Contents
Shri Sankara's Gita Bhashya
(Sri Sankaracharya's Commentary on the Gita)
CHAPTER -5
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18. In a Brāhmana endowed with wisdom and humility, a cow, an elephant, a dog, and a (low born) dog-eater, the wise see the Same. In a Brāhmana endowed with wisdom, the knowledge of the Self, and humility, quietness[1], a cow, an elephant, a dog, and a (low born) dog-eater, the wise see the Same. The Brāhmana endowed with Wisdom and humility is the foremost, being purified by rites and sāttvic by nature. The cow, bereft of rites, and rājasic by nature, comes in the middle; and the elephant and others come last, being purely tāmasic[2]. The wise who 'see the Same' in all these are those who arc habituated to perceive the Same, the One, the Immutable, Brahman-Who is absolutely untouched by the gunas, sattva and others, and by the impress born of those gunas, whether sāttyic, rājasic, or tāmasic. Question - Are they (the wise spoken of) not blame-worthy persons, whose food-offering should not be accepted, as stated in Smrti: "(He commits sin) who honours equals in different ways, or non-equals in the same manner"[3]? Reply - They arc not sinful persons; for |
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