The Code of Life

After the 13^th chapter shakes the fundamental core of who we are and shows how our perspective of life is completely warped, Krishna knows it is bound to raise questions for a seeker. The quest for eternal happiness will seem even more elusive once one internalizes the concept of Kshetra (field) of life. So, he addresses the  question in the 14^th chapter: How to play in this newly discovered field? Krishna says that you will need to understand the defining rules and only then you can play successfully and blissfully. Hence, he starts the first verse by saying that understanding this supreme knowledge (Gyan uttamam) is an absolute must.

There are 3 aspects which make this knowledge so powerful:

a)       This entire world, samsara, is very similar to a Virtual Reality game (Yog Maya)

b)      There is an underlying code which drives the entire VR game and he explains it in this chapter

c)       If you understand how to write the code, your life will be blissful as you come out of the travails of samsara forever.

However, before we even get into the code, the first statement itself will seem unbelievable to most people. It almost seems straight out of The Matrix and will seem quite contrary to our scientific understanding. However, the reality is quite the opposite: science today is moving more and more towards a hypothesis of this world being closer to a Virtual reality (look up Simulation Hypothesis), though it is still a theory which is impossible to prove. Over 5,000 years back Krishna looks at Arjuna and says this entire universe, is nothing but a virtual play of Prakriti.

This brings us to the second aspect, even if I understand the samsara being nothing but a play of Prakriti, what do I do? This is where we need to understand the code of the entire play, knowing which we can play the game blissfully. Krishna says the code of everything in this material world is written in the 3 Gunas (tough to translate but broadly, 3 qualities). Again, it is a stop-in-the-track kind of statement. Is it really possible that the entire cosmos from the macro galaxies to the subtlest of subconscious thoughts are just a combination of 3 different Gunas? While it is quite a revelation, it is not as implausible as it sounds. The entire digital world at a unit level is nothing but a code of 0’s and 1’s in the binary system. From the vast breadths of Internet data running the world to the device visual you are looking at right now is nothing but a play of 0’s and 1’s. The software engineer who is able to understand this binary code can navigate the digital world with ease. Another example would be the DNA code of every living thing on the planet; it is coded in combination of 4 simple bases (CGAT for the scientifically inclined). We are all just variations of these four and if you stretch this understanding a little further, you and I share 99% of this code with the primate family and even share 60% of this code with a banana! Reality is truly stranger than fiction!!

So, what are these Gunas which form the code of life? Simply classified, these are: Sattva (Light & Purity), Rajas (Activity & Passion) & Tamas (Inertia & Ignorance). Every single thing in this world: From every action you do, to every thought you have, to the food you eat is mixture of these 3 Gunas. A lot has been written on the Gunas in our texts over the ages, so I am adding a simple summary (from Nisargayoga) which beautifully summarizes how they impact the mind:

At any point in time, you can relate to which Guna is predominant in your life. Feeling lazy & want to procrastinate? Well, Tamas is going strong! Feeling restless and agitated , Rajas is dominating now! Watching a beautiful sunset and feeling one with nature, Sattva is at the forefront! At any moment in your day, you can relate to the Guna that is predominant at that time. It is not just about the feeling & thoughts, every action you do is a mixture of same 3 Gunas. Any action led by goodness and knowledge drives Sattva, an action led by greed and passion drives Rajas & the one led by the darker ignorance drives Tamas. Krishna will continue this theme of Gunas over the next few chapters exploring how they shape every step of our life.

He then touches on the last aspect which gives you as clear a direction to life as you can ever get. He says the more the Sattva, the more blissful you will be. The more the Rajas, the more the unhappiness in your life & finally more the Tamas, the more mental delusion & darkness you will have. As if this was not enough, he just adds a simple fun fact: this applies not only to this life, these Gunas will also decide the next life for you. 

As you absorb and internalize this simple and yet complex code, the mischievous charioteer ends the chapter with another of his googlies. He says your aim in this world is not to just move from Tamas to Rajas to Sattva. It is to go beyond all the three Gunas! 

The winner (Gunatita) is not the person who wins the game, it is the person who realizes that this is just a game.