Originally Posted by
yajvan
hariḥ oṁ
~~~~~~
namast
I think you (brahman) make excellent points...
It is my view and opinion that the pinnicle śloka for the foundation knowledge in the bhāgavad gītā is predicated on the following (chapter 2 , 12th śloka):
there never was a time when I was not, nor you, nor these rulers of men; nor will there ever be a time when all ( of us) will cease to be.
This one verse is the wisdom of the ages. It sets the tone for the the remainder of this most noble śāstra; it allows kṛṣṇa-jī to bring out the full teaching of truth based upon this one unbounded principle of one's real status.
iti śivaṁ
Dear Yajvan,
THERE is no disagreement in choosing verse
2:12 as the meridian of wisdom with the aim of readying ourselves attuned for the purpose of self realization.
Our POV in more purified non-dualistic parlance
Every single chapter of the Bhagavad Gita is named after the word Yoga, which is not the yoga that is suffixed to Hatha, Raja , Nada etc. as it is more usually expressed in modern parlance.
Yoga is conceived in a wider sense in the Gita. Yoga literally means union. It is etymologically related to the English termto yoke. The Bhagavad Gita employs a type of reasoning which is more dialectical than linear or inferential. Dialectical reasoning in Sanskrit is called
Yoga Mimaamsa.
The Sat and Bhava are so interlaced in yoga that they cannot be dualistically separated is already seen the verse 16 of the Second chapter.
Sat and Bhava
In general,
Sat of Vedanta, is meant to represent the Absolute, which is Sat, Cit and Ananda at once.
When the Absolute is considered as Sat(general), its manifested forms in the impersonal sense are called
Bhava.
Sat, Cit and Ananda, in the personal experiential sense are termed as
Asti,
Bhati and
Priya respectively.
Significance of Asti, Bhati, Priya in chapter2 (from 2:12- 2:14)
The Asti(sat) aspect of the absolute in verse 12.
Sat(existence) is experienced by each person as our own experience of existence called Asti.
2:12 Further, never was I non-existent, nor you nor these chiefs
of men; neither shall we, all of us, ever cease becoming
hereafter.
The Bhati(cit) aspect of the Absolute in verse 13.
Cit (consciousness) is experienced as the bright functional facets of ones own mind called Bhati.
2:13 As there is here in the body for the embodied, childhood,
youth, old age, so also the passing on to another body
in the same manner; those firm in mind are not thereby
bewildered.
The Priya(Ananda) aspect of the absolute in verse 14.
Ananda(Value sense) becomes actual in life as ones likes and dislikes as Priya.
2:14 Momentary sense contacts on the other hand, 0 Kaunteya
(Arjuna), yielding cold-warmth, joy-pain, alternately
coming and going, are transitory. Do you endure them, 0
Bharata (Arjuna).
Verse 15 makes one qualifying for immortality.
2:15 That man indeed of firm mind who is unaffected by these, 0
Best of Men (Arjuna), equal-minded in joy as well as pain,
he is destined for immortality.
The Secret is being declared as fact in the verse 16
What is unreal (asat) cannot have being (bhava), and non-being (abhava) cannot be real (sat); the conclusion in regard to both these has been known to Seers of Reality.
(see previous post)
Conclusion
In our observation, we understand that, Sri. Vyasa is making a firm ground for teaching wisdom, right from the 12th verse itself to revealing the secret of Yoga (as stated above) in the 16th verse. Love
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