Chapter 13 Shloka 23
य एवं वेत्ति पुरुषं प्रकृतिं च गुणैः सह।
सर्वथा वर्तमानोऽपि न स भूयोऽभिजायते।।२३।।
Now the Lord explains the fruit of knowing Prakriti and Purusha in essence.
He who thus knows Prakriti and Purusha, together with their qualities, that one, interacting in every manner, is not born again.
The Lord says:
1. One who knows Purusha and Prakriti;
2. He who knows of the interplay of the qualities;
3. He who knows the Truth;
4. He who translates this Truth into his life;
– that one, though engaging himself in all sorts of activity, is not born again.
a) Which attribute will he then take pride in?
b) Of what will he be arrogant or vain?
c) How can intellectual haughtiness remain?
d) The thought of being the one who partakes and enjoys will disappear.
e) Even the ‘I’ will be annihilated.
f) Identification with the body self will cease.
g) He will abide in the Supreme.
h) There will be a complete negation of attachment.
i) Nothing will remain which he will claim as his own.
When the body itself is no longer his:
1. He will claim no action as his own.
2. He will become free from birth and death.
3. Having relinquished attachment whilst still alive, such a one will become a liberated soul.
He who has thus renounced the body idea verily transcends birth. He, whose ‘I’ has thus ‘departed’ whilst he is still alive, how can he return?
The ‘I’ which claimed the body no longer exists, yet his qualities continue to interact with others’ qualities and all actions take place spontaneously. However, little one, understand this carefully; the Lord has said, he who knows both Prakriti and Purusha in essence, that one does not take birth again even though he is engaged in all sorts of activity. In other words:
a) Witness the attributes of Prakriti.
b) Perceive the attributes of the manifest Brahm.
c) Acquaint yourself with the attributes of the Atma.
d) Also become aware of those attributes, attaining which one is not susceptible to rebirth.
e) Also know those attributes without whose attainment one cannot fully know Prakriti and Purusha.
If you think you can transcend both birth and death without understanding all these attributes, this is your delusion. Once you know the truth about these attributes, you will identify with the attributes of Purusha and develop an attitude of objectivity and equanimity towards the attributes of Prakriti, knowing them to be inert. It is only then that you can transcend rebirth.
