BG 13.06-07 maha-bhutany ahankaro... cited

Expressions researched:
"The five great elements, false ego, intelligence" |"buddhir avyaktam eva ca" |"etat ksetram samasena" |"iccha dvesah sukham duhkham" |"indriyani dasaikam ca" |"maha-bhutany ahankaro" |"panca cendriya-gocarah" |"sa-vikaram udahrtam" |"sanghatas cetana dhrtih" |"the aggregate, the life symptoms, and convictions" |"the five sense objects, desire, hatred, happiness, distress" |"the unmanifested, the ten senses and the mind"

Notes from the compiler: VedaBase query: "13.06-07" or "buddhir avyaktam eva ca" or "etat ksetram samasena" or "iccha dvesah sukham duhkham" or "indriyani dasaikam ca" or "maha-bhutany ahankaro" or "panca cendriya-gocarah" or "sa-vikaram udahrtam" or "sanghatas cetana dhrtih" or "the aggregate, the life symptoms, and convictions" or "the five sense objects, desire, hatred, happiness, distress" or "the unmanifested, the ten senses and the mind"

BG Chapters 13 - 18

BG 13.6-7, Translation and Purport:

The five great elements, false ego, intelligence, the unmanifested, the ten senses and the mind, the five sense objects, desire, hatred, happiness, distress, the aggregate, the life symptoms, and convictions—all these are considered, in summary, to be the field of activities and its interactions.

From all the authoritative statements of the great sages, the Vedic hymns and the aphorisms of the Vedānta-sūtra, the components of this world can be understood as follows. First there are earth, water, fire, air and ether. These are the five great elements (mahā-bhūta). Then there are false ego, intelligence and the unmanifested stage of the three modes of nature. Then there are five senses for acquiring knowledge: the eyes, ears, nose, tongue and skin. Then five working senses: voice, legs, hands, anus and genitals. Then, above the senses, there is the mind, which is within and which can be called the sense within. Therefore, including the mind, there are eleven senses altogether. Then there are the five objects of the senses: smell, taste, form, touch and sound. Now the aggregate of these twenty-four elements is called the field of activity. If one makes an analytical study of these twenty-four subjects, then he can very well understand the field of activity. Then there are desire, hatred, happiness and distress, which are interactions, representations of the five great elements in the gross body. The living symptoms, represented by consciousness, and convictions are the manifestation of the subtle body—mind, ego and intelligence. These subtle elements are included within the field of activities.

The five great elements are a gross representation of the false ego, which in turn represents the primal stage of false ego technically called the materialistic conception, or tāmasa-buddhi, intelligence in ignorance. This, further, represents the unmanifested stage of the three modes of material nature. The unmanifested modes of material nature are called pradhāna.

One who desires to know the twenty-four elements in detail along with their interactions should study the philosophy in more detail. In Bhagavad-gītā, a summary only is given.

The body is the representation of all these factors, and there are changes of the body, which are six in number: the body is born, it grows, it stays, it produces by-products, then it begins to decay, and at the last stage it vanishes. Therefore the field is a nonpermanent material thing. However, the kṣetra-jña, the knower of the field, its proprietor, is different.

Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures

Lecture on BG 13.6-7 -- Montreal, October 25, 1968:

(Prabhupāda reads from commentary by Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa)

Prabhupāda:

mahā-bhūtāny ahaṅkāro

buddhir avyaktam eva ca

indriyāṇi daśaikaṁ ca

pañca cendriya-gocarāḥ

icchā dveṣaḥ sukhaṁ duḥkhaṁ

saṅghātaś cetanā dhṛtiḥ

etat kṣetraṁ samāsena

sa-vikāram udāhṛtam

This is more or less sāṅkhya philosophy, analysis of material elements. We are embodied in material elements. Kṛṣṇa is questioned by Arjuna, "What is this body and who is the owner of this body, and what is knowledge?" Kṛṣṇa has answered that "The soul is the owner of this body, and I also, I am also the owner of this body." The owner of this body, one individual soul and the Supersoul. Just like owner of this storefront. The tenant is in one sense an owner; at the same time the landlord is also owner. These points we have discussed. Now, Kṛṣṇa has also discussed that the knowledge by which we can understand the soul, the Supersoul, and the material embodiment, that is real knowledge.

Lecture on BG 13.6-7 -- Montreal, October 25, 1968:

So actually, there are twenty-six different elements which is conducting this material world. Etat kṣetraṁ samāsena sa-vikāram udāhṛtam. Kṣetra means this body. Either you take this body or this material world, they are interaction of these twenty-four elements. Either you take the gigantic body of this universe or you take the body of this planet or you take this your body, my body, or a cat's body, dog's body, all these bodies, they are formed of these twenty-four elements, sa-vikāram, by action and reaction. Just like chemically, if you mix one chemical with another chemical, a third element is produced, similarly, originally the reservation of all these elements is called mahat-tattva. It is called pradhāna, upadhāna. So gradually they manifest, they divide by three guṇas. Three guṇas means in the mahat-tattva, in the total material reservoir, three guṇas, three modes of nature, first of all appear and they act with one another, and then gradually, one after another, the twenty-four elements become manifested. Etat kṣetraṁ samāsena sa-vikāram udāhṛtam.

Now, of course, we can theoretically accept that this is the position, but actually to understand the position, to acquire the requisite knowledge, that requires many stages of development. And how that knowledge is developed, that is also described in the Bhagavad-gītā by Kṛṣṇa. What is that? The first principle of acquiring knowledge is described here: amānitvam.

Lecture on BG 13.6-7 -- Bombay, September 29, 1973:

Prabhupāda:

mahā-bhūtāny ahaṅkāro

buddhir avyaktam eva ca

indriyāṇi daśaikaṁ ca

pañca cendriya-gocarāḥ

icchā dveṣaḥ sukhaṁ duḥkhaṁ

saṅghāṭaś cetanā dhṛtiḥ

etat kṣetraṁ samāsena

sa-vikāram udāhṛtam

Kṛṣṇa is discussing kṣetra, kṣetrajñaḥ, jñāna, and jñeyam. So kṣetra... Idaṁ śarīraṁ kṣetram ity abhidhīyate. This body is the kṣetra. Ksetra means the field of activities. Just like a cultivator, he has got a certain portion of land and according to the land, he is seeding, sowing the seeds of grains, and as he's working, he's getting the profit by agricultural product, similarly, this body is a field, is field, and we are sowing the seed, karma, sowing the seed and getting the result. Karmaṇā daiva-netreṇa (SB 3.31.1).

Why we have got different types of bodies? Why we haven't got, everyone, the same type of body? Somebody is fat, somebody is very thin, somebody white, somebody black, somebody very beautiful, somebody very ugly. There are so many varieties of bodies. Why? Saṅghāṭa. This is combination, color combination. There are three guṇas. Prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni guṇaiḥ karmāṇi sarvaśaḥ (BG 3.27). As you are associating with the guṇas, you are getting different types of body.

Lecture on BG 13.6-7 -- Bombay, September 29, 1973:

That is, Kṛṣṇa is explaining here, that mahā-bhūtāny ahaṅkāra. The ahaṅkāra is very important thing. False ahaṅkāra and real ahaṅkāra. Ahaṅkāra means law of identity. "I am Indian," this is ahaṅkāra. "I am American," this is ahaṅkāra. "I am rich man," this is also ahaṅkāra. "I am poor man." There are so many ahaṅkāras, law of identification. So this ahaṅkāra is the basis of getting a type of body, And... This is the subtle basis, ahaṅkāra. Mano buddhir ahaṅkāra. There are eight material elements: bhūmir āpo 'nalo vāyuḥ khāṁ mano buddhir eva ca (BG 7.4). That is stated in the seventh chapter. This earth, water, fire, air, sky, mind, intelligence, and ahaṅkāra. This is creating my different types of body.

Kṛṣṇa therefore says, mahā-bhūtāny ahaṅkāro buddhir avyaktam eva ca. Avyaktam means the total material substance. Just like when you construct a house there are heaps of materials, some stone, some cement, some woods, some iron, and you combine together... Tejo-vāri-mṛd-vinimayam. This whole world is exchange of three things: teja, fire, vāri, means water, and mṛt, means earth. So what is this Bombay city? The Bombay city is a heap of tejo-vāri-mṛd-vinimayaḥ. And... Here is one expert engineer, he knows how to mix these three things, tejo-vāri-mṛd-vinimayam, exchange. If there was no stock of tejo-vāri-mṛd-vinimayam, you could not build such a nice city. But who is supplying the ingredients? Can you create earth? No. Can you create water? No. You cannot create. You are simply working. You are simply working hard mixing them. That's all. Tejo vāri-mṛd-vinimayam. You cannot create. That is not possible. The creator is God. The creator is God. That is stated in the seventh chapter, prakṛtir me aṣṭadhā. Me, Kṛṣṇa says, "It is mine."

Lecture on BG 13.6-7 -- Bombay, September 29, 1973:

And we are using everything without utilizing for Kṛṣṇa's purpose; therefore it is material. And in the Bhagavad-gītā it is said, stena eva sa ucyate: (BG 3.12) "He is thief. He is thief." Yañārthāt karmano 'nyatra loko 'yaṁ karma-bandhanaḥ (BG 3.9). As one man is criminal because he does not satisfy the state... What is the position of a criminal person? Because he disobeys the laws of the state, he is criminal. That is the distinction between a good citizen and a criminal citizen. One who does not obey the laws of the state, he is criminal. So everyone who does not obey the orders of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he is criminal. Stena eva sa ucyate. This is the verdict of the śāstra. Forgetfulness of Kṛṣṇa, or God, is materialism, and not to use things for Kṛṣṇa's satisfaction is criminality.

So people do not understand these things. Kṛṣṇa therefore explaining that "This body..." Mahā-bhūtāny ahaṅkāro buddhir avyaktaṁ eva ca indriyāṇi daśaikaṁ ca. Indriyāṇi, these ten senses, five senses for acquiring knowledge and five senses for acting, ten, and the mind, ten and one, eleven... Indriyāṇi daśaikaṁ ca pañca cendriya-gocaraḥ. Indriya-gocaraḥ, the object of sense gratification, tan-mātra. Just like rūpa-rasa-gandha-śabda-sparśa. Beauty. Rūpa-rasa, taste. Rūpa-rasa-gandha, smell; śabda, sound; sparśa, touch. These are the objects of enjoyment. Our eyes are there. We are hankering after seeing very beautiful things. Rūpa-rasa. The tongue is there. We are always trying to taste very nice eatables. Gandha. Nose is there. We want to smell very flavorable flowers and other things. In this way we have got indriyas, senses, and this body made of gross elements, and the ahaṅkāra and buddhi, buddhi. Mano buddhir ahaṅkāraḥ. These are the subtle body. In this way this kṣetra, this body, is combination of all these things. Combination of all these things. Now it is very...

mahā-bhūtāny ahaṅkāro

buddhir avyaktam eva ca

indriyāṇi daśaikaṁ ca

pañca cendriya-gocaraḥ

Icchā-dveṣa... This is the icchā-dveṣa, action of the mind, willing, feeling. Icchā-dveṣa. Sometimes we like something, sometimes we do not like. This is called icchā-dveṣa. Iccha dveṣa-samutthena sarge yānti parantapa (BG 7.27). We take birth within this material world according to icchā and dveṣa. These two things are there. Something we like, something we do not like.

icchā-dveṣaḥ sukhaṁ duḥkhaṁ

saṅghāṭaś cetanā dhṛtiḥ

etat kṣetraṁ samāsena

sa-vikāram udāhṛtam

This is the combination of all these things. That has made this body. So the composition is very subtle.

Good chemists, they can understand how by combining different elements they can produce something. So these chemical products of this body is described by Kṛṣṇa very nicely, gross chemical and subtle chemical. But I am different from this. That is knowledge. I am different from this combination. But that we do not know. That is ignorance. I am thinking that "I am this combination," and I am thinking, "Wherefrom this combination has come into being, that is my place." That is described in the śāstras, yasyātmā-buddhiḥ kuṇape tri-dhātuke sva-dhīḥ kalatrādiṣu bhauma ijya-dhīḥ (SB 10.84.13). The chemicals comes from the earth. So everything in my body, they have come from these material elements and I'm identifying, "This place is mine because this body is born out of these elements." That is going on as nationalism. Bhauma iḍya-dhīḥ. Bhauma iḍya-dhīḥ. They'll not prefer worshiping Kṛṣṇa. They'll prefer worshiping that land from which this body has emanated. Bhauma idya-dhiḥ.

Lecture on BG 13.8-12 -- Bombay, October 2, 1973:

So we have discussed about the body, kṣetra. The question of Arjuna was kṣetra, kṣetrajna, jñānam, and jñeyam. Now kṣetra, we have discussed yesterday. Kṣetra, this body, is combination of "the five great elements, false ego, intelligence, the unmanifested, the ten senses, the mind, the five sense objects, desire, hatred, happiness, distress, the aggregate, the life symptom, and convictions—all these are considered in summary to be the field of activities." Yesterday we have discussed.

So we should not mistake this that we accept the field of activities identified with myself. That is going on. Suppose you have got a piece of land as agriculturist, and you produce your food grain in large quantity or small quantity. It doesn't matter. Similarly, this body we are utilizing.

Lecture on BG 13.8-12 -- Bombay, October 2, 1973:

There are so many examples. Just like a pig has got a body. He likes to eat stool. If you give him halavā, that "Don't eat stool. Take this nice halavā," he's not interested because he has got a particular type of body. That is the aggregate. That is already explained. Mahā-bhūtāny ahaṅkāro buddhir avyaktam (eva) ca, icchā dveṣaḥ sukhaṁ duḥkham. Icchā dveṣaḥ. The icchā and dveṣa according to the body. He has got the desire to eat the stool. That is his icchā. And he has got a dveṣa for the halavā, while a gentlemen, advanced gentlemen, he has got the icchā for halavā, not for the stool.

Therefore our duty should be that without trying... That was Indian civilization. Everyone was happy in his position, everyone—brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya, śūdra. The culture was so nice that nobody was unhappy, even if he is a śūdra or even if he is a vaiśya or a brāhmaṇa or kṣatriya. It is not that because the kṣatriyas, the royal family, they were happy, and the brāhmaṇas were not happy or the śūdras were not happy. No. Everyone was happy because... Still in India you go to the village. They are happy with their destination. This is the Indian culture. Now we are injecting discontentment, injecting. Otherwise everyone was happy in his position: "God has given this position. So this is all right. Let me do my work." That is satisfaction. Everyone was satisfied.

1974 Conversations and Morning Walks

Morning Walk -- March 30, 1974, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: Yes. But you cannot falsely claim that "I am Paramātmā," or "I am God." Whether you have got this all-pervading knowledge? This is the only test to the pretenders that he is God, he is Paramātmā.

Dr. Patel: But that is... They will say that kṣetra-jña, not kṣetra. Mahā-bhūtāny ahaṅkāro buddhir avyaktam eva...

Prabhupāda: Now he comes to the material elements.

Dr. Patel: Icchā dveṣaḥ sukhaṁ duḥkhaṁ...

Prabhupāda: Yes, that is... That is...

Dr. Patel: Why they should be in add great...? I don't understand that.

Prabhupāda: What is that?

Dr. Patel: These are all mahā-bhūtāny ahaṅkāra buddhiḥ...

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Dr. Patel: But icchā dveṣaḥ...

Prabhupāda: Icchā... The... (break) Mind is also material.

Dr. Patel: Saṅghātaś cetanā dhṛtiḥ.

Prabhupāda: Now, yes. Cetanā, intelligence, everything, everything. These are all... These are all material.

Dr. Patel: That is, what do you call, the liṅga-śarīra.

Prabhupāda: But the... Some foolish people accept the intelligence, mind, as spirit.

Dr. Patel: No, no, I understand not.

Chandobhai: That is Sāṅkhya philosophy.

Prabhupāda: Eh?

Chandobhai: That is Sāṅkhya philosophy.

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Dr. Patel: Etat kṣetraṁ samāsena sa-vikāram... Now, amānitvam adambhitvam ahiṁsā kṣāntir... (BG 13.8). (break)

Prabhupāda: ...That is the first thing, ācāryopāsanam. But these rascals, they do not do that. They have no ācārya; still, they, write comment on Bhagavad-gītā. You see? This is the rascaldom. Ācāryopāsanam. One must go... Ācāryavān puruṣo veda. Unless one accepts ācārya, he does not know anything.

1975 Conversations and Morning Walks

Room Conversation with Dr. John Mize -- June 23, 1975, Los Angeles:

Bahulāśva: Prabhupāda, in the Thirteenth Chapter of Bhagavad-gītā, "Nature, Enjoyer, and Consciousness," in verse number six and seven you mention those twenty-seven coverings: "The five great elements, false ego, intelligence, the unmanifest, the ten senses, the mind, the five sense objects, desire, hate, happiness, and distress, the aggregate, the life symptoms and convictions—all these are considered, in summary, to be the field of activities and their interaction." And...

Prabhupāda: By the material life, these are our field of activities. The body is a combination of all these things. Just like a huge computer machine. It is made of these material things, but the mechanical parts are very minute, different. All these are matter. But within this matter, because the soul is there, therefore the finest machine is working. Just like your composition machine, (imitates machine:) "Kut, kut, kut, kut, kut, kut." But one has to push the button; otherwise useless. However very nicely made the machine, without a living being's touch, it is useless. So all this big machine, body, is wonderful so long the soul is there. And as soon as the soul is out it is lump of matter, useless, not worth a penny. Throw it away. So we are giving importance to the machine, not to the person who is dealing with the machine. This is the folly of modern civilization. We are thinking like child, "The machine is working independently." But that is not the fact. The big airship, 747, is flying because the pilot is there, and the pilot is a soul, covered by another bodily machine. And that, that is missing point in the modern civilization, that who is working with the machine. That they do not know. That is ignorance.