(Image Courtesy Mahanidhiswami)

God Is The One Who Keeps The World Going It Produces An Illusion That, Despite Being Unreal, Causes The Soul To Suffer

कार्यकारणकर्तृत्वे हेतु: प्रकृतिरुच्यते |
पुरुष: सुखदु:खानां भोक्तृत्वे हेतुरुच्यते ||13.21||

kārya-kāraṇa-kartṛitve hetuḥ prakṛitir uchyate
puruṣhaḥ sukha-duḥkhānāṁ bhoktṛitve hetur uchyate|| 13.21||

Shloka Translation
BG – Ch. 13- Ver. 21:

Purusha, when seated in Prakriti, is aware of Prakriti’s attributes. His birth in both good and bad wombs is due to his attachment to these attributes.

Explanation

According to its past karmas, the soul takes on a physical form and identifies with the body, mind, and intellect. As a result, it seeks pleasure from the senses. The mind experiences a delightful sensation when the senses come into contact with the sense objects. The soul enjoys that joyful sensation vicariously because it identifies with the mind. The soul receives both pleasure and misery in this way, using the senses, mind, and intellect.

God is the one who keeps everything running in the world. It produces an illusion that, despite being unreal, causes the soul to suffer. The soul experiences pleasure and misery in this dream state of connecting with the body in accordance with its own past and current karmas. As a result, it’s thought to be to blame for both types of experiences.

Verse & what we can learn

Shri Krishna claims that due to avidyaa (ignorance), the eternal essence has mistakenly identified itself with one body. When the eternal essence is deluded by ignorance, it becomes the Purusha and is “seated in Prakriti.” It loses sight of its true nature, which is boundless, indivisible, and happy. It takes on our physical characteristics and believes itself to be finite, divided, and sorrowful.

We become attached to the play of Prakriti, the play of the three gunaas or characteristics, after identifying with a finite body and taking the “upaadhi” or conditioning of a body. We get so connected to Prakriti’s forms that we develop selfish wants in order to maintain contact with these forms, which are nothing more than objects and people.

How do we break free from the two-step samsaara dilemma that causes us to “give birth in both good and wicked wombs”? We overcome attachment to gunaas – by learning to gradually wean ourselves from the impact of the three gunaas through vairaagya or dispassion. ignorance of our true nature, is then resolved by jnyaana, or knowledge, which occurs when we learn of our true nature as the everlasting essence and assimilate it through meditation.

To acquire knowledge and to implement that knowledge in life one needs to be mentally and physically active and healthy and for that daily meditation is a great tool.

There are various types of meditation like Buddhist meditation, heartfulness meditation, mindfulness meditation, meditation for stress, and each meditation benefits are countless. There is also numerous meditation techniques for beginners which help in practicing daily meditation so go ahead and start your journey towards a peaceful and balanced life.

Following shloka is a representation of Purusha becoming entangled in Prakriti.

Let’s learn to live with “The Gita” via Meditation Affinity…