Kapila-Gita

Kapila Muni starts from rock-bottom fundamentals. It is the mind that is the vi
llain of the piece. Both for the bondage of the jIva and for its release from bo
ndage, it is the mind that is responsible. When the mind attaches itself to the
sense objects, bondage arises. On the other hand if mind attaches itself to the
Lord, it becomes the cause for the Release. The self-centred thoughts of I and Mi
ne give rise to the vices of desire and greed. When these dirts are washed off f
rom the mind, it becomes pure. The word used here (III
25
16) is kAma-lobhAdibhir
-malaiH . Desire and Greed are called malaM . The latter means faeces as also dirt . No
ne wants to identify himself with the faeces . So also one should stay away from t
he malaM of desire and greed. Mind should be in its own pure state. Anything that
is foreign to it should not be there. Any thought of an object is foreign to it
. What is foreign to it is malaM. When it is rid of all that malaM , in that state,
says the Rishi, mind has none of the mundane misery or happiness. That is when
man sees his own prakRRiti powerless. That is when he has transcended the effec
ts of prakRRiti. He then sees no difference, no second, no relationship to anyth
ing or anyone. There is no place in space where he is not already there. It is
in that mind the Absolute reflects itself. And there is no other way to achiev
e this than to have association with sAdhus.
Just as for mundane benefits we cultivate
the association of influential people
who have either money, status or power,
so also for acquiring spiritual wealth we have to cultivate
the association of spiritually great people.
(NarayaneeyaM : 91 4)
When a holy association is there, first we get shraddhA in the spiritual quest,
then enthusiasm for the same and then bhakti towards the Lord. shraddhA ratir-b
haktir-anukramishhyati (III 25
25). It is the association with the holy that wi
ll generate, through the continuous contemplation of My glories, a distaste for
sense gratification here and hereafter.
*bhaktyA pumAn jAta-virAga aindriyAt dRRiShTa-shrutAn mad-rachanAnucintayA* (III
25
26).
For devotees who are attached to devotional service even moksha is not more att
ractive. I am their loved one like their soul, friendly like their son, trusted
confidante like their friend, mentor like their guru and respected like their f
avourite God. Their minds are always fixed on me. This is all that is needed for
mukti.
In order to attain this mukti, one should desist from the mundane distractions o
f prakRRiti. The knowledge of the Self is the ultimate cure for removal of Igno
rance that binds the heart to the world of prakRRiti. What is the Self? The Self
or the Purushha is the One who has pervaded the entire universe. He is attribut
eless. He is beyond the prakRRiti. He dwells in every antah-karaNa (Inner Organ
). He shines by Himself. He is beginningless, sourceless.
anAdir-AtmA PurushhaH nirguNaH prakRRitaiH paraH /
pratyag-dhAmA svayamjyotiH vishvaM yena samanvitaM // (III

26

3)

Wise men attribute to PrakRRiti the relationship of Cause and Effect as well as
the agency of action. And they point to the Purushha, that transcends the PrakRR
iti, as the cause of enjoyership of happiness and unhappiness.
The five gross elements (earth, water, fire, air and space),
the five subtle elements (sound, touch, form, taste and smell),
the four internal senses ( manas, chittam, buddhi and ahamkAra

receiver-mind, storer-mind, analyser-mind and ego),

the five senses of knowledge and
the five senses of action
these twenty four -- constitute the prakRRiti or the manifested stage of existe
nce, also called the qualified presence of brahman
sagunasya brahmaNaH sannivesh
aH (III 26
15). Time is the twenty-fifth element. What is manifested as Time ou
tside is the Purushha within. (III 26
18).
That is why, in common parlance in India, the statements
It is divine will and It is the work of Time
are interchangeably used.
Even though the Purushha is situated in the PrakRRiti (the body envelopment) H
e is devoid of all attributes, He is unchanging and He has no claim to doershi
p. So he is not touched by any of the GuNas (modes) of PrakRRiti. On the other
hand when He slips from this state and identifies with the GuNas, then overcom
e by the Ego, he thinks he is the doer. And this involves him in the samsAra of
births and deaths. (III
27 1 to 3). Such a jIva overcome by the guNas has to co
me out of it by a self-analysis.
And here the Acharya Kapila gives a powerful analogy. (III

27

12, 13) :

yathA jalastha AbhAsaH sthalasthenA-vadRRishyate /

svAbhAsena tathA sUryo jalasthena divi sthitaH //
evaM trivRRid-ahaMkAro bhUtendriya-manomayaiH /
svAbhAsair-lakShito nena sadAbhAsena satya-dRRik //
The presence of the Supreme Lord can be realized just as the sun is realized fir
st as a reflection on water, and again as a second reflection on the wall of a r
oom, although the sun itself is situated in the sky. The self-realized soul is t
hus reflected first in the threefold ego and then in the body, senses and mind.
An explanation is necessary for this analogy. The topic is how one recognises
that the Supreme is the One Power behind every action and every presence in the
universe. Imagine a room in which there is a large vessel of water that receives
direct sunlight and reflects it onto the opposite wall in the room. What is the
source of this light on the wall? It is the reflected Sun in the water (contain
ed in the vessel). And what is the source of that reflected Sun? The actual Sun
in the blazing sky. So also we individuals seem to be having awareness of the
outside world. The source of our awareness is our consciousness within. But thi
s consciousness itself is a reflection of the real supreme Consciousness, the re
flection being in our own ego-mind.
After elaborately detailing the process by which PrakRRiti produces the manifold
of this material universe, Kapila takes up the topic of yoga-sAdhanA. First he
details the prerequisites such as execution of prescribed duties, avoidance of p
rohibited actions, satisfaction with what one obtains by God s Grace, worship of
the Guru, moderation in eating, non-violence, truthfulness, brahmacharyam, aus
terities, and silence. Then he goes on to describe the different lim bs of ytoga
-sAdhanA. Afew characteristic shlokas from this description may be recalled:
prANAyAmair-dahed-doshhAn
dhAraNAbhishca kilbishhAn
pratyAhAreNa samsargAn
dhyAnenA-anIshvarAn guNAn //
(III 28
11)
Meaning, By prANAyAma (exercise of control of breath) the physical faults are b
urnt; By dhAraNa (fixing of the concentrated mind) one burns off the sins; By p

ratyAhAra (withdrawal of senses from their outward attractions) one destroys the
attachments to sense objects; By dhyAna (meditation) one vanquishes the undivin
e qualities. (For PrANAyAma, dhAraNa, pratyAhAra and dhyAna, see Meditation)
And the meditation should be on the unique form of the Lord. Here the form of th
e Lord is sculpted by beautiful word-bricks by Sage Kapila in 13 memorable shl
okas (III -28
21 to 33) which deserve to be memorised and recited in the origina
l, in order to transmit the real flavour of the description. It is not just th
e collective form of the Lord that is meditated thus. Each of His limbs is imagi
ned and looked at with concentration and one goes on meditating on His limbs fro
m toe to head. His lotus feet, His legs and thighs, the waist, the navel, the ch
est, the neck, the face, the smile on each one of these one should stay long by
meditation.
By such meditation one gradually develops pure love for the Lord. One s hairs stan
d erect through excessive joy. The intense love generates streams of tears. The
mind withdraws from all material distractions. As if attracting a fish to a hook
, the mind now attracts the Lord. The real identity of the Self is seen and all
pleasure and pain are seen in their true colours as products of the Ego. The jIv
an-mukta that he is, has no cognition of his own body whether it is sitting, sta
nding, moving or acting, just as person blinded by intoxication does not realis
e the presence or absence of clothing on himself:
(*vAso yathA parikRRitaM madirA-madAndhaH * III
37).

28

The body, however, of the jIvan-mukta holds on along with the senses until the
prArabdha karma remains. But, for the one who has made the ascent to samAdhi-yog
a there is neither the cognition of the body or the universe associated with it.
Indeed, when one has woken up, the dreams that were being witnessed earlier ha
ve no more any reality.
(*svapnaM punar-na bhajate pratibuddha-vastuH*) III - 28
yathA putrAscha vitttA ca pRRithaG martyaH pratIyate /
apyAtmatvatvenA-bhimatAt dehAdeH Purushhas-tathA // III

38.
28 -39

Just as offsprings and wealth are considered distinct from oneself, so also is t
he Purushha different from one s body that is taken by affection to be oneself.
The blazing fire is different from the flames, from the sparks and from the smo
ke, although all arise from the same blazing wood. So also the Self known as the
Seer, bhagavan or brahman is distinct from the senses or the mind (40,41). As f
ire shows up in different forms because of the shapes of wood in which it burns
so also does the Self show up in prakRRiti in different manifestations according
to the guNas (#43). The yogI therefore stands firm in his own svarUpa of the S
elf, by conquering the prakRRiti which hides his own Self and which takes the f
orm of both cause and effect(#44).
Following this the sage Kapila answers questions of Devahuti regarding the path
of Bhakti which will lead to the Realisation of all that has been explained in t
erms of PrakRRiti and Purushha. Bhakti, says Kapila, is known in terms of nine
categories by the motivation which manifests it. The motivation could be
in t
he ascending order of commendability (III 29
8,9, 10):

Violent ends (This is adhama-tAmasa bhakti)

Pride
(This is madhyama-tAmasa bhakti)
Jealousy (uttama-tAmasa bhakti )
Sensual ends (adhama-rAjasa bhakti)
Wealth (madhyama-rAjasa bhakti)

Fame
(uttama-rAjasa bhakti)
Eradication of Sins (adhama-sAtvika bhakti)
Pleasure of the Lord (madhyama-sAtvika bhakti)
Duty (uttama-sAtvika bhakti)

But all of them have the commonality of bheda-darshana (which is conscious of the
multiplicity of the deities and recognises the differences) as well as idol wors
hip (worship of specific manifestations of the Ultimate). Over and above these,
there is the nirguNa bhakti, defined as follows:
mad-guNa-shruti-mAtreNa mayi sarva-guhAshaye /
mano-gatir-avicchinnA yathA gangAmbhaso mbudhau // (#11)
lakshhaNaM bhakti-yogasya nirguNasya hyudAhRRitaM /
ahaitukya-vyavahitA yA bhaktiH purushhottame // (#12)
Having heard about Him, one gets addicted with devotion that does not see any di
stinction, without any expectation of results, to the Purushhottama, who lives
in the deepest hearts of all, like the waters of the Ganges that keeps on going
to the ocean. That is the characteristic of nirguNa bhakti, the bhakti of the
highest kind, higher than the nine categories mentioned above.
Note: This is advaita-bhakti .
And the Lord continues, as if inspired:
I am present in every living entity as the Self. Those who neglect or disregard
this omnipresence and engage themselves in the worship of the Deity in the te
mple, they are only making a show of themselves. That is like offering oblations
into ashes instead of in the Fire. He who thinks of Me, residing in the bodies
of others, as different from his Self can never attain peace of mind. He never
pleases Me even if he worships with proper rituals and paraphernalia. As long a
s one does not realise the omnipresent Me as resident in His own heart, so lon
g has he to worship Me through images, performing all his prescribed duties. (#s
III 29: 21 to 25)
The fortunate mother, Devahuti, who had all this teaching straight from the Lord
Himself, who manifested as her son, followed the path that was chalked out by H
im and in due time she reached that supreme abode glorified by Him.