When oneness between jagat, jīva and Īśvara is taught, there are some doubts arose from some people. If essential nature of jīva is not different from Īśvara, does it mean: Question: Īśvara is also a samsārī just like jīva? If yes, Īśvara who has bondage as his nature manifested himself into this world, then the entire world would have the nature of samsāra alone, there is no way for śāstra to release anybody from their nature.
Answer: It is not so. If Īśvara is a samsārī, there is no way for us to take refuge in him. When bondage is our nature, we will feel very comfortable with it (in fact we are not comfortable), then here is no reason for us to struggle to release ourselves from our true nature. Furthermore, ātmā-jñānam being the means for moksa has been passed down by teachers who are muktah - free from samsāra on the wake of knowledge. And śāstra also talked about muktah like king janaka. Therefore for sure Īśvara who manifests himself into this world is definitely not samsāri.
Question: If Īśvara is not a samsārī, then there might have no samsāra at all on the part of jīva.
If it is so, śāstra which is the means to release us from the life of samsāra has no validity.
Answer:
That is not so. We can't deny that bondage is experienced by everybody, therefore people take refuge in śāstra. Validation of śāstra is accepted by people who accept ātmā is different from the body, because the same śāstra which is the means for moksa presents dharma for people to gain a better body in the next life.
Further question: Based on what you said, people do experience bondage then take refuge in śāstra and get moksa. But how do you reconcile with your own view that real bondage can go away by the wake of knowledge, since anything is real can't go away?
Answer: We just said bondage is experienced, but we didn't agree that bondage is real. There is no way for it to go away by any means if the bondage is real. Because reality is not possible to negate what so ever - abhaditam satyam. If you think bondage was real and it went away when knowledge comes, it will come back anytime also when the knowledge goes away, since anything real can go away anytime. Then, why we need to work so hard for something which is futile?
Question: If bondage is not real as you said, when did it come and when does it go away? Answer: Bondage has no beginning but it ends when the wake of knowledge.
Further question: That against your own teaching. Advaitī (non-duality) says limitless nature of ātmā the reality is beginning-less and also endless, how come bondage which is beginning-less can end? Answer: Even though bondage is having the status of beginning-less, since it is not real (mithya), therefore it doesn't really begin. One can see the mithyatvam - the status of being dependent reality at the wake of knowledge, therefore samsāra is bādhāh - negated, but not nāśah - destroyed. After the wake of knowledge, the wise person still carries the same physical body, living in the same transactional world, but he/she is free from the mithya bondage. If moksa is not human nature and it started only by certain means, it will also go away one day. Therefore limitless ātmā is beginning-less and endless. When the nature of limitless is not known, it is because of being covered by ignorance. Therefore śāstra is valid for ignorance people, and not valid for wise person, just like one doesn't hold on the boat after crossing the ocean.
When ksetra is known as the body, we might question that, is it the physical body or subtle body or including other's body? Next two verses Lord Krsna explains in brief.
tat kṣetraṁ yacca yādṛk ca yadvikāri yataśca yat |
sa ca yo yatprabhāvaśca tat samāsena me śṛṇu ||13.3||
What is ksetra, of what nature (it is), what are its modifications, from what has it come and who is the ksetrajña and what is (his) glory - (for) that, listen to me in brief.
What sort of body Lord Krsna has talked about? And when he said "this body", is it only this body or also in other kinds of modification? Where does it come from? What kind of cause-effect relationship among those forms? What kind of śakti - power of the ksetrajña? He raised up these questions by himself to catch attention of Arjuna.
ṛṣibhirbahudhā gītaṁ chandobhirvividhaiḥ pṛthak |
brahmasūtrapadaiścaiva hetumadbhirviniścitaiḥ ||13.4||
In many ways it is sung by the rsis. It is also sung by the sentences of the Vedas as something that is varied and also as something that is distinct. And it is indeed explained by the sentences of the Veda, which reveal Brahman, without doubt, by implication, and with reasoning.
This is the knowledge sung by rsis in many ways - ṛṣibhirbahudhā gītaṁ. How have they sung it? Through Veda - chandobhih. Chandas means meter, because Veda is composed metrically, therefore chandas becomes another name of Veda. And there are four Veda so it is said being sung differently - vividhaiḥ. Each upanisad (Veda) has its specific way of unfolding the teaching, like in Taittirīya speaks of creation begins with five elements as ksetra and the ksetrajña is satyam jñanam anantam brahma. In other upanisad, ksetra and ksetrajña are presented differently but all of them speak of their nature as distinct - pṛthak. One is ātmā, the other is anātmā. One is cause, the other is effect. One is satyam, the other is mithyā. They are also explained by sentences which reveal brahman -brahmasūtrapadaih. Those sentences which indicate the nature of brahman are to be assimilated and understood without doubt - viniścitaiḥ. For that, the upanisad itself gives a method of reasoning - hetumadbhih.
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