ज्ञानं तेऽहं सविज्ञानमिदं वक्ष्याम्यशेषत: |
यज्ज्ञात्वा नेह भूयोऽन्यज्ज्ञातव्यमवशिष्यते || 2||
jñānaṁ te ’haṁ sa-vijñānam idaṁ vakṣhyāmyaśheṣhataḥ
yaj jñātvā neha bhūyo ’nyaj jñātavyam-avaśhiṣhyate
jñānam—knowledge; te—unto you; aham—I; sa—with; vijñānam—wisdom; idam—this; vakṣhyāmi—shall reveal; aśheṣhataḥ—in full; yat—which; jñātvā—having known; na—not; iha—in this world; bhūyaḥ—further; anyat—anything else; jñātavyam—to be known; avaśhiṣhyate—remains
Translation:
Knowing which there shall not be any other to be known in this world, that Knowledge combined with experience, I will tell you.
Commentary:
The Lord’s love for the devotee is infinite. He wants to reveal everything to his disciple, make him understand the Supreme so that his mind shall not wander in ignorance at any time thereafter in the world. Lord Krishna teaches Arjuna the highest wisdom associated with personal and direct experience.
There are several arts and sciences in the world. Though a man may know many or most of them, his knowledge is not complete. Something still remains to be known. But if the Lord is known, not merely by speculation or argument, but by direct experience, then man feels that there is nothing else to be known in the world.
The Lord’s statement here agrees with the Upanishadic declaration. So the aim of the aspirant is not to know this or that or a hundred things, but to know that, knowing which the essence of all is fully realised. All search for knowledge ends here. There is nothing else to be known. When the base of the plant is watered, it is the same as watering the branches, blossoms, and fruits of the plant. We do not pour water on every leaf and flower. Even so, when the supreme Brahman is realised, all the experiences in the world are comprehended by that knowledge. When Lord Siva asked his sons Vighneswara and Kumaraswamy to go and make a circuit of the world, Kumaraswamy took the pain of flying all the way round the world, whereas Vighneswara went round Lord Siva and received the reward of circuiting the whole world as Lord Siva himself is the whole world. Even so, Brahmajnana comprehends the knowledge of everything else. Man’s lifetime is short and many are the sciences and arts, and no one can hope to know them all. The best way to know them all is to know the Divine essence immanent in all of them. What is the basic truth behind the whole of the phenomenal world? That question can be answered only by self-realisation, and not by the study of any number of sciences for any length of time. Out of compassion for his friend and disciple, Lord Krishna offers him that supreme knowledge.
Here two words are used Jnana and Vijnana-Jnana means knowledge derived from the study of sastras. It is ‘Sabdabrahma’. Vijnana means realisation of Atma i.e. parabrahma’. Supreme peace and bliss is the reward of realisation, and not of indirect knowledge born of Sastraic learning. The Lord declares that he will teach the truth, fully and completely. Verily nothing is left out. Another interpretation of the words Jnana and Vijnana may also be given. Jnana may be understood as the quality of the Jnana, like humility etc., mentioned in the 13th Discourse. Vijnana may be taken to mean Knowledge of the Supreme Brahman.
Swami Vivekananda Says —
It is true that the Upanishads have this one theme before them: कस्मिन्नु भगवो विज्ञाते सर्वमिदं विज्ञातं भवति। — “What is that knowing which we know everything else?” In modern language, the theme of the Upanishads is to find an ultimate unity of things. Knowledge is nothing but finding unity in the midst of diversity. Every science is based upon this; all human knowledge is based upon the finding of unity in the midst of diversity; and if it is the task of small fragments of human knowledge, which we call our sciences, to find unity in the midst of a few different phenomena, the task becomes stupendous when the theme before us is to find unity in the midst of this marvellously diversified universe, where prevail unnumbered differences in name and form, in matter and spirit — each thought differing from every other thought, each form differing from every other form. Yet, to harmonise these many planes and unending Lokas, in the midst of this infinite variety to find unity, is the theme of the Upanishads. On the other hand, the old idea of Arundhati Nyâya applies. To show a man the fine star Arundhati, one takes the big and brilliant nearest to it, upon which he is asked to fix his eyes first, and then it becomes quite easy to direct his sight to Arundhati. This is the task before us, and to prove my idea I have simply to show you the Upanishads, and you will see it. Nearly every chapter begins with dualistic teaching, Upâsanâ. God is first taught as some one who is the Creator of this universe, its Preserver, and unto whom everything goes at last. He is one to be worshipped, the Ruler, the Guide of nature, external and internal, yet appearing as if He were outside of nature and external. One step further, and we find the same teacher teaching that this God is not outside of nature, but immanent in nature. And at last both ideas are discarded, and whatever is real is He; there is no difference. तत्त्वमसि श्वेतकेतो — “Shvetaketu, That thou art.” That Immanent One is at last declared to be the same that is in the human soul. Here is no Compromise; here is no fear of others’ opinions. Truth, bold truth, has been taught in bold language, and we need not fear to preach the truth in the same bold language today, and, by the grace of God, I hope at least to be one who dares to be that bold preacher. [Source]
She and He are One
Swami Bhaskareswarananda Maharaj told me about his meeting Holy Mother Sri Sarada Devi as a young college student. He was then known as Vipradas. “I had read the life of Sri Ramakrishna and was studying Eastern and Western philosophy in college. My mother Smt. Shantasheela Devi was a disciple of Holy Mother. Once I asked her, ‘You say that the Holy Mother and Sri Ramakrishna are one. I cannot understand it.’ When my mother tried to explain I began to argue with her. Finally, she said, ‘My son, I cannot convince you. You yourself ask this question to Holy Mother. She is staying at the Baghbazar house.’ I had not seen Holy Mother. So one day she took me with her to Baghbazar, Udbodhan house. Swami Saradanandaji was studying in the side room to the left of the entrance. He knew my mother, and so as soon as he saw her, he asked, ‘You are coming after a long time. And who is this boy?’ My mother replied, ‘Maharaj, he is my youngest son. He is very argumentative. He asks how Sri Thakur and Holy Mother are one and the same.’ So I have brought him here, so that he can ask Holy Mother herself.’ On hearing this, Saradanandaji told me to go upstairs and ask Mother.
“I went upstairs, but could not find Holy Mother. I came down and informed Maharaj that there was nobody there except a chair covered with a white cloth. Then Maharaj answered, ‘Oh! That is Holy Mother sitting covered with a white sari!’ So, I, again went upstairs and approaching the chair saw two toes of Holy Mother’s holy feet slightly uncovered. When I offered my pranams, she asked, ‘Who are you?’ I replied that I was Shantasheela’s son. At this Holy Mother lifted her big veil and I saw her divine face! First she fed me with some refreshment, and understanding that I had come with some doubt, asked me what I wanted to ask. Promptly I asked her, ‘Holy Mother, my mother says that you and Sri Thakur are one. Thakur passed way in 1886 and you are seen by us — giving advice and solving devotees’ difficulties. Then how is it that you and Thakur are one?’ Holy Mother did not speak a word. Silently she pointed to the picture of Sri Ramakrishna in her shrine and then pointing to herself she raised her index finger indicated their oneness. That was enough to give me the conviction that Sri Ramakrishna and she are not separate, but are the all-pervading transcendental divinity appearing as two. When my mother came upstairs and offered her pranams, Holy Mother told her, ‘Shanti, you have three sons, you give me this boy.’ Immediately, my mother joyfully replied ‘I give this son to you.’
“After this, my mother began to prepare me to become a sannyasi of Ramakrishna Order. By Holy Mother’s grace I joined Belur Math as a brahmachari in 1922, and received mantradiksha from Swami Shivanandaji.” (Similar Incident: All three are one)
— Swami Brahmasthananda, Adhyaksha, Nagpur Ashrama
Related Articles:
- In all the beings separated into different categories, that knowledge which sees the one inseparable Reality (Atma), know it to be Sattvic Jnana. (BG 18.20)
- The Story of Svetaketu – Thou Art That – Chandogya Upanishad
- Bhagavad Gita: Chapter 2, Verse 46
- Bhagavad Gita: Chapter 2, Verse 52
- Bhagavad Gita: Chapter 10, Verse 42
Bhagavad Gita: Chapter 7 🔻 (30 Verses)
