The fundamental nature of the manifested (vyakta) is that it is perishable, whereas the un-manifested is imperishable. Manifested life forms take birth, they live for a certain period, and eventually perish (die) with time. Another characteristic of the manifested is that it exists in pairs of apperant opposites. This is referred to in the Bhagavad Gita as dwandwa - the state of polarity or duality. For example, matter consists of negatively charged electrons and positively charged protons, while a magnet has both a north pole and a south pole.

A flowing river is the best example to understand the intricacies involved. A river has two banks and both merge as the riverbed. While both banks are needed for the smooth flow, their merger as a riverbed is also equally important. If these banks don’t meet at the riverbed, then it would be an infinitely deep valley and a river can’t exist. Likewise, we have the manifested world, which is invariably polar (river banks) and these polarities unite at the unmanifested (riverbed).

A swinging pendulum serves as another metaphor for polarities in action. It gradually slows down while travelling to one side from its central position. Simultaneously, it gains potential energy to travel to another side. When it comes to a halt on one side, it has accumulated maximum energy to travel to the other side. The point to be noted is that river banks or movements of pendulum don’t oppose each other; rather, they complement one another.

Duality of Mind

While describing the manifested, Krishna includes the mind as one of its components. Just as the physical world is polar, the mind too is filled with polarities. Krishna explains that when the senses come into contact with sense objects, polarities such as heat and cold, or pleasure and pain, are generated within us. These polarities are transient (anitya), and we should learn to tolerate these transients (2.14). He further says that sense organs naturally experience raag (longing) and dwesh (aversion) for their respective sense objects, and one should be aware of this duality (3.34).

For example, in our daily lives, words are used as a means of communication. It can be written or spoken. Words are essentially sense objects for the ears. When they meet, i.e. when words reach the ear, polarities are generated in the mind. When we call something good, it is often implied that something else is bad. There are hardly any words that can describe a state beyond polarities. Secondly, the same word can evoke different feelings in different people, depending on their upbringing, experiences and circumstances. This is why some cultures use silence for spiritual communication to overcome the limitations of multiple interpretations.

Pain follows pleasure

The common question that intrigues humanity is, ‘Why does unpleasantness/pain come to us even when we sincerely strive to attain pleasure?’ Instead of looking deeper within, we reconcile ourselves by saying that maybe our efforts aren’t sufficient. However, pride coupled with hope, motivates us to restart the process of pursuing pleasure and this goes on till the end of our lives.

In a polar world, the natural principle is that, when we chase one of these, its polar opposite automatically follows. When we are chasing pleasure polarity, the pain polarity is bound to follow. It could be in a different form, or it could arrive after some time. It is like lifting the stick from one end; the other end is bound to rise. Another metaphor is that of a spinning car wheel, where one section rises as another descends. This continuous movement allows the wheel to turn, propelling the car forward.”

Delusion caused by dwandwa

Krishna says, “All beings are subject to delusive ignorance (sammohan) by the delusion of the pairs of opposites (dwandwa-moh) springing from longing and aversion (iccha-dwesh)” (7.27).

Ignorance is the first level of delusion, and misery is its consequence. For example, we regularly experience emotions arising from praise and criticism. We have a longing for praise and are averse to criticism. Praise makes us forget ourselves, like the proverbial crow dropping its meat upon hearing praise from the fox about its singing ability. Similarly, when criticised, our response varies from silence to verbal to physical. Likewise, news and opinions about people or situations that are only loosely related to us can still evoke strong emotional reactions within us. This is nothing but the misery we see all around us.

The next level of delusion is suppression, where one gets trained to put up a pleasing personality to show the outside world that one is free from the polarities of longing and aversion. They even look down on others and Krishna earlier termed them as hypocrites (3.6). But the reality is that these suppressions are hidden inside and come out at a weak moment.

Witnessing polarities

A question that arises is: how can one transcend these polarities? One approach is the path of awareness, and another is the path of surrender.

In the first path, it involves regular practice with awareness. Krishna advises practice (abhyasa) and dispassion (vairagya) (6.35). Raag (attachment) is the polar opposite of vairagya. Life gives moments of both raag and vairagya daily, but our mind practices only raag, which is chasing desires. For example, we can get frustrated in a relationship, and when it happens, we blame our partner and look for a new relationship. We often fail to realise that attachment (raag) itself holds the seed of dispassion (vairagya). The practice of vairagya is essentially the disciplined control of the senses through determination.

We tend to view polarities as opposing each other. We wish to have only one of them, namely pleasure, but the reality is that the other i.e. pain, is hidden in it. That’s why Krishna says that He is both Amrit (immortality) as well as Mrityu (death) (9.19). Both these polarities are part of the same oneness. They coexist, and we can’t choose one and drop the other. When we regard them as complementary, then we can start witnessing them.

As long as we live, exposure to polarities is natural. All we need is awareness of these polarities and to witness them when we are swinging between them. This awareness would help us transcend them.

The second path is to surrender to the Almighty. Krishna says that one must surrender to the Almighty, the Supreme power, to overcome the automaticity of indriyas (2.61). In the context of delusion caused by polarities (7.27), Krishna says that those established in Brahma (absolute), having a firm understanding of divine knowledge and not hampered by delusion, neither rejoice on getting something pleasant nor grieve on experiencing the unpleasant (5.20).

(The writer K. Siva Prasad is a senior IAS officer in the Punjab Government. )