The men of the mind’s party, and the men of the Pandava party, have assembled to fight a battle. Who are the men of the mind’s party? And what mind do we mean? We mean the blind mind, the mind without judgement, without conscience. On the other side are the men of Pandu’s party. The mind is drawing human beings towards crudeness, staticity. The hundred agents of the mind assist the mind in doing this – they are the hundred sons of Dhritarastra. And in the opposite camp, as I have already mentioned, moving ahead with the aspiration of attaining self-knowledge, are the men of Pandu’s party: páńd́u means “endeavouring to attain self-knowledge”. Avidyá is the force that pulls people down; on that side are the hundred sons of Dhritarastra, the blind one. On the other side is the Vidyá force that arouses the kulakuńd́alinii shakti, the sleeping jiiva shakti [microcosmic force] in humans, and pushes it upwards to the seat of Parama Puruśa in the sahasrára⁽¹⁾ – the abode of Krśńa, the Supreme Controller of all. Thus two ideas have met and synthesized within this human body, this dharmakśetra, this kurukśetra – this dharmakśetra of the body and kurukśetra of the world.

The kulakuńd́alinii is the sleeping microcosmic force, which I have called the fundamental negativity; and the original source, Parama Puruśa, out of which this microcosmic force springs is the fundamental positivity. Hence when this force wants to ascend, it has to move upwards along the path from the crude to the subtle. In just the same fashion, Avidyá, which moves along the path of the hundred agents of the mind – Dhritarastra’s hundred sons – draws people from the subtle to the crude, and ultimately tries to reduce people to staticity, crudeness. Thus the two forces are born enemies; born enemies means those who cannot exist together. For instance, humans and tigers, or snakes and mongooses, are born enemies. Hence the aspiration to ascend, the thinking that I will go up, will be united with Parama Puruśa and become completely lost in Him, forgetting my personal identity – this ambition to rise high can never be reconciled or balanced with the inclination to become crude.

Jánhá káma tánhá nahiin Ráma, jánhá Ráma tánhá nahiin káma;
Dono ekatra nahiin miile ravi-rajanii ek t́hama.

[When there is attachment to the mundane, Parama Puruśa is not there; where there is Parama Puruśa there cannot be attachment – these two things cannot go together, just as the sun and the night cannot go together in the same sky.]

Never can we have the sun and the night at the same time. At the sight of the sun approaching, the face of the night becomes pale, and we know that it is dawn. Similarly, when the night descends, the sun disappears. The two cannot exist together. Dono ekatra nahiin miile [“these two things cannot go together”] – in the same way, the psychic inclination based on Vidyá and the ideal of the highest good can never coexist with the psychic inclination based on Avidyá and crudeness and directed towards sense-pleasures. This is because of the basic difference between matter and consciousness. Persons whose vision is not clear enough to grasp the real perspective of things, speak of peaceful coexistence simply to win cheap applause. They are living in a fool’s hell. I won’t say a “fool’s paradise”, even though that is the familiar expression. They are living in a fool’s hell, because no such coexistence is possible. Darkness cannot coexist with the moon. Is talking about the impossible not a bid for cheap popularity? It is a form of hypocrisy.

Now, this fundamental negativity, the kulakuńd́alinii, the sleeping microcosmic force, must move from crude to subtle, from matter to consciousness. In the process of movement from crude to subtle, it will have to seek out first the solid factor, then the liquid factor, then the luminous factor, then the aerial factor, then the ethereal factor. After these comes the mind, which itself has several stages. Passing gradually through all these stages, it finally reaches the átman and Paramátman [unit soul and Supreme Soul]. When the mind merges in Paramátman, we call that state nirvikalpa samádhi [indeterminate absorption]. When, however, the mind reaches Paramátman, but instead of merging in it merges in the Mind of Paramátman, we call that state savikalpa samádhi [determinate absorption]. Now, while rising upwards, the first step is the solid factor, where it rests. When, just after diikśá [initiation], the kulakuńd́alinii begins to move, it rises to the kśititattva. [We can then say] Devena saha; where deva means one’s abode, the ádi kśititattva [primordial solid factor]. So [changing the order of the words] the name “Sahádeva” [youngest of the Pandava brothers] means the solid factor. The kulakuńd́alinii continues to move upwards. What is above the solid factor? Apatattva. In which cakra? The svádhiśt́hána. What does apa mean? Liquid, kúlaḿ násti yasya – “that which has no kúla [limit]”. The universe exists within the vast liquid factor. That which has no limit is “Nakúla” [the liquid factor and name of the next-youngest Pandava brother]. What is above the nakúla? Tejastattva. Tejastattva means “universal energy”. The kulakuńd́alinii rise there. “Arjuna” [the middle Pandava brother] means “energy, power”. What is above this? The váyaviitattva [aerial factor], the anáhata cakra,⁽²⁾ also called pavana. What was Bhima [the next-oldest of the Pandava brothers]? Pavananandana [the child of pavana]. The pavanatattva, the váyutattva. The kulakuńd́alinii rises still higher. Where does it go? To the ákáshatattva, the ethereal factor. This represents a state midway between matter and consciousness, between mind and body, between abstract and matter. It is the [lowest] point in the abstract-matter scale, and the [highest] point in the matter-abstract scale. A little higher is the region of the mind, and a little lower the region of váyutattva, which comes under the category of matter.

When a person performs an action, crude or subtle, and moves towards crudeness or subtlety, where is that clash focused? In the ethereal factor. A little above is the realm of the mind, and a little below, the realm of matter. The battle is most pronounced in the ethereal factor because it occupies the middle point between mind above, and matter below.

That person alone can go upwards who keeps this point undisturbed; otherwise the person cannot go upwards. If there is the slightest disturbance the person may fall down. Hence yudhi + sthira (yudhi means “in war”). One who keeps oneself sthira [unaffected, unassailed] at the time of battle, who keeps one’s balance in battle, who is perfectly poised for upward motion during spiritual practice, and never loses one’s balance at the peak of the fighting, is yudhi + sthira = “Yudhiśt́hira” [the eldest Pandava brother].

These are [Pandu’s] five sons. Understood as the five fundamental factors, they are the five “sons” of páńd́u where páńd́u means “spiritual path” – that is, they are [stages in attaining] pańd́á – Ahaḿ Brahmásmiiti buddhih, [“The realization ‘I am Brahma’”]. “I am the átmá, I am Parama Puruśa” – to be established in this supreme realization. Through these five factors there advance on one side the Vidyá sádhakas, those of Pandu’s party, the men of the five Pandavas; while on the other side, in Dhritarastra’s party, are the hundred sons of blind Dhritarastra – Duryodhana, etc. This war has been going on since beginningless time. When in this struggle Pandu’s party is victorious, that should be understood as an indication that the sádhaka has been able to reach the ultimate goal of his or her individual self; and the one who has not yet attained that ideal, has still to fight the battle; and the Kaoravas are the winners many times every day, bringing victory to Dhritarastra. How did this supreme spiritual battle, corresponding to an individual’s life itself, which has gone on since eternity, is still going on, and will go on in human beings, progress through its various stages? The blind mind is asking Sanjaya, wisdom, the viveka [conscience], this question. Bho Saiṋjaya vada⁽³⁾ [“O Sanjaya, tell me”] Dharmakśetre Kurukśetre [“on the field of dharma, on the field of the universe”] yuddhárthaḿ [“for war”] samavetáh [“gathered”] mámakáh [“my people”] mamapakśiiyáh [“my party”] tathá Pańd́upakśiiyáh [“and the Pandava party”] kim akurvata [“what are they doing?”]. “You tell me, I will listen.” This is the first shloka of the Giitá.

Footnotes

(1) The uppermost psycho-spiritual centre, or plexus, in the body, located at the crown of the head. –Trans.

(2) Fourth psycho-spiritual centre, or plexus, in the body, located at the mid-point of the chest. –Trans.

(3) Having quoted this shloka as it appears in the Bhagavad Giitá in previous discourses (for example, “Spiritual Lessons of the Giitá – 3”), the author now proceeds to give a prose Sanskrit paraphrase. –Trans.