yad asaṅgas tu kṛtsnaśaḥ

yujyate 'bhimato hy artho

yad asaṅgas tu kṛtsnaśaḥ

 

Complete detachment from sense objects is recognized as a necessary factor for achieving the goals of the devotees, jñānīs and yogīs through the practice of bhakti, jñāna and yoga.

 

This verse describes common practice and results for all three types of worshippers. For the devotees, jñānīs and yogīs (yoginaḥ), by bhakti, jñāna and aṣṭāṅga yogas (etāvān yogena), complete detachment from sense objects (asaṅgaḥ) is recognized as the desired goal (abhimataḥ arthaḥ), since it helps achieve the desired goal. By complete detachment alone one’s desired goal of prema or liberation is achieved.

 

|| 3.32.28 ||

jñānam ekaṁ parācīnair

indriyair brahma nirguṇam

avabhāty artha-rūpeṇa

bhrāntyā śabdādi-dharmiṇā

 

The one Brahman composed of consciousness alone, without qualities, appears by error through materially directed senses to take the form of various objects with qualities such as sound.

 

“I have a desire to perform bhakti, have heard about it and understood it. Curious about jñāna and yoga, I have heard about them and understood them. But in jñāna I have not understood completely about non-dual knowledge. Therefore explain that briefly.” Thus Kapila speaks about the jñāna approved by the followers of the theory of vivarta. What is called the one knowledge or non-duality or Brahman falsely appears by error of the jīva to be objects endowed with qualities by the senses which are turned towards material enjoyment, stimulated by māyā-śakti (parācīnaiḥ). Thus the jīva thinks “This drum sounds nice, this woman is beautiful, this milk is tasty.” In the absence of all the senses, because of absence of knowledge of distinctions, only the one knowledge, non-dual Brahman, exists. “Then is there complete falsity in the objects perceived through error?” No. Error simply means to perceive a shell to be silver, when one is not aware that it is actually a shell and one then thinks “That is silver.” (The existence of shell and silver are not denied.)

 

One sees forms by the eye. The eye is the sense. The person is the doer. And the knowledge has form as its object. There is merely experience of variety in Brahman which is actually consciousness alone. The different elements of knowledge, characterized by the doer, the sense and the action, are created by māyā, the external energy. One should understand that they are not false. Jīva, created by ignorance, a function of Brahman, errs from his natural knowledge and develops infinite types of knowledge because of distinguishing doer, sense and action.  There is the manifestation of error in the jīva because of the various types of knowledge, the various objects (artha-rūpa). Though pure Gaṅgā water exists, cows and donkeys have an illusion of its existence in water troughs because of their thirst. There is no knowledge without error for mankind.

 

Because of distinction of the senses, when they are turned towards the Lord (opposite of parācīnaiḥ) one can appreciate the sweet sound of Kṛṣna’s flute and the beauty of his form. Thus knowledge of distinctions in spiritual objects is not rejected. The devotees speak in the above way in relation to the Brahman feature of the Lord.

 

|| 3.32.29 ||