"The soul is described as bound and or free from the point of view of my "Gunas" but it is not so in reality. Gunas themselves being creation of Maya there is neither Bondage nor liberation."

Uddhava Gita

Chapter 6

Uddhava asks Bhagavan how does a bound or unbound beings behave and if they are bound and unbound for ever . Uddhava wanted effectively to know if one is bound is there anything else he can do about being so.

Bhagavan said:

“The soul is described as a Bound or free from the point of view of my Gunas , but is not so in reality . And since Gunas are the creation of my Maya there is in my opinion neither Bondage or liberation”

The grief, infatuation , happiness and misery , as well as taking on a body are all due to Maya . Just as a dream is a fiction of the mind, the trans migration is also not reality”.

Krishna says that it is preponderance of Tamo , Raja. Satva Gunas which make a person as Bound . If one is able to over come these passions ( Tamo , Rajo ,Satva Gunas) he is free. This classification comes out by way of the Gunas only.

Krishna Continues

“O Uddhava knowledge and ignorance which are the cause of liberation and Bondage of beings, are my Powers. They are Lord's eternal inscrutable powers created by Maya”

“O Talented one ! For the Jiva who is my part , there is bondage without beginning owing to ignorance, and liberation through Knowledge without an end”.

The bondage is due to ignorance . There is no beginning for ignorance, though there is an end when the ignorance is removed. The liberation is through Knowledge. The knowledge is endless and ever expanding .

Krishna continues:

“ Now I am relating to you the difference between Bound and Free souls endowed with opposite qualities living in the same body”

“The two birds which look alike and are friends have casually come together and built their nest in a tree. One of these eats fruits of that tree and the other though not taking fruit is greater in the strength”

“That which does not partake of the fruits is wise and knows itself as well as the other; but not so the one that eats the fruits. That which is tied to the ignorance is always bound, where as that which is full of knowledge is eternally free”.

“The wise one even though in the body is not of it because he is free from the passions. He is like a man awakened from the dream and aware that it was a dream. But the foolish one even though not in the body is yet of it because he is busy in acquiring merits and demerits. He is like the one seeing a dream”.

“When the organs cognize sense objects or in other words Gunas perceive Gunas he who is wise does not identify himself with such phenomena being unaffected by them”.

“Living in the body which is under the sway of the results of past actions, the foolish one becomes bound by identifying himself with organs on account of work done by them”

“The wise one being thus free from attachment in acts such as sitting walking, bathing , seeing, touching , smelling , eating , is not bound like the other man. That is because in such cases , he is but watching the organs experience the sense objects virtually unattached . Even living in the midst of Prakriti he is unattached to Prakriti like the Sky , the Sun, and the wind.

“With his doubts dispelled by clear vision sharpened by non attachment , the wise man turns away from multiplicity like a man awakened from dreams”.

“He is indeed free from the attributes of the body though he may be in it”.

“He who is not affected when his body is tortured without any ostensible cause or worshipped too , is a wise man”.

The saint with an even eye to all and free from merits and demerits, should not praise of blame anybody who do good or evil.

The saint taking pleasure in self should wander in a manner free from passion. and he should not do or say or think of anything good or evil,

If one is versed in Vedas, but is not well versed in Brahman then his labor is the only result of his exertions, as in the case of one who maintains a cow that can not give calves any more”.

“ My friend he who maintains a cow that no longer gives milk , unchaste wife , a body under the control of another , a wicked child, wealth not bestowed on deserving people speech devoid of reference to Me is one who suffers misery after misery”

The way of Bhakti:

Uddhava then asks Lord Krishna, “O Lord what is the kind of a Sage you like most ? what is the kind of devotion approved by sages that is acceptable to you. Please explain."

Krishna then explains. the way of Bhakti .

( continued in the next column)

Om tat Sat

"Now I am going to tell you this profound secret even though most confidential, for you are my close companion and friend who is always serving me "