What is a guṇa? A certain innate characteristic or natural power of a thing that causes affinity or otherwise with another thing is its guṇa. Thus the guṇa is an intrinsic power of a thing that attracts or repels another.
vaṃśī-vibhūṣita-karān-navanīradābhāt
pītāmbarādaruṇa-bimba-phalādharoṣṭhāt |
mugdhendu-sundara-mukhādaravinda-netrāt
kṛṣṇāt-paraṃ kim-api tattvam-ahaṃ na jāne ॥ (śrī madhusūdana-sarasvatī)
He whose hand is adorned by the flute, with the hue of a new dark cloud,
He who’s dressed in a yellow garment, with ruddy lips resembling the bimba fruit,
With an innocent moon-like handsome face, the lotus-eyed,
The object that is water, is H2O for a chemist, and ambrosia for a thirsty man. The satiating and refreshing potential imperceptible in hydrogen and oxygen was perceived by the mind of a thirsty man when they together touched his tongue.
Thus, the Parabrahma is conducting the activities of the universe in three forms — prakṛti, jīva and Īśvara.
yāvatsaṃjāyate kiñcit sattvaṃ sthāvarajaṅgamam ॥
kṣetra-kṣetrajña-saṃyogāt (tad-viddhi bharatarṣabha) ॥BG 13.27
How is Brahma?
sarvataḥ pāṇipādaṃ tat sarvatokṣi-śiro-mukham ।
sarvataḥ śrutimalloke sarvam āvṛtya tiṣṭhati ॥BG 13.14
“Its limbs are everywhere, as are its eyes and heads. It ’sarvam āvṛtya tiṣṭhati’ — pervades everything”. Here, we are reminded of the line “sahasraśīrṣā puruṣaḥ” from the Puruṣasūkta and the eleventh chapter of the Gītā.
ekam-evādvayam-arūpaṃ brahmam-avyayam-akriyaṃ
svīkarisi nijabhogakèṃdu śarīra-vividha-sahasramaṃ ।
prākṛtāsvādyagaḻa madhuviṃ tannane tāṃ maretavol
lokajīvana-sīṃdhu-vīciyoḻ ātmadī ḍolotsavaṃ ॥
Brahma is the One, without a second, formless, changeless and without action
Takes, a myriad varied forms, for its own pleasure
Seems as if it is lost in worldly pleasantness
This is the surf-fest of the ātma in the waves of the ocean of worldly life.
Śrī Kanakadāsa, the great mystic, said this -
Ṣaḍurasadannakè nalidāḍuva jihvè । kaḍurucigoṃbuva ruciguṇa ninadayya ॥
(Yours is the tongue that enjoys food with six rasas;
yours is the nature that deeply relishes all tastes)
The beauty, the very essence of the things that are present in the universe, the senses that experience them, and their capability to discern and enjoy belong to Bhagavān.
ಭಾರತೀಯ ಪರಂಪರೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಬ್ರಾಹ್ಮ-ಕ್ಷಾತ್ತ್ರಗಳ ಸಮಾಯೋಗಕ್ಕೆ ಬಹುಕಾಲದಿಂದ ಪ್ರಾಶಸ್ತ್ಯವಿದೆ. ವೇದಗಳಲ್ಲಿಯೇ ಇದರ ಮಹತ್ತ್ವದ ಪ್ರಸ್ತಾವವುಂಟು. ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಸೂಚಿತವಾದ ಬ್ರಾಹ್ಮ ಮತ್ತು ಕ್ಷಾತ್ತ್ರಗಳನ್ನು ಕೇವಲ ಹುಟ್ಟಿನಿಂದ ಬರುವ ಜಾತಿ ಅಥವಾ ವರ್ಣಗಳ ಚೌಕಟ್ಟಿನೊಳಗೆ ಪರಿಮಿತಗೊಳಿಸಿ ನೋಡುವುದು ಯುಕ್ತವಲ್ಲ. ಇವೆರಡೂ ಮೂಲತಃ ಸಮಾಜವನ್ನು ಮುನ್ನಡಸುವ ತತ್ತ್ವಗಳು. ಬ್ರಾಹ್ಮ-ಕ್ಷಾತ್ತ್ರಗಳು ವಿಶಾಲವಾದ ಸಮಾಜದ ಎಲ್ಲ ಸ್ತರಗಳಿಂದ, ಎಲ್ಲ ಸಮುದಾಯಗಳಿಂದ ಹೊಮ್ಮಿಬರಬಹುದಾದ ಉತ್ಕೃಷ್ಟತೆಯ ಸಂಕೇತಗಳು. ಆದುದರಿಂದಲೇ ಅಪ್ಪಟ ಬ್ರಾಹ್ಮ-ಕ್ಷಾತ್ತ್ರಗಳ ಸಂಖ್ಯೆ ಎಂದಿಗೂ ಕಡಮೆ. ಗಡಿಗೆಯ ಪ್ರಮಾಣದ ಹಾಲಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಅಡಗಿರಬಹುದಾದ ಗಜ್ಜುಗದ ಗಾತ್ರದ ಬೆಣ್ಣೆ ಅಥವಾ ತುಪ್ಪಕ್ಕೆ ಇದು ಸಂವಾದಿ. ಈ ವಿಚಾರವನ್ನು ಮತ್ತಷ್ಟು ವಿಶದವಾಗಿ ಮನಗಾಣಬಹುದು.
Well, then, is this path — performing one’s duties with the sole purpose of pleasing Bhagavān — an easy journey? Śrīkṛṣṇa himself was uncertain about it. Bhagavān is not in front of our eyes; dharma is not in front of our eyes either. Performing our duties only for the sake of Bhagavān or for dharma — single-minded devotion to our duty without even an iota of selfishness — is difficult.