Bhagavad-gita As It Is
CHAPTER 4a: Transcendental Knowledge
©1989, The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust
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TEXT 1
sri-bhagavan uvaca
imam vivasvate yogam
proktavan aham avyayam
vivasvan manave praha
manur iksvakave 'bravit
WORD FOR WORD
sri-bhagavan uvaca -- the Supreme Personality of Godhead said;
imam -- this; vivasvate -- unto the sun-god; yogam --
the science of one's relationship to the Supreme; proktavan --
instructed; aham -- I; avyayam -- imperishable;
vivasvan -- Vivasvan (the sun-god's name); manave -- unto
the father of mankind (of the name Vaivasvata); praha -- told;
manuh -- the father of mankind; iksvakave -- unto King
Iksvaku; abravit -- said.
TRANSLATION
The Personality of Godhead, Lord Sri Krishna, said: I instructed this
imperishable science of yoga to the sun-god, Vivasvan, and Vivasvan
instructed it to Manu, the father of mankind, and Manu in turn instructed
it to Iksvaku.
PURPORT
Herein we find the history of the Bhagavad-gita traced from a
remote time when it was delivered to the royal order of all planets.
beginning from the sun planet. The kings of all planets are especially
meant for the protection of the inhabitants, and therefore the royal order
should understand the science of Bhagavad-gita in order to be able
to rule the citizens and protect them from material bondage to lust. Human
life is meant for cultivation of spiritual knowledge, in eternal
relationship with the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and the executive
heads of all states and all planets are obliged to impart this lesson to
the citizens by education, culture and devotion. In other words, the
executive heads of all states are intended to spread the science of
Krishna consciousness so that the people may take advantage of this great
science and pursue a successful path, utilizing the opportunity of the
human form of life.
In this millennium, the sun-god is known as Vivasvan, the king of the
sun, which is the origin of all planets within the solar system. In the
Brahma-samhita (5.52) it is stated:
yac-caksur esa savita sakala-grahanam
raja samasta-sura-murtir asesa-tejah
yasyajnaya bhramati sambhrta-kala-cakro
govindam adi-purusam tam aham bhajami
"Let me worship," Lord Brahma said, "the Supreme Personality of Godhead,
Govinda [Krishna], who is the original person and under whose order the
sun, which is the king of all planets, is assuming immense power and heat.
The sun represents the eye of the Lord and traverses its orbit in
obedience to His order."
The sun is the king of the planets, and the sun-god (at present of the
name Vivasvan) rules the sun planet, which is controlling all other
planets by supplying heat and light. He is rotating under the order of
Krishna, and Lord Krishna originally made Vivasvan His first disciple to
understand the science of Bhagavad-gita. The Gita is not,
therefore, a speculative treatise for the insignificant mundane scholar
but is a standard book of knowledge coming down from time immemorial.
In the Mahabharata (Santi-parva 348.51-52) we can trace
out the history of the Gita as follows:
treta-yugadau ca tato
vivasvan manave dadau
manus ca loka-bhrty-artham
sutayeksvakave dadau
iksvakuna ca kathito
vyapya lokan avasthitah
"In the beginning of the millennium known as Treta-yuga this science of
the relationship with the Supreme was delivered by Vivasvan to Manu. Manu,
being the father of mankind, gave it to his son Maharaja Iksvaku, the king
of this earth planet and forefather of the Raghu dynasty, in which Lord
Ramacandra appeared." Therefore, Bhagavad-gita existed in human
society from the time of Maharaja Iksvaku.
At the present moment we have just passed through five thousand years of
the Kali-yuga, which lasts 432,000 years. Before this there was
Dvapara-yuga (800,000 years), and before that there was Treta-yuga
(1,200,000 years). Thus, some 2,005,000 years ago, Manu spoke the
Bhagavad-gita to his disciple and son Maharaja Iksvaku, the king of
this planet earth. The age of the current Manu is calculated to last some
305,300,000 years, of which 120,400,000 have passed. Accepting that before
the birth of Manu the Gita was spoken by the Lord to His disciple
the sun-god Vivasvan, a rough estimate is that the Gita was spoken
at least 120,400,000 years ago; and in human society it has been extant
for two million years. It was respoken by the Lord again to Arjuna about
five thousand years ago. That is the rough estimate of the history of the
Gita, according to the Gita itself and according to the
version of the speaker, Lord Sri Krishna. It was spoken to the sun-god
Vivasvan because he is also a ksatriya and is the father of all
ksatriyas who are descendants of the sun-god, or the surya-vamsa
ksatriyas. Because Bhagavad-gita is as good as the
Vedas, being spoken by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, this
knowledge is apauruseya, superhuman. Since the Vedic instructions
are accepted as they are, without human interpretation, the Gita
must therefore be accepted without mundane interpretation. The mundane
wranglers may speculate on the Gita in their own ways, but that is
not Bhagavad-gita as it is. Therefore, Bhagavad-gita has to
be accepted as it is, from the disciplic succession, and it is described
herein that the Lord spoke to the sun-god, the sun-god spoke to his son
Manu and Manu spoke to his son Iksvaku.
TEXT 2
evam parampara-praptam
imam rajarsayo viduh
sa kaleneha mahata
yogo nastah parantapa
WORD FOR WORD
evam -- thus; parampara -- by disciplic succession;
praptam -- received; imam -- this science;
raja-rsayah -- the saintly kings; viduh -- understood;
sah -- that knowledge; kalena -- in the course of time;
iha -- in this world; mahata -- great; yogah -- the
science of one's relationship with the Supreme; nastah --
scattered; parantapa -- O Arjuna, subduer of the enemies.
TRANSLATION
This supreme science was thus received through the chain of disciplic
succession, and the saintly kings understood it in that way. But in course
of time the succession was broken, and therefore the science as it is
appears to be lost.
PURPORT
It is clearly stated that the Gita was especially meant for the
saintly kings because they were to execute its purpose in ruling over the
citizens. Certainly Bhagavad-gita was never meant for the demonic
persons, who would dissipate its value for no one's benefit and would
devise all types of interpretations according to personal whims. As soon
as the original purpose was scattered by the motives of the unscrupulous
commentators, there arose the need to reestablish the disciplic
succession. Five thousand years ago it was detected by the Lord Himself
that the disciplic succession was broken, and therefore He declared that
the purpose of the Gita appeared to be lost. In the same way, at
the present moment also there are so many editions of the Gita
(especially in English), but almost all of them are not according to
authorized disciplic succession. There are innumerable interpretations
rendered by different mundane scholars, but almost all of them do not
accept the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krishna, although they make a
good business on the words of Sri Krishna. This spirit is demonic, because
demons do not believe in God but simply enjoy the property of the Supreme.
Since there is a great need of an edition of the Gita in English,
as it is received by the parampara (disciplic succession) system,
an attempt is made herewith to fulfill this great want.
Bhagavad-gita -- accepted as it is -- is a great boon to humanity;
but if it is accepted as a treatise of philosophical speculations, it is
simply a waste of time.
TEXT 3
sa evayam maya te 'dya
yogah proktah puratanah
bhakto 'si me sakha ceti
rahasyam hy etad uttamam
WORD FOR WORD
sah -- the same; eva -- certainly; ayam -- this;
maya -- by Me; te -- unto you; adya -- today;
yogah -- the science of yoga; proktah -- spoken;
puratanah -- very old; bhaktah -- devotee; asi -- you
are; me -- My; sakha -- friend; ca -- also;
iti -- therefore; rahasyam -- mystery; hi --
certainly; etat -- this; uttamam -- transcendental.
TRANSLATION
That very ancient science of the relationship with the Supreme is today
told by Me to you because you are My devotee as well as My friend and can
therefore understand the transcendental mystery of this science.
PURPORT
There are two classes of men, namely the devotee and the demon. The Lord
selected Arjuna as the recipient of this great science owing to his being
a devotee of the Lord, but for the demon it is not possible to understand
this great mysterious science. There are a number of editions of this
great book of knowledge. Some of them have commentaries by the devotees,
and some of them have commentaries by the demons. Commentation by the
devotees is real, whereas that of the demons is useless. Arjuna accepts
Sri Krishna as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and any commentary on
the Gita following in the footsteps of Arjuna is real devotional
service to the cause of this great science. The demonic, however, do not
accept Lord Krishna as He is. Instead they concoct something about Krishna
and mislead general readers from the path of Krishna's instructions. Here
is a warning about such misleading paths. One should try to follow the
disciplic succession from Arjuna, and thus be benefitted by this great
science of Srimad Bhagavad-gita.
TEXT 4
arjuna uvaca
aparam bhavato janma
param janma vivasvatah
katham etad vijaniyam
tvam adau proktavan iti
WORD FOR WORD
arjunah uvaca -- Arjuna said; aparam- junior;
bhavatah -- Your; janma -- birth; param -- superior;
janma -- birth; vivasvatah -- of the sun-god; katham
-- how; etat -- this; vijaniyam -- shall I understand;
tvam -- You; adau -- in the beginning; proktavan --
instructed; iti -- thus.
TRANSLATION
Arjuna said: The sun-god Vivasvan is senior by birth to You. How am I to
understand that in the beginning You instructed this science to him?
PURPORT
Arjuna is an accepted devotee of the Lord, so how could he not believe
Krishna's words? The fact is that Arjuna is not inquiring for himself but
for those who do not believe in the Supreme Personality of Godhead or for
the demons who do not like the idea that Krishna should be accepted as the
Supreme Personality of Godhead; for them only Arjuna inquires on this
point, as if he were himself not aware of the Personality of Godhead, or
Krishna. As it will be evident from the Tenth Chapter, Arjuna knew
perfectly well that Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the
fountainhead of everything and the last word in transcendence. Of course,
Krishna also appeared as the son of Devaki on this earth. How Krishna
remained the same Supreme Personality of Godhead, the eternal original
person, is very difficult for an ordinary man to understand. Therefore, to
clarify this point, Arjuna put this question before Krishna so that He
Himself could speak authoritatively. That Krishna is the supreme authority
is accepted by the whole world, not only at present but from time
immemorial, and the demons alone reject Him. Anyway, since Krishna is the
authority accepted by all, Arjuna put this question before Him in order
that Krishna would describe Himself without being depicted by the demons,
who always try to distort Him in a way understandable to the demons and
their followers. It is necessary that everyone, for his own interest, know
the science of Krishna. Therefore, when Krishna Himself speaks about
Himself, it is auspicious for all the worlds. To the demons, such
explanations by Krishna Himself may appear to be strange because the
demons always study Krishna from their own standpoint, but those who are
devotees heartily welcome the statements of Krishna when they are spoken
by Krishna Himself. The devotees will always worship such authoritative
statements of Krishna because they are always eager to know more and more
about Him. The atheists, who consider Krishna an ordinary man, may in this
way come to know that Krishna is superhuman, that He is
sac-cid-ananda-vigraha -- the eternal form of bliss and knowledge
-- that He is transcendental, and that He is above the domination of the
modes of material nature and above the influence of time and space. A
devotee of Krishna, like Arjuna, is undoubtedly above any misunderstanding
of the transcendental position of Krishna. Arjuna's putting this question
before the Lord is simply an attempt by the devotee to defy the atheistic
attitude of persons who consider Krishna to be an ordinary human being,
subject to the modes of material nature.
TEXT 5
sri-bhagavan uvaca
bahuni me vyatitani
janmani tava carjuna
tany aham veda sarvani
na tvam vettha parantapa
WORD FOR WORD
sri-bhagavan uvaca -- the Personality of Godhead said;
bahuni -- many; me -- of Mine; vyatitani -- have
passed; janmani -- births; tava -- of yours; ca --
and also; arjuna -- O Arjuna; tani -- those; aham --
I; veda -- do know; sarvani -- all; na -- not;
tvam -- you; vettha -- know; parantapa -- O subduer
of the enemy.
TRANSLATION
The Personality of Godhead said: Many, many births both you and I have
passed. I can remember all of them, but you cannot, O subduer of the
enemy!
PURPORT
In the Brahma-samhita (5.33) we have information of many, many
incarnations of the Lord. It is stated there:
advaitam acyutam anadim ananta-rupam
adyam purana-purusam nava-yauvanam ca
vedesu durlabham adurlabham atma-bhaktau
govindam adi-purusam tam aham bhajami
"I worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Govinda [Krishna], who is
the original person -- absolute, infallible, without beginning. Although
expanded into unlimited forms, He is still the same original, the oldest,
and the person always appearing as a fresh youth. Such eternal, blissful,
all-knowing forms of the Lord are usually understood by the best Vedic
scholars, but they are always manifest to pure, unalloyed devotees."
It is also stated in Brahma-samhita (5.39):
ramadi murtisu kala-niyamena tisthan
nanavatarm akarod bhuvanesu kintu
krsnah svayam samabhavat paramah puman yo
govindam adi-purusam tam aham bhajami
"I worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Govinda [Krishna], who is
always situated in various incarnations such as Rama, Nrsimha and many
subincarnations as well, but who is the original Personality of Godhead
known as Krishna, and who incarnates personally also."
In the Vedas also it is said that the Lord, although one without a
second, manifests Himself in innumerable forms. He is like the
vaidurya stone, which changes color yet still remains one. All
those multiforms are understood by the pure, unalloyed devotees, but not
by a simple study of the Vedas (vedesu durlabham adurlabham
atma-bhaktau). Devotees like Arjuna are constant companions of the
Lord, and whenever the Lord incarnates, the associate devotees also
incarnate in order to serve the Lord in different capacities. Arjuna is
one of these devotees, and in this verse it is understood that some
millions of years ago when Lord Krishna spoke the Bhagavad-gita to
the sun-god Vivasvan, Arjuna, in a different capacity, was also present.
But the difference between the Lord and Arjuna is that the Lord remembered
the incident whereas Arjuna could not remember. That is the difference
between the part-and-parcel living entity and the Supreme Lord. Although
Arjuna is addressed herein as the mighty hero who could subdue the
enemies, he is unable to recall what had happened in his various past
births. Therefore, a living entity, however great he may be in the
material estimation, can never equal the Supreme Lord. Anyone who is a
constant companion of the Lord is certainly a liberated person, but he
cannot be equal to the Lord. The Lord is described in the
Brahma-samhita as infallible (acyuta), which means that He
never forgets Himself, even though He is in material contact. Therefore,
the Lord and the living entity can never be equal in all respects, even if
the living entity is as liberated as Arjuna. Although Arjuna is a devotee
of the Lord, he sometimes forgets the nature of the Lord, but by the
divine grace a devotee can at once understand the infallible condition of
the Lord, whereas a nondevotee or a demon cannot understand this
transcendental nature. Consequently these descriptions in the Gita
cannot be understood by demonic brains. Krishna remembered acts which were
performed by Him millions of years before, but Arjuna could not, despite
the fact that both Krishna and Arjuna are eternal in nature. We may also
note herein that a living entity forgets everything due to his change of
body, but the Lord remembers because He does not change His
sac-cid-ananda body. He is advaita, which means there is no
distinction between His body and Himself. Everything in relation to Him is
spirit -- whereas the conditioned soul is different from his material
body. And because the Lord's body and self are identical, His position is
always different from that of the ordinary living entity, even when He
descends to the material platform. The demons cannot adjust themselves to
this transcendental nature of the Lord, which the Lord Himself explains in
the following verse.
TEXT 6
ajo 'pi sann avyayatma
bhutanam isvaro 'pi san
prakrtim svam adhisthaya
sambhavamy atma-mayaya
WORD FOR WORD
ajah -- unborn; api -- although; san -- being so;
avyaya -- without deterioration; atma -- body;
bhutanam -- of all those who are born; isvarah -- the
Supreme Lord; api -- although; san -- being so;
prakrtim -- in the transcendental form; svam -- of Myself;
adhisthaya -- being so situated; sambhavami -- I do
incarnate; atma-mayaya -- by My internal energy.
TRANSLATION
Although I am unborn and My transcendental body never deteriorates, and
although I am the Lord of all living entities, I still appear in every
millennium in My original transcendental form.
PURPORT
The Lord has spoken about the peculiarity of His birth: although He may
appear like an ordinary person, He remembers everything of His many, many
past "births," whereas a common man cannot remember what he has done even
a few hours before. If someone is asked what he did exactly at the same
time one day earlier, it would be very difficult for a common man to
answer immediately. He would surely hav about his past body as soon as he
gets another body. He is the Lord of all living entities because He
performs wonderful and superhuman activities while He is on this earth.
Therefore, the Lord is always the same Absolute Truth and is without
differentiation between His form and self, or between His quality and
body. A question may now be raised as to why the Lord appears and
disappears in this world. This is explained in the next verse.
TEXT 7
yada yada hi dharmasya
glanir bhavati bharata
abhyutthanam adharmasya
tadatmanam srjamy aham
WORD FOR WORD
yada yada -- whenever and wherever; hi -- certainly;
dharmasya -- of religion; glanih -- discrepancies;
bhavati -- become manifested; bharata -- O descendant of
Bharata; abhyutthanam -- predominance; adharmasya -- of
irreligion; tada -- at that time; atmanam -- self;
srjami -- manifest; aham -- I.
TRANSLATION
Whenever and wherever there is a decline in religious practice, O
descendant of Bharata, and a predominant rise of irreligion -- at that
time I descend Myself.
PURPORT
The word srjami is significant herein. Srjami cannot be used
in the sense of creation, because, according to the previous verse, there
is no creation of the Lord's form or body, since all of the forms are
eternally existent. Therefore, srjami means that the Lord manifests
Himself as He is. Although the Lord appears on schedule, namely at the end
of the Dvapara-yuga of the twenty-eighth millennium of the seventh Manu in
one day of Brahma, He has no obligation to adhere to such rules and
regulations, because He is completely free to act in many ways at His
will. He therefore appears by His own will whenever there is a
predominance of irreligiosity and a disappearance of true religion.
Principles of religion are laid down in the Vedas, and any
discrepancy in the matter of properly executing the rules of the
Vedas makes one irreligious. In the Bhagavatam it is stated
that such principles are the laws of the Lord. Only the Lord can
manufacture a system of religion. The Vedas are also accepted as
originally spoken by the Lord Himself to Brahma, from within his heart.
Therefore, the principles of dharma, or religion, are the direct
orders of the Supreme Personality of Godhead (dharmam tu saksad
bhagavat-pranitam). These principles are clearly indicated throughout
the Bhagavad-gita. The purpose of the Vedas is to establish
such principles under the order of the Supreme Lord, and the Lord directly
orders, at the end of the Gita, that the highest principle of
religion is to surrender unto Him only, and nothing more. The Vedic
principles push one towards complete surrender unto Him; and whenever such
principles are disturbed by the demoniac, the Lord appears. From the
Bhagavatam we understand that Lord Buddha is the incarnation of
Krishna who appeared when materialism was rampant and materialists were
using the pretext of the authority of the Vedas. Although there are
certain restrictive rules and regulations regarding animal sacrifice for
particular purposes in the Vedas, people of demonic tendency still
took to animal sacrifice without reference to the Vedic principles. Lord
Buddha appeared to stop this nonsense and to establish the Vedic
principles of nonviolence. Therefore each and every avatar, or
incarnation of the Lord, has a particular mission, and they are all
described in the revealed scriptures. No one should be accepted as an
avatar unless he is referred to by scriptures. It is not a fact
that the Lord appears only on Indian soil. He can manifest Himself
anywhere and everywhere, and whenever He desires to appear. In each and
every incarnation, He speaks as much about religion as can be understood
by the particular people under their particular circumstances. But the
mission is the same -- to lead people to God consciousness and obedience
to the principles of religion. Sometimes He descends personally, and
sometimes He sends His bona fide representative in the form of His son, or
servant, or Himself in some disguised form.
The principles of the Bhagavad-gita were spoken to Arjuna, and, for
that matter, to other highly elevated persons, because he was highly
advanced compared to ordinary persons in other parts of the world. Two
plus two equals four is a mathematical principle that is true in the
beginner's arithmetic class and in the advanced class as well. Still,
there are higher and lower mathematics. In all incarnations of the Lord,
therefore, the same principles are taught, but they appear to be higher
and lower in varied circumstances. The higher principles of religion begin
with the acceptance of the four orders and the four statuses of social
life, as will be explained later. The whole purpose of the mission of
incarnations is to arouse Krishna consciousness everywhere. Such
consciousness is manifest and nonmanifest only under different
circumstances.
TEXT 8
paritranaya sadhunam
vinasaya ca duskrtam
dharma-samsthapanarthaya
sambhavami yuge yuge
WORD FOR WORD
paritranaya -- for the deliverance; sadhunam -- of the
devotees; vinasaya -- for the annihilation; ca -- and;
duskrtam -- of the miscreants; dharma -- principles of
religion; samsthapana-arthaya -- to reestablish; sambhavami
-- I do appear; yuge -- millennium; yuge -- after
millennium.
TRANSLATION
To deliver the pious and to annihilate the miscreants, as well as to
reestablish the principles of religion, I Myself appear, millennium after
millennium.
PURPORT
According to Bhagavad-gita, a sadhu (holy man) is a man in
Krishna consciousness. A person may appear to be irreligious, but if he
has the qualifications of Krishna consciousness wholly and fully, he is to
be understood to be a sadhu. And duskrtam applies to those
who do not care for Krishna consciousness. Such miscreants, or
duskrtam, are described as foolish and the lowest of mankind, even
though they may be decorated with mundane education, whereas a person who
is one hundred percent engaged in Krishna consciousness is accepted as a
sadhu, even though such a person may be neither learned nor well
cultured. As far as the atheistic are concerned, it is not necessary for
the Supreme Lord to appear as He is to destroy them, as He did with the
demons Ravana and Kamsa. The Lord has many agents who are quite competent
to vanquish demons. But the Lord especially descends to appease His
unalloyed devotees, who are always harassed by the demoniac. The demon
harasses the devotee, even though the latter may happen to be his kin.
Although Prahlada Maharaja was the son of Hiranyakasipu, he was
nonetheless persecuted by his father; although Devaki, the mother of
Krishna, was the sister of Kamsa, she and her husband Vasudeva were
persecuted only because Krishna was to be born of them. So Lord Krishna
appeared primarily to deliver Devaki, rather than kill Kamsa, but both
were performed simultaneously. Therefore it is said here that to deliver
the devotee and vanquish the demon miscreants, the Lord appears in
different incarnations.
In the Caitanya-caritamrta of Krishnadasa Kaviraja, the following
verses (Madhya 20.263-264) summarize these principles of
incarnation:
srsti-hetu yei murti prapance avatare
sei isvara-murti `avatar' nama dhare
mayatita paravyome sabara avasthana
visve avatari 'dhare `avatar' nama
"The avatar, or incarnation of Godhead, descends from the kingdom
of God for material manifestation. And the particular form of the
Personality of Godhead who so descends is called an incarnation, or
avatar. Such incarnations are situated in the spiritual world, the
kingdom of God. When they descend to the material creation, they assume
the name avatar."
There are various kinds of avatars, such as purusavatars,
gunavatars, lilavatars, sakty-avesa avatars, manvantara-avatars
and yugavatars -- all appearing on schedule all over the universe.
But Lord Krishna is the primeval Lord, the fountainhead of all
avatars. Lord Sri Krishna descends for the specific purpose of
mitigating the anxieties of the pure devotees, who are very anxious to see
Him in His original Vrindavan pastimes. Therefore, the prime purpose of
the Krishna avatar is to satisfy His unalloyed devotees.
The Lord says that He incarnates Himself in every millennium. This
indicates that He incarnates also in the Age of Kali. As stated in the
Srimad-Bhagavatam, the incarnation in the Age of Kali is Lord
Caitanya Mahaprabhu, who spread the worship of Krishna by the
sankirtan movement (congregational chanting of the holy names) and
spread Krishna consciousness throughout India. He predicted that this
culture of sankirtan would be broadcast all over the world, from
town to town and village to village. Lord Caitanya as the incarnation of
Krishna, the Personality of Godhead, is described secretly but not
directly in the confidential parts of the revealed scriptures, such as the
Upanisads, Mahabharata and Bhagavatam. The devotees of Lord
Krishna are very much attracted by the sankirtan movement of Lord
Caitanya. This avatar of the Lord does not kill the miscreants,
but delivers them by His causeless mercy.
TEXT 9
janma karma ca me divyam
evam yo vetti tattvatah
tyaktva deham punar janma
naiti mam eti so 'rjuna
WORD FOR WORD
janma -- birth; karma -- work; ca -- also; me
-- of Mine; divyam -- transcendental; evam -- like this;
yah -- anyone who; vetti -- knows; tattvatah -- in
reality; tyaktva -- leaving aside; deham -- this body;
punah -- again; janma -- birth; na -- never;
eti -- does attain; mam -- unto Me; eti -- does
attain; sah -- he; arjuna -- O Arjuna.
TRANSLATION
One who knows the transcendental nature of My appearance and activities
does not, upon leaving the body, take his birth again in this material
world, but attains My eternal abode, O Arjuna.
PURPORT
The Lord's descent from His transcendental abode is already explained in
the 6th verse. One who can understand the truth of the appearance of the
Personality of Godhead is already liberated from material bondage, and
therefore he returns to the kingdom of God immediately after quitting this
present material body. Such liberation of the living entity from material
bondage is not at all easy. The impersonalists and the yogis attain
liberation only after much trouble and many, many births. Even then, the
liberation they achieve -- merging into the impersonal brahmajyoti
of the Lord -- is only partial, and there is the risk of returning to this
material world. But the devotee, simply by understanding the
transcendental nature of the body and activities of the Lord, attains the
abode of the Lord after ending this body and does not run the risk of
returning to this material world. In the Brahma-samhita (5.33) it
is stated that the Lord has many, many forms and incarnations: advaitam
acyutam anadim ananta-rupam. Although there are many transcendental
forms of the Lord, they are still one and the same Supreme Personality of
Godhead. One has to understand this fact with conviction, although it is
incomprehensible to mundane scholars and empiric philosophers. As stated
in the Vedas (Purusa-bodhini Upanisad):
eko devo nitya-lilanurakto
bhakta-vyapi hrdy antar-atma
"The one Supreme Personality of Godhead is eternally engaged in many, many
transcendental forms in relationships with His unalloyed devotees." This
Vedic version is confirmed in this verse of the Gita personally by
the Lord. He who accepts this truth on the strength of the authority of
the Vedas and of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and who does
not waste time in philosophical speculations attains the highest
perfectional stage of liberation. Simply by accepting this truth on faith,
one can, without a doubt, attain liberation. The Vedic version tat tvam
asi is actually applied in this case. Anyone who understands Lord
Krishna to be the Supreme, or who says unto the Lord "You are the same
Supreme Brahman, the Personality of Godhead," is certainly liberated
instantly, and consequently his entrance into the transcendental
association of the Lord is guaranteed. In other words, such a faithful
devotee of the Lord attains perfection, and this is confirmed by the
following Vedic assertion:
tam eva viditvati mrtyum eti
nanyah pantha vidyate 'yanaya
"One can attain the perfect stage of liberation from birth and death
simply by knowing the Lord, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and there
is no other way to achieve this perfection." (Svetasvatara Upanisad
3.8) That there is no alternative means that anyone who does not
understand Lord Krishna as the Supreme Personality of Godhead is surely in
the mode of ignorance and consequently he will not attain salvation
simply, so to speak, by licking the outer surface of the bottle of honey,
or by interpreting the Bhagavad-gita according to mundane
scholarship. Such empiric philosophers may assume very important roles in
the material world, but they are not necessarily eligible for liberation.
Such puffed-up mundane scholars have to wait for the causeless mercy of
the devotee of the Lord. One should therefore cultivate Krishna
consciousness with faith and knowledge, and in this way attain perfection.
TEXT 10
vita-raga-bhaya-krodha
man-maya mam upasritah
bahavo jnana-tapasa
puta mad-bhavam agatah
WORD FOR WORD
vita -- freed from; raga -- attachment; bhaya --
fear; krodhah -- and anger; mat-maya -- fully in Me;
mam -- in Me; upasritah -- being fully situated;
bahavah -- many; jnana -- of knowledge; tapasa -- by
the penance; putah -- being purified; mat-bhavam --
transcendental love for Me; agatah -- attained.
TRANSLATION
Being freed from attachment, fear and anger, being fully absorbed in Me
and taking refuge in Me, many, many persons in the past became purified by
knowledge of Me -- and thus they all attained transcendental love for Me.
PURPORT
As described above, it is very difficult for a person who is too
materially affected to understand the personal nature of the Supreme
Absolute Truth. Generally, people who are attached to the bodily
conception of life are so absorbed in materialism that it is almost
impossible for them to understand how the Supreme can be a person. Such
materialists cannot even imagine that there is a transcendental body which
is imperishable, full of knowledge and eternally blissful. In the
materialistic concept, the body is perishable, full of ignorance and
completely miserable. Therefore, people in general keep this same bodily
idea in mind when they are informed of the personal form of the Lord. For
such materialistic men, the form of the gigantic material manifestation is
supreme. Consequently they consider the Supreme to be impersonal. And
because they are too materially absorbed, the conception of retaining the
personality after liberation from matter frightens them. When they are
informed that spiritual life is also individual and personal, they become
afraid of becoming persons again, and so they naturally prefer a kind of
merging into the impersonal void. Generally, they compare the living
entities to the bubbles of the ocean, which merge into the ocean. That is
the highest perfection of spiritual existence attainable without
individual personality. This is a kind of fearful stage of life, devoid of
perfect knowledge of spiritual existence. Furthermore there are many
persons who cannot understand spiritual existence at all. Being
embarrassed by so many theories and by contradictions of various types of
philosophical speculation, they become disgusted or angry and foolishly
conclude that there is no supreme cause and that everything is ultimately
void. Such people are in a diseased condition of life. Some people are too
materially attached and therefore do not give attention to spiritual life,
some of them want to merge into the supreme spiritual cause, and some of
them disbelieve in everything, being angry at all sorts of spiritual
speculation out of hopelessness. This last class of men take to the
shelter of some kind of intoxication, and their affective hallucinations
are sometimes accepted as spiritual vision. One has to get rid of all
three stages of attachment to the material world: negligence of spiritual
life, fear of a spiritual personal identity, and the conception of void
that arises from frustration in life. To get free from these three stages
of the material concept of life, one has to take complete shelter of the
Lord, guided by the bona fide spiritual master, and follow the disciplines
and regulative principles of devotional life. The last stage of the
devotional life is called bhava, or transcendental love of Godhead.
According to Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu (1.4.15-16), the science of
devotional service:
adau sraddha tatah sadhu-
sango 'tha bhajana-kriya
tato 'nartha-nivrttih syat
tato nistha rucis tatah
athasaktis tato bhavas
tatah premabhyudancati
sadhakanam ayam premnah
pradurbhave bhavet kramah
"In the beginning one must have a preliminary desire for self-realization.
This will bring one to the stage of trying to associate with persons who
are spiritually elevated. In the next stage one becomes initiated by an
elevated spiritual master, and under his instruction the neophyte devotee
begins the process of devotional service. By execution of devotional
service under the guidance of the spiritual master, one becomes free from
all material attachment, attains steadiness in self-realization, and
acquires a taste for hearing about the Absolute Personality of Godhead,
Sri Krishna. This taste leads one further forward to attachment for
Krishna consciousness, which is matured in bhava, or the
preliminary stage of transcendental love of God. Real love for God is
called prema, the highest perfectional stage of life." In the
prema stage there is constant engagement in the transcendental
loving service of the Lord. So, by the slow process of devotional service,
under the guidance of the bona fide spiritual master, one can attain the
highest stage, being freed from all material attachment, from the
fearfulness of one's individual spiritual personality, and from the
frustrations that result in void philosophy. Then one can ultimately
attain to the abode of the Supreme Lord.
TEXT 11
ye yatha mam prapadyante
tams tathaiva bhajamy aham
mama vartmanuvartante
manusyah partha sarvasah
WORD FOR WORD
ye -- all who; yatha -- as; mam -- unto Me;
prapadyante -- surrender; tan -- them; tatha -- so;
eva -- certainly; bhajami -- reward; aham -- I;
mama -- My; vartma -- path; anuvartante -- follow;
manusyah -- all men; partha -- O son of Prtha;
sarvasah -- in all respects.
TRANSLATION
As all surrender unto Me, I reward them accordingly. Everyone follows My
path in all respects, O son of Prtha.
PURPORT
Everyone is searching for Krishna in the different aspects of His
manifestations. Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is partially
realized in His impersonal brahmajyoti effulgence and as the
all-pervading Supersoul dwelling within everything, including the
particles of atoms. But Krishna is fully realized only by His pure
devotees. Consequently, Krishna is the object of everyone's realization,
and thus anyone and everyone is satisfied according to one's desire to
have Him. In the transcendental world also, Krishna reciprocates with His
pure devotees in the transcendental attitude, just as the devotee wants
Him. One devotee may want Krishna as supreme master, another as his
personal friend, another as his son, and still another as his lover.
Krishna rewards all the devotees equally, according to their different
intensities of love for Him. In the material world, the same
reciprocations of feelings are there, and they are equally exchanged by
the Lord with the different types of worshipers. The pure devotees both
here and in the transcendental abode associate with Him in person and are
able to render personal service to the Lord and thus derive transcendental
bliss in His loving service. As for those who are impersonalists and who
want to commit spiritual suicide by annihilating the individual existence
of the living entity, Krishna helps also by absorbing them into His
effulgence. Such impersonalists do not agree to accept the eternal,
blissful Personality of Godhead; consequently they cannot relish the bliss
of transcendental personal service to the Lord, having extinguished their
individuality. Some of them, who are not firmly situated even in the
impersonal existence, return to this material field to exhibit their
dormant desires for activities. They are not admitted into the spiritual
planets, but they are again given a chance to act on the material planets.
For those who are fruitive workers, the Lord awards the desired results of
their prescribed duties, as the yajnesvara; and those who are
yogis seeking mystic powers are awarded such powers. In other
words, everyone is dependent for success upon His mercy alone, and all
kinds of spiritual processes are but different degrees of success on the
same path. Unless, therefore, one comes to the highest perfection of
Krishna consciousness, all attempts remain imperfect, as is stated in the
Srimad-Bhagavatam (2.3.10):
akamah sarva-kamo va
moksa-kama udara-dhih
tivrena bhakti-yogena
yajeta purusam param
"Whether one is without desire [the condition of the devotees], or is
desirous of all fruitive results, or is after liberation, one should with
all efforts try to worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead for complete
perfection, culminating in Krishna consciousness."
TEXT 12
kanksantah karmanam siddhim
yajanta iha devatah
ksipram hi manuse loke
siddhir bhavati karma-ja
WORD FOR WORD
kanksantah -- desiring; karmanam -- of fruitive activities;
siddhim -- perfection; yajante -- they worship by
sacrifices; iha -- in the material world; devatah -- the
demigods; ksipram -- very quickly; hi -- certainly;
manuse -- in human society; loke -- within this world;
siddhih -- success; bhavati -- comes; karma-ja --
from fruitive work.
TRANSLATION
Men in this world desire success in fruitive activities, and therefore
they worship the demigods. Quickly, of course, men get results from
fruitive work in this world.
PURPORT
There is a great misconception about the gods or demigods of this material
world, and men of less intelligence, although passing as great scholars,
take these demigods to be various forms of the Supreme Lord. Actually, the
demigods are not different forms of God, but they are God's different
parts and parcels. God is one, and the parts and parcels are many. The
Vedas say, nityo nityanam: God is one. Isvarah paramah
krsnah. The Supreme God is one -- Krishna -- and the demigods are
delegated with powers to manage this material world. These demigods are
all living entities (nityanam) with different grades of material
power. They cannot be equal to the Supreme God -- Narayana, Vishnu, or
Krishna. Anyone who thinks that God and the demigods are on the same level
is called an atheist, or pasandi. Even the great demigods like
Brahma and Shiva cannot be compared to the Supreme Lord. In fact, the Lord
is worshiped by demigods such as Brahma and Shiva
(siva-virinci-nutam). Yet curiously enough there are many human
leaders who are worshiped by foolish men under the misunderstanding of
anthropomorphism or zoomorphism. Iha devatah denotes a powerful man
or demigod of this material world. But Narayana, Vishnu, or Krishna, the
Supreme Personality of Godhead, does not belong to this world. He is
above, or transcendental to, material creation. Even Sripada Sankaracarya,
the leader of the impersonalists, maintains that Narayana, or Krishna, is
beyond this material creation. However, foolish people (hrta-jnana)
worship the demigods because they want immediate results. They get the
results, but do not know that results so obtained are temporary and are
meant for less intelligent persons. The intelligent person is in Krishna
consciousness, and he has no need to worship the paltry demigods for some
immediate, temporary benefit. The demigods of this material world, as well
as their worshipers, will vanish with the annihilation of this material
world. The boons of the demigods are material and temporary. Both the
material worlds and their inhabitants, including the demigods and their
worshipers, are bubbles in the cosmic ocean. In this world, however, human
society is mad after temporary things such as the material opulence of
possessing land, family and enjoyable paraphernalia. To achieve such
temporary things, people worship the demigods or powerful men in human
society. If a man gets some ministership in the government by worshiping a
political leader, he considers that he has achieved a great boon. All of
them are therefore kowtowing to the so-called leaders or "big guns" in
order to achieve temporary boons, and they indeed achieve such things.
Such foolish men are not interested in Krishna consciousness for the
permanent solution to the hardships of material existence. They are all
after sense enjoyment, and to get a little facility for sense enjoyment
they are attracted to worship empowered living entities known as demigods.
This verse indicates that people are rarely interested in Krishna
consciousness. They are mostly interested in material enjoyment, and
therefore they worship some powerful living entity.
TEXT 13
catur-varnyam maya srstam
guna-karma-vibhagasah
tasya kartaram api mam
viddhy akartaram avyayam
WORD FOR WORD
catuh-varnyam -- the four divisions of human society; maya
-- by Me; srstam -- created; guna -- of quality;
karma -- and work; vibhagasah -- in terms of division;
tasya -- of that; kartaram -- the father; api --
although; mam -- Me; viddhi -- you may know;
akartaram -- as the nondoer; avyayam -- unchangeable.
TRANSLATION
According to the three modes of material nature and the work associated
with them, the four divisions of human society are created by Me. And
although I am the creator of this system, you should know that I am yet
the nondoer, being unchangeable.
PURPORT
The Lord is the creator of everything. Everything is born of Him,
everything is sustained by Him, and everything, after annihilation, rests
in Him. He is therefore the creator of the four divisions of the social
order, beginning with the intelligent class of men, technically called
brahmanas due to their being situated in the mode of goodness. Next
is the administrative class, technically called the ksatriyas due
to their being situated in the mode of passion. The mercantile men, called
the vaishyas, are situated in the mixed modes of passion and
ignorance, and the sudras, or laborer class, are situated in the
ignorant mode of material nature. In spite of His creating the four
divisions of human society, Lord Krishna does not belong to any of these
divisions, because He is not one of the conditioned souls, a section of
whom form human society. Human society is similar to any other animal
society, but to elevate men from the animal status, the above-mentioned
divisions are created by the Lord for the systematic development of
Krishna consciousness. The tendency of a particular man toward work is
determined by the modes of material nature which he has acquired. Such
symptoms of life, according to the different modes of material nature, are
described in the Eighteenth Chapter of this book. A person in Krishna
consciousness, however, is above even the brahmanas. Although
brahmanas by quality are supposed to know about Brahman, the
Supreme Absolute Truth, most of them approach only the impersonal Brahman
manifestation of Lord Krishna. But a man who transcends the limited
knowledge of a brahmana and reaches the knowledge of the Supreme
Personality of Godhead, Lord Sri Krishna, becomes a person in Krishna
consciousness -- or, in other words, a Vaisnava. Krishna consciousness
includes knowledge of all different plenary expansions of Krishna, namely
Rama, Nrsimha, Varaha, etc. And as Krishna is transcendental to this
system of the four divisions of human society, a person in Krishna
consciousness is also transcendental to all divisions of human society,
whether we consider the divisions of community, nation or species.
TEXT 14
na mam karmani limpanti
na me karma-phale sprha
iti mam yo 'bhijanati
karmabhir na sa badhyate
WORD FOR WORD
na -- never; mam -- Me; karmani -- all kinds of work;
limpanti -- do affect; na -- nor; me -- My;
karma-phale -- in fruitive action; sprha -- aspiration;
iti -- thus; mam -- Me; yah -- one who;
abhijanati -- does know; karmabhih -- by the reaction of
such work; na -- never; sah -- he; badhyate --
becomes entangled.
TRANSLATION
There is no work that affects Me; nor do I aspire for the fruits of
action. One who understands this truth about Me also does not become
entangled in the fruitive reactions of work.
PURPORT
As there are constitutional laws in the material world stating that the
king can do no wrong, or that the king is not subject to the state laws,
similarly the Lord, although He is the creator of this material world, is
not affected by the activities of the material world. He creates and
remains aloof from the creation, whereas the living entities are entangled
in the fruitive results of material activities because of their propensity
for lording it over material resources. The proprietor of an establishment
is not responsible for the right and wrong activities of the workers, but
the workers are themselves responsible. The living entities are engaged in
their respective activities of sense gratification, and these activities
are not ordained by the Lord. For advancement of sense gratification, the
living entities are engaged in the work of this world, and they aspire to
heavenly happiness after death. The Lord, being full in Himself, has no
attraction for so-called heavenly happiness. The heavenly demigods are
only His engaged servants. The proprietor never desires the low-grade
happiness such as the workers may desire. He is aloof from the material
actions and reactions. For example, the rains are not responsible for
different types of vegetation that appear on the earth, although without
such rains there is no possibility of vegetative growth. Vedic
smrti confirms this fact as follows:
nimitta-matram evasau
srjyanam sarga-karmani
pradhana-karani-bhuta
yato vai srjya-saktayah
"In the material creations, the Lord is only the supreme cause. The
immediate cause is material nature, by which the cosmic manifestation is
made visible." The created beings are of many varieties, such as the
demigods, human beings and lower animals, and all of them are subject to
the reactions of their past good or bad activities. The Lord only gives
them the proper facilities for such activities and the regulations of the
modes of nature, but He is never responsible for their past and present
activities. In the Vedanta-sutra (2.1.34) it is confirmed,
vaisamya-nairghrnye na sapeksatvat: the Lord is never partial to
any living entity. The living entity is responsible for his own acts. The
Lord only gives him facilities, through the agency of material nature, the
external energy. Anyone who is fully conversant with all the intricacies
of this law of karma, or fruitive activities, does not become
affected by the results of his activities. In other words, the person who
understands this transcendental nature of the Lord is an experienced man
in Krishna consciousness, and thus he is never subjected to the laws of
karma. One who does not know the transcendental nature of the Lord
and who thinks that the activities of the Lord are aimed at fruitive
results, as are the activities of the ordinary living entities, certainly
becomes entangled himself in fruitive reactions. But one who knows the
Supreme Truth is a liberated soul fixed in Krishna consciousness.
TEXT 15
evam jnatva krtam karma
purvair api mumuksubhih
kuru karmaiva tasmat tvam
purvaih purvataram krtam
WORD FOR WORD
evam -- thus; jnatva -- knowing well; krtam -- was
performed; karma -- work; purvaih -- by past authorities;
api -- indeed; mumuksubhih -- who attained liberation;
kuru -- just perform; karma -- prescribed duty; eva
-- certainly; tasmat -- therefore; tvam -- you;
purvaih -- by the predecessors; purva-taram -- in ancient
times; krtam -- as performed.
TRANSLATION
All the liberated souls in ancient times acted with this understanding of
My transcendental nature. Therefore you should perform your duty,
following in their footsteps.
PURPORT
There are two classes of men. Some of them are full of polluted material
things within their hearts, and some of them are materially free. Krishna
consciousness is equally beneficial for both of these persons. Those who
are full of dirty things can take to the line of Krishna consciousness for
a gradual cleansing process, following the regulative principles of
devotional service. Those who are already cleansed of the impurities may
continue to act in the same Krishna consciousness so that others may
follow their exemplary activities and thereby be benefited. Foolish
persons or neophytes in Krishna consciousness often want to retire from
activities without having knowledge of Krishna consciousness. Arjuna's
desire to retire from activities on the battlefield was not approved by
the Lord. One need only know how to act. To retire from the activities of
Krishna consciousness and to sit aloof making a show of Krishna
consciousness is less important than actually engaging in the field of
activities for the sake of Krishna. Arjuna is here advised to act in
Krishna consciousness, following in the footsteps of the Lord's previous
disciples, such as the sun-god Vivasvan, as mentioned hereinbefore. The
Supreme Lord knows all His past activities, as well as those of persons
who acted in Krishna consciousness in the past. Therefore He recommends
the acts of the sun-god, who learned this art from the Lord some millions
of years before. All such students of Lord Krishna are mentioned here as
past liberated persons, engaged in the discharge of duties allotted by
Krishna.
TEXT 16
kim karma kim akarmeti
kavayo 'py atra mohitah
tat te karma pravaksyami
yaj jnatva moksyase 'subhat
WORD FOR WORD
kim -- what is; karma -- action; kim -- what is;
akarma -- inaction; iti -- thus; kavayah -- the
intelligent; api -- also; atra -- in this matter;
mohitah -- are bewildered; tat -- that; te -- unto
you; karma -- work; pravaksyami -- I shall explain;
yat -- which; jnatva -- knowing; moksyase -- you will
be liberated; asubhat -- from ill fortune.
TRANSLATION
Even the intelligent are bewildered in determining what is action and what
is inaction. Now I shall explain to you what action is, knowing which you
shall be liberated from all misfortune.
PURPORT
Action in Krishna consciousness has to be executed in accord with the
examples of previous bona fide devotees. This is recommended in the 15th
verse. Why such action should not be independent will be explained in the
text to follow.
To act in Krishna consciousness, one has to follow the leadership of
authorized persons who are in a line of disciplic succession as explained
in the beginning of this chapter. The system of Krishna consciousness was
first narrated to the sun-god, the sun-god explained it to his son Manu,
Manu explained it to his son Iksvaku, and the system is current on this
earth from that very remote time. Therefore, one has to follow in the
footsteps of previous authorities in the line of disciplic succession.
Otherwise even the most intelligent men will be bewildered regarding the
standard actions of Krishna consciousness. For this reason, the Lord
decided to instruct Arjuna in Krishna consciousness directly. Because of
the direct instruction of the Lord to Arjuna, anyone who follows in the
footsteps of Arjuna is certainly not bewildered.
It is said that one cannot ascertain the ways of religion simply by
imperfect experimental knowledge. Actually, the principles of religion can
only be laid down by the Lord Himself. Dharmam tu saksad
bhagavat-pranitam (SB. 6.3.19). No one can manufacture a religious
principle by imperfect speculation. One must follow in the footsteps of
great authorities like Brahma, Shiva, Narada, Manu, the Kumaras, Kapila,
Prahlada, Bhisma, Sukadeva Gosvami, Yamaraja, Janaka, and Bali Maharaja.
By mental speculation one cannot ascertain what is religion or
self-realization. Therefore, out of causeless mercy to His devotees, the
Lord explains directly to Arjuna what action is and what inaction is. Only
action performed in Krishna consciousness can deliver a person from the
entanglement of material existence.
TEXT 17
karmano hy api boddhavyam
boddhavyam ca vikarmanah
akarmanas ca boddhavyam
gahana karmano gatih
WORD FOR WORD
karmanah -- of work; hi -- certainly; api -- also;
boddhavyam -- should be understood; boddhavyam -- should be
understood; ca -- also; vikarmanah -- of forbidden work;
akarmanah -- of inaction; ca -- also; boddhavyam --
should be understood; gahana -- very difficult; karmanah --
of work; gatih -- entrance.
TRANSLATION
The intricacies of action are very hard to understand. Therefore one
should know properly what action is, what forbidden action is, and what
inaction is.
PURPORT
If one is serious about liberation from material bondage, one has to
understand the distinctions between action, inaction and unauthorized
actions. One has to apply oneself to such an analysis of action, reaction
and perverted actions because it is a very difficult subject matter. To
understand Krishna consciousness and action according to its modes, one
has to learn one's relationship with the Supreme; i.e., one who has
learned perfectly knows that every living entity is an eternal servitor of
the Lord and that consequently one has to act in Krishna consciousness.
The entire Bhagavad-gita is directed toward this conclusion. Any
other conclusions, against this consciousness and its attendant actions,
are vikarmas, or prohibited actions. To understand all this one has
to associate with authorities in Krishna consciousness and learn the
secret from them; this is as good as learning from the Lord directly.
Otherwise, even the most intelligent persons will be bewildered.
Texts 18 to 42
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