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RE: My dream is coming true: regarding gita: thanks to SMS Chari

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Krishna Kashyap • April 3, 2002 


Dear Krishna K and others,

I will write about this in detail later due to work load. in short

1. as Marten gansten points out = 15th chapter clearly makes akshara as jiva
different from kshara and paramatman.
2. first 6 chapters refer to jivatma upasana and not paramatma upasana.
Intuitively any person perceives in this world two different things = I and
the world. similarly that person infers that others are different I's. Hence
upasana on jiva is quite fine. in fact the line of thought in the first 6
chapters makes more sense as jivatma upasana. again, detailed analysis is
needed. for example the chapter 2 - indicates dehi nityam avadhyoyam. etc.
hence stitha prajna as a contemplative person on soul is more intuitively
correct. there is no major paramatmopasana indicated in first 5 chapters.

3 sarvatraga - the portion ga in this indicates movement ie. has gone
everywhere. Hence understading this term as jiva tatva or jiva principle is
fine.  for example, we speak = brain in every human being is the center of
nervous system or something like that, even though brain of each individual
is distinctly different from one another. it means brain tattva or brain
principle. even in the svetasvetara - valagra shata bhagasya ..... jeeva
bhagah sa vijneyah sa cha ananthyaya kalpate - indicates jiva's
dharmabhutajnana potentially can become all pervading in the moksha state.
Hence the sarvatraga can be taken differently also. there is this svarupa
issue which is anu but jiva principle has gone to infinite number of bodies
considering devas etc.

4. making lakshmi as akshara though wordwise valid since lakshmi is
imperishable like any jiva or  even for that matter root prakriti principle
is fine.  However in the context lakshmi upasana being hard is a difficult
sell and does not seem to the subject of gita at all. Moreover, akshara as
jiva is explained in several chapters 1-12 referring often to indriyas and
body indicating it as the jiva principle seems more valid in the context.
note that jiva upasana is done only by the help of Krishna as indicated in
macchitta, matparah etc. it is very obvious in our experience also that the
'I' principle is more immediately available for our experience than the God.

5. in advaita case, akshara is taken as nirguna bramhan which is not an
object of meditation at all even as per advaita. here there has to be some
text torturing to get the meaning straight as upasana on Krishna is greater
than upasana on akshara. Moreover saguna nirguna differentiation is not
directly indicated in gita. maya concept as unreal is also not at all
indicated. hence imposing such ideas on a mainly theistic work is an issue.

Dr. SMS chari has gone deeper into this issue in his book.

6. As Regards to Prabhupada, the line of thought that atma in the first 6
chapters refer to God seems to be taken from the Madhva sampradaya, even
though he does not take everything from that system. if you refer to
baladeva vidya bhusana's govinda bhasya, a chaitanya sampradaya work, it is
is clear that there is similarity with both Madhva and Ramanuja systems.

when I get a chance I will have present some deeper insights into this
issue.

Krishna Kashyap




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