Bhagavad Gita · 13.8 · Yoga through Distinguishing the Field and the Knower of the Field·8 of 35
अमानित्वमदम्भित्वमहिंसा क्षान्तिरार्जवम्।आचार्योपासनं शौचं स्थैर्यमात्मविनिग्रहः ॥
amānitvam adambhitvam ahinsā kṣhāntir ārjavam
āchāryopāsanaṁ śhauchaṁ sthairyam ātma-vinigrahaḥ
Sanskrit recitation
The field and the knower · 13.1–13.18 · Teaching
Translation
Humility, unpretentiousness, non-injury, forgiveness, uprightness, service to the teacher, purity, steadfastness, and self-control.
Meaning
These are the alities that constitute wisdom or lead to wisdom. These are the attributes of the man whose mind is turned towards the inner wisdom. If these characteristics are seen in a man in their entirety, you can infer that the knowledge of the Self has dawned in him.Humility It is the negation of vanity. It is absence of selfesteem or selfpraise. The basis of pride is the consciousness of possessing something (wealth, knowledge, strength, beauty and virtuous alities) in a larger measure than others. A proud man possesses at least something but a man of vanity possesses nothing and yet he thinks he is superior to others. Vanity is exaggerated pride. A humble man dislikes respect, honour and praise. He shuns fame and distinction. He never shows his knowledge, ability, prowess, etc. He never praises himself.Absence of hypocrisy Hypocrisy is the desire to appear what one is not. A Sannyasi has some virtues and a little theoretical knowledge derived from books. He pretends to be a liberated sage. This is religious hypocrisy. A man in whom this is absent is simple and modest. He never advertises his own virtuous alities in order to get respect, name and worship from others. He will never disclose any meritorious or charitable act done by him. He is free from pedantry
After Swami Sivananda
The field and the knower· 13.1–13.18→
Teachers usually read this idea across several verses together, one shared reflection covers the whole unit.
- 13.1Arjuna said, "I wish to learn about Nature and the Spirit, the field and the knower of the field, knowledge and that which ought to be known, O Kesava."
- 13.2The Blessed Lord said, "O Arjuna, this body is called the field; he who knows it is called the knower of the field by those who know them."
- 13.3Do thou also know Me as the knower of the field in all fields, O Arjuna. Knowledge of both the field and the knower of the field is considered by Me to be the knowledge.
- 13.4Hear from Me in brief what the field is, of what nature it is, what its modifications are, whence it is, who He is, and what His powers are.
- 13.5Sages have sung in many ways, with various distinctive chants and also with suggestive words indicative of the Absolute, full of reasoning and decisive.
- 13.6The great elements, egoism, intellect, and also the Unmanifested Nature, the ten senses, and one mind, and the five objects of the senses.
- 13.7Desire, hatred, pleasure, pain, the aggregate (body), intelligence, and fortitude—the field has thus been briefly described with its modifications.
13.8Humility, unpretentiousness, non-injury, forgiveness, uprightness, service to the teacher, purity, steadfastness, and self-control.
- 13.9Indifference to the objects of the senses and also absence of egoism; perceiving the evil in birth, death, old age, sickness, and pain.
- 13.10Non-attachment, non-identification of the Self with son, wife, home, and the rest, and constant even-mindedness in the face of the attainment of both desirable and undesirable.
- 13.11Unswerving devotion to Me through the Yoga of non-separation, resorting to solitary places, and a distaste for the company of people.
- 13.12Constancy in Self-knowledge, the perception of the end of true knowledge—this is declared to be knowledge, and what is opposed to it is ignorance.
- 13.13I will declare that which is to be known, knowing which one attains immortality; the beginningless Supreme Brahman, which is neither being nor non-being.
- 13.14With hands and feet everywhere, with eyes, heads, and mouths everywhere, with ears everywhere, He exists in the worlds, enveloping all.
- 13.15Shining by the functions of all the senses, yet without being attached to them; unattached, yet supporting all; devoid of qualities, yet the experiencer of them.
- 13.16It is within and without all beings, both the unmoving and the moving; It is subtle and unknowable, and It is near and far away.
- 13.17Undivided yet, It exists as if divided in beings; It is to be known as the supporter of beings; It devours and It generates.
- 13.18That Light of all lights is said to be beyond darkness: knowledge, the knowable, and the goal of knowledge, seated in the hearts of all.
Word-by-word→
- ahinsā
- non-violence
- ārjavam
- simplicity
- sthairyam
- steadfastness
- śhaucham
- cleanliness of body and mind
- amānitvam
- humbleness
- adambhitvam
- freedom from hypocrisy
- kṣhāntiḥ
- forgiveness
- ātma-vinigrahaḥ
- self-control
- āchārya-upāsanam
- service of the Guru
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