Bhagavad-gita As It Is
CHAPTER 2b: Contents of the Gita Summarized
©1989, The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust
Text:
33,
34,
35,
36,
37,
38,
39,
40,
41,
42-43,
44,
45,
46,
47,
48,
49,
50,
51,
52,
53,
54,
55,
56,
57,
58,
59,
60,
61,
62,
63,
64,
65,
66,
67,
68,
69,
70,
71,
72
TEXT 33
atha cet tvam imam dharmyam
sangramam na karisyasi
tatah sva-dharmam kirtim ca
hitva papam avapsyasi
WORD FOR WORD
atha -- therefore; cet -- if; tvam -- you;
imam -- this; dharmyam -- as a religious duty;
sangramam -- fighting; na -- do not; karisyasi --
perform; tatah -- then; sva-dharmam -- your religious duty;
kirtim -- reputation; ca -- also; hitva -- losing;
papam -- sinful reaction; avapsyasi -- will gain.
TRANSLATION
If, however, you do not perform your religious duty of fighting, then you
will certainly incur sins for neglecting your duties and thus lose your
reputation as a fighter.
PURPORT
Arjuna was a famous fighter, and he attained fame by fighting many great
demigods, including even Lord Shiva. After fighting and defeating Lord Shiva
in the dress of a hunter, Arjuna pleased the lord and received as a reward
a weapon called pasupata-astra. Everyone knew that he was a great
warrior. Even Dronacarya gave him benedictions and awarded him the special
weapon by which he could kill even his teacher. So he was credited with so
many military certificates from many authorities, including his adopted
father Indra, the heavenly king. But if he abandoned the battle, not only
would he neglect his specific duty as a ksatriya, but he would lose
all his fame and good name and thus prepare his royal road to hell. In
other words, he would go to hell, not by fighting, but by withdrawing from
battle.
TEXT 34
akirtim capi bhutani
kathayisyanti te 'vyayam
sambhavitasya cakirtir
maranad atiricyate
WORD FOR WORD
akirtim -- infamy; ca -- also; api -- over and above;
bhutani -- all people; kathayisyanti -- will speak;
te -- of you; avyayam -- forever; sambhavitasya --
for a respectable man; ca -- also; akirtih -- ill fame;
maranat -- than death; atiricyate -- becomes more.
TRANSLATION
People will always speak of your infamy, and for a respectable person,
dishonor is worse than death.
PURPORT
Both as friend and philosopher to Arjuna, Lord Krishna now gives His final
judgment regarding Arjuna's refusal to fight. The Lord says, "Arjuna, if
you leave the battlefield before the battle even begins, people will call
you a coward. And if you think that people may call you bad names but that
you will save your life by fleeing the battlefield, then My advice is that
you'd do better to die in the battle. For a respectable man like you, ill
fame is worse than death. So, you should not flee for fear of your life;
better to die in the battle. That will save you from the ill fame of
misusing My friendship and from losing your prestige in society."
So, the final judgment of the Lord was for Arjuna to die in the battle
and not withdraw.
TEXT 35
bhayad ranad uparatam
mamsyante tvam maha-rathah
yesam ca tvam bahu-mato
bhutva yasyasi laghavam
WORD FOR WORD
bhayat -- out of fear; ranat -- from the battlefield;
uparatam -- ceased; mamsyante -- they will consider;
tvam -- you; maha-rathah -- the great generals; yesam
-- for whom; ca -- also; tvam -- you; bahu-matah --
in great estimation; bhutva -- having been; yasyasi -- you
will go; laghavam -- decreased in value.
TRANSLATION
The great generals who have highly esteemed your name and fame will think
that you have left the battlefield out of fear only, and thus they will
consider you insignificant.
PURPORT
Lord Krishna continued to give His verdict to Arjuna: "Do not think that
the great generals like Duryodhana, Karna, and other contemporaries will
think that you have left the battlefield out of compassion for your
brothers and grandfather. They will think that you have left out of fear
for your life. And thus their high estimation of your personality will go
to hell."
TEXT 36
avacya-vadams ca bahun
vadisyanti tavahitah
nindantas tava samarthyam
tato duhkhataram nu kim
WORD FOR WORD
avacya -- unkind; vadan -- fabricated words; ca --
also; bahun -- many; vadisyanti -- will say; tava --
your; ahitah -- enemies; nindantah -- while vilifying;
tava -- your; samarthyam -- ability; tatah -- than
that; duhkha-taram -- more painful; nu -- of course;
kim -- what is there.
TRANSLATION
Your enemies will describe you in many unkind words and scorn your
ability. What could be more painful for you?
PURPORT
Lord Krishna was astonished in the beginning at Arjuna's uncalled-for plea
for compassion, and He described his compassion as befitting the
non-Aryans. Now in so many words, He has proved His statements against
Arjuna's so-called compassion.
TEXT 37
hato va prapsyasi svargam
jitva va bhoksyase mahim
tasmad uttistha kaunteya
yuddhaya krta-niscayah
WORD FOR WORD
hatah -- being killed; va -- either; prapsyasi -- you
gain; svargam -- the heavenly kingdom; jitva -- by
conquering; va -- or; bhoksyase -- you enjoy; mahim
-- the world; tasmat -- therefore; uttistha -- get up;
kaunteya -- O son of Kunti; yuddhaya -- to fight;
krta -- determined; niscayah -- in certainty.
TRANSLATION
O son of Kunti, either you will be killed on the battlefield and attain
the heavenly planets, or you will conquer and enjoy the earthly kingdom.
Therefore, get up with determination and fight.
PURPORT
Even though there was no certainty of victory for Arjuna's side, he still
had to fight; for, even being killed there, he could be elevated into the
heavenly planets.
TEXT 38
sukha-duhkhe same krtva
labhalabhau jayajayau
tato yuddhaya yujyasva
naivam papam avapsyasi
WORD FOR WORD
sukha -- happiness; duhkhe -- and distress; same --
in equanimity; krtva -- doing so; labha-alabhau -- both
profit and loss; jaya-ajayau -- both victory and defeat;
tatah -- thereafter; yuddhaya -- for the sake of fighting;
yujyasva -- engage (fight); na -- never; evam -- in
this way; papam -- sinful reaction; avapsyasi -- you will
gain.
TRANSLATION
Do thou fight for the sake of fighting, without considering happiness or
distress, loss or gain, victory or defeat -- and by so doing you shall
never incur sin.
PURPORT
Lord Krishna now directly says that Arjuna should fight for the sake of
fighting because He desires the battle. There is no consideration of
happiness or distress, profit or gain, victory or defeat in the activities
of Krishna consciousness. That everything should be performed for the sake
of Krishna is transcendental consciousness; so there is no reaction to
material activities. He who acts for his own sense gratification, either
in goodness or in passion, is subject to the reaction, good or bad. But he
who has completely surrendered himself in the activities of Krishna
consciousness is no longer obliged to anyone, nor is he a debtor to
anyone, as one is in the ordinary course of activities. It is said:
devarsi-bhutapta-nrnam pitrnam
na kinkaro nayam rni ca rajan
sarvatmana yah saranam saranyam
gato mukundam parihrtya kartam
"Anyone who has completely surrendered unto Krishna, Mukunda, giving up
all other duties, is no longer a debtor, nor is he obliged to anyone --
not the demigods, nor the sages, nor the people in general, nor kinsmen,
nor humanity, nor forefathers." (SB. 11.5.41) That is the indirect hint
given by Krishna to Arjuna in this verse, and the matter will be more
clearly explained in the following verses.
TEXT 39
esa te 'bhihita sankhye
buddhir yoge tv imam srnu
buddhya yukto yaya partha
karma-bandham prahasyasi
WORD FOR WORD
esa -- all this; te -- unto you; abhihita --
described; sankhye -- by analytical study; buddhih --
intelligence; yoge -- in work without fruitive result; tu --
but; imam -- this; srnu- just hear; buddhya -- by
intelligence; yuktah -- dovetailed; yaya -- by which;
partha -- O son of Prtha; karma-bandham -- bondage of
reaction; prahasyasi -- you can be released from.
TRANSLATION
Thus far I have described this knowledge to you through analytical study.
Now listen as I explain it in terms of working without fruitive results. O
son of Prtha, when you act in such knowledge you can free yourself from
the bondage of works.
PURPORT
According to the Nirukti, or the Vedic dictionary, sankhya
means that which describes things in detail, and sankhya refers to
that philosophy which describes the real nature of the soul. And
yoga involves controlling the senses. Arjuna's proposal not to
fight was based on sense gratification. Forgetting his prime duty, he
wanted to cease fighting, because he thought that by not killing his
relatives and kinsmen he would be happier than by enjoying the kingdom
after conquering his cousins and brothers, the sons of Dhrtarastra. In
both ways, the basic principles were for sense gratification. Happiness
derived from conquering them and happiness derived by seeing kinsmen alive
are both on the basis of personal sense gratification, even at a sacrifice
of wisdom and duty. Krishna, therefore, wanted to explain to Arjuna that
by killing the body of his grandfather he would not be killing the soul
proper, and He explained that all individual persons, including the Lord
Himself, are eternal individuals; they were individuals in the past, they
are individuals in the present, and they will continue to remain
individuals in the future, because all of us are individual souls
eternally. We simply change our bodily dress in different manners, but
actually we keep our individuality even after liberation from the bondage
of material dress. An analytical study of the soul and the body has been
very graphically explained by Lord Krishna. And this descriptive knowledge
of the soul and the body from different angles of vision has been
described here as Sankhya, in terms of the Nirukti dictionary. This
Sankhya has nothing to do with Sankhya philosophy of the atheist Kapila.
Long before the imposter Kapila's Sankhya, the Sankhya philosophy was
expounded in the Srimad-Bhagavatam by the true Lord Kapila, the
incarnation of Lord Krishna, who explained it to His mother, Devahuti. It
is clearly explained by Him that the purusa, or the Supreme Lord,
is active and that He creates by looking over the prakrti. This is
accepted in the Vedas and in the Gita. The description in
the Vedas indicates that the Lord glanced over the prakrti,
or nature, and impregnated it with atomic individual souls. All these
individuals are working in the material world for sense gratification, and
under the spell of material energy they are thinking of being enjoyers.
This mentality is dragged to the last point of liberation when the living
entity wants to become one with the Lord. This is the last snare of
maya, or sense gratificatory illusion, and it is only after many,
many births of such sense gratificatory activities that a great soul
surrenders unto Vasudeva, Lord Krishna, thereby fulfilling the search
after the ultimate truth.
Arjuna has already accepted Krishna as his spiritual master by
surrendering himself unto Him: sisyas te 'ham sadhi mam tvam
prapannam. Consequently, Krishna will now tell him about the working
process in buddhi-yoga, or karma-yoga, or in other words,
the practice of devotional service only for the sense gratification of the
Lord. This buddhi-yoga is clearly explained in Chapter Ten, verse
ten, as being direct communion with the Lord, who is sitting as Paramatma
in everyone's heart. But such communion does not take place without
devotional service. One who is therefore situated in devotional or
transcendental loving service to the Lord, or, in other words, in Krishna
consciousness, attains to this stage of buddhi-yoga by the special
grace of the Lord. The Lord says, therefore, that only to those who are
always engaged in devotional service out of transcendental love does He
award the pure knowledge of devotion in love. In that way the devotee can
reach Him easily in the ever-blissful kingdom of God.
Thus the buddhi-yoga mentioned in this verse is the devotional
service of the Lord, and the word Sankhya mentioned herein has nothing to
do with the atheistic sankhya-yoga enunciated by the imposter
Kapila. One should not, therefore, misunderstand that the
sankhya-yoga mentioned herein has any connection with the atheistic
Sankhya. Nor did that philosophy have any influence during that time; nor
would Lord Krishna care to mention such godless philosophical
speculations. Real Sankhya philosophy is described by Lord Kapila in the
Srimad-Bhagavatam, but even that Sankhya has nothing to do with the
current topics. Here, Sankhya means analytical description of the body and
the soul. Lord Krishna made an analytical description of the soul just to
bring Arjuna to the point of buddhi-yoga, or bhakti-yoga.
Therefore, Lord Krishna's Sankhya and Lord Kapila's Sankhya, as described
in the Bhagavatam, are one and the same. They are all
bhakti-yoga. Lord Krishna Said, therefore, that only the less
intelligent class of men make a distinction between sankhya-yoga
and bhakti-yoga (sankhya-yogau prthag balah pravadanti na
panditah).
Of course, atheistic sankhya-yoga has nothing to do with
bhakti-yoga, yet the unintelligent claim that the atheistic
sankhya-yoga is referred to in the Bhagavad-gita.
One should therefore understand that buddhi-yoga means to work in
Krishna consciousness, in the full bliss and knowledge of devotional
service. One who works for the satisfaction of the Lord only, however
difficult such work may be, is working under the principles of
buddhi-yoga and finds himself always in transcendental bliss. By
such transcendental engagement, one achieves all transcendental
understanding automatically, by the grace of the Lord, and thus his
liberation is complete in itself, without his making extraneous endeavors
to acquire knowledge. There is much difference between work in Krishna
consciousness and work for fruitive results, especially in the matter of
sense gratification for achieving results in terms of family or material
happiness. Buddhi-yoga is therefore the transcendental quality of
the work that we perform.
TEXT 40
nehabhikrama-naso 'sti
pratyavayo na vidyate
sv-alpam apy asya dharmasya
trayate mahato bhayat
WORD FOR WORD
na -- there is not; iha -- in this yoga; abhikrama --
in endeavoring; nasah -- loss; asti -- there is;
pratyavayah -- diminution; na -- never; vidyate --
there is; su-alpam -- a little; api -- although; asya
-- of this; dharmasya -- occupation; trayate -- releases;
mahatah -- from very great; bhayat -- danger.
TRANSLATION
In this endeavor there is no loss or diminution, and a little advancement
on this path can protect one from the most dangerous type of fear.
PURPORT
Activity in Krishna consciousness, or acting for the benefit of Krishna
without expectation of sense gratification, is the highest transcendental
quality of work. Even a small beginning of such activity finds no
impediment, nor can that small beginning be lost at any stage. Any work
begun on the material plane has to be completed, otherwise the whole
attempt becomes a failure. But any work begun in Krishna consciousness has
a permanent effect, even though not finished. The performer of such work
is therefore not at a loss even if his work in Krishna consciousness is
incomplete. One percent done in Krishna consciousness bears permanent
results, so that the next beginning is from the point of two percent,
whereas in material activity without a hundred percent success there is no
profit. Ajamila performed his duty in some percentage of Krishna
consciousness, but the result he enjoyed at the end was a hundred percent,
by the grace of the Lord. There is a nice verse in this connection in
Srimad-Bhagavatam (1.5.17):
tyaktva sva-dharmam caranambujam harer
bhajann apakvo 'tha patet tato yadi
yatra kva vabhadram abhud amusya kim
ko vartha apto 'bhajatam sva-dharmatah
"If someone gives up his occupational duties and works in Krishna
consciousness and then falls down on account of not completing his work,
what loss is there on his part? And what can one gain if one performs his
material activities perfectly?" Or, as the Christians say, "What profiteth
a man if he gain the whole world yet suffers the loss of his eternal
soul?"
Material activities and their results end with the body. But work in
Krishna consciousness carries a person again to Krishna consciousness,
even after the loss of the body. At least one is sure to have a chance in
the next life of being born again as a human being, either in the family
of a great cultured brahmana or in a rich aristocratic family that
will give one a further chance for elevation. That is the unique quality
of work done in Krishna consciousness.
TEXT 41
vyavasayatmika buddhir
ekeha kuru-nandana
bahu-sakha hy anantas ca
buddhayo 'vyavasayinam
WORD FOR WORD
vyavasaya-atmika -- resolute in Krishna consciousness;
buddhih -- intelligence; eka -- only one; iha -- in
this world; kuru-nandana -- O beloved child of the Kurus;
bahu-sakhah -- having various branches; hi -- indeed;
anantah -- unlimited; ca -- also; buddhayah --
intelligence; avyavasayinam -- of those who are not in Krishna
consciousness.
TRANSLATION
Those who are on this path are resolute in purpose, and their aim is one.
O beloved child of the Kurus, the intelligence of those who are irresolute
is many-branched.
PURPORT
A strong faith that by Krishna consciousness one will be elevated to the
highest perfection of life is called vyavasayatmika intelligence.
The Caitanya-caritamrta (Madhya 22.62) states:
`sraddha'-sabde -- visvasa kahe sudrdha niscaya
krsne bhakti kaile sarva-karma krta haya
Faith means unflinching trust in something sublime. When one is engaged in
the duties of Krishna consciousness, he need not act in relationship to
the material world with obligations to family traditions, humanity, or
nationality. Fruitive activities are the engagements of one's reactions
from past good or bad deeds. When one is awake in Krishna consciousness,
he need no longer endeavor for good results in his activities. When one is
situated in Krishna consciousness, all activities are on the absolute
plane, for they are no longer subject to dualities like good and bad. The
highest perfection of Krishna consciousness is renunciation of the
material conception of life. This state is automatically achieved by
progressive Krishna consciousness.
The resolute purpose of a person in Krishna consciousness is based on
knowledge. Vasudevah sarvam iti sa mahatma su-durlabhah: a person
in Krishna consciousness is the rare good soul who knows perfectly that
Vasudeva, or Krishna, is the root of all manifested causes. As by watering
the root of a tree one automatically distributes water to the leaves and
branches, so by acting in Krishna consciousness one can render the highest
service to everyone -- namely self, family, society, country, humanity,
etc. If Krishna is satisfied by one's actions, then everyone will be
satisfied.
Service in Krishna consciousness is, however, best practiced under the
able guidance of a spiritual master who is a bona fide representative of
Krishna, who knows the nature of the student and who can guide him to act
in Krishna consciousness. As such, to be well versed in Krishna
consciousness one has to act firmly and obey the representative of
Krishna, and one should accept the instruction of the bona fide spiritual
master as one's mission in life. Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakur
instructs us, in his famous prayers for the spiritual master, as follows:
yasya prasadad bhagavat-prasado
yasyaprasadan na gatih kuto 'pi
dhyayan stuvams tasya yasas tri-sandhyam
vande guroh sri-caranaravindam
"By satisfaction of the spiritual master, the Supreme Personality of
Godhead becomes satisfied. And by not satisfying the spiritual master,
there is no chance of being promoted to the plane of Krishna
consciousness. I should, therefore, meditate and pray for his mercy three
times a day, and offer my respectful obeisances unto him, my spiritual
master."
The whole process, however, depends on perfect knowledge of the soul
beyond the conception of the body -- not theoretically but practically,
when there is no longer a chance for sense gratification manifested in
fruitive activities. One who is not firmly fixed in mind is diverted by
various types of fruitive acts.
TEXTS 42-43
yam imam puspitam vacam
pravadanty avipascitah
veda-vada-ratah partha
nanyad astiti vadinah
kamatmanah svarga-para
janma-karma-phala-pradam
kriya-visesa-bahulam
bhogaisvarya-gatim prati
WORD FOR WORD
yam imam -- all these; puspitam -- flowery; vacam --
words; pravadanti -- say; avipascitah -- men with a poor
fund of knowledge; veda-vada-ratah -- supposed followers of the
Vedas; partha -- O son of Prtha; na -- never; anyat
-- anything else; asti -- there is; iti -- thus;
vadinah -- the advocates; kama-atmanah -- desirous of sense
gratification; svarga-parah -- aiming to achieve heavenly planets;
janma-karma-phala-pradam -- resulting in good birth and other
fruitive reactions; kriya-visesa -- pompous ceremonies;
bahulam -- various; bhoga -- in sense enjoyment;
aisvarya -- and opulence; gatim -- progress; prati --
towards.
TRANSLATION
Men of small knowledge are very much attached to the flowery words of the
Vedas, which recommend various fruitive activities for elevation to
heavenly planets, resultant good birth, power, and so forth. Being
desirous of sense gratification and opulent life, they say that there is
nothing more than this.
PURPORT
People in general are not very intelligent, and due to their ignorance
they are most attached to the fruitive activities recommended in the
karma-kanda portions of the Vedas. They do not want anything
more than sense gratificatory proposals for enjoying life in heaven, where
wine and women are available and material opulence is very common. In the
Vedas many sacrifices are recommended for elevation to the heavenly
planets, especially the jyotistoma sacrifices. In fact, it is
stated that anyone desiring elevation to heavenly planets must perform
these sacrifices, and men with a poor fund of knowledge think that this is
the whole purpose of Vedic wisdom. It is very difficult for such
inexperienced persons to be situated in the determined action of Krishna
consciousness. As fools are attached to the flowers of poisonous trees
without knowing the results of such attractions, unenlightened men are
similarly attracted by such heavenly opulence and the sense enjoyment
thereof.
In the karma-kanda section of the Vedas it is said, apama
somam amrta abhuma and aksayyam ha vai caturmasya-yajinah sukrtam
bhavati. In other words, those who perform the four-month penances
become eligible to drink the soma-rasa beverages to become immortal
and happy forever. Even on this earth some are very eager to have
soma-rasa to become strong and fit to enjoy sense gratifications.
Such persons have no faith in liberation from material bondage, and they
are very much attached to the pompous ceremonies of Vedic sacrifices. They
are generally sensual, and they do not want anything other than the
heavenly pleasures of life. It is understood that there are gardens called
Nandana-kanana in which there is good opportunity for association with
angelic, beautiful women and having a profuse supply of soma-rasa
wine. Such bodily happiness is certainly sensual; therefore there are
those who are purely attached to such material, temporary happiness, as
lords of the material world.
TEXT 44
bhogaisvarya-prasaktanam
ta yapahrta-cetasam
vyavasayatmika buddhih
samadhau na vidhiyate
WORD FOR WORD
bhoga -- to material enjoyment; aisvarya -- and opulence;
prasaktanam -- for those who are attached; taya -- by such
things; apahrta-cetasam -- bewildered in mind;
vyavasaya-atmika -- fixed in determination; buddhih --
devotional service to the Lord; samadhau -- in the controlled mind;
na -- never; vidhiyate -- does take place.
TRANSLATION
In the minds of those who are too attached to sense enjoyment and material
opulence, and who are bewildered by such things, the resolute
determination for devotional service to the Supreme Lord does not take
place.
PURPORT
Samadhi means "fixed mind." The Vedic dictionary, the
Nirukti, says, samyag adhiyate 'sminn
atma-tattva-yathatmyam: "When the mind is fixed for understanding the
self, it is said to be in samadhi." Samadhi is never possible for
persons interested in material sense enjoyment, nor for those who are
bewildered by such temporary things. They are more or less condemned by
the process of material energy.
TEXT 45
trai-gunya-visaya veda
nistrai-gunyo bhavarjuna
nirdvandvo nitya-sattva-stho
niryoga-ksema atmavan
WORD FOR WORD
trai-gunya -- pertaining to the three modes of material nature;
visayah -- on the subject matter; vedah -- Vedic
literatures; nistrai-gunyah -- transcendental to the three modes of
material nature; bhava -- be; arjuna -- O Arjuna;
nirdvandvah -- without duality; nitya-sattva-sthah -- in a
pure state of spiritual existence; niryoga-ksemah -- free from
ideas of gain and protection; atma-van -- established in the self.
TRANSLATION
The Vedas deal mainly with the subject of the three modes of material
nature. O Arjuna, become transcendental to these three modes. Be free from
all dualities and from all anxieties for gain and safety, and be
established in the self.
PURPORT
All material activities involve actions and reactions in the three modes
of material nature. They are meant for fruitive results, which cause
bondage in the material world. The Vedas deal mostly with fruitive
activities to gradually elevate the general public from the field of sense
gratification to a position on the transcendental plane. Arjuna, as a
student and friend of Lord Krishna, is advised to raise himself to the
transcendental position of Vedanta philosophy where, in the
beginning, there is brahma-jijnasa, or questions on the supreme
transcendence. All the living entities who are in the material world are
struggling very hard for existence. For them the Lord, after creation of
the material world, gave the Vedic wisdom advising how to live and get rid
of the material entanglement. When the activities for sense gratification,
namely the karma-kanda chapter, are finished, then the chance for
spiritual realization is offered in the form of the Upanisads,
which are part of different Vedas, as the Bhagavad-gita is a
part of the fifth Veda, namely the Mahabharata. The
Upanisads mark the beginning of transcendental life.
As long as the material body exists, there are actions and reactions in
the material modes. One has to learn tolerance in the face of dualities
such as happiness and distress, or cold and warmth, and by tolerating such
dualities become free from anxieties regarding gain and loss. This
transcendental position is achieved in full Krishna consciousness when one
is fully dependent on the good will of Krishna.
TEXT 46
yavan artha udapane
sarvatah samplutodake
tavan sarvesu vedesu
brahmanasya vijanatah
WORD FOR WORD
yavan -- all that; arthah -- is meant; uda-pane -- in
a well of water; sarvatah -- in all respects; sampluta-udake
-- in a great reservoir of water; tavan -- similarly;
sarvesu -- in all; vedesu -- Vedic literatures;
brahmanasya -- of the man who knows the Supreme Brahman;
vijanatah -- who is in complete knowledge.
TRANSLATION
All purposes served by a small well can at once be served by a great
reservoir of water. Similarly, all the purposes of the Vedas can be served
to one who knows the purpose behind them.
PURPORT
The rituals and sacrifices mentioned in the karma-kanda division of
the Vedic literature are meant to encourage gradual development of
self-realization. And the purpose of self-realization is clearly stated in
the Fifteenth Chapter of the Bhagavad-gita (15.15): the purpose of
studying the Vedas is to know Lord Krishna, the primeval cause of
everything. So, self-realization means understanding Krishna and one's
eternal relationship with Him. The relationship of the living entities
with Krishna is also mentioned in the Fifteenth Chapter of
Bhagavad-gita (15.7). The living entities are parts and parcels of
Krishna; therefore, revival of Krishna consciousness by the individual
living entity is the highest perfectional stage of Vedic knowledge. This
is confirmed in the Srimad-Bhagavatam (3.33.7) as follows:
aho bata sva-paco 'to gariyan
yaj-jihvagre vartate nama tubhyam
tepus tapas te juhuvuh sasnur arya
brahmanucur nama grnanti ye te
"O my Lord, a person who is chanting Your holy name, although born of a
low family like that of a candala [dog-eater], is situated on the
highest platform of self-realization. Such a person must have performed
all kinds of penances and sacrifices according to Vedic rituals and
studied the Vedic literatures many, many times after taking his bath in
all the holy places of pilgrimage. Such a person is considered to be the
best of the Aryan family.
So one must be intelligent enough to understand the purpose of the
Vedas, without being attached to the rituals only, and must not
desire to be elevated to the heavenly kingdoms for a better quality of
sense gratification. It is not possible for the common man in this age to
follow all the rules and regulations of the Vedic rituals, nor is it
possible to study all of the Vedanta and the Upanisads
thoroughly. It requires much time, energy, knowledge and resources to
execute the purposes of the Vedas. This is hardly possible in this
age. The best purpose of Vedic culture is served, however, by chanting the
holy name of the Lord, as recommended by Lord Caitanya, the deliverer of
all fallen souls. When Lord Caitanya was asked by a great Vedic scholar,
Prakasananda Sarasvati, why He, the Lord, was chanting the holy name of
the Lord like a sentimentalist instead of studying Vedanta
philosophy, the Lord replied that His spiritual master had found Him to be
a great fool and thus asked Him to chant the holy name of Lord Krishna. He
did so, and became ecstatic like a madman. In this Age of Kali, most of
the population is foolish and not adequately educated to understand
Vedanta philosophy; the best purpose of Vedanta philosophy
is served by inoffensively chanting the holy name of the Lord.
Vedanta is the last word in Vedic wisdom, and the author and knower
of the Vedanta philosophy is Lord Krishna; and the highest
Vedantist is the great soul who takes pleasure in chanting the holy name
of the Lord. That is the ultimate purpose of all Vedic mysticism.
TEXT 47
karmany evadhikaras te
ma phalesu kadacana
ma karma-phala-hetur bhur
ma te sango 'stv akarmani
WORD FOR WORD
karmani -- in prescribed duties; eva -- certainly;
adhikarah -- right; te -- of you; ma -- never;
phalesu -- in the fruits; kadacana -- at any time; ma
-- never; karma-phala -- in the result of the work; hetuh --
cause; bhuh -- become; ma -- never; te -- of you;
sangah -- attachment; astu -- there should be;
akarmani -- in not doing prescribed duties.
TRANSLATION
You have a right to perform your prescribed duty, but you are not entitled
to the fruits of action. Never consider yourself the cause of the results
of your activities, and never be attached to not doing your duty.
PURPORT
There are three considerations here: prescribed duties, capricious work,
and inaction. Prescribed duties are activities enjoined in terms of one's
acquired modes of material nature. Capricious work means actions without
the sanction of authority, and inaction means not performing one's
prescribed duties. The Lord advised that Arjuna not be inactive, but that
he perform his prescribed duty without being attached to the result. One
who is attached to the result of his work is also the cause of the action.
Thus he is the enjoyer or sufferer of the result of such actions.
As far as prescribed duties are concerned, they can be fitted into three
subdivisions, namely routine work, emergency work and desired activities.
Routine work performed as an obligation in terms of the scriptural
injunctions, without desire for results, is action in the mode of
goodness. Work with results becomes the cause of bondage; therefore such
work is not auspicious. Everyone has his proprietory right in regard to
prescribed duties, but should act without attachment to the result; such
disinterested obligatory duties doubtlessly lead one to the path of
liberation.
Arjuna was therefore advised by the Lord to fight as a matter of duty
without attachment to the result. His nonparticipation in the battle is
another side of attachment. Such attachment never leads one to the path of
salvation. Any attachment, positive or negative, is cause for bondage.
Inaction is sinful. Therefore, fighting as a matter of duty was the only
auspicious path of salvation for Arjuna.
TEXT 48
yoga-sthah kuru karmani
sangam tyaktva dhananjaya
siddhy-asiddhyoh samo bhutva
samatvam yoga ucyate
WORD FOR WORD
yoga-sthah -- equipoised; kuru -- perform; karmani --
your duties; sangam -- attachment; tyaktva -- giving up;
dhananjaya -- O Arjuna; siddhi-asiddhyoh -- in success and
failure; samah -- equipoised; bhutva -- becoming;
samatvam -- equanimity; yogah -- yoga; ucyate -- is called.
TRANSLATION
Perform your duty equipoised, O Arjuna, abandoning all attachment to
success or failure. Such equanimity is called yoga.
PURPORT
Krishna tells Arjuna that he should act in yoga. And what is that
yoga? Yoga means to concentrate the mind upon the Supreme by
controlling the ever-disturbing senses. And who is the Supreme? The
Supreme is the Lord. And because He Himself is telling Arjuna to fight,
Arjuna has nothing to do with the results of the fight. Gain or victory
are Krishna's concern; Arjuna is simply advised to act according to the
dictation of Krishna. The following of Krishna's dictation is real
yoga, and this is practiced in the process called Krishna
consciousness. By Krishna consciousness only can one give up the sense of
proprietorship. One has to become the servant of Krishna, or the servant
of the servant of Krishna. That is the right way to discharge duty in
Krishna consciousness, which alone can help one to act in yoga.
Arjuna is a ksatriya, and as such he is participating in the
varnashrama-dharma institution. It is said in the Vishnu
Purana that in the varnashrama-dharma, the whole aim is to
satisfy Vishnu. No one should satisfy himself, as is the rule in the
material world, but one should satisfy Krishna. So unless one satisfies
Krishna, one cannot correctly observe the principles of
varnashrama-dharma. Indirectly, Arjuna was advised to act as Krishna
told him.
TEXT 49
durena hy avaram karma
buddhi-yogad dhananjaya
buddhau saranam anviccha
krpanah phala-hetavah
WORD FOR WORD
durena -- discard it at a long distance; hi -- certainly;
avaram -- abominable; karma -- activity; buddhi-yogat
-- on the strength of Krishna consciousness; dhananjaya -- O
conqueror of wealth; buddhau -- in such consciousness;
saranam -- full surrender; anviccha -- try for;
krpanah -- misers; phala-hetavah -- those desiring fruitive
results.
TRANSLATION
O Dhananjaya, keep all abominable activities far distant by devotional
service, and in that consciousness surrender unto the Lord. Those who want
to enjoy the fruits of their work are misers.
PURPORT
One who has actually come to understand one's constitutional position as
an eternal servitor of the Lord gives up all engagements save working in
Krishna consciousness. As already explained, buddhi-yoga means
transcendental loving service to the Lord. Such devotional service is the
right course of action for the living entity. Only misers desire to enjoy
the fruit of their own work just to be further entangled in material
bondage. Except for work in Krishna consciousness, all activities are
abominable because they continually bind the worker to the cycle of birth
and death. One should therefore never desire to be the cause of work.
Everything should be done in Krishna consciousness, for the satisfaction
of Krishna. Misers do not know how to utilize the assets of riches which
they acquire by good fortune or by hard labor. One should spend all
energies working in Krishna consciousness, and that will make one's life
successful. Like misers, unfortunate persons do not employ their human
energy in the service of the Lord.
TEXT 50
buddhi-yukto jahatiha
ubhe sukrta-duskrte
tasmad yogaya yujyasva
yogah karmasu kausalam
WORD FOR WORD
buddhi-yuktah -- one who is engaged in devotional service;
jahati -- can get rid of; iha -- in this life; ubhe
-- both; sukrta-duskrte -- good and bad results; tasmat --
therefore; yogaya -- for the sake of devotional service;
yujyasva -- be so engaged; yogah -- Krishna consciousness;
karmasu -- in all activities; kausalam -- art.
TRANSLATION
A man engaged in devotional service rids himself of both good and bad
actions even in this life. Therefore strive for yoga, which is the art of
all work.
PURPORT
Since time immemorial each living entity has accumulated the various
reactions of his good and bad work. As such, he is continuously ignorant
of his real constitutional position. One's ignorance can be removed by the
instruction of the Bhagavad-gita, which teaches one to surrender
unto Lord Sri Krishna in all respects and become liberated from the
chained victimization of action and reaction, birth after birth. Arjuna is
therefore advised to act in Krishna consciousness, the purifying process
of resultant action.
TEXT 51
karma-jam buddhi-yukta hi
phalam tyaktva manisinah
janma-bandha-vinirmuktah
padam gacchanty anamayam
WORD FOR WORD
karma-jam -- due to fruitive activities; buddhi-yuktah --
being engaged in devotional service; hi -- certainly; phalam
-- results; tyaktva -- giving up; manisinah -- great sages
or devotees; janma-bandha -- from the bondage of birth and death;
vinirmuktah -- liberated; padam -- position;
gacchanti -- they reach; anamayam -- without miseries.
TRANSLATION
By thus engaging in devotional service to the Lord, great sages or
devotees free themselves from the results of work in the material world.
In this way they become free from the cycle of birth and death and attain
the state beyond all miseries [by going back to Godhead].
PURPORT
The liberated living entities belong to that place where there are no
material miseries. The Bhagavatam (10.14.58) says:
samasrita ye pada-pallava-plavam
mahat-padam punya-yaso murareh
bhavambudhir vatsa-padam param padam
padam padam yad vipadam na tesam
"For one who has accepted the boat of the lotus feet of the Lord, who is
the shelter of the cosmic manifestation and is famous as Mukunda, or the
giver of mukti, the ocean of the material world is like the water
contained in a calf's footprint. param padam, or the place where
there are no material miseries, or Vaikuntha, is his goal, not the place
where there is danger in every step of life."
Owing to ignorance, one does not know that this material world is a
miserable place where there are dangers at every step. Out of ignorance
only, less intelligent persons try to adjust to the situation by fruitive
activities, thinking that the resultant actions will make them happy. They
do not know that no kind of material body anywhere within the universe can
give life without miseries. The miseries of life, namely birth, death, old
age and diseases, are present everywhere within the material world. But
one who understands his real constitutional position as the eternal
servitor of the Lord, and thus knows the position of the Personality of
Godhead, engages himself in the transcendental loving service of the Lord.
Consequently he becomes qualified to enter into the Vaikuntha planets,
where there is neither material, miserable life nor the influence of time
and death. To know one's constitutional position means to know also the
sublime position of the Lord. One who wrongly thinks that the living
entity's position and the Lord's position are on the same level is to be
understood to be in darkness and therefore unable to engage himself in the
devotional service of the Lord. He becomes a lord himself and thus paves
the way for the repetition of birth and death. But one who, understanding
that his position is to serve, transfers himself to the service of the
Lord, at once becomes eligible for Vaikunthaloka. Service for the cause of
the Lord is called karma-yoga or buddhi-yoga, or in plain
words, devotional service to the Lord.
TEXT 52
yada te moha-kalilam
buddhir vyatitarisyati
tada gantasi nirvedam
srotavyasya srutasya ca
WORD FOR WORD
yada -- when; te -- your; moha -- of illusion;
kalilam -- dense forest; buddhih -- transcendental service
with intelligence; vyatitarisyati -- surpasses; tada -- at
that time; ganta asi -- you shall go; nirvedam --
callousness; srotavyasya -- toward all that is to be heard;
srutasya -- all that is already heard; ca -- also.
TRANSLATION
When your intelligence has passed out of the dense forest of delusion, you
shall become indifferent to all that has been heard and all that is to be
heard.
PURPORT
There are many good examples in the lives of the great devotees of the
Lord of those who became indifferent to the rituals of the Vedas
simply by devotional service to the Lord. When a person factually
understands Krishna and his relationship with Krishna, he naturally
becomes completely indifferent to the rituals of fruitive activities, even
though an experienced brahmana. Sri Madhavendra Puri, a great
devotee and acarya in the line of the devotees, says:
sandhya-vandana bhadram astu bhavato bhoh snana tubhyam namo
bho devah pitaras ca tarpana-vidhau naham ksamah ksamyatam
yatra kvapi nisadya yadava-kulottamasya kamsa-dvisah
smaram smaram agham harami tad alam manye kim anyena me
"O my prayers three times a day, all glory to you. O bathing, I offer my
obeisances unto you. O demigods! O forefathers! Please excuse me for my
inability to offer you my respects. Now wherever I sit, I can remember the
great descendant of the Yadu dynasty [Krishna], the enemy of Kamsa, and
thereby I can free myself from all sinful bondage. I think this is
sufficient for me."
The Vedic rites and rituals are imperative for neophytes: comprehending
all kinds of prayer three times a day, taking a bath early in the morning,
offering respects to the forefathers, etc. But when one is fully in
Krishna consciousness and is engaged in His transcendental loving service,
one becomes indifferent to all these regulative principles because he has
already attained perfection. If one can reach the platform of
understanding by service to the Supreme Lord Krishna, he has no longer to
execute different types of penances and sacrifices as recommended in
revealed scriptures. And, similarly, if one has not understood that the
purpose of the Vedas is to reach Krishna and simply engages in the
rituals, etc., then he is uselessly wasting time in such engagements.
Persons in Krishna consciousness transcend the limit of
sabda-brahma, or the range of the Vedas and
Upanisads.
TEXT 53
sruti-vipratipanna te
yada sthasyati niscala
samadhav acala buddhis
tada yogam avapsyasi
WORD FOR WORD
sruti -- of Vedic revelation; vipratipanna -- without being
influenced by the fruitive results; te -- your; yada --
when; sthasyati -- remains; niscala -- unmoved;
samadhau -- in transcendental consciousness, or Krishna
consciousness; acala -- unflinching; buddhih --
intelligence; tada -- at that time; yogam --
self-realization; avapsyasi -- you will achieve.
TRANSLATION
When your mind is no longer disturbed by the flowery language of the
Vedas, and when it remains fixed in the trance of self-realization, then
you will have attained the divine consciousness.
PURPORT
To say that one is in samadhi is to say that one has fully realized
Krishna consciousness; that is, one in full samadhi has realized
Brahman, Paramatma and Bhagavan. The highest perfection of
self-realization is to understand that one is eternally the servitor of
Krishna and that one's only business is to discharge one's duties in
Krishna consciousness. A Krishna conscious person, or unflinching devotee
of the Lord, should not be disturbed by the flowery language of the
Vedas nor be engaged in fruitive activities for promotion to the
heavenly kingdom. In Krishna consciousness, one comes directly into
communion with Krishna, and thus all directions from Krishna may be
understood in that transcendental state. One is sure to achieve results by
such activities and attain conclusive knowledge. One has only to carry out
the orders of Krishna or His representative, the spiritual master.
TEXT 54
arjuna uvaca
sthita-prajnasya ka bhasa
samadhi-sthasya kesava
sthita-dhih kim prabhaseta
kim asita vrajeta kim
WORD FOR WORD
arjunah uvaca -- Arjuna said; sthita-prajnasya -- of one who
is situated in fixed Krishna consciousness; ka -- what;
bhasa -- language; samadhi-sthasya -- of one situated in
trance; kesava -- O Krishna; sthita-dhih -- one fixed in
Krishna consciousness; kim -- what; prabhaseta -- speaks;
kim -- how; asita -- does remain still; vrajeta --
walks; kim -- how.
TRANSLATION
Arjuna said: O Krishna, what are the symptoms of one whose consciousness
is thus merged in transcendence? How does he speak, and what is his
language? How does he sit, and how does he walk?
PURPORT
As there are symptoms for each and every man, in terms of his particular
situation, similarly one who is Krishna conscious has his particular
nature -- talking, walking, thinking, feeling, etc. As a rich man has his
symptoms by which he is known as a rich man, as a diseased man has his
symptoms by which he is known as diseased, or as a learned man has his
symptoms, so a man in transcendental consciousness of Krishna has specific
symptoms in various dealings. One can know his specific symptoms from the
Bhagavad-gita. Most important is how the man in Krishna
consciousness speaks; for speech is the most important quality of any man.
It is said that a fool is undiscovered as long as he does not speak, and
certainly a well-dressed fool cannot be identified unless he speaks, but
as soon as he speaks, he reveals himself at once. The immediate symptom of
a Krishna conscious man is that he speaks only of Krishna and of matters
relating to Him. Other symptoms then automatically follow, as stated
below.
TEXT 55
sri-bhagavan uvaca
prajahati yada kaman
sarvan partha mano-gatan
atmany evatmana tustah.
sthita-prajnas tadocyate
WORD FOR WORD
sri-bhagavan uvaca -- the Supreme Personality of Godhead said;
prajahati -- gives up; yada -- when; kaman -- desires
for sense gratification; sarvan -- of all varieties; partha
-- O son of Prtha; manah-gatan -- of mental concoction;
atmani -- in the pure state of the soul; eva -- certainly;
atmana -- by the purified mind; tustah -- satisfied;
sthita-prajnah -- transcendentally situated; tada -- at that
time; ucyate -- is said.
TRANSLATION
The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: O Partha, when a man gives up all
varieties of desire for sense gratification, which arise from mental
concoction, and when his mind, thus purified, finds satisfaction in the
self alone, then he is said to be in pure transcendental consciousness.
PURPORT
The Bhagavatam affirms that any person who is fully in Krishna
consciousness, or devotional service of the Lord, has all the good
qualities of the great sages, whereas a person who is not so
transcendentally situated has no good qualifications, because he is sure
to be taking refuge in his own mental concoctions. Consequently, it is
rightly said herein that one has to give up all kinds of sense desire
manufactured by mental concoction. Artificially, such sense desires cannot
be stopped. But if one is engaged in Krishna consciousness, then,
automatically, sense desires subside without extraneous efforts.
Therefore, one has to engage himself in Krishna consciousness without
hesitation, for this devotional service will instantly help one onto the
platform of transcendental consciousness. The highly developed soul always
remains satisfied in himself by realizing himself as the eternal servitor
of the Supreme Lord. Such a transcendentally situated person has no sense
desires resulting from petty materialism; rather, he remains always happy
in his natural position of eternally serving the Supreme Lord.
TEXT 56
duhkhesv anudvigna-manah
sukhesu vigata-sprhah
vita-raga-bhaya-krodhah
sthita-dhir munir ucyate
WORD FOR WORD
duhkhesu -- in the threefold miseries; anudvigna-manah --
without being agitated in mind; sukhesu -- in happiness;
vigata-sprhah -- without being interested; vita -- free
from; raga -- attachment; bhaya -- fear; krodhah --
and anger; sthita-dhih -- whose mind is steady; munih -- a
sage; ucyate -- is called.
TRANSLATION
One who is not disturbed in mind even amidst the threefold miseries or
elated when there is happiness, and who is free from attachment, fear and
anger, is called a sage of steady mind.
PURPORT
The word muni means one who can agitate his mind in various ways
for mental speculation without coming to a factual conclusion. It is said
that every muni has a different angle of vision, and unless a
muni differs from other munis, he cannot be called a
muni in the strict sense of the term. Na casav rsir yasya matam
na bhinnam (Mahabharata, Vana-parva 313.117). But a
sthita-dhir muni, as mentioned herein by the Lord, is different
from an ordinary muni. The sthita-dhir muni is always in
Krishna consciousness, for he has exhausted all his business of creative
speculation. He is called prasanta-nihsesa-mano-rathantara
(Stotra-ratna 43), or one who has surpassed the stage of mental
speculations and has come to the conclusion that Lord Sri Krishna, or
Vasudeva, is everything (vasudevah sarvam iti sa mahatma
su-durlabhah). He is called a muni fixed in mind. Such a fully
Krishna conscious person is not at all disturbed by the onslaughts of the
threefold miseries, for he accepts all miseries as the mercy of the Lord,
thinking himself only worthy of more trouble due to his past misdeeds; and
he sees that his miseries, by the grace of the Lord, are minimized to the
lowest. Similarly, when he is happy he gives credit to the Lord, thinking
himself unworthy of the happiness; he realizes that it is due only to the
Lord's grace that he is in such a comfortable condition and able to render
better service to the Lord. And, for the service of the Lord, he is always
daring and active and is not influenced by attachment or aversion.
Attachment means accepting things for one's own sense gratification, and
detachment is the absence of such sensual attachment. But one fixed in
Krishna consciousness has neither attachment nor detachment because his
life is dedicated in the service of the Lord. Consequently he is not at
all angry even when his attempts are unsuccessful. Success or no success,
a Krishna conscious person is always steady in his determination.
TEXT 57
yah sarvatranabhisnehas
tat tat prapya subhasubham
nabhinandati na dvesti
tasya prajna pratisthita
WORD FOR WORD
yah -- one who; sarvatra -- everywhere; anabhisnehah
-- without affection; tat -- that; tat -- that;
prapya -- achieving; subha -- good; asubham -- evil;
na -- never; abhinandati -- praises; na -- never;
dvesti -- envies; tasya -- his; prajna -- perfect
knowledge; pratisthita -- fixed.
TRANSLATION
In the material world, one who is unaffected by whatever good or evil he
may obtain, neither praising it nor despising it, is firmly fixed in
perfect knowledge.
PURPORT
There is always some upheaval in the material world which may be good or
evil. One who is not agitated by such material upheavals, who is
unaffected by good and evil, is to be understood to be fixed in Krishna
consciousness. As long as one is in the material world there is always the
possibility of good and evil because this world is full of duality. But
one who is fixed in Krishna consciousness is not affected by good and
evil, because he is simply concerned with Krishna, who is all-good
absolute. Such consciousness in Krishna situates one in a perfect
transcendental position called, technically, samadhi.
TEXT 58
yada samharate cayam
kurmo 'nganiva sarvasah
indriyanindriyarthebhyas
tasya prajna pratisthita
WORD FOR WORD
yada -- when; samharate -- winds up; ca -- also;
ayam -- he; kurmah -- tortoise; angani -- limbs;
iva -- like; sarvasah -- altogether; indriyani --
senses; indriya-arthebhyah -- from the sense objects; tasya
-- his; prajna -- consciousness; pratisthita -- fixed.
TRANSLATION
One who is able to withdraw his senses from sense objects, as the tortoise
draws its limbs within the shell, is firmly fixed in perfect
consciousness.
PURPORT
The test of a yogi, devotee, or self-realized soul is that he is
able to control the senses according to his plan. Most people, however,
are servants of the senses and are thus directed by the dictation of the
senses. That is the answer to the question as to how the yogi is
situated. The senses are compared to venomous serpents. They want to act
very loosely and without restriction. The yogi, or the devotee,
must be very strong to control the serpents -- like a snake charmer. He
never allows them to act independently. There are many injunctions in the
revealed scriptures; some of them are do-not's, and some of them are do's.
Unless one is able to follow the do's and the do-not's, restricting
oneself from sense enjoyment, it is not possible to be firmly fixed in
Krishna consciousness. The best example, set herein, is the tortoise. The
tortoise can at any moment wind up his senses and exhibit them again at
any time for particular purposes. Similarly, the senses of the Krishna
conscious persons are used only for some particular purpose in the service
of the Lord and are withdrawn otherwise. Arjuna is being taught here to
use his senses for the service of the Lord, instead of for his own
satisfaction. Keeping the senses always in the service of the Lord is the
example set by the analogy of the tortoise, who keeps the senses within.
TEXT 59
visaya vinivartante
niraharasya dehinah
rasa-varjam raso 'py asya
param drstva nivartate
WORD FOR WORD
visayah -- objects for sense enjoyment; vinivartante -- are
practiced to be refrained from; niraharasya -- by negative
restrictions; dehinah -- for the embodied; rasa-varjam --
giving up the taste; rasah -- sense of enjoyment; api --
although there is; asya -- his; param -- far superior
things; drstva -- by experiencing; nivartate -- he ceases
from.
TRANSLATION
The embodied soul may be restricted from sense enjoyment, though the taste
for sense objects remains. But, ceasing such engagements by experiencing a
higher taste, he is fixed in consciousness.
PURPORT
Unless one is transcendentally situated, it is not possible to cease from
sense enjoyment. The process of restriction from sense enjoyment by rules
and regulations is something like restricting a diseased person from
certain types of eatables. The patient, however, neither likes such
restrictions nor loses his taste for eatables. Similarly, sense
restriction by some spiritual process like astanga-yoga, in the
matter of yama, niyama, asana, pranayama, pratyahara, dharana,
dhyana, etc., is recommended for less intelligent persons who have no
better knowledge. But one who has tasted the beauty of the Supreme Lord
Krishna, in the course of his advancement in Krishna consciousness, no
longer has a taste for dead, material things. Therefore, restrictions are
there for the less intelligent neophytes in the spiritual advancement of
life, but such restrictions are only good until one actually has a taste
for Krishna consciousness. When one is actually Krishna conscious, he
automatically loses his taste for pale things.
TEXT 60
yatato hy api kaunteya
purusasya vipascitah
indriyani pramathini
haranti prasabham manah
WORD FOR WORD
yatatah -- while endeavoring; hi -- certainly; api --
in spite of; kaunteya -- O son of Kunti; purusasya -- of a
man; vipascitah -- full of discriminating knowledge;
indriyani -- the senses; pramathini -- agitating;
haranti -- throw; prasabham -- by force; manah -- the
mind.
TRANSLATION
The senses are so strong and impetuous, O Arjuna, that they forcibly carry
away the mind even of a man of discrimination who is endeavoring to
control them.
PURPORT
There are many learned sages, philosophers and transcendentalists who try
to conquer the senses, but in spite of their endeavors, even the greatest
of them sometimes fall victim to material sense enjoyment due to the
agitated mind. Even Visvamitra, a great sage and perfect yogi, was
misled by Menaka into sex enjoyment, although the yogi was
endeavoring for sense control with severe types of penance and yoga
practice. And, of course, there are so many similar instances in the
history of the world. Therefore, it is very difficult to control the mind
and senses without being fully Krishna conscious. Without engaging the
mind in Krishna, one cannot cease such material engagements. A practical
example is given by Sri Yamunacarya, a great saint and devotee, who says:
yad-avadhi mama cetah krsna-padaravinde
nava-nava-rasa-dhamany udyatam rantum asit
tad-avadhi bata nari-sangame smaryamane
bhavati mukha-vikarah susthu nisthivanam ca
"Since my mind has been engaged in the service of the lotus feet of Lord
Krishna, and I have been enjoying an ever new transcendental humor,
whenever I think of sex life with a woman, my face at once turns from it,
and I spit at the thought."
Krishna consciousness is such a transcendentally nice thing that
automatically material enjoyment becomes distasteful. It is as if a hungry
man had satisfied his hunger by a sufficient quantity of nutritious
eatables. Maharaja Ambarisa also conquered a great yogi, Durvasa
Muni, simply because his mind was engaged in Krishna consciousness (sa
vai manah krsna-padaravindayor vacamsi vaikuntha-gunanuvarnane).
TEXT 61
tani sarvani samyamya
yukta asita mat-parah
vase hi yasyendriyani
tasya prajna pratisthita
WORD FOR WORD
tani -- those senses; sarvani -- all; samyamya --
keeping under control; yuktah -- engaged; asita -- should be
situated; mat-parah -- in relationship with Me; vase -- in
full subjugation; hi -- certainly; yasya -- one whose;
indriyani -- senses; tasya -- his; prajna --
consciousness; pratisthita -- fixed.
TRANSLATION
One who restrains his senses, keeping them under full control, and fixes
his consciousness upon Me, is known as a man of steady intelligence.
PURPORT
That the highest conception of yoga perfection is Krishna
consciousness is clearly explained in this verse. And unless one is
Krishna conscious it is not at all possible to control the senses. As
cited above, the great sage Durvasa Muni picked a quarrel with Maharaja
Ambarisa, and Durvasa Muni unnecessarily became angry out of pride and
therefore could not check his senses. On the other hand, the king,
although not as powerful a yogi as the sage, but a devotee of the
Lord, silently tolerated all the sage's injustices and thereby emerged
victorious. The king was able to control his senses because of the
following qualifications, as mentioned in the Srimad-Bhagavatam
(9.4.18-20):
sa vai manah krsna-padaravindayor
vacamsi vaikuntha-gunanuvarnane
karau harer mandira-marjanadisu
srutim cakaracyuta-sat-kathodaye
mukunda-lingalaya-darshane drsau
tad-bhrtya-gatra-sparse 'nga-sangamam
ghranam ca tat-pada-saroja-saurabhe
srimat-tulasya rasanam tad-arpite
padau hareh ksetra-padanusarpane
siro hrsikesa-padabhivandane
kamam ca dasye na tu kama-kamyaya
yathottamasloka-janasraya ratih
"King Ambarisa fixed his mind on the lotus feet of Lord Krishna, engaged
his words in describing the abode of the Lord, his hands in cleansing the
temple of the Lord, his ears in hearing the pastimes of the Lord, his eyes
in seeing the form of the Lord, his body in touching the body of the
devotee, his nostrils in smelling the flavor of the flowers offered to the
lotus feet of the Lord, his tongue in tasting the tulasi leaves
offered to Him, his legs in traveling to the holy place where His temple
is situated, his head in offering obeisances unto the Lord, and his
desires in fulfilling the desires of the Lord... and all these
qualifications made him fit to become a mat-para devotee of the
Lord."
The word mat-para is most significant in this connection. How one
can become mat-para is described in the life of Maharaja Ambarisa.
Srila Baladeva Vidyabhusana, a great scholar and acarya in the line
of the mat-para, remarks, mad-bhakti-prabhavena
sarvendriya-vijaya-purvika svatma-drstih sulabheti bhavah. "The senses
can be completely controlled only by the strength of devotional service to
Krishna." Also, the example of fire is sometimes given: "As a blazing fire
burns everything within a room, Lord Vishnu, situated in the heart of the
yogi, burns up all kinds of impurities." The Yoga-sutra also
prescribes meditation on Vishnu, and not meditation on the void. The
so-called yogis who meditate on something which is not on the Vishnu
platform simply waste their time in a vain search after some
phantasmagoria. We have to be Krishna conscious -- devoted to the
Personality of Godhead. This is the aim of the real yoga.
TEXT 62
dhyayato visayan pumsah
sangas tesupajayate
sangat sanjayate kamah
kamat krodho 'bhijayate
WORD FOR WORD
dhyayatah -- while contemplating; visayan -- sense objects;
pumsah -- of a person; sangah -- attachment; tesu --
in the sense objects; upajayate -- develops; sangat -- from
attachment; sanjayate -- develops; kamah -- desire;
kamat -- from desire; krodhah -- anger; abhijayate --
becomes manifest.
TRANSLATION
While contemplating the objects of the senses, a person develops
attachment for them, and from such attachment lust develops, and from lust
anger arises.
PURPORT
One who is not Krishna conscious is subjected to material desires while
contemplating the objects of the senses. The senses require real
engagements, and if they are not engaged in the transcendental loving
service of the Lord, they will certainly seek engagement in the service of
materialism. In the material world everyone, including Lord Shiva and Lord
Brahma -- to say nothing of other demigods in the heavenly planets -- is
subjected to the influence of sense objects, and the only method to get
out of this puzzle of material existence is to become Krishna conscious.
Lord Shiva was deep in meditation, but when Parvati agitated him for sense
pleasure, he agreed to the proposal, and as a result Kartikeya was born.
When Haridasa Thakur was a young devotee of the Lord, he was similarly
allured by the incarnation of Maya-devi, but Haridasa easily passed the
test because of his unalloyed devotion to Lord Krishna. As illustrated in
the above-mentioned verse of Sri Yamunacarya, a sincere devotee of the
Lord shuns all material sense enjoyment due to his higher taste for
spiritual enjoyment in the association of the Lord. That is the secret of
success. One who is not, therefore, in Krishna consciousness, however
powerful he may be in controlling the senses by artificial repression, is
sure ultimately to fail, for the slightest thought of sense pleasure will
agitate him to gratify his desires.
TEXT 63
krodhad bhavati sammohah
sammohat smrti-vibhramah
smrti-bhramsad buddhi-naso
buddhi-nasat pranasyati
WORD FOR WORD
krodhat -- from anger; bhavati -- takes place;
sammohah -- perfect illusion; sammohat -- from illusion;
smrti -- of memory; vibhramah -- bewilderment;
smrti-bhramsat -- after bewilderment of memory; buddhi-nasah
-- loss of intelligence; buddhi-nasat -- and from loss of
intelligence; pranasyati -- one falls down.
TRANSLATION
From anger, complete delusion arises, and from delusion bewilderment of
memory. When memory is bewildered, intelligence is lost, and when
intelligence is lost one falls down again into the material pool.
PURPORT
Srila Rupa Gosvami has given us this direction:
prapancikataya buddhya
hari-sambandhi-vastunah
mumuksubhih parityago
vairagyam phalgu kathyate
(Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu 1.2.258)
By development of Krishna consciousness one can know that everything has
its use in the service of the Lord. Those who are without knowledge of
Krishna consciousness artificially try to avoid material objects, and as a
result, although they desire liberation from material bondage, they do not
attain to the perfect stage of renunciation. Their so-called renunciation
is called phalgu, or less important. On the other hand, a person in
Krishna consciousness knows how to use everything in the service of the
Lord; therefore he does not become a victim of material consciousness. For
example, for an impersonalist, the Lord, or the Absolute, being
impersonal, cannot eat. Whereas an impersonalist tries to avoid good
eatables, a devotee knows that Krishna is the supreme enjoyer and that He
eats all that is offered to Him in devotion. So, after offering good
eatables to the Lord, the devotee takes the remnants, called
prasadam. Thus everything becomes spiritualized, and there is no
danger of a downfall. The devotee takes prasadam in Krishna
consciousness, whereas the nondevotee rejects it as material. The
impersonalist, therefore, cannot enjoy life, due to his artificial
renunciation; and for this reason, a slight agitation of the mind pulls
him down again into the pool of material existence. It is said that such a
soul, even though rising up to the point of liberation, falls down again
due to his not having support in devotional service.
TEXT 64
raga-dvesa-vimuktais tu
visayan indriyais caran
atma-vasyair vidheyatma
prasadam adhigacchati
WORD FOR WORD
raga -- attachment; dvesa -- and detachment;
vimuktaih -- by one who has become free from; tu -- but;
visayan -- sense objects; indriyaih -- by the senses;
caran -- acting upon; atma-vasyaih -- under one's control;
vidheya-atma -- one who follows regulated freedom; prasadam
-- the mercy of the Lord; adhigacchati -- attains.
TRANSLATION
But a person free from all attachment and aversion and able to control his
senses through regulative principles of freedom can obtain the complete
mercy of the Lord.
PURPORT
It is already explained that one may externally control the senses by some
artificial process, but unless the senses are engaged in the
transcendental service of the Lord, there is every chance of a fall.
Although the person in full Krishna consciousness may apparently be on the
sensual plane, because of his being Krishna conscious he has no attachment
to sensual activities. The Krishna conscious person is concerned only with
the satisfaction of Krishna, and nothing else. Therefore he is
transcendental to all attachment and detachment. If Krishna wants, the
devotee can do anything which is ordinarily undesirable; and if Krishna
does not want, he shall not do that which he would have ordinarily done
for his own satisfaction. Therefore to act or not to act is within his
control because he acts only under the direction of Krishna. This
consciousness is the causeless mercy of the Lord, which the devotee can
achieve in spite of his being attached to the sensual platform.
TEXT 65
prasade sarva-duhkhanam
hanir asyopajayate
prasanna-cetaso hy asu
buddhih paryavatisthate
WORD FOR WORD
prasade -- on achievement of the causeless mercy of the Lord;
sarva -- of all; duhkhanam -- material miseries;
hanih -- destruction; asya -- his; upajayate -- takes
place; prasanna-cetasah -- of the happy-minded; hi --
certainly; asu -- very soon; buddhih -- intelligence;
pari -- sufficiently; avatisthate -- becomes established.
TRANSLATION
For one thus satisfied [in Krishna consciousness], the threefold miseries
of material existence exist no longer; in such satisfied consciousness,
one's intelligence is soon well established.
TEXT 66
nasti buddhir ayuktasya
na cayuktasya bhavana
na cabhavayatah santir
asantasya kutah sukham
WORD FOR WORD
na asti -- there cannot be; buddhih -- transcendental
intelligence; ayuktasya -- of one who is not connected (with
Krishna consciousness); na -- not; ca -- and;
ayuktasya -- of one devoid of Krishna consciousness; bhavana
-- fixed mind (in happiness); na -- not; ca -- and;
abhavayatah -- of one who is not fixed; santih -- peace;
asantasya -- of the unpeaceful; kutah -- where is;
sukham -- happiness.
TRANSLATION
One who is not connected with the Supreme [in Krishna consciousness] can
have neither transcendental intelligence nor a steady mind, without which
there is no possibility of peace. And how can there be any happiness
without peace?
PURPORT
Unless one is in Krishna consciousness, there is no possibility of peace.
So it is confirmed in the Fifth Chapter (5.29) that when one understands
that Krishna is the only enjoyer of all the good results of sacrifice and
penance, that He is the proprietor of all universal manifestations, and
that He is the real friend of all living entities, then only can one have
real peace. Therefore, if one is not in Krishna consciousness, there
cannot be a final goal for the mind. Disturbance is due to want of an
ultimate goal, and when one is certain that Krishna is the enjoyer,
proprietor and friend of everyone and everything, then one can, with a
steady mind, bring about peace. Therefore, one who is engaged without a
relationship with Krishna is certainly always in distress and is without
peace, however much he may make a show of peace and spiritual advancement
in life. Krishna consciousness is a self-manifested peaceful condition
which can be achieved only in relationship with Krishna.
TEXT 67
indriyanam hi caratam
yan mano 'nuvidhiyate
tad asya harati prajnam
vayur navam ivambhasi
WORD FOR WORD
indriyanam -- of the senses; hi -- certainly; caratam
-- while roaming; yat -- with which; manah -- the mind;
anuvidhiyate -- becomes constantly engaged; tat -- that;
asya -- his; harati -- takes away; prajnam --
intelligence; vayuh -- wind; navam -- a boat; iva --
like; ambhasi -- on the water.
TRANSLATION
As a boat on the water is swept away by a strong wind, even one of the
roaming senses on which the mind focuses can carry away a man's
intelligence.
PURPORT
Unless all of the senses are engaged in the service of the Lord, even one
of them engaged in sense gratification can deviate the devotee from the
path of transcendental advancement. As mentioned in the life of Maharaja
Ambarisa, all of the senses must be engaged in Krishna consciousness, for
that is the correct technique for controlling the mind.
TEXT 68
tasmad yasya maha-baho
nigrhitani sarvasah
indriyanindriyarthebhyas
tasya prajna pratisthita
WORD FOR WORD
tasmat -- therefore; yasya -- whose; maha-baho -- O
mighty-armed one; nigrhitani -- so curbed down; sarvasah --
all around; indriyani -- the senses; indriya-arthebhyah --
from sense objects; tasya -- his; prajna -- intelligence;
pratisthita -- fixed.
TRANSLATION
Therefore, O mighty-armed, one whose senses are restrained from their
objects is certainly of steady intelligence.
PURPORT
One can curb the forces of sense gratification only by means of Krishna
consciousness, or engaging all the senses in the transcendental loving
service of the Lord. As enemies are curbed by superior force, the senses
can similarly be curbed, not by any human endeavor, but only by keeping
them engaged in the service of the Lord. One who has understood this --
that only by Krishna consciousness is one really established in
intelligence and that one should practice this art under the guidance of a
bona fide spiritual master -- is called sadhaka, or a suitable
candidate for liberation.
TEXT 69
ya nisa sarva-bhutanam
tasyam jagarti samyami
yasyam jagrati bhutani
sa nisa pasyato muneh
WORD FOR WORD
ya -- what; nisa -- is night; sarva -- all;
bhutanam -- of living entities; tasyam -- in that;
jagarti -- is wakeful; samyami -- the self-controlled;
yasyam -- in which; jagrati -- are awake; bhutani --
all beings; sa -- that is; nisa -- night; pasyatah --
for the introspective; muneh -- sage.
TRANSLATION
What is night for all beings is the time of awakening for the
self-controlled; and the time of awakening for all beings is night for the
introspective sage.
PURPORT
There are two classes of intelligent men. One is intelligent in material
activities for sense gratification, and the other is introspective and
awake to the cultivation of self-realization. Activities of the
introspective sage, or thoughtful man, are night for persons materially
absorbed. Materialistic persons remain asleep in such a night due to their
ignorance of self-realization. The introspective sage remains alert in the
"night" of the materialistic men. The sage feels transcendental pleasure
in the gradual advancement of spiritual culture, whereas the man in
materialistic activities, being asleep to self-realization, dreams of
varieties of sense pleasure, feeling sometimes happy and sometimes
distressed in his sleeping condition. The introspective man is always
indifferent to materialistic happiness and distress. He goes on with his
self-realization activities undisturbed by material reactions.
TEXT 70
apuryamanam acala-pratistham
samudram apah pravisanti yadvat
tadvat kama yam pravisanti sarve
sa santim apnoti na kama-kami
WORD FOR WORD
apuryamanam -- always being filled; acala-pratistham --
steadily situated; samudram -- the ocean; apah -- waters;
pravisanti -- enter; yadvat -- as; tadvat -- so;
kamah -- desires; yam -- unto whom; pravisanti --
enter; sarve -- all; sah -- that person; santim --
peace; apnoti -- achieves; na -- not; kama-kami --
one who desires to fulfill desires.
TRANSLATION
A person who is not disturbed by the incessant flow of desires -- that enter
like rivers into the ocean, which is ever being filled but is always
still -- can alone achieve peace, and not the man who strives to satisfy
such desires.
PURPORT
Although the vast ocean is always filled with water, it is always,
especially during the rainy season, being filled with much more water. But
the ocean remains the same -- steady; it is not agitated, nor does it
cross beyond the limit of its brink. That is also true of a person fixed
in Krishna consciousness. As long as one has the material body, the
demands of the body for sense gratification will continue. The devotee,
however, is not disturbed by such desires, because of his fullness. A
Krishna conscious man is not in need of anything, because the Lord
fulfills all his material necessities. Therefore he is like the ocean --
always full in himself. Desires may come to him like the waters of the
rivers that flow into the ocean, but he is steady in his activities, and
he is not even slightly disturbed by desires for sense gratification. That
is the proof of a Krishna conscious man -- one who has lost all
inclinations for material sense gratification, although the desires are
present. Because he remains satisfied in the transcendental loving service
of the Lord, he can remain steady, like the ocean, and therefore enjoy
full peace. Others, however, who want to fulfill desires even up to the
limit of liberation, what to speak of material success, never attain
peace. The fruitive workers, the salvationists, and also the yogis
who are after mystic powers are all unhappy because of unfulfilled
desires. But the person in Krishna consciousness is happy in the service
of the Lord, and he has no desires to be fulfilled. In fact, he does not
even desire liberation from the so-called material bondage. The devotees
of Krishna have no material desires, and therefore they are in perfect
peace.
TEXT 71
vihaya kaman yah sarvan
pumams carati nihsprhah
nirmamo nirahankarah
sa santim adhigacchati
WORD FOR WORD
vihaya -- giving up; kaman -- material desires for sense
gratification; yah -- who; sarvan -- all; puman -- a
person; carati -- lives; nihsprhah -- desireless;
nirmamah -- without a sense of proprietorship; nirahankarah
-- without false ego; sah -- he; santim -- perfect peace;
adhigacchati -- attains.
TRANSLATION
A person who has given up all desires for sense gratification, who lives
free from desires, who has given up all sense of proprietorship and is
devoid of false ego -- he alone can attain real peace.
PURPORT
To become desireless means not to desire anything for sense gratification.
In other words, desire for becoming Krishna conscious is actually
desirelessness. To understand one's actual position as the eternal
servitor of Krishna, without falsely claiming this material body to be
oneself and without falsely claiming proprietorship over anything in the
world, is the perfect stage of Krishna consciousness. One who is situated
in this perfect stage knows that because Krishna is the proprietor of
everything, everything must be used for the satisfaction of Krishna.
Arjuna did not want to fight for his own sense satisfaction, but when he
became fully Krishna conscious he fought because Krishna wanted him to
fight. For himself there was no desire to fight, but for Krishna the same
Arjuna fought to his best ability. Real desirelessness is desire for the
satisfaction of Krishna, not an artificial attempt to abolish desires. The
living entity cannot be desireless or senseless, but he does have to
change the quality of the desires. A materially desireless person
certainly knows that everything belongs to Krishna (isavasyam idam
sarvam), and therefore he does not falsely claim proprietorship over
anything. This transcendental knowledge is based on self-realization --
namely, knowing perfectly well that every living entity is an eternal part
and parcel of Krishna in spiritual identity, and that the eternal position
of the living entity is therefore never on the level of Krishna or greater
than Him. This understanding of Krishna consciousness is the basic
principle of real peace.
TEXT 72
esa brahmi sthitih partha
nainam prapya vimuhyati
sthitvasyam anta-kale 'pi
brahma-nirvanam rcchati
WORD FOR WORD
esa -- this; brahmi -- spiritual; sthitih --
situation; partha -- O son of Prtha; na -- never;
enam -- this; prapya -- achieving; vimuhyati -- one
is bewildered; sthitva -- being situated; asyam -- in this;
anta-kale -- at the end of life; api -- also;
brahma-nirvanam -- the spiritual kingdom of God; rcchati --
one attains.
TRANSLATION
That is the way of the spiritual and godly life, after attaining which a
man is not bewildered. If one is thus situated even at the hour of death,
one can enter into the kingdom of God.
PURPORT
One can attain Krishna consciousness or divine life at once, within a
second -- or one may not attain such a state of life even after millions
of births. It is only a matter of understanding and accepting the fact.
Khatvanga Maharaja attained this state of life just a few minutes before
his death, by surrendering unto Krishna. Nirvana means ending the
process of materialistic life. According to Buddhist philosophy, there is
only void after the completion of this material life, but
Bhagavad-gita teaches differently. Actual life begins after the
completion of this material life. For the gross materialist it is
sufficient to know that one has to end this materialistic way of life, but
for persons who are spiritually advanced, there is another life after this
materialistic life. Before ending this life, if one fortunately becomes
Krishna conscious, he at once attains the stage of brahma-nirvana.
There is no difference between the kingdom of God and the devotional
service of the Lord. Since both of them are on the absolute plane, to be
engaged in the transcendental loving service of the Lord is to have
attained the spiritual kingdom. In the material world there are activities
of sense gratification, whereas in the spiritual world there are
activities of Krishna consciousness. Attainment of Krishna consciousness
even during this life is immediate attainment of Brahman, and one who is
situated in Krishna consciousness has certainly already entered into the
kingdom of God.
Brahman is just the opposite of matter. Therefore brahmi sthiti
means "not on the platform of material activities." Devotional service of
the Lord is accepted in the Bhagavad-gita as the liberated stage
(sa gunan samatityaitan brahma-bhuyaya kalpate). Therefore,
brahmi sthiti is liberation from material bondage.
Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakur has summarized this Second Chapter of the
Bhagavad-gita as being the contents for the whole text. In the
Bhagavad-gita, the subject matters are karma-yoga,
jnana-yoga, and bhakti-yoga. In the Second Chapter
karma-yoga and jnana-yoga have been clearly discussed, and a
glimpse of bhakti-yoga has also been given, as the contents for the
complete text.
Thus end the Bhaktivedanta Purports to the Second Chapter of the
Srimad Bhagavad-gita in the matter of its Contents.
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