BG5.5

The Pandyan King Vallabha Deva celebrated the establishment of the Supreme God as Sriman Narayana, by Perialwar by citing various passages from Vedas. South India was ruled by Chola, Chera and Pandya kings in their respective regions. Pandya kings ruled with Madurai as capital. Their flag had the fish as the symbol. The Pandya kings once went as far as the Himalayas and won the region and placed their fish symbol flag on the Himalayas. Perialwar says similarly, the Lord should place His feet on his head. We may wonder how these instances are connected? The Himalayas never made a request to the Pandyan King to place Pandya flag on them. Similarly, Perialwar feels that he is not having the capacity to request for placement of His feet on his head. But just as the King placed his flag on the mountain, He should also place His feet and bless him. Purooravas was a king. His son was Indradyumnan. His son was Malayadwaja Pandyan. All these kings have served and contributed to the temple of Sri Koodalazhagar. Fish on the flag of Pandyan kings is connected with the Lord's avatar as a fish [Matsya avatar]. King Satyavratha, while praying in the water, got a fish in his hands. He put it in a vessel, but it grew and the vessel was inadequate. He then put it in a pond and it grew more and he had to transfer it to a river and then to the ocean as its size became so large. It was revealed to the King that the Fish was none other than the Lord. This King also was a Pandyan. We will now see the fourth sloka in Gita:

sankhya-yogau prithag balah
pravadanti na panditah
ekam apy asthitah samyag
ubhayor vindate phalam

"Only the ignorant speak of devotional service [karma-yoga] as being different from the Gyana yoga. Those who are actually learned say that he who applies himself well to one of these paths achieves the results of both."

In the previous sloka, it was told that both Karma yoga and Gyana yoga would enable one to get atman sakshatkaram. But Karma yoga was recommeneded for Arjuna. But there are some people, who say that Karma yoga and Gyana yoga are contradictory. Such people are not learned. Because both take one to the same destination, atman sakshatkaram. So result wise both are same. Sri Krishna ridicules those who do not know this. Bala = childlike [ not by age, but by intellect], na panditha = nor learned ones, pravadanti = talk this way. Which way? Sankhya = Gyana yoga [ not the Sankhya philosophy], yogau = and Karma yoga, both, prithag = are separate [ not same]. Ubhayo = between these two, ekam apy = in anyone [either of them], asthita = one practices , samyag = firmly, vindate phalam = he attains the result of both. That is by following anyone of these two, he reaches the same result of atman sakshatkaram. It is like obtaining the same Degree either by attending College regularly or by correspondence course sitting at home. Here, people sometime give preference to the Degree obtained by attanding college regularly. Similarly, is it possible that the atman sakshatkaram obtained by Gyana yoga better than the one got by Karma yoga? No, there is no difference whatsoever in the result obtained by eithe of Gyana yoga or Karma yoga. Sri Krishann has already decisively recommended Karma yoga for Arjuna and so here Arjuna has no choice. Here He is trying to remove some doubts in Arjuna. One way of interpretting is, he who follows either of these, gets the same benefit. Another way is, by following anyone, he gets the benefit of both. The meaning can be taken this way also for the first line. Na panditha = no intellectuals or persons with little knowledge, bala = small minded persons, pravadanti = talk like this. Or, bala [ childish persons ] talk sankhya and yoga are separate, Pandita = [but] well lerned persons, na pravadanti = will never talk like this. Does Sri Krishna mean Karma yoga and Gyana yoga are one and the same? No, both are different in practice. But both are same in respect of the result. Here one more doubt may arise. It is alright that both yield the same result, but is it possible that both have to be practiced to attain the result? This type of thinking came up in the Second Chapter. There He told that one has to do Karma yoga, when the mind and organs would be controlled and becomes eligible for Gyana yoga and then by practicing Gyana yoga one would reach atman sakshatkaram. But in the Third Chapter, Sri Krishna emphasised that Karma yoga would directly get Atman sakshatkaram and there was no need for Gyana yoga. Today's [ 22nd November, 2007] lecture is from the sannidhi of Sri Maduravalli Thayar in the temple.