THE KNOWER OF THE FIELD IS DESCRIBED
amaanitwam adambhitwam ahimsaa kshaantiraarjavam
aachaaryopaasanam shaucham sthairyamaatmavinigrahah // 13.8 //
Humility, modesty, non-injury, forgiveness, uprightness, service to the teacher, purity, steadfastness, self control
“The knower is the subject and the turning of it into an object or a thing means ignorance, avidya. Objectification is the ejection of the subject into the world of the objects. Nothing in the object world is an authentic reality. We can realize the subject in us only by overcoming the enslaving power of the object world, by refusing to be dissolved into it. This means resistance, suffering. Acquiescence in the surrounding world and its conventions diminishes suffering; refusal increases it. But suffering is the only process through which we fight for our true nature - sat chit anand.” - Dr.S.Radhakrishnan.
The Lord therefore prescribes certain conditions necessary for understanding the Infinite Self by describing the elements of knowledge and practices conducive to spiritual enlightenment in the Verses 8 -12.
1. Humility - absence of self-esteem.
2. Modesty- Un-pretentiousness, not proclaiming one's own greatness.
3. Non-injury - not causing suffering to any other living being intentionally.
4. Forgiveness - forbearance and patience, capacity to put up with everything without getting disturbed.
5. Uprightness - straight forwardness in behavior.
6. Service to the teacher - not merely physical but seeking mental and intellectual identity with the teacher's heart and intellect.
7. Purity - external: cleanliness of body and environment; internal: taintless thoughts, emotions, intentions and motives.
8. Steadfastness - firmness and consistency of purpose, concentration of all efforts in achieving the spiritual goal.
9. Self control - self-restraint practiced in dealing with others.
indriyaartheshu vairaagyamanahankaara eva cha
janma mrityu jaraa vyaadhi duhkha doshaanu darshanam // 13.9 //
Dispassion to the objects of the senses, absence of egoism, perception of evil of birth, death, old age, sickness and pain.
10. Dispassion or absence of attachment to objects - does not mean running away from objects of the world but detaching oneself from becoming a slave to the sensuous objects.
11. Absence of egoism - absence of the sense of superiority in oneself.
12. Perception of evil in birth, death, old age and sickness - every physical body goes through these changes and at each stage of life encounters sorrows and troubles which fact should be thoroughly understood by a seeker.
13. Pain - birth, death, old age and sickness are full of miseries and all miseries are always painful which one should be conscious of. Pain is of three types viz, those arising in one's own person, those produced by external agents and those produced by God i.e. by circumstances beyond anybody's control. Unless the seeker is aware of the pain in existence there will not be any urge for spiritual enquiry. The sense of revolt against pain is the fuel which propels the seeker to run fast to reach the spiritual goal.
Reflection on the evils and miseries of birth, death, old age and sickness leads to indifference to sense-pleasures and the senses turn towards the Innermost self for knowledge. Birth, death etc. are not miseries by themselves but they produce misery in their aftermath.
asaktiranabhishwangah putradaaragrihaadishu
nityam cha samachittatwam ishtaanishtopapattishu // 13.10 //
Non-attachment, non-identification of self with son, wife, home and the rest and even-mindedness to all agreeable and disagreeable events.
14. Nonattachment - When a man thinks that an object is his, the idea of `Mine' ness is born in his mind. He identifies himself with that object, loves it and gets attached to it. Non-attachment is the absence of such identification with any object. Keeping the mind away from all attachments assures peaceful life.
15. Non-identification with son etc. - Excessive love towards all these is an intense form of attachment with them so much so one's own material happiness or otherwise is equated with the happiness or otherwise of the other.
16. Constant even-mindedness - Equanimity under all circumstances and conditions, desirable or undesirable, is a sign of knowledge.
mayi chaananyayogena bhaktiravyabhichaarinee
viviktadesha sevitwam aratir janasamsadi // 13.11 //
Unswerving devotion unto Me through constant meditation on non-separation, resorting to solitude, aversion to the society of men
If one has developed the virtues mentioned in the previous verses, he would conserve in himself a vast energy which should be directed through proper channels for self-unfoldment. This is explained here.
17. Unswerving devotion to Me - Devotion to The Lord should be of single point concentration without any thought of other objects.
18. Yoga of non-separation - Undivided attention and enthusiasm in the mind of the devotee.
19. Such an integrated mind and steady contemplation is not possible unless there is a conducive environment which is suggested in two ways viz. a. To resort to solitary places and b. To develop a distaste for the crowded society life.
The implication is to live alone in oneself away from the maddening crowd. This is natural because whenever the mind is pre-occupied with an ideal it loses all its contacts with the outside world; thereafter the seeker lives in himself in a cave of his own experiences, as a solitary man walking alone in the world. He hates the crowd of other thoughts entering in his mind. However, these terms are not to be understood as physical aversion to the society in general and escapism into solitude.
adhyaatma jnaana nityatwam tattwa jnaanaartha darshanam
etajjnaanamiti proktam ajnaanam yadatonyathaa //13.12 //
Constancy in the Knowledge of the Self, insight into the object of the knowledge of Truth; this is declared to be knowledge and what is opposed to it is ignorance.
In this concluding verse of the section explaining the various essential qualifications in a seeker, the Lord adds two more items viz. constancy in Self knowledge and understanding the end of true knowledge.
20. Constancy in Self-knowledge: The knowledge of the Self is to be lived and not merely learnt. If the Self is everywhere and is real, then the seeker should try to live as the Self in his personality layers. This consistency of living the spiritual knowledge in all contacts with the world outside is one of the practices a seeker should always keep up. Knowledge includes practice of the moral virtues.
21. Understanding the end of True Knowledge: To keep the vision of the goal always before us adds enthusiasm in all our activities. Thus Liberation from all our imperfections and limitations is the goal to be aspired for by all spiritual seekers.
22. All that is contrary to it is ignorance: Qualities such as pride, hypocrisy, cruelty, impatience, insincerity and the like are all ignorance and therefore should be avoided as tending to the perpetuation of samsara.
These traits described from Verse 8 to Verse 12 are declared to be the true `knowledge' because they are conducive to the realization of the Self. These qualities are said to be the `knowledge' because once they have been fully developed the mind gets matured enough to reach the goal of Pure knowledge of the Self.