Karma This page is about action and reaction, its movement, and how to become free from the results of action.
last updated 30th July 2008
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Karma There are many ideas about karma, some influenced by total speculation, some by Buddhism, some by Hinduism, some Pagan concepts. In fact the term karma is widely used and with most accepted in its essence in everyday society to mean the result of action and reaction of any done thing. There are many aspects and views of karma, and we could say that it is according to one's karma that one gains a particular understanding of that karma. However, what we're presenting here is an understanding based on the teachings of the Vaishnava Acharyas, spiritual teachers coming down in an unbroken line of disciplic succession into the present time, from time immemorial.
The Laws of Nature: An Infallible Justice ( HDG Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupad)
Karma - The
universal law of action and reaction
Bad Karma For The England Coach
by Krishna Dharma dasa
DO BAD THINGS HAPPEN TO GOOD
PEOPLE? by Ravindra Swarupa dasa
Why Bad Things Happen to
Good People - Audio - Vipramukhya Swami
Karma: Meaning and Definition
written by Hinduism Today Newspaper
Aspects of karma as defined in Bhagavad
Gita:
Karma Yoga chapter 3
Karma-Yoga - Action in Krishna Consciousness
chapter 5
Karma - action and reaction:
Vikarma - action with bad or binding reaction:
Akarma - action without reaction:
Some make a living in delving into speculations of what one was in a previous life. There may even be some truth in that, but the fact remains that none of that will help one in negating the reaction to those paraabda karmas (residual reactions) other than engaging in activities that are free from karma - akarma. The Buddhist understands that they must negate creating karma in order to be free from it's reaction, thus they aim for nirvana - nir meaning no and vana meaning forest, which infers action as the trees and branches of the forest are always interacting. However, just to try and stop action is not enough. The living entity is not inert, we're dynamic, and such a dynamic being needs activity. Certainly we must stop negative activity that binds us to this world, but just trying to be inactive like a green bird in a green tree, or ceasing reactionary result by theories of the sound of one hand clapping et al is neither fulfilling nor are they practical. The Buddhists make great study of different kinds of karmas but it all amounts to rearranging the deck-chairs as the Titanic slips below the waves of engulfing karmik reaction. Others like Theodora, wife of Justinian the Roman Emporer was so determined to avoid karma that she edited it out of the Bible to escape it's reaction........ (L.Mason. Reincarnation in the Early Church).
Three kinds of karma - Kriyamana karma - Prarabdha karma - Sanchita karma
Dimensions of Good and Evil by Suhotra swami 2003
Karma-mimamsha: Elevation Through the Performance of Duty, as mentioned in the Sad-darshana - The six systems of Vedic philosophy.
An insight
into Astrology and Karma:
Another insight into Astrology and
Karma from a more devotional view:
Karma and
the vegetarian diet
Vegetarianism and Beyond
- all about karma free eating:
The Cost of Meat - in terms of karma
The universal law of action and reaction:
http://www.iskcon.org/main/twohk/philo/roots/karma.htm
Laws of Nature BBT book ACBSP:
http://www.webcom.com/~ara/col/books/KR/lon.html
Reincarnation pages: by HDG A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupad
Karma and Reincarnation from the Himalayan Academy perspective:
Past Life Regression - a look at karma and reincarnation in action:
FREE - Meet Your Meat - the Video on CD-Rom, and links to P.E.T.A.
Karma and Reincarnation - Reincarnation in the Early Church by L Manson (coming soon)
Karma
- The universal law of action and reaction
http://www.iskcon.org/main/twohk/philo/roots/karma.htm
Cause and effect form the basic duality within this material world. Whatever happens has a cause and will cause other effects, both directly and indirectly. Chance doesn't exist. Everything is part of a higher cause-effect structure. Cause and effect refer to the principle of action and reaction. According to the Vedic teachings, this principle applies both on physical and nonphysical levels.
The equation Action = reaction is the basis of Newtonian physics, which restricts this formula to mechanical processes. While Newton denied any possibility of cause- effect without a physical connection, modern quantum physics indicates the universal aspects of the cause-effect principle. Pioneers like David Bohm went so far as to propose the existence of a universal quantum potential field that coordinates a hierarchy of explicit orders and thus allows synchronization of non-local physical events.
These are only abstract ideas, but they show that a closer examination of the complex system of actions and reactions, both on atomic and cosmic levels, will lead us to the conclusion that mere mechanic causality cannot explain everything. This is especially true regarding phenomena like consciousness, life, individuality, and destiny.
The Vedic version is that there is no such thing as chance. Everything happens by the arrangement of higher authorities, also known as "providence." Whatever happens has a cause and a higher purpose. However, the propounders of the materialistic world view strictly deny this. They say that cause and effect is valid within the entire universe, but only on the physical level. Life and consciousness, they say, are the products of atomic combinations under the strict laws of physics (based on causality). But they exclude life and consciousness from causality, saying that they were produced by chance and work by chance. This argument is inconsistent, one- sided, and biased.
Still, it can't be denied that the Vedic idea that nothing happens by chance is difficult for Westerners to accept. If chance doesn't exist, do we mean to say that rapes, murders, car accidents, and concentration camps happen due to predestination, that they had to happen because the causes were set for this effect?
The Vedic view of karma can shed much light on these questions. Karma refutes both the materialistic and fatalistic world view. Karma extends cause and effect from the physical level to the nonphysical levels of consciousness and destiny.
There are many misconceptions about karma. Some Christian critics argue that karma corresponds to the principle of "an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth," which is set up by men and denied by God. Propounders of liberalism say that all human beings have free will, that everybody has to decide for himself what is right or wrong, and that there are no absolute standards such as those suggested by karma. These misconceptions arise from misunderstanding. Let us examine what karma means.
Karma is the Sanskrit word for "action." Since the Sanskrit language is multifaceted, karma means much more than this simple translation. Derived from the root kri "to do, to plan, to execute," karma further means "that which is caused and causing," which suggests that no action is independent. Each action or event is part of a big network of causes and becomes a cause for future reactions or events. This network of karma (action) is coordinated according to the "law of karma" -- the law of action and reaction.
Most misunderstandings are due to the confusion of karma and predestination. Karma is not predestination! The Vedic understanding of karma includes both predestination and free will.
The wrong interpretation of karma can lead to amazing extremes. If you think karma is just predestination, then whatever comes can't be changed and whatever happens was sanctioned by karma. This would allow you to think, "I can exploit others for my purpose, kill them in camps, or enslave them. If I can do it, this means it was their karma, and I am not guilty, because if it wasn't their karma, I couldn't do it. But because I can, I am allowed to do it." There are many beings on Earth and beyond who think like that -- more than most humans imagine.
There are two big mistakes in this logic. First, free will exists, and second, karma is not the supreme law in this creation. Sometimes philosophers consider free will to be the ultimate controlling factor of our destiny, but although this proposition is attractive, it is wrong. The Supreme Lord, Krishna, also has His plan for the creation and sometimes causes gross annihilation of the living beings who have become too sinful and disturbing for the Earth to bear.
To understand the implications of karma, we have to understand the sublime synthesis of predestination and free will. Both aspects exist simultaneously. To conceive of this inconceivable reality, we have to consider both sides of the law of karma: the point of view of action, and the point of view of reaction.
Considering the point of view of reaction, we have to accept that whatever has happened to us was predestined, and it was sanctioned by the universal authority (God, or Vishnu, who as Supersoul is present both within the universe and within the heart of each living entity as the omnipresent witness and the universal memory). Whether we accept this point of view or not, the fact that something happened cannot be changed. We may call it chance or bad or good luck, but then we avoid the lesson that we should learn.
To learn the lesson is important because each situation forces us to react. This leads to the second aspect of karma, the point of view of action. Although the laws of karma set up and predestine the circumstance we are now in, we have free will to decide how to react in each situation. But having free will doesn't make us "free" and independent. Free will means only that we can choose how to act under the influence of a specific set of circumstances; however, we cannot control the results of our actions that come upon us according to the higher law of karma.
Human beings are not restricted to act in a specific manner. They have free will. But with this free will comes responsibility, because the way we act determines the reactions. Thus we are free to choose our future, both individually and collectively. Whatever we do creates a reaction that we must enjoy or suffer. We are constantly receiving the reactions of our previous actions that we created using our free will. Therefore we are responsible for our happiness and distress, and the material nature creates the conditions within which we enjoy or suffer. Collective karma is the aggregate of individual karma. If many people do the same thing or support or tolerate some act, then they are collectively responsible for the results and will get a collective reaction, which can be either good or bad according to the act done.
Although the law of karma is such that we are never a passive victim of predestination, we are also never free from the laws of creation, which are fixed according to the will of the creator. The Supreme Lord also has desires concerning how things shall go on in the material world. He is eager to see the living entities become happy and advance in spiritual knowledge. So sometimes He creates situations and causes things to happen that no one can avoid.
Therefore, the best thing is to live according to the will of the creator.
This is the ultimate responsibility of the human being: to learn that there
is a creator, and to learn how to use everything in harmony with the creator's
will. Then we can become free from the entanglement of the seemingly endless
network of actions and reactions. The science of getting freed from this
material network is described in the Vedic literature and is called yoga.
To understand how to practice yoga, please read the essay entitled Yoga.
© 1997 BBTI, Inc.
Bad Karma For The England Coach: On January 30 this year (1999), Britain woke up to an unusual headline in the news. "Hoddle says disabled are paying for sins of previous life," announced the more serious press, while the tabloids went for variations of "Hoddle goes mad."
The story had made headlines for two reasons: Firstly, the man in question
was
Glenn Hoddle, coach of the England football team, and secondly, his views
were held by
just about all observers to be utterly outrageous. Who did he think he
was to pass such
harsh judgement of a disadvantaged class of people? Did he have no sensitivity?
The
sports minister for Britain, Tony Banks, said Hoddle was 'from another
world.' "I have
listened carefully to Glen Hoddle's views," said Banks. "They are totally
unacceptable. If
his theory is correct, he is in for real problems in the next life. He
will probably be
doomed to come back as Glenn Hoddle."
It had been a fairly innocent statement by the unfortunate Hoddle , made
in the
course of a sports interview. Most of the interview had been about England's
footballing
prospects. But the interviewer, obviously with an eye to a hot story, knew
about
Hoddle's beliefs and questioned him accordingly. When asked about his belief
in karma,
Hoddle replied, "You and I have been physically given two hands and two
legs and
half-decent brains. Some people have not been born like that for a reason.
The karma is
working from another lifetime. I have nothing to hide about that. It is
not only people
with disabilities. What you sow, you have to reap."
The interviewer had struck gold . That short section of his interview,
cleverly
headlined by him, made the headlines in every other newspaper. For days
afterward a
debate raged. Calls for Hoddle's sacking came from all quarters. Eventually
his
authorities bowed to the pressure and he was forced to resign.
As a believer in karma and reincarnation myself I was angered to see the
reaction
to Hoddle in the media. I felt personally insulted. Amongst a host of other
pejorative
descriptions, Hoddle's beliefs were labelled 'potty', 'crackpot' and 'barmy'.
I was
astonished at the blatant hypocrisy; on the one hand tearing Hoddle to
pieces for his
'slur on the disabled', while at the same time dismissing someone's religious
beliefs as
nonsense.
But what about those beliefs? Are they nonsense? Did Hoddle get it right?
Does the
concept of karma include the idea that those suffering disability are receiving
the results
of former sins? Surely that is a hard pill to swallow for those so afflicted.
Especially, of
course, if one has no belief that there ever was a former life. And even
if there was,
what terrible sins did I commit? Looking around me, I don't see that disabled
folk are any
more 'sinful' than others. Some seem a whole lot more pious.
Who defines sin? Who decides what reaction should follow our actions? Can
it be
changed, or is everything pre-determined? Unless you can answer all these
questions
then your belief in karma and reincarnation will be rather hollow.
Of course, even if he could answer those questions, Hoddle was given little
chance .
After his declaration of faith he was carried by the wave of indignation
to his sure fate.
But if he had been given a fair trial then he could perhaps have called
upon the evidence
of the Bhagavad-gita. It is in this ancient Vedic scripture that the teaching
of karma is
clearly described, and answers to all the above questions are offered.
Followed by hundreds of millions, the Gita is the basis of Hinduism , and
specifically
Vaishnavism, which of course accepts karma and reincarnation as its central
tenet. So
too does Buddhism, Sikhism, Jainism and a host of other Vedic belief systems
coming out
of the central strand of Hinduism. We're talking about almost half the
world's population
here. Surely then there must be some kind of logic to the belief.
So what does the Gita say? Well, the basic principle that every living
being is an
eternal soul, moving from life to life until it achieves ultimate liberation,
is perhaps
well-known. The Gita helps us to recognise our eternality with a simple
exercise. "As the
soul travels from childhood to youth to old age, it similarly travels to
another body after
death." In other words, reincarnation is taking place at every moment,
not just at
death-the body is constantly changing.
In adulthood we can see that our childhood body has changed completely,
but we
are still the same person . We all know the joke, 'you must have been a
beautiful
baby-but baby what went wrong?' It should thus be obvious that we, the
person, are
different from the body we inhabit. Perhaps also this is where the disabled
can take
some comfort-they know that despite their physical disability they are
no less a person
than anyone else. If a man loses an arm or a leg, he does not feel that
he has become
only three-quarters whole. He is still the same person within. It should
thus be obvious
that the body is not the self.
But now we come to the tricky bit. Why is it that some souls get a body
like, say,
supermodel Pamela Anderson, while others are consigned to a mortal frame
wracked by disease, or even that of a dog, or a worm, or a cockroach? "As
you
sow, so shall you reap", quoted Hoddle , and the Gita does not demur. It
agrees that
all our actions will produce a reaction, good or bad.
But it points out that this is a complex equation. That the "intricacies
of karma are hard
to understand even for the highly learned". In other words, while in principle
it may be
true that our suffering in this life has at its root some mistakes in this
or a former life, it
is more or less impossible to know what those mistakes were or when we
made them -
and it is not very important to know anyway.
In fact the Gita is concerned more with permanently ending all reactions
, whether
so-called good or bad. As we are eternal souls we do not belong in this
world, which is
ultimately only a place of suffering for everyone, whether able-bodied
or otherwise.
The Gita teaches us to get out of the material world . To enter the eternal
spiritual
atmosphere where we really belong, and where suffering does not exist.
And it makes it
clear that this can be achieved by anyone, regardless of their bodily condition.
All souls
are equal, the body is nothing more than the soul's temporary covering.
Perhaps Hoddle understands this well enough, I don't know. But his brief
mention of
karma has certainly given the concept a bad name. That is a shame. For
me at least,
the alternative belief of things just happening by chance, with all its
apparent unfairness
and injustices, is unacceptable. It is a belief in helplessness which can
only lead to
despair. The poor souls suffering in this life are just losers in the great
cosmic lottery.
And if we believe that, then why should we display any compassion or concern?
What
use is it anyway? One man wins and another loses-that's it. It's out of
our control and
happening purely by chance.
Even if we say no, God is there and in control, still our compassion seems
pointless if we
do not accept karma. If God is simply acting whimsically, dishing out misery
without any
rhyme or reason, then what can we do about it? Our attempts to ameliorate
the
situation can be dashed in a moment by this capricious and malevolent God.
If he wants
us to suffer, for whatever unfathomable reason, how will we ever prevent
it?
If we deny karma we are left with frightening alternatives to explain our
misery .
It may be hard to accept, but seeing suffering as the consequences of our
own acts is
the only sensible explanation. And this, after all, is the way we run our
lives. We want
to hold people responsible for their acts. Would we release a criminal
who pleaded, "But
your honour, the knife in my hand stabbed him purely by chance"? Do we
not as parents
constantly tell our children that they must accept the consequences of
their acts? Does
it not therefore make sense that the supreme authority, God, should work
by the same
principle? It seems natural to me that we should be responsible for what
we do.
I was thus surprised to see the hue and cry over Hoddle's statements .
When I
first discovered karma I felt a sense of empowerment. Accepting that my
misery was a
consequence of my own acts made me realise an important fact: I can change
those
consequences. My fate lies entirely in my own hands. I don't need to blame
events
outside my control, or my environment, or other people.
This is the only basis for real compassion . We can only do something to
help a
suffering person when we understand the cause of that suffering. Otherwise,
without
negating the root cause, our attempts to help will at best be makeshift.
Whilst it is fine
to do whatever we can to make life more tolerable for the afflicted, surely
the most
important assistance we can render is to remove the affliction-forever.
For those who are disabled or afflicted in some other way this is a philosophy
of
liberation . My actual identity is different from my external, painful
body. Whatever
mistakes I may have made in the past, which have resulted in my present
condition, I
can now act in ways that will lead to my permanent happiness. No more pain.
That goes
for all of us, disabled or otherwise. Each one of us is suffering one way
or another.
Disease, old age and death will eventually visit us all-followed by another
birth in who
knows what kind of body. But the Gita describes how we can end that cycle
for once
and for all.
I hope that poor Mr Hoddle's abrupt removal from office will at least have
stimulated some deeper thinking about what are, after all, some pretty
deep
concepts. Karma and reincarnation deserve a better press than they have
had of late.
Go to Iskcon Manchester where this page originated:
written by Hinduism Today Newspaper
Posted Sun, 19-Jun-1994 22:49:46 GMT
Karma: We Mold Our Lives Like
a Potter Fashions a Pot
Karma has quite a karma. Long after India's seers immortalized it in the Vedas, it suffered bad press under European missionaries who belittled it as "fate" and "fatalism," and today finds itself again in the ascendancy as the subtle and all-encompassing principle which governs man's experiential universe in a way likened to gravity's governance over the physical plane. Like gravity, karma was always there in its fullest potency, even when people did not comprehend it.
The early seers who brought through the Vedas were practitioners, mystics and divine oracles who put into practice the knowledge of karma. To them, Karma -- from the root kri, "to do" -- was a power by which they could influence the Gods, nature, weather, harvests and enemies through right intent and rites righteously performed. Thus by their actions they could determine their destiny. Through the ages, other realized souls explained the workings of karma, revealing details of this cosmic law and, when the tradition of writing came into vogue, recording it for future generations. In this way they established karma as perhaps the fundamental principle of Hindu consciousness and culture then and now.
Primordial and unborn, karma is anadi, "beginningless." Its Rig Veda definitions are linked to the performance of the homa, the potent fire rite that temporarily opens a window between the three worlds -- physical, subtle and causal. With Sanskrit mantras, mudras and meditative powers, Vedic priests precipitated a flow of shakti from highly evolved souls, Mahadevas, residing in inner worlds, securing the blessings of the Gods, insuring happiness for the clan. Neglecting the rites or misperforming them made negative karma and invited calamity and loss of wealth.
Communities were tight knit, and the clan prospered or suffered collectively. When one person did transgress, elders suspected not so much an individual's willful intent to do malice as malperformance of the homa. The ritual was held responsible for sustaining a spiritual force-field strong enough to ward off demonic entities that torment, confuse and misguide weak individuals. Priests assumed primary responsibility for the well-being of the community.
Indologist Herman W. Hull, author of The Vedic Origins of Karma, writes: "In the context of Vedic ritual thought, good and bad apparently refer to a valuation of action based on ritual exactitude: good being equated with the correct performance of the rite, bad with the incorrect performance." Swami Vivekananda, who spoke and wrote on karma extensively, commented on this understanding of the law: "The Vedic doctrine of karma is the same as in Judaism and all other religions, that is to say, the purification of the mind through sacrifices and such other external means."
The Upanishads (circa 1500-600 bce), the philosophic treatises of the Vedas, show how karma relates to the individual and his or her actions -- with questions of morality, responsibility, reward and retribution. They clearly command the individual to be responsibly concerned about personal conduct and not expect the priesthood alone to secure and safeguard one's karma through the performance of sacred rites. As Sage Yajnavalkya says in the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad: "What becomes of this man? Indeed, one becomes good by good action and bad by bad action."
Karma in Mystical Vision
The yogis of the ancient Sankhya philosophical system offered a deeply mystical vision. They scrutinized karma to profound levels of magnification and stressed its bearing on the soul of man. What they saw was a plasmic jelly pulsating within the subtle bodies of each person. Embedded in this plasma, which persists from life to life, are the seeds of all past thought and action. In each lifetime, certain of these karmic seeds are released into the nerve system with coded impulsions and tendencies affecting present actions. The effects were most commonly understood to determine three spheres of life: a) jati, family and occupation; b) ayus, health and length of life; c) bhoga, quality and enjoyment of life.
Karma as a Cosmic Building Block
To the rishi seers, karma appeared with such fundamental force and substantive reality that they perceived it as one of the thirty-six primary evolutes of form, called tattvas, which range from Parashakti, pure consciousness, to prithivi tattva, earth. Karma is number eight, called niyati tattva, a spiritual-magnetic energy form. This identification of its magnetic quality is a crucial clue to understanding how karma "comes back," rather than just "goes out." Each karma, or action, generates a vibration, a distinct oscillation of force, a vasana, or subliminal inclination that continues to vibrate in the mind. These vasanas are magnetic conglomerates of subconscious impressions. Like attracts like. Acts of love attract loving acts, malice attracts malice. And each action, karma, continues to attract until demagnetized. This is accomplished through re-experiencing it, or resolving it with understanding -- rather than compounding it with reaction -- or through other subtler spiritual means and practices.
Karma Goes Global
"What goes around comes around," sings country Western singer Willie Nelson. His ballad about "getting back what you give out" dominated US and European radio waves for years and became the West's homespun Upanishad on the Hindu concept of karma. You can hardly watch TV today without a subtle lesson in this cosmic law of cause and effect. Everywhere, karma has squeezed through the white picket fences of non-Hindu religions and irrevocably attached itself to the global ethic emerging worldwide.
But karma has suffered a chronic association with the word fate. Fate is a Western idea, derived largely from the three Abrahamic religions, Judaism, Christianity and Islam. It means, with wide variation, that one's life has been set by agencies outside oneself. Karma is exactly the opposite. "`It is the coward and the fool who says this is fate,' goes the Sanskrit proverb," said Swami Vivekananda. "But it is the strong man who stands up and says, `I will make my fate.'"
Karma Glossary
karmabhanda: The bonds of actions, i.e., being bound to rebirth.
karmadosha: Sinful work or vice, blunder; evil consequences.
karmadushta: Corrupt in action.
karmaja: Act-born; resulting or produced from an act, good or bad.
karmajiva: Livelihood earned by work, trade, profession.
karmakshaya: Annihilation of work.
karmakshetra: Place of religious acts.
karmanirhara: The removal of bad deeds or their effects.
karmanishtha: Diligent in performing religious actions.
karmapaka: Ripening of acts, matured results of acts of former births.
karmaphala: The fruit of actions.
karmarambha: The commencement of an act.
karmashaya: "Holder of karma." Describes body of the soul.
karmasamya: Equipoise of karma.
karmasiddhi: Successful action.
karmatyaga: Abandoning worldly duties and obligations.
karmavasha: The necessary influence or repercussion of actions.
karmavidhi: Rule of action; mode of conducting ceremonies.
karmayoga: "Union through action;" selfless religious service.
kriyamana karma: Actions being made. Karma being created.
papa: Wickedness, sin, crime. Wrongful action. Demerit from wrongdoing.
prayaschitta: Penance. "Predominant thought or aim; weighing heavily on the mind."
prarabdha karma: Actions set in motion. Sanchita karma released to bear fruit in one's current life.
punya: Holy, virtuous; auspicious. Meritorious action.
sanchita karma: The entirety of all karmas of this life and past lives.
Reference: A Sanskrit English Dictionary, Sir Monier Monier-Williams.
[KARMA is pronounced as "karmuh," the "uh" being subtle.]
For a deeper understanding on Karma, check Karma Yoga.
Copyright (C) 1994, Himalayan Academy, All Rights Reserved. The information contained in this news report may not be published for commercial purposes without the prior written authority of Himalayan Academy. [The publisher's request is that the material not be used in magazines or newspapers that are for sale without their permission. Redistribution electronically (for free), photocopying to give to classes or friends, all that is okay.] This copyright notice may NOT be removed, or the articles edited or changed without the prior written authority of Himalayan Academy.
DO BAD THINGS
HAPPEN
TO GOOD PEOPLE?
by Ravindra Swarup dasa
About five years ago, when we were having an altar installed in our new temple, the overseer from the marble company would regularly bring his seven-year-old son along to watch. The boy was very handsome, with jet-black hair and pale skin and long, dark eyelashes. He was well behaved and always seemed in good humor even though he could hardly walk at all. I never saw him take more than a few steps, leaning on a wall and straining his torso with an awkward twisting motion and then swinging forward a leg clamped into a large, clumsy brace.
The boy had been born crippled. While he was cheerful despite that, his father was not. His father was an angry man. "When that boy was born I stopped going to church," he told me once, as he knelt on our altar putting grout between the marble slabs. "I never did anything bad enough to deserve this. Sure, I'm not a saint, but I don't deserve this. And even if I did, what could HE have done?"
The aggrieved father, an unsophisticated marble contractor, was raising a problem that has long preoccupied Western religious thinkers, so much so that it has created a special discipline called THEODICY, a branch of theology concerned with justifying the ways of God to man. Theodicy deals with what is usually called "the problem of evil." St. Augustine cast it into the form of a dilemma: "Either God cannot or God will not eliminate evil from the world. If He cannot, He is not all-powerful; if He will not, He is not all-good." This formulation makes the logic of the problem clear: to show that the existence of a world with evil in it is compatible with the existence of a God who is BOTH all-powerful AND all-good. To deny either one of these attributes would easily explain evil, but orthodox theologians have always considered that unacceptable.
Those who find the problem of evil intractable usually deny the existence of God outright rather than settle for a God limited either in power or goodness. Would such a finite being really qualify to be called "God"? Would he be worthy of our worship?
Although philosophers and theologians have left us a huge body of technical literature on the problem of evil, it is far from a theoretical concern. It is everybody's problem, sooner or later. Suffering is universal. But oddly enough, practically as widespread is the sufferer's feeling that he has been unfairly singled out. From millions comes the outraged cry: "Why ME! What did I do to deserve this?"
It is for such people that Harold S. Kushner, a Massachusetts rabbi, has written his book WHEN BAD THINGS HAPPEN TO GOOD PEOPLE. It is a painfully honest treatment of what the author claims is the one theological issue that reaches folks "where they really care."
Kushner's book grew out of his personal pain; his testimony commands respect. He tells how his son was afflicted from infancy with progeria, a disease that brings on rapid aging, so that Kushner saw the boy grow bald and wrinkled, stooped and frail, until he died of old age in his fourteenth year. Kushner presents the victim's point of view, and he lets us hear the real voices of people in pain. In that stark light, the standard religious justifications for our misfortunes, which Kushner lays out one by one, do indeed seem like facile verbal shuffles that don't take people's suffering seriously but simply try, however lamely, to get God off the hook.
Kushner effectively criticizes the standard answers handed out by priests, ministers, rabbis, and he offers instead his own radically unorthodox solution. His book has been a bestseller for months, and he has attracted a large and grateful following among Jews, Catholics, and Protestants. Indeed, the popularity of his view among members of America's mainstream churches and synagogues suggests something of a grassroots theological rebellion.
The most reprehensible device of theodicy, in Kushner's view, is to remove the blame from God by putting it onto the sufferer, to explain suffering "by assuming that we deserve what we get, that somehow our misfortunes come as punishment for our sins." To accept that bad things happen to us as God's punishment, Kushner says, may help us make sense of the world, give us a compelling reason to be good, and sustain our belief in an all-powerful and just Deity - yet it is not "religiously adequate."
By "religiously adequate" Kushner means "comforting." Seeing suffering as a punishment for sin is not comforting, because it teaches people to blame themselves for their misfortunes, and so creates guilt, and it also "makes people hate God, even as it makes them hate themselves."
Kushner tells us of a couple who blamed their teenage daughter's sudden death on their own failure to observe the prescribed fast on a Jewish holy day: "They sat there feeling that their daughter's death had been their fault; had they been less selfish and less lazy about the Yom Kippur fast some six months earlier, she might still be alive. They sat there angry at God for having exacted His pound of flesh so strictly, but afraid to admit their anger for fear that He would punish them again. Life had hurt them and religion could not comfort them. Religion was making them feel worse."
It is a virtue of Kushner's work to bring up anger at God up front, to talk at length about what few believers have had the courage to admit, even to themselves. Many people must be grateful that someone has recognized their real feelings and has dealt with them openly.
But the worst thing about the belief that our misdeeds cause our misfortunes, says Kushner, is that it doesn't even fit the facts. People do suffer ills they don't deserve; bad things happen to good people all the time. Kushner adamantly maintains this. To the thousands who resent life's unfair treatment, who proclaim in outrage and indignation, "I didn't do anything to deserve this!" Kushner answers, comfortingly, "That's right, you didn't."
And Kushner is not talking about saints, about people who never do wrong. Rather, he wants to know "why ordinary people, nice friendly neighbors, neither extraordinarily good nor extraordinarily bad, should suddenly have to face the agony of pain and tragedy... They are neither much better nor very much worse than most people we know; why should their lives be so much harder?"
Here, tapping into a great psychic underground of resentment, Kushner has found his following. He has been willing to openly acknowledge a vast repressed sense of betrayal, a great silenced accusation that leaks unwillingly from the hearts of the believers and wends its way up to the divine ear as the universal unvoiced antiprayer: "You didn't hold up Your end of the bargain!"
Kushner insists that the innocent suffer, and as conclusive proof he advances that grievance which has been the bane of Judeo-Christian theodicy and which occasioned his own harrowing foray into the problem of evil: the suffering and death of children.
This is what drove the marble contractor to take up atheism, the usual response of those who feel God has failed them. But atheism is the response Kushner wants to prevent with his book. To restore the faith of those who have been spiritually devastated by misfortune, Kushner offers his own story of how he and his wife "managed to go on believing in God and in the world after we had been hurt."
Kushner is indeed convinced that the existence of a God both all-good and all-powerful is incompatible with the evils of our world; yet he wants us to go on believing in God - but not in a God who is all-powerful. God is good, but there are limits to what He can do. God does not want us to suffer; He is as angry and upset at our misfortunes as we are. But He is also helpless.
This is Kushner's credo: "I believe in God," he says, but - "I recognize His limitations." As a result, Kushner tells us in relief, "I no longer hold God responsible for illness, accidents, and natural disasters, because I realize that I gain little and I lose much when I blame God for these things. I can worship a God who hates suffering but cannot eliminate it more easily than I can worship a God who chooses to make children suffer and die, for whatever exalted reason."
It is not hard for me to put myself in the place of Kushner or the marble contractor: I have children of my own. I can even understand why, given the kind of religion they know, Kushner can worship only a finite deity, and the marble contractor can't bear to enter a church. Nevertheless, I don't have the problem with God that they do. When bad things happen, I don't find myself calling into question either His power or His goodness.
Of course, I am a devotee of Krsna; my religious convictions are founded upon the Vedic theism revealed in the BHAGAVAD-GITA and the SRIMAD-BHAGAVATAM. To espouse those convictions has been viewed by most normal Americans as a radical thing to do. But now we find that many normal Americans are willing to do something that, in its way, is more radical than what I've done. They are abandoning one of the most basic and universal theistic tenets: they are becoming worshipers of God-the-not-almighty.
I want to tell you how we handle the problem of evil. If you, like so many others, are unsatisfied with the standard Judeo-Christian theodicy, perhaps you will consider our Krsna conscious view before following Rabbi Kushner.
In the BHAGAVAD-GITA Krsna explains that you and I, like all living beings, are spiritual entities, souls. We now animate bodies made of matter, but we are not these bodies. Our involvement with matter is unfortunate, for it is the cause of all our suffering. We rightly belong in the spiritual kingdom, where life is eternal, full of knowledge and bliss. There everyone is joyously surrendered to the control of God as they directly serve Him in love. Every action is motivated exclusively by the desire to satisfy God.
But some of us perversely wished God's position for ourselves. We wanted independence so that we could try to enjoy and control others like God does. Yet we cannot, of course, take God's place; He alone has no master. But to grant our desires, God sends us to the material world, where He now controls us indirectly, through His material nature and its laws. Here we can forget God, strive to fulfill OUR desires, and have the illusion of independence.
Yet we are controlled by the laws of nature, and these force us to perpetually inhabit a succession of temporary material bodies. In ignorance, we identify ourselves with each body we enter, and we suffer again and again the pains of birth, old age, disease, and death. Life after life we transmigrate through plant, animal, and human bodies, sometimes on this planet, sometimes on far better ones, sometimes on far worse.
Once we take a human birth, our destiny is shaped by KARMA. In the BHAGAVAD- GITA (8.3) Krsna succintly defines KARMA as "actions pertaining to the development of material bodies." This means that there are actions we do now that determine our future material bodies. What kind of actions? Those motivated by material desire. We may do them directly for ourselves or indirectly for our extended self - our family, friends, community, nation, and the like. All such acts sentence us to future births in the material world, there to reap what we have sown.
KARMA is of two kinds: good and bad. Every civilized society recognizes a set of commandments that have divine authority and that regulate material enjoyment. Such commandments, for example, restrict the enjoyment of sex to marital relations and oblige the wealthy to be philantropic. They also encourage religious and charitable acts, which earn the performer merit. And they prescribe atonements for transgressors. Thus people are allowed to pursue material enjoyment, but they must observe moral and religious codes. And those who follow these codes, who live pious lives of restricted sensual pleasure, are assured of even greater enjoyment in the life to come.
If we act according to scriptural regulations, the VEDAS tell us, we will produce good KARMA and in future births enjoy the benefits of our piety. For example, if a person is born in an aristocratic family, is beautiful, well educated, or very wealthy, he is reaping the benefits of good KARMA. The VEDAS also tell us that if a person is extraordinarily pious he may be reborn on one of the higher planets in this universe, where the standard of sensual pleasure is far greater than anything we have on earth.
Conversely, there is bad KARMA. We create bad KARMA when we disregard scriptural injunctions and restrictions in our pursuit of sensual pleasure - that is, when we act sinfully. Bad KARMA brings us suffering and misfortune, such as birth in a degraded family, poverty, chronic disease, legal problems, or physical ugliness. Exceptionally bad KARMA will take us into animal bodies or down to lower planets of hellish torment.
The law of KARMA is as strict, relentless, and impartial as the grosser natural laws of motion and gravity. And, like them, it applies to us whether we know about it or not. For example, if I eat the flesh of animals even though I can live as well without it, my bad KARMA will force me to be born as an animal and to be slaughtered myself. Or if I arrange to have a child killed in the womb, I simultaneously arrange for myself to be killed in the same way, again and again, without ever seeing the light of day.
So when you and I were born we inherited, along with our blue eyes or our black hair, the consequences of our past good and bad deeds. We have a long history, and the happiness and distress our lives will bring is set. We are indeed children of destiny, hostages to fortune, but it is a destiny we created for ourselves, a fortune self-made. And in this life we are continuing to create our future.
But of all this Kushner is unaware, and he can make no sense of his suffering. He has the unshakable conviction that God owes him an agreable and happy life, that God is obliged to arrange matters for his satisfaction. But God fails, bringing on Kushner's crisis of faith. It can only be that God is either bad or weak, Kushner reasons, and then settles for weakness.
Yet in spite of Kushner, God is both all-good and all-powerful. But He does not engineer our suffering - we do. We are the authors of our KARMA. And it is our decision, not His, that brings us down into the material world, into the realm of suffering.
So the answer to the question "Why do bad things happen to good people?" is "They don't." All of us here in the material world are - how shall I put it? - NOT OF THE BEST SORT. Reprobates and scapegraces - each of us persona non grata in the kingdom of God. We are sent here because we seek a life independent of God, and He grants our desire as far as possible. But since His position is already taken, we can only play at being God while deceiving ourselves that we are independent of Him.
At the same time, the material world reform us, teaches us through reward and punishment to acknowledge God's supreme position. For by natural law we are rationed out the pleasures we desire according to our observance of the divine regulations, following the ways of good KARMA. The practice of good KARMA, then, amounts to a materially motivated religion, an observance of God's orders on the inducement of material reward. By this practice, spanning many lifetimes, I may, it is hoped, become habituated to following God's commands and reconciled to His supremacy. Thereupon I become eligible at last to take up the pure and eternal religion, in which, completely free from all material desires, I serve God in loving devotion, asking nothing in return. This religion, called BHAKTI in the VEDAS, causes my return to the kingdom of God. The acts of BHAKTI are KARMA-less: they produce no future material births, good or bad.
From the VEDAS, then, we learn of two clearly distinct religions, one pure and the other impure. Practicing good KARMA can elevate us in the material world, secure for us a vast life span on heavenly planets, and so on. In other words, it can make us first-class inmates of the material world. But BHAKTI alone can release us from the prison altogether. Even the best KARMA cannot free us from suffering, as Krsna warns in the BHAGAVAD-GITA (8.16): "From the highest planet in the material world down to the lowest, all are places of misery where repeated birth and death take place." But BHAKTI destroys all karmic reaction, extirpates all material desires, revives our pure love for God, and delivers us beyond birth and death to His abode. There we never taste temporary, material pleasure but rather relish eternal, spiritual bliss by serving Krsna and thus joining in HIS bliss.
It is a signal of virtue of the Vedic tradition that it distinguishes so clearly between the religion of good KARMA and the religion of BHAKTI and offers BHAKTI purely, without compromise. Most of us, whether Catholic, Protestant, or Jew, have been taught a kind of common karmic religion: God has put us on this earth to enjoy ourselves, and if we do so within the ordained limits, not forgetting to show God gratitude and proper respect, He will see to our success. We should ask God to meet our needs and fulfill our lawful desires, for He is the greatest order supplier. If we are observant and good, He will reward us well in this life and even better in the next.
This is the religion Kushner professed: "Like most people, my wife and I had grown up with an image of God as an all-wise, all-powerful parent figure who would treat us as our earthly parents did, or even better. If we were obedient and deserving, He would reward us. If we got out of line, He would discipline us, reluctantly but firmly. He would protect us from being hurt or from hurting ourselves, and would see to it that we got what we deserved in life."
Of course, Kushner begins to reconsider his religion when he discovers that it doesn't work. At this point, most people (like the marble contractor) become atheists. The idea of God as order supplier is thus responsible for a great deal of unbelief. But Kushner wants to preserve his faith in God, or at least in God's goodness, by denying His power.
Kushner's chief defense of his position is that it is "religiously adequate," that is, comforting. You will recall that he accused conventional theodicy of making people feel worse - causing them to feel guilty and to hate God. The explanation of suffering I have presented shouldn't make anyone feel worse. True, it says that we cause our own suffering, yet the point is not to make us feel guilty. The point is to let us know we've made some mistakes and should correct them. And why should we resent God for our suffering? Suffering comes by the law of KARMA. But KARMA is the impartial working of causal law.
Hostility toward God is what has put us under that law; it certainly won't help us get out. For His part, God is making every effort to get us out: He comes to this world from time to time to teach the path of BHAKTI, which will destroy all our KARMA, He sends His representatives throughout the world on the same mission, and He even stays with us as the indwelling Supersoul during our sojourn in the material world, ready to give us the intelligence to approach Him when we put aside our ancient enmity.
Kushner has the right instincts: he too would like people to cease their enmity toward God, and he even recognizes the ignobility of worshiping Him on the condition that He satisfy our demands. But if only we recognize God's limitations, he says, we won't be angry at Him when things go wrong in our life, nor will we worship Him for the satisfaction of our desires. Kushner thus urges the religious adequacy of his own theodicy.
But it is far from adequate. Kushner's problem is that he cannot overcome the conditioning of karmic religion. He needs something more spiritually powerful than good instincts to free him from the implicit hostility toward God, the unconscious, deep-seated unwillingness to serve Him unconditionally, that binds the conditioned soul to KARMA.
Kushner is still hostile. Because God did not satisfy his demands, Kushner must think of Him as ineffectual and weak. Kushner once thought of God as a parent who always gratifies our desires. But now Kushner's views Him as needing our forgiveness - for having failed as a parent: "Are you capable of forgiving and loving God even when you have found out that He is not perfect, even when He has let you down and disappointed you by permitting bad luck and sickness and cruelty in His world, and permitting some of those things to happen to you? Can you learn to love and forgive Him despite His limitations... as you once learned to forgive and love your parents even though they were not as wise, as strong, or as perfect as you needed them to be?"
Kushner asserts that his hostility toward God is no more, but what he has really done is simply change the form in which it is expressed - from rage to condescension. And this idea of God will only support our unwillingness to acknowledge His supremacy, and thus it will help keep us in the material world, where we will continue to suffer. Thus Kushner's theodicy will not make us feel better; it will only make us feel worse.
Furthermore, if we think God weak and ineffectual, it is certain that we will not be able to surrender to Him fully and serve Him without any personal consideration. The condition that makes such service and surrender possible is His promise of complete protection. "Declare it boldly," Krsna tells His disciple Arjuna, "My devotee never perishes." (Bg. 9.31) Because we can depend upon God completely, we can surrender to Him completely: "Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reactions. Therefore you have nothing to fear." (Bg. 18.66)
If we accept Kushner, we will always have to look out for ourselves; we will have to act for our own sake, and so we will remain involved with KARMA. Our service to God will never be total and unconditional. Indeed, as long as we insist on taking care of ourselves, God will leave us to our own devices.
But if we accept Krsna, if we give up independent action and depend completely on God, devoting all our effort to His service, He will take complete care of us. We shouldn't expect God to remove all inconvenience, but if difficulty comes we should simply tolerate it, recognizing that our residual bad KARMA is playing itself out, and continue to expect God's mercy.
God will minimize the karmic reaction due us, but the ultimate way He protects us is by bestowing spiritual consciousness upon us and destroying the ignorance by which we identify ourselves with matter. Krsna describes that consciousness in the BHAGAVAD-GITA (6.22-23): "In that joyous state, one is situated in boundless transcendental happiness and enjoys himself through transcendental senses... Being situated in such a position, one is never shaken even in the midst of the greatest difficulty. This, indeed, is actual freedom from all miseries arising from material contact." God frees us not so that we can goof off, not so we can get some "reward," but so that we can serve Him wholeheartedly, without any other concern.
So if we accept Krsna, we can solve the problem of evil. That solution doesn't lie in rejecting either the goodness or the power of God, but rather in taking advantage of that goodness and power to perform pure devotional service - and in that way end all our suffering forever.
A seminar given at London's Bhaktivedanta Manor on November 13, 2000.
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Vikarma - action with bad or binding reaction:
Akarma - action without reaction:
Bhagavad Gita 3.1
arjuna uväca
jyäyasé cet karmaëas
te
matä buddhir janärdana
tat kià karmaëi ghore
mäà
niyojayasi keçava
SYNONYMS
arjunaù uväca—Arjuna
said; jyäyasé—better; cet—if; karmaëaù—than fruitive
action; te—by You; matä—is considered; buddhiù—intelligence;
janärdana—O Kåñëa; tat—therefore; kim—why; karmaëi—in
action; ghore—ghastly; mäm—me; niyojayasi—You are engaging; keçava—O
Kåñëa.
TRANSLATION
Arjuna said: O Janärdana, O
Keçava, why do You want to engage me in this ghastly warfare, if
You think that intelligence is better than fruitive work?
PURPORT
The Supreme Personality of Godhead
Çré Kåñëa has very elaborately described
the constitution of the soul in the previous chapter, with a view to delivering
His intimate friend Arjuna from the ocean of material grief. And the path
of realization has been recommended: buddhi-yoga, or Kåñëa
consciousness. Sometimes Kåñëa consciousness is misunderstood
to be inertia, and one with such a misunderstanding often withdraws to
a secluded place to become fully Kåñëa conscious by chanting
the holy name of Lord Kåñëa. But without being trained
in the philosophy of Kåñëa consciousness, it is not advisable
to chant the holy name of Kåñëa in a secluded place,
where one may acquire only cheap adoration from the innocent public. Arjuna
also thought of Kåñëa consciousness or buddhi-yoga, or
intelligence in spiritual advancement of knowledge, as something like retirement
from active life and the practice of penance and austerity at a secluded
place. In other words, he wanted to skillfully avoid the fighting by using
Kåñëa consciousness as an excuse. But as a sincere student,
he placed the matter before his master and questioned Kåñëa
as to his best course of action. In answer, Lord Kåñëa
elaborately explained karma-yoga, or work in Kåñëa consciousness,
in this Third Chapter.
Bg 3.2
vyämiçreëeva väkyena
buddhià mohayaséva
me
tad ekaà vada niçcitya
yena çreyo ’ham äpnuyäm
SYNONYMS
vyämiçreëa—by equivocal;
iva—certainly; väkyena—words; buddhim—intelligence; mohayasi—You are
bewildering; iva—certainly; me—my; tat—therefore; ekam—only one; vada—please
tell; niçcitya—ascertaining; yena—by which; çreyaù—real
benefit; aham—I; äpnuyäm—may have.
TRANSLATION
My intelligence is bewildered by
Your equivocal instructions. Therefore, please tell me decisively which
will be most beneficial for me.
PURPORT
In the previous chapter, as a prelude
to the Bhagavad-gétä, many different paths were explained,
such as säìkhya-yoga, buddhi-yoga, control of the senses by
intelligence, work without fruitive desire, and the position of the neophyte.
This was all presented unsystematically. A more organized outline of the
path would be necessary for action and understanding. Arjuna, therefore,
wanted to clear up these apparently confusing matters so that any common
man could accept them without misinterpretation. Although Kåñëa
had no intention of confusing Arjuna by any jugglery of words, Arjuna could
not follow the process of Kåñëa consciousness—either
by inertia or by active service. In other words, by his questions he is
clearing the path of Kåñëa consciousness for all students
who seriously want to understand the mystery of the Bhagavad-gétä.
Bg 3.3
çré-bhagavän uväca
loke ’smin dvi-vidhä niñöhä
purä proktä mayänagha
jïäna-yogena säìkhyänäà
karma-yogena yoginäm
SYNONYMS
çré-bhagavän
uväca—the Supreme Personality of Godhead said; loke—in the world;
asmin—this; dvi-vidhä—two kinds of; niñöhä—faith;
purä—formerly; proktä—were said; mayä—by Me; anagha—O sinless
one; jïäna-yogena—by the linking process of knowledge; säìkhyänäm—of
the empiric philosophers; karma-yogena—by the linking process of devotion;
yoginäm—of the devotees.
TRANSLATION
The Supreme Personality of Godhead
said: O sinless Arjuna, I have already explained that there are two classes
of men who try to realize the self. Some are inclined to understand it
by empirical, philosophical speculation, and others by devotional service.
PURPORT
In the Second Chapter, verse 39,
the Lord explained two kinds of procedures—namely säìkhya-yoga
and karma-yoga, or buddhi-yoga. In this verse, the Lord explains the same
more clearly. Säìkhya-yoga, or the analytical study of the
nature of spirit and matter, is the subject matter for persons who are
inclined to speculate and understand things by experimental knowledge and
philosophy. The other class of men work in Kåñëa consciousness,
as it is explained in the 61st verse of the Second Chapter. The Lord has
explained, also in the 39th verse, that by working by the principles of
buddhi-yoga, or Kåñëa consciousness, one can be relieved
from the bonds of action; and, furthermore, there is no flaw in the process.
The same principle is more clearly explained in the 61st verse—that this
buddhi-yoga is to depend entirely on the Supreme (or more specifically,
on Kåñëa), and in this way all the senses can be brought
under control very easily. Therefore, both the yogas are interdependent,
as religion and philosophy. Religion without philosophy is sentiment, or
sometimes fanaticism, while philosophy without religion is mental speculation.
The ultimate goal is Kåñëa, because the philosophers
who are also sincerely searching after the Absolute Truth come in the end
to Kåñëa consciousness. This is also stated in the Bhagavad-gétä.
The whole process is to understand the real position of the self in relation
to the Superself. The indirect process is philosophical speculation, by
which, gradually, one may come to the point of Kåñëa
consciousness; and the other process is directly connecting with everything
in Kåñëa consciousness. Of these two, the path of Kåñëa
consciousness is better because it does not depend on purifying the senses
by a philosophical process. Kåñëa consciousness is itself
the purifying process, and by the direct method of devotional service it
is simultaneously easy and sublime.
Bg 3.4
na karmaëäm anärambhän
naiñkarmyaà puruño
’çnute
na ca sannyasanäd eva
siddhià samadhigacchati
SYNONYMS
na—not; karmaëäm—of prescribed
duties; anärambhät—by nonperformance; naiñkarmyam—freedom
from reaction; puruñaù—a man; açnute—achieves; na—nor;
ca—also; sannyasanät—by renunciation; eva—simply; siddhim—success;
samadhigacchati—attains.
TRANSLATION
Not by merely abstaining from work
can one achieve freedom from reaction, nor by renunciation alone can one
attain perfection.
PURPORT
The renounced order of life can
be accepted when one has been purified by the discharge of the prescribed
form of duties which are laid down just to purify the hearts of materialistic
men. Without purification, one cannot attain success by abruptly adopting
the fourth order of life (sannyäsa). According to the empirical philosophers,
simply by adopting sannyäsa, or retiring from fruitive activities,
one at once becomes as good as Näräyaëa. But Lord Kåñëa
does not approve this principle. Without purification of heart, sannyäsa
is simply a disturbance to the social order. On the other hand, if someone
takes to the transcendental service of the Lord, even without discharging
his prescribed duties, whatever he may be able to advance in the cause
is accepted by the Lord (buddhi-yoga). Sv-alpam apy asya dharmasya träyate
mahato bhayät. Even a slight performance of such a principle enables
one to overcome great difficulties.
Bg 3.5
na hi kaçcit kñaëam
api
jätu tiñöhaty akarma-kåt
käryate hy avaçaù
karma
sarvaù prakåti-jair
guëaiù
SYNONYMS
na—nor; hi—certainly; kaçcit—anyone;
kñaëam—a moment; api—also; jätu—at any time; tiñöhati—remains;
akarma-kåt—without doing something; käryate—is forced to do;
hi—certainly; avaçaù—helplessly; karma—work; sarvaù—all;
prakåti-jaiù—born of the modes of material nature; guëaiù—by
the qualities.
TRANSLATION
Everyone is forced to act helplessly
according to the qualities he has acquired from the modes of material nature;
therefore no one can refrain from doing something, not even for a moment.
PURPORT
It is not a question of embodied
life, but it is the nature of the soul to be always active. Without the
presence of the spirit soul, the material body cannot move. The body is
only a dead vehicle to be worked by the spirit soul, which is always active
and cannot stop even for a moment. As such, the spirit soul has to be engaged
in the good work of Kåñëa consciousness, otherwise it
will be engaged in occupations dictated by illusory energy. In contact
with material energy, the spirit soul acquires material modes, and to purify
the soul from such affinities it is necessary to engage in the prescribed
duties enjoined in the çästras. But if the soul is engaged
in his natural function of Kåñëa consciousness, whatever
he is able to do is good for him. The Çrémad-Bhägavatam
(1.5.17) affirms this:
tyaktvä sva-dharmaà caraëämbujaà
harer
bhajann apakvo ’tha patet tato yadi
yatra kva väbhadram abhüd
amuñya kià
ko värtha äpto ’bhajatäà
sva-dharmataù
“If someone takes to Kåñëa consciousness, even though he may not follow the prescribed duties in the çästras or execute the devotional service properly, and even though he may fall down from the standard, there is no loss or evil for him. But if he carries out all the injunctions for purification in the çästras, what does it avail him if he is not Kåñëa conscious?” So the purificatory process is necessary for reaching this point of Kåñëa consciousness. Therefore, sannyäsa, or any purificatory process, is to help reach the ultimate goal of becoming Kåñëa conscious, without which everything is considered a failure.
Bg 3.6
karmendriyäëi saàyamya
ya äste manasä smaran
indriyärthän vimüòhätmä
mithyäcäraù sa
ucyate
SYNONYMS
karma-indriyäëi—the five
working sense organs; saàyamya—controlling; yaù—anyone who;
äste—remains; manasä—by the mind; smaran—thinking of; indriya-arthän—sense
objects; vimüòha—foolish; ätmä—soul; mithyä-äcäraù—pretender;
saù—he; ucyate—is called.
TRANSLATION
One who restrains the senses of
action but whose mind dwells on sense objects certainly deludes himself
and is called a pretender.
PURPORT
There are many pretenders who refuse
to work in Kåñëa consciousness but make a show of meditation,
while actually dwelling within the mind upon sense enjoyment. Such pretenders
may also speak on dry philosophy in order to bluff sophisticated followers,
but according to this verse these are the greatest cheaters. For sense
enjoyment one can act in any capacity of the social order, but if one follows
the rules and regulations of his particular status, he can make gradual
progress in purifying his existence. But he who makes a show of being a
yogé while actually searching for the objects of sense gratification
must be called the greatest cheater, even though he sometimes speaks of
philosophy. His knowledge has no value, because the effects of such a sinful
man’s knowledge are taken away by the illusory energy of the Lord. Such
a pretender’s mind is always impure, and therefore his show of yogic meditation
has no value whatsoever.
Bg 3.7
yas tv indriyäëi manasä
niyamyärabhate ’rjuna
karmendriyaiù karma-yogam
asaktaù sa viçiñyate
SYNONYMS
yaù—one who; tu—but; indriyäëi—the
senses; manasä—by the mind; niyamya—regulating; ärabhate—begins;
arjuna—O Arjuna; karma-indriyaiù—by the active sense organs; karma-yogam—devotion;
asaktaù—without attachment; saù—he; viçiñyate—is
by far the better.
TRANSLATION
On the other hand, if a sincere
person tries to control the active senses by the mind and begins karma-yoga
[in Kåñëa consciousness] without attachment, he is by
far superior.
PURPORT
Instead of becoming a pseudo transcendentalist
for the sake of wanton living and sense enjoyment, it is far better to
remain in one’s own business and execute the purpose of life, which is
to get free from material bondage and enter into the kingdom of God. The
prime svärtha-gati, or goal of self-interest, is to reach Viñëu.
The whole institution of varëa and äçrama is designed
to help us reach this goal of life. A householder can also reach this destination
by regulated service in Kåñëa consciousness. For self-realization,
one can live a controlled life, as prescribed in the çästras,
and continue carrying out his business without attachment, and in that
way make progress. A sincere person who follows this method is far better
situated than the false pretender who adopts show-bottle spiritualism to
cheat the innocent public. A sincere sweeper in the street is far better
than the charlatan meditator who meditates only for the sake of making
a living.
Bg 3.8
niyataà kuru karma tvaà
karma jyäyo hy akarmaëaù
çaréra-yäträpi
ca te
na prasiddhyed akarmaëaù
SYNONYMS
niyatam—prescribed; kuru—do; karma—duties;
tvam—you; karma—work; jyäyaù—better; hi—certainly; akarmaëaù—than
no work; çaréra—bodily; yäträ—maintenance; api—even;
ca—also; te—your; na—never; prasiddhyet—is effected; akarmaëaù—without
work.
TRANSLATION
Perform your prescribed duty, for
doing so is better than not working. One cannot even maintain one’s physical
body without work.
PURPORT
There are many pseudo meditators
who misrepresent themselves as belonging to high parentage, and great professional
men who falsely pose that they have sacrificed everything for the sake
of advancement in spiritual life. Lord Kåñëa did not
want Arjuna to become a pretender. Rather, the Lord desired that Arjuna
perform his prescribed duties as set forth for kñatriyas. Arjuna
was a householder and a military general, and therefore it was better for
him to remain as such and perform his religious duties as prescribed for
the householder kñatriya. Such activities gradually cleanse the
heart of a mundane man and free him from material contamination. So-called
renunciation for the purpose of maintenance is never approved by the Lord,
nor by any religious scripture. After all, one has to maintain one’s body
and soul together by some work. Work should not be given up capriciously,
without purification of materialistic propensities. Anyone who is in the
material world is certainly possessed of the impure propensity for lording
it over material nature, or, in other words, for sense gratification. Such
polluted propensities have to be cleared. Without doing so, through prescribed
duties, one should never attempt to become a so-called transcendentalist,
renouncing work and living at the cost of others.
Bg 3.9
yajïärthät karmaëo
’nyatra
loko ’yaà karma-bandhanaù
tad-arthaà karma kaunteya
mukta-saìgaù samäcara
SYNONYMS
yajïa-arthät—done only
for the sake of Yajïa, or Viñëu; karmaëaù—than
work; anyatra—otherwise; lokaù—world; ayam—this; karma-bandhanaù—bondage
by work; tat—of Him; artham—for the sake; karma—work; kaunteya—O son of
Kunté; mukta-saìgaù—liberated from association; samäcara—do
perfectly.
TRANSLATION
Work done as a sacrifice for Viñëu
has to be performed, otherwise work causes bondage in this material world.
Therefore, O son of Kunté, perform your prescribed duties for His
satisfaction, and in that way you will always remain free from bondage.
PURPORT
Since one has to work even for the
simple maintenance of the body, the prescribed duties for a particular
social position and quality are so made that that purpose can be fulfilled.
Yajïa means Lord Viñëu, or sacrificial performances. All
sacrificial performances also are meant for the satisfaction of Lord Viñëu.
The Vedas enjoin: yajïo vai viñëuù. In other words,
the same purpose is served whether one performs prescribed yajïas
or directly serves Lord Viñëu. Kåñëa consciousness
is therefore performance of yajïa as it is prescribed in this verse.
The varëäçrama institution also aims at satisfying Lord
Viñëu. Varëäçramäcäravatä puruñeëa
paraù pumän/ viñëur ärädhyate (Viñëu
Puräëa 3.8.8).
Therefore one has to work for the
satisfaction of Viñëu. Any other work done in this material
world will be a cause of bondage, for both good and evil work have their
reactions, and any reaction binds the performer. Therefore, one has to
work in Kåñëa consciousness to satisfy Kåñëa
(or Viñëu); and while performing such activities one is in
a liberated stage. This is the great art of doing work, and in the beginning
this process requires very expert guidance. One should therefore act very
diligently, under the expert guidance of a devotee of Lord Kåñëa,
or under the direct instruction of Lord Kåñëa Himself
(under whom Arjuna had the opportunity to work). Nothing should be performed
for sense gratification, but everything should be done for the satisfaction
of Kåñëa. This practice will not only save one from the
reaction of work, but also gradually elevate one to transcendental loving
service of the Lord, which alone can raise one to the kingdom of God.
Bg 3.10
saha-yajïäù prajäù
såñövä
puroväca prajäpatiù
anena prasaviñyadhvam
eña vo ’stv iñöa-käma-dhuk
SYNONYMS
saha—along with; yajïäù—sacrifices;
prajäù—generations; såñövä—creating;
purä—anciently; uväca—said; prajä-patiù—the Lord
of creatures; anena—by this; prasaviñyadhvam—be more and more prosperous;
eñaù—this; vaù—your; astu—let it be; iñöa—of
all desirable things; käma-dhuk—bestower.
TRANSLATION
In the beginning of creation, the
Lord of all creatures sent forth generations of men and demigods, along
with sacrifices for Viñëu, and blessed them by saying, “Be
thou happy by this yajïa [sacrifice] because its performance will
bestow upon you everything desirable for living happily and achieving liberation.”
PURPORT
The material creation by the Lord
of creatures (Viñëu) is a chance offered to the conditioned
souls to come back home—back to Godhead. All living entities within the
material creation are conditioned by material nature because of their forgetfulness
of their relationship to Viñëu, or Kåñëa,
the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The Vedic principles are to help us
understand this eternal relation, as it is stated in the Bhagavad-gétä:
vedaiç ca sarvair aham eva vedyaù. The Lord says that the
purpose of the Vedas is to understand Him. In the Vedic hymns it is said:
patià viçvasyätmeçvaram. Therefore, the Lord
of the living entities is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Viñëu.
In the Çrémad-Bhägavatam also (2.4.20) Çréla
Çukadeva Gosvämé describes the Lord as pati in so many
ways:
çriyaù patir yajïa-patiù
prajä-patir
dhiyäà patir loka-patir
dharä-patiù
patir gatiç cändhaka-våñëi-sätvatäà
prasédatäà me
bhagavän satäà patiù
The prajä-pati is Lord Viñëu, and He is the Lord of all living creatures, all worlds, and all beauties, and the protector of everyone. The Lord created this material world to enable the conditioned souls to learn how to perform yajïas (sacrifices) for the satisfaction of Viñëu, so that while in the material world they can live very comfortably without anxiety and after finishing the present material body they can enter into the kingdom of God. That is the whole program for the conditioned soul. By performance of yajïa, the conditioned souls gradually become Kåñëa conscious and become godly in all respects. In the Age of Kali, the saìkértana-yajïa (the chanting of the names of God) is recommended by the Vedic scriptures, and this transcendental system was introduced by Lord Caitanya for the deliverance of all men in this age. Saìkértana-yajïa and Kåñëa consciousness go well together. Lord Kåñëa in His devotional form (as Lord Caitanya) is mentioned in the Çrémad-Bhägavatam (11.5.32) as follows, with special reference to the saìkértana-yajïa:
kåñëa-varëaà
tviñäkåñëaà
säìgopäìgästra-pärñadam
yajïaiù saìkértana-präyair
yajanti hi su-medhasaù
“In this Age of Kali, people who are endowed with sufficient intelligence will worship the Lord, who is accompanied by His associates, by performance of saìkértana-yajïa.” Other yajïas prescribed in the Vedic literatures are not easy to perform in this Age of Kali, but the saìkértana-yajïa is easy and sublime for all purposes, as recommended in Bhagavad-gétä also (9.14).
Bg 3.11
devän bhävayatänena
te devä bhävayantu vaù
parasparaà bhävayantaù
çreyaù param aväpsyatha
SYNONYMS
devän—demigods; bhävayatä—having
pleased; anena—by this sacrifice; te—those; deväù—demigods;
bhävayantu—will please; vaù—you; parasparam—mutually; bhävayantaù—pleasing
one another; çreyaù—benediction; param—the supreme; aväpsyatha—you
will achieve.
TRANSLATION
The demigods, being pleased by sacrifices,
will also please you, and thus, by cooperation between men and demigods,
prosperity will reign for all.
PURPORT
The demigods are empowered administrators
of material affairs. The supply of air, light, water and all other benedictions
for maintaining the body and soul of every living entity is entrusted to
the demigods, who are innumerable assistants in different parts of the
body of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Their pleasures and displeasures
are dependent on the performance of yajïas by the human being. Some
of the yajïas are meant to satisfy particular demigods; but even in
so doing, Lord Viñëu is worshiped in all yajïas as the
chief beneficiary. It is stated also in the Bhagavad-gétä that
Kåñëa Himself is the beneficiary of all kinds of yajïas:
bhoktäraà yajïa-tapasäm. Therefore, ultimate satisfaction
of the yajïa-pati is the chief purpose of all yajïas. When these
yajïas are perfectly performed, naturally the demigods in charge of
the different departments of supply are pleased, and there is no scarcity
in the supply of natural products.
Performance of yajïas has many
side benefits, ultimately leading to liberation from material bondage.
By performance of yajïas, all activities become purified, as it is
stated in the Vedas: ähära-çuddhau sattva-çuddhiù
sattva-çuddhau dhruvä småtiù småti-lambhe
sarvagranthénäà vipramokñaù. By performance
of yajïa one’s eatables become sanctified, and by eating sanctified
foodstuffs one’s very existence becomes purified; by the purification of
existence finer tissues in the memory become sanctified, and when memory
is sanctified one can think of the path of liberation, and all these combined
together lead to Kåñëa consciousness, the great necessity
of present-day society.
Bg 3.12
iñöän bhogän
hi vo devä
däsyante yajïa-bhävitäù
tair dattän apradäyaibhyo
yo bhuìkte stena eva saù
SYNONYMS
iñöän—desired;
bhogän—necessities of life; hi—certainly; vaù—unto you; deväù—the
demigods; däsyante—will award; yajïa-bhävitäù—being
satisfied by the performance of sacrifices; taiù—by them; dattän—things
given; apradäya—without offering; ebhyaù—to these demigods;
yaù—he who; bhuìkte—enjoys; stenaù—thief; eva—certainly;
saù—he.
TRANSLATION
In charge of the various necessities
of life, the demigods, being satisfied by the performance of yajïa
[sacrifice], will supply all necessities to you. But he who enjoys such
gifts without offering them to the demigods in return is certainly a thief.
PURPORT
The demigods are authorized supplying
agents on behalf of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Viñëu.
Therefore, they must be satisfied by the performance of prescribed yajïas.
In the Vedas, there are different kinds of yajïas prescribed for different
kinds of demigods, but all are ultimately offered to the Supreme Personality
of Godhead. For one who cannot understand what the Personality of Godhead
is, sacrifice to the demigods is recommended. According to the different
material qualities of the persons concerned, different types of yajïas
are recommended in the Vedas. Worship of different demigods is also on
the same basis—namely, according to different qualities. For example, the
meat-eaters are recommended to worship the goddess Kälé, the
ghastly form of material nature, and before the goddess the sacrifice of
animals is recommended. But for those who are in the mode of goodness,
the transcendental worship of Viñëu is recommended. But ultimately
all yajïas are meant for gradual promotion to the transcendental position.
For ordinary men, at least five yajïas, known as païca-mahä-yajïa,
are necessary.
One should know, however, that all
the necessities of life that the human society requires are supplied by
the demigod agents of the Lord. No one can manufacture anything. Take,
for example, all the eatables of human society. These eatables include
grains, fruits, vegetables, milk, sugar, etc., for the persons in the mode
of goodness, and also eatables for the nonvegetarians, like meats, none
of which can be manufactured by men. Then again, take for example heat,
light, water, air, etc., which are also necessities of life—none of them
can be manufactured by the human society. Without the Supreme Lord, there
can be no profuse sunlight, moonlight, rainfall, breeze, etc., without
which no one can live. Obviously, our life is dependent on supplies from
the Lord. Even for our manufacturing enterprises, we require so many raw
materials like metal, sulphur, mercury, manganese, and so many essentials—all
of which are supplied by the agents of the Lord, with the purpose that
we should make proper use of them to keep ourselves fit and healthy for
the purpose of self-realization, leading to the ultimate goal of life,
namely, liberation from the material struggle for existence. This aim of
life is attained by performance of yajïas. If we forget the purpose
of human life and simply take supplies from the agents of the Lord for
sense gratification and become more and more entangled in material existence,
which is not the purpose of creation, certainly we become thieves, and
therefore we are punished by the laws of material nature. A society of
thieves can never be happy, because they have no aim in life. The gross
materialist thieves have no ultimate goal of life. They are simply directed
to sense gratification; nor do they have knowledge of how to perform yajïas.
Lord Caitanya, however, inaugurated the easiest performance of yajïa,
namely the saìkértana-yajïa, which can be performed
by anyone in the world who accepts the principles of Kåñëa
consciousness.
Bg 3.13
yajïa-çiñöäçinaù
santo
mucyante sarva-kilbiñaiù
bhuïjate te tv aghaà
päpä
ye pacanty ätma-käraëät
SYNONYMS
yajïa-çiñöa—of
food taken after performance of yajïa; açinaù—eaters;
santaù—the devotees; mucyante—get relief; sarva—all kinds of; kilbiñaiù—from
sins; bhuïjate—enjoy; te—they; tu—but; agham—grievous sins; päpäù—sinners;
ye—who; pacanti—prepare food; ätma-käraëät—for sense
enjoyment.
TRANSLATION
The devotees of the Lord are released
from all kinds of sins because they eat food which is offered first for
sacrifice. Others, who prepare food for personal sense enjoyment, verily
eat only sin.
PURPORT
The devotees of the Supreme Lord,
or the persons who are in Kåñëa consciousness, are called
santas, and they are always in love with the Lord as it is described in
the Brahma-saàhitä (5.38): premäïjana-cchurita-bhakti-vilocanena
santaù sadaiva hådayeñu vilokayanti. The santas, being
always in a compact of love with the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Govinda
(the giver of all pleasures), or Mukunda (the giver of liberation), or
Kåñëa (the all-attractive person), cannot accept anything
without first offering it to the Supreme Person. Therefore, such devotees
always perform yajïas in different modes of devotional service, such
as çravaëam, kértanam, smaraëam, arcanam, etc.,
and these performances of yajïas keep them always aloof from all kinds
of contamination of sinful association in the material world. Others, who
prepare food for self or sense gratification, are not only thieves but
also the eaters of all kinds of sins. How can a person be happy if he is
both a thief and sinful? It is not possible. Therefore, in order for people
to become happy in all respects, they must be taught to perform the easy
process of saìkértana-yajïa, in full Kåñëa
consciousness. Otherwise, there can be no peace or happiness in the world.
Bg 3.14
annäd bhavanti bhütäni
parjanyäd anna-sambhavaù
yajïäd bhavati parjanyo
yajïaù karma-samudbhavaù
SYNONYMS
annät—from grains; bhavanti—grow;
bhütäni—the material bodies; parjanyät—from rains; anna—of
food grains; sambhavaù—production; yajïät—from the performance
of sacrifice; bhavati—becomes possible; parjanyaù—rain; yajïaù—performance
of yajïa; karma—prescribed duties; samudbhavaù—born of.
TRANSLATION
All living bodies subsist on food
grains, which are produced from rains. Rains are produced by performance
of yajïa [sacrifice], and yajïa is born of prescribed duties.
PURPORT
Çréla Baladeva Vidyäbhüñaëa,
a great commentator on the Bhagavad-gétä, writes as follows:
ye indrädy-aìgatayävasthitaà yajïaà
sarveçvaraà viñëum abhyarcya tac-cheñam
açnanti tena tad deha-yäträà sampädayanti,
te santaù sarveçvarasya yajïa-puruñasya bhaktäù
sarva-kilbiñair anädi-käla-vivåddhair ätmänubhava-prati
bandhakair nikhilaiù päpair vimucyante. The Supreme Lord, who
is known as the yajïa-puruña, or the personal beneficiary of
all sacrifices, is the master of all the demigods, who serve Him as the
different limbs of the body serve the whole. Demigods like Indra, Candra
and Varuëa are appointed officers who manage material affairs, and
the Vedas direct sacrifices to satisfy these demigods so that they may
be pleased to supply air, light and water sufficiently to produce food
grains. When Lord Kåñëa is worshiped, the demigods, who
are different limbs of the Lord, are also automatically worshiped; therefore
there is no separate need to worship the demigods. For this reason, the
devotees of the Lord, who are in Kåñëa consciousness,
offer food to Kåñëa and then eat—a process which nourishes
the body spiritually. By such action not only are past sinful reactions
in the body vanquished, but the body becomes immunized to all contamination
of material nature. When there is an epidemic disease, an antiseptic vaccine
protects a person from the attack of such an epidemic. Similarly, food
offered to Lord Viñëu and then taken by us makes us sufficiently
resistant to material affection, and one who is accustomed to this practice
is called a devotee of the Lord. Therefore, a person in Kåñëa
consciousness, who eats only food offered to Kåñëa, can
counteract all reactions of past material infections, which are impediments
to the progress of self-realization. On the other hand, one who does not
do so continues to increase the volume of sinful action, and this prepares
the next body to resemble hogs and dogs, to suffer the resultant reactions
of all sins. The material world is full of contaminations, and one who
is immunized by accepting prasädam of the Lord (food offered to Viñëu)
is saved from the attack, whereas one who does not do so becomes subjected
to contamination.
Food grains or vegetables are factually
eatables. The human being eats different kinds of food grains, vegetables,
fruits, etc., and the animals eat the refuse of the food grains and vegetables,
grass, plants, etc. Human beings who are accustomed to eating meat and
flesh must also depend on the production of vegetation in order to eat
the animals. Therefore, ultimately, we have to depend on the production
of the field and not on the production of big factories. The field production
is due to sufficient rain from the sky, and such rains are controlled by
demigods like Indra, sun, moon, etc., and they are all servants of the
Lord. The Lord can be satisfied by sacrifices; therefore, one who cannot
perform them will find himself in scarcity—that is the law of nature. Yajïa,
specifically the saìkértana-yajïa prescribed for this
age, must therefore be performed to save us at least from scarcity of food
supply.
Bg 3.15
karma brahmodbhavaà viddhi
brahmäkñara-samudbhavam
tasmät sarva-gataà brahma
nityaà yajïe pratiñöhitam
SYNONYMS
karma—work; brahma—from the Vedas;
udbhavam—produced; viddhi—you should know; brahma—the Vedas; akñara—from
the Supreme Brahman (Personality of Godhead); samudbhavam—directly manifested;
tasmät—therefore; sarva-gatam—all-pervading; brahma—transcendence;
nityam—eternally; yajïe—in sacrifice; pratiñöhitam—situated.
TRANSLATION
Regulated activities are prescribed
in the Vedas, and the Vedas are directly manifested from the Supreme Personality
of Godhead. Consequently the all-pervading Transcendence is eternally situated
in acts of sacrifice.
PURPORT
Yajïärtha-karma, or the
necessity of work for the satisfaction of Kåñëa only,
is more expressly stated in this verse. If we have to work for the satisfaction
of the yajïa-puruña, Viñëu, then we must find out
the direction of work in Brahman, or the transcendental Vedas. The Vedas
are therefore codes of working directions. Anything performed without the
direction of the Vedas is called vikarma, or unauthorized or sinful work.
Therefore, one should always take direction from the Vedas to be saved
from the reaction of work. As one has to work in ordinary life by the direction
of the state, one similarly has to work under direction of the supreme
state of the Lord. Such directions in the Vedas are directly manifested
from the breathing of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. It is said, asya
mahato bhütasya niçvasitam etad yad åg-vedo yajur-vedaù
sämavedo ’tharväìgirasaù. “The four Vedas—namely
the Åg Veda, Yajur Veda, Säma Veda, and Atharva Veda—are all
emanations from the breathing of the great Personality of Godhead.” (Båhad-äraëyaka
Upaniñad 4.5.11) The Lord, being omnipotent, can speak by breathing
air, for as it is confirmed in the Brahma-saàhitä, the Lord
has the omnipotence to perform through each of His senses the actions of
all other senses. In other words, the Lord can speak through His breathing,
and He can impregnate by His eyes. In fact, it is said that He glanced
over material nature and thus fathered all living entities. After creating
or impregnating the conditioned souls into the womb of material nature,
He gave His directions in the Vedic wisdom as to how such conditioned souls
can return home, back to Godhead. We should always remember that the conditioned
souls in material nature are all eager for material enjoyment. But the
Vedic directions are so made that one can satisfy one’s perverted desires,
then return to Godhead, having finished his so-called enjoyment. It is
a chance for the conditioned souls to attain liberation; therefore the
conditioned souls must try to follow the process of yajïa by becoming
Kåñëa conscious. Even those who have not followed the
Vedic injunctions may adopt the principles of Kåñëa consciousness,
and that will take the place of performance of Vedic yajïas, or karmas.
Bg 3.16
evaà pravartitaà cakraà
nänuvartayatéha yaù
aghäyur indriyärämo
moghaà pärtha sa jévati
SYNONYMS
evam—thus; pravartitam—established
by the Vedas; cakram—cycle; na—does not; anuvartayati—adopt; iha—in this
life; yaù—one who; agha-äyuù—whose life is full of sins;
indriya-ärämaù—satisfied in sense gratification; mogham—uselessly;
pärtha—O son of Påthä (Arjuna); saù—he; jévati—lives.
TRANSLATION
My dear Arjuna, one who does not
follow in human life the cycle of sacrifice thus established by the Vedas
certainly leads a life full of sin. Living only for the satisfaction of
the senses, such a person lives in vain.
PURPORT
The mammonist philosophy of “work
very hard and enjoy sense gratification” is condemned herein by the Lord.
Therefore, for those who want to enjoy this material world, the above-mentioned
cycle of performing yajïas is absolutely necessary. One who does not
follow such regulations is living a very risky life, being condemned more
and more. By nature’s law, this human form of life is specifically meant
for self-realization, in either of the three ways—namely karma-yoga, jïäna-yoga,
or bhakti-yoga. There is no necessity of rigidly following the performances
of the prescribed yajïas for the transcendentalists who are above
vice and virtue; but those who are engaged in sense gratification require
purification by the above mentioned cycle of yajïa performances. There
are different kinds of activities. Those who are not Kåñëa
conscious are certainly engaged in sensory consciousness; therefore they
need to execute pious work. The yajïa system is planned in such a
way that sensory conscious persons may satisfy their desires without becoming
entangled in the reaction of sense-gratificatory work. The prosperity of
the world depends not on our own efforts but on the background arrangement
of the Supreme Lord, directly carried out by the demigods. Therefore, the
yajïas are directly aimed at the particular demigods mentioned in
the Vedas. Indirectly, it is the practice of Kåñëa consciousness,
because when one masters the performance of yajïas one is sure to
become Kåñëa conscious. But if by performing yajïas
one does not become Kåñëa conscious, such principles
are counted as only moral codes. One should not, therefore, limit his progress
only to the point of moral codes, but should transcend them, to attain
Kåñëa consciousness.
Bg 3.17
yas tv ätma-ratir eva syäd
ätma-tåptaç ca
mänavaù
ätmany eva ca santuñöas
tasya käryaà na vidyate
SYNONYMS
yaù—one who; tu—but; ätma-ratiù—taking
pleasure in the self; eva—certainly; syät—remains; ätma-tåptaù—self-illuminated;
ca—and; mänavaù—a man; ätmani—in himself; eva—only; ca—and;
santuñöaù—perfectly satiated; tasya—his; käryam—duty;
na—does not; vidyate—exist.
TRANSLATION
But for one who takes pleasure in
the self, whose human life is one of self-realization, and who is satisfied
in the self only, fully satiated—for him there is no duty.
PURPORT
A person who is fully Kåñëa
conscious, and is fully satisfied by his acts in Kåñëa
consciousness, no longer has any duty to perform. Due to his being Kåñëa
conscious, all impiety within is instantly cleansed, an effect of many,
many thousands of yajïa performances. By such clearing of consciousness,
one becomes fully confident of his eternal position in relationship with
the Supreme. His duty thus becomes self-illuminated by the grace of the
Lord, and therefore he no longer has any obligations to the Vedic injunctions.
Such a Kåñëa conscious person is no longer interested
in material activities and no longer takes pleasure in material arrangements
like wine, women and similar infatuations.
Bg 3.18
naiva tasya kåtenärtho
näkåteneha kaçcana
na cäsya sarva-bhüteñu
kaçcid artha-vyapäçrayaù
SYNONYMS
na—never; eva—certainly; tasya—his;
kåtena—by discharge of duty; arthaù—purpose; na—nor; akåtena—without
discharge of duty; iha—in this world; kaçcana—whatever; na—never;
ca—and; asya—of him; sarva-bhüteñu—among all living beings;
kaçcit—any; artha—purpose; vyapäçrayaù—taking
shelter of.
TRANSLATION
A self-realized man has no purpose
to fulfill in the discharge of his prescribed duties, nor has he any reason
not to perform such work. Nor has he any need to depend on any other living
being.
PURPORT
A self-realized man is no longer
obliged to perform any prescribed duty, save and except activities in Kåñëa
consciousness. Kåñëa consciousness is not inactivity
either, as will be explained in the following verses. A Kåñëa
conscious man does not take shelter of any person—man or demigod. Whatever
he does in Kåñëa consciousness is sufficient in the discharge
of his obligation.
Bg 3.19
tasmäd asaktaù satataà
käryaà karma samäcara
asakto hy äcaran karma
param äpnoti püruñaù
SYNONYMS
tasmät—therefore; asaktaù—without
attachment; satatam—constantly; käryam—as duty; karma—work; samäcara—perform;
asaktaù—unattached; hi—certainly; äcaran—performing; karma—work;
param—the Supreme; äpnoti—achieves; püruñaù—a man.
TRANSLATION
Therefore, without being attached
to the fruits of activities, one should act as a matter of duty, for by
working without attachment one attains the Supreme.
PURPORT
The Supreme is the Personality of
Godhead for the devotees, and liberation for the impersonalist. A person,
therefore, acting for Kåñëa, or in Kåñëa
consciousness, under proper guidance and without attachment to the result
of the work, is certainly making progress toward the supreme goal of life.
Arjuna is told that he should fight in the Battle of Kurukñetra
for the interest of Kåñëa because Kåñëa
wanted him to fight. To be a good man or a nonviolent man is a personal
attachment, but to act on behalf of the Supreme is to act without attachment
for the result. That is perfect action of the highest degree, recommended
by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Çré Kåñëa.
Vedic rituals, like prescribed sacrifices,
are performed for purification of impious activities that were performed
in the field of sense gratification. But action in Kåñëa
consciousness is transcendental to the reactions of good or evil work.
A Kåñëa conscious person has no attachment for the result
but acts on behalf of Kåñëa alone. He engages in all
kinds of activities, but is completely nonattached.
Bg 3.20
karmaëaiva hi saàsiddhim
ästhitä janakädayaù
loka-saìgraham eväpi
sampaçyan kartum arhasi
SYNONYMS
karmaëä—by work; eva—even;
hi—certainly; saàsiddhim—in perfection; ästhitäù—situated;
janaka-ädayaù—Janaka and other kings; loka-saìgraham—the
people in general; eva api—also; sampaçyan—considering; kartum—to
act; arhasi—you deserve.
TRANSLATION
Kings such as Janaka attained perfection
solely by performance of prescribed duties. Therefore, just for the sake
of educating the people in general, you should perform your work.
PURPORT
Kings like Janaka were all self-realized
souls; consequently they had no obligation to perform the prescribed duties
in the Vedas. Nonetheless they performed all prescribed activities just
to set examples for the people in general. Janaka was the father of Sétä
and father-in-law of Lord Çré Räma. Being a great devotee
of the Lord, he was transcendentally situated, but because he was the king
of Mithilä (a subdivision of Bihar province in India), he had to teach
his subjects how to perform prescribed duties. Lord Kåñëa
and Arjuna, the Lord’s eternal friend, had no need to fight in the Battle
of Kurukñetra, but they fought to teach people in general that violence
is also necessary in a situation where good arguments fail. Before the
Battle of Kurukñetra, every effort was made to avoid the war, even
by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but the other party was determined
to fight. So for such a right cause, there is a necessity for fighting.
Although one who is situated in Kåñëa consciousness may
not have any interest in the world, he still works to teach the public
how to live and how to act. Experienced persons in Kåñëa
consciousness can act in such a way that others will follow, and this is
explained in the following verse.
Bg 3.21
yad yad äcarati çreñöhas
tat tad evetaro janaù
sa yat pramäëaà
kurute
lokas tad anuvartate
SYNONYMS
yat yat—whatever; äcarati—he
does; çreñöhaù—a respectable leader; tat—that;
tat—and that alone; eva—certainly; itaraù—common; janaù—person;
saù—he; yat—whichever; pramäëam—example; kurute—does perform;
lokaù—all the world; tat—that; anuvartate—follows in the footsteps.
TRANSLATION
Whatever action a great man performs,
common men follow. And whatever standards he sets by exemplary acts, all
the world pursues.
PURPORT
People in general always require
a leader who can teach the public by practical behavior. A leader cannot
teach the public to stop smoking if he himself smokes. Lord Caitanya said
that a teacher should behave properly before he begins teaching. One who
teaches in that way is called äcärya, or the ideal teacher. Therefore,
a teacher must follow the principles of çästra (scripture)
to teach the common man. The teacher cannot manufacture rules against the
principles of revealed scriptures. The revealed scriptures, like Manu-saàhitä
and similar others, are considered the standard books to be followed by
human society. Thus the leader’s teaching should be based on the principles
of such standard çästras. One who desires to improve himself
must follow the standard rules as they are practiced by the great teachers.
The Çrémad-Bhägavatam also affirms that one should follow
in the footsteps of great devotees, and that is the way of progress on
the path of spiritual realization. The king or the executive head of a
state, the father and the school teacher are all considered to be natural
leaders of the innocent people in general. All such natural leaders have
a great responsibility to their dependents; therefore they must be conversant
with standard books of moral and spiritual codes.
Bg 3.22
na me pärthästi kartavyaà
triñu lokeñu kiïcana
nänaväptam aväptavyaà
varta eva ca karmaëi
SYNONYMS
na—not; me—Mine; pärtha—O son
of Påthä; asti—there is; kartavyam—prescribed duty; triñu—in
the three; lokeñu—planetary systems; kiïcana—any; na—nothing;
anaväptam—wanted; aväptavyam—to be gained; varte—I am engaged;
eva—certainly; ca—also; karmaëi—in prescribed duty.
TRANSLATION
O son of Påthä, there
is no work prescribed for Me within all the three planetary systems. Nor
am I in want of anything, nor have I a need to obtain anything—and yet
I am engaged in prescribed duties.
PURPORT
The Supreme Personality of Godhead
is described in the Vedic literatures as follows:
tam éçvaräëäà
paramaà maheçvaraà
taà devatänäà
paramaà ca daivatam
patià paténäà
paramaà parastäd
vidäma devaà bhuvaneçam
éòyam
na tasya käryaà karaëaà
ca vidyate
na tat-samaç cäbhyadhikaç
ca dåçyate
paräsya çaktir vividhaiva
çrüyate
sväbhäviké jïäna-bala-kriyä
ca
“The Supreme Lord is the controller of all other controllers, and He is the greatest of all the diverse planetary leaders. Everyone is under His control. All entities are delegated with particular power only by the Supreme Lord; they are not supreme themselves. He is also worshipable by all demigods and is the supreme director of all directors. Therefore, He is transcendental to all kinds of material leaders and controllers and is worshipable by all. There is no one greater than Him, and He is the supreme cause of all causes.
“He does not possess bodily form
like that of an ordinary living entity. There is no difference between
His body and His soul. He is absolute. All His senses are transcendental.
Any one of His senses can perform the action of any other sense. Therefore,
no one is greater than Him or equal to Him. His potencies are multifarious,
and thus His deeds are automatically performed as a natural sequence.”
(Çvetäçvatara Upaniñad 6.7–8)
Since everything is in full opulence
in the Personality of Godhead and is existing in full truth, there is no
duty for the Supreme Personality of Godhead to perform. One who must receive
the results of work has some designated duty, but one who has nothing to
achieve within the three planetary systems certainly has no duty. And yet
Lord Kåñëa is engaged on the Battlefield of Kurukñetra
as the leader of the kñatriyas because the kñatriyas are
duty-bound
to give protection to the distressed. Although He is above all the regulations
of the revealed scriptures, He does not do anything that violates the revealed
scriptures.
Bg 3.23
yadi hy ahaà na varteyaà
jätu karmaëy atandritaù
mama vartmänuvartante
manuñyäù pärtha
sarvaçaù
SYNONYMS
yadi—if; hi—certainly; aham—I; na—do
not; varteyam—thus engage; jätu—ever; karmaëi—in the performance
of prescribed duties; atandritaù—with great care; mama—My; vartma—path;
anuvartante—would follow; manuñyäù—all men; pärtha—O
son of Påthä; sarvaçaù—in all respects.
TRANSLATION
For if I ever failed to engage in
carefully performing prescribed duties, O Pärtha, certainly all men
would follow My path.
PURPORT
In order to keep the balance of
social tranquillity for progress in spiritual life, there are traditional
family usages meant for every civilized man. Although such rules and regulations
are for the conditioned souls and not Lord Kåñëa, because
He descended to establish the principles of religion He followed the prescribed
rules. Otherwise, common men would follow in His footsteps, because He
is the greatest authority. From the Çrémad-Bhägavatam
it is understood that Lord Kåñëa was performing all the
religious duties at home and out of home, as required of a householder.
Bg 3.24
utsédeyur ime lokä
na kuryäà karma ced
aham
saìkarasya ca kartä
syäm
upahanyäm imäù
prajäù
SYNONYMS
utsédeyuù—would be
put into ruin; ime—all these; lokäù—worlds; na—not; kuryäm—I
perform; karma—prescribed duties; cet—if; aham—I; saìkarasya—of
unwanted population; ca—and; kartä—creator; syäm—would be; upahanyäm—would
destroy; imäù—all these; prajäù—living entities.
TRANSLATION
If I did not perform prescribed
duties, all these worlds would be put to ruination. I would be the cause
of creating unwanted population, and I would thereby destroy the peace
of all living beings.
PURPORT
Varëa-saìkara is unwanted
population which disturbs the peace of the general society. In order to
check this social disturbance, there are prescribed rules and regulations
by which the population can automatically become peaceful and organized
for spiritual progress in life. When Lord Kåñëa descends,
naturally He deals with such rules and regulations in order to maintain
the prestige and necessity of such important performances. The Lord is
the father of all living entities, and if the living entities are misguided,
indirectly the responsibility goes to the Lord. Therefore, whenever there
is general disregard of regulative principles, the Lord Himself descends
and corrects the society. We should, however, note carefully that although
we have to follow in the footsteps of the Lord, we still have to remember
that we cannot imitate Him. Following and imitating are not on the same
level. We cannot imitate the Lord by lifting Govardhana Hill, as the Lord
did in His childhood. It is impossible for any human being. We have to
follow His instructions, but we may not imitate Him at any time. The Çrémad-Bhägavatam
(10.33.30–31) affirms:
naitat samäcarej jätu
manasäpi hy anéçvaraù
vinaçyaty äcaran mauòhyäd
yathä ’rudro ’bdhi-jaà
viñam
éçvaräëäà
vacaù satyaà
tathaiväcaritaà kvacit
teñäà yat sva-vaco-yuktaà
buddhimäàs tat samäcaret
“One should simply follow the instructions of the Lord and His empowered servants. Their instructions are all good for us, and any intelligent person will perform them as instructed. However, one should guard against trying to imitate their actions. One should not try to drink the ocean of poison in imitation of Lord Çiva.”
We should always consider the position of the éçvaras, or those who can actually control the movements of the sun and moon, as superior. Without such power, one cannot imitate the éçvaras, who are superpowerful. Lord Çiva drank poison to the extent of swallowing an ocean, but if any common man tries to drink even a fragment of such poison, he will be killed. There are many pseudo devotees of Lord Çiva who want to indulge in smoking gaïjä (marijuana) and similar intoxicating drugs, forgetting that by so imitating the acts of Lord Çiva they are calling death very near. Similarly, there are some pseudo devotees of Lord Kåñëa who prefer to imitate the Lord in His räsa-lélä, or dance of love, forgetting their inability to lift Govardhana Hill. It is best, therefore, that one not try to imitate the powerful, but simply follow their instructions; nor should one try to occupy their posts without qualification. There are so many “incarnations” of God without the power of the Supreme Godhead.
Bg 3.25
saktäù karmaëy avidväàso
yathä kurvanti bhärata
kuryäd vidväàs
tathäsaktaç
cikérñur loka-saìgraham
SYNONYMS
saktäù—being attached;
karmaëi—in prescribed duties; avidväàsaù—the ignorant;
yathä—as much as; kurvanti—they do; bhärata—O descendant of Bharata;
kuryät—must do; vidvän—the learned; tathä—thus; asaktaù—without
attachment; cikérñuù—desiring to lead; loka-saìgraham—the
people in general.
TRANSLATION
As the ignorant perform their duties
with attachment to results, the learned may similarly act, but without
attachment, for the sake of leading people on the right path.
PURPORT
A person in Kåñëa
consciousness and a person not in Kåñëa consciousness
are differentiated by different desires. A Kåñëa conscious
person does not do anything which is not conducive to development of Kåñëa
consciousness. He may even act exactly like the ignorant person, who is
too much attached to material activities, but one is engaged in such activities
for the satisfaction of his sense gratification, whereas the other is engaged
for the satisfaction of Kåñëa. Therefore, the Kåñëa
conscious person is required to show the people how to act and how to engage
the results of action for the purpose of Kåñëa consciousness.
Bg 3.26
na buddhi-bhedaà janayed
ajïänäà karma-saìginäm
joñayet sarva-karmäëi
vidvän yuktaù samäcaran
SYNONYMS
na—not; buddhi-bhedam—disruption
of intelligence; janayet—he should cause; ajïänäm—of the
foolish; karma-saìginäm—who are attached to fruitive work;
joñayet—he should dovetail; sarva—all; karmäëi—work; vidvän—a
learned person; yuktaù—engaged; samäcaran—practicing.
TRANSLATION
So as not to disrupt the minds of
ignorant men attached to the fruitive results of prescribed duties, a learned
person should not induce them to stop work. Rather, by working in the spirit
of devotion, he should engage them in all sorts of activities [for the
gradual development of Kåñëa consciousness].
PURPORT
Vedaiç ca sarvair aham eva
vedyaù. That is the end of all Vedic rituals. All rituals, all performances
of sacrifices, and everything that is put into the Vedas, including all
direction for material activities, are meant for understanding Kåñëa,
who is the ultimate goal of life. But because the conditioned souls do
not know anything beyond sense gratification, they study the Vedas to that
end. But through fruitive activities and sense gratification regulated
by the Vedic rituals one is gradually elevated to Kåñëa
consciousness. Therefore a realized soul in Kåñëa consciousness
should not disturb others in their activities or understanding, but he
should act by showing how the results of all work can be dedicated to the
service of Kåñëa. The learned Kåñëa
conscious person may act in such a way that the ignorant person working
for sense gratification may learn how to act and how to behave. Although
the ignorant man is not to be disturbed in his activities, a slightly developed
Kåñëa conscious person may directly be engaged in the
service of the Lord without waiting for other Vedic formulas. For this
fortunate man there is no need to follow the Vedic rituals, because by
direct Kåñëa consciousness one can have all the results
one would otherwise derive from following one’s prescribed duties.
Bg 3.27
prakåteù kriyamäëäni
guëaiù karmäëi
sarvaçaù
ahaìkära-vimüòhätmä
kartäham iti manyate
SYNONYMS
prakåteù—of material
nature; kriyamäëäni—being done; guëaiù—by the
modes; karmäëi—activities; sarvaçaù—all kinds of;
ahaìkära-vimüòha—bewildered by false ego; ätmä—the
spirit soul; kartä—doer; aham—I; iti—thus; manyate—he thinks.
TRANSLATION
The spirit soul bewildered by the
influence of false ego thinks himself the doer of activities that are in
actuality carried out by the three modes of material nature.
PURPORT
Two persons, one in Kåñëa
consciousness and the other in material consciousness, working on the same
level, may appear to be working on the same platform, but there is a wide
gulf of difference in their respective positions. The person in material
consciousness is convinced by false ego that he is the doer of everything.
He does not know that the mechanism of the body is produced by material
nature, which works under the supervision of the Supreme Lord. The materialistic
person has no knowledge that ultimately he is under the control of Kåñëa.
The person in false ego takes all credit for doing everything independently,
and that is the symptom of his nescience. He does not know that this gross
and subtle body is the creation of material nature, under the order of
the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and as such his bodily and mental activities
should be engaged in the service of Kåñëa, in Kåñëa
consciousness. The ignorant man forgets that the Supreme Personality of
Godhead is known as Håñékeça, or the master
of the senses of the material body, for due to his long misuse of the senses
in sense gratification, he is factually bewildered by the false ego, which
makes him forget his eternal relationship with Kåñëa.
Bg 3.28
tattva-vit tu mahä-bäho
guëa-karma-vibhägayoù
guëä guëeñu
vartanta
iti matvä na sajjate
SYNONYMS
tattva-vit—the knower of the Absolute
Truth; tu—but; mahä-bäho—O mighty-armed one; guëa-karma—of
works under material influence; vibhägayoù—differences; guëäù—senses;
guëeñu—in sense gratification; vartante—are being engaged;
iti—thus; matvä—thinking; na—never; sajjate—becomes attached.
TRANSLATION
One who is in knowledge of the Absolute
Truth, O mighty-armed, does not engage himself in the senses and sense
gratification, knowing well the differences between work in devotion and
work for fruitive results.
PURPORT
The knower of the Absolute Truth
is convinced of his awkward position in material association. He knows
that he is part and parcel of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kåñëa,
and that his position should not be in the material creation. He knows
his real identity as part and parcel of the Supreme, who is eternal bliss
and knowledge, and he realizes that somehow or other he is entrapped in
the material conception of life. In his pure state of existence he is meant
to dovetail his activities in devotional service to the Supreme Personality
of Godhead, Kåñëa. He therefore engages himself in the
activities of Kåñëa consciousness and becomes naturally
unattached to the activities of the material senses, which are all circumstantial
and temporary. He knows that his material condition of life is under the
supreme control of the Lord; consequently he is not disturbed by all kinds
of material reactions, which he considers to be the mercy of the Lord.
According to Çrémad-Bhägavatam, one who knows the Absolute
Truth in three different features—namely Brahman, Paramätmä,
and the Supreme Personality of Godhead—is called tattva-vit, for he knows
also his own factual position in relationship with the Supreme.
Bg 3.29
prakåter guëa-sammüòhäù
sajjante guëa-karmasu
tän akåtsna-vido mandän
kåtsna-vin na vicälayet
SYNONYMS
prakåteù—of material
nature; guëa—by the modes; sammüòhäù—befooled
by material identification; sajjante—they become engaged; guëa-karmasu—in
material activities; tän—those; akåtsna-vidaù—persons
with a poor fund of knowledge; mandän—lazy to understand self-realization;
kåtsna-vit—one who is in factual knowledge; na—not; vicälayet—should
try to agitate.
TRANSLATION
Bewildered by the modes of material
nature, the ignorant fully engage themselves in material activities and
become attached. But the wise should not unsettle them, although these
duties are inferior due to the performers’ lack of knowledge.
PURPORT
Persons who are unknowledgeable
falsely identify with gross material consciousness and are full of material
designations. This body is a gift of the material nature, and one who is
too much attached to the bodily consciousness is called manda, or a lazy
person without understanding of spirit soul. Ignorant men think of the
body as the self; they accept bodily connections with others as kinsmanship,
the land in which the body is obtained is their object of worship, and
they consider the formalities of religious rituals to be ends in themselves.
Social work, nationalism and altruism are some of the activities for such
materially designated persons. Under the spell of such designations, they
are always busy in the material field; for them spiritual realization is
a myth, and so they are not interested. Those who are enlightened in spiritual
life, however, should not try to agitate such materially engrossed persons.
Better to prosecute one’s own spiritual activities silently. Such bewildered
persons may be engaged in such primary moral principles of life as nonviolence
and similar materially benevolent work.
Men who are ignorant cannot appreciate
activities in Kåñëa consciousness, and therefore Lord
Kåñëa advises us not to disturb them and simply waste
valuable time. But the devotees of the Lord are more kind than the Lord
because they understand the purpose of the Lord. Consequently they undertake
all kinds of risks, even to the point of approaching ignorant men to try
to engage them in the acts of Kåñëa consciousness, which
are absolutely necessary for the human being.
Bg 3.30
mayi sarväëi karmäëi
sannyasyädhyätma-cetasä
niräçér nirmamo
bhütvä
yudhyasva vigata-jvaraù
SYNONYMS
mayi—unto Me; sarväëi—all
sorts of; karmäëi—activities; sannyasya—giving up completely;
adhyätma—with full knowledge of the self; cetasä—by consciousness;
niräçéù—without desire for profit; nirmamaù—without
ownership; bhütvä—so being; yudhyasva—fight; vigata-jvaraù—without
being lethargic.
TRANSLATION
Therefore, O Arjuna, surrendering
all your works unto Me, with full knowledge of Me, without desires for
profit, with no claims to proprietorship, and free from lethargy, fight.
PURPORT
This verse clearly indicates the
purpose of the Bhagavad-gétä. The Lord instructs that one has
to become fully Kåñëa conscious to discharge duties,
as if in military discipline. Such an injunction may make things a little
difficult; nevertheless duties must be carried out, with dependence on
Kåñëa, because that is the constitutional position of
the living entity. The living entity cannot be happy independent of the
cooperation of the Supreme Lord, because the eternal constitutional position
of the living entity is to become subordinate to the desires of the Lord.
Arjuna was therefore ordered by Çré Kåñëa
to fight as if the Lord were his military commander. One has to sacrifice
everything for the good will of the Supreme Lord, and at the same time
discharge prescribed duties without claiming proprietorship. Arjuna did
not have to consider the order of the Lord; he had only to execute His
order. The Supreme Lord is the soul of all souls; therefore, one who depends
solely and wholly on the Supreme Soul without personal consideration, or
in other words, one who is fully Kåñëa conscious, is
called adhyätma-cetas. Niräçéù means that
one has to act on the order of the master but should not expect fruitive
results. The cashier may count millions of dollars for his employer, but
he does not claim a cent for himself. Similarly, one has to realize that
nothing in the world belongs to any individual person, but that everything
belongs to the Supreme Lord. That is the real purport of mayi, or “unto
Me.” And when one acts in such Kåñëa consciousness, certainly
he does not claim proprietorship over anything. This consciousness is called
nirmama, or “nothing is mine.” And if there is any reluctance to execute
such a stern order, which is without consideration of so-called kinsmen
in the bodily relationship, that reluctance should be thrown off; in this
way one may become vigata-jvara, or without feverish mentality or lethargy.
Everyone, according to his quality and position, has a particular type
of work to discharge, and all such duties may be discharged in Kåñëa
consciousness, as described above. That will lead one to the path of liberation.
Bg 3.31
ye me matam idaà nityam
anutiñöhanti mänaväù
çraddhävanto ’nasüyanto
mucyante te ’pi karmabhiù
SYNONYMS
ye—those who; me—My; matam—injunctions;
idam—these; nityam—as an eternal function; anutiñöhanti—execute
regularly; mänaväù—human beings; çraddhä-vantaù—with
faith and devotion; anasüyantaù—without envy; mucyante—become
free; te—all of them; api—even; karmabhiù—from the bondage of the
law of fruitive actions.
TRANSLATION
Those persons who execute their
duties according to My injunctions and who follow this teaching faithfully,
without envy, become free from the bondage of fruitive actions.
PURPORT
The injunction of the Supreme Personality
of Godhead, Kåñëa, is the essence of all Vedic wisdom
and therefore is eternally true without exception. As the Vedas are eternal,
so this truth of Kåñëa consciousness is also eternal.
One should have firm faith in this injunction, without envying the Lord.
There are many philosophers who write comments on the Bhagavad-gétä
but have no faith in Kåñëa. They will never be liberated
from the bondage of fruitive action. But an ordinary man with firm faith
in the eternal injunctions of the Lord, even though unable to execute such
orders, becomes liberated from the bondage of the law of karma. In the
beginning of Kåñëa consciousness, one may not fully discharge
the injunctions of the Lord, but because one is not resentful of this principle
and works sincerely without consideration of defeat and hopelessness, he
will surely be promoted to the stage of pure Kåñëa consciousness.
Bg 3.32
ye tv etad abhyasüyanto
nänutiñöhanti me
matam
sarva-jïäna-vimüòhäàs
tän
viddhi nañöän acetasaù
SYNONYMS
ye—those; tu—however; etat—this;
abhyasüyantaù—out of envy; na—do not; anutiñöhanti—regularly
perform; me—My; matam—injunction; sarva-jïäna—in all sorts of
knowledge; vimüòhän—perfectly befooled; tän—they
are; viddhi—know it well; nañöän—all ruined; acetasaù—without
Kåñëa consciousness.
TRANSLATION
But those who, out of envy, disregard
these teachings and do not follow them are to be considered bereft of all
knowledge, befooled, and ruined in their endeavors for perfection.
PURPORT
The flaw of not being Kåñëa
conscious is clearly stated herein. As there is punishment for disobedience
to the order of the supreme executive head, so there is certainly punishment
for disobedience to the order of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. A
disobedient person, however great he may be, is ignorant of his own self,
and of the Supreme Brahman, Paramätmä and the Personality of
Godhead, due to a vacant heart. Therefore there is no hope of perfection
of life for him.
Bg 3.33
sadåçaà ceñöate
svasyäù
prakåter jïänavän
api
prakåtià yänti
bhütäni
nigrahaù kià kariñyati
SYNONYMS
sadåçam—accordingly;
ceñöate—tries; svasyäù—by his own; prakåteù—modes
of nature; jïäna-vän—learned; api—although; prakåtim—nature;
yänti—undergo; bhütäni—all living entities; nigrahaù—repression;
kim—what; kariñyati—can do.
TRANSLATION
Even a man of knowledge acts according
to his own nature, for everyone follows the nature he has acquired from
the three modes. What can repression accomplish?
PURPORT
Unless one is situated on the transcendental
platform of Kåñëa consciousness, he cannot get free from
the influence of the modes of material nature, as it is confirmed by the
Lord in the Seventh Chapter (7.14). Therefore, even for the most highly
educated person on the mundane plane, it is impossible to get out of the
entanglement of mäyä simply by theoretical knowledge, or by separating
the soul from the body. There are many so-called spiritualists who outwardly
pose as advanced in the science but inwardly or privately are completely
under particular modes of nature which they are unable to surpass. Academically,
one may be very learned, but because of his long association with material
nature, he is in bondage. Kåñëa consciousness helps one
to get out of the material entanglement, even though one may be engaged
in his prescribed duties in terms of material existence. Therefore, without
being fully in Kåñëa consciousness, one should not give
up his occupational duties. No one should suddenly give up his prescribed
duties and become a so-called yogé or transcendentalist artificially.
It is better to be situated in one’s position and to try to attain Kåñëa
consciousness under superior training. Thus one may be freed from the clutches
of Kåñëa’s mäyä.
Bg 3.34
indriyasyendriyasyärthe
räga-dveñau vyavasthitau
tayor na vaçam ägacchet
tau hy asya paripanthinau
SYNONYMS
indriyasya—of the senses; indriyasya
arthe—in the sense objects; räga—attachment; dveñau—also detachment;
vyavasthitau—put under regulations; tayoù—of them; na—never; vaçam—control;
ägacchet—one should come; tau—those; hi—certainly; asya—his; paripanthinau—stumbling
blocks.
TRANSLATION
There are principles to regulate
attachment and aversion pertaining to the senses and their objects. One
should not come under the control of such attachment and aversion, because
they are stumbling blocks on the path of self-realization.
PURPORT
Those who are in Kåñëa
consciousness are naturally reluctant to engage in material sense gratification.
But those who are not in such consciousness should follow the rules and
regulations of the revealed scriptures. Unrestricted sense enjoyment is
the cause of material encagement, but one who follows the rules and regulations
of the revealed scriptures does not become entangled by the sense objects.
For example, sex enjoyment is a necessity for the conditioned soul, and
sex enjoyment is allowed under the license of marriage ties. According
to scriptural injunctions, one is forbidden to engage in sex relationships
with any women other than one’s wife. All other women are to be considered
as one’s mother. But in spite of such injunctions, a man is still inclined
to have sex relationships with other women. These propensities are to be
curbed; otherwise they will be stumbling blocks on the path of self-realization.
As long as the material body is there, the necessities of the material
body are allowed, but under rules and regulations. And yet, we should not
rely upon the control of such allowances. One has to follow those rules
and regulations, unattached to them, because practice of sense gratification
under regulations may also lead one to go astray—as much as there is always
the chance of an accident, even on the royal roads. Although they may be
very carefully maintained, no one can guarantee that there will be no danger
even on the safest road. The sense enjoyment spirit has been current a
very long, long time, owing to material association. Therefore, in spite
of regulated sense enjoyment, there is every chance of falling down; therefore
any attachment for regulated sense enjoyment must also be avoided by all
means. But attachment to Kåñëa consciousness, or acting
always in the loving service of Kåñëa, detaches one from
all kinds of sensory activities. Therefore, no one should try to be detached
from Kåñëa consciousness at any stage of life. The whole
purpose of detachment from all kinds of sense attachment is ultimately
to become situated on the platform of Kåñëa consciousness.
Bg 3.35
çreyän sva-dharmo viguëaù
para-dharmät sv-anuñöhität
sva-dharme nidhanaà çreyaù
para-dharmo bhayävahaù
SYNONYMS
çreyän—far better; sva-dharmaù—one’s
prescribed duties; viguëaù—even faulty; para-dharmät—than
duties mentioned for others; su-anuñöhität—perfectly done;
sva-dharme—in one’s prescribed duties; nidhanam—destruction; çreyaù—better;
para-dharmaù—duties prescribed for others; bhaya-ävahaù—dangerous.
TRANSLATION
It is far better to discharge one’s
prescribed duties, even though faultily, than another’s duties perfectly.
Destruction in the course of performing one’s own duty is better than engaging
in another’s duties, for to follow another’s path is dangerous.
PURPORT
One should therefore discharge his
prescribed duties in full Kåñëa consciousness rather
than those prescribed for others. Materially, prescribed duties are duties
enjoined according to one’s psychophysical condition, under the spell of
the modes of material nature. Spiritual duties are as ordered by the spiritual
master for the transcendental service of Kåñëa. But whether
material or spiritual, one should stick to his prescribed duties even up
to death, rather than imitate another’s prescribed duties. Duties on the
spiritual platform and duties on the material platform may be different,
but the principle of following the authorized direction is always good
for the performer. When one is under the spell of the modes of material
nature, one should follow the prescribed rules for his particular situation
and should not imitate others. For example, a brähmaëa, who is
in the mode of goodness, is nonviolent, whereas a kñatriya, who
is in the mode of passion, is allowed to be violent. As such, for a kñatriya
it is better to be vanquished following the rules of violence than to imitate
a brähmaëa who follows the principles of nonviolence. Everyone
has to cleanse his heart by a gradual process, not abruptly. However, when
one transcends the modes of material nature and is fully situated in Kåñëa
consciousness, he can perform anything and everything under the direction
of a bona fide spiritual master. In that complete stage of Kåñëa
consciousness, the kñatriya may act as a brähmaëa, or
a brähmaëa may act as a kñatriya. In the transcendental
stage, the distinctions of the material world do not apply. For example,
Viçvämitra was originally a kñatriya, but later on he
acted as a brähmaëa, whereas Paraçuräma was a brähmaëa
but later on he acted as a kñatriya. Being transcendentally situated,
they could do so; but as long as one is on the material platform, he must
perform his duties according to the modes of material nature. At the same
time, he must have a full sense of Kåñëa consciousness.
Bg 3.36
arjuna uväca
atha kena prayukto ’yaà
päpaà carati püruñaù
anicchann api värñëeya
baläd iva niyojitaù
SYNONYMS
arjunaù uväca—Arjuna
said; atha—then; kena—by what; prayuktaù—impelled; ayam—one; päpam—sins;
carati—does; püruñaù—a man; anicchan—without desiring;
api—although; värñëeya—O descendant of Våñëi;
balät—by force; iva—as if; niyojitaù—engaged.
TRANSLATION
Arjuna said: O descendant of Våñëi,
by what is one impelled to sinful acts, even unwillingly, as if engaged
by force?
PURPORT
A living entity, as part and parcel
of the Supreme, is originally spiritual, pure, and free from all material
contaminations. Therefore, by nature he is not subject to the sins of the
material world. But when he is in contact with the material nature, he
acts in many sinful ways without hesitation, and sometimes even against
his will. As such, Arjuna’s question to Kåñëa is very
sanguine, as to the perverted nature of the living entities. Although the
living entity sometimes does not want to act in sin, he is still forced
to act. Sinful actions are not, however, impelled by the Supersoul within,
but are due to another cause, as the Lord explains in the next verse.
Bg 3.37
çré-bhagavän uväca
käma eña krodha eña
rajo-guëa-samudbhavaù
mahäçano mahä-päpmä
viddhy enam iha vairiëam
SYNONYMS
çri-bhagavän uväca—the
Personality of Godhead said; kämaù—lust; eñaù—this;
krodhaù—wrath; eñaù—this; rajaù-guëa—the
mode of passion; samudbhavaù—born of; mahä-açanaù—all-devouring;
mahä-päpmä—greatly sinful; viddhi—know; enam—this; iha—in
the material world; vairiëam—greatest enemy.
TRANSLATION
The Supreme Personality of Godhead
said: It is lust only, Arjuna, which is born of contact with the material
mode of passion and later transformed into wrath, and which is the all-devouring
sinful enemy of this world.
PURPORT
When a living entity comes in contact
with the material creation, his eternal love for Kåñëa
is transformed into lust, in association with the mode of passion. Or,
in other words, the sense of love of God becomes transformed into lust,
as milk in contact with sour tamarind is transformed into yogurt. Then
again, when lust is unsatisfied, it turns into wrath; wrath is transformed
into illusion, and illusion continues the material existence. Therefore,
lust is the greatest enemy of the living entity, and it is lust only which
induces the pure living entity to remain entangled in the material world.
Wrath is the manifestation of the mode of ignorance; these modes exhibit
themselves as wrath and other corollaries. If, therefore, the mode of passion,
instead of being degraded into the mode of ignorance, is elevated to the
mode of goodness by the prescribed method of living and acting, then one
can be saved from the degradation of wrath by spiritual attachment.
The Supreme Personality of Godhead
expanded Himself into many for His ever-increasing spiritual bliss, and
the living entities are parts and parcels of this spiritual bliss. They
also have partial independence, but by misuse of their independence, when
the service attitude is transformed into the propensity for sense enjoyment,
they come under the sway of lust. This material creation is created by
the Lord to give facility to the conditioned souls to fulfill these lustful
propensities, and when completely baffled by prolonged lustful activities,
the living entities begin to inquire about their real position.
This inquiry is the beginning of
the Vedänta-sütras, wherein it is said, athäto brahma jijïäsä:
one should inquire into the Supreme. And the Supreme is defined in Çrémad-Bhägavatam
as janmädy asya yato ’nvayäd itarataç ca, or, “The origin
of everything is the Supreme Brahman.” Therefore the origin of lust is
also in the Supreme. If, therefore, lust is transformed into love for the
Supreme, or transformed into Kåñëa consciousness—or,
in other words, desiring everything for Kåñëa—then both
lust and wrath can be spiritualized. Hanumän, the great servitor of
Lord Räma, exhibited his wrath by burning the golden city of Rävaëa,
but by doing so he became the greatest devotee of the Lord. Here also,
in Bhagavad-gétä, the Lord induces Arjuna to engage his wrath
upon his enemies for the satisfaction of the Lord. Therefore, lust and
wrath, when they are employed in Kåñëa consciousness,
become our friends instead of our enemies.
Bg 3.38
dhümenävriyate vahnir
yathädarço malena ca
yatholbenävåto garbhas
tathä tenedam ävåtam
SYNONYMS
dhümena—by smoke; ävriyate—is
covered; vahniù—fire; yathä—just as; ädarçaù—mirror;
malena—by dust; ca—also; yathä—just as; ulbena—by the womb; ävåtaù—is
covered; garbhaù—embryo; tathä—so; tena—by that lust; idam—this;
ävåtam—is covered.
TRANSLATION
As fire is covered by smoke, as
a mirror is covered by dust, or as the embryo is covered by the womb, the
living entity is similarly covered by different degrees of this lust.
PURPORT
There are three degrees of covering
of the living entity by which his pure consciousness is obscured. This
covering is but lust under different manifestations like smoke in the fire,
dust on the mirror, and the womb about the embryo. When lust is compared
to smoke, it is understood that the fire of the living spark can be a little
perceived. In other words, when the living entity exhibits his Kåñëa
consciousness slightly, he may be likened to the fire covered by smoke.
Although fire is necessary where there is smoke, there is no overt manifestation
of fire in the early stage. This stage is like the beginning of Kåñëa
consciousness. The dust on the mirror refers to a cleansing process of
the mirror of the mind by so many spiritual methods. The best process is
to chant the holy names of the Lord. The embryo covered by the womb is
an analogy illustrating a helpless position, for the child in the womb
is so helpless that he cannot even move. This stage of living condition
can be compared to that of the trees. The trees are also living entities,
but they have been put in such a condition of life by such a great exhibition
of lust that they are almost void of all consciousness. The covered mirror
is compared to the birds and beasts, and the smoke-covered fire is compared
to the human being. In the form of a human being, the living entity may
revive a little Kåñëa consciousness, and, if he makes
further development, the fire of spiritual life can be kindled in the human
form of life. By careful handling of the smoke in the fire, fire can be
made to blaze. Therefore the human form of life is a chance for the living
entity to escape the entanglement of material existence. In the human form
of life, one can conquer the enemy, lust, by cultivation of Kåñëa
consciousness under able guidance.
Bg 3.39
ävåtaà jïänam
etena
jïänino nitya-vairiëä
käma-rüpeëa kaunteya
duñpüreëänalena
ca
SYNONYMS
ävåtam—covered; jïänam—pure
consciousness; etena—by this; jïäninaù—of the knower;
nitya-vairiëä—by the eternal enemy; käma-rüpeëa—in
the form of lust; kaunteya—O son of Kunté; duñpüreëa—never
to be satisfied; analena—by the fire; ca—also.
TRANSLATION
Thus the wise living entity’s pure
consciousness becomes covered by his eternal enemy in the form of lust,
which is never satisfied and which burns like fire.
PURPORT
It is said in the Manu-småti
that lust cannot be satisfied by any amount of sense enjoyment, just as
fire is never extinguished by a constant supply of fuel. In the material
world, the center of all activities is sex, and thus this material world
is called maithunya-ägära, or the shackles of sex life. In the
ordinary prison house, criminals are kept within bars; similarly, the criminals
who are disobedient to the laws of the Lord are shackled by sex life. Advancement
of material civilization on the basis of sense gratification means increasing
the duration of the material existence of a living entity. Therefore, this
lust is the symbol of ignorance by which the living entity is kept within
the material world. While one enjoys sense gratification, it may be that
there is some feeling of happiness, but actually that so-called feeling
of happiness is the ultimate enemy of the sense enjoyer.
Bg 3.40
indriyäëi mano buddhir
asyädhiñöhänam
ucyate
etair vimohayaty eña
jïänam ävåtya
dehinam
SYNONYMS
indriyäëi—the senses;
manaù—the mind; buddhiù—the intelligence; asya—of this lust;
adhiñöhänam—sitting place; ucyate—is called; etaiù—by
all these; vimohayati—bewilders; eñaù—this lust; jïänam—knowledge;
ävåtya—covering; dehinam—of the embodied.
TRANSLATION
The senses, the mind and the intelligence
are the sitting places of this lust. Through them lust covers the real
knowledge of the living entity and bewilders him.
PURPORT
The enemy has captured different
strategic positions in the body of the conditioned soul, and therefore
Lord Kåñëa is giving hints of those places, so that one
who wants to conquer the enemy may know where he can be found. Mind is
the center of all the activities of the senses, and thus when we hear about
sense objects the mind generally becomes a reservoir of all ideas of sense
gratification; and, as a result, the mind and the senses become the repositories
of lust. Next, the intelligence department becomes the capital of such
lustful propensities. Intelligence is the immediate next-door neighbor
of the spirit soul. Lusty intelligence influences the spirit soul to acquire
the false ego and identify itself with matter, and thus with the mind and
senses. The spirit soul becomes addicted to enjoying the material senses
and mistakes this as true happiness. This false identification of the spirit
soul is very nicely explained in the Çrémad-Bhägavatam
(10.84.13):
yasyätma-buddhiù kuëape
tri-dhätuke
sva-dhéù kalaträdiñu
bhauma ijya-dhéù
yat-tértha-buddhiù
salile na karhicij
janeñv abhijïeñu
sa eva go-kharaù
“A human being who identifies this body made of three elements with his self, who considers the by-products of the body to be his kinsmen, who considers the land of birth worshipable, and who goes to the place of pilgrimage simply to take a bath rather than meet men of transcendental knowledge there, is to be considered like an ass or a cow.
Bg 3.41
tasmät tvam indriyäëy
ädau
niyamya bharatarñabha
päpmänaà prajahi
hy enaà
jïäna-vijïäna-näçanam
SYNONYMS
tasmät—therefore; tvam—you;
indriyäëi—senses; ädau—in the beginning; niyamya—by regulating;
bharata-åñabha—O chief amongst the descendants of Bharata;
päpmänam—the great symbol of sin; prajahi—curb; hi—certainly;
enam—this; jïäna—of knowledge; vijïäna—and scientific
knowledge of the pure soul; näçanam—the destroyer.
TRANSLATION
Therefore, O Arjuna, best of the
Bhäratas, in the very beginning curb this great symbol of sin [lust]
by regulating the senses, and slay this destroyer of knowledge and self-realization.
PURPORT
The Lord advised Arjuna to regulate
the senses from the very beginning so that he could curb the greatest sinful
enemy, lust, which destroys the urge for self-realization and specific
knowledge of the self. Jïäna refers to knowledge of self as distinguished
from non-self, or in other words, knowledge that the spirit soul is not
the body. Vijïäna refers to specific knowledge of the spirit
soul’s constitutional position and his relationship to the Supreme Soul.
It is explained thus in the Çrémad-Bhägavatam (2.9.31):
jïänaà parama-guhyaà
me
yad vijïäna-samanvitam
sa-rahasyaà tad-aìgaà
ca
gåhäëa gaditaà
mayä
“The knowledge of the self and Supreme
Self is very confidential and mysterious, but such knowledge and specific
realization can be understood if explained with their various aspects by
the Lord Himself.” Bhagavad-gétä gives us that general and
specific knowledge of the self. The living entities are parts and parcels
of the Lord, and therefore they are simply meant to serve the Lord. This
consciousness is called Kåñëa consciousness. So, from
the very beginning of life one has to learn this Kåñëa
consciousness, and thereby one may become fully Kåñëa
conscious and act accordingly.
Lust is only the perverted reflection
of the love of God which is natural for every living entity. But if one
is educated in Kåñëa consciousness from the very beginning,
that natural love of God cannot deteriorate into lust. When love of God
deteriorates into lust, it is very difficult to return to the normal condition.
Nonetheless, Kåñëa consciousness is so powerful that
even a late beginner can become a lover of God by following the regulative
principles of devotional service. So, from any stage of life, or from the
time of understanding its urgency, one can begin regulating the senses
in Kåñëa consciousness, devotional service of the Lord,
and turn the lust into love of Godhead—the highest perfectional stage of
human life.
Bg 3.42
indriyäëi paräëy
ähur
indriyebhyaù paraà
manaù
manasas tu parä buddhir
yo buddheù paratas tu saù
SYNONYMS
indriyäëi—senses; paräëi—superior;
ähuù—are said; indriyebhyaù—more than the senses; param—superior;
manaù—the mind; manasaù—more than the mind; tu—also; parä—superior;
buddhiù—intelligence; yaù—who; buddheù—more than the
intelligence; parataù—superior; tu—but; saù—he.
TRANSLATION
The working senses are superior
to dull matter; mind is higher than the senses; intelligence is still higher
than the mind; and he [the soul] is even higher than the intelligence.
PURPORT
The senses are different outlets
for the activities of lust. Lust is reserved within the body, but it is
given vent through the senses. Therefore, the senses are superior to the
body as a whole. These outlets are not in use when there is superior consciousness,
or Kåñëa consciousness. In Kåñëa consciousness
the soul makes direct connection with the Supreme Personality of Godhead;
therefore the hierarchy of bodily functions, as described here, ultimately
ends in the Supreme Soul. Bodily action means the functions of the senses,
and stopping the senses means stopping all bodily actions. But since the
mind is active, then even though the body may be silent and at rest, the
mind will act—as it does during dreaming. But above the mind is the determination
of the intelligence, and above the intelligence is the soul proper. If,
therefore, the soul is directly engaged with the Supreme, naturally all
other subordinates, namely, the intelligence, mind and senses, will be
automatically engaged. In the Kaöha Upaniñad there is a similar
passage, in which it is said that the objects of sense gratification are
superior to the senses, and mind is superior to the sense objects. If,
therefore, the mind is directly engaged in the service of the Lord constantly,
then there is no chance that the senses will become engaged in other ways.
This mental attitude has already been explained. paraà dåñövä
nivartate. If the mind is engaged in the transcendental service of the
Lord, there is no chance of its being engaged in the lower propensities.
In the Kaöha Upaniñad the soul has been described as mahän,
the great. Therefore the soul is above all—namely, the sense objects, the
senses, the mind and the intelligence. Therefore, directly understanding
the constitutional position of the soul is the solution of the whole problem.
With intelligence one has to seek
out the constitutional position of the soul and then engage the mind always
in Kåñëa consciousness. That solves the whole problem.
A neophyte spiritualist is generally advised to keep aloof from the objects
of the senses. But aside from that, one has to strengthen the mind by use
of intelligence. If by intelligence one engages one’s mind in Kåñëa
consciousness, by complete surrender unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead,
then, automatically, the mind becomes stronger, and even though the senses
are very strong, like serpents, they will be no more effective than serpents
with broken fangs. But even though the soul is the master of intelligence
and mind, and the senses also, still, unless it is strengthened by association
with Kåñëa in Kåñëa consciousness,
there is every chance of falling down due to the agitated mind.
Bg 3.43
evaà buddheù paraà
buddhvä
saàstabhyätmänam
ätmanä
jahi çatruà mahä-bäho
käma-rüpaà duräsadam
SYNONYMS
evam—thus; buddheù—to intelligence;
param—superior; buddhvä—knowing; saàstabhya—by steadying; ätmänam—the
mind; ätmanä—by deliberate intelligence; jahi—conquer; çatrum—the
enemy; mahä-bäho—O mighty-armed one; käma-rüpam—in
the form of lust; duräsadam—formidable.
TRANSLATION
Thus knowing oneself to be transcendental
to the material senses, mind and intelligence, O mighty-armed Arjuna, one
should steady the mind by deliberate spiritual intelligence [Kåñëa
consciousness] and thus—by spiritual strength—conquer this insatiable enemy
known as lust.
PURPORT
This Third Chapter of the Bhagavad-gétä
is conclusively directive to Kåñëa consciousness by knowing
oneself as the eternal servitor of the Supreme Personality of Godhead,
without considering impersonal voidness the ultimate end. In the material
existence of life, one is certainly influenced by propensities for lust
and desire for dominating the resources of material nature. Desire for
overlording and for sense gratification is the greatest enemy of the conditioned
soul; but by the strength of Kåñëa consciousness, one
can control the material senses, the mind and the intelligence. One may
not give up work and prescribed duties all of a sudden; but by gradually
developing Kåñëa consciousness, one can be situated in
a transcendental position without being influenced by the material senses
and the mind—by steady intelligence directed toward one’s pure identity.
This is the sum total of this chapter. In the immature stage of material
existence, philosophical speculations and artificial attempts to control
the senses by the so-called practice of yogic postures can never help a
man toward spiritual life. He must be trained in Kåñëa
consciousness by higher intelligence.
Thus end the Bhaktivedanta Purports to the Third Chapter of the Çrémad Bhagavad-gétä in the matter of Karma-yoga, or the Discharge of One’s Prescribed Duty in Kåñëa Consciousness.
Bhagavad Gita - CHAPTER 5 -
Karma-yoga—Action
in Kåñëa Consciousness
Bg 5.1
arjuna uväca
sannyäsaà karmaëäà
kåñëa
punar yogaà ca çaàsasi
yac chreya etayor ekaà
tan me brühi su-niçcitam
SYNONYMS
arjunaù uväca—Arjuna
said; sannyäsam—renunciation; karmaëäm—of all activities;
kåñëa—O Kåñëa; punaù—again;
yogam—devotional service; ca—also; çaàsasi—You are praising;
yat—which; çreyaù—is more beneficial; etayoù—of these
two; ekam—one; tat—that; me—unto me; brühi—please tell; su-niçcitam—definitely.
TRANSLATION
Arjuna said: O Kåñëa,
first of all You ask me to renounce work, and then again You recommend
work with devotion. Now will You kindly tell me definitely which of the
two is more beneficial?
PURPORT
In this Fifth Chapter of the Bhagavad-gétä,
the Lord says that work in devotional service is better than dry mental
speculation. Devotional service is easier than the latter because, being
transcendental in nature, it frees one from reaction. In the Second Chapter,
preliminary knowledge of the soul and its entanglement in the material
body were explained. How to get out of this material encagement by buddhi-yoga,
or devotional service, was also explained therein. In the Third Chapter,
it was explained that a person who is situated on the platform of knowledge
no longer has any duties to perform. And in the Fourth Chapter the Lord
told Arjuna that all kinds of sacrificial work culminate in knowledge.
However, at the end of the Fourth Chapter, the Lord advised Arjuna to wake
up and fight, being situated in perfect knowledge. Therefore, by simultaneously
stressing the importance of both work in devotion and inaction in knowledge,
Kåñëa has perplexed Arjuna and confused his determination.
Arjuna understands that renunciation in knowledge involves cessation of
all kinds of work performed as sense activities. But if one performs work
in devotional service, then how is work stopped? In other words, he thinks
that sannyäsa, or renunciation in knowledge, should be altogether
free from all kinds of activity, because work and renunciation appear to
him to be incompatible. He appears not to have understood that work in
full knowledge is nonreactive and is therefore the same as inaction. He
inquires, therefore, whether he should cease work altogether or work with
full knowledge.
Bg 5.2
çré-bhagavän uväca
sannyäsaù karma-yogaç
ca
niùçreyasa-karäv
ubhau
tayos tu karma-sannyäsät
karma-yogo viçiñyate
SYNONYMS
çré-bhagavän
uväca—the Personality of Godhead said; sannyäsaù—renunciation
of work; karma-yogaù—work in devotion; ca—also; niùçreyasa-karau—leading
to the path of liberation; ubhau—both; tayoù—of the two; tu—but;
karma-sannyäsät—in comparison to the renunciation of fruitive
work; karma-yogaù—work in devotion; viçiñyate—is better.
TRANSLATION
The Personality of Godhead replied:
The renunciation of work and work in devotion are both good for liberation.
But, of the two, work in devotional service is better than renunciation
of work.
PURPORT
Fruitive activities (seeking sense
gratification) are cause for material bondage. As long as one is engaged
in activities aimed at improving the standard of bodily comfort, one is
sure to transmigrate to different types of bodies, thereby continuing material
bondage perpetually. Çrémad-Bhägavatam (5.5.4–6) confirms
this as follows:
nünaà pramattaù
kurute vikarma
yad indriya-prétaya äpåëoti
na sädhu manye yata ätmano
’yam
asann api kleça-da äsa
dehaù
paräbhavas tävad abodha-jäto
yävan na jijïäsata
ätma-tattvam
yävat kriyäs tävad
idaà mano vai
karmätmakaà yena çaréra-bandhaù
evaà manaù karma-vaçaà
prayuìkte
avidyayätmany upadhéyamäne
prétir na yävan mayi
väsudeve
na mucyate deha-yogena tävat
“People are mad after sense gratification,
and they do not know that this present body, which is full of miseries,
is a result of one’s fruitive activities in the past. Although this body
is temporary, it is always giving one trouble in many ways. Therefore,
to act for sense gratification is not good. One is considered to be a failure
in life as long as he makes no inquiry about his real identity. As long
as he does not know his real identity, he has to work for fruitive results
for sense gratification, and as long as one is engrossed in the consciousness
of sense gratification one has to transmigrate from one body to another.
Although the mind may be engrossed in fruitive activities and influenced
by ignorance, one must develop a love for devotional service to Väsudeva.
Only then can one have the opportunity to get out of the bondage of material
existence.”
Therefore, jïäna (or knowledge
that one is not this material body but spirit soul) is not sufficient for
liberation. One has to act in the status of spirit soul, otherwise there
is no escape from material bondage. Action in Kåñëa consciousness
is not, however, action on the fruitive platform. Activities performed
in full knowledge strengthen one’s advancement in real knowledge. Without
Kåñëa consciousness, mere renunciation of fruitive activities
does not actually purify the heart of a conditioned soul. As long as the
heart is not purified, one has to work on the fruitive platform. But action
in Kåñëa consciousness automatically helps one escape
the result of fruitive action so that one need not descend to the material
platform. Therefore action in Kåñëa consciousness is
always superior to renunciation, which always entails a risk of falling.
Renunciation without Kåñëa consciousness is incomplete,
as is confirmed by Çréla Rüpa Gosvämé in
his Bhakti-rasämåta-sindhu (1.2.258):
präpaïcikatayä buddhyä
hari-sambandhi-vastunaù
mumukñubhiù parityägo
vairägyaà phalgu kathyate
“When persons eager to achieve liberation renounce things related to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, thinking them to be material, their renunciation is called incomplete.” Renunciation is complete when it is in the knowledge that everything in existence belongs to the Lord and that no one should claim proprietorship over anything. One should understand that, factually, nothing belongs to anyone. Then where is the question of renunciation? One who knows that everything is Kåñëa’s property is always situated in renunciation. Since everything belongs to Kåñëa, everything should be employed in the service of Kåñëa. This perfect form of action in Kåñëa consciousness is far better than any amount of artificial renunciation by a sannyäsé of the Mäyävädé school.
Bg 5.3
jïeyaù sa nitya-sannyäsé
yo na dveñöi na käìkñati
nirdvandvo hi mahä-bäho
sukhaà bandhät pramucyate
SYNONYMS
jïeyaù—should be known;
saù—he; nitya—always; sannyäsé—renouncer; yaù—who;
na—never; dveñöi—abhors; na—nor; käìkñati—desires;
nirdvandvaù—free from all dualities; hi—certainly; mahä-bäho—O
mighty-armed one; sukham—happily; bandhät—from bondage; pramucyate—is
completely liberated.
TRANSLATION
One who neither hates nor desires
the fruits of his activities is known to be always renounced. Such a person,
free from all dualities, easily overcomes material bondage and is completely
liberated, O mighty-armed Arjuna.
PURPORT
One who is fully in Kåñëa
consciousness is always a renouncer because he feels neither hatred nor
desire for the results of his actions. Such a renouncer, dedicated to the
transcendental loving service of the Lord, is fully qualified in knowledge
because he knows his constitutional position in his relationship with Kåñëa.
He knows fully well that Kåñëa is the whole and that
he is part and parcel of Kåñëa. Such knowledge is perfect
because it is qualitatively and quantitatively correct. The concept of
oneness with Kåñëa is incorrect because the part cannot
be equal to the whole. Knowledge that one is one in quality yet different
in quantity is correct transcendental knowledge leading one to become full
in himself, having nothing to aspire to or lament over. There is no duality
in his mind because whatever he does, he does for Kåñëa.
Being thus freed from the platform of dualities, he is liberated—even in
this material world.
Bg 5.4
säìkhya-yogau påthag
bäläù
pravadanti na paëòitäù
ekam apy ästhitaù samyag
ubhayor vindate phalam
SYNONYMS
säìkhya—analytical study
of the material world; yogau—work in devotional service; påthak—different;
bäläù—the less intelligent; pravadanti—say; na—never;
paëòitäù—the learned; ekam—in one; api—even; ästhitaù—being
situated; samyak—complete; ubhayoù—of both; vindate—enjoys; phalam—the
result.
TRANSLATION
Only the ignorant speak of devotional
service [karma-yoga] as being different from the analytical study of the
material world [Säìkhya]. Those who are actually learned say
that he who applies himself well to one of these paths achieves the results
of both.
PURPORT
The aim of the analytical study
of the material world is to find the soul of existence. The soul of the
material world is Viñëu, or the Supersoul. Devotional service
to the Lord entails service to the Supersoul. One process is to find the
root of the tree, and the other is to water the root. The real student
of Säìkhya philosophy finds the root of the material world,
Viñëu, and then, in perfect knowledge, engages himself in the
service of the Lord. Therefore, in essence, there is no difference between
the two because the aim of both is Viñëu. Those who do not
know the ultimate end say that the purposes of Säìkhya and
karma-yoga are not the same, but one who is learned knows the unifying
aim in these different processes.
Bg 5.5
yat säìkhyaiù
präpyate sthänaà
tad yogair api gamyate
ekaà säìkhyaà
ca yogaà ca
yaù paçyati sa paçyati
SYNONYMS
yat—what; säìkhyaiù—by
means of Säìkhya philosophy; präpyate—is achieved; sthänam—place;
tat—that; yogaiù—by devotional service; api—also; gamyate—one can
attain; ekam—one; säìkhyam—analytical study; ca—and; yogam—action
in devotion; ca—and; yaù—one who; paçyati—sees; saù—he;
paçyati—actually sees.
TRANSLATION
One who knows that the position
reached by means of analytical study can also be attained by devotional
service, and who therefore sees analytical study and devotional service
to be on the same level, sees things as they are.
PURPORT
The real purpose of philosophical
research is to find the ultimate goal of life. Since the ultimate goal
of life is self-realization, there is no difference between the conclusions
reached by the two processes. By Säìkhya philosophical research
one comes to the conclusion that a living entity is not a part and parcel
of the material world but of the supreme spirit whole. Consequently, the
spirit soul has nothing to do with the material world; his actions must
be in some relation with the Supreme. When he acts in Kåñëa
consciousness, he is actually in his constitutional position. In the first
process, Säìkhya, one has to become detached from matter, and
in the devotional yoga process one has to attach himself to the work of
Kåñëa consciousness. Factually, both processes are the
same, although superficially one process appears to involve detachment
and the other process appears to involve attachment. Detachment from matter
and attachment to Kåñëa are one and the same. One who
can see this sees things as they are.
Bg 5.6
sannyäsas tu mahä-bäho
duùkham äptum ayogataù
yoga-yukto munir brahma
na cireëädhigacchati
SYNONYMS
sannyäsaù—the renounced
order of life; tu—but; mahä-bäho—O mighty-armed one; duùkham—distress;
äptum—afflicts one with; ayogataù—without devotional service;
yoga-yuktaù—one engaged in devotional service; muniù—a thinker;
brahma—the Supreme; na cireëa—without delay; adhigacchati—attains.
TRANSLATION
Merely renouncing all activities
yet not engaging in the devotional service of the Lord cannot make one
happy. But a thoughtful person engaged in devotional service can achieve
the Supreme without delay.
PURPORT
There are two classes of sannyäsés,
or persons in the renounced order of life. The Mäyävädé
sannyäsés are engaged in the study of Säìkhya philosophy,
whereas the Vaiñëava sannyäsés are engaged in the
study of Bhägavatam philosophy, which affords the proper commentary
on the Vedänta-sütras. The Mäyävädé sannyäsés
also study the Vedänta-sütras, but use their own commentary,
called Çäréraka-bhäñya, written by Çaìkaräcärya.
The students of the Bhägavata school are engaged in the devotional
service of the Lord, according to päïcarätriké regulations,
and therefore the Vaiñëava sannyäsés have multiple
engagements in the transcendental service of the Lord. The Vaiñëava
sannyäsés have nothing to do with material activities, and
yet they perform various activities in their devotional service to the
Lord. But the Mäyävädé sannyäsés, engaged
in the studies of Säìkhya and Vedänta and speculation,
cannot relish the transcendental service of the Lord. Because their studies
become very tedious, they sometimes become tired of Brahman speculation,
and thus they take shelter of the Bhägavatam without proper understanding.
Consequently their study of the Çrémad-Bhägavatam becomes
troublesome. Dry speculations and impersonal interpretations by artificial
means are all useless for the Mäyävädé sannyäsés.
The Vaiñëava sannyäsés, who are engaged in devotional
service, are happy in the discharge of their transcendental duties, and
they have the guarantee of ultimate entrance into the kingdom of God. The
Mäyävädé sannyäsés sometimes fall down
from the path of self-realization and again enter into material activities
of a philanthropic and altruistic nature, which are nothing but material
engagements. Therefore, the conclusion is that those who are engaged in
Kåñëa conscious activities are better situated than the
sannyäsés engaged in simple speculation about what is Brahman
and what is not Brahman, although they too come to Kåñëa
consciousness, after many births.
Bg 5.7
yoga-yukto viçuddhätmä
vijitätmä jitendriyaù
sarva-bhütätma-bhütätmä
kurvann api na lipyate
SYNONYMS
yoga-yuktaù—engaged in devotional
service; viçuddha-ätmä—a purified soul; vijita-ätmä—self-controlled;
jita-indriyaù—having conquered the senses; sarva-bhüta—to all
living entities; ätma-bhüta-ätmä—compassionate; kurvan
api—although engaged in work; na—never; lipyate—is entangled.
TRANSLATION
One who works in devotion, who is
a pure soul, and who controls his mind and senses is dear to everyone,
and everyone is dear to him. Though always working, such a man is never
entangled.
PURPORT
One who is on the path of liberation
by Kåñëa consciousness is very dear to every living being,
and every living being is dear to him. This is due to his Kåñëa
consciousness. Such a person cannot think of any living being as separate
from Kåñëa, just as the leaves and branches of a tree
are not separate from the tree. He knows very well that by pouring water
on the root of the tree, the water will be distributed to all the leaves
and branches, or by supplying food to the stomach, the energy is automatically
distributed throughout the body. Because one who works in Kåñëa
consciousness is servant to all, he is very dear to everyone. And because
everyone is satisfied by his work, he is pure in consciousness. Because
he is pure in consciousness, his mind is completely controlled. And because
his mind is controlled, his senses are also controlled. Because his mind
is always fixed on Kåñëa, there is no chance of his being
deviated from Kåñëa. Nor is there a chance that he will
engage his senses in matters other than the service of the Lord. He does
not like to hear anything except topics relating to Kåñëa;
he does not like to eat anything which is not offered to Kåñëa;
and he does not wish to go anywhere if Kåñëa is not involved.
Therefore, his senses are controlled. A man of controlled senses cannot
be offensive to anyone. One may ask, “Why then was Arjuna offensive (in
battle) to others? Wasn’t he in Kåñëa consciousness?”
Arjuna was only superficially offensive because (as has already been explained
in the Second Chapter) all the assembled persons on the battlefield would
continue to live individually, as the soul cannot be slain. So, spiritually,
no one was killed on the Battlefield of Kurukñetra. Only their dresses
were changed by the order of Kåñëa, who was personally
present. Therefore Arjuna, while fighting on the Battlefield of Kurukñetra,
was not really fighting at all; he was simply carrying out the orders of
Kåñëa in full Kåñëa consciousness.
Such a person is never entangled in the reactions of work.
Bg 5.8, Bg 5.9, Bg 5.8-9
naiva kiïcit karométi
yukto manyeta tattva-vit
paçyaï çåëvan
spåçaï jighrann
açnan gacchan svapan çvasan
pralapan visåjan gåhëann
unmiñan nimiñann api
indriyäëéndriyärtheñu
vartanta iti dhärayan
SYNONYMS
na—never; eva—certainly; kiïcit—anything;
karomi—I do; iti—thus; yuktaù—engaged in the divine consciousness;
manyeta—thinks; tattva-vit—one who knows the truth; paçyan—seeing;
çåëvan—hearing; spåçan—touching; jighran—smelling;
açnan—eating; gacchan—going; svapan—dreaming; çvasan—breathing;
pralapan—talking; visåjan—giving up; gåhëan—accepting;
unmiñan—opening; nimiñan—closing; api—in spite of; indriyäëi—the
senses; indriya-artheñu—in sense gratification; vartante—let them
be so engaged; iti—thus; dhärayan—considering.
TRANSLATION
A person in the divine consciousness,
although engaged in seeing, hearing, touching, smelling, eating, moving
about, sleeping and breathing, always knows within himself that he actually
does nothing at all. Because while speaking, evacuating, receiving, or
opening or closing his eyes, he always knows that only the material senses
are engaged with their objects and that he is aloof from them.
PURPORT
A person in Kåñëa
consciousness is pure in his existence, and consequently he has nothing
to do with any work which depends upon five immediate and remote causes:
the doer, the work, the situation, the endeavor and fortune. This is because
he is engaged in the loving transcendental service of Kåñëa.
Although he appears to be acting with his body and senses, he is always
conscious of his actual position, which is spiritual engagement. In material
consciousness, the senses are engaged in sense gratification, but in Kåñëa
consciousness the senses are engaged in the satisfaction of Kåñëa’s
senses. Therefore, the Kåñëa conscious person is always
free, even though he appears to be engaged in affairs of the senses. Activities
such as seeing and hearing are actions of the senses meant for receiving
knowledge, whereas moving, speaking, evacuating, etc., are actions of the
senses meant for work. A Kåñëa conscious person is never
affected by the actions of the senses. He cannot perform any act except
in the service of the Lord because he knows that he is the eternal servitor
of the Lord.
Bg 5.10
brahmaëy ädhäya karmäëi
saìgaà tyaktvä
karoti yaù
lipyate na sa päpena
padma-patram ivämbhasä
SYNONYMS
brahmaëi—unto the Supreme Personality
of Godhead; ädhäya—resigning; karmäëi—all works; saìgam—attachment;
tyaktvä—giving up; karoti—performs; yaù—who; lipyate—is affected;
na—never; saù—he; päpena—by sin; padma-patram—a lotus leaf;
iva—like; ambhasä—by the water.
TRANSLATION
One who performs his duty without
attachment, surrendering the results unto the Supreme Lord, is unaffected
by sinful action, as the lotus leaf is untouched by water.
PURPORT
Here brahmaëi means in Kåñëa
consciousness. The material world is a sum total manifestation of the three
modes of material nature, technically called the pradhäna. The Vedic
hymns sarvaà hy etad brahma (Mäëòükya Upaniñad
2), tasmäd etad brahma näma-rüpam annaà ca jäyate
(Muëòaka Upaniñad 1.2.10), and, in the Bhagavad-gétä
(14.3), mama yonir mahad brahma indicate that everything in the material
world is a manifestation of Brahman; and although the effects are differently
manifested, they are nondifferent from the cause. In the Éçopaniñad
it is said that everything is related to the Supreme Brahman, or Kåñëa,
and thus everything belongs to Him only. One who knows perfectly well that
everything belongs to Kåñëa, that He is the proprietor
of everything and that, therefore, everything is engaged in the service
of the Lord, naturally has nothing to do with the results of his activities,
whether virtuous or sinful. Even one’s material body, being a gift of the
Lord for carrying out a particular type of action, can be engaged in Kåñëa
consciousness. It is then beyond contamination by sinful reactions, exactly
as the lotus leaf, though remaining in the water, is not wet. The Lord
also says in the Gétä (3.30), mayi sarväëi karmäëi
sannyasya: “Resign all works unto Me [Kåñëa].” The conclusion
is that a person without Kåñëa consciousness acts according
to the concept of the material body and senses, but a person in Kåñëa
consciousness acts according to the knowledge that the body is the property
of Kåñëa and should therefore be engaged in the service
of Kåñëa.
Bg 5.11
käyena manasä buddhyä
kevalair indriyair api
yoginaù karma kurvanti
saìgaà tyaktvätma-çuddhaye
SYNONYMS
käyena—with the body; manasä—with
the mind; buddhyä—with the intelligence; kevalaiù—purified;
indriyaiù—with the senses; api—even; yoginaù—Kåñëa
conscious persons; karma—actions; kurvanti—they perform; saìgam—attachment;
tyaktvä—giving up; ätma—of the self; çuddhaye—for the
purpose of purification.
TRANSLATION
The yogés, abandoning attachment,
act with body, mind, intelligence and even with the senses, only for the
purpose of purification.
PURPORT
When one acts in Kåñëa
consciousness for the satisfaction of the senses of Kåñëa,
any action, whether of the body, mind, intelligence or even the senses,
is purified of material contamination. There are no material reactions
resulting from the activities of a Kåñëa conscious person.
Therefore purified activities, which are generally called sad-äcära,
can be easily performed by acting in Kåñëa consciousness.
Çré Rüpa Gosvämé in his Bhakti-rasämåta-sindhu
(1.2.187) describes this as follows:
éhä yasya harer däsye
karmaëä manasä girä
nikhiläsv apy avasthäsu
jévan-muktaù sa ucyate
“A person acting in Kåñëa consciousness (or, in other words, in the service of Kåñëa) with his body, mind, intelligence and words is a liberated person even within the material world, although he may be engaged in many so-called material activities.” He has no false ego, for he does not believe that he is this material body, or that he possesses the body. He knows that he is not this body and that this body does not belong to him. He himself belongs to Kåñëa, and the body too belongs to Kåñëa. When he applies everything produced of the body, mind, intelligence, words, life, wealth, etc.—whatever he may have within his possession—to Kåñëa’s service, he is at once dovetailed with Kåñëa. He is one with Kåñëa and is devoid of the false ego that leads one to believe that he is the body, etc. This is the perfect stage of Kåñëa consciousness.
Bg 5.12
yuktaù karma-phalaà
tyaktvä
çäntim äpnoti naiñöhikém
ayuktaù käma-käreëa
phale sakto nibadhyate
SYNONYMS
yuktaù—one who is engaged
in devotional service; karma-phalam—the results of all activities; tyaktvä—giving
up; çäntim—perfect peace; äpnoti—achieves; naiñöhikém—unflinching;
ayuktaù—one who is not in Kåñëa consciousness;
käma-käreëa—for enjoying the result of work; phale—in the
result; saktaù—attached; nibadhyate—becomes entangled.
TRANSLATION
The steadily devoted soul attains
unadulterated peace because he offers the result of all activities to Me;
whereas a person who is not in union with the Divine, who is greedy for
the fruits of his labor, becomes entangled.
PURPORT
The difference between a person
in Kåñëa consciousness and a person in bodily consciousness
is that the former is attached to Kåñëa whereas the latter
is attached to the results of his activities. The person who is attached
to Kåñëa and works for Him only is certainly a liberated
person, and he has no anxiety over the results of his work. In the Bhägavatam,
the cause of anxiety over the result of an activity is explained as being
one’s functioning in the conception of duality, that is, without knowledge
of the Absolute Truth. Kåñëa is the Supreme Absolute
Truth, the Personality of Godhead. In Kåñëa consciousness,
there is no duality. All that exists is a product of Kåñëa’s
energy, and Kåñëa is all good. Therefore, activities
in Kåñëa consciousness are on the absolute plane; they
are transcendental and have no material effect. One is therefore filled
with peace in Kåñëa consciousness. But one who is entangled
in profit calculation for sense gratification cannot have that peace. This
is the secret of Kåñëa consciousness—realization that
there is no existence besides Kåñëa is the platform of
peace and fearlessness.
Bg 5.13
sarva-karmäëi manasä
sannyasyäste sukhaà
vaçé
nava-dväre pure dehé
naiva kurvan na kärayan
SYNONYMS
sarva—all; karmäëi—activities;
manasä—by the mind; sannyasya—giving up; äste—remains; sukham—in
happiness; vaçé—one who is controlled; nava-dväre—in
the place where there are nine gates; pure—in the city; dehé—the
embodied soul; na—never; eva—certainly; kurvan—doing anything; na—not;
kärayan—causing to be done.
TRANSLATION
When the embodied living being controls
his nature and mentally renounces all actions, he resides happily in the
city of nine gates [the material body], neither working nor causing work
to be done.
PURPORT
The embodied soul lives in the city
of nine gates. The activities of the body, or the figurative city of body,
are conducted automatically by its particular modes of nature. The soul,
although subjecting himself to the conditions of the body, can be beyond
those conditions, if he so desires. Owing only to forgetfulness of his
superior nature, he identifies with the material body, and therefore suffers.
By Kåñëa consciousness, he can revive his real position
and thus come out of his embodiment. Therefore, when one takes to Kåñëa
consciousness, one at once becomes completely aloof from bodily activities.
In such a controlled life, in which his deliberations are changed, he lives
happily within the city of nine gates. The nine gates are mentioned as
follows:
nava-dväre pure dehé
haàso leläyate bahiù
vaçé sarvasya lokasya
sthävarasya carasya ca
“The Supreme Personality of Godhead,
who is living within the body of a living entity, is the controller of
all living entities all over the universe. The body consists of nine gates
[two eyes, two nostrils, two ears, one mouth, the anus and the genitals].
The living entity in his conditioned stage identifies himself with the
body, but when he identifies himself with the Lord within himself, he becomes
just as free as the Lord, even while in the body.” (Çvetäçvatara
Upaniñad 3.18)
Therefore, a Kåñëa
conscious person is free from both the outer and inner activities of the
material body.
Bg 5.14
na kartåtvaà na karmäëi
lokasya såjati prabhuù
na karma-phala-saàyogaà
svabhävas tu pravartate
SYNONYMS
na—never; kartåtvam—proprietorship;
na—nor; karmäëi—activities; lokasya—of the people; såjati—creates;
prabhuù—the master of the city of the body; na—nor; karma-phala—with
the results of activities; saàyogam—connection; svabhävaù—the
modes of material nature; tu—but; pravartate—act.
TRANSLATION
The embodied spirit, master of the
city of his body, does not create activities, nor does he induce people
to act, nor does he create the fruits of action. All this is enacted by
the modes of material nature.
PURPORT
The living entity, as will be explained
in the Seventh Chapter, is one of the energies or natures of the Supreme
Lord but is distinct from matter, which is another nature—called inferior—of
the Lord. Somehow the superior nature, the living entity, has been in contact
with material nature since time immemorial. The temporary body or material
dwelling place which he obtains is the cause of varieties of activities
and their resultant reactions. Living in such a conditional atmosphere,
one suffers the results of the activities of the body by identifying himself
(in ignorance) with the body. It is ignorance acquired from time immemorial
that is the cause of bodily suffering and distress. As soon as the living
entity becomes aloof from the activities of the body, he becomes free from
the reactions as well. As long as he is in the city of body, he appears
to be the master of it, but actually he is neither its proprietor nor controller
of its actions and reactions. He is simply in the midst of the material
ocean, struggling for existence. The waves of the ocean are tossing him,
and he has no control over them. His best solution is to get out of the
water by transcendental Kåñëa consciousness. That alone
will save him from all turmoil.
Bg 5.15
nädatte kasyacit päpaà
na caiva sukåtaà vibhuù
ajïänenävåtaà
jïänaà
tena muhyanti jantavaù
SYNONYMS
na—never; ädatte—accepts; kasyacit—anyone’s;
päpam—sin; na—nor; ca—also; eva—certainly; su-kåtam—pious activities;
vibhuù—the Supreme Lord; ajïänena—by ignorance; ävåtam—covered;
jïänam—knowledge; tena—by that; muhyanti—are bewildered; jantavaù—the
living entities.
TRANSLATION
Nor does the Supreme Lord assume
anyone’s sinful or pious activities. Embodied beings, however, are bewildered
because of the ignorance which covers their real knowledge.
PURPORT
The Sanskrit word vibhu means the
Supreme Lord who is full of unlimited knowledge, riches, strength, fame,
beauty and renunciation. He is always satisfied in Himself, undisturbed
by sinful or pious activities. He does not create a particular situation
for any living entity, but the living entity, bewildered by ignorance,
desires to be put into certain conditions of life, and thereby his chain
of action and reaction begins. A living entity is, by superior nature,
full of knowledge. Nevertheless, he is prone to be influenced by ignorance
due to his limited power. The Lord is omnipotent, but the living entity
is not. The Lord is vibhu, or omniscient, but the living entity is aëu,
or atomic. Because he is a living soul, he has the capacity to desire by
his free will. Such desire is fulfilled only by the omnipotent Lord. And
so, when the living entity is bewildered in his desires, the Lord allows
him to fulfill those desires, but the Lord is never responsible for the
actions and reactions of the particular situation which may be desired.
Being in a bewildered condition, therefore, the embodied soul identifies
himself with the circumstantial material body and becomes subjected to
the temporary misery and happiness of life. The Lord is the constant companion
of the living entity as Paramätmä, or the Supersoul, and therefore
He can understand the desires of the individual soul, as one can smell
the flavor of a flower by being near it. Desire is a subtle form of conditioning
for the living entity. The Lord fulfills his desire as he deserves: Man
proposes and God disposes. The individual is not, therefore, omnipotent
in fulfilling his desires. The Lord, however, can fulfill all desires,
and the Lord, being neutral to everyone, does not interfere with the desires
of the minute independent living entities. However, when one desires Kåñëa,
the Lord takes special care and encourages one to desire in such a way
that one can attain to Him and be eternally happy. The Vedic hymns therefore
declare, eña u hy eva sädhu karma kärayati taà
yam ebhyo lokebhya unninéñate. eña u eväsädhu
karma kärayati yam adho ninéñate: “The Lord engages
the living entity in pious activities so that he may be elevated. The Lord
engages him in impious activities so that he may go to hell.” (Kauñétaké
Upaniñad 3.8)
ajïo jantur anéço
’yam
ätmanaù sukha-duùkhayoù
éçvara-prerito gacchet
svargaà väçv
abhram eva ca
“The living entity is completely
dependent in his distress and happiness. By the will of the Supreme he
can go to heaven or hell, as a cloud is driven by the air.”
Therefore the embodied soul, by
his immemorial desire to avoid Kåñëa consciousness, causes
his own bewilderment. Consequently, although he is constitutionally eternal,
blissful and cognizant, due to the littleness of his existence he forgets
his constitutional position of service to the Lord and is thus entrapped
by nescience. And, under the spell of ignorance, the living entity claims
that the Lord is responsible for his conditional existence. The Vedänta-sütras
(2.1.34) also confirm this. Vaiñamya-nairghåëye na säpekñatvät
tathä hi darçayati: “The Lord neither hates nor likes anyone,
though He appears to.”
Bg 5.16
jïänena tu tad ajïänaà
yeñäà näçitam
ätmanaù
teñäm äditya-vaj
jïänaà
prakäçayati tat param
SYNONYMS
jïänena—by knowledge;
tu—but; tat—that; ajïänam—nescience; yeñäm—whose;
näçitam—is destroyed; ätmanaù—of the living entity;
teñäm—their; äditya-vat—like the rising sun; jïänam—knowledge;
prakäçayati—discloses; tat param—Kåñëa consciousness.
TRANSLATION
When, however, one is enlightened
with the knowledge by which nescience is destroyed, then his knowledge
reveals everything, as the sun lights up everything in the daytime.
PURPORT
Those who have forgotten Kåñëa
must certainly be bewildered, but those who are in Kåñëa
consciousness are not bewildered at all. It is stated in the Bhagavad-gétä,
sarvaà jïäna-plavena, jïänägniù
sarva-karmäëi and na hi jïänena sadåçam.
Knowledge is always highly esteemed. And what is that knowledge? Perfect
knowledge is achieved when one surrenders unto Kåñëa,
as is said in the Seventh Chapter, 19th verse: bahünäà
janmanäm ante jïänavän mäà prapadyate.
After passing through many, many births, when one perfect in knowledge
surrenders unto Kåñëa, or when one attains Kåñëa
consciousness, then everything is revealed to him, as everything is revealed
by the sun in the daytime. The living entity is bewildered in so many ways.
For instance, when he unceremoniously thinks himself God, he actually falls
into the last snare of nescience. If a living entity is God, then how can
he become bewildered by nescience? Does God become bewildered by nescience?
If so, then nescience, or Satan, is greater than God. Real knowledge can
be obtained from a person who is in perfect Kåñëa consciousness.
Therefore, one has to seek out such a bona fide spiritual master and, under
him, learn what Kåñëa consciousness is, for Kåñëa
consciousness will certainly drive away all nescience, as the sun drives
away darkness. Even though a person may be in full knowledge that he is
not this body but is transcendental to the body, he still may not be able
to discriminate between the soul and the Supersoul. However, he can know
everything well if he cares to take shelter of the perfect, bona fide Kåñëa
conscious spiritual master. One can know God and one’s relationship with
God only when one actually meets a representative of God. A representative
of God never claims that he is God, although he is paid all the respect
ordinarily paid to God because he has knowledge of God. One has to learn
the distinction between God and the living entity. Lord Çré
Kåñëa therefore stated in the Second Chapter (2.12) that
every living being is individual and that the Lord also is individual.
They were all individuals in the past, they are individuals at present,
and they will continue to be individuals in the future, even after liberation.
At night we see everything as one in the darkness, but in day, when the
sun is up, we see everything in its real identity. Identity with individuality
in spiritual life is real knowledge.
Bg 5.17
tad-buddhayas tad-ätmänas
tan-niñöhäs tat-paräyaëäù
gacchanty apunar-ävåttià
jïäna-nirdhüta-kalmañäù
SYNONYMS
tat-buddhayaù—those whose
intelligence is always in the Supreme; tat-ätmänaù—those
whose minds are always in the Supreme; tat-niñöhäù—those
whose faith is only meant for the Supreme; tat-paräyaëäù—who
have completely taken shelter of Him; gacchanti—go; apunaù-ävåttim—to
liberation; jïäna—by knowledge; nirdhüta—cleansed; kalmañäù—misgivings.
TRANSLATION
When one’s intelligence, mind, faith
and refuge are all fixed in the Supreme, then one becomes fully cleansed
of misgivings through complete knowledge and thus proceeds straight on
the path of liberation.
PURPORT
The Supreme Transcendental Truth
is Lord Kåñëa. The whole Bhagavad-gétä centers
around the declaration that Kåñëa is the Supreme Personality
of Godhead. That is the version of all Vedic literature. Para-tattva means
the Supreme Reality, who is understood by the knowers of the Supreme as
Brahman, Paramätmä and Bhagavän. Bhagavän, or the Supreme
Personality of Godhead, is the last word in the Absolute. There is nothing
more than that. The Lord says, mattaù parataraà nänyat
kiïcid asti dhanaïjaya. Impersonal Brahman is also supported
by Kåñëa: brahmaëo hi pratiñöhäham.
Therefore in all ways Kåñëa is the Supreme Reality. One
whose mind, intelligence, faith and refuge are always in Kåñëa,
or, in other words, one who is fully in Kåñëa consciousness,
is undoubtedly washed clean of all misgivings and is in perfect knowledge
in everything concerning transcendence. A Kåñëa conscious
person can thoroughly understand that there is duality (simultaneous identity
and individuality) in Kåñëa, and, equipped with such
transcendental knowledge, one can make steady progress on the path of liberation.
Bg 5.18
vidyä-vinaya-sampanne
brähmaëe gavi hastini
çuni caiva çva-päke
ca
paëòitäù
sama-darçinaù
SYNONYMS
vidyä—with education; vinaya—and
gentleness; sampanne—fully equipped; brähmaëe—in the brähmaëa;
gavi—in the cow; hastini—in the elephant; çuni—in the dog; ca—and;
eva—certainly; çva-päke—in the dog-eater (the outcaste); ca—respectively;
paëòitäù—those who are wise; sama-darçinaù—who
see with equal vision.
TRANSLATION
The humble sages, by virtue of true
knowledge, see with equal vision a learned and gentle brähmaëa,
a cow, an elephant, a dog and a dog-eater [outcaste].
PURPORT
A Kåñëa conscious
person does not make any distinction between species or castes. The brähmaëa
and the outcaste may be different from the social point of view, or a dog,
a cow, and an elephant may be different from the point of view of species,
but these differences of body are meaningless from the viewpoint of a learned
transcendentalist. This is due to their relationship to the Supreme, for
the Supreme Lord, by His plenary portion as Paramätmä, is present
in everyone’s heart. Such an understanding of the Supreme is real knowledge.
As far as the bodies are concerned in different castes or different species
of life, the Lord is equally kind to everyone because He treats every living
being as a friend yet maintains Himself as Paramätmä regardless
of the circumstances of the living entities. The Lord as Paramätmä
is present both in the outcaste and in the brähmaëa, although
the body of a brähmaëa and that of an outcaste are not the same.
The bodies are material productions of different modes of material nature,
but the soul and the Supersoul within the body are of the same spiritual
quality. The similarity in the quality of the soul and the Supersoul, however,
does not make them equal in quantity, for the individual soul is present
only in that particular body whereas the Paramätmä is present
in each and every body. A Kåñëa conscious person has
full knowledge of this, and therefore he is truly learned and has equal
vision. The similar characteristics of the soul and Supersoul are that
they are both conscious, eternal and blissful. But the difference is that
the individual soul is conscious within the limited jurisdiction of the
body whereas the Supersoul is conscious of all bodies. The Supersoul is
present in all bodies without distinction.
Bg 5.19
ihaiva tair jitaù sargo
yeñäà sämye
sthitaà manaù
nirdoñaà hi samaà
brahma
tasmäd brahmaëi te sthitäù
SYNONYMS
iha—in this life; eva—certainly;
taiù—by them; jitaù—conquered; sargaù—birth and death;
yeñäm—whose; sämye—in equanimity; sthitam—situated; manaù—mind;
nirdoñam—flawless; hi—certainly; samam—in equanimity; brahma—like
the Supreme; tasmät—therefore; brahmaëi—in the Supreme; te—they;
sthitäù—are situated.
TRANSLATION
Those whose minds are established
in sameness and equanimity have already conquered the conditions of birth
and death. They are flawless like Brahman, and thus they are already situated
in Brahman.
PURPORT
Equanimity of mind, as mentioned
above, is the sign of self-realization. Those who have actually attained
to such a stage should be considered to have conquered material conditions,
specifically birth and death. As long as one identifies with this body,
he is considered a conditioned soul, but as soon as he is elevated to the
stage of equanimity through realization of self, he is liberated from conditional
life. In other words, he is no longer subject to take birth in the material
world but can enter into the spiritual sky after his death. The Lord is
flawless because He is without attraction or hatred. Similarly, when a
living entity is without attraction or hatred, he also becomes flawless
and eligible to enter into the spiritual sky. Such persons are to be considered
already liberated, and their symptoms are described below.
Bg 5.20
na prahåñyet priyaà
präpya
nodvijet präpya cäpriyam
sthira-buddhir asammüòho
brahma-vid brahmaëi sthitaù
SYNONYMS
na—never; prahåñyet—rejoices;
priyam—the pleasant; präpya—achieving; na—does not; udvijet—become
agitated; präpya—obtaining; ca—also; apriyam—the unpleasant; sthira-buddhiù—self-intelligent;
asammüòhaù—unbewildered; brahma-vit—one who knows the
Supreme perfectly; brahmaëi—in the transcendence; sthitaù—situated.
TRANSLATION
A person who neither rejoices upon
achieving something pleasant nor laments upon obtaining something unpleasant,
who is self-intelligent, who is unbewildered, and who knows the science
of God, is already situated in transcendence.
PURPORT
The symptoms of the self-realized
person are given herein. The first symptom is that he is not illusioned
by the false identification of the body with his true self. He knows perfectly
well that he is not this body, but is the fragmental portion of the Supreme
Personality of Godhead. He is therefore not joyful in achieving something,
nor does he lament in losing anything which is related to his body. This
steadiness of mind is called sthira-buddhi, or self-intelligence. He is
therefore never bewildered by mistaking the gross body for the soul, nor
does he accept the body as permanent and disregard the existence of the
soul. This knowledge elevates him to the station of knowing the complete
science of the Absolute Truth, namely Brahman, Paramätmä and
Bhagavän. He thus knows his constitutional position perfectly well,
without falsely trying to become one with the Supreme in all respects.
This is called Brahman realization, or self-realization. Such steady consciousness
is called Kåñëa consciousness.
Bg 5.21
bähya-sparçeñv
asaktätmä
vindaty ätmani yat sukham
sa brahma-yoga-yuktätmä
sukham akñayam açnute
SYNONYMS
bähya-sparçeñu—in
external sense pleasure; asakta-ätmä—one who is not attached;
vindati—enjoys; ätmani—in the self; yat—that which; sukham—happiness;
saù—he; brahma-yoga—by concentration in Brahman; yukta-ätmä—self-connected;
sukham—happiness; akñayam—unlimited; açnute—enjoys.
TRANSLATION
Such a liberated person is not attracted
to material sense pleasure but is always in trance, enjoying the pleasure
within. In this way the self-realized person enjoys unlimited happiness,
for he concentrates on the Supreme.
PURPORT
Çré Yämunäcärya,
a great devotee in Kåñëa consciousness, said:
yad-avadhi mama cetaù kåñëa-pädäravinde
nava-nava-rasa-dhämany udyataà
rantum äsét
tad-avadhi bata näré-saìgame
smaryamäne
bhavati mukha-vikäraù
suñöhu niñöhévanaà ca
“Since I have been engaged in the transcendental loving service of Kåñëa, realizing ever-new pleasure in Him, whenever I think of sex pleasure I spit at the thought, and my lips curl with distaste.” A person in brahma-yoga, or Kåñëa consciousness, is so absorbed in the loving service of the Lord that he loses his taste for material sense pleasure altogether. The highest pleasure in terms of matter is sex pleasure. The whole world is moving under its spell, and a materialist cannot work at all without this motivation. But a person engaged in Kåñëa consciousness can work with greater vigor without sex pleasure, which he avoids. That is the test in spiritual realization. Spiritual realization and sex pleasure go ill together. A Kåñëa conscious person is not attracted to any kind of sense pleasure, due to his being a liberated soul.
Bg 5.22
ye hi saàsparça-jä
bhogä
duùkha-yonaya eva te
ädy-antavantaù kaunteya
na teñu ramate budhaù
SYNONYMS
ye—those; hi—certainly; saàsparça-jäù—by
contact with the material senses; bhogäù—enjoyments; duùkha—distress;
yonayaù—sources of; eva—certainly; te—they are; ädi—beginning;
anta—end; vantaù—subject to; kaunteya—O son of Kunté; na—never;
teñu—in those; ramate—takes delight; budhaù—the intelligent
person.
TRANSLATION
An intelligent person does not take
part in the sources of misery, which are due to contact with the material
senses. O son of Kunté, such pleasures have a beginning and an end,
and so the wise man does not delight in them.
PURPORT
Material sense pleasures are due
to the contact of the material senses, which are all temporary because
the body itself is temporary. A liberated soul is not interested in anything
which is temporary. Knowing well the joys of transcendental pleasures,
how can a liberated soul agree to enjoy false pleasure? In the Padma Puräëa
it is said:
ramante yogino ’nante
satyänande cid-ätmani
iti räma-padenäsau
paraà brahmäbhidhéyate
[Cc. Madhya 9.29]
“The mystics derive unlimited transcendental
pleasures from the Absolute Truth, and therefore the Supreme Absolute Truth,
the Personality of Godhead, is also known as Räma.”
In the Çrémad-Bhägavatam
also (5.5.1) it is said:
näyaà deho deha-bhäjäà
nå-loke
kañöän kämän
arhate viò-bhujäà ye
tapo divyaà putrakä
yena sattvaà
çuddhyed yasmäd brahma-saukhyaà
tv anantam
“My dear sons, there is no reason
to labor very hard for sense pleasure while in this human form of life;
such pleasures are available to the stool-eaters [hogs]. Rather, you should
undergo penances in this life by which your existence will be purified,
and as a result you will be able to enjoy unlimited transcendental bliss.”
Therefore, those who are true yogés
or learned transcendentalists are not attracted by sense pleasures, which
are the causes of continuous material existence. The more one is addicted
to material pleasures, the more he is entrapped by material miseries.
Bg 5.23
çaknotéhaiva yaù
soòhuà
präk çaréra-vimokñaëät
käma-krodhodbhavaà vegaà
sa yuktaù sa sukhé
naraù
SYNONYMS
çaknoti—is able; iha eva—in
the present body; yaù—one who; soòhum—to tolerate; präk—before;
çaréra—the body; vimokñaëät—giving up; käma—desire;
krodha—and anger; udbhavam—generated from; vegam—urges; saù—he;
yuktaù—in trance; saù—he; sukhé—happy; naraù—human
being.
TRANSLATION
Before giving up this present body,
if one is able to tolerate the urges of the material senses and check the
force of desire and anger, he is well situated and is happy in this world.
PURPORT
If one wants to make steady progress
on the path of self-realization, he must try to control the forces of the
material senses. There are the forces of talk, forces of anger, forces
of mind, forces of the stomach, forces of the genitals, and forces of the
tongue. One who is able to control the forces of all these different senses,
and the mind, is called gosvämé, or svämé. Such
gosvämés live strictly controlled lives, and forgo altogether
the forces of the senses. Material desires, when unsatiated, generate anger,
and thus the mind, eyes and chest become agitated. Therefore, one must
practice to control them before one gives up this material body. One who
can do this is understood to be self-realized and is thus happy in the
state of self-realization. It is the duty of the transcendentalist to try
strenuously to control desire and anger.
Bg 5.24
yo ’ntaù-sukho ’ntar-ärämas
tathäntar-jyotir eva yaù
sa yogé brahma-nirväëaà
brahma-bhüto ’dhigacchati
SYNONYMS
yaù—one who; antaù-sukhaù—happy
from within; antaù-ärämaù—actively enjoying within;
tathä—as well as; antaù-jyotiù—aiming within; eva—certainly;
yaù—anyone; saù—he; yogé—a mystic; brahma-nirväëam—liberation
in the Supreme; brahma-bhütaù—being self-realized; adhigacchati—attains.
TRANSLATION
One whose happiness is within, who
is active and rejoices within, and whose aim is inward is actually the
perfect mystic. He is liberated in the Supreme, and ultimately he attains
the Supreme.
PURPORT
Unless one is able to relish happiness
from within, how can one retire from the external engagements meant for
deriving superficial happiness? A liberated person enjoys happiness by
factual experience. He can, therefore, sit silently at any place and enjoy
the activities of life from within. Such a liberated person no longer desires
external material happiness. This state is called brahma-bhüta [SB
4.30.20], attaining which one is assured of going back to Godhead, back
to home.
Bg 5.25
labhante brahma-nirväëam
åñayaù kñéëa-kalmañäù
chinna-dvaidhä yatätmänaù
sarva-bhüta-hite ratäù
SYNONYMS
labhante—achieve; brahma-nirväëam—liberation
in the Supreme; åñayaù—those who are active within;
kñéëa-kalmañäù—who are devoid of
all sins; chinna—having torn off; dvaidhäù—duality; yata-ätmänaù—engaged
in self-realization; sarva-bhüta—for all living entities; hite—in
welfare work; ratäù—engaged.
TRANSLATION
Those who are beyond the dualities
that arise from doubts, whose minds are engaged within, who are always
busy working for the welfare of all living beings, and who are free from
all sins achieve liberation in the Supreme.
PURPORT
Only a person who is fully in Kåñëa
consciousness can be said to be engaged in welfare work for all living
entities. When a person is actually in the knowledge that Kåñëa
is the fountainhead of everything, then when he acts in that spirit he
acts for everyone. The sufferings of humanity are due to forgetfulness
of Kåñëa as the supreme enjoyer, the supreme proprietor,
and the supreme friend. Therefore, to act to revive this consciousness
within the entire human society is the highest welfare work. One cannot
be engaged in such first-class welfare work without being liberated in
the Supreme. A Kåñëa conscious person has no doubt about
the supremacy of Kåñëa. He has no doubt because he is
completely freed from all sins. This is the state of divine love.
A person engaged only in ministering
to the physical welfare of human society cannot factually help anyone.
Temporary relief of the external body and the mind is not satisfactory.
The real cause of one’s difficulties in the hard struggle for life may
be found in one’s forgetfulness of his relationship with the Supreme Lord.
When a man is fully conscious of his relationship with Kåñëa,
he is actually a liberated soul, although he may be in the material tabernacle.
Bg 5.26
käma-krodha-vimuktänäà
yaténäà yata-cetasäm
abhito brahma-nirväëaà
vartate viditätmanäm
SYNONYMS
käma—from desires; krodha—and
anger; vimuktänäm—of those who are liberated; yaténäm—of
the saintly persons; yata-cetasäm—who have full control over the mind;
abhitaù—assured in the near future; brahma-nirväëam—liberation
in the Supreme; vartate—is there; vidita-ätmanäm—of those who
are self-realized.
TRANSLATION
Those who are free from anger and
all material desires, who are self-realized, self-disciplined and constantly
endeavoring for perfection, are assured of liberation in the Supreme in
the very near future.
PURPORT
Of the saintly persons who are constantly
engaged in striving toward salvation, one who is in Kåñëa
consciousness is the best of all. The Bhägavatam (4.22.39) confirms
this fact as follows:
yat-päda-paìkaja-paläça-viläsa-bhaktyä
karmäçayaà grathitam
udgrathayanti santaù
tadvan na rikta-matayo yatayo ’pi
ruddha-
sroto-gaëäs tam araëaà
bhaja väsudevam
“Just try to worship, in devotional service, Väsudeva, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Even great sages are not able to control the forces of the senses as effectively as those who are engaged in transcendental bliss by serving the lotus feet of the Lord, uprooting the deep-grown desire for fruitive activities.”
In the conditioned soul the desire to enjoy the fruitive results of work is so deep rooted that it is very difficult even for the great sages to control such desires, despite great endeavors. A devotee of the Lord, constantly engaged in devotional service in Kåñëa consciousness, perfect in self-realization, very quickly attains liberation in the Supreme. Owing to his complete knowledge in self-realization, he always remains in trance. To cite an analogous example of this:
darçana-dhyäna-saàsparçair
matsya-kürma-vihaìgamäù
sväny apatyäni puñëanti
tathäham api padma-ja
“By vision, by meditation and by
touch only do the fish, the tortoise and the birds maintain their offspring.
Similarly do I also, O Padmaja!”
The fish brings up its offspring
simply by looking at them. The tortoise brings up its offspring simply
by meditation. The eggs of the tortoise are laid on land, and the tortoise
meditates on the eggs while in the water. Similarly, the devotee in Kåñëa
consciousness, although far away from the Lord’s abode, can elevate himself
to that abode simply by thinking of Him constantly—by engagement in Kåñëa
consciousness. He does not feel the pangs of material miseries; this state
of life is called brahma-nirväëa, or the absence of material
miseries due to being constantly immersed in the Supreme.
Bg 5.27, Bg 5.28, Bg 5.27-28
sparçän kåtvä
bahir bähyäàç
cakñuç caiväntare
bhruvoù
präëäpänau samau
kåtvä
näsäbhyantara-cäriëau
yatendriya-mano-buddhir
munir mokña-paräyaëaù
vigatecchä-bhaya-krodho
yaù sadä mukta eva saù
SYNONYMS
sparçän—sense objects,
such as sound; kåtvä—keeping; bahiù—external; bähyän—unnecessary;
cakñuù—eyes; ca—also; eva—certainly; antare—between; bhruvoù—the
eyebrows; präëa-apänau—up-and down-moving air; samau—in
suspension; kåtvä—keeping; näsa-abhyantara—within the nostrils;
cäriëau—blowing; yata—controlled; indriya—senses; manaù—mind;
buddhiù—intelligence; muniù—the transcendentalist; mokña—for
liberation; paräyaëaù—being so destined; vigata—having
discarded; icchä—wishes; bhaya—fear; krodhaù—anger; yaù—one
who; sadä—always; muktaù—liberated; eva—certainly; saù—he
is.
TRANSLATION
Shutting out all external sense
objects, keeping the eyes and vision concentrated between the two eyebrows,
suspending the inward and outward breaths within the nostrils, and thus
controlling the mind, senses and intelligence, the transcendentalist aiming
at liberation becomes free from desire, fear and anger. One who is always
in this state is certainly liberated.
PURPORT
Being engaged in Kåñëa
consciousness, one can immediately understand one’s spiritual identity,
and then one can understand the Supreme Lord by means of devotional service.
When one is well situated in devotional service, one comes to the transcendental
position, qualified to feel the presence of the Lord in the sphere of one’s
activity. This particular position is called liberation in the Supreme.
After explaining the above principles
of liberation in the Supreme, the Lord gives instruction to Arjuna as to
how one can come to that position by the practice of the mysticism or yoga
known as añöäìga-yoga, which is divisible into
an eightfold procedure called yama, niyama, äsana, präëäyäma,
pratyähära, dhäraëä, dhyäna and samädhi.
In the Sixth Chapter the subject of yoga is explicitly detailed, and at
the end of the Fifth it is only preliminarily explained. One has to drive
out the sense objects such as sound, touch, form, taste and smell by the
pratyähära process in yoga, and then keep the vision of the eyes
between the two eyebrows and concentrate on the tip of the nose with half-closed
lids. There is no benefit in closing the eyes altogether, because then
there is every chance of falling asleep. Nor is there benefit in opening
the eyes completely, because then there is the hazard of being attracted
by sense objects. The breathing movement is restrained within the nostrils
by neutralizing the up-moving and down-moving air within the body. By practice
of such yoga one is able to gain control over the senses, refrain from
outward sense objects, and thus prepare oneself for liberation in the Supreme.
This yoga process helps one become
free from all kinds of fear and anger and thus feel the presence of the
Supersoul in the transcendental situation. In other words, Kåñëa
consciousness is the easiest process of executing yoga principles. This
will be thoroughly explained in the next chapter. A Kåñëa
conscious person, however, being always engaged in devotional service,
does not risk losing his senses to some other engagement. This is a better
way of controlling the senses than by the añöäìga-yoga.
Bg 5.29
bhoktäraà yajïa-tapasäà
sarva-loka-maheçvaram
suhådaà sarva-bhütänäà
jïätvä mäà
çäntim åcchati
SYNONYMS
bhoktäram—the beneficiary;
yajïa—of sacrifices; tapasäm—and penances and austerities; sarva-loka—of
all planets and the demigods thereof; mahä-éçvaram—the
Supreme Lord; su-hådam—the benefactor; sarva—of all; bhütänäm—the
living entities; jïätvä—thus knowing; mäm—Me (Lord
Kåñëa); çäntim—relief from material pangs;
åcchati—one achieves.
TRANSLATION
A person in full consciousness of
Me, knowing Me to be the ultimate beneficiary of all sacrifices and austerities,
the Supreme Lord of all planets and demigods, and the benefactor and well-wisher
of all living entities, attains peace from the pangs of material miseries.
PURPORT
The conditioned souls within the
clutches of illusory energy are all anxious to attain peace in the material
world. But they do not know the formula for peace, which is explained in
this part of the Bhagavad-gétä. The greatest peace formula
is simply this: Lord Kåñëa is the beneficiary in all
human activities. Men should offer everything to the transcendental service
of the Lord because He is the proprietor of all planets and the demigods
thereon. No one is greater than He. He is greater than the greatest of
the demigods, Lord Çiva and Lord Brahmä. In the Vedas (Çvetäçvatara
Upaniñad 6.7) the Supreme Lord is described as tam éçvaräëäà
paramaà maheçvaraà. Under the spell of illusion, living
entities are trying to be lords of all they survey, but actually they are
dominated by the material energy of the Lord. The Lord is the master of
material nature, and the conditioned souls are under the stringent rules
of material nature. Unless one understands these bare facts, it is not
possible to achieve peace in the world either individually or collectively.
This is the sense of Kåñëa consciousness: Lord Kåñëa
is the supreme predominator, and all living entities, including the great
demigods, are His subordinates. One can attain perfect peace only in complete
Kåñëa consciousness.
This Fifth Chapter is a practical
explanation of Kåñëa consciousness, generally known as
karma-yoga. The question of mental speculation as to how karma-yoga can
give liberation is answered herewith. To work in Kåñëa
consciousness is to work with the complete knowledge of the Lord as the
predominator. Such work is not different from transcendental knowledge.
Direct Kåñëa consciousness is bhakti-yoga, and jïäna-yoga
is a path leading to bhakti-yoga. Kåñëa consciousness
means to work in full knowledge of one’s relationship with the Supreme
Absolute, and the perfection of this consciousness is full knowledge of
Kåñëa, or the Supreme Personality of Godhead. A pure
soul is the eternal servant of God as His fragmental part and parcel. He
comes into contact with mäyä (illusion) due to the desire to
lord it over mäyä, and that is the cause of his many sufferings.
As long as he is in contact with matter, he has to execute work in terms
of material necessities. Kåñëa consciousness, however,
brings one into spiritual life even while one is within the jurisdiction
of matter, for it is an arousing of spiritual existence by practice in
the material world. The more one is advanced, the more he is freed from
the clutches of matter. The Lord is not partial toward anyone. Everything
depends on one’s practical performance of duties in Kåñëa
consciousness, which helps one control the senses in every respect and
conquer the influence of desire and anger. And one who stands fast in Kåñëa
consciousness, controlling the abovementioned passions, remains factually
in the transcendental stage, or brahma-nirväëa. The eightfold
yoga mysticism is automatically practiced in Kåñëa consciousness
because the ultimate purpose is served. There is a gradual process of elevation
in the practice of yama, niyama, äsana, präëäyäma,
pratyähära, dhäraëä, dhyäna and samädhi.
But these only preface perfection by devotional service, which alone can
award peace to the human being. It is the highest perfection of life.
Thus end the Bhaktivedanta Purports to the Fifth Chapter of the Çrémad Bhagavad-gétä in the matter of Karma-yoga, or Action in Kåñëa Consciousness.
courtesy of www.vedabase.com/
