In the scheme of the Geeta, the first set of six chapters deals with the path of action, the second set of middle six chapters enunciates the path of knowledge and the last set of six chapters advocates the path of devotion. The seventh chapter of the Geeta is a unique exploration into the holistic realms of life, both phenomenal and noumenal. It is named as Jnana Vijnana Yoga or the Yoga of knowledge and wisdom. Lord Krishna teaches Arjuna the wholesome of existence. To know about the world is knowledge and to be aware of one’s own self is wisdom. Lord Krishna propounds that after knowing these both dimensions of human life, nothing is left to be known. Jnana is intellectual and wisdom is realisation.

 

Amongst thousands of people, only a few try to know and realise the Ultimate Truth and among them only a few succeed in their endeavour. The outer and explicit dimension of the ultimate truth is nature. It is constituted of eight elements, the earth, water, fire, air, ether, mind, intellect and egoism. This eightfold nature is sustained by a higher entity that is pure consciousness and an unbroken web of energy. The Supreme Reality is the substratum and the base of the multiplicity of the natural phenomena. The entire nature is woven into the Supreme Reality like the clusters of gems into a thread. It is the Supreme Reality which expresses itself into the taste of the water and the light of the sun and the moon. It is the realisation of the seers that the sound is the symbol of divinity. It is manifested as the OM syllable in the Vedas.

 

We find the parallels into other religions also as Ameen in Islam and Amin in Christianity. Further elaborating the thread of the omnipresence of the Supreme Reality, Lord Krishna propounds that the fragrance of the earth and the brightness of the fire are all the expressions of the same Supreme Reality. It is the same consciousness which throbes into the life of all beings and expresses itself as the austerity of the saints. By summarising his teachings, Lord Krishna tells Arjuna that the Supreme Reality is the seed of the whole creation. While unmanifest, divinity is the strength without any desire or attachment. And when it is manifested as the desire into the beings, it is not in opposition to the righteousness. The entire creation is constituted of three attributes, purity, activity and inertia. These attributes arise from the Supreme Reality, but the Supreme Reality does not exist in them.

 

It is the Maya or the veil which distorts the things. The reflection of the sun into the water may be crooked or dirty as per the reflecting surface, but it does not affect the sun. Similarly, the immutable Supreme Reality is not affected by these attributes of the physical world. Four types of persons worship the divinity in their own way. They are, the dissatisfied, the seeker of knowledge, the pursuer of wealth and the men of wisdom. Amongst them, the men of wisdom are the best. Those who are engaged in misdeeds are deluded and they do not know the Supreme Reality. A person gets the result as per his belief system and perception.

 

Those who worship natural forces obtain them and the devotees of the Supreme Reality merge into the infinite bliss and consciousness. The veil of ignorance is the barrier for the deluded persons to know the Supreme Reality. Spirituality is the means through which one transcends old age and death. Towards the end of the chapter, Lord Krishna declares that those who know the Supreme Reality know everything. The Supreme Reality is the pure consciousness and bliss comprising our innermost core of existence. Realisation of this dimension is the liberation from the delusion and duality of the phenomenal world. The chapter is ontological in nature. (The writer is Former DG Police & CG, Homeguards, Maharashtra) ■