Darshana: A Study of BG 13.25-35

(written on August 13, 2019)

Verse 23:

Translation: Yet in this body there is another, a transcendental enjoyer, who is the Lord, the supreme proprietor, who exists as the overseer and permitter, and who is known as the Supersoul.

• The Supersoul is the representation of the Supreme Lord in the body

• It is important to understand the difference between the individual soul and the Supersoul:

  • The individual soul is called jivatma, the living being

  • Supersoul is paramatma, and in this word the prefix para is important because it is what differentiates the individual soul and the Supersoul

    • Para means transcendental

  • The Supersoul is completely transcendental

• In this verse the word bhokta is also important. The living entity is bhukta, or the enjoyed, and the Supersoul is bhokta or the enjoyer

• However, even though eternally the soul and the Supersoul are very intimately related, the individual soul has the tendency to reject the authority of the Supersoul and act independently

  • This is why we are called the marginal energies of Krishna

  • Due to our rejection of Krishna, He is constantly instructing us from within as the Supersoul and from outside

Key Point: Krishna exists in us as the Supersoul, yet is different from the individual soul because he oversees and maintains the individual soul and is para, or transcendental.

Verse 24:

Translation: One who understands this philosophy concerning material nature, the living entity and the interaction of the modes of nature is sure to attain liberation. He will not take birth here again, regardless of his present position.

• There are four things that people must understand in order to gain liberation:

  • The material nature

  • The individual soul (jivatma)

  • The Supersoul (Paramatma)

  • The interrelation between the above mentioned

• This is actually real philosophy

  • The English the word philosophy comes from the Greek word philos which means the love of the truth

  • However, in Sanskrit, the word for philosophy is darshana and the definition of darshana is how to see correctly

• In the next few verses, we will understand the essence of philosophy, or how to see properly

Key Point: We must understand Supersoul, individual soul, material nature, and the relationships between those three things.

Verse 25:

Translation: Some perceive the Supersoul within themselves through meditation, others through the cultivation of knowledge, and still others through working without fruitive desires.

• This verse is explaining some of the ways that people perceive the Supersoul within them:

  • By meditation

  • By the cultivation of knowledge

  • By working without fruitive desires

• These are some of the means in which people can reach spiritual understanding and can attain spiritual understanding

Key Point: Meditation, cultivation of knowledge, and working without the desire for outcomes are some ways to achieve liberation.

Verse 26:

Translation: Again there are those who, although not conversant in spiritual knowledge, begin to worship the Supreme Person upon hearing about Him from others. Because of their tendency to hear from authorities, they also transcend the path of birth and death.

• This verse explains the best was that we can get liberated: to worship the Supreme Personality by hearing about him from bonafide devotees

• This is not dry philosophy where we only read books and try to speculate

• Instead we try to hear and then we apply by…

  • Chanting

  • Taking prasadam

  • Doing service, etc.

• Especially in the modern society, one has a higher chance of advancement by hearing only

  • Especially if one hears the mahamantra: Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare they will get spiritual advancement

  • Chaitanya Mahaprabhu said that people should give up spiritual advancement by speculative reasoning and should instead take the path of learning from those who are already situated in the knowledge of the Supreme Lord

Key Point: The best way to understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead is by listening attentively to the Supreme Person and worshipping Him in the form of chanting, eating prasadam, and doing service. By this, one will transcend the cycle of birth and death.

Verse 27:

Translation: O chief of the Bhāratas, know that whatever you see in existence, both the moving and the nonmoving, is only a combination of the field of activities and the knower of the field.

• Whatever is seen is a combination of the knower and the known

  • 13th chapter of Bhagavad Gita is understanding that there are two knowers of the known

  • These two knowers are the soul and the Supersoul

  • The Supersoul knows everything about the field of activities

  • The individual soul knows only a limited amount about the field of activities

• Even though the word used is “combination,” the soul cannot actually be a combination with the body, so actually the combination means that the soul is covered by the body

Key Point: There are two knowers of the field of activities: the individual soul and the Supersoul.

Verses 28-35:

These 8 verses cover the specific points we must understand in order to see correctly. One who actually sees understands that...

1. The Supersoul accompanies the individual soul in all bodies and that the body is destructible but the individual soul and Supersoul are eternal.

2. The Supersoul is equally present everywhere in all living entities.

3. All activities are performed by the body which is created of material nature and the self (soul) actually does nothing.

4. One must not see different identities due to different material bodies and must understand how beings are expanded everywhere.

5. The soul is transcendental, eternal, and is beyond the modes of material nature. (even though it is in contact with the material body, the soul neither does anything, nor is entangled).

6. The soul which is situated in Brahman vision does not mix with the body despite being situated in the body.

7. The soul illuminates the body by consciousness (not matter).

Conclusion: Those who understand real philosophy, the difference between the body and the two knowers of the body, ultimately can understand the process of liberation and attain the supreme goal.