had seen.
Words cannot describe the Divine! Scholars argue endlessly about the nature of puruṣa, the various aspects of puruṣa, the difference between prakṛti and puruṣa. It strengthens their ego. When the Divine presents itself before them, they cannot recognize or cognize what they see. Collective Consciousness