“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.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 13.3)

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क्षेत्रज्ञं चापि मां विद्धि सर्वक्षेत्रेषु भारत
क्षेत्रक्षेत्रज्ञयोर्ज्ञानं यत्तज्ज्ञानं मतं मम

kṣetra-jñaṁ cāpi māṁ viddhi
sarva-kṣetreṣu bhārata
kṣetra-kṣetrajñayor jñānaṁ
yat taj jñānaṁ mataṁ mama

As we mature from childhood into youth, we begin to notice patterns and common practices as they pertain to assignment of high status. In the area of intelligence, we see that others consider a person to be smart, intelligent, or wise based on certain external factors. Their remarks may be along the following lines:

“See that person over there? They can recite the fifty states in alphabetical order. They can then name the capital city of each state. If requested to use a sorting order based on population or geographical size, they can accommodate without having to reference materials. They are actually smart.”

Another viewpoint appreciates intelligence in the areas of science and technology:

“See that person over there? They are like the smartest person in the world. Seriously, they have the credentials to back up the claim. They can think in ways that none of us could dream of. They would get the top marks in any standardized examination you ask them to take. Truly amazing.”

From Bhagavad-gita and the Vedic culture, in general, there is a different standard to apply for who is smart. Outside of comparing buddhi, which is one of the three subtle material elements to the living being, there is knowledge. This is something to be acquired. I may not be intelligent enough to understand so much of the world on my own, but if sufficient knowledge is there, if the proper information is at my disposal, then my supposed handicap in the area of intelligence is not really a hindrance.

The standard for actual knowledge is to simply know two things. This is the opinion of Shri Krishna, who was once questioned on the matter by the disciple named Arjuna.

1. Understanding this body

Actual knowledge involves understanding this body. That understanding is both in the positive and the negative. In other words, I should know what the body is and what it is not. It is something like a collection of elements, which are then used as a temporary form of identification.

When we speak of a person, of someone, of an individual, we have a way to identify them. We know them based on their physical being. This is their body. The truth is that this individual existed long prior to our ability to identify them. They were unmanifest, avyakta, in that state. They will again become avyakta after this lifetime reaches its conclusion.

अव्यक्तादीनि भूतानि व्यक्तमध्यानि भारत
अव्यक्तनिधनान्येव तत्र का परिदेवना

avyaktādīni bhūtāni
vyakta-madhyāni bhārata
avyakta-nidhanāny eva
tatra kā paridevanā

“All created beings are unmanifest in their beginning, manifest in their interim state, and unmanifest again when they are annihilated. So what need is there for lamentation?” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 2.28)

This means that the body is only temporarily manifest. We give it importance, as it is like the vessel to transport us to different places. We maintain the body in order to maintain the life experience. We keep ourselves safe and healthy through protection of the body. Nevertheless, it has no endurance. Even if it remains intact for one hundred years, that is not a long amount of time in the proper analysis.

नासतो विद्यते भावो नाभावो विद्यते सतः
उभयोरपि दृष्टोऽन्तस्त्वनयोस्तत्त्वदर्शिभिः

nāsato vidyate bhāvo
nābhāvo vidyate sataḥ
ubhayor api dṛṣṭo ’ntas
tv anayos tattva-darśibhiḥ

“Those who are seers of the truth have concluded that of the nonexistent there is no endurance, and of the existent there is no cessation. This seers have concluded by studying the nature of both.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 2.16)

Every person should acquire this knowledge of the body. Every person is living in the same circumstances. Whether high or low, rich or poor, vibrant in youth or debilitated in old age, the body is temporary. We cannot say that the body truly represents the individual.

2. Understanding its owner

We have diminished the importance of the body with the first aspect of knowledge, and the second aspect reveals the more important factor. The owner of the body, who is also the knower, is everything. I am the knower to my situation. I am the kshetrajna to the kshetra. The kshetra does not know anything. It has no life of its own. The kshetra only has relevance for as long as the kshetrajna is inside.

There is also an additional owner, who is at a higher level. This kshetrajna is a little different, in that it is the knower inside of “all” kshetras. This knower is a single individual. This knower has no relation to the body, other than knowing everything that takes place. This knower is not swayed by the movements, trials, and tribulations associated with the body.

The logical conclusion from acquiring actual knowledge is to further understand, study, and move closer to the knower of all fields. That universal knower is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Knowledge is a blessing for me only when I come to this understanding, when I am humbled by the limited scope of my oversight, in knowing only the local body. There is nothing to fear, since that greatest knower is always interested in my welfare, in lifetime after lifetime.

In Closing:

Aware as long as body to go,
But limited to know.

Since not in your field am I,
On your testimony must rely.

But universal knower is there,
Who of all fields aware.

Knowledge from truths taking,
Approach towards transcendence making.

Categories: the two

Tags: bhagavad-gita, dailyprompt, knowledge, poem, poems, poetry