|| om tat sat ||

Sankhya Yoga - a few slokas talking about " not these" !

At one point in Sankhya Yoga Krishna explains about who cannot get that one pointed determination to pursue Nishkama karma.

यामिमां पुष्पितां वाचम् प्रवदंत्य विपश्चितः।
वेदवादरताः पार्थ नान्यदस्तीति वादिनः ॥42||
कामात्मानः स्वर्गपराः जन्मकर्म फलप्रदाम् ।
किया विशेष बहुळां भोगैश्वर्य गतिं प्रति ॥43||
भोगैश्वर्य प्रसक्तानां तयाsपहृतचेतसाम् ।
व्यवसायात्मिका बुद्धिः समधौ न विधीयते ॥44||

स॥ हे पार्थ ! ( सर्वेषां) व्यवसायित्मिका बुद्धिः ( एकाअग्रबुद्धिः) समाधौ नविधीयते । वेद वाद रताः, न अन्यद् अस्ति इति वादिनः , कामात्मानः , स्वर्ग पराः , अविपश्चितः ( अविवेकः) जन्मकर्म प्रदां भोगैश्वर्य गतिं प्रति क्रिया विशेष बहुळां पुष्पितां याम् इमाम् वाचं प्रवदन्ति तया अपहृत चेतसां भोगैश्वर्य प्रसक्तानाम् (इमे) व्यवसायित्मिका बुद्धिः समाधौ नविधीयते ।

O Partha ! The people who are followers of that part of Vedas which talk about fruits , or those who argue that the fruits described there in as the real fruits to be pursued, those who are ever focussed on fulfilling desires, those who are interested in heaven, those who are taken in by the sweet talks about birth & rebirth or actions that are said to procure riches, such people O Arjuna cannot attain that single pointed concentration that leads to the liberation".

This is the answer to the question as to who will not get the concentration to pursue Nishkama karma which leads to liberation !

On any given issue , normally most of us will be concerned about how a thing is to be done or why a thing needs to be done or who can do such things. These are questions one looks at if one has an interest in pursuing that topic or that goal. Normally most people are not concerned about knowing the negative information like who cannot do that because we are more interested in knowing ourself !!

But in circles that are well versed in logic, looking at the negative aspect typically like non- existence etc is also of interest . In fact many a time describing the "Brahman" most people use ways of describing what it is not, before finally coming to describing what it is !

In that sense though we are strictly not interested in knowing who cannot attain that concentration, it is appropriate to go through this question to see where it leads us.

These slokas thus refer to who cannot attain the concentration as opposed who can or how to. Hence these slokas can be classified as " not these" type of slokas. Even these slokas give us a interesting insight.

So let us see

Krishna says in this sloka:

"हे पार्थ ! ( सर्वेषां) व्यवसायित्मिका बुद्धिः ( एकाग्रबुद्धिः) समाधौ नविधीयते" |
Oh Partha everybody will not get this concentration to achieve Samadhi!

He then elaborates who cannot.

1 "वेदवादरताः न अन्यत् अस्ति इति वादिनः" :
(vēdavādaratāh na anyat asti iti vādinah)

Those who follow Vedas and say that there is no other way.

Here Krishna is directly saying that the rituals prescribed in Vedas are not the way . There is no obliqueness or implied nature in this statement. This is as direct as you can get in stating a fact as a fact.

This is a very important point.

From our child hood we are reared ( surely some of us) with the rituals of tradition in cooking food and offering to God before it is given to the others. These trace their beginnings to Vedic traditions. Even now when we are in difficulties or some times even if we are not difficulties, several people tend to perform Homas and Japas referring to the famous vedic practices. Krishna says very clearly emphatically that Vedic practices are not the way!

Probably over a time the Vedic Karma kanda became so much more powerful that one had to go to the other extreme of dispersing it to bring the importance of the substance of Vedanta into focus.

In fact the vedic karma kanda is only a first step in Vedic practices and as you progress the final step is the Vedanta ( the end part of Vedas). Beyond that is liberation.

One may want to say does it mean that we set aside the Vedas and move on strictly on Advaita . It is not as though that other process is so simple ( though in a different context we say that if we are up to it is as simple) . To achieve that detachment requires practice and control of mind that runs faster than anything . In that sense the words of Sankaracharya the greatest exponent of Advaita are to be noted. The rituals and the temple practices are only a first step in moving towards attaining a calmer mind. Then the acquisition of knowledge becomes easier with a calmer mind. The knowledge alone pushes you against the rituals of Karma kanda

2 "कामात्मनः" ; "स्वर्गपराः"
"kāmātmanah" ; "svargaparāh"

कामात्मनः - kāmātmanah - means those with desires or desirous of fruits of action
स्वर्गपराः - svargaparāh - means those who perform vedic rituals with a view to go to heaven !

Very clearly these two are followers of vedic rituals. Having already stated clearly ( वेदवादरताः vēdavādaratāh ), this is simply a corollary. There is no need for this. But Krishna repeats himself means that he also knows that times have changed and a point needs to be repeated for effectiveness .

Those who are desirous of fruits of results are quite far away from the Nishkama karma.

As for those desirous of heaven too there is no question of Nishkama karma

3 क्रिया विशेष बहुळां भोगैश्वर्यगतिंप्रति :
( kriyā viśēshaa bahulām bhōgaiśvaryagatimprati )

There are those after wealth and enjoyment , even this is a repetetion of the first . they have concentration or focus of a different kind. It is a focus on acquisitions !

4 "यां इमाम वाचं प्रवदंति तया अपहृत चेतसां"
This is a longer line. And requires some thought..

What is Krishna saying here ?

There are those who do the sweet talking about desirability of such fruits. Then there are those who are attracted by such sweet talk. Those whose mind is captured by such sweet talk are also people who cannot attain that concentration.

There are people who show the sky or heaven.
There are those that are taken in by those thoughts.
For those taken in by sweet talk also attaining the concentration is not possible.

Summary of all this is simple.

Vedic rituals are not needed .
Nishkama karma is the only way.

So even out of these slokas of "not these" what we get is the same thing.

Nishkama karma is the way !

|| om tat sat ||

|| om tat sat ||