Bhagavad Gita, chapter 3, verse 33

The Gita says, indeed, "All existences follow their nature and what shall coercing it avail?" which seems, if we take it by3.33 itself, a hopelessly absolute assertion of the omnipotence of Nature over the soul; "even the man of knowledge acts according to his own nature." And on this it founds the injunction to follow faithfully in our action the law of our nature. "Better is one's own law of works, svadharma, though in itself faulty3.35 than an alien law well wrought out; death in one's own law of being is better, perilous is it to follow an alien law." What is precisely meant by this svadharma we have to wait to see until we get to the more elaborate disquisition in the closing chapters about Purusha and Prakriti and the gunas; but certainly it does not mean that we are to follow any impulse, even though evil, which what we call our nature dictates to us. For between these two verses the Gita throws in this further injunction, "In the3.34 object of this or that sense liking and disliking are set in ambush; fall not into their power, for they are the besetters of the soul in its path." And immediately after this, in answer to Arjuna's objection who asks him, if there is no fault in following our3.36 Nature, what are we then to say of that in us which drives a man to sin, as if by force, even against his own struggling will, the Teacher replies that this is desire and its companion wrath, children of rajas, the second guna, the principle of passion, and this desire is the soul's great enemy and has to be slain. Abstention from evil-doing it declares to be the first condition for liberation, and always it enjoins self-mastery, self-control, saṁyama, control of the mind, senses, all the lower being.

In the animal, though tamas is still strong, though we may still describe him as belonging to the tamasic creation, tāmasa sarga, yet rajas prevails much more against tamas, brings with it its developed power of life, desire, emotion, passion, pleasure, suffering, while sattwa, emerging, but still dependent on the lower action, contributes to these the first light of the conscious mind, the mechanical sense of ego, conscious memory, a certain kind of thought, especially the wonders of instinct and animal intuition. But as yet the buddhi, the intelligent will, has not developed the full light of consciousness; therefore, no responsibility can be attributed to the animal for its actions. The tiger can be no more blamed for killing and devouring than the atom for its blind movements, the fire for burning and consuming or the storm for its destructions. If it could answer the question, the tiger would indeed say, like man, that it had free will, it would have the egoism of the doer, it would say, “I kill, I devour”; but we can see clearly enough that it is not really the tiger, but Nature in the tiger that kills, it is Nature in the tiger that devours; and if it refrains from killing or devouring, it is from satiety, from fear or from indolence, from another principle of Nature in it, from the action of the guna called tamas. As it was Nature in the animal that killed, so it is Nature in the animal that refrained from killing. Whatever soul is in it, sanctions passively the action of Nature, is as much passive in its passion and activity as in its indolence or inaction. The animal like the atom acts according to the mechanism of its Nature, and not otherwise,3.33 sadṛśaṁ ceṣṭate svasyāḥ prakṛteḥ, as if mounted on a machine, yantrārūḍho māyayā18.61.

This is what the old wisdom meant when it said that man imagines himself to be the doer of the work by his free will, but in reality Nature determines all his works and even the wise are compelled to follow their own Nature. But since Nature is the creative force of consciousness of the Being within us who is masked by His own inverse movement and apparent denial of Himself, they called that inverse creative movement of His consciousness the Maya or Illusion-Power of the Lord and said that all existences are turned as upon a machine through His Maya by the Lord seated within the heart of all existences. It is evident then that only by man so far exceeding mind as to become one in self-awareness with the Lord can he become master of his own being. And since this is not possible in the inconscience or in the subconscient itself, since profit cannot come by plunging down into our depths back towards the Inconscient, it can only be by going inward where the Lord is seated and by ascending into that which is still superconscient to us, into the Supermind, that this unity can be wholly established. For there in the higher and divine Maya is the conscious knowledge, in its law and truth, of that which works in the subconscient by the lower Maya under the conditions of the Denial which seeks to become the Affirmation. For this lower Nature works out what is willed and known in that higher Nature. The Illusion-Power of the divine knowledge in the world which creates appearances is governed by the Truth-Power of the same knowledge which knows the truth behind the appearances and keeps ready for us the Affirmation towards which they are working. The partial and apparent Man here will find there the perfect and real Man capable of an entirely self-aware being by his full unity with that Self-existent who is the omniscient lord of His own cosmic evolution and procession.

It is always useful to inquire into the inner psychology of common & vulgar types. Their very crudeness and coarseness is an advantage, because we see in them in the rough and laid bare to a surface analysis the secret motives which in the higher evolutions of the type are too self-conscious & self-concealing to be easily detected. It is not easy to detect at first the common Britishness, if we may be allowed the word, of two men so different, at such opposite poles of human evolution as Mr. John Morley, the litterateur, politician, philosopher & fine perfection of the most serious & sober British culture, and the vulgar Newmaniac, the loud, ranting, blustering, impudently lying Yahoo of Hare Street. And yet it is by understanding the Newmaniac that we shall best understand not only John Morley but his whole race and understand too that the policy which Morley accepted from the first to the wonder & dismay of his Indian worshippers, was the only policy he or any other Englishman could have accepted. It is the common Briton in each which forms the bond of sympathy between the Newmaniac & Mr. John Morley and makes them think so wonderfully alike. That is the only answer which we can give to the question why Englishmen professing to be just, beneficent & all that is noble & unique, have so readily accepted a mingled policy of brutal repression and false conciliation in India—because it is the nature of the beast. The Britisher may wish to be or at least to seem just, noble, generous, humane, beneficent; but what is the use? "To their nature all things at the last return, and what shall coercing it avail?"

Therefore, not to be ensnared, emmeshed and bound by Nature, and not, on the other hand, to be furious with her & destroy her, is the first thing we must learn if we are to be complete Yogins and proceed surely towards our divine perfection. All beings, even the sages, follow after their nature and what shall coercion and torture of it, avail them? Prakritim yanti bhutani, nigrahah kim karishyati? And it is all so useless! Do you feel yourself bound by her and pant for release? In her hand alone is the key which shall unlock your fetters. Does she stand between you & the Lord? She is Sita; pray to her, she will stand aside & show Him to you; but presume not to separate Sita & Rama, to cast her out into some distant Lanca under the guard of giant self-tortures so that you may have Rama to yourself in Ayodhya. Wrestle with Kali, if you will, she loves a good wrestler; but wrestle not with her unlovingly, or in mere disgust & hate; for her displeasure is terrible and though she loves the Asuras, she destroys them. Rather go through her & under her protection, go with a right understanding of her and with a true & unfaltering Will; she will lead you on with whatever circlings, yet surely & in the wisest way, to the All-Blissful Personality & the Ineffable Presence. Nature is the Power of God Himself, leading these multitudes of beings, through the night & the desert & the tracts of the foeman to their secret & promised heritage.

Saṁyama is unseasonable and would be fruitless when a force, quality or tendency is in its infancy or vigour, before it has had the enjoyment and full activity which is its due. When once a thing is born it must have its youth, growth, enjoyment, life and final decay and death; when once an impetus has been given by Prakriti to her creation, she insists that the velocity shall spend itself by natural exhaustion before it shall cease. To arrest the growth or speed unseasonably by force is nigraha, which can be effective for a time but not in perpetuity. It is said in the Gita that all things are ruled by their nature, to their nature they return and nigraha or repression is fruitless. What happens then is that the thing untimely slain by violence is not really dead, but withdraws for a time into the Prakriti which sent it forth, gathers an immense force and returns with extraordinary violence ravening for the rightful enjoyment which it was denied. We see this in the attempts we make to get rid of our evil saṁskāras or associations when we first tread the path of Yoga. If anger is a powerful element in our nature, we may put it down for a time by sheer force and call it self-control, but eventually unsatisfied Nature will get the better of us and the passion return upon us with astonishing force at an unexpected moment. There are only two ways by which we can effectively get the better of the passion which seeks to enslave us. One is by substitution, replacing it whenever it rises by the opposite quality, anger by thoughts of forgiveness, love or forbearance, lust by meditation on purity, pride by thoughts of humility and our own defects or nothingness; this is the method of Rajayoga, but it is a difficult, slow and uncertain method; for both the ancient traditions and the modern experience of Yoga show that men who had attained for long years the highest self-mastery have been suddenly surprised by a violent return of the thing they thought dead or for ever subject. Still this substitution, slow though it be, is one of the commonest methods of Nature and it is largely by this means, often unconsciously or half-consciously used, that the character of a man changes and develops from life to life or even in the bounds of a single lifetime. It does not destroy things in their seed and the seed which is not reduced to ashes by Yoga is always capable of sprouting again and growing into the complete and mighty tree. The second method is to give bhoga or enjoyment to the passion so as to get rid of it quickly. When it is satiated and surfeited by excessive enjoyment, it becomes weak and spent and a reaction ensues which establishes for a time the opposite force, tendency or quality. If that moment is seized by the Yogin for nigraha, the nigraha so repeated at every suitable opportunity becomes so far effective as to reduce the strength and vitality of the vṛtti sufficiently for the application of the final saṁyama. This method of enjoyment and reaction is also a favourite and universal method of Nature, but it is never complete in itself and, if applied to permanent forces or qualities, tends to establish a see-saw of opposite tendencies, extremely useful to the operations of Prakriti but from the point of view of self-mastery useless and inconclusive. It is only when this method is followed up by the use of saṁyama that it becomes effective. The Yogin regards the vṛtti merely as a play of Nature with which he is not concerned and of which he is merely the spectator; the anger, lust or pride is not his, it is the universal Mother's and she works it and stills it for her own purposes. When, however, the vṛtti is strong, mastering and unspent, this attitude cannot be maintained in sincerity and to try to hold it intellectually without sincerely feeling it is mithyācāra, false discipline or hypocrisy. It is only when it is somewhat exhausted by repeated enjoyment and coercion that Prakriti or Nature at the command of the soul or Purusha can really deal with her own creation. She deals with it first by vairāgya in its crudest form of disgust, but this is too violent a feeling to be permanent; yet it leaves its mark behind in a deep-seated wish to be rid of its cause, which survives the return and temporary reign of the passion. Afterwards its return is viewed with impatience but without any acute feeling of intolerance. Finally supreme indifference or udāsīnatā is gained and the final going out of the tendency by the ordinary process of Nature is watched in the true spirit of the saṁyamī who has the knowledge that he is the witnessing soul and has only to dissociate himself from a phenomenon for it to cease. The highest stage leads either to mukti in the form of laya or disappearance, the vṛtti vanishing altogether and for good, or else to another kind of freedom when the soul knows that it is God's līlā and leaves it to Him whether He shall throw out the tendency or use it for His own purposes. This is the attitude of the Karmayogin who puts himself in God's hands and does work for His sake only, knowing that it is God's force that works in him. The result of that attitude of self-surrender is that the Lord of all takes charge and according to the promise of the Gita delivers His servant and lover from all sin and evil, the vṛttis working in the bodily machine without affecting the soul and working only when He raises them up for His purposes. This is nirliptatā, the state of absolute freedom within the līlā.

"For no man verily remaineth even for a moment without doing works, for all are helplessly made to do work by the moods to which Nature has given birth." And again सदृशं चेष्टते स्वस्याः प्रकृतेर्ज्ञानवानपि । "Even the Jnani moveth & doeth after the semblance of his own nature; for created things follow after their nature and what can forcing it do?" A man works according to his nature and cannot help doing work; but he can choose to what he shall direct his works, whether to his lower self or his higher, whether to desire or to God. The man who leaves the world behind him and sits on a mountaintop or in an asram, has not therefore got rid of works. If nothing else he has to maintain his body, to eat, to walk, to move his limbs, to sit in asan and meditate; all this is work. And not only his body works; his mind is far more active than his body. If he is not released from desire, his work will bind him and bear fruit in relation to himself and others. Even if he is released from desire, his body & mind are not free from Karma until he is able to get rid of them finally, and that will not be till his prarabdha karma has worked itself out and the debts he has written against his name are wiped off. Even the greatest Yogi by his mere bodily presence in the world, is pouring out a stream of spiritual force on all sides; this action does not bind him, it is true, yet it is work and work which exercises a stupendous influence on others. He is सर्वभूतहितरतः, busy doing good to all creatures by his very nature, even though he does not lift a finger or move a step. He too with regard to his body, gross & subtle, is अवशः, he must let the gunas, the moods of Nature, work. He may control that work, for he is no longer the slave of Prakriti, but he cannot stop it except by finally leaving his body & mind through Yoga with the Eternal. Work therefore does not cease any more than Bhakti or Jnana.

The Greek Stoic sect made this mistake that they could not understand the true means of conquering grief. They tried to conquer grief by suppressing, concealing, trampling under foot. But in the Gita it is said elsewhere, prakṛtiṁ yānti bhūtāni, nigrahaḥ kiṁ kariṣyati. Beings follow their own nature; what will suppression do? By suppression of grief the heart of man becomes dry, hard, devoid of love. I shall not shed tears in grief, shall not acknowledge the feeling of pain, shall bear silently saying "this is nothing"; shall see the grief of wife, grief of child, grief of friend, grief of the nation with an unmoved heart,—this feeling is the tapasya of the strong Asura—it has greatness, has use also in the progress of man; but this is not the true means of conquering grief, not the final or ultimate teaching. The true means of conquering grief is knowledge, peace, equality. To accept pleasure and pain calmly is the true path. I shall not forbid the movement of pleasure and pain in the Prana; I shall keep the intellect unmoved. The place of equality is the intellect, not the heart, not the Prana. If the intellect is equal, the heart and Prana become equal of themselves; yet love etc. propensities born of nature do not dry up; man does not become a stone, does not become inert and insensitive. Prakṛtiṁ yānti bhūtāni—love etc. are the eternal propensities of nature; the only way to get rid of them is merger in the Supreme Brahman. Staying in nature it is impossible to abandon nature. If I abandon softness, hardness will overwhelm the heart;—if I forbid the vibration of grief outside, grief will accumulate inside and imperceptibly dry up the Prana. There is no possibility of progress in such mortification. There will be strength in tapasya no doubt but what I suppressed in this life, in the next life breaking all barriers will surge up with double force.

গ্রীক স্তোয়িক সম্প্রদায় এই ভুল করিলেন যে তাঁহারা দুঃখজয়ের প্রকৃত উপায় বুঝিতে পারেন নাই। তাঁহারা দুঃখ নিগ্রহ করিয়া, ছাপাইয়া, পদে দলিত করিয়া দুঃখজয়ের চেষ্টা করিলেন। কিন্তু গীতায় অন্যত্র বলিয়াছে, প্রকৃতিং যান্তি ভূতানি, নিগ্রহঃ কিং করিষ্যতি। ভূতসকল নিজ প্রকৃতিকে অনুসরণ করে, নিগ্রহে কি হইবে? দুঃখনিগ্রহে মানবের হৃদয় শুষ্ক, কঠোর, প্রেমশূন্য হইয়া যায়। দুঃখে অশ্রুজল মোচন করিব না, যন্ত্রণাবোধ স্বীকার করিব না, “এ কিছু নহে” বলিয়া নীরবে সহ্য করিব, স্ত্রীর দুঃখ, সন্তানের দুঃখ, বন্ধুর দুঃখ, জাতির দুঃখ অবিচলিত চিত্তে দেখিব, এই ভাব বলদৃপ্ত অসুরের তপস্যা — তাহার মহত্ত্ব আছে, মানবের উন্নতিসাধনে প্রয়োজনও আছে, কিন্তু ইহা দুঃখজয়ের প্রকৃত উপায় নহে, শেষ বা চরম শিক্ষা নহে। দুঃখজয়ের প্রকৃত উপায় জ্ঞান, শান্তি, সমতা। শান্তভাবে সুখ-দুঃখ গ্রহণ করাই প্রকৃত পথ। প্রাণে সুখ-দুঃখের সঞ্চার বারণ করিব না, বুদ্ধি অবিচলিত করিয়া রাখিব। সমতার স্থান বুদ্ধি, চিত্ত নহে, প্রাণ নহে। বুদ্ধি সম হইলে, চিত্ত ও প্রাণ আপনিই সম হয়, অথচ প্রেম ইত্যাদি প্রকৃতিজাত প্রবৃত্তি শুকাইয়া যায় না, মানুষ পাথর হয় না, জড় ও অসাড় হয় না। প্রকৃতিং যান্তি ভূতানি — প্রেম ইত্যাদি প্রকৃতির চিরন্তন প্রবৃত্তি, তাহার হাত হইতে পরিত্রাণ পাওয়ার একমাত্র উপায় পরব্রহ্মে লয়। প্রকৃতির মধ্যে থাকিয়া প্রকৃতিবর্জ্জন অসম্ভব। যদি কোমলতা পরিত্যাগ করি, কঠোরতা হৃদয়কে অভিভূত করিবে, — যদি বাহিরে দুঃখের স্পন্দন নিষেধ করি, দুঃখ ভিতরে জমিয়া থাকিবে এবং অলক্ষিতভাবে প্রাণকে শুকাইয়া দিবে। এইরূপ কৃচ্ছ্রসাধনে উন্নতির সম্ভাবনা নাই। তপস্যায় শক্তি হইবে বটে কিন্তু এই জন্মে যাহা ছাপাইয়া রাখিলাম, পরজন্মে তাহা সর্ব্বরোধ ভাঙ্গিয়া দ্বিগুণ বেগে উছলিয়া আসিবে।

It is with the Sukshma Prana that I am principally concerned; for the Sthula Prana belongs to the Annam rather than to the Antahkarana and I will speak of it in connection with the Annam. The Sukshma Prana is the seat of desire and its purification is of the utmost importance to the Yogin. Until you have got rid of desire, you have accomplished nothing permanent. When you have got rid of desire, you are sure of everything else. That is why the Gita says "Get rid of desire first". Only until you have got knowledge and can learn to use your will to still the mind and purify the emotions, you cannot utterly get rid of desire. You may drive it out by Samyama, you may hold it down by Nigraha but eventually it is of no use, for it will return. "Prakritim yânti bhûtâni nigrahah kim karishyati." Creatures follow after nature; what is the use of coercion? That is to say, it has a temporary result and the coerced desires come back ravening and more furious than before. That was what Christ meant by the parable of the devil, the unclean spirit who is driven out of a man only to return with seven spirits worse than himself. For it is the nature of things, the unalterable nature of things, that unpurified emotion must clamour after desire, an unstilled Manas give it harbourage whenever it returns, an unilluminated Buddhi contain the seed of it ready to sprout up at the first opportunity. Therefore unless the whole Antahkarana is purified, unless you get a new heart and a new mind, desire cannot be got rid of; it returns or it remains. When however an illuminated understanding lighting up the action of a strengthened Will and supported by a pure heart, casts desire into the Sukshma Prana and attacks it there in its native place, it can be utterly destroyed. When you have a visuddha Buddhi you will be able to distinguish these various organs and locate all your mental activities. Desire can then be isolated in the Prana and the heart and mind kept pure of its insistent inroads. For desire is only effective when it can get hold of the Chitta and Buddhi, generating Vikaras of emotion and perversions of knowledge which give it strength to impose itself on the Will and so influence internal and external action. It is most powerful in the higher kind of human being when it masks itself as a principle or ideal or as a justifiable emotion.

Anilbaran may be influenced by the determinism of Nature in the Gita. But that is not the whole thing. There the Purusha also comes in. The Purusha may dissent to something but still Nature carries it out or the Purusha may assent to it while Nature refuses. That is what happens in Yoga. Nature goes on repeating its own habits and preferences against the Purusha’s consent till the power of the Purusha so increases that it can assert itself over the Prakriti. Anilbaran may also be speaking from an ideal point of view, but there too discrimination by the individual comes in. Will you remember all that?