What is True Wisdom (प्रज्ञा)?
Bhagavad Gita Verse 2.61 Explained
Introduction
Bhagavad Gita is a conversation between Krishna and Arjun. This dialogue begins just before the war of Mahabharata is about to begin. On seeing his family in opposition, Arjun is gripped with fear and confusion and wants to run away, but Krishna convinces him to fight and tells Arjun why he today must raise his weapons to kill his brothers and relatives in this war.
Bhagavad Gits teaches us how to live life!
The core message of the Bhagavad Gita is considered very powerful for it can fundamentally transform the way you live your life. Bhagavad Gita is also called a summary of Vendantic Knowledge or simply ancient Knowledge.
Bhagavad Gita is crystallized form of the Hindu thought.
Bhagavad Gita is 700 verses long, spread across 18 chapters. Here we will understand Verse 61 of Chapter 2 of the Bhagavad Gita.
Verse 2.61
तानि सर्वाणि संयम्य युक्त आसीत मत्पर: |
वशे हि यस्येन्द्रियाणि तस्य प्रज्ञा प्रतिष्ठिता || 2.61||
tani sarvani sanyamya yukta asita mat-parah
vashe hi yasyendriyani tasya prajna pratishthita
Translation
One who can control all their senses. One who has command over his senses. One who is centred on “me” (The Absolute), is said to be a man situated in Prajna or Pragya (Wisdom)
Commentary
What is Pragya (प्रज्ञा)?
ज्ञान or Gyaan is the Sanskrit word for Knowledge. It is also spelt as “Jnana” in old English. Basically, the difference is in the prefixes of “Jna” and “Gya”. The Sanskrit word “ज्ञान” is actually pronounced as “Jna-na”, but in the modern world it is also commonly spelt as “Gya-an”.
Similarly, Prajna, which is a sanskrit word used by Krishna in this verse, can be spelt as Pragya. No matter the pronunciation, the meaning remains the same. So for ease of understanding, we will be calling it “Pragya” with a “g”.
In Pali language, which was the language spoken by commoners during the time of Buddha around 500 B.C. Pragya meant “Wisdom”. It was a state of being that the mind achieves by acquiring and synthesising knowledge i.e. Gyaan.
But what does Pragya mean in the context of this verse?
Krishna in pervious verses had told Arjun that a man is said to be situated in Pragya when he is unattached at all times, when he doesn’t praise himself in good times, and doesn’t hate himself in bad times.
Krishna told Arjun that Pragya is nothing but a state of mind. But it is not any state, but rather a very special one. It is a state which enables a person to behave in a manner where he is in absolute control of his mind and thus is above happiness and grief.
In this verse as well, Krishna continues with the same narrative. He is telling Arjun that a man is said to be situated in True Wisdom or Pragya, when he is in absolute control of his senses.
Since Senses act like mere sensors which pass on sensory data and information to the sense organs situated in mind, we can say that senses are an extension of mind. Hence a person who has absolute control over his senses will essence will have to have an absolute control over his mind.
But how does one control his mind? Is absolute mind control possible?
How does one control his mind?
The mind is like a machine which prompts us to take action. Behind every action, there is a thought which is generated in the mind. We indulge with this thought which creates a desire or creates an aversion, which results in us taking a suitable action which is consistent with our thought.
Such actions are called as Conscious Actions. Simply put, we know the thought behind the action.
For example, you feel hungry and there is a desire to eat something. This desire is due to the thought to eat. That one thought starts a train of thoughts, and we start thinking of what to eat. These thoughts generate a craving in our mind. Now imagine that you are sitting in a restaurant with the menu in your hands. The craving in your mind will dictate what you will be ordering. But let’s say that you are craving to eat meat but this is a vegetarian restaurant, and hence meat is not available. In this case you will have think very hard to select a veg item from the menu. You will try and change the thought in your mind to alter your craving. If you can find something which you feel meets with your craving, then you will order. But if that doesn’t happen, the thought in your mind will change to aversion. You would want to skip this resturant altogether and go somewhere where meat is available. Whatever you do, the basic idea is that you will try and take action which satisfies your craving. And behind this craving there was a thought which was born in your mind.
Similarly, there is unconscious thoughts which are born as a result of our habits. For example, when you see a snake, the natural reaction is like an impulse which makes us jump away. There is no conscious thought in our mind but rather an unconscious thought which is generated as our senses send information about the snake and the subconscious mind quickly interprets that there is danger, and hence makes us jump back in an impulse. Infact all our instincts are born out of sub-conscious mind which generates thoughts without our conscious intervention.
The moot point is that behind every action, there is indeed a thought!
Hence we can say that thoughts are like seeds which are sown in the fertile soil of your mind and immediately grow into a tree, which with time bears fruits.
The mind is like a garden and the thoughts are like seeds of flowers. If we sow seeds of rose, there the garden will be full of roses. But if we choose not to sow any seeds and wait, the garden won’t be empty. Weeds will grow on their own in this garden.
So the morale is that you can control what grows in the garden of your mind, and if you are lazy and unable to decide what to plan, there still be unwanted weeds that will grow. It is in the nature of soil to allow for growth. Similarly, the mind will always allow for thoughts, whether you want it or not. Now it is our choice what thoughts do you want to be in your mind. Either your sow the garden of your mind with roses and enjoy the fragrance of roses or you let it be and see it becoming a useless piece of land full of overgrown and unwanted weeds. Even when you plant roses, you will have to weed out the unwanted plants which grown on their own. This means that while we can control what grows in our mind, but still there is a strong need to maintain the garden and weed out the unwanted plants everyday, before they can take root.
Hence if we can control our thoughts, if we can control what we choose to have in our mind, we can control the actions which our mind would want us to take.
Thus the secret to control our mind is to learn the art of allowing only the thoughts we want to dwell and grow in our mind. Any unwanted thought must be weeded out as soon as it is noticed. You need to be a master gardener who must not only plan which seeds to plant but also ensure that you weed out unwanted plants. And then you must nurture and care for what you have sown by giving it water, and nutrients. You need to tend to the plants so that they are free of pests and diseases. You have to trim the plants so that exude beauty and elegance. That is how a master gardener builds and maintains a beautiful garden.
Similarly, you have to be a Master Gardener of your mind. When you do, you will become the Master of your mind and can control which thoughts you want to cultivate and nurture. It is an art which requires time, talent, expertise and a strong will.
Is absolute mind control possible?
Gardening is an art, but not every gardener is an artist. What you lack in talent, can be somewhat made up via will and hard work. You can still grow a garden which might not be perfect but can still be of beauty to you.
But consider a painter. Not everyone can paint. And the ones who do, not everyone is good at it. And even those who are good at it, a few are exceptional, and out of those few exceptional painters, the ones who devote their lives to their excellence become Great.
So the moot point is that there needs to be talent to become a great artist. But just talent itself is not enough. The greatness which is hidden within needs to be nurtured and polished so that it can shine. A lot of hard work needs to go behind it so that the artist can express his talent in art.
So yes, there are great painters, but they are rare.
Similarly, there are people who can have an absolute control over their minds but these people would be even rarer than great artists. For to control what you think is a skill which requires many many years to master and still to become perfect like an artist, there needs to be a great innate talent.
Why does Krishna mean by “be Centered on me”??
Krishna tells Arjun that “One who is centred on me” is Wise. Many people mistake this by thinking that to attain wisdom one has to worship Krishna. But that is a a very narrow interpretation of this statement which indeed is profoundly deep.
Let’s understand this.
What does Krishna mean by “Me”?
When Krishna says “Me”, he does not mean himself. As per Vedant, Krishna was after all the mortal form of Vishnu and was living life just like any other human. When Krishna says “me”, he is referring to power which pervades and controls this entire universe. People call this power by different names. Some call it “God”, and some call it “Universe”. But names aside, this power is hidden in every element of this Universe and beyond.
This power is the Creator and also is the creation. It is the one which controls everything, and it is “that” which constitutes which is being controlled. It is what creates fire, and at the same time it is what burns. It is everywhere, yet can’t be pinpointed. Words fall short of its description, for how can you describe which can’t be said. How can you write, which can’t be written.
No words can do justice in being its name. Hence Vendant used to refer to this power as “Param Atma” i.e. The Supreme Soul, and used to call it via “OM”, the primordial sound, which has all sounds within it.
Most call this power as GOD, many prefer to call it as Universe. But the fact remains that there is such a power which is pervading everything in this creation. It is like pure energy which makes everything we see and experience, and even things beyond our capabilities of experience. Hence I call it as “The Absolute”, for its existence can’t be refuted. For it is!
What is “Centered on Me”?
Krishna implies that while a man can try and take action, the ultimate result is not in his hands. A Gardener can sow seeds of roses in the garden and care for the soil, but he can’t claim that it was only and only his efforts which caused the flowers to bloom. There are many many factors beyond his control which led to the eventual result. Like the soil, the weather, the environment, the ability of the seed to sprout, and the fact the gardener himself had the will and energy to be able to act. Hence his actions are nothing but a part of numerous factors which lead to the roses to bloom. So while he can claim full ownership of his actions, he can never claim that his and only his actions made the roses bloom.
This means that while can and must try for what we aspire for, we can never achieve the intended results only based on our actions. The hand of the universe plays a major major role. Without the will of the universe, nothing is possible.
When Krishna says “me”, he is referring to the “Universe”
And hence Krishna says that one who knows and understands that in every result in life, there is a universal will, is the one who is truly wise!
The one’s who think that they and they only are the makers of their own destiny, are indeed ignorant.
So while to make a clap sound, two hands need to strike each other. Your actions are only one hand, the other hand is the Hand of the Universe which strikes on its own accord. But when it strikes the hand of your actions, a divine sound is generated, which is a sign that what you willed was also willed by the Universe.
So Krishna says that one who knows that to do something, action is necessary, and also knows that only action is not sufficient, there also a divine intervention, is the one who is truly wise.
Such wise people know that one has to have “Faith”, one has to “believe”, one has to have “trust” and also one must “act”.
Such people are said to be wise, such people are said to be “Centered on the Universe” for they know that they are nothing but a drop in an Ocean. Without the Ocean, they can’t exist. Yet they know that they are the Ocean itself!
So the wise one knows that while everything happens via the will of the Universe, but he himself is the Universe!
Krishna says that such wise people are ones who are “centered on me”!
There wise ones are the ones who possess “Pragya” i.e. True Wisdom.
Chapter 2 to be continued..
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Hare Krishna
