Osho’s Commentary

Krishna now lays bare the whole map of the objective world, the kshetra. He lists everything that can be known, everything that can be observed. The five great elements, the ego, the intellect, the senses, the objects of the senses… these are easy to understand as being outside of you. They are the stage and the props of the drama. But then he adds something tremendously revolutionary, something that shatters the very foundation of Western thought. He says desire, aversion, pleasure, pain… and even chetana, consciousness, and dhriti, fortitude, are also part of the field! The consciousness that you know—the consciousness of something, the consciousness that is aware of an object—is also a part of the seen world. It is a subtle ripple in the field. When you are conscious of a tree, that consciousness is an event, a modification. Who is it that is aware even of this consciousness? Who is the witness to the thought, “I am conscious”? That ultimate seer, that objectless awareness, is the true knower. The consciousness that flickers with the objects of the world is just a reflection in the field. To be a witness even to your own consciousness is the final step. In that witnessing, you have stepped out of the entire field. You have come home.