Atmakaraka: The Bhagavat Gita Philosophy

Overview

Continued from Atmakaraka paper-1

Atmakaraka: The Bhagavat Gita Philosophy

Continued from Atmakaraka paper-1

Bhagavat Gita: A few years ago when we were asked about the standard books for studying Jyotisa, the Bhagavat Gita, Brhat Parasara hora sastra and Mahärsi Jaimini’s upadesa sutra were recommended as the foundation. Today we shall explore the teachings of the Gita to understand creation, the spirit soul and the chara käraka scheme(s).

Creation, elements & käraka

Bhagavat Gita (7-2)

<em>jnänam te aham sa‐vijnänam idam vaksyämy asesataù yaj jnätvä neha bhüyo nyaj</em>

<em>jnätavyam avasisyate.</em>

<strong>Prabhupada’s translation:</strong> I shall now declare unto you in full this knowledge, both phenomenal and numinous. This being known, nothing further shall remain for you to know.

Jyotisa Commentary

The entire knowledge of creation of this manifested universe, both phenomenal (physical creation) and the spirit being which was handed down by Krsna to Arjuna as this is the transcendental knowledge forming the basis of Jyotisa. Both jnänam (knowledge of the gross material creation and dissolution process) and vijnänam (knowledge of the superior creation and existance of the spirit being) are being described, and these are different. This is the vedänta knowing which nothing more shall remain to be known or hidden. Jyotisa in its highest level is the vedänta where the astrologer has risen to the level of a Trikälajnäni.

<strong>Bhagavat Gita (7‐4)</strong> <em>bhümir äpo\'nalo väyuh kham mano buddhir eva ca ahankära itiyam me bhinnä prakrtir asöadhä.</em>

<strong>Prabhupada’s translation:</strong> Earth, water, fire, air, ether, mind, intelligence and false ego—all together these eight constitute My separated material energies.

Jyotisa Commentary

The five states of physical existence of all creation are symbolized by

1. Earth called bhĂźmi or prthvi tatva, solid state: Mercury,
2. Water called äpa or jala tatva, liquid state: Venus,
3. Fire called anala or agni tatva, energy state: Mars,
4. Air called väyu tatva, gaseous state: Saturn and,
5. Ether called kham or äkäsa tatva, vacuum: Jupiter

At the gross level these are the panca bhĂźta and at the subtle level they are known as the panca tatva. Thus, every physical creation shall have these five elements in varying proportions that shall define its physical constitution.

The mana is the ‘mind’ of the universe as well as the individual and indicates the class, group or family identifying the created being or object and is represented in astrology by the Moon. Any created material object belongs to a class of objects created with a certain shape (definable for solids with a predominant prthvi tatva), having a certain constitution (based on the proportion of the constituent tatva). These define the class or family to which it belongs.

Buddhi refers to the intelligence or body of knowledge related to the object. This defines its purpose of creation and existance and the effects of the various laws of nature on it called its Dharma. The laws of nature that the created body must obey are seen from the ascendant called Lagna and this is the seat of the dharma trikona which includes the fifth & ninth houses. Lagna represents prajäpati, the creator.

Ahankära refers to its independent identity and is the false ego (not Freud’s ego). This is false because the identity is not permanent and it is an ego as it helps to identify the object and differentiate it from the other bodies/creatures of its class or family. This is represented by the Sun in astrology.

Example 1: Arabian sea

Let us consider the Arabian sea as an example. This has a predominance of liquid in its body as compared to other states of solids and gases. Thus the body has a predominance of jala tatva. The water is in constant motion due to various currents created by the rotation of the earth. This movement is due to energy in the water showing that it possesses agni tatva. It is contained by a basin which is the crust of the earth and this is the dharma (buddhi) associated with it as one of the laws of nature that a liquid does not have any particular shape and takes the shape of the container. The water in the sea displaces a certain volume of air or vacuum and this volume indicates the presence of äkäsa tatva that keeps the waters together within the containing crust of the earth. There are so many similar large water bodies that separate continents and they are all known as ‘sea’. This is the family or class of created bodies to which it belongs and is the mana. However, we are aware that this particular body that touches the west coast of India is different from the water body in the east coast of India and other parts of the world and have named it the “Arabian Sea”. This particular name “Arabian” is its ahamkära that helps to identify it in particular and differentiates it from other seas.

These are the eight primary variables that go into the creation of all bodies, both animate and inanimate. It is evident that we do not need any more variables than the lagna and seven planets from Sun to Saturn to define the physical (material creation). These planets are the seven Chara käraka that are used in mundane astrology and all such horoscopy of material bodies that cannot procreate.

Bhagavat Gita (7-5)

<em>apareyam itas tv anyäm prakrtim viddhi me paräm jiva‐bhütäm mahäbäho yayedam dhäryate jagat.</em>

<strong>Prabhupada’s translation:</strong> Besides these, O mighty-armed Arjuna, there is another, superior energy of Mine, which comprises the living entities who are exploiting the resources of this material, inferior nature.

Jyotisa Commentary

Besides the material creation, living beings are also created in this universe, which are of a superior energy. These beings are different from the material beings in that they have the “jiva” or “jivätma” which is very much like the paramätma, yet is different from the latter. This jivätma causes the living beings to exercise a higher level of intelligence, some amount of ‘free-will’ (very much bounded - based on the upachayas) and get involved in the process of karma, sin and rebirth. The definitions of karma and sin vary from one class of living beings to another (mana variance) and also varies within the class (ahamkära) based on the level of buddhi (intelligence). For example, sin is not incurred if a lion kills a cow for food, but a lot of sin is incurred if a human being kills a cow. Here the definition of sin based on dharma (natural laws governing) has been in variance due to the class of being differentiated as per the mana. Again, among human beings, the all knowing self-realised priest or brahmana incurs higher sin by killing a cow than a vaisya whole knowledge is inferior. Here the definition of sin is more relaxed based on the level of knowledge (buddhi).

Since the primary differential between the quality of the sin is the mana, and since the Moon represents the mana, it is but natural to consider the nodes of the Moon as karmic control planets. Rahu indicates the sins on account of past karma and those done with full knowledge of consequences while Ketu, in the negative, represents the mistakes made. In the positive Rahu represents punishment and redemption while Ketu represents suffering and emancipation. As a group they are one, and represent the opposite points of bhoga & moksa.

The eight-variable scheme of the previous sloka needs to be modified to the ten-variable scheme that includes the lunar nodes Rahu (ascending node) and Ketu (descending node) in addition to the lagna and seven planets from the Sun to Saturn. Further, since every living being that has been created has not got moksa, it is evident that in any spiritual scheme that must represent the individual jivätma and its interaction with the other ätma, room would have to be made for Rahu

(but must exclude Ketu). These seven planets from the Sun to Saturn, and Rahu are the eight Chara käraka that are used in horoscopy (jataka) and all such charts of living bodies that can procreate.

<strong>Bhagavat Gita (7‐6)</strong> <em>etad‐yonini bhütäni sarvänity upadhäraya aham krtsnasya jagataù prabhavaù pralayas tathä.</em>

<strong>Prabhupada’s translation:</strong> All created beings have their source in these two natures. Of all that is material and all that is spiritual in this world, know for certain that I am both the origin and the dissolution.

Jyotisa Commentary

All created bodies fall into these two categories of animate (living) and inanimate (non-living). One of the methods of differentiation is in their nature of procreation (this will also form the basis of differentiation of the two schemes of chara käraka). Further, the inanimate bodies do not have a jivätma and are not considered spirit beings or spiritual in that sense.

Conclusion

It is evident from the Bhagavat Gita that there are separate schemes for the living and non-living world and that these schemes differ on the number of chara karaka due to the concept of sin associated with a certain amount of limited free-will and the presence of the jivätma (individual soul of the living being). The visible differentiation is their ability to procreate which is represented by the siva linga (phallic symbol of siva as Pasupati or the lord of all living beings).