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This object, or that object may vanish, this man or that woman may die, this flower or that flower may perish, but there is no time when the objects as a class do not exist, when there is no enjoyer, no object to be enjoyed. So there 410 A Study of the Bhagavata Purana is a constancy in the desires. Therefore one must form attachments, have desires, that Atma be made fully conscious. But if Atma be left to itself, it will remain Jada or unconscious. There is nothing to be gained by this. Therefore one should persistently follow the path of desires as laid down in the Karma Kanda of the Vedas, analysed by Jaimini in his Parva Mimansa. One should not give up Vedic Karma and selfish desires as he is taught to do in the Jnana Kanda of the Vedas, the Upanishads, as analysed by Vy4sa in his Uttara Mimansa, and as expounded by Sri Krishna in the Bhagavat Gita. It must be remembered that this philosophy of Karma, so effectually refuted by Sri Krishna, was suited to the materialistic cycle of evolution, when Rajas had to be sought rather than put down. The minerals and veg- etables were unconscious. The animals shewed a slight development in consciousness. But the full development was in Man. And this was due to the pursuit of the Path of Inclination or Pravritti Marga up to a late period in the past history of the Universe. Notwithstand- ing the attacks of Sri Krishna, the school of Jaimini had its followers till the time of Sri Sankaracharya, when Mandana Misra the most learned Pandit of the time, was its chief exponent. After his memo- rable defeat by Sri Sankaracharya the Mimansakas fell into disrepute and Vedic Karma became a thing of the past.) "Granting all that, O dear Uddhava, all Atmas have constantly their births and other states, by connection with the body and by reason of the divisions of time." (i.e. though you may say that Atma itself is transformed, still you can not deny that the transformations take place by its connection with the body and that they are brought about by time.) "It follows then that the doer of actions, the enjoyer of joys and the sufferer of sorrows is dependent on other things." (For Atma is dependent upon the body and upon time for its highest transforma- tion. Sridhara says if Atma is the doer and enjoyer, why should it do wrong acts and suffer sorrows if it were independent. Therefore Atma must be dependent according to the Mimansakas). Now who in seeking his greatest good would worship one that is dependent on others? "(Do not say that those who know Vedic karma thoroughly are al- ways happy and only those that do not know that are unhappy. For Purnendu Narayana Sinha, M. A., B. L. 411 it is found that— Sridhara) even wise men sometimes have no happi- ness and the ignorant have no misery. Therefore it is mere vanity (to speak about Karma). Even if (the followers of the path of Pravritti) know how to gain happiness and destroy misery, they certainly do not know the means by which they can get over death. And when death is near at hand, what objects of desire can give joy? What can please the victim that is carried to the place of sacrifice? (This is so far as this life is concerned. Then as to life after death). What you hear about Svarga life, even that is as bad as the life we lead on this earth. For in Svarga, there is jealousy, there is fault finding, there are inequalities and consequent uneasiness, and there is a finality in the enjoyments and the desires are full of obstacles, even as agricul- ture is and so after all even Svarga is of no good. When the Vedic Karma is properly performed without any obstacle whatsoever, hear how the performer of Karma loses the place acquired by his Karma. He makes offerings to Indra and other Devas by the performance of Yajna and he goes after death to Svarga. There he enjoys heavenly objects like the Devas, objects acquired by his own Karma. He moves in white chariots the acquisitions of his own merits, among Deva girls and is adored; by the Gandharvas. The chariot moves at his will. It is adorned by small bells. He whiles away his time with the Deva girls in the gardens of Svarga and he does not know his own fall. But he remains in Svarga only so long as his merit is not exhausted. And when the merit is run out, down falls the man by the force of time, even against his will. (The above is the course after death of those who perform Kamya Karma, according to Vedic rules. This is one way of following Pravritti Marga. There is another way—the fol- lowing up of one’s own inclinations, in disregard of the Vedic rules. The next Sloka refers to the performers of prohibited Karma). And if again a man indulges in the prohibited acts, through evil company, if his senses are not controlled, and if in consequence, he is passion- ate indiscriminate, greedy, excessively fond of women, and unkind to other beings, if the man kills animals wantonly and worships Pre- tas and Bhitas, he goes, driven by the law, to the Narakas and finds there intense Tamas. "Therefore karma (selfish actions) ends in unhappiness. By per- forming karma with the body, men seek the body again. What happi- 412 A Study of the Bhagavata Purana ness is there in the possession of this transitory body? The Lokas and Lokapalas have to fear me, they who live for one full day of Brahma. Even Brahma who lives for 2 Parardhas has fear of me." (Therefore Pravritti Marga leads to evil. It should be shunned and Nivritti Marga should be adopted. This is the purport. Sridhara). (Now Sri Krishna goes on to refute the first two assumptions (1) that Atma is the doer and (2) that Atma is the enjoyer). The Gu- nas create actions and the Gunas lead the Gunas. (The Gunas are Satva, Rajas and Tamas. These primal attributes of Prakriti give rise to all her manifestations. The Indriyas, the senses, and the mind are Satvic and Rajasic transformations of the Ahankara manifestation of Prakriti. So they are the Gunas first referred to. The senses and the mind create actions. Our actions are all prompted by them and not by Atma. So Atma is not the doer. It may be said however that the senses and the mind are guided by Atma. But it is not so. The primal attributes (Gunas) lead the senses and the mind (Gunas). If Satva pre- vails in a man his actions are Satvic and so on. It is the nature of the Prakritic transformations of a man that determines his actions. This is only an elaboration of Sridhara’s notes.) The Jiva enjoys the fruits of Karma, being connected with the Gunas (The enjoyment by Jiva is also due to its phenomenal basis. "Connected with the Gunas" i.e. connected with the senses and other Prakritic elements. Jivatma dwells in the body. When the house falls down, he occupies another house. When the houses are merely halt- ing stations in his long journey, he does not care much for the house itself, he does not identify himself with the house. So when Jivatma becomes indifferent to the body, it is not affected by the changes of the body. When a house burns, the dweller in the house feels pain. When the house is comfortable, the dweller in the house feels plea- sure. His connection with the house is however temporary.) As long as there is difference in the Gunas (i. e, Guna transforma- tions, Ahankara &c.), so long there is plurality in Atma. As long as there is plurality so long is it dependent on others. (The difference in Jivatmas or individuals, is not due to any difference in Atma, but to differences in the Guna transformations which give rise to the body. Dependence is also an accompaniment of those transformations), So long as Jiva is dependent on others it has fear from Ishvara. Purnendu Narayana Sinha, M. A., B. L. 413 Those that worship the Guna transformations are given up to sorrow and they become deluded. BONDAGE AND LIBERATION. SKANDHA XI. CHAP. 11. Uddhava asked:— "Atma dwells in the transformations of the Gunas forming the body. Why should it not be bound down by the Gunas. Or if Atma is free (like Akasa) why should it be at all in bondage? What are the indications of Atma in bondage and of liberated Atma? Is Atma ever in bondage? (for connection with the Gunas is eternal. Sridhara) or ever in liberation (for if liberation is a state to be acquired, Atma can not be permanent. Sridhara)" Sri Krishna replied:— "Bondage and liberation are terms applied to Me not with ref- erence to my real self, but with reference to My Gunas (the Guna limitations, Satva, Rajas and Tamas that are subordinate to me. Srid- hara). The Gunas have their origin in Maya. Therefore I have neither liberation nor bondage. "Sorrow and delusion, joy and grief, even the attainment of body—these are all due to Maya. The dream is only an illusory form of the mind, even so the course of births is not real. Vidya and Avidya both proceed from My Maya, O Uddhava. I am one and the Jiva is only my part (as the ray is of the sun). The bondage of Jiva is caused by Avidya and its liberation by Vidya. This is eternally so. Now I shall tell you the different indications of the imprisoned and the liberated Jiva. (The difference is twofold: that between Jiva and Isvara and that amongst the Jivas themselves. The author first speaks of the former. Sridhara.) Jiva and Isvara though of different attributes dwell in the same body. They are two birds like each other (for both are man- ifestations of conciousness), companions that have made a nest for themselves (the heart), in the tree of body, of their own free will. "Of these one (the Jiva) eats the fruits of the tree. The other (Is- vara) though not a partaker of the fruits is the mightier of the two. For He who does not partake of the fruits is the knower of self as of others. But the partaker of fruits is not so.