Shloka 9
Mind as Charioteer; Kṣetrajña, Tapas, and Dhyāna-Yoga
Adhyātma-Upadeśa
व्याख्यातं पूर्वकल्पेन मशकोदुम्बरं यथा । भुज्यमानं न जानीते नित्यं सत्त्वमचेतनम् । यस्त्वेवं तं विजानीते यो भुड्धक्ते यश्व भुज्यते
vyākhyātaṃ pūrvakalpena maśakodumbaraṃ yathā | bhujyamānaṃ na jānīte nityaṃ sattvam acetanam | yas tv evaṃ taṃ vijānīte yo bhoktā caiva bhujyate ||
Dijo Vāyu: «Como se explicó antes mediante la ilustración del mosquito y el udumbara (higuera de racimos), el principio “gozado”—sattva, insensible—no conoce en verdad al eterno Conocedor del Campo. Pero el conocedor (kṣetrajña) comprende correctamente: quien experimenta es el Sí mismo, y aquello que es experimentado es la cualidad material (sattva).»
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
It distinguishes the conscious experiencer (ātman/kṣetrajña, the bhoktā) from the insentient experienced field or quality (sattva, the bhogya). True knowledge is recognizing that the Self is the knower and enjoyer, while material nature is what is enjoyed.
Vāyu continues a philosophical instruction, referring back to an earlier analogy (mosquito and udumbara) to clarify how the insentient cannot know the eternal knower, whereas the knower correctly discerns the relation between experiencer and experienced.