JOIN USChapter XIII of the Bhagavad Gita is one of the most instructive tracts of this sacred text. In response to Arjuna’s question asking him about His primordial nature as Prakriti and His conscious principle as Purusha, Sri Krishna instructs Arjuna on the distinction between the field or the body (kshetra) and the knower of the field (kshetrajna).
He who experiences this truth is self-realised. Purusha is pure consciousness, while prakriti is matter or nature: the entire universe is a manifestation of prakriti.
What is the field? It includes the five elements comprising water, fire, air, wind and space, the ego, mind, intelligence, the five senses of touch, taste, smell, sight and hearing, the mouth, hands, feet and the organs of procreation and excretion, the five objects of the senses, including smell, taste, form, touch and sound, desire, hatred, pain and pleasure, the organism, sentience and sustenance; all these entities expand into thirty-one constituents; these are collectively referred to as the field.
Transforming spiritual knowledge into practice necessarily involves the elimination of the ego, desire, attachments, having even-mindedness and unwavering devotion to the Lord; these comprise the wherewithal of genuine knowledge.
Brahman is neither self-existent nor non-existent, it has no beginning or end, it is all pervasive and its sway extends throughout the universe. It appears to have attributes of the senses yet it is above the senses, it bears the gunas but is free of them, it is mobile and immobile, it is far yet near, though undivided it appears divided; it is the highest truth and yet it is beyond the reach of the mind and the intellect.
Four paths are indicated. The yogis tread the path of meditation. Others pursue the path of knowledge. Still others take the path of performing their duties and dedicating their actions as acts of worship to the Supreme Being.
And finally, there are those who opt for the path of devotion using their faith as a means to self-understanding.
A critical requirement for attaining the Absolute lies in knowing the difference between the field and the knower of the field.
As Swami Rama expresses the matter: “Human eyes can only see so far; they have limited capacity and are bound by a limited horizon. But those who have attained intuitive knowledge have divine insight and can fathom all the levels of consciousness within
and without. Such wise ones do not suffer from pride, egoism or self-conceit for their vision is not hindered by the limitations of the senses and the mind. The knowledge that flows through the ordinary mind is not pure and profound, but the knowledge that is received through divine or yogic insight is perfect.”