WHAT  ABOUT PEOPLE OF LEAST UNDERSTANDING?

anye twevamajaanantah shrutwaanyebhya upaasate
    te’pi chaa'titarantyeva mrityum shrutiparaayanaah // 13.26 //

Others also, ignorant of this  (these paths of Yoga), worship having heard of it from others; they too cross  beyond death, by their devotion to what they have heard as the Supreme Refuge.

Three main paths - Yoga of  meditation, Yoga of knowledge and Yoga of action- were referred to in the  previous verse. In this verse Yoga of worship is described. This path is shown  to those who could not adopt any of the aforesaid three methods.

Some people listen with intense  faith to the teachings of the spiritual preceptors regarding the Self. Solely  depending upon their advice and worship according to their advice they attain  immortality. Some study books and adhere with faith the teachings contained  therein and live according to them. They also overcome death. Whichever path  one follows, one eventually attains liberation from birth and death. The  various paths exist only to suit the aspirants of different temperaments and  equipments, the ultimate goal being the same.

Here death does not mean what  happens to the physical body but the principle of change. When we identify with  the body, the experiences can only be of the finite. To experience the Infinite  is to enter the state of immortality which is beyond death.
    yaavat sanjaayate kinchit sattwam sthaavarajangamam
    kshetrakshetrajnasamyogaat tadviddhi bharatarshabha // 13.27 //

Wherever any being is born,  the unmoving or the moving, know you, O Best of the Bharata, that it is from  the union between the Field and the Knower of the Field.

All life is commerce between Self  and not-Self. - Dr.S.Radhakrishnan.

The union between the Field and  the Knower of the Field is not of any physical kind or of any material nature but  it is of mutual superimposition. It is illusory, confounding the one with the  other. In every superimposition a delusion is recognized upon the substratum  just like a ghost on the post. Not only all the characteristics of a ghost are  projected upon the post but the post lends its existence to the non-existent  ghost. As a result of their mutual union we find that the non-existent ghost  comes into existence and the existing post gives place to non-existent ghost.

This trick of the human mind is  called mutual superimposition which is known in Vedanta as adhyasa. This  means false superimposition of one thing upon the other. This superimposition  is due to maya or absence of discrimination.  This unreal relationship, created by  ignorance, conjures up before our vision the manifold phenomenon of the  relative material world. When this confusion is cleared, bondage terminates.

In the Pure Consciousness or  Supreme Soul, Paramatman or Brahman, there is no Field of the Matter. But when the  Spirit starts playing in the Field it becomes the Knower of the Field  (Purusha). When Purusha works in Prakriti the combination brings forth the  entire phenomenal universe consisting of the moving and the unmoving. The  insentient body is mistaken for the sentient Self and vice versa. This illusion  disappears when one realizes the real knowledge of the Self and when one knows  the distinction between the Field and the Knower of the Field.

samam sarveshu bhooteshu tishthantam parameshwaram
    vinashyatswavinashyantam yah pashyati sa pashyati // 13.28 //

He sees who sees the Supreme  Lord existing equally in all beings, the unperishing within the perishing.

The substratum that supports all  is the Supreme Lord remaining the same in all beings. Everything in this  phenomenal world is subject to change and modifications - birth, growth, decay  and death. The Changeless Consciousness that supports all changes is the  Principle that illumines the changing world of plurality just as gold is the  changeless factor in different types of ornaments which are always made and  destroyed to make new ones of different types. The shape and size of ornaments  change but the changeless factor in them all is gold. He who recognizes the  harmony of Universal Spirit in all things, from the highest deity to the grain  of sand, sees and becomes universal. The same divine spirit dwells in all. The  difference between one object and another from the relative standpoint lies in  the degree of manifestation of the Spirit in it. In a Saint, the Spirit is  highly manifested while in a lowly object the spirit is hidden.

samam pashyan hi sarvatra samavasthitameeshwaram
    na hinastyaatmanaatmaanam tato yaati paraam gatim // 13.29 //

Because he who sees the same  Lord everywhere equally dwelling, does not destroy the Self by the self;  therefore, he goes to the highest goal.

He does not destroy the Self by  the self: In Chapter 6.5 & 6 it was explained as to when the self becomes  the enemy of the Self. Whenever the lower egocentric personality is not  available for guidance by the higher wisdom the lower becomes the enemy for the  higher in us. Such an ignorant man destroys the Self by identifying himself  with the body and the modifications of the mind and by not seeing the immortal  Self in all beings.

In an individual who recognizes  and experiences the one Parameswara everywhere the lower cannot overshadow the  higher. Such a sage does not destroy the Self by the self. To rediscover the  spiritual Reality, the Supreme Lord, in this world of change and sorrow is to  end all agitations.

He goes to the highest goal: The  mutual conflict between the lower and the higher personality is due to  non-apprehension of the Reality or due to mis-apprehension arising out of  non-apprehension. Because of this lack of understanding, we do not recognize  the one Eternal Divine everywhere and identify ourselves with the body and the  mind and thereby feel that they alone are real. Consequently, we come to the  conclusion that sensuality, materialistic pursuits and selfish satisfactions  are the only goals worth pursuing in life. Hence The Lord says that when both  these non-apprehension and mis-apprehension are ended that Absolute experience  is the experience of the highest goal and therefore, `He goes to the highest'.

prakrityaiva cha karmaani kriyamaanaani sarvashah
    yah pashyati tathaatmaanam akartaaram sa pashyati // 13.30 //

He sees who sees that all  actions are performed by Prakriti alone and likewise that the Self is not the  doer.

Prakriti alone performs all actions:  Actions depend upon the quality of the matter. If the mind is evil, actions  arising out of it cannot be good. The Self is perfect and there is no desire in  it. Where there are no desires, there is no action. He who recognizes the  Imperishable amidst the perishable is the right perceiver. He alone sees who  sees. The true Self is not the doer but only the witness. It is the spectator,  not the actor. Actions affect the mind and understanding and not the Self.