ज्ञानेन तु तदज्ञानं येषां नाशितमात्मन: |
तेषामादित्यवज्ज्ञानं प्रकाशयति तत्परम् || 16||
jñānena tu tad ajñānaṁ yeṣhāṁ nāśhitam ātmanaḥ
teṣhām āditya-vaj jñānaṁ prakāśhayati tat param
jnanena tu tad ajnanam yesham nashitam atmanah
tesham aditya-vaj jnanam prakashayati tat param
Translation
BG 5.16: But for those whose ignorance is destroyed by divine knowledge, the Supreme Entity is revealed, just as the sun illumines everything when it rises.
Commentary
The sun’s power in removing the darkness of night is incomparable. The Ramayan states:
rākāpati ṣhoṛasa uahiñ tārāgana samudāi
sakala girinha dava lāia binu rabi rāti na jāi
“Despite the combined light of the full moon and all the visible stars in a cloudless sky, the night does not go. But the moment the sun rises, the night makes a hasty exit.” The light of the sun is such that the darkness cannot remain before it. The light of God’s knowledge has a similar effect in dispelling the darkness of ignorance.
Darkness is responsible for creating illusions. In the darkness of the cinema hall, the light falling on the screen creates the illusion of reality, and people get absorbed in watching it. However, when the main lights in the cinema hall are switched on, the illusion is dispelled and people wake up from their reverie to realize that they were only watching a movie. Similarly, in the darkness of ignorance, we identify ourselves with the body, and consider ourselves to be the doers and enjoyers of our actions. When the light of God’s knowledge begins shining brightly, the illusion beats a hasty retreat, and the soul wakes up to its true spiritual identity, even while it lives in the city of nine gates. The soul had fallen into illusion because God’s material energy (avidyā śhakti) had covered it in darkness. The illusion is dispelled when God’s spiritual energy (vidyā śhakti) illumines it with the light of knowledge.
