Susil Soni’s “The Knower in the Field” © Lord Krishna states in the Bhagavad Gita that the sages who perceive the truth about both refer to Arjun’s body as the field and to the one who knows it as the knower of the field. Arjun, I consider myself to be the expert in every subject. because what I see as real knowledge is the knowledge of the knower and the field. (1-2, xiii) This is the plot of a well-known vedantic tale. Ten guys reached a river while traveling. They made their way across by swimming. When they crossed the river, they counted to make sure nobody was left behind. The answer came out to nine each time they counted. They started crying, thinking that one of them had drowned. There was a sage walking by at that moment. When he saw them, he inquired as to why they were moping. They said that during their river crossing, one of them had perished. Then, they were 10; now, they are nine. The sage then instructed them to form a line. He tapped each person on the shoulder with his stick as he counted them. At last, he touched the last individual and said that there were 10 of them. The guys thanked the sage with joy and continued on their way. What purpose does this narrative serve to serve? It is because none of the men had remembered to count themselves. and it so happened that the sage met them, reminding everyone of himself. But do we really lose sight of who we are? Under all conditions, we do. Actually, by connecting with our bodies, likes, dislikes, wants, interests, and needs, we are just recalling information about ourselves. But the sage is telling us that we are not realizing the wisdom of the genuine self because we are ignoring who we really are. The self is not something that is distant, unreachable, or even an object, according to vedantists. It exists right now. King Janaka is informed by Yajnavalkya that at birth, the individual self both obtains a body and its characteristics. Subsequently, it has two homes: the one it stays in now, which is made up of its body, organs, possessions, feelings, and experiences; and the other, which it goes to after sacrificing its body and has not yet experienced. The body is considered to have life and experiences as long as this self, whom is forever aware, lives in it. This self may live in a specific location inside the body, but because of its intelligence, it permeates the whole body. King Janaka is informed by Yajnavalkya that this self is an endless being that is associated with the intellect while yet existing as the body. According to Shankaracharya, intelligence is that which is illuminated, and the self’s light is that which is illuminated. This means that because of the similarities in intellect, the self is seen as being similar to everything. According to Yajnavalkya, there is a third habitation apart from the two from which the individual self perceives the two abodes; this intersection is known as the dream state. The individual self transcends all these forms to take on its actual shape when it recognizes that all these abodes are me, who am in all. Then, this self ascends to a higher plane that is beyond the body, the wants, the experiences, and the perceptions. It stays there in an unbounded condition that is everlasting, infinite, and beyond the intellect. This is the ultimate, self-illuminating, blissful state. But just as knowledge cannot exist without the body, neither can emancipation occur in the body’s presence. Consequently, achieving emancipation requires the self to be present in the body. Thus, this body, this kshetra, this field serves as a launching pad to enter the higher dimension, the domain of everlasting light. Man regains his true identity after being set free from relative existence, at which point he ceases to distinguish from Brahman. According to master Krishna, “this supreme brahman, who is the lord of beginningless entities, is neither sat nor asat.”It has no senses, even yet it perceives all sense-objects. Even though it is detached, it yet sustains everything, and while having no attributes, it enjoys gunas, the three prakriti modes. (xiii, 12–14). The issue arises when we have a tendency to lose sight of our true selves because we spend so much of our life connecting with our likes and dislikes and with the material stuff that surround us. One cannot identify oneself with an item. Since the self cannot be whatever it sees, it must also be the witness. “This self is the lord of all beings; as all spokes are knitted together in the hub, all things, all gods, all men, all lives, all bodies, are knitted together in that self,” the Brihadarankaya Upanishad states. Although the components of human bodies and other spacecraft are built of coarse materials, mental concepts are sophisticated. Being a witness to every one of them is a different order. This duty is carried out by the self. and it is a surprise to know that self. Who cares to know, though? neither the self nor the witness, since the ego is the only one who raises these concerns. and this body is how this ego connects with itself. The ego is the executive function of personality, according to Sigmund Freud. The term “ahamkara” in Sanskrit signifies “I am the doer” or “I as an executive function.” However, Brahman is inert. It sees, it hears, and it is the origin of everything. However, it has no effect. Only in Maya, the dream of Brahman, can deeds occur. People believe that since they are acting, they are the ones who bring about joy, sorrow, development, and movement. But according to Vedanta, none of this is true. All of these are just mental ideas that a person is aware of when they are awake. When one is fully awake, the things and the interplay of senses come to life. What transpires with them during a profound sleep? Such acts do not occur in that condition because there is no identification with external things since there is also a lack of ego. The actual self is discovered shining by itself when such a level is reached, particularly when there is a lack of ego. A master continues to live in the world and take actions while knowing that the ego is illusory. The only difference is that he, the realized one, is aware that he is only observing what he does rather than acting upon it. Even while he watches the field, his acts are movements in nature, occurrences in the field. This lesser understanding reminds the egotistical individual that “I do.” But a realized person, who lives in the illuminated self rather than the ego, has this greater awareness that serves as a constant reminder that “I do nothing at all.” There are two kind of knowledge, according to Lord Krishna, who states, “It is the knowledge of the field and knower which i consider as true knowledge.” Understanding the field itself is the lowest level of knowledge, but understanding the knower of the subject is the highest level. In this context, a powerful verse from the Katha Upanishad states that the self-existent Lord eliminated the outgoing senses. As a result, one perceives the external world rather than their inner selves. Occasionally, a fearless spirit, an uncommon and discerning man, seeking eternal life, has turned back and discovered who they are. In this context, “found himself” refers to understanding the area expert. Now, who is he who knows the knower if the ultimate knowledge is to know the knower? According to vedantists, the subject matter expert in this case cannot be an object. He is the ultimate topic, in actuality. He cannot thus be known. Being aware of a thing is not the same as having superior knowledge. It is only possible with actual knowledge. Since the knower’s capacity for knowing is everlasting, this greater knowledge, also known as self-knowledge, is a realization of the knower rather than an act of perceiving something external, according to the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad. There is no object of knowledge in self-knowledge. Because brahman is more subtle than the intellect, it cannot be an object of ordinary knowledge. As a result, neither the comprehension nor the testimony-based evidence of intellectual reasoning is adequate. According to the Linga Purana, it is named atman because it is all-encompassing, absorbs and enjoys the world’s things, and is the source from which the universe derives its ongoing existence. With eyes closed and turned away from all sense things, this indwelling self, one’s own reality, perceives itself. Yama tells Nachiketa that “his form does not exist within the range of vision; nobody sees him with the eye” in this particular circumstance. The intellect, the master of the mind that lives in the heart, realizes this self when it is made clear via contemplation. The intellect is what convinces the mind to stop focusing on outside things. The Upanishads state that the only way to identify one’s true self, or brahman, is by contemplation. Aham brahmasmi is a simple belief that occurs only when the intellect becomes pure and the mind and heart are free from object obsession. Because such a person is unable to interact with sense objects and possess self-knowledge simultaneously, they are the only ones who see the indwelling self in this manner. Upon attaining this level of genuine understanding, the realized individual radiates their own light. When a person reaches the pinnacle of spiritual experience, they really realize that they are the eternal atman, brahman, and see their own form in a flood of ultimate light that arises from within. The lighting state is the actual condition of perfection. It is the light that permeates the cosmos yet does not enlighten anything. The Chandogya Upanishad states that “they, or the knowers of Brahman, perceive the ultimate light, which emanates from Brahman, all-encompassing like daylight and originating from the primordial seed, everywhere they look.” We have arrived at the most luminous light among the gods. The light that shines beyond this heaven, beyond the entire creation, beyond everything, in the highest worlds which are unsurpassably good, is undoubtedly this which is the light within the person. The purusha is greater than that, and the immortal is established in his own effulgence. Perceiving the higher light in the sun—which is above the darkness of ignorance—as the higher light in the heart, perceiving the supreme light which is higher than all lights, we have arrived at the highest light, the sun, the most luminous among the gods. According to Lord Krishna, the ultimate Brahman is described as being completely beyond Maya and the brightness of all lights. It is knowledge itself—worth learning and obtaining by genuine wisdom—and it is, above all, residing in everyone’s heart (Bhagwad Gita, xiii, 17). The men of enlightenment no longer pray for anything else after realizing that. Om hari. related articles: reality, spirituality, and the Bhagawad Gita Send a friend an email with this story!get posts like this one sent straight to your inbox!Get a free subscription now!
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