Bhagavad Gita · 13.25 · Yoga through Distinguishing the Field and the Knower of the Field·25 of 35
ध्यानेनात्मनि पश्यन्ति केचिदात्मानमात्मना।अन्ये सांख्येन योगेन कर्मयोगेन चापरे ॥
dhyānenātmani paśhyanti kechid ātmānam
ātmanā anye sānkhyena yogena karma-yogena chāpare
Sanskrit recitation
Matter, spirit, and freedom · 13.19–13.35 · Teaching
Translation
Some behold the Self within themselves through meditation, others through the Yoga of knowledge, and still others through the Yoga of action.
Meaning
There are severla paths to reach the knowledge of the Self according to the nature or temperament and capacity of the individual. The first path is the Yoga of meditation taught by Maharshi Patanjali. The Raja Yogins behold the Supreme Self in the self (Buddhi) by the self (purified mind). Meditation is a continous and unbroken flow of thought of the Self like the flow of oil from one vessel to another. Through concentration hearing and the other senses are withdrawn into the mind. The senses are not allowed to run towards their respective sensual objects. They are kept under proper check and control through the process of abstraction. Then the mind itself is made to abide in the Self through constant meditation on the Self. The mind is refined or purified by meditation. The mind that is rendered pure will naturally move towards the Self. It is not attracted by nor is it attached to the sensual objects.Sankhya Yoga is Jnana Yoga. The aspirant does Vichara (analysis, reflection) and separates himself from the three alities of Nature, the three bodies and the five sheaths and identifies himself with the witness (Self). He thinks and feels, I am distinct from the three alities. I am the silent witness. I am unattached. I am nondoer. I am nonenjoyer
After Swami Sivananda
Matter, spirit, and freedom· 13.19–13.35→
Teachers usually read this idea across several verses together, one shared reflection covers the whole unit.
- 13.19Thus, the field, as well as knowledge and the knowable, have been briefly stated. My devotee, knowing this, enters into My being.
- 13.20Know that Nature (matter) and the Spirit are both beginningless, and know also that all modifications and qualities are born from Nature.
- 13.21In the production of the effect and the cause, Nature (matter) is said to be the cause; in the experience of pleasure and pain, the soul is said to be the one responsible.
- 13.22The soul seated in Nature experiences the qualities born of Nature; attachment to the qualities is the cause of its birth in good and evil wombs.
- 13.23The Supreme Soul in this body is also called the observer, the permitter, the sustainer, the enjoyer, the great Lord, and the Supreme Self.
- 13.24He who thus knows the Spirit and Matter together with their qualities, in whatever condition he may be, he is not reborn.
13.25Some behold the Self within themselves through meditation, others through the Yoga of knowledge, and still others through the Yoga of action.
- 13.26Others, too, who do not know thus, worship, having heard of It from others; they, too, cross beyond death, regarding what they have heard as the supreme refuge.
- 13.27Wherever a being is born, whether unmoving or moving, know thou, O best of the Bharatas (Arjuna), that it is from the union of the field and its knower.
- 13.28He who sees the Supreme Lord existing truly in all beings, the imperishable within the perishable, sees indeed.
- 13.29For he who truly sees the same Lord dwelling everywhere does not destroy the Self by the self; rather, he attains the highest goal.
- 13.30He sees, who sees that all actions are performed solely by Nature and that the Self is without action.
- 13.31When a person sees all beings as resting in the One and emanating from the One alone, they then become Brahman.
- 13.32Being without beginning, devoid of any qualities, the Supreme Self, imperishable, though dwelling in the body, O Arjuna, neither acts nor is tainted.
- 13.33As the all-pervading ether is not tainted, due to its subtlety, so the Self seated everywhere in the body is not tainted either.
- 13.34Just as the one sun illuminates the entire world, so too does the Lord of the field (Supreme Self) illuminate the entire field, O Arjuna.
- 13.35They who, by the eye of knowledge, perceive the distinction between the field and its knower, as well as the liberation from the Nature of being, go to the Supreme.
Word-by-word→
- cha
- and
- anye
- others
- apare
- others
- kechit
- some
- yogena
- the yog system
- ātmani
- within one’s heart
- ātmanā
- by the mind
- dhyānena
- through meditation
- ātmānam
- the Supreme soul
- paśhyanti
- percieve
- sānkhyena
- through cultivation of knowledge
- karma-yogena
- union with God with through path of action
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