Next Lord Krsna listed the modification of ksetra, so Arjuna knows that every manifestation is ksetra only, which is anātma, not my real nature.
mahābhūtānyahaṅkāro buddhiravyaktam eve ca | indriyāṇi daśaikaṁ ca pañca cendriyagocarāḥ ||13.5|| icchā dveṣaḥ sukhaṁ duḥkhaṁ saṅghātaścetanā dhṛtiḥ | etat kṣetraṁ samāsena savikāram udāhṛtam ||13.6||
The (five) subtle elements, the hiranyagarbha, the samasti buddhi, the unmanifest cause (māyā), the ten organs and one (mind), the five sense objects, desire, aversion, pleasure, pain, the physical body, cognition, fortitude (all) this is ksetra, which is stated briefly along with its modifications.
Ksetra is the five subtle elements - mahābhūtāni. Started from avyaktam - unmanifest māyā, then five subtle elements which are ākāśa - space, vāyuh - air, tejah - fire, āpah - water and prthivī - earth, are manifested. These subtle elements have not undergone grossification. They are the subtle body of the entire cosmic therefore called ahankārah, here means hiranyagarbha which constitutes of subtle aspects of sabda - sound, sparsa - touch , rupa - form, rasa - taste and gandha - smell. From these five subtle elements came 17 subtle instruments, they are: - 5 instruments of knowledge, consist of:
śrōtram - organ of hearing tvak - organ of touch cakṣū - organ of sight rasanā - organ of taste ghrāṇam - organ of smell
- 5 organs of actions , consist of:
vāk - organ of speech
pānih - organ of grasp
pādah - organ of movement
pāyuh - organ of excretion
upastah - organs of reproduction
- 5 forms of energy, consist of: prāna - respiratory system
apāna - excretory system
vyāna - circulatory system
samāna - digestive system
udāna - evacuatory system
- manaś - mind, which is doubting faculty and emotional faculty. - buddhi - intellect, which is rational faculty, where the decision is made.
After these cosmic subtle elements are there, gross objects are manifested accordingly, based on those subtle instrument. In the same time the individual grossed instruments are manifested. Not just those which can be seen and touched are the ksetram anātma, but also objects in our mind and emotions like desire, aversion, pleasure, pain, cognition, fortitude, etc. are the modification of ksetra.
Now Lord Krsna answers Arjuna's question about jñānam - the qualified mind which can understand the knowledge of ksetra and ksetrajña. It should connect to following virtues:
amānitvam adambhitvam ahiṁsā kṣāntirārjavam | ācāryopāsanaṁ śaucaṁ sthairyam ātmavinigrahaḥ ||13.7|| Absence of conceit, absence of pretension, not hurting, accommodation, straightforwardness, service to the teacher, cleanliness, steadfastness, mastery over the mind...
amānitvam - absence of self-praise, not making his/her virtues known to others and not demands to be respected. Wanting recognition is very common and there is some legitimacy to it. If one has some qualification, it is good for it to be recognised. The problem comes in demanding that recognition. Why should one demand that anybody acknowledge one's accomplishment? It is because one doesn't think he/she really accomplished. Though objectively one knows what one has accomplished, but underneath there is a feeling of lack. There is a piece of lacking which is carried over from the childhood, which is caused by criticism from parents, teachers, or anything which impaired the development of a healthy self-esteem. With a low self-esteem, it is very difficult for one to acknowledge one's worth, and need others for this acknowledgment. If one analyses it, no matter what kind of lacking on this body, it is only anātma, the essential nature of ātmā - self is sat-cit-ānanda, nothing is superior to that. Everything else is anātmā including all accomplishments.
adambhitvam - not declaring one's own glories that one doesn't have. Unlike mānitvam, dambhitvam is demanding to be respected without any ground. This problem will also be resolved only by acceptance of oneself. ahimsā - not hurting living beings. This begins with our own body and extends to all living beings, even plants and the planet. It is a difficult value to observe because it requires a great deal of understanding. It is a very dynamic word which can be interpreted differently in different time and situation, but the basic spirit has to be very clearly understood. Do not hurt another being for my own sake deliberately. Ahimsā is an appreciation of others' pain that gives us a profound respect for life and allows us to let other living beings live as they were meant to. We live and enjoy others living. Then we will find that ahimsā is very simple.
ksāntih - accommodation, with absent of reaction. We are not trying to suppress anger but look into how we can pass the reaction and take appropriate action. This is possible when one has understanding of other's background which prompted him/her to act in certain way. We are not trying to validate a wrong action, but we do not react on it, try to understand the background for this action, then we will act appropriately toward it. ārjavam - straight-forwardness, when there is an alignment of thought, word and deed. The action is in keeping with the words and the words with the thought. This alignment is important because with it there is freedom from inner conflict.
continue...
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