Posted on: 26 Aug 2023
Dattamata Viṃśatiḥ: Verse 14
(Philosophy of God Datta in twenty verses)
मनोऽहमिकया धियाऽप्यपर वर्गगं दुर्बलम्
पराप्रकृति रुद्भवै र्घनगुणा सचित्तोच्यते ।
जगद्विषय धारणं कथितमत्र नेदं जगत्
न सम्भवदृशा निवर्तयति सद्गुरुज्ञानवाक् ।।14।।
Mano'hamikayā dhiyā'pyapara vargagaṃ durbalam
Parāprakṛti rudbhavai rghanaguṇā sacittocyate ।
Jagadviṣaya dhāraṇaṃ kathimatra nedaṃ jagat
Na sambhavadṛśā nivartayati Sadgurujñānavāk ।।14।।
[The mind along with ego and intelligence is not strong and is kept in the Aparāprakṛti part. The strong Parāprakṛti or Jīva (individual soul) along with the memory power (Cittam) is mentioned as Cit, which is very strong because the thoughts became solidified as qualities so that the pure awareness or Parāprakṛti is converted into the impure individual soul. Cit is Parāprakṛti having the property of ‘grasping the object’ and the same Cit is also having another property called ‘memory power’ and thus, there is no difference between Cit and Cittam. This means that Cittam is mingled with Cit or Parāprakṛti. Hence, Cit is told to have both the properties (Citi – saṃjñāne, smaraṇe ca). In the Gita, it is said that ego and intelligence along with mind bend before prakṛti (Parāprakṛti is called as prakṛti). The references for this point in the Gita are:- i) For ego:- Krishna says that the ego of Arjuna cannot overcome prakṛti (Yadahaṅkāramāśritya…). ii) Intelligence:- Krishna says that intelligence can see the truth only when the dirty fascination is removed. Krishna also says that even an intellectual scholar is dragged by sensual pleasures (Yadā te moha kalilam…, Vidvāṃsamapi karṣati…, Tadasya harati prajñām). iii) For mind:- Krishna says that mind is controlled by intelligence and Arjuna says that mind is very much wavering (Manasastu parā buddhiḥ…, Cañcalaṃ hi manaḥ…) and when intelligence controls mind and intelligence is controlled by prakṛti, it means mind is also controlled by prakṛti or Parāprakṛti. In the Gita, it is said that Jīva or impure Cit is supporting the creation (Yayedaṃ dhāryate jagat). Here, jagat or creation is only the world of imaginations based on stored information for past several births and not the actual world. If you take the meaning of jagat as this actual world, it is impossible because even all individual souls combining cannot support the actual world. Since the stored information by Cittam creates the world of imaginations, Cit and Cittam are united as one item. We also see in this world the usage of the word ‘world’ used in the sense of world of imaginations. People say about mad fellow that he is always immersed in his world (world here means world of imaginations).
The last point is that if you say that Parāprakṛti or prakṛti or Jīva is so strong, how to remove this Prakṛti so that the intelligence can find out the actual truth? The answer for this is that since Prakṛti or Parāprakṛti is only made of thoughts, the true spiritual knowledge of the Sadguru (contemporary human incarnation) can destroy this Parāprakṛti and make the intelligence pure to see the actual truth. God Krishna used the word Prakṛti for impure Parāprakṛti in short form (Prakṛtiṃ yānti…). We shall not take the prakṛti for inert items only because the Gita says that the qualities of awareness influence the individual soul to be immersed in subsequent quality based actions (prakṛterguṇa sammūḍhāḥ…, Sajjante guṇa karmasu). The food which is inert also influences the individual soul to some extent and hence, the mind, intelligence and ego are joined with Aparāprakṛti containing the five inert elements (food).
The Cit becomes four Antaḥkaraṇas (mind, intelligence, ego and memory). The memory or Cittam is united with Cit and became one item called ‘Parāprakṛti.’ Since, mind, intelligence and ego are not united with Cit, those three become sub-ordinates to the Parāprakṛti (Cit+Cittam) and hence, these three were kept in the lower category, called ‘Aparāprakṛti’. Unless all this mechanism is understood thoroughly, Parāprakṛti cannot be clearly understood (Prakṛtiṃ viddhi Me parām…- Gita). Here, the three antaḥkaraṇams (mind, intelligence an ego) are told in Aparāprakṛti and the fourth antaḥkaraṇam (internal instrument) is leftover and hence, it should find a place in the category of Parāprakṛti as Cit+Cittam.]