IS THE LORD PARTIAL?

na cha maam taani karmaani nibadhnanti  dhananjaya
    udaaseenavadaaseenamasaktam teshu  karmasu // 9.9 //

These  acts do not bind Me, O Dhanajaya, for I remain unattached to them as one  unconcerned.

Because  the Lord is responsible for the manifestation of heterogeneous beings of  unequal conditions, a question arises whether He is guilty of partiality as we  normally think. This issue is answered here. The Lord says that He is unconcerned  about fruit of His action relating to the creation of unequal and diverse  beings.

It  is attachment to the fruit that binds. He is unconcerned because He is totally  devoid of the feeling of “I do”. The creation belongs to the realm of maya and  the Lord is beyond maya. There is no relationship between the Lord and creation  just as there is no contact between the desert and the mirage. He is totally  free from any desire, purpose, motive or agency so far as the creation is  concerned.

Wherever  and whenever egocentric actions are performed with selfish desires, they leave  behind their impressions either pleasant or unpleasant.  However, in the case of the Self which is  Eternal there is neither attraction nor aversion in these actions i.e. in the  creation and dissolution of the Universe. It is unmindful of what type of world  is projected or what kind of activities take place therein.

The  Self is neutral or indifferent to everything. It does nothing nor does It cause  anything to be done. The Self has no attachment to the fruits of Its actions  nor has It any egocentric feeling of agency or doership just as an Umpire is  not interested in the results of the game he is umpiring. Therefore, the  actions involved in creation and dissolution do not bind The Lord.

The  absence of egocentric feelings of doership and attachment to fruits of actions  is the cause for freedom from Dharma and Adharma or virtue and vice. The  ignorant man who works with egoism and with a desire for the rewards of his  actions is bound by his own actions.

mayaadhyakshena prakritih sooyate  sacharaacharam
    hetunaanena kaunteya  jagadwiparivartate  // 9.10 //

By  reason of My proximity, Prakriti produces all things, the moving and the unmoving;  because of this, O Kaunteya the world revolves.

The  finite acts because of the Infinite and yet the Infinite is said to be neutral.  This strange relationship between the finite and the Infinite is explained  here. The Lord presides over only as a witness; nature does everything. By  reason of His proximity or presence, nature sends forth the moving and the  unmoving. The prime cause of this creation is nature or prakriti.

Although  all actions are done with the help of the light of the sun, yet the sun cannot  become the doer of all actions. Similarly, the Lord cannot become the doer of  actions even though nature does all actions with the help of the light of the  Lord.

As  the Self illumines ignorance or maya, which is the material cause of this  world, the Self is regarded as the cause of this world. The magnet is indifferent  although it makes the iron pieces move on account its proximity.

Similarly,  The Lord remains indifferent although He makes the nature-Prakriti- create the  world. He presides over the world which consists of moving and unmoving objects  as a witness. By His presence the wheel of the manifested and unmanifested  beings revolves round and round.

The  question why The Lord created the world when He is a mere witness is a mystic  one. We cannot say that the purpose of creation is meant for the enjoyment of  the Supreme; for the Supreme is devoid of desire and does not enjoy. It is pure  consciousness, a mere witness. And there is no other enjoyer for there is no  other consciousness; A question arises whether is creation intended to secure heaven  for it is opposed to heaven. Thus the question regarding the purpose of  creation cannot be asked if one remembers that creation is maya or an illusion.

In  Verses 7 to 10 The Lord defines His position through easy steps leading to a  subtle concept which may appear contradictory. He begins by saying that He  projects all beings at the beginning of evolution; Prakriti is only an  instrument in His hands. Next, He says, He is not affected by the act, since He  sits by, as the one neutral, perfectly unattached. Lastly, He tells the final  truth that He really does nothing, that it is Prakriti, activated by His  proximity produces the universe. It is His light that lights up the Prakriti  and makes it live and act. This is the only relation between the Lord and His  Prakriti.

The  important point for us to note in these Verses 7 to 10 is that Sri Krishna  imparts the subtle knowledge that Brahman, being neutral, remains apart as a  silent witness of all that happens in the phenomenal world of the animate and  inanimate.

DEVOTION TO THE SUPREME BRINGS  ITS GREAT REWARDS

avajaananti maam moodhaah maanusheem  tanumaashritam
    param bhaavamajaananto mama  bhootamaheshwaram // 9.11 //

Unaware  of My higher nature as the Supreme Lord of all beings, fools disregard Me, when  I assume a human form.

From  time to time the Lord assumes a human form so that men may attain a godly  nature. In that state the Lord acts outwardly like a human being though always  remaining in full possession of the knowledge that He is unattached to anything  material and that He is the very Self of all beings. The deluded only see Him  acting as a man and therefore disregard Him as an ordinary human being while  the wise understand Him as the Supreme Self.

moghaashaa moghakarmaano moghajnaanaa  vichetasah
    raakshaseemaasureem chaiva prakritim  mohineem shritaah // 9.12 //

Of  vain hopes, of vain actions, of vain knowledge and senseless, they definitely  are possessed of the delusive nature of Rakshasas and Asuras.

`They'  refers to those described in the previous verse. Rakshasas are those having  Tamasic nature who indulge in acts of cruelty. Asuras are those having Rajasic  nature with qualities of ambition, greed, and the like. They cling to the world  of transient forms with the hope of finding peace and happiness and are victims  of their own deceitful nature and disregard the Lord, who dwells in them as  their underlying Reality.

mahaatmaanastu maam paartha daiveem  prakritimaashritaah
    bhajantyananyamanaso jnaatwaa  bhootaadimavyayam // 9.13 //

But  the Mahatmas (great souls) O Partha, possessing the Divine nature worship Me  with undisturbed minds knowing Me as the imperishable origin of all beings.

Deceitful  nature mentioned above is contrasted with Divine nature. People of Demoniac  nature live in their ego consciousness making it as a centre of their  activities and get lost in the fruitless Samsara missing their true destiny. On  the other hand people of wisdom who possess divine or saatwic nature and are  endowed with self-restraint, mercy, faith, purity etc., know Him as the origin  of all beings just as those who know the mud to be the origin of all mud pots  will see the mud in all pots. They worship Him with single minded devotion.  Their whole life becomes a continuous adoration of the Supreme and hence they  are Mahatmas.

satatam keertayanto maam yatantashcha  dridhavrataah
    namasyantashcha maam bhaktyaa  nityayuktaa upaasate // 9.14 //

Always  glorifying Me, striving with firm resolve, bowing down to Me in devotion,  always steadfast, they worship Me.

These  great souls always sing His glory, committed to lead a spiritual life of  self-redemption with determination to reject the False and to pursue the path  of the Real. They prostrate before The Lord with total detachment and surrender  of all false identifications with their own matter-envelopments. They worship  Him with great faith and devotion keeping in mind the nature of the Self as the  substratum of the entire Universe and the essence of all beings. They represent  the highest perfection of a combination of knowledge, devotion and work.