इच्छाद्वेषसमुत्थेन द्वन्द्वमोहेन भारत |
सर्वभूतानि सम्मोहं सर्गे यान्ति परन्तप || 27||
ichchhā-dveṣha-samutthena dvandva-mohena bhārata
sarva-bhūtāni sammohaṁ sarge yānti parantapa
ichchhā—desire; dveṣha—aversion; samutthena—arise from; dvandva—of duality; mohena—from the illusion; bhārata—Arjun, descendant of Bharat; sarva—all; bhūtāni—living beings; sammoham—into delusion; sarge—since birth; yānti—enter; parantapa—Arjun, conqueror of enemies
Translation:
O Arjuna! By the delusion of pairs of opposites caused by desire and aversion, all beings are subject to illusion in the world.
Commentary:
All people are enveloped in ignorance from the time of birth. The Lord’s Yogamaya casts her veil around the new-born baby in the cradle. It is deep and impenetrable darkness that shrouds the human being, preventing him from seeing the light of Atma. What is this delusion? It is the delusion of the pairs of opposites like pleasure and pain, heat and cold, etc., arising from desire and aversion. Freedom from attraction and revulsion (raga and dvesha) will eliminate the pairs of opposites. When there is no desire to enjoy a particular object, there cannot be any pain resulting from the non-possession of that object, nor the hatred against those who stand in the way of such enjoyment. Desire agitates the mind and makes it restless, and a restless mind is far away from peace which is the only condition for Self-realisation. Even if the desire is fulfiled, the desire itself will not die with its gratification. It seeks more and more enjoyment and there is no end to desires. So this subtle and powerful enemy should be fought with discrimination and dispassion and rooted out of the mind.
Dislike towards an unpleasant object is common to all. The mind constantly fluctuates between likes and dislikes. When a pleasing thing comes to a person he is happy, but soon after when something unpleasant occurs, he is pained. Thus the whole world is divided into two opposite extremes for the common man. So long as there is pleasure, there will be pain also. So long as there is joy there shall be unhappiness also. After very long experience, man discovers that he cannot have the one without the other, and his search for a painless pleasure is the fool’s search for the hare’s horn which does not exist. Then will he seek for that joy which is self-existent, which is the very Self of men. There he finds a bliss which is uncontaminated; there finds the light that has no shadow; there he finds the peace which nothing can disturb. This state must come to all sooner or later.
The cosmic illusion overtakes man even from the time of birth. As man grows, the illusion takes a stronger hold on him. It is true that in childhood, desire and aversion are less powerful and so spiritual sadhana should start even from childhood, before the mind is poisoned by worldy desires, ambitions, enjoyments and so on. All great Mahatmas have practised spiritual discipline from their childhood when the mind is not positively attached to worldly things.
Arjuna is addressed as the ‘scorcher of enemies’ for he has destroyed many of the powerful enemies, and so he should strive hard to root out the invisible foes who had taken possession of his heart.
All beings are under delusion at birth, but some awakened souls transcend the illusion by devotion and knowledge.
Question: What is the source of the pairs of opposites?
Answer: Desire and aversion (Raga and Dvesha)
Question: When does delusion overtake all beings?
Answer: Even at the time of birth.
Bhagavad Gita: Chapter 7 🔻 (30 Verses)
