16 verses
The brāhmaṇa (Jaòa Bharata) said: Though unlearned, you are speaking words of the learned. You are not the best among the learned. The wise do not speak of the material world by discerning it to be the truth.
Discussions on the absolute truth, which are devoid of violence and passion, do not generally arise in Vedic statements filled predominantly with knowledge about proliferation of householders sacrifices.
But the Mīmāṁsakas do not consider anything except attainment of Svarga as the goal of life. Thus what is the use of discussing the truth? That is true. Talking about the highest truth is not for the ignorant who are unqualified. That is explained in this verse. Just as spiritual discussion does not arise in daily mundane activities which give visible results, so spiritual discussion certainly (nu) does not arise in Vedic statements manifesting prominently as a proliferation of sacrifices related to household life, with unseen results known as karma. Why? Spiritual discussions are pure, without violence (śuddhaḥ) and without passion (sādhuḥ). They are different from discussions of Svarga. Spiritual discussions do not generally (prāyeṇa) arise in these statements. However by performing those activities of the Vedas without desire for results and offering them to the Lord and by knowledge and detachment, one can reach the spiritual platform.
The man who cannot infer the inferiority of household life, whose happiness is just like dream, cannot have access to Vedānta for understanding the highest truth.
But is it not impudent to say that you have a method of giving the karmīs the truth, but then saying that you will not teach them? The words of the Vedānta are not at all suitable (samāsan) for all men, though those words are best for directly understanding the highest truth. As in a dream which is momentary and false, these same men do not, on their own, infer the inferiority of the happiness of household life. The happiness of the karmīs is temporary, meager, and related to material objects. Thus the ātmā does not have a relationship with this material happiness. This happiness is false for the ātmā, like horns on a rabbit. The happiness of the jñānī however is eternal, not temporary, since it is related to Brahman. There is great difference between the two. This is the usage of giving out the highest truth.
As long as a mans mind is bound up by rajas, sattva or tamas, the mind, like an uncontrolled mad elephant, continues to engage that person in dharma or adharma using the knowledge senses and action senses.
Why is it that generally, even though enlightened by the devotees, all men engage in material happiness? As long as mind is bound by rajas, sattva or tamas, the mind like an uncontrolled mad elephant, engages a saintly person in dharma (kuśalam) or adharma (itaram), by the knowledge senses (cetobhiḥ) and the actions senses (ākūtibhiḥ). By force, the mind with its guṇas, destroying discrimination, engages in pious or sinful actions. What fault is there in the human being for this?
The mind, the chief among the sixteen elements, endowed with pious and sinful impressions, attached to sense objects, agitated by the guṇas, transformed by emotions, and supporting different forms through acceptance of different bodies, extends itself higher and lower positions with different names.
The mind (ātmā) endowed with impressions of piety and sin, contaminated with sense objects, agitated by the guṇas, transformed by the lust and other emotions, the chief element among the sixteen, accepting different forms such as devatā, animal or human, higher or lower, through bodies (puraiḥ), manifests itself with various names. The sandhi should be nāmabhī rupa-bhedam. The short form nāmabhi is poetic license.
The mind, the cause of deception in the repetition of birth and death, the covering on the jīva made by māyā, by embracing the jīva creates unavoidable distress, happiness, and illusion in the course of time.
The mind creates suitable results. The mind creates distress, happiness, illusion, which are unavoidable (tīvram). How can something material create anything? Embracing the jīva (sva-dehinam), which is the cause, the mind (antarātmā), a covering on the jīva, creates. The mind causes deception in the wheel of rebirth (saṁsṛti-cakra-kūṭaḥ). Similarly grāma-kūṭaka means the village cheater.
Saṁsāra, created by the mind, manifested as the practical, material world, with waking and dream states, constantly witnessed by the knower of the field. They say that the mind is the cause of bondage and liberation, which are known as the inferior and superior states of existence.
Saṁsāra caused by the mind is called the practical material world. In this way the material world makes its appearance (āviḥ), always seen by the knower of the field, in waking and dreaming states (sthūla-sūkṣmaḥ). The happiness of the self, which is called truth, is caused by the mind. Therefore that mind alone is the cause (liḍgam) of saṁsāra (guṇa) and liberation (aguṇatvasya), which are low (avarasya) and high (para) conditions for the jīva. The order of the two words para and avara should be reversed to correspond to guṇa and aguṇatvasya.
When the mind is attached to the guṇas it is the cause of the jīvas suffering and when the mind is detached from the guṇas it is the cause of liberation. Just as the lamp with a charred wick displays a smoky flame and with a fresh wick displays a bright flame, the mind bound by the guṇas takes shelter of many conditions, and at another time, enjoys the taste of the Lords sweetness.
How can the one mind be the cause of differing conditions--bondage and liberation? Nairguṇyam means nirguṇam. A lamp with a burned up ghee wick, burns with a smoky flame, and at another time, gets extinguished and merges with the elements (svapadam). Or a lamp with a burned up ghee wick burns with a smoky flame but when fed on golden ghee, it burns without smoke in its brilliant form (svapadam). Similarly the mind, bound by the guṇas, takes shelter of many functions (vṛrtīḥ), but at another time, obtains a taste of the Lords sweetness (tattvam).
The eleven functions of the mind are the five knowledge senses, the five action senses and the ahaḍkāra. O King! They say that there are eleven objects for these senses: the five tan-mātras, the actions of the five action senses and the body.
This verse shows the conditions or vṛttis of the mind. There are eleven vṛttis: five actions senses (ākūtayaḥ), five knowledge senses (dhiyaḥ) and ahaḍkāra (abhimānaḥ). For these eleven there are eleven objects, of hero of knowledge (vīra)! The tan-mātras are the sense objects of the five knowledge senses. Actions such as elimination are the sense objects of the five action senses. The body (puram), house etc. are the objects of the ahaḍkāra.
The eleven objects are fragrance, form, touch, taste and sound; evacuating, sexual intercourse, motion, speaking, and grasping; and possessiveness of objects. Some say the twelfth object is the body, identified as I by the ahaḍkāra.
This verse describes the objects. First the five tan-mātras starting with fragrance are described in relation to the knowledge senses starting with the nose. Ākṛṭi means form. The actions starting with evacuation are the objects of the five action senses. This makes ten. Arti means going. The eleventh item is the body, what is accepted (svikaraṇam). Because of ahaḍkāras twofold nature of mine and I, some ācāryas (eke) say that the eleventh object is possessiveness of things like a house. The twelfth object is the identification with the body (śayyām) for the ahaḍkāra.
Because of the variations in materials, natures, antaḥkaraṇa, karma and time, the eleven transformations of the mind become hundreds, thousands and millions. They become unlimited, not by themselves or their combined strength, but by the power of the Paramātmā.
There are unlimited varieties of these functions of the mind by subdivision. The transformations of the functions first become hundreds and then thousands, hundreds of thousands and millions by divisions of the material objects. Because of the infinite number of material objects such as sandalwood, musk, kuṁkuma, gold, silver and coral etc., because of the infinite number of natures--one person may enjoy a certain fragrance etc., because of the good or bad nature of the antaḥkaraṇa, because of control by karma and the control by time in the form of agebaby, youth etc.--there are unlimited varieties of a single function such as fragrance. Not by themselves and not by their combination, but because the Paramātmā has unlimited power, these functions become unlimited in number.
The liberated jīva, free of saṁsāra, impartially sees the transformations of the covering on the jīva known as the mind, which performs actions opposed to the Lord and which is made of māyā. , These transformations are without beginning, sometimes visible and sometimes invisible.
The knower of the field is twofold: the Paramātmā and the jīva. The Paramātmā was mentioned in the previous verse and will be explained in the next verse. The jīva is of two types: conditioned and liberated. The conditioned jīva was describes as being embraced by the mind and thinking he is the body in verse 6. The liberated jīva is not embraced by the mind and has no false conception of his body. The conditioned jīva has been understood. What is the liberated jīva? The liberated jīva, knower of the field, knows (vicaṣṭe) the transformations of the mind, but does not identify with them and enjoy them. It is thus free of saṁsāra (śuddhaḥ), whereas the conditioned jīva is bound by saṁsāra. The mind is the covering on the jīva (jīvasya) because it is made of māyā and performs impure actions which are against recognition of the Lord. The transformations of the mind have been present with the jīva without beginning (nityāḥ). Why are they not visible at all times then? They are manifested during waking and dream state, and invisible during deep sleep and at the time if universal devastation.
yathānilaḥ sthāvara-jaḍgamānām ātma-svarūpeṇa niviṣṭa īśet evaṁ paro bhagavān vāsudevaḥ kṣetrajña ātmedam anupraviṣṭaḥ
The Supreme Lord is the knower of all bodies, is all pervasive, has a human form, is the cause of the universe, is self-revealing, is without material birth and is Lord of all others. He is Mahā-viṣṇu, the Lord of Vaikuṇṭha and the master of Mathurā and Dvārakā. He is the object of meditation for the liberated jīvas, by his mercy.
Just as the air enters all moving and stationary beings as prāṇa and controls them, the Supreme Lord Vāsudeva, the knower of all bodies, pervading everywhere, enters this universe.
The conditioned jīva absorbs himself in the conventional world of saṁsāra. In what does the liberated jīva absorb himself? In this verse the knower of the field refers to the Paramātmā, who knows all bodies completely. He pervades everywhere (ātmā), is the cause of the universe (purāṇaḥ), has the form of a human, is self-revealing (svayaṁjyotiḥ), devoid of material birth (ajaḥ), is the Lord of all others such as Brahmā (pareśaḥ), lies on the Kāraṇa Ocean (nārāyaṇaḥ), is full of six powers (bhagavān) as the Lord of Vaikuṇṭha, is the son of Vasudeva, the master of Mathurā and Dvārakā, and is the object of the mind for the liberated jīva, since he is completely free of māyā (su amāyayā), or he is the object of meditation for the liberated jīva, because of his svarūpa śakti or his mercy.
The Lord is easily attained by the liberated jīva. An example is given. Just as the air, in the form of prāṇa (ātma-svarūpena) enters all beings and controls them (īśet), so the Lord enters this universe (idam).
As long as the jīva does not know the truth about the Lord, after having destroyed māyā, and is not freed of ignorance by appearance of knowledge, he must wander in this world.
It has been said that the liberated jiva free from ignorance eternally has knowledge in the form of thinking of the Lord. The jīvas subjected to ignorance however must perform sādhana to become free of ignorance. As long as one does not know the truth about ātmā, after destroying māyā, and is not free of material association by the appearance of knowledge of the Lord (vayunā udayena), he will wander in this world.
As long as the mind, the field of suffering in the material world, the cause of lamentation, illusion, disease, attachment, greed and enmity, and the covering on the jīva, has possessiveness of sense objects, it will not know about the Lord.
How does one know perfectly that māyā is removed? As long as the mind is attached to sense objects, there will be no knowledge of ātmā or removal of ignorance. That is stated in this verse. As long as the mind, the covering on the ātmā (ātma-liḍgam), has possessiveness, it will not know about ātmā. (The last phrase is understood from the previous verse.) The mind is the field for suffering in the material world. The suffering is described. The mind is the field from which arise lamentation, illusion, disease, attachment and greed. The mind takes shelter of such things. Verse 8 mentioned that the mind tastes tattva (the Lord). The five verses starting from verse 12 have discussed this tattva.
By neglecting this enemy of great power, which increases constantly in power, by being attentive and possessing the weapon of bhakti at the lotus feet of the Lord and the mantra given by guru, conquer this enemy, which steals the treasure of Paramātmā.
Therefore one must capture the mind. Neglecting the mind, the enemy (literally brothers son), one must attack it. By neglecting it, it is defeated. One should not praise the mind by noticing it and giving it desired enjoyment. However, the intention is not to destroy the mind completely, since the mind has already been described as the cause of elevation as well as degradation in verse 7, and as taking shelter of the Lord in the verse 8. And one should not kill ones brothers son (bhrātṛvyam). How is the mind described? It increases greatly (adhyedhitam) by taking shelter of its transformations. But how can I who am weak conquer the mind which is so strong? One should have the weapon in the form of worship of the feet of the Lord as the nine forms of bhakti and in the form of the mantra given by guru, or one should have the weapon of worship of the feet of the Lord who is the guru. The mind is not a friend (vyalīkam) because it bewilders a person by showing its transformations and steals away the form of Paramātmā (ātmā), the treasure of life. It is a great thief.
He who makes his mind give up sense objects by the weapon of bhakti, and, having destroyed ignorance, applies the mind to Kṛṣṇa is called liberated. He who nourishes ignorance filled with impressions of desire and takes shelter of the transformations of the mind, since he lacks bhakti, is called conditioned.
Thus ends the commentary on the Eleventh Chapter of the Fifth Canto of the Bhāgavatam for the pleasure of the devotees, in accordance with the previous ācāryas.
The Eleventh Chapter describes that the mind is the cause of saṁsāra, that it has many transformations, and that, by engaging it in bhakti, one can attain liberation.
You are not learned, but you speak words of objection like those of the wise. Therefore you are not the best among the very wise, since the wise do not speak of the material world and its objects with deliberation on truth, calling the objects substantial, while giving examples, since both have faults. You have given the example of the fire applied to the pot, which heats the milk, which cooks the rice. In this example there is connection of material pot with material fire. However, there is no contact of the material senses with the liberated ātmā, a spiritual particle. Thus fatigue of the body does not mean fatigue of the ātmā. Because the conditioned jīva is covered by the material body, the conditioned jīva experiences fatigue because of the fatigued body which is material. Your inference fails because you cannot say that you, the conditioned jīva, are the same as me, the liberated jīva.