Bhagavad Gita Summary - Book 7 - Jnana–Vijnana (The Yoga of Knowledge and Judgment

Sadly, this is the final chapter which William Q. Judge has written a commentary, which is a shame, because these commentaries are some of the most original and compelling of all of his writings, and this one is one of the best. Moreover, they have aged surprisingly well, especially the practical, western outlook. Chapters six to twelve are sometimes considered to be focused on devotion.

7- Jnana–Vijnana The Yoga of Knowledge and Judgment

1- Realisation of the Lord by meditation.  (1-3)

This chapter is devoted to the question of that spiritual discernment by means of which the Supreme Spirit can be discerned in all things, and the absence of which causes a delusion constantly recurring, the producer of sorrow. Krishna says that this sort of knowledge leaves nothing else to be known, but that to attain it the heart — that is, every part of the nature — must be fixed on the Spirit, meditation has to be constant, and the Spirit made the refuge or abiding-place. He then goes on to show that to have attained to such a height is to be a mahatma.

Among thousands of mortals a single one perhaps strives for perfection, and among those so striving perhaps a single one knows me as I am. (William Q. Judge, Essays on the Gita, 7, 3)

2- Evolution of the Universe out of Divine Prakriti. (4-7)  

Experiment and induction will confer a great deal of knowledge about the inferior nature of God and along that path the science of the modern West is treading, but before knowing the occult, hidden, intangible realms and forces —often called spiritual, but not so in fact — the inner astral senses and powers have to be developed and used. This development is not to be forced, as one would construct a machine for performing some operation, but will come in its own time as all our senses and powers have come. It is true that a good many are trying to force the process, but at last they will discover that human evolution is universal and not particular; one man cannot go very far beyond his race before the time. (William Q. Judge, Essays on the Gita, 7, 4)

4. Earth, water, fire, air, ether, thought (Manas) and reason (Buddhi), egoism (Ahamkara)—thus is My Prakriti divided eightfold.

Earth stands for the subtile rudimental element or Tanmatra, the Prithivi-tanmatra or the subtile rudimental element of earth ; and so water, fire, air and ether stand for the Tanmatras of water, etc. Thought (Manas) stands for its cause Ahamkara or egoism ; reason (Buddhi) for the Mahat principle, which is the cause of Ahamkara ; and Ahamkara for the Avyakta, the Unmanifested, conjoined with Avidya or nescience. (Baghavad Gita, with the Commentary of Sri Sankaracharya, transl. A. Mahadeva Sastri, 1901)

5. This is the inferior (Prakriti) ; but as distinct from this know thou My superior Prakriti, the very life, O mighty-armed, by which this universe is upheld.

3- The Divine Principle penetrating the Universe. (8-12)

10. Know Me, O Partha, as the eternal seed of all beings ; I am the intelligence of the intelligent, the bravery of the brave.

The superior nature can be known because it is in fact the Knower who resides in every human being who has not degraded himself utterly. But this must be admitted before any approach to the light can be made. And but few are really willing, and many are unable, to admit the universal character of the Self. They sometimes think they do so by admitting the Self as present, as contiguous, as perhaps part tenant. This is not the admission, it leaves them still separate from the Self. All the phenomenal appearances, all the different names, and lives, and innumerable beings, are hung suspended, so to say, on the Self. Thus:

And all things hang on me as precious gems upon a string. (William Q. Judge, Essays on the Gita, 7, 8)

4- Maya : How to overcome it. (13-15)

14. Verily this Divine Illusion of Mine, made up of gunas, is hard to surmount. Whoever seek Me alone, they cross over this Illusion.

GOING BEYOND MAYA  To say that detachment and discrimination are not sufficient and even all round yoga practice also is rarely useful for crossing this River of Maya, is like saying that a sick person who neglects to observe diet will get cured. A person cannot cross this river of Maya by his own efforts. Only those who are single-mindedly devoted to Me can cross it. Actually they do not even have to cross it because they have rid themselves of the illusion of Maya even before they die. Those who are guided by a True Guru, who hold on to their experiences and have taken the route to Self-realisation, those who by shedding the ego, calming the mind, avoiding desires followed the path of knowledge for ease in attaining unity with the Brahman, leap towards liberation and attain it with the strength of detachment and with the conviction "I am that". But such devotees are very rare. (Dnyaneshwari; 7:68-107, transl. M.R. Yardi) 

5- Four classes of devotees. (16-19)

16. Four kinds of virtuous men worship Me, O Arjuna,—the distressed, the seeker of knowledge, the seeker of wealth, and the wise man, O lord of the Bharatas.

Avoiding the obstacles of desire and anger in the wilderness of sense pleasures he acquires good tendencies and in the company of saintly people he avoids bad behaviour and treads the straight path of righteous actions. How can one who, desireless of fruits of his actions, treads the path of devotion through hundreds of lifetimes bother about the goal of those actions? (Dnyaneshwari; 7:127-137, transl. M.R. Yardi) 

6- The ignorant worship inferior Gods. (20-26)

20. Those whose wisdom has been led away by this or that desire resort to other Gods, engaged in this or that rite, constrained by their own nature.

Although these words, like the rest of the colloquy, were spoken in India and to a Hindu, they are thoroughly applicable in the West. Every mode of thought and of living may be called a rite gone over by each one as his conscious or unconscious religion. A man adopts that which is conformable, or subordinate, to his own nature, and being full of desires he worships or follows other gods than the Supreme Self. In India the words would more particularly mean the worship, which is quite common, of idols among those who are not educated out of idolatry; but they would also mean what is said above. In the West these "other gods" are the various pleasures, objects, aims and modes of life and thought, be they religious or not, which the people adopt. They have not the many thousands of gods of the Hindu pantheon, each one for some particular purpose, but it comes to the same thing. 

The idol-worshiper bows to the god visible so that he may attain the object of his heart which that god is supposed to control.The Western man worships his object and strives after it with all his heart and mind and thus worships something else than the Supreme Imperishable One. The god of one is political advancement, of another — and generally of most — the possession of great wealth. One great god is that of social advancement, the most foolish, hollow and unsatisfactory of all; and with it in America is yoked the god of money, for without wealth there is no social preeminence possible except in those cases where official position confers a temporary glory. The mother often spends sleepless nights inventing means for pushing her daughter into social success; the father lies wakefully calculating new problems for the production of money. The inheritors of riches bask in the radiance coming from their own gold, while they strive for new ways to make, if possible, another upward step on that road, founded on ashes and ending at the grave, which is called social greatness. And out of all this striving many and various desires spring up so that their multiplicity and diversity completely hide and obstruct all spiritual development and discernment. (William Q. Judge, Essays on the Gita, 7, 20)

21. Whatever devotee seeks to worship with faith what form soever, that same faith of his I make unflinching.

But many who are not so carried away by these follies attend to some religion which they have adopted or been educated into. In very few cases, however, is the religion adopted: it is born with the child; it is found with the family and is regularly fastened on as a garment. If in this religion, or cult, there is faith, then the Supreme Self, impartial and charitable, makes the faith strong and constant so that thereby objects are attained. In whatever way the devotee chooses to worship with faith it is the Supreme which, though ignored, brings about the results of faith.

But that prayer or aspiration which is for spiritual light and wisdom is the highest of all, no matter to whom or what addressed. All religions teach that sort of prayer; all others are selfish and spiritually useless. (William Q. Judge, Essays on the Gita, 7, 21)

But those who worship or believe in the Self as all-in-all, not separate from any, supreme, the container, the whole, go to It, and, becoming It, know all because of its knowledge, and cease to be subject to change because It is changeless. This also is law, and not sentiment. (William Q. Judge, Essays on the Gita, 7, 23-36)

7- The root of ignorance. (27)

27. From the delusion of pairs caused by desire and aversion, O Bharata, all beings are subject to illusion at birth, O harasser of thy foes.

Desire was born out of ego and body. Due to its combination with hate the delusion that one is different from soul was born. This delusion was fostered by the ego. Shunning courage and self-control this delusion started growing due to hope. Under the influence of dissatisfaction it got tirelessly engrossed in sense-pleasures and started behaving perversely. It brought impediments in the path of devotion and paved the paths of evil deeds. Because of it people got confused, went astray in life and came under the heavy burden of sorrow. (Dnyaneshwari; 7:166-171, transl. M.R. Yardi) 

8- Divine worship leads to realisation. (28-30)     

28. Those mortals of pure deeds whose sin has come to an end, who are freed from the delusion of pairs, they worship Me with a firm resolve.

30. Those who realise Me in the Adhibhuta (physical region), in the Adhidaiva (the divine region) and in the Adhiyajwa ( region of Sacrifice ), realise Me even at the time of departure, steadfast in mind.

The chapter concludes by showing how the ignorant who believe in a Supreme Being with a form, fall into error and darkness at the time of their birth because of the hold which former life-recollections have upon the mind. This includes the power of the skandhas or aggregates of sensations and desires accumulated in prior lives. At birth these, being a natural part of us, rush to us and we to them, so that a new union is made for another lifetime. In the other life, not having viewed the Self as all and in all, and having worshipped many gods, the sensations of liking and disliking are so strong that the darkness of rebirth is irresistible. But the wise man died out of his former life with a full knowledge of the Self at the hour of death, and thus prevented the imprinting upon his nature of a set of sensations and desires that would otherwise, upon reincarnation, lead him into error.

This is the chapter on Unity, teaching that the Self is all, or if you like the word better, God: that God is all and not outside of nature, and that we must recognize this great unity of all things and beings in the Self. (William Q. Judge, Essays on the Gita, 7, 30)