Verses 7.10–7.15
बीजं मां सर्वभूतानां विद्धि पार्थ सनातनम् | बुद्धिर्बुद्धिमतामस्मि तेजस्तेजस्विनामहम्
bījaṃ māṃ sarvabhūtānāṃ viddhi pārtha sanātanam / buddhirbuddhimatāmasmi tejastejasvināmaham / / 7.10
O Pārtha (son of Prithā), I am the eternal source of all creatures, the intelligence of the intelligent, and the brilliance of all those who are brilliant.
बलं बलवतां चाहं कामरागविवर्जितम् | धर्माविरुद्धो भूतेषु कामोऽस्मि भरतर्षभ
balaṃ balavatāṃ cāhaṃ kāmarāgavivarjitaṃ / dharmāviruddho bhūteṣu kāmo’smi bharatarṣabha / / 7.11
I am the strength of the strong, and I am procreative energy in living beings, devoid of lust and in accordance with religious principles, O Bharatarṣabha (Lord of Bhārata).
ये चैव सात्विका भावा राजसास्तामसाश्च ये | मत्त एवेति तान्विद्धि न त्वहं तेषु ते मयि
ye caiva sāttvikā bhāvā rājasāstāmasāśca ye / matta eveti tānviddhi na tvahaṃ teṣu te mayi / / 7.12
All states of being—be they of goodness (sāttvika), pas- sion (rajas) or ignorance (tamas)—all emanate from Me. I am independent of them but they are dependent on Me.
त्रिभिर्गुणमयैर्भावैरेभि: सर्वमिदं जगत् | मोहितं नाभिजानाति मामेभ्य: परमव्ययम्
tribhirguṇamayair bhāvairebhiḥ sarvamidaṃ jagat / mohitaṃ nābhijānāti māmebhyaḥ paramavyayam / / 7.13
The whole world is deluded by the three modes (good- ness, passion and ignorance), and thus does not know Me. I am above the modes and unchangeable
दैवी ह्येषा गुणमयी मम माया दुरत्यया | मामेव ये प्रपद्यन्ते मायामेतां तरन्ति ते
daivī hyeṣā guṇamayī mama māyā duratyayā / māmeva ye prapadyante māyāmetām taranti te / / 7.14
My Divine energy, consisting of the three modes of material nature, is difficult to overcome. But those who surrender unto Me can cross beyond it with ease.
न मां दुष्कृतिनो मूढा: प्रपद्यन्ते नराधमा: | माययापहृतज्ञाना आसुरं भावमाश्रिता:
na māṃ duṣkṛ tino mūḍhāḥ prapadyante narādhamāḥ / māyayāpahṛtajñānā āsuraṃ bhāvamāśritāḥ / / 7.15
Those miscreants who are foolish, lowest among mankind, whose knowledge is stolen by māyā, illusion, and who have taken shelter in demonic nature, do not surrender unto Me.
Iam the procreative energy,’ says the Lord. ‘I am the seed of all living beings.’ He makes no excuses, no apologies. He says, ‘I am that procreative energy but without the fantasies of lust, kāma-rāga vivarjitam dharmāviruddho bhūteṣu (7.11).’ How can one be a Creator, if one cannot procreate? Jñānavijñāna Yogaḥ Listen, Cognize And Radiate 517 Many of our great sages in the past, the ṛṣi and mahaṛṣis, such as Vaśiṣṭa and Vyāsa were gṛhastas (householders), who were family men with wives and children. Yet they were realized souls, enlightened. Other than Hanumān and Gaṇeśa all our deities are married! Kṛṣṇa is reputed to have had 16,008 wives! How can the life form continue without procreation, without the sex act?
TFor celibacy to happen naturally, the first spiritual experience must happen before adolescence, so that the life-giving sex energy moves upwards as transcendental spiritual energy rather than descend as procreative energy. People who have this spiritual awakening because of their prārabdha karma (desires one is born with) are the Paramahamsas. That is their nature. Celibacy happens to them naturally. To force celibacy after adolescence is difficult. It can be done but must be done with great caution and under supervision. Otherwise the so-called renunciate monk, the Sannyāsi, will pretend to follow brahmacarya, celibacy. Inside he will be filled with fantasies, ready to explode. The word brahmacarya means ‘moving in reality’.
It is said that once Kṛṣṇa was crossing the river Yamuna with a group of gopīs, women devotees. The river was in spate. Kṛṣṇa said to Yamuna, ‘If it is true that I am a brahmacāri, part and let me walk across.’ The river parted and Kṛṣṇa walked to the other bank. A Sannyāsi who watched this was dumbstruck. ‘Kṛṣṇa, a brahmacāri? He walks with these women who are His lovers, and He says He is a brahmacāri and the river parts for Him! How can this be?’ That is what Kṛṣṇa explains here, ‘I am the procreative energy, but without lust, without attachment and without fantasy. I am the ultimate reality!’
Fantasies are the root cause of our problems. With each fantasy coming true, more fantasies arise. We can never be in reality. To be in reality one must be in the present moment. When you are in the present moment you are Kṛṣṇa. When we hanker after the past and speculate about the future, we slip into fantasies. We are no longer within the boundaries of our body. This way of living will lead only to suffering. All you need to do to be blissful is, renounce your fantasies. You do not need to renounce what material things you have with you. Enjoy your wealth, enjoy your work, enjoy your spouse and children.
You have earned what you have. Enjoy what is your due. Just stop fantasizing about what you do not have. Stop running after more acquisitions; stop and take time to enjoy what you have acquired. Move into the present, here and now, into reality, and you will be a brahmacāri! Beyond the GuṆas Kṛṣṇa talks about the guṇas, the natural attributes in these verses. Prakṛti, the energy that manifests in the Universe, has three elements called guṇas. When prakṛti is in equilibrium, it is pure potential energy. When it is disturbed, the guṇas come into operation. Like building blocks, they combine in many ways and create, sustain and destroy. Rarely is only a single element or guṇa present in a person.
The three guṇas that Kṛṣṇa refers to are satva, rajas and tamas, commonly translated as goodness or calmness, passion or aggression and ignorance or inaction. The interplay of these guṇas creates the functioning of the mind and through the operation of the mind, activity. Guṇa does not refer to the state a person is in. Guṇa causes that state to happen. Satva by itself is not goodness or calmness. It is the building block that leads to calmness. No living being influenced by the mind is beyond the influence of the guṇas. When one transcends the guṇas, as Kṛṣṇa says about Himself, one becomes a triguṇa rahita, one who has transcended the three guṇas.
Such a person is no longer influenced by the mind and its actions. Listen. Even an incarnation, an enlightened energy being reborn into Jñānavijñāna Yogaḥ Listen, Cognize And Radiate 519 this planet on a mission, needs to initially be born with some guṇa infused into that being. It is like this: We cannot make jewelry out of pure gold. We must alloy it with copper. In the same way, even an energy source that has transcended the three guṇas needs to have some satva guṇa infused in it to be born into this planet. The same is true of Kṛṣṇa. As Vāsudeva Kṛṣṇa, the son of Vāsudeva, He has some guṇa at play in Him.
Remember that Bhagavad Gītā is rendered by Parabrahma Kṛṣṇa, the cosmic Kṛṣṇa, and not by Vāsudeva Kṛṣṇa. So He boldly says, I am beyond the guṇas. He says, I am the Param Puruṣa, the supreme being, who sets prakṛti into play, and I am beyond its influence. Kṛṣṇa is the creator of Nature, which is even beyond prakṛti, and is therefore beyond the plays of Nature. We can see the interplay of the guṇas in people as they move through this material world. People are generally more in a state of rajas— aggressiveness with passion, with various proportions of satva and tamas. Rajas is needed to create, to make things happen, and is the predominant guṇa of action.
Especially when you move into an environment, committed to a life of renunciation and detachment, many fall into deep state of tamas, inaction. It is not a state of ignorance, but one of inaction where all your suppressed opposition to your earlier life of meaningless activity surfaces and forces you into sheer inactivity. You may sleep long hours, far more than normal, disinclined to do anything. However, this is a passing phase. All these suppressions surface and dissolve. Let them. You then move into satva. To many, it is surprising that one falls into tamas before moving into satva, yet it happens and it is a reaction to one’s earlier lifestyle.
On the other hand, a person steeped in tamas is the person Kṛṣṇa refers to as one who does not surrender to Him. Such a person is in deep darkness and ignorance. He is unaware of his potential. He is no better than an animal. In fact, an animal is better because it knows how to live in Nature, with Nature. Besides, an animal has no fantasies. Unfortunately, a human being can distort his perceptions to such a point that he can deny his rightful nature. Māyā, illusion, is also the interplay of the guṇas.It is a collection of our fantasies. Just as darkness needs light to destroy it, we need awareness to destroy māyā.
Otherwise māyā destroys us. In Bhagāvatam (Hindu epic that describes Lord Viṣṇu’s incarnations, especially His incarnation as Kṛṣṇa), there is this history. Nārada is the greatest devotee of Viṣṇu. He forever sings His praise and has nothing else on his mind. Over time Nārada became conceited about being the most celebrated devotee. This happens to all devotees at some point in time. As a true master, Viṣṇu took action. He called Nārada and asked him to fetch a pot of water. Nārada rushed out. Suddenly he was in front of a house asking for water. A beautiful maiden came out with water and Nārada fell instantaneously in love with her.
He married this girl and they raised children together. One day there was a great storm. The house and the entire surroundings were flooded. The rushing water carried Narada and his family away. Soon they were separated and his family died. Nārada wailed and screamed for help. Suddenly he heard a voice, ‘Nārada, where is my water? What happened to you?’ Nārada awoke, as if from a great sleep, and saw Viṣṇu smiling at him. He said, ‘Even my greatest devotee is not immune to māyā!’ As long as the mind is active, no one is immune to māyā. Four Pious Men