Gita Rahasya -Tilak 214

Gita Rahasya -Tilak

CHAPTER IX THE PHILOSOPHY OF THE ABSOLUTE SELF that is, "that My form which you see is an ILLUSION ( maya ) created by Me ; but do not, on that account, carry away the impression that I am possessed of the same qualities as are possessed by created things" ; and then He goes on to say : "My real form is all-pervasive, imperceptible, and eternal and that form is realized by the Released." . We must, therefore, say that the Cosmic Form, which had been shown to Arjuna as stated in the Gita, was illusory. In short, although the Blessed Lord has attached importance to His perceptible form for purposes of worship, the doctrine laid down by the Gita will, from the above statements, be clearly seen to be that (i) the excellent and superior form of the Paramesvara is His imperceptible form, that is, the form which is not cognizable by the organs; i ii I that His changing from the Imperceptible to the Perceptible is His MAYA (Illusion); and(iii) that unless a man conquers this Maya, and realizes the pure and imperceptible form of the Paramesvara, which is beyond the Maya, he cannot attain Release. I will consider later on in detail what is meant by MAYA. It becomes quite clear from the statements quoted above that the theory of Maya was not an invention of Sri Samkaracarya, and that even before his time it was an accepted theory in the Bhagavadgita, the Mahabharata, and also in the Bhagavata religion. Even in the Svetasvataro- panisad, the creation of the Cosmos is described as follows : "mayam tu prakrtim vidyan mayinam tu mahesvaram" (Sveta. 4. 10), that is, "Maya is the Prakrti (the Samkhya Prakrti) and the Lord of that Maya is the Paramesvara; that Para- mesvara creates the universe by His Maya (Illusive Force)". Although it is thus clear that the superior form of the Paramesvara is not perceptible, hut is imperceptible, yet, it is necessary to consider whether this imperceptible form has qualities or is quality less; because, we have before ourselves the example of a quality full imperceptible substance in the form of the Samkhya Prakrti which, being imperceptible, is at the same time possessed of qualities, that is, which possesses the sattva, rajas, and tamas qualities ; and according to some persons, the imperceptible and superior form of the Paramesvara must also be considered quality full in the same way. These people say that in as much as the imperceptible Paramesvara creates the perceptible Cosmos, though He may do so by His Maya , and as He also resides in the heart of every- body and makes them carry on their various activities (18. 61); in as much as He is the recipient and the Lord of all sacrifices (9. 24) ; in as much as all the Bhavas (that is, rational activities) in the shape of pain and happiness of all living beings spring from Him (10, 5); in as much as He is the one who creates devotion in the hearts of living beings; and as "labhate ca tatah kaman mayaiva vihitan hi tan" (7. 22), that is, as "He is the giver of the result of the desires of living beings"; therefore, though He may be imperceptible, that is, though He may not be perceptible to the organs, yet He must be looked upon as possessed of the qualities of mercy, potentiality etc., that is, possessed of qualities (saguna). But on the other hand, the Blessed Lord Himself says: "na mam karmani limpanti", that is, "I am never polluted by Action " or, which is the same thing, by qualities (4. 14); foolish people suffer from MOHA (ignorance) as a result of the qualities of Prakrti, and look upon the Atman as the doer (3. 27 ; 14. 19) ; as this -eternal and non-active Paramesvara inhabits the hearts of living beings in the form of Jiva (13. 31), people, who are overwhelmed by ignorance, become confused, though the Paramesvara is really speaking untouched by their activity or action (5. 14, 15).