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Video Information: Shastra Kaumudi Live, 8.3.20, Ahmadabad, Gujarat, India
Context:
भूमिरापोऽनलो वायुः खं मनो बुद्धिरेव च ।
अहङ्कार इतीयं मे भिन्ना प्रकृतिरष्टधा ॥
This Prakriti of Mine is divided eight-fold thus: earth, water, fire, air, space, mind, intellect and also egoism.
~Shreemad Bhagvad Gita (Chapter 7, Verse 4)
अपरेयमितस्त्वन्यां प्रकृतिं विद्धि मे पराम् ।
जीवभूतां महाबाहो ययेदं धार्यते जगत् ॥
Oh mighty-armed one, this is the inferior Prakrti (Apara). Know the other Prakrti of Mine which, however, is higher than this, which has taken the form of individual souls, and by which this world is upheld.
~Shreemad Bhagvad Gita (Chapter 7, Verse 5)
~ What is Para Prakriti?
~ What are the elements of Para Prakriti?
~ What is witnessing?
~ What is the difference between Prakrati and Para Prakrati?
~ How to implement the teachings of Bhagavad-Gita in our daily life?
Music Credits: Milind Date
~~~~~
Be a part of the Live Sessions: https://acharyaprashant.org/hi/enquir...
Want to read Acharya Prashant's Books?
Get Free Delivery: https://acharyaprashant.org/en/books?...
Read 3 handpicked wisdom articles, just for you: https://acharyaprashant.org/en/articl...
➖➖➖➖➖➖
Video Information: Shastra Kaumudi Live, 8.3.20, Ahmadabad, Gujarat, India
Context:
भूमिरापोऽनलो वायुः खं मनो बुद्धिरेव च ।
अहङ्कार इतीयं मे भिन्ना प्रकृतिरष्टधा ॥
This Prakriti of Mine is divided eight-fold thus: earth, water, fire, air, space, mind, intellect and also egoism.
~Shreemad Bhagvad Gita (Chapter 7, Verse 4)
अपरेयमितस्त्वन्यां प्रकृतिं विद्धि मे पराम् ।
जीवभूतां महाबाहो ययेदं धार्यते जगत् ॥
Oh mighty-armed one, this is the inferior Prakrti (Apara). Know the other Prakrti of Mine which, however, is higher than this, which has taken the form of individual souls, and by which this world is upheld.
~Shreemad Bhagvad Gita (Chapter 7, Verse 5)
~ What is Para Prakriti?
~ What are the elements of Para Prakriti?
~ What is witnessing?
~ What is the difference between Prakrati and Para Prakrati?
~ How to implement the teachings of Bhagavad-Gita in our daily life?
Music Credits: Milind Date
~~~~~
Category
📚
LearningTranscript
00:00Arjuna is in a miserable position.
00:12That is not the position of Arjuna, the person.
00:16That is the situation of entire mankind.
00:19That is the conflict that we all face daily, every day.
00:22So first of all, it is not about Arjuna and Krishna.
00:26It is not about two persons.
00:28Arjuna and Krishna are both within us.
00:31Krishna is not standing in front of Arjuna.
00:35Krishna is the heart of Arjuna.
00:42Verse 4 and 5 of chapter 7.
00:47This Prakriti of mine is divided 8-fold thus, earth, water, fire, air, space, mind, intellect
01:00and also egoism.
01:04So the five classical elements, right, plus Manubuddhi and Ahamkara.
01:12So that's 8-fold, Apara Prakriti.
01:18And then he says, O mighty armed one, this is the inferior Prakriti, Apara Prakriti.
01:26Know the other Prakriti of mine, which however is higher than this, which has taken the form
01:31of individual souls and by which this world is upheld.
01:40So he says, all these 8 should be known as lower Prakriti, inferior Prakriti, Apara Prakriti.
01:50And then there is that which is Prakriti, however higher than these 8 elements of the
02:01lower Prakriti.
02:03All these should be known, the 8 lower elements plus the higher element of Prakriti.
02:10And then the question says, when I compare these two verses with Sankhya Darshan, then
02:21all the elements stated under the Prakriti of Sankhya are listed as Apara Prakriti.
02:30Then please help me understand what is Para Prakriti and how is it different from Shri
02:38Krishna or Brahma.
02:42That which watches, that which watches is the Para Prakriti.
02:54The audience would remember yesterday we were talking of Kshetra and Kshetragya.
02:59All that which can be seen is Apara Prakriti.
03:06The one who sees is Para Prakriti.
03:12What is then the sense of Krishna or Brahma or Atma?
03:17That which neither sees nor can be seen but within which, in the light of which, all seeing
03:28happens.
03:29Are you getting it?
03:36Is it clear?
03:37Often we mistake Para Prakriti with the witness.
03:44Therefore we use words like I am witnessing my activities.
03:50The witness is one who is not at all interested in seeing anything.
03:56So when we generally use the term witness, what we are actually referring to is just
04:02Para Prakriti.
04:05And what is the Para Prakriti?
04:07It is nothing but the seeing consciousness.
04:11What is to be remembered here, what is to be noted here is that even seeing is a form
04:17of participation.
04:20Even seeing involves intent and where there is intent, there one is a participant, one
04:30is not a witness.
04:33In spiritual terms, the witness is not the one who sees something.
04:39In spiritual terms, the witness is the one who does not see anything.
04:44In spiritual terms, the witness is the one who is not at all interested in seeing anything.
04:50In spiritual terms, the witness is the one apart from which nothing else exists.
04:55Therefore, what is the question of seeing something beyond itself?
04:59Seeing something other than itself?
05:01Are you getting it?
05:03So generally all that which you mean by the witness is merely Para Prakriti.
05:12If all that which we usually mean by the witness is just Para Prakriti, what is the
05:16witness then?
05:17That which holds no meaning.
05:22That which you cannot talk of, that which you cannot even refer to.
05:26Are you getting it?
05:31Come back to the basics.
05:32So Prathvi, Agni, Jal, Vayu, Akash, the five classical elements plus Mana, Buddhi, Ahamkara,
05:42all this is a Para Prakriti.
05:44Why?
05:45Because all these can be seen.
05:48All these are the objects of the seeing consciousness.
05:56If you want to see, can't you see your own ego?
06:01Then I often say watch yourself.
06:04Does it not involve watching your ego as well?
06:09When you watch outside the limits of your body, when you see something that is beyond
06:16your body, then what do you see?
06:19You see the entire expanse of Prathvi, Agni, Jal, Vayu, Akash, the five elements, right?
06:25And equally when I say watch yourself, then what do you see?
06:29Then you see the entire expanse of Mana, Buddhi and Ahamkara.
06:33But what is common between these five plus three?
06:37All of them are available to be seen.
06:41And it's a good spiritual practice to watch all of them, observation.
06:47Looking outside, you watch the first five.
06:50Looking within yourself, when you look at the processes of the mind, you watch the other
06:54three, right?
06:56Who is the one who watches all three?
06:59Not the Atma.
07:00Not the Atma.
07:02Who is the one who watches these three plus five, all eight?
07:06The Paraprakriti.
07:08The Paraprakriti to his mind.
07:12The Paraprakriti you can call as the seeing consciousness.
07:17Shri Krishna says Paraprakriti is that which illumines the bodies of all.
07:26By that he refers to the shining consciousness within all of us.
07:32That consciousness which can see.
07:35That consciousness which illuminates everything and therefore watches everything, right?
07:40Now out of these eight elements of Aparaprakriti, which ones are easier to watch?
07:50The ones that are outside.
07:53Outside the body.
07:54They are the easiest to watch.
07:56So even the eight elements of Aparaprakriti can be divided into two.
08:02The first five that are easier to watch.
08:05So when I say observe, usually people begin with observing the game of the first five.
08:11So they will say we are watching that, we are watching that, something is happening
08:15there, something, all these things.
08:17All this is about watching the interplay of the first five classical elements.
08:23Then as your power to observe increases, as you become more penetrative, then what
08:31do you start watching?
08:33The next three.
08:34Man, Buddhi, Ankara as well.
08:35Then you start watching, oh I know now what is going on, right?
08:40And who is the one who watches?
08:42Dakshetragya, Paraprakriti, right?
08:47None of these is Brahm Tattva or Atma or Sakshi.
08:53We will not conflate that, right?
08:58That is beyond, not to be talked of, clear?
09:07So that was the question.
09:08Please help me understand what is Paraprakriti and how is it different from Brahma?
09:13It's a good question to ask because often people mistake Paraprakriti for Brahma.
09:22They mistake the seer for the witness.
09:25There is a difference between seeing and witnessing.
09:35In spirituality, the witness does not even see.
09:39In spirituality, the witness does not even see because even seeing carries a certain
09:46intent, a desire.
09:48Therefore I am saying the seer cannot be a witness because the seer becomes some kind
09:53of a participant.
09:54The seer develops a relationship, the seer is in engagement and thus witness can be no
10:01engagement.
10:02Don't you see that the Kshetragya is defined with respect to the Kshetra?
10:10So there obviously is an engagement.
10:13There is the Kshetra.
10:15And the very name of the Kshetragya is one who knows the Kshetra.
10:21Therefore there is an obvious relationship.
10:24The witness cannot enter into a relationship with anything.
10:28Atma is asang.
10:30Asang means it can never have a relationship with anything.
10:35Whereas the Kshetragya has a definite relationship with Kshetra.
10:42So that's the difference.
10:55What moves into Krishna, Kshetra or Kshetragya?
11:04The Kshetragya moves into Krishna.
11:06How does the Kshetragya move into Krishna?
11:13By watching the Kshetra and defining itself less and less with respect to Kshetra.
11:21The Kshetragya is related to Kshetra only as long as happenings in the Kshetra are of
11:30interest to the Kshetragya.
11:33As long as happenings in the Kshetra are of interest to the Kshetragya, the Kshetragya
11:39mind you will keep changing as per the happenings in Kshetra.
11:50Therefore the Kshetragya is being defined by the Kshetra.
11:56As long as he is engaged with the Kshetra, he will be defined by the Kshetra.
12:00The Kshetragya moves closer to Krishna by having progressively less and less to do with
12:10Kshetra.
12:12When the watching starts losing its purposefulness, then watching starts turning into witnessing.
12:31And that's the way the watcher, the seer, moves from his engagement with the scene to
12:41his submergence into Krishna.
12:46Watch but without intent.
12:49Watch but have very little to do with what you are watching.
12:54That's the way the Kshetragya rises above the Kshetra and moves up and up and sublimates
13:02into Krishna.