न चक्षुषा गृह्यते नापि वाचा
नान्यैर्देवैस्तपसा कर्मण वा ।
ज्ञानप्रसादेन विशुद्धसत्त्व-
स्ततस्तु तं पश्यते निष्कलं
ध्यायमानः ॥ ८॥
na cakṣuṣā gṛhyate nāpi vācā
nānyairdevaistapasā karmaṇa vā .
jñānaprasādena viśuddhasattva-
statastu taṃ paśyate niṣkalaṃ
dhyāyamānaḥ .. 8..
Brahman is not grasped by the eye, nor by speech, nor by the other senses, nor by penance or good works. A man becomes pure through serenity of intellect; thereupon, in meditation, he beholds Him who is without parts.
Commentary:
Not with the eyes is it to be seen, not with the speech is it to be described. No god can help us in reaching it. We can worship any god, but we will reach only that god, and nothing beyond. All the gods were created after the manifestation of space and time. As they are effects, how can they know the cause? Brahman exists prior to all these gods, and so we cannot know it by worship of these divinities. We also cannot know it merely by intense tapas of the body and the mind without concentration of consciousness. Actions, which produce perishable fruit, also cannot take us there because, as already mentioned in earlier verses, the perishable results of karma cannot take us to the Imperishable. Not by eyes, not by speech, not by worship of divinities, not by sheer austerity, not by actions of any kind is this Brahman to be known. Not by work, not by progeny, not by wealth can this world of Brahman be attained. Only by true renunciation can it be attained.
Jñāna-prasādena viśuddha-sattvas tatas tu taṁ pasyate niṣkalaṁ dhyāyamānaḥ: By knowledge alone is this Brahman realised. How is this knowledge attained? It is attained by the dispersal of the clouds that are covering consciousness in the form of ignorance, desire, and impulsion to action. As already mentioned, they are called avidya, kama and karma, the three grantis, three knots.
There were three cities of three demons, called Tripuras, as is elaborately described in the Siva Puranas and also in the Drona Parva of the Mahabharata. One city was built of iron, another of silver, the third of gold, and they were all suspended in space. The power of the demons occupying these cities was such that nobody could face them; they controlled even the gods. Lord Siva struck down these three cities with one arrow. These demons had great powers obtained by drinking from a nectarine pot in their house every day. As long as they drank the nectar, nobody could face them. So Brahma, Vishnu and Rudra joined together and hatched some plan to see that these three cities were destroyed, which could not easily be done. Brahma became a cow with a calf, and drank the nectar in their house, and when the demons returned they found the pot empty. Vishnu became the arrow to ensure that it would hit the target, and Rudra used his bow to shoot the arrow of Vishnu, which went straight to the three cities and destroyed them at one stroke, just as Rama cut down seven trees suddenly, abruptly, with the force of the single arrow that he discharged, as told in the Kishkinda Kanda of the Ramayana.
In a similar manner, we have to break this fortress of avidya, kama and karma in our hearts. They are not easy of overcoming. The profundity of our ignorance is known very well. We can never have even an inkling of the existence of God anywhere in this world. We have to scratch our heads day in and day out to bring into our minds the little faith that God must be existing. Otherwise, for all practical purposes, He does not exist. Who is going to think of God day in and day out? We have other works, and therefore this idea never arises. Such is the depth of our ignorance, and the impulsion of our desires. This must be done, that must be done, this project, that project, this industry, and so on. We set up plants to increase industry. We have so many desires, so many desires, because the idea of God has gone and action immediately rises like a whirlwind. We are busy with what we are doing every day due to our desires, created by the ignorance of the existence of God. Avidya, kama and karma cannot easily be broken. We require Rudra’s power and Vishnu’s arrow, and the nectar, which is the joy of the sense objects, should be cut by the discriminating faculty of the intellect, which is the seat of Brahma. Knowledge alone is the source of this dispelling of ignorance: jñāna-prasādena viśuddha-sattvas.
Tatas tu taṁ pasyate niṣkalaṁ dhyāyamānaḥ: Then with deep meditation we will thus know that radiance which is within us and that radiance which is spreading itself around. The whole world is the radiance of Brahman.
