Sree Bhagavan said:-
Arjuna! This body is termed as
Kshetra (the field) and he who knows it is called
Kshetrajna (the
knower of the field), by those who know the truth about these two. (XIII-1)
You must understand that I am
Kshetrajna in all
Kshetras and according to Me, a proper understanding of the relation between
Kshetra and
Kshetrajna alone can be said to be true knowledge. (XIII-12)
Now listen, and I will tell you what that
Kshetra is
; its nature; its origin and what changes take place in it .I will also tell you who
Kshetrajna is and what are its powers. These matters have been expounded variously by the great
Rishis, in many
Vedic hymns, and also in the Brahma
Sutras( Aphorisms on the nature of Brahman) through subtly reasoned and convincing arguments .(XIII-3,4)
I shall now enumerate the constituents of
Kshetra. The five elements of nature(earth, water, fire, air and ether), the ego sense, intellect, cosmic energy, five organs of perception and five organs of action, the mind, the five objects of senses, likes and dislikes, pleasure and pain, the gross body, consciousness and finally resolution; these constitute
Kshetra with its limits and changes.(XIII-5,6)
Now hear from Me what is true knowledge.Absence of self-conceit; avoidance of pretensions; being harmless to all beings; forbearance; being straightforward; being devoted to one's Guru; cleanliness-both physical and mental; thought, word and action; self-control, dispassion towards objects of sensory enjoyment,humility, constant awareness of the grief and miseries linked with birth, death, old age and diseases ; non-attachment and non-identification with wife,children, home etc;constant equipoise of mind both in favourable and unfavourable situations; unflinching devotion to Me through exclusive association; living in secluded places; disinterestedness in mixing with crowd;steadfastness in spiritual knowledge;proper insight into the true knowledge of the Self; these are said to the faculties of knowledge. All others are ignorance only.(XIII-7 to11)
I shall now explain to you in detail about what ought to be known, on knowing which you will attain Immortality.That is the Supreme Brahman, which is
beginning- less and is, therefore, said to be neither existing nor non-existing. It has hands and feet every where, it has eyes, heads and mouths on all sides, and its ears reach every corner of the world; because it stands encompassing the whole universe.(XIII-12 to 13)
It performs the functions of all senses, but does not possess the senses; it sustains everything but is not attached to anything; it experiences the three
gunas, but is not smeared by their qualities. It is present inside and outside of all living and non-living creatures; being subtler than the subtlest, it is beyond human comprehension; it is far apart but also very near at hand. It exists undivided in all beings , but appears to be divided into many; it has to be known as the creator, preserver and destroyer of all beings.It is said to be the light of all lights, beyond the reach of the darkness of ignorance; knowledge is its nature; it is also that Reality which must be known, and is attainable through knowledge. It also that which dwells in the hearts of all creatures.(XIII-14 to 17)
Now I have told you briefly about
Kshetra, about knowledge, and about the Reality that needs to be known. With a clear understanding of these matters, My devotee becomes fit to enter into My being.(XIII-18)
You must know that both
Prakriti(Maya) and
Purusha(individual soul) are
beginningless and that all evolutions and
Gunas are creations of
Prakriti.It is said that Maya is the cause for the evolution of body and senses; and identification of the individual soul with the body is the cause for experiencing pleasure and pain.Individual soul in company with Maya, enjoys the products of
gunas created by Maya; and because of this association with
gunas, it takes future births from good or evil parents according to the
guna to which it had been most attached.(XIII-19 to 21)
The supreme
Purusha indwelling the body is no other than the Supreme Brahman; He enables every action of the body, as it were, granting permission;watches every action like a witness; controls everything like a ruler; enjoys the results of all actions ; and protects everything as the supreme god of all beings. He who has clearly understood this secret of
Purusha and
Prakriti and their relation with
gunas, will not be reborn after death, whatever may be his activities in this world.(XIII-22,23)
Some, try to visualise the Supreme Atman within their heart of hearts, through concentrated meditation; some others follow the path of analytical knowledge by reasoning and discrimination between what is Atman and what is not; yet others who are leading a worldly life, try to achieve the same by Karma Yoga (performing all actions without attachment or desire for fruits) There are still others who do not know about these paths, but worship God sincerely on the basis of what they have heard from their preceptors. If they will practise these instructions faithfully, they also will be freed from the mortal world of birth and death.(XIII-24,25)
Arjuna! Please understand that whatever object, moving or not moving , born in this world , comes out of the union between
Kshetra and
Kshetranja(XIII-26)
He who sees that the imperishable Lord of the universe abides equally in all perishable beings; he alone sees the Truth. Having seen the Supreme Lord everywhere, equally present in all beings, he does not mutilate the Self within him and by that reason he reaches the highest state of bliss. Again, he alone sees the truth, who sees that every action performed by a person, whatever be its nature, takes place only because of
Prakriti (Maya)and the Atman is not doing anything.(XIII-27t0 29)
As soon as a man realises that the diversified forms of various creatures in the universe are rooted in one single existence, the Brahman, and are only the different expressions of the same Brahman, he attains that Supreme Brahman. (XIII-30)
Arjuna, the immortal Supreme Atman abiding in the body, being without a beginning or any attributes does not perform any action nor gets tainted. Just as ether which pervades everywhere, is not contaminated by the impurities around it owing to its subtle nature, the Atman abiding in all bodies is not tainted by the actions of the body because of Its attribute-less nature .(XIII-31,32)
To give you another example, just as the one sun illuminates the whole world, so also it is the one Atman that activates all bodies in the world.That is to say, the Atman that abides in all bodies is not many, but only one.(XIII-33)
Arjuna, this is the difference between
Kshetra( Body) and
Kshetrajna (Atman); this can be realised only by the eyes of wisdom. He who realises this can also understand how he can free himself from the clutches of
Prakriti(Maya) .Once this is understood he reaches the supreme goal of human life.
Thus ends the Thirteenth Chapter of
Sreemad Bhagavad Gita entitled
Kshetra Kshetrjana Yoga( The Yoga of the Field and the
Knower of the field)
