Gita Slokas - 6.6 - 6.10 and Reflection

 Sri Sankara (prefaces the 6th verse) “It has been affirmed that the self alone is the friend and the self alone is the foe, of the self. What sort of self is the friend and what sort, the foe of the self? Answer:”

EXT: One of the most repeated teachings in Bhagavad Gita and Mahabharata on the whole is subduing the lower-self (body, mind, senses, etc). Sri Sankara refers to this body-mind-conglomerate as Un-Atman (non-self), to draw our attention to our essential nature (Self as pure consciousness, which is apart from everything else that it reveals). He says “As non-self is self’s foe or adversary, so, this very self that is unsubdued will operate as the foe”

Importance of control of Lower Self - (Body, mind, Senses) is emphasized in previous Gita Verses. Some of them given herewith for recollection (abhyāsa) : - 

5.28 - yatēndriya manō buddhir munir mōkṣaparāyaṇaḥ.

vigatēcchābhayam krōdhō yaḥ sadā mukta ēva saḥ

With the senses, the mind and the intellect always controlled, having liberation as his supreme goal, free from desire, fear and anger—the sage is verily liberated forever.

5.7 - yōgayuktō viśuddhātmā vijitātmā jitēndriyaḥ.

sarvabhūtātmabhūtātmā kurvannapi na lipyatē

He who is devoted to the path of action, whose mind is quite pure, who has conquered the self, who has subdued his senses and who has realised his Self as the Self in all beings, though acting, he is not tainted.

4.39 - śraddhāvāōllabhatē jñānaṅ tatparaḥ saṅyatēndriyaḥ.

jñānaṅ labdhvā parāṅ śāntimacirēṇādhigacchati

The man who has Sraddha, is diligent and has control over the organs, attains Knowledge. Achieving Knowledge, one soon attains supreme Peace.

4.26 - śrōtrādīnīndriyāṇyanyē saṅyamāgniṣu juhvati.

śabdādīnviṣayānanya indriyāgniṣu juhvati৷৷4.26৷৷

4.27 - sarvāṇīndriyakarmāṇi prāṇakarmāṇi cāparē.

ātmasaṅyamayōgāgnau juhvati jñānadīpitē৷৷4.27৷৷

Some again offer hearing and other senses as sacrifice in the fire of restraint; others offer sound and various objects of the senses as sacrifice in the fire of the senses. Others again sacrifice all the functions of the senses and those of the breath (vital energy or Prana) in the fire of the Yoga of self-restraint kindled by knowledge.

tasmāttvamindriyāṇyādau niyamya bharatarṣabha.

pāpmānaṅ prajahi hyēnaṅ jñānavijñānanāśanam৷৷3.41৷৷

Therefore, O Arjuna, controlling the senses in the very beginning, slay this sinful thing that destroys both knowledge and discrimination.

EXT: This verse reminds us our who we are. As Sruti says asaṅgo hy ayaṁ puruṣa iti - This Self is unattached. Sri Sankara says in sadācārānusandhānam

अत्यन्तमलिनो देहो देही चात्यन्तनिर्मलः ।

असङ्गोऽहमिति ज्ञात्वा शौचमेतत्प्रचक्षते ॥ ६॥

atyantamalino deho dehī cātyantanirmalaḥ ।

asaṅgo'hamiti jñātvā śaucametatpracakṣate ॥ 6॥

My purification rite consists of knowing (i.e. constantly reminding myself) that I am the eternally Pure Self (Atman of the nature of consciousness) detached from this body, ridden with blemishes/impurities.

This attitude expounded in Gita and espoused by Sri Sankara, is based on the truth of who we are. It's not self-hypnotization, but de-hypnotization, as has been taught thus, far in Gita

5-8,9 - naiva kiṅcitkarōmīti yuktō manyēta tattvavit.

paśyan śrṛṇavanspṛśañjighrannaśnangacchansvapan śvasan

pralapan visṛjan gṛhṇannunmiṣannimiṣannapi.

indriyāṇīndriyārthēṣu vartanta iti dhārayan৷

Remaining absorbed in the Self, the knower of Reality should think, 'I certainly do not do anything', even while seeing, hearing, touching, smelling, eating, moving, sleeping, breathing, speaking, releasing, holding, opening and closing the eyes-remembering that the organs function in relation to the objects of the organs

EXT: Please study below, wherein Sri Sankara explains what does jñāna and vijñāna means in the content of this verse. 

Sri Sankara’s bhāśyaṃ: A yogī, jñāna-vijñāna-tṛpta-ātmā, whose mind is satisfied with knowledge and realization—jñāna is thorough knowledge of things presented by the scriptures, but vijñāna is making those things known from the scriptures a subject of one’s own realization just as they have been presented; he whose mind (ātmā) has become contented (tṛpta) with those jñāna and vijñāna is jñāna-vijñāna-tṛpta-ātmā—; kūṭasthaḥ, who is unmoved, that is who becomes unshakable; and vijita-indriyaḥ, who has his organs under control;—he who is of this kind, ucyate, is said to be; yuktaḥ, Self-absorbed. That yogī sama-loṣṭa-aśma-kāñcanaḥ, treats equally a lump of earth, a stone and gold.

Sri Ramakrishna on jñāna and vijñāna : "The jnani gives up his identification with worldly things, discriminating, 'Not this, not this'. Only then can he realize Brahman. It is like reaching the roof of a house by leaving the steps behind, one by one. But the vijnāni, who is more intimately acquainted with Brahman, realizes something more. He realizes that the steps are made of the same materials as the roof: bricks, lime, and brick-dust. That which is realized intuitively as Brahman, through the eliminating process of 'Not this, not this', is then found to have become the universe and all its living beings. The vijnāni sees that the Reality which is nirguna, without attributes, is also saguna, with attributes”

EXT: We must understand one thing very clearly. Knowledge is realization, in the sense what Sri Sankara normally means by Knowledge. By Knowledge is meant knowing as Truth beyond doubt, I am the infinite non dual Brahman. But normally the word Knowledge is understood as the “information” about our non dual Self. So Sri Krishna uses two words carefully here in BG 6.8 and Sri Sankara explains it carefully. Later in BG 7.16 (i.e. caturvidhā bhajantē..) we see the word jnani used by Sri Krishna which is understood in Sri Sankara sampradhaya as realized soul (see Bhag Gita Bhasyam 18.54). So care must be taken by our group members to think it’s not enough to get Brahmavidya, but something additional is needed. However at the same time, it must be clear by Brahmavidya is not “information”, its direct revelation of Truth about our Self. 

EXT: Sri Sankara bhāśyaṃ is beautifully illustrative of the various terms used by Sri Krishna. 

Sri Sankara bhāśyaṃ: The ‘good man’ (suhṛt) helps, regardless of any requital. ‘The friend’ (mitraṅ ) is one affectionate. ‘The foe’ (ariḥ) is the adversary. ‘The indifferent’ (udāsīnaḥ) takes no sides. ‘The neutral’ (madhyasthaḥ) seeks the well-being of both of those who oppose each other. ‘The antagonist’ (dvēṣyaḥ) is he whom one does not like. ‘The relations’ (bandhuḥ) are the kith and kin.

EXT: This sloka reminds us that  “Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty”. This is the argument for sanyasa. As Sri Sankara says “The qualifications, living in solitude and unaccompanied, mean ‘having renounced’. ‘With controlled mind’ i.e. the inner sense, and the ‘self or the body. “Free from cravings, owning no possessions” means without mental clingings and possessions of any kind. A true renouncer that he is, he must own literally nothing and apply himself to Yoga”

As Katha upaniśaḍ reminds us of the manufacturing defect in the upadhi and what we must do in spite of it. 

parāñci khāni vyatṛṇat svayambhū-stasmātparāṅpaśyati nāntarātman .

kaściddhīraḥ pratyagātmānamaikṣa-dāvṛttacakṣuramṛtatvamicchan 2.1.1

The self-existent Lord injured the outgoing senses. Therefore one sees the outer things and not the inner Self. A rare discriminating man, desiring immortality, turns his eyes away and then sees the indwelling Self

Later Sri Yama says - “Knowing that great and all-pervading Self by which one sees (the objects) both in the sleep and the waking states, the intelligent man grieves no more”