“The Blessed Lord then said: This body, O son of Kunti, is called the field, and one who knows this body is called the knower of the field.” (Bhagavad-gita, 13.2)

Download this episode (right click and save)

श्रीभगवानुवाच
इदं शरीरं कौन्तेय क्षेत्रमित्यभिधीयते
एतद्यो वेत्ति तं प्राहु: क्षेत्रज्ञ इति तद्विद:

śrī-bhagavān uvāca
idaṁ śarīraṁ kaunteya
kṣetram ity abhidhīyate
etad yo vetti taṁ prāhuḥ
kṣetra-jña iti tad-vidaḥ

1. Art

“Yes, I took the class. The teacher stood at the front. They had a whiteboard and also one of those overhead projectors. They covered the basic techniques. How to draw a circle. How to make lines. How to start with smaller shapes to work your way up to something bigger, like a person. They even demonstrated a sketch of one of the students.

“What did I learn from the class? Do I now know how to draw? Well, there was nothing for us students to do. We just sat there. We absorbed the information. We were not provided any tools. That is a little strange, now that you mention it.”

2. Driving

“Yes, I took the class. The teacher was driving. They demonstrated the proper sequence of steps to follow when entering the vehicle. They took us on a trip through the neighborhood. There were three of us students in the car. Did I learn anything? I mean, maybe a little. It was really no different than going to the supermarket with my parents. No, we never got the chance to drive. We went home immediately after. That is a little strange, now that you mention it.”

3. Stand-up comedy

“Yes, I took the class. It met once a week over the course of two months. The teacher is connected to the person who runs the local comedy club. It was eye-opening, for sure. The teacher showed us how they had a spark of an idea and turned that into a five-minute set in front of an audience.

“Our final examination was multiple-choice. No, we never went on stage. We never got to write our own bit or perform it in front of people. That is a little strange, now that you mention it.”

4. Math

“Yes, I took the class. It was a little over my head, I must admit. The teacher was so fast at solving the equations. They wrote everything on the chalkboard. We had unobstructed vision from our seats, but that was the extent of the interaction. We did not have to do anything. We were just listening. That is a little strange, now that you mention it.”

5. The spiritual science

Two Sanskrit terms pertinent to this discussion are jnana and vijnana. Jnana is knowledge. It is the instruction component from the various scenes described above. Jnana can be something as simple as telling someone that two plus two equals four. It can also be as complex as describing the steps necessary for building a house from scratch, on an empty plot of land.

Jnana can be written down, in response to a question. Jnana can be described to others, in a classroom setting, be it formal or informal. Jnana can be passed along, to future generations, through published literature. Jnana is indeed important, as we are otherwise born into ignorance. We go to school precisely to fulfill the need for jnana.

Vijnana is the realization of the knowledge. When the jnana is applied practically, within a field of play, the proof of the assimilation is known as vijnana. Under a sober analysis, vijnana is more important than jnana. The patient would rather choose a doctor with practical knowledge of surgery than someone who only knows how to explain surgery to students. The expert lawyer argues a case in court; their degree from a prestigious university notwithstanding.

The need for vijnana applies to all areas of knowledge, including the eternal truths relevant to the living experience. Jnana itself takes full meaning when describing the difference between matter and spirit. The formal transfer of jnana is vidya, or education, and Shri Krishna is kind enough to offer raja-vidya to the devoted and non-envious disciple named Arjuna.

राज-विद्या राज-गुह्यं
पवित्रम् इदम् उत्तमम्
प्रत्यक्षावगमं धर्म्यं
सु-सुखं कर्तुम् अव्ययम्

rāja-vidyā rāja-guhyaṁ
pavitram idam uttamam
pratyakṣāvagamaṁ dharmyaṁ
su-sukhaṁ kartum avyayam

“This knowledge is the king of education, the most secret of all secrets. It is the purest knowledge, and because it gives direct perception of the self by realization, it is the perfection of religion. It is everlasting, and it is joyfully performed.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 9.2)

The foundational principle of this vidya is the difference between matter and spirit. We understand this theoretically through a simple analogy, involving both yatha and tatha. We take what we do know, yatha, to understand something that we don’t know, by extending the example, tatha. The yatha in this case is the changing body. I am different today in visual appearance as compared to childhood. I will likely be much different during old age, in the moments prior to final departure.

देहिनो ऽस्मिन् यथा देहे
कौमारं यौवनं जरा
तथा देहान्तर-प्राप्तिर्
धीरस् तत्र न मुह्यति

dehino ‘smin yathā dehe
kaumāraṁ yauvanaṁ jarā
tathā dehāntara-prāptir
dhīras tatra na muhyati

“As the embodied soul continually passes, in this body, from boyhood to youth to old age, the soul similarly passes into another body at death. The self-realized soul is not bewildered by such a change.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 2.13)

I am the same individual throughout the changes. That is the yatha, or the anchor principle. We take this and extend to something we may not know as well: death and the afterlife. We use yatha and extend it, tatha, to understand that we will stay the same individual after death. That death is just like, yatha, the changing of bodies we accept as truth from our experiences at present.

Shri Krishna could stop here. The foundation is profound enough to warrant a pause on the student’s part. This is a lot to take in, though the words are not many. At the same time, what good is jnana without a next step? What is the student supposed to make of the knowledge?

The teacher in this case is kind enough to reveal a field of play. The physical field, kshetra, at that very moment can be used for testing the principle. Arjuna is a military man. He is set to begin a great war. There are rivals assembled. They are on the opposite side. They are intent on fighting to the death. That is the whole objective in a war, to kill people and break things.

Arjuna can use that kshetra to apply the principle of the steady identity across changing bodies. He can test the principle through his activity. Will he continue to lament the final change known as death? Will he misplace concern over something which lacks endurance, while ignoring that the factor with endurance can never suffer actual harm?

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)

Arjuna has a playing field to test not only one principle, but all of the ones further explained by his teacher. Arjuna is so fortunate to have both the best teacher and the ideal playing field. We are similarly fortunate, in that the same teachings have survived to the modern day. Those teachings are as sanatana as the individual itself. We can test for ourselves, to see if we understand, and if we can push forward towards the highest goal, supported the entire time by vijnana. We are the knower [kshetrajna] within this local playing field of the body roaming across the larger playing field of the material world. We have been in ignorance for far too long, but on the strength of Arjuna and his fearlessness in surrender to Krishna, we can finally reach the proper destination, param gatim.

In Closing:

So many words to say,
Profound knowledge to display.

To Arjuna wisdom gave,
For his spirits to save.

But important after carefully stacked,
Field of play upon which to act.

Arjuna in that war with Krishna by his side,
Our opportunity too over which to preside.

Categories: the five

Tags: bhagavad-gita, dailyprompt, god, hare krishna, poem, poems, poetry