| 21. Purusha,
when seated in Prakyiti, experiences the qualities born of Prakyiti. Attachment
to the qualities is the cause of his birth in good and evil wombs.Because
Purusha, the experiencer, is seated in Prakrirti, in avidya or nescience;
that is to say, because he identifies himself with the body and the senses
which are emanations of Prakriti; he experiences the qualities born of Prakriti,
manifesting themselves as pleasure, pain and delusion ; he thinks, I am
happy, I am miserable, I am deluded. I am wise. Over and above avidya (the
cause of birth), His attachment to (i.e identification of Himself with)
what He experiences; namely, the qualities of pleasure, pain and delusion;
forms the main cause of Purushas birth. The sruti says:As is his desire,
so is his will: Accordingly the Lord says here:The experiencers attachment
for qualities leads him to births in good and evil wombs. Or the second
half of the verse may be construed, by supplying the word samsara, so as
to mean: Attachment for qualities is the cause of His samsara through births
in good and evil wombs.Good wombs are those of Devas and the like ; evil
wombs are those of lower animals. We may also add, as implied herebeing
opposed to no teaching,the wombs of men which are (partly) good and (partly)
evil.The sense of the passage may be explained as follows: Avidya; spoken
of as (Purushas) being seated in Prakriti, and Kama or attachment for qualities,
together constitute the cause of Samsara:SelfKnowledge remorse the cause
of Samsara:The twofold cause has been taught here for avoidance, (i e in
order that we may try to remove it). The means of bringing about the removal
of the (twofold) cause are Jana and Vairagya, i.e knowledge and indifference
conjoined with samnyasa or renunciation as has been clearly taught in the
Gitasastra. |
