🪷 Bhagavad-Gītā · 12.5

12.5 क्लेशः the trouble? अधिकतरः (is) greater? तेषाम् of those? अव्यक्तासक्तचेतसाम् whose minds are set on the unmanifested? अव्यक्ता the unmanifested? हि for? गतिः goal? दुःखम् pain? देहवद्भिः by the embodied? अवाप्यते is reached.Commentary Worshippers of the Saguna (alified) and the Nirguna (unalified) Brahman reach the same goal. But the latter path is very hard and arduous? because the aspirant has to give up attachment to the body from the very beginning of his spiritual practice.The embodied Those who identify themselves with their bodies. Identification with the body is Dehabhimana. The imperishable Brahman is very hard to reach for those who are attached to their bodies. Further? it is extremely difficult to fix the resltess mind on the formless and attributeless Brahman. Contemplation on the imperishable? attributeless Brahman demands a very sharp? onepointed and subtle intellect. The Upanishad says Drisyate tu agraya buddhya sukshmaya sukshmadarsibhih -- It is seen by subtle seers through their subtle intellect.He who meditates on the unmanifested should possess the four means. Then he will have to approach a Guru who is well versed in the scriptures and who is also established in Brahman. He will have to hear the Truth from him? then reflect and meditate on It.He who realises the Nirguna (attributeless) Brahman attains eternal bliss or Selfrealisation or Kaivalya (Moksha) which is preceded by the destruction of ignorance with its effects. He who realises the Saguna Brahman (Brahman with attributes) goes to Brahmaloka and enjoys all the wealth and powers of the Lord. He then gets initiation into the mysteries of the Absolute from Hiranyagarbha and without any effort and without the practice of hearing? reflection and meditation attains? through the grace of the Lord alone? the same state as attained by those who have realised the Nirguna Brahman. Through the knowledge of the Self? ignorance and its effects,are destroyed in the case of the worshippers of the Saguna Brahman also.

12.5 Tesam, for them; avyakta-asakta-cetasam, who have their minds attached to the Unmanifest; klesah,the struggle; is adhika-tarah, greater. Although the trouble is certainly great for those who are engaged in works etc. for Me, still owing to the need of giving up self-identification with the body, it is greater in the case of those who accept the Immutable as the Self and who kept in view the supreme Reality. Hi, for; avyakta gatih, the Goal which is the Unmanifest-(the goal) which stands in the form of the Immutable; that is avapyate, attained; duhkham, with difficulty; dehavadbhih, by the embodied ones, by those who identify themselves with the body. Hence the struggle is greater. We shall speak later of the conduct of those who meditate on the Unmanifest.

12.3 - 12.5 The individual self meditated upon by those who follow the path of the 'Aksara' (the Imperishable) is thus described: It cannot be 'defined' in terms indicated by expressions like gods and men etc., for It is different from the body; It is 'imperceptible' through the senses such as eyes; It is 'omnipresent and unthinkable,' for though It exists everywhere in bodies such as those of gods and others, It cannot be conceived in terms of those bodies, as It is an entity of an altogether different kind; It is 'common to all beings' i.e., alike in all beings but different from the bodily forms distinguishing them; It is 'immovable' as It does not move out of Its unie nature, being unmodifiable, and therefore eternal. Such aspirants are further described as those who, 'subduing their senses' like the eye from their natural operations, look upon all beings of different forms as 'eal' by virtue of their knowledge of the sameness of the nature of the selves as knowers in all. Therefore they are not given 'to take pleasure in the misfortune of others,' as such feelings proceed from one's identification with one's own special bodily form. Those who meditate on the Imperishable Principle (individual self) in this way, even they come to Me. It means that they also realise their essential self, which, in respect of freedom from Samsara, is like My own Self. So Sri Krsna will declare later on: 'Partaking of My nature' (14.2). Also the Sruti says: 'Untainted, he attains supreme eality' (Mun. U., 3.1.3). Likewise He will declare the Supreme Brahman as being distinct from the freed self which is without modification and is denoted by the term 'Imperishable' (Aksara), and is described as unchanging (Kutastha). 'The Highest Person is other than this Imperishable' (15.16 - 17). But in the teaching in Aksara-vidya 'Now that higher science by which that Aksara is known' (Mun. U., 1.5) the entity that is designated by the term Aksara is Supreme Brahman Himself; for He is the source of all beings, etc. Greater is the difficulty of those whose minds are attached to the unmanifest. The path of the unmanifest is a psychosis of the mind with the unmanifest as its object. It is accomplished with difficulty by embodied beings, who have misconceived the body as the self. For, embodied beings mistake the body for the self. The superiority of those who adore the Supreme Being is now stated clearly:

12.3-5 Ye tu etc. upto avapyate. On the other hand, those, who contemplate on the Self as the motionless Brahman - by them also all the attributes of Absolute Lord are superimposed on the Self - the attributes that are indicated by the adjectives 'omni-present' etc. Therefore even the contemplators of the [attributeless] Brahman reach nothing but Me, of course. However, the trouble they undergo, is much more. For, they [first] superimposed on the Self the actonary of attributes like absence-of-sin etc., and then comtemplate on It. Thus, while without any effort [on the part of the contemplator] the Lord is readily available with the greatness due to the host of self-accomplished attributes, these persons undergo two-fold trouble.

।।12.5।। सगुण और निर्गुण दोनों के ही उपासकों को एक ही लक्ष्य की प्राप्ति बताने के पश्चात् भगवान् श्रीकृष्ण दोनों मार्गों की तुलना करने का प्रय़त्न करते हैं जबकि वास्तव में वे अतुलनीय हैं तथा समान प्रभाव और गुण वाले हैं। भगवान् कहते हैं? अव्यक्त के उपासकों को सगुणोपासकों की अपेक्षा अधिक कष्ट होता है। इस कथन को इतना ही और इसी रूप में समझने पर ऐसा प्रतीत होगा कि यह कथन न केवल सगुणोपासना का समर्थन ही करता है? बल्कि निर्गुणोपासना की निश्चयात्मक रूप से निन्दा भी करता है। इस प्रकार की त्रुटिपूर्ण और पथभ्रष्टक व्याख्या गीता को उपनिषत्प्रतिपादित सनातन ज्ञान का खण्डन करने वाला शास्त्र बना देगी। भक्ति मार्ग के कुछ वाचाल समर्थक ऐसे हैं? जो श्रद्धालु धर्मप्राण जनता को छलने के लिए इस श्लोकार्थ को ही उद्धृत करते हैं स्वयं भगवान् ही प्रथम पंक्ति के तात्पर्य को दूसरी पंक्ति में स्पष्ट करते हैं। अव्यक्त के उपासकों को अधिक क्लेश क्यों होता है भगवान् बताते हैं कि देहधारियों के द्वारा अव्यक्त की गति कठिनाई से प्राप्त की जाती है। इस श्लोक में परीक्षणीय शब्द है देहवद्भि अर्थात् देहधारियों के द्वारा। प्राय इस शब्द का यही वाच्यार्थ स्वीकार किया जाता है। परन्तु यदि हम इस प्रकार की व्याख्या के दूसरे स्वाभाविक पक्ष को देखें? तो ऐसे अर्थ की असंगति स्पष्ट हो जायेगी। यदि सभी देहधारी मनुष्य केवल सगुणसाकार की ही उपासना कर सकते हैं? तो इसका अर्थ यह होगा कि निराकार का ध्यान करना केवल देहत्याग के बाद ही संभव होगा।इसलिए? श्रीशंकराचार्य इसे स्पष्ट करते हुए लिखते हैं कि देहवद्भि का अर्थ है देहाभिमानवद्भि अर्थात् देहधारी से तात्पर्य उन लोगों से है? जिन्हें देहाभिमान बहुत दृढ़ है। जो देह को ही अपना स्वरूप समझते हैं? वे लोग उनमें आसक्त होकर सदा विषयोपभोग का ही जीवन जीते हैं। ऐसे विषयासक्त पुरषों के लिए अनन्त निराकार और सर्वव्यापी तत्त्व का ध्यान करना प्राय असंभव होता है। जिसकी दृष्टि मन्द हो और हाथ काँपते हों? ऐसे वृद्ध व्यक्ति को सुई में धागा डालने में बड़ी कठिनाई हो सकती है। इसी प्रकार? जो मन और बुद्धि क्षुब्ध हैं? चंचल और विषयोपभोग में लालायित रहती है? ऐसे अन्तकरण से युक्त पुरुष समस्त नाम और रूपों के अतीत अनन्त आत्मवैभव को कदापि प्राप्त नहीं कर सकता। तात्पर्य यह है कि स्वयं अव्यक्तोपासना में कष्ट नहीं है? वरन् देहाभिमानियों के लिए वह कष्टप्रद प्रतीत होती है।संक्षेप में बहुसंख्यक साधकों के लिए विश्व में व्यक्त भगवान् के सगुण साकार रूप का ध्यान करना अधिक सरल और लाभदायक है। यदि मनुष्य जगत् की सेवा को ही ईश्वर की पूजा समझकर करे? तो शनैशनै उसकी देहासक्ति तथा विषयोपभोग की तृष्णा समाप्त हो जाती है। और मन इतना शुद्ध और सूक्ष्म हो जाता है कि फिर वह निराकार? अव्यक्त और अविनाशी तत्त्व का ध्यान करने में समर्थ हो जाता है।अक्षरोपासकों के जीवनवर्तन के विषय को इसी अध्याय के अन्तिम भाग में वर्णन किया जायेगा। तथापि अब? सगुण की उपासना करने वालों के लिए उपयोगी साधनाओं का वर्णन किया जा रहा है