Yatharth Geeta -Swami Adgadanand 669

Yatharth Geeta -Swami Adgadanand Ji

CHAPTER 13 The Sphere of Action and Its Knower श्रीभगवानुवाच: इदं शरीरं कौन्तेय क्षेत्रमित्यभिधीयते । एतद्यो वेत्ति तं प्राहु: क्षेत्रज्ञ इति तद्विद: ॥1॥ [ “The Lord said, This body is, O son of Kunti, a battlefield (kshetr) and the men who know it (kshetragya) are called wise because they have grown spiritually dexterous by perceiving its essence.’’ ] Instead of being involved in this sphere, the kshetragya dominate it. So it has been said by sages who knew and comprehended its reality. When the body is only one, how can there be two spheresDharmkshetr and Kurukshetr-in it? In truth, within the one body there exist two distinct, primeval instincts. There is first the pious treasure of divinity that provides access to the Supreme Spirit who stands for the most sublime dharm. On the other hand, there are the demoniacal impulses made up of impiety which lead a man to accept the mortal world as real. When there is abundance of divinity in the realm of the heart, the body is transmuted into a Dharmkshetr (field of dharm), but it degenerates into a Kurukshetr when it is dominated by devilish forces. This process of alternate rise and fall, of ascent and descent, operates at all times, but a decisive war commences between the two opposing impulses when an earnest devotee engages in the task of worship in association with a sage who has perceived the reality.