For Eternal Beginners
अधिष्ठानम् तथा कर्ता करणम् च पृथक् विधम् ।
विविधाः च पृथक् चेष्टा दैवम् चैवात्र पन्चमम् ॥ १४ ॥
शरीर वाक् मनोभिः यत् कर्म प्रारभते नरः ।
न्याय्यम् वा विपरीतम् वा पन्चैते तस्य हेतवः ॥ १५ ॥
adhiSThAnam tathA kartA karaNam ca pRthak vidham |
vividhAH ca pRthak ceSTA daivam caivAtra pancamam || 14 ||
zarIra vAk manobhiH yat karma prArabhate naraH |
nyAyyam vA viparItam vA pancaite tasya hetavaH || 15 ||
अधिष्ठानम् [adhiSThAnam] The base, तथा कर्ता [tathA kartA] along with the doer, च [ca] together with पृथक् विधम् [pRthak vidham] the different करणम् [karaNam] organs च [ca] and विविधा पृथक् [vividhA pRthak] the various चेष्टा [ceSTA] activities - अत्र [atra] in this field, पन्चमम् [pancamam] the fifth one दैवम् [daivam] is The Divine.
पन्चैते हेतवः तस्य [pancaite hetavaH tasya] They are the five causes of यत् कर्म [yat karma] any action नरः प्रारभ्ते [naraH prArabhte] that a human can initiate शरीर [zarIra] with the body, वाक् [vAk] speech, मनोभिः [manobhiH] or the mind - वा न्यय्यम् [vA nyayyam] whether just वा विपरीतम् [vA viparItam] or unjust.
There are five causes of just or unjust actions. Actions are ‘just’ when they are recommended in the scriptures and ‘unjust’ when they are forbidden. These actions are done by the body, done in speech or in the mind. The five causes of action are:
The base: The body is the base from which activities are carried out. It’s a combination of the elements of nature. It is the abode of the Self.
The doer: The Self is the doer, whose ‘knower-ship’ and ‘doer-ship’ are mentioned in the scriptures:
वेदान्त सुत्र [vedAnta sutra] , 2-3-19
says ‘It is the one that knows’;
वेदान्त सुत्र [vedAnta sutra] , 2-3-33
says ‘It is to be considered as the doer for the scriptures to have meaning’
The different organs: These are the organs of action. The organ of speech, the arms, legs, the excretory organs along the organ of thought form the five organs of action. They perform different functions whenever we do something.
The various activities: The word ‘activity’ here refers to the gases in our body and the activities that happen inside, such as respiration.
The Divine: In the field where things are combined into actions, the fifth one is The Divine - It is the Lord who is inside everything, the main cause in bringing actions to effect. As said in 15-15: ‘I am at the heart of everything’ and in 18-61: ‘Arjuna, the Supreme Lord sits at the heart of every being, spinning all beings, mounting them in the mechanism of the environment’.
The ‘doer-ship’ of the Self is completely dependent on the Lord, as said in
वेदान्त सुत्र [vedAnta sutra] , 2-3-40:
‘…as said in the scriptures, the doer-ship is given by the Supreme Lord’.
Whatever the Self does is completely dependent on the Lord. Given this fact, all instructions in the scriptures and everything they forbid would be meaningless if we consider that the Self is not accountable for any action. Vyasa has resolved this dilemma as well, in
वेदान्त सुत्र [vedAnta sutra] , 2-3-41:
‘The Lord expects the Self to begin the attempt, so that His instructions in the scriptures retain their use’.
In summary: Actions are carried out with organs given by the Lord, having the Lord as the basis, with the strength that’s deposited in them by the Lord. The Self has the Lord as the basis of existence as well, with its strength given by the Lord Himself.
The Self initiates its attempt to carry out an action according to its will, as per the configuration of its body and associated organs. After that, The Lord inside grants permission to commence the action and sets the Self in motion. In this way, the Self becomes the cause of action as well - by its intent alone.
This is similar to activities that require many people and equipment - for example, activities that result in moving a huge boulder or building a bridge. In such activities, many people and machines are considered to be the cause, with each of them having their do’s and don’ts. In the same way, this Shloka described the activity brought about by the Self and the Lord.