Commentary introduction to Chapter 18

Hail ye, Pure Holy God, all-auspicious to your devotees,—the strong wind dispelling the clouds in the form of birth and old age. Hail ye, Oh Powerful God, destroyer of all that is inauspicious, and giver of the fruit of the tree in the form of the Vedic Scriptures. Hail ye, O God, All in all—you who are kind to those that you are separated from (i.e. that have discarded) all the sense-objects—you, who control the display of time (Kala) and are above all modifications (the arts): Hail ye, Oh God, you, who are steady, yet appear corpulent (big) having drunk the fickle mind.

You expand this universe, and pervading it through and through love to sport in it: Hail ye, Oh God, you, who are incomprehensible (niṣkala), saturated with the thrilling and intense joy (of self-bliss), who are the perpetual destroyer of all the faults and sins, and the principal support of the world; Hail ye, Oh God, you are self-illumining, the sky giving shelter to the clouds in the form of the worlds, the primal pillar on which is erected the world creation, and the destroyer of the mundane existence: Hail ye, Oh God, you, who are perfectly pure-the elephant destroyer of the garden (not only of Nescience but also) of knowledge, the conqueror of passions (lit. of the intoxication caused by Cupid) through tranquillity and self-restraint (śamadama), you are the very ocean of kindness: Hail ye, Oh God, you, who are the All, One and Single, defiant at the conceit of the serpent in the form of the God of Love (madana), as also the lamp giving light to the temple in the form of the heart of your devotees.

You are also the redresser of their troubles: Hail ye, Oh God, you are simply unique, loving only those that have reached perfection (in point of mental peace). You are under the sway of your devotees, knowable only through devotion, but a mystery to the deluded: Hail ye, Oh God, in the form of the preceptor, you are the very ‘Kalpataru’ (an imaginary tree yielding all desired objects) tree itself, with this difference that you yield fruit beyond one’s imagination. You are the fertile soil in which blossoms forth the germinated seed of the tree of knowledge (of the Self).

In how many ways should I compose your songs, grouping words in diverse systems in praise of you, whose speciality can neither be known nor uttered in words. Whatever adjectives I (may) use (to describe your speciality), they do not (adequately) represent your true aspect; and when I realize this, I feel ashamed in regard to such descriptions.

The sea is said to have its limits; but this fame of it lasts only so long as there has not arisen the Moon. The Moon-stone (somakānta) does not, of its own accord, offer oblations (adhyadāna) to the Moon of water oozing out of itself; but it is the Moon that makes the moon-stone ooze. At the advent of Spring the trees automatically get new foliage; but they themselves do not know of it; or the lotus never feels in any way shy but gets fully blown open as soon as the morning sun’s rays touch it; or the salt does not sustain its (crystal) form but gets dissolved as soon as water touches it. In that way, I entirely forget myself at your remembrance (Oh you preceptor) as one gets suffocated through eructation after an over-full meal. You have reduced me to such a stage by scattering away my ‘I-ness’ to the winds and have made my tongue mad with the singing of your praise. Were I to sing your praise, maintaining my individual consciousness, it would be vitiated by the (false) distinction such as ‘the quality’ itself and the ‘one qualified.’

As a matter of fact you are the one single (Supreme), Self, and how could I make any distinction such as ‘quality’ and the ‘one qualified’ in you? Is it advisable to cut into two halves a pearl and then rejoin them, or to keep the pearl intact as it is? It would not amount to your praise, were I to call you my father and mother, since that would be wrongly imposing on you the attribute in the form of possessing a child. Were I to hold myself as your servant, that would be fraught with the attribute of preceptorship; how can I sing your praise by using that unworthy (state) attribute? Were I to name you ‘the all-abiding soul,’ it would mean expelling you out from my interior. I thus see no scope in this world to praise you properly; you do not permit yourself to be decorated with any sort of ornament, but one of utter silence (on our part).

(Thus) Silence constitutes your praise, doing no action is your worship, and getting merged in you after negating one’s personality means real association with you. Therefore, whatever the praise of you, the infatuation of love for you forces itself out from me (my mouth) should all be borne by you (patiently), since you are the very mother (in the form of) kindness. Now you should put a firm seal in the form of the Gita teachings on my expansive talk, that would please the minds of the righteous hearers.”

At this, Shri Nivrittinath [Nivritti Natha] said, “No need of this repetition. Is it necessary to rub the ‘Paris’ against iron over and over again?”

On this Jnaneshwar [Jnaneshvara] said, “This is the boon I have been seeking. Now O God, do attend to the composition (grantha). This (Chapter) is the very pinnacle (śikhara) constructed of Chintamani stones (citāmaṇī [cintāmaṇi])—Heavenly gem supposed to yield to its possessor everything wanted) in the form of interpretations of the Gita-temple, studded with gems which will guide you to have direct vision of the Gita-teachings. The top (of the temple) is ordinarily discerned from a distance, and with its vision, God himself (inside the temple) is taken as viewed. The same parallel holds good in regard to this, since the reading of this Chapter alone, brings within purview the entire Gita teachings. And for this very reason I say that the Sage Badarayana—Vyasa—has made this Chapter to top (as the pinnacle) the Gita-temple. With the erection of the top, there remains no further (construction) work and this has been made plain from the epilogue (of the Gita) added at the conclusion of this Chapter.

The Sage Vyasa naturally a great and skilful architect (sūtrakāra) excavated (a quarry in) the rocky plain in the form of the Upanishads, on the mountain of the gems in the form of the Vedas. From this excavation became available an unlimited supply of rubble in the form of the three objects of Life (trivarga)—dharma(Religion), artha(Riches), kāma (Passion)—with which he built up a big fortification around (the rocky plain) in the form of the Mahabharata, the great and famous Epic. The rocky plain in the form of the Knowledge of the Self, inside the fortification, was then (levelled up and) swept clean and clear with great skill in the form of the dialogue between Partha and Lord Krishna. Then releasing (stretching) the rope in the form of asceticism and taking the help of other Scriptures, he (made a survey and) drew lines and fixed up the lay-out of the Temple of Salvation. Built thus on the cleared ground, the temple structure was completed with 15 layers in the form of 15 Chapters.

Chapter xvi provided a dome (for fixing in the top the suspended temple bell) while Chapter xvii provided the frame-work for basing the pinnacle on. Next (came) Chapter xviii the pinnacle fixed on the basic frame, over which remains hoisted Sage Vyasa’s flag in the form of the Gita.

Therefore, all the previous Chapters constitute (as it were) the forms of storeys (layers) raised one over the other, their completion being shown by the present Chapter. The top shows vividly, without keeping it secret, the successful completion of the work done: In that way Chapter xviii gives an exposition of the entire Gita. Thus sage Vyasa completed the erection of the Temple of Gita and protected the beings in diverse ways. Some walk round the exterior of the temple by reciting Gita, while others take shelter under its shadow by hearing it (Gita) recited. Some enter straight into the temple in the form of the knowledge of the Gita, with a (small) present of a pice (smallest copper coin), and a betel-nut placed on betel leaves in the form of the concentration of mind. Such (last named) persons succeed in getting immediate access to Lord Shrihari, on the strength of their knowledge of the Supreme Self: Yet, one and all get access to the Temple of Salvation equally well.

One and the same kind of food is served to all alike, irrespective of the fact whether one occupies a seat at the head or at the end of the row, at dinners given by the rich: in the same way the same (sort of) salvation is secured (either) by hearing, or by reciting, or by learning the interpretations of the Gita. I have made mention of Gita as being the temple of Lord Vishnu, and Chapter xviii as being the pinnacle of the temple, knowing well this distinction. I shall now explain the occasions that led to the linking chapter by chapter, of chapters upto the 17th, in a way you will be able clearly to understand. The waters of the Ganges and the Jumna (at the holy place Prayaga-modern Allahabad) appear distinct from each other on account of their different water courses, water being their common element viz. they are yet one and the same; in the case of Ardhanarinateshwar [Ardhanarinateshwar],—ardhanārīnaṭeśvara—epithet of Lord Shiva; a form of Shiva half male and half female the body form is one and same without losing its twin (distinctive) features as male and female: or in the case of the Moon (in the bright half of the lunar month) her phases go on expanding day by day, yet they do not appear on the disc piled up in distinctive layers.

The stanzas appear distinct from one another on account of their respective quarters (pāda), while the Chapters appear different on account of their constituent verses, yet the problems (tried to be) proved and established in them all are (the same and) not different, in the way the thread on which are in-woven gems of different kinds, is one and the same, or in the way the beauty of different pearls inwoven in the single wreath (on a thread) appears one as a whole: or in the way flowers and wreaths of flowers can be counted separately, yet there is not the slightest difference in the quality of their fragrance: it requires only one finger for counting and never the second one (if it is counted on fingers). The stanzas and chapters have the same common principle underlying them. The Gita is composed of 700 stanzas with 18 chapters, yet the theme God preached in them all is one and the same and not any other. I have made clear the interpretations without departing from that order and following the same line now I proceed with the preaching and do hear it.

At the end of Chapter xvii God said, “All actions performed, Oh Arjuna, without the least faith in the name (Om-Tat-Sat) of Supreme Brahman, prove entirely ‘Asat’ (wicked and false)”.

Hearing these words of God, Arjuna felt happy; he appeared to think that God deprecated those that took to activism. (He further thought) “The poor doer of actions gets blinded with ignorance and hardly knows God himself: in such a state, how can he know, ‘Om-Tat-Sat’, the name of Supreme Brahman? So long as the Tamas and the Rajas have not been completely got rid of, his (doer’s) faith necessarily remains weak and he cannot feel attached to the name of Supreme Brahman. Embracing a sharp-edged weapon, or running on an (horizontally-suspended) rope, or playing with a female cobra is fatal to life: in that way, the actions are very naughty. Dangers difficult to surmount, such as birth and death lie in these very actions. If luckily they get properly performed, they make the doer qualified for knowledge: otherwise they lead to Hell (complete downfall). There are so many obstructions in the way of successful action: how could then those given to activism have their turn of getting emancipated? Therefore, one should be free from the shackles of activism, relinquish actions altogether, and take to complete renunciation which is free from faults.

Renunciation and Relinquishment—these two which are free from any fear of getting affected by actions, which help to secure the knowledge of Supreme Brahman, which are the very incantations inviting knowledge, which are the fertile fields of growing knowledge or which are the very strings for drawing near (attracting) knowledge—it would be desirable to ask the Lord to make clear the aspects of these two that bring about deliverance if followed. Forming such an idea, Partha questioned Lord Krishna (and requested) to be enlightened on the arrangement in regard to the renunciation and relinquishment. The reply that Lord Krishna gave (to Arjuna’s question) appears in Chapter xviii. In this way, following the law of causality (the relationship between one born and another its father,) one chapter gave birth to another. Now listen to the query Arjuna made.

The son of Pandu, having heard the last words (at the end of Chapter xvii) of the Lord pondered over them, felt a shade of sorrow in his heart and thought he had thoroughly grasped the philosophical principles (expounded). Yet he could not bear to see God ceasing to speak. A calf even though fully fed and satisfied, would not have the cow get (far) away from it: and this is always the case with exclusive love. It talks without (due) cause, wishes to see over and over again what has already been seen and heightens (doubles) one’s attachment for the object of love while it is being enjoyed. Such is the trait of love, while Partha was the very love incarnate. That being the case, he felt miserable at Lord Krishna’s silence.

Arjuna was enjoying the direct vision, as one sees one’s own face in a mirror, through the medium of the dialogue of the highest metaphysical Reality. That dialogue came to an end, and with that came to a dead stop, the experience (of the Bliss of Hearing). How could Arjuna, who had got enamoured of it, bear to see that happiness stopped? On the plea, therefore, of asking for the elucidation in regard to relinquishment and renunciation, he re-opened the folded cloth in the form of the Gita. Oh, the 18th is not a chapter, but it is the entire Gita condensed in one chapter. When the calf itself begins to milch the cow (by sucking), how could there be any delay in the release by the cow of her milk? In that way, (Arjuna) called back the Gita as it was nearing its end, and this shows how the masters honour their servants’ words! But let that alone. Arjuna asked that the master of the universe should listen to a request of his own.