|
Chapter 13. Nature,
the Enjoyer, and Consciousness
TEXT 3
ksetra-jnam capi mam viddhi
sarva-ksetresu bharata
ksetra-ksetrajnayor jnanam
yat taj jnanam matam mama
SYNONYMS
 ksetra-jnam--the
knower; ca--also; api--certainly; mam--Me; viddhi--know;
sarva--all; ksetresu--in bodily fields; bharata--O
son of Bharata; ksetra--field of activities (the body); ksetra-jnayoh--the
knower of the field; jnanam--knowledge; yat--that which is
taught; tat--that; jnanam--knowledge; matam--opinion;
mama--that.
TRANSLATION
O scion of
Bharata, you should understand that I am also the knower in all bodies,
and to understand this body and its owner is called knowledge. That is
My opinion.
PURPORT
While discussing
the subject of this body and the owner of the body, the soul and the Supersoul,
we shall find three different topics of study: the Lord, the living entity,
and matter. In every field of activities, in every body, there are two
souls: the individual soul and the Supersoul. Because the Supersoul is
the plenary expansion of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krsna, Krsna
says, "I am also the knower, but I am not the individual owner of the body.
I am the superknower. I am present in every body as the Paramatma, or Supersoul."
One who
studies the subject matter of the field of activity and the knower of the
field very minutely, in terms of this Bhagavad-gita, can attain
to knowledge.
The Lord
says: "I am the knower of the field of activities in every individual body."
The individual may be the knower of his own body, but he is not in knowledge
of other bodies. The Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is present as
the Supersoul in all bodies, knows everything about all bodies. He knows
all the different bodies of all the various species of life. A citizen
may know everything about his patch of land, but the king knows not only
his palace but all the properties possessed by the individual citizens.
Similarly, one may be the proprietor of the body individually, but the
Supreme Lord is the proprietor of all bodies. The king is the original
proprietor of the kingdom, and the citizen is the secondary proprietor.
Similarly, the Supreme Lord is the supreme proprietor of all bodies.
The body
consists of the senses. The Supreme Lord is Hrsikesa, Which means "the
controller of the senses." He is the original controller of the senses,
just as the king is the original controller of all the activities of the
state, and the citizens are secondary controllers. The Lord also says:
"I am also the knower." This means that He is the superknower; the individual
soul knows only his particular body. In the Vedic literature, it is stated
as follows:
ksetrani hi sarirani bijam capi subhasubhe
tani vetti sa yogatma tatah ksetra-jna ucyate
This body
is called the ksetra, and within it dwells the owner of the body
and the Supreme Lord who knows both the body and the owner of the body.
Therefore He is called the knower of all fields. The distinction between
the field of activities, the owner of activities and the supreme owner
of activities is described as follows. Perfect knowledge of the constitution
of the body, the constitution of the individual soul, and the constitution
of the Supersoul is known in terms of Vedic literature as jnanam.
That is the opinion of Krsna. To understand both the soul and the Supersoul
as one yet distinct is knowledge. One who does not understand the field
of activity and the knower of activity is not in perfect knowledge. One
has to understand the position of prakrti, nature, and purusa,
the enjoyer of the nature, and isvara, the knower who dominates
or controls nature and the individual soul. One should not confuse the
three in their different capacities. One should not confuse the painter,
the painting and the easel. This material world, which is the field of
activities, is nature, and the enjoyer of nature is the living entity,
and above them both is the supreme controller, the Personality of Godhead.
It is stated in the Vedic language: "bhokta bhogyam preritaram ca matva.
sarvam proktam tri vidham-brahmam etat." There are three Brahman conceptions:
prakrti is Brahman as the field of activities, and the jiva
(individual soul) is also Brahman and is trying to control material nature,
and the controller of both of them is also Brahman, but He is the factual
controller.
In this
chapter it will be also explained that out of the two knowers, one is fallible
and the other is infallible. One is superior and the other is subordinate.
One who understands the two knowers of the field to be one and the same
contradicts the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who states here very clearly,
"I am also the knower of the field of activity." One who misunderstands
a rope to be a serpent is not in knowledge. There are different kinds of
bodies, and there are different owners of the bodies. Because each individual
soul has his individual capacity of lording it over material nature, there
are different bodies. But the Supreme also is present in them as the controller.
The word ca is significant, for it indicates the total number of
bodies. That is the opinion of Srila Baladeva Vidyabhusana: Krsna is the
Supersoul present in each and every body apart from the individual soul.
And Krsna explicitly says here that the Supersoul is the controller of
both the field of activities and the finite enjoyer.
  
|
