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with that most susceptible to His influence and ending with the
division most obtuse to thatjinfhience. This eight-fold Prakriti also
entered into the constitution of Jiva. But there was something
more in Jiva, the consciousness, the knower. This element was fsvara
Himself, as limited by Jiva Prakriti, or Jiva body. The whole
universe being the body of fsvara, His knowledge and powers were
unrestricted, whereas the body of the Jiva, being limited and restricted,
his powers and knowledge were also restricted.
This highest conception of fsvara is not adapted for all. So
Sri Krishna gave the conception of fsvara, as manifested by His
powers, and as manifested in Time and Space, and lastly as He is
manifested in the human body with four hands and the Crown, sym-
bolising His lordship over the whole Universe.
But this conception of fsvara is not enough. As man owes a
duty to all beings, the performance of which is Karma, so he owes a
duty to fsvara, and that duty is Upasana. All beings make sacrifices
for one another, and so they owe duty to one another. But fsvara makes
the greatest sacrifice for all beings and He holds all beings close to
His bosom in each Kalpa, that they may work out their evolution
under the most favorable circumstances. He waits for those that give
up everything for His sake, and give themselves entirely up to Him,
so that He may bear their Karma upon Himself and hasten their
evolution to such an extent, that they may approach His own state.
As fsvara gives Himself to the service of the Universe, so do His
Bhaktas too. Men owe the highest duty to fsvara, and this they
discharge by means of Upasana. Upasana is the law of being for
all Jivas, when they reach the state of manhood. Surrender is the
essence of Upasana, and this Sri Krishna taught to Arjuna.
When a man by performing his duties to other beings and to fsvara
becomes purified and single minded, he is entitled to receive the final
teaching, and not before. And Sri Krishna gave that teaching at the
very last to Arjuna. He said that Jiva and Isvara were one in essence.
It is the difference in Prakriti that makes all the difference between
Jiva and Isvara. When all the bonds of Prakriti are broken through,
only Brahman remains, the one reality, underlying both Isvara and
Jiva. When we become fixed, in this wisdom all is Brahman, and final
liberation is attained. This is the real teaching of the Upanishads, as
embodied in Uttara Mimansa. In this connection, Sri Krishna pointed
out the fallacy of the Vaiseshika system in attempting to know the
Attributeless, through the attributes.
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