om ajïäna-timirändhasya
jïänäïjana-çaläkayä
cakñur unmélitaà yena
tasmai çré-gurave namaù
çré-caitanya-mano-’bhéñöaà
sthäpitaà yena bhü-tale
svayaà rüpaù kadä mahyaà
dadäti sva-padäntikam
I was born in the darkest ignorance, and my spiritual master opened my eyes with
the torch of knowledge. I offer my respectful obeisances unto him.
When will Çréla Rüpa Gosvämé Prabhupäda, who has established within this
material world the mission to fulfill the desire of Lord Caitanya, give me
shelter under his lotus feet?
vande ’haà çré-guroù çré-yuta-pada-kamalaà çré-gurun vaiñëaväàç ca
çré-rüpaà sägrajätaà saha-gaëa-raghunäthänvitaà taà sa-jévam
sädvaitaà sävadhütaà parijana-sahitaà kåñëa-caitanya-devaà
çré-rädhä-kåñëa-pädän saha-gaëa-lalitä-çré-viçäkhänvitäàç ca
I offer my respectful obeisances unto the lotus feet of my spiritual master and
unto the feet of all Vaiñëavas. I offer my respectful obeisances unto the lotus
feet of Çréla Rüpa Gosvämé along with his elder brother Sanätana Gosvämé, as
well as Raghunätha Däsa and Raghunätha Bhaööa, Gopäla Bhaööa, and Çréla Jéva
Gosvämé. I offer my respectful obeisances to Lord Kåñëa Caitanya and Lord
Nityänanda along with Advaita Äcärya, Gadädhara, Çréväsa, and other associates.
I offer my respectful obeisances to Çrématé Rädhäräëé and Çré Kåñëa along with
Their associates, Çré Lalitä and Viçäkhä.
he kåñëa karuëä-sindho déna-bandho jagat-pate
gopeça gopikä-känta rädhä-känta namo ’stu te
O my dear Kåñëa, You are the friend of the distressed and the source of
creation. You are the master of the gopés and the lover of Rädhäräëé. I offer my
respectful obeisances unto You.
tapta-käïcana-gauräìgi rädhe våndävaneçvari
våñabhänu-sute devi praëamämi hari-priye
I offer my respects to Rädhäräëé whose bodily complexion is like molten gold and
who is the Queen of Våndävana. You are the daughter of King Våñabhänu, and You
are very dear to Lord Kåñëa.
väïchä-kalpatarubhyaç ca kåpä-sindhubhya eva ca
patitänäà pävanebhyo vaiñëavebhyo namo namaù
I offer my respectful obeisances unto all the Vaiñëava devotees of the Lord who
can fulfill the desires of everyone, just like desire trees, and who are full of
compassion for the fallen souls.
çré kåñëa caitanya prabhu nityänanda
çré advaita gadädhara çréväsädi-gaura-bhakta-vånda
I offer my obeisances to Çré Kåñëa Caitanya, Prabhu Nityänanda, Çré Advaita,
Gadädhara, Çréväsa and all others in the line of devotion.
hare kåñëa, hare kåñëa, kåñëa kåñëa, hare hare
hare räma, hare räma, räma räma, hare hare.
Bhagavad-gétä is also known as Gétopaniñad. It is the essence of Vedic knowledge
and one of the most important Upaniñads in Vedic literature. Of course there are
many commentaries in English on the Bhagavad-gétä, and one may question the
necessity for another one. This present edition can be explained in the
following way. Recently an American lady asked me to recommend an English
translation of Bhagavad-gétä. Of course in America there are so many editions of
Bhagavad-gétä available in English, but as far as I have seen, not only in
America but also in India, none of them can be strictly said to be authoritative
because in almost every one of them the commentator has expressed his own
opinions without touching the spirit of Bhagavad-gétä as it is.
The spirit of Bhagavad-gétä is mentioned in Bhagavad-gétä itself. It is just
like this: if we want to take a particular medicine, then we have to follow the
directions written on the label. We cannot take the medicine according to our
own whim or the direction of a friend. It must be taken according to the
directions on the label or the directions given by a physician. Similarly,
Bhagavad-gétä should be taken or accepted as it is directed by the speaker
himself. The speaker of Bhagavad-gétä is Lord Çré Kåñëa. He is mentioned on
every page of Bhagavad-gétä as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Bhagavän. Of
course the word “bhagavän” sometimes refers to any powerful person or any
powerful demigod, and certainly here Bhagavän designates Lord Çré Kåñëa as a
great personality, but at the same time we should know that Lord Çré Kåñëa is
the Supreme Personality of Godhead, as is confirmed by all great äcäryas
(spiritual masters) like Çaìkaräcärya, Rämänujäcärya, Madhväcärya, Nimbärka
Svämé, Çré Caitanya Mahäprabhu and many other authorities of Vedic knowledge in
India. The Lord Himself also establishes Himself as the Supreme Personality of
Godhead in the Bhagavad-gétä, and He is accepted as such in the Brahma-saàhitä
and all the Puräëas, especially the Çrémad-Bhägavatam, known as the Bhägavata
Puräëa (Kåñëas tu bhagavän svayam). Therefore we should take Bhagavad-gétä as it
is directed by the Personality of Godhead Himself.
In the Fourth Chapter of the Gétä the Lord says:
(1) imaà vivasvate yogaà proktavän aham avyayam
vivasvän manave präha manur ikñväkave ’bravét
(2) evaà paramparä-präptam imaà räjarñayo viduù
sa käleneha mahatä yogo nañöaù parantapa
(3) sa eväyaà mayä te ’dya yogaù proktaù purätanaù
bhakto ’si me sakhä ceti rahasyaà hy etad uttamam
Here the Lord informs Arjuna that this system of yoga, the Bhagavad-gétä, was
first spoken to the sun-god, and the sun-god explained it to Manu, and Manu
explained it to Ikñväku, and in that way, by disciplic succession, one speaker
after another, this yoga system has been coming down. But in the course of time
it has become lost. Consequently the Lord has to speak it again, this time to
Arjuna on the Battlefield of Kurukñetra.
He tells Arjuna that He is relating this supreme secret to him because he is His
devotee and His friend. The purport of this is that Bhagavad-gétä is a treatise
which is especially meant for the devotee of the Lord. There are three classes
of transcendentalists, namely the jïäné, the yogé and the bhakta, or the
impersonalist, the meditator and the devotee. Here the Lord clearly tells Arjuna
that He is making him the first receiver of a new paramparä (disciplic
succession) because the old succession was broken. It was the Lord’s wish,
therefore, to establish another paramparä in the same line of thought that was
coming down from the sun-god to others, and it was His wish that His teaching be
distributed anew by Arjuna. He wanted Arjuna to become the authority in
understanding the Bhagavad-gétä. So we see that Bhagavad-gétä is instructed to
Arjuna especially because Arjuna was a devotee of the Lord, a direct student of
Kåñëa, and His intimate friend. Therefore Bhagavad-gétä is best understood by a
person who has qualities similar to Arjuna’s. That is to say he must be a
devotee in a direct relationship with the Lord. As soon as one becomes a devotee
of the Lord, he also has a direct relationship with the Lord. That is a very
elaborate subject matter, but briefly it can be stated that a devotee is in a
relationship with the Supreme Personality of Godhead in one of five different
ways:
1. One may be a devotee in a passive state;
2. One may be a devotee in an active state;
3. One may be a devotee as a friend;
4. One may be a devotee as a parent;
5. One may be a devotee as a conjugal lover.
Arjuna was in a relationship with the Lord as friend. Of course there is a gulf
of difference between this friendship and the friendship found in the material
world. This is transcendental friendship which cannot be had by everyone. Of
course everyone has a particular relationship with the Lord, and that
relationship is evoked by the perfection of devotional service. But in the
present status of our life, we have not only forgotten the Supreme Lord, but we
have forgotten our eternal relationship with the Lord. Every living being, out
of many, many billions and trillions of living beings, has a particular
relationship with the Lord eternally. That is called svarüpa. By the process of
devotional service, one can revive that svarüpa, and that stage is called
svarüpa-siddhi—perfection of one’s constitutional position. So Arjuna was a
devotee, and he was in touch with the Supreme Lord in friendship.
How Arjuna accepted this Bhagavad-gétä should be noted. His manner of acceptance
is given in the Tenth Chapter.
(12) arjuna uväca
paraà brahma paraà dhäma pavitraà paramaà bhavän
puruñaà çäçvataà divyam ädi-devam ajaà vibhum
(13) ähus tväm åñayaù sarve devarñir näradas tathä
asito devalo vyäsaù svayaà caiva bravéñi me
(14) sarvam etad åtaà manye yan mäà vadasi keçava
na hi te bhagavan vyaktià vidur devä na dänaväù
“Arjuna said: You are the Supreme Brahman, the ultimate, the supreme abode and
purifier, the Absolute Truth and the eternal Divine Person. You are the primal
God, transcendental and original, and You are the unborn and all-pervading
beauty. All the great sages like Närada, Asita, Devala, and Vyäsa proclaim this
of You, and now You Yourself are declaring it to me. O Kåñëa, I totally accept
as truth all that You have told me. Neither the gods nor demons, O Lord, know
Thy personality.” (Bg. 10. 12–14).
After hearing Bhagavad-gétä from the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Arjuna
accepted Kåñëa as Paraà Brahma, the Supreme Brahman. Every living being is
Brahman, but the supreme living being, or the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is
the Supreme Brahman. Paraà dhäma means that He is the supreme rest or abode of
everything, pavitram means that He is pure, untainted by material contamination,
puruñam means that He is the supreme enjoyer, divyam, transcendental, ädi-devam,
the Supreme Personality of Godhead, ajam, the unborn, and vibhum, the greatest,
the all-pervading.
Now one may think that because Kåñëa was the friend of Arjuna, Arjuna was
telling Him all this by way of flattery, but Arjuna, just to drive out this kind
of doubt from the minds of the readers of Bhagavad-gétä, substantiates these
praises in the next verse when he says that Kåñëa is accepted as the Supreme
Personality of Godhead not only by himself but by authorities like the sage
Närada, Asita, Devala, Vyäsadeva and so on. These are great personalities who
distribute the Vedic knowledge as it is accepted by all äcäryas. Therefore
Arjuna tells Kåñëa that he accepts whatever He says to be completely perfect.
Sarvam etad åtaà manye: “I accept everything You say to be true.” Arjuna also
says that the personality of the Lord is very difficult to understand and that
He cannot be known even by the great demigods. This means that the Lord cannot
even be known by personalities greater than human beings. So how can a human
being understand Çré Kåñëa without becoming His devotee?
Therefore Bhagavad-gétä should be taken up in a spirit of devotion. One should
not think that he is equal to Kåñëa, nor should he think that Kåñëa is an
ordinary personality or even a very great personality. Lord Çré Kåñëa is the
Supreme Personality of Godhead, at least theoretically, according to the
statements of Bhagavad-gétä or the statements of Arjuna, the person who is
trying to understand the Bhagavad-gétä. We should therefore at least
theoretically accept Çré Kåñëa as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and with
that submissive spirit we can understand the Bhagavad-gétä. Unless one reads the
Bhagavad-gétä in a submissive spirit, it is very difficult to understand
Bhagavad-gétä because it is a great mystery.
Just what is the Bhagavad-gétä? The purpose of Bhagavad-gétä is to deliver
mankind from the nescience of material existence. Every man is in difficulty in
so many ways, as Arjuna also was in difficulty in having to fight the Battle of
Kurukñetra. Arjuna surrendered unto Çré Kåñëa, and consequently this
Bhagavad-gétä was spoken. Not only Arjuna, but every one of us is full of
anxieties because of this material existence. Our very existence is in the
atmosphere of nonexistence. Actually we are not meant to be threatened by
nonexistence. Our existence is eternal. But somehow or other we are put into
asat. Asat refers to that which does not exist.
Out of so many human beings who are suffering, there are a few who are actually
inquiring about their position, as to what they are, why they are put into this
awkward position and so on. Unless one is awakened to this position of
questioning his suffering, unless he realizes that he doesn’t want suffering but
rather wants to make a solution to all sufferings, then one is not to be
considered a perfect human being. Humanity begins when this sort of inquiry is
awakened in one’s mind. In the Brahma-sütra this inquiry is called
“brahma-jijïäsä.” Every activity of the human being is to be considered a
failure unless he inquires about the nature of the Absolute. Therefore those who
begin to question why they are suffering or where they came from and where they
shall go after death are proper students for understanding Bhagavad-gétä. The
sincere student should also have a firm respect for the Supreme Personality of
Godhead. Such a student was Arjuna.
Lord Kåñëa descends specifically to reestablish the real purpose of life when
man forgets that purpose. Even then, out of many, many human beings who awaken,
there may be one who actually enters the spirit of understanding his position,
and for him this Bhagavad-gétä is spoken. Actually we are all followed by the
tiger of nescience, but the Lord is very merciful upon living entities,
especially human beings. To this end He spoke the Bhagavad-gétä, making His
friend Arjuna His student.
Being an associate of Lord Kåñëa, Arjuna was above all ignorance, but Arjuna was
put into ignorance on the Battlefield of Kurukñetra just to question Lord Kåñëa
about the problems of life so that the Lord could explain them for the benefit
of future generations of human beings and chalk out the plan of life. Then man
could act accordingly and perfect the mission of human life.
The subject of the Bhagavad-gétä entails the comprehension of five basic truths.
First of all, the science of God is explained and then the constitutional
position of the living entities, jévas. There is éçvara, which means controller,
and there are jévas, the living entities which are controlled. If a living
entity says that he is not controlled but that he is free, then he is insane.
The living being is controlled in every respect, at least in his conditioned
life. So in the Bhagavad-gétä the subject matter deals with the éçvara, the
supreme controller, and the jévas, the controlled living entities. Prakåti
(material nature) and time (the duration of existence of the whole universe or
the manifestation of material nature) and karma (activity) are also discussed.
The cosmic manifestation is full of different activities. All living entities
are engaged in different activities. From Bhagavad-gétä we must learn what God
is, what the living entities are, what prakrti is, what the cosmic manifestation
is and how it is controlled by time, and what the activities of the living
entities are.
Out of these five basic subject matters in Bhagavad-gétä it is established that
the Supreme Godhead, or Kåñëa, or Brahman, or supreme controller, or
Paramätmä—you may use whatever name you like—is the greatest of all. The living
beings are in quality like the supreme controller. For instance, the Lord has
control over the universal affairs, over material nature, etc., as will be
explained in the later chapters of Bhagavad-gétä. Material nature is not
independant. She is acting under the directions of the Supreme Lord. As Lord
Kåñëa says, “Prakåti is working under My direction.” When we see wonderful
things happening in the cosmic nature, we should know that behind this cosmic
manifestation there is a controller. Nothing could be manifested without being
controlled. It is childish not to consider the controller. For instance, a child
may think that an automobile is quite wonderful to be able to run without a
horse or other animal pulling it, but a sane man knows the nature of the
automobile’s engineering arrangement. He always knows that behind the machinery
there is a man, a driver. Similarly, the Supreme Lord is a driver under whose
direction everything is working. Now the jévas, or the living entities, have
been accepted by the Lord, as we will note in the later chapters, as His parts
and parcels. A particle of gold is also gold, a drop of water from the ocean is
also salty, and similarly, we the living entities, being part and parcel of the
supreme controller, ésvara, or Bhagavän, Lord Çré Kåñëa, have all the qualities
of the Supreme Lord in minute quantity because we are minute éçvaras,
subordinate éçvaras. We are trying to control nature, as presently we are trying
to control space or planets, and this tendency to control is there because it is
in Kåñëa. But although we have a tendency to lord it over material nature, we
should know that we are not the supreme controller. This is explained in
Bhagavad-gétä.
What is material nature? This is also explained in Gétä as inferior prakåti,
inferior nature. The living entity is explained as the superior prakåti. Prakåti
is always under control, whether inferior or superior. Prakåti is female, and
she is controlled by the Lord just as the activities of a wife are controlled by
the husband. Prakåti is always subordinate, predominated by the Lord, who is the
predominator. The living entities and material nature are both predominated,
controlled by the Supreme Lord. According to the Gétä, the living entities,
although parts and parcels of the Supreme Lord, are to be considered prakåti.
This is clearly mentioned in the Seventh Chapter, fifth verse of Bhagavad-gétä:
“Apareyam itas tv anyäm.” “This prakåti is My lower nature.” “Prakåtià viddhi me
paräm jéva-bhütäà mahä-bäho yayedaà dhäryate jagat.” And beyond this there is
another prakåti: jéva-bhütäm, the living entity.
Prakåti itself is constituted by three qualities: the mode of goodness, the mode
of passion and the mode of ignorance. Above these modes there is eternal time,
and by a combination of these modes of nature and under the control and purview
of eternal time there are activities which are called karma. These activities
are being carried out from time immemorial, and we are suffering or enjoying the
fruits of our activities. For instance, suppose I am a businessman and have
worked very hard with intelligence and have amassed a great bank balance. Then I
am an enjoyer. But then say I have lost all my money in business; then I am a
sufferer. Similarly, in every field of life we enjoy the results of our work, or
we suffer the results. This is called karma.
Éçvara (the Supreme Lord), jéva (the living entity), prakåti (nature), eternal
time and karma (activity) are all explained in the Bhagavad-gétä. Out of these
five, the Lord, the living entities, material nature and time are eternal. The
manifestation of prakåti may be temporary, but it is not false. Some
philosophers say that the manifestation of material nature is false, but
according to the philosophy of Bhagavad-gétä or according to the philosophy of
the Vaiñëavas, this is not so. The manifestation of the world is not accepted as
false; it is accepted as real, but temporary. It is likened unto a cloud which
moves across the sky, or the coming of the rainy season which nourishes grains.
As soon as the rainy season is over and as soon as the cloud goes away, all the
crops which were nourished by the rain dry up. Similarly, this material
manifestation takes place at a certain interval, stays for a while and then
disappears. Such are the workings of prakåti But this cycle is working
eternally. Therefore prakrti is eternal; it is not false. The Lord refers to
this as “My prakåti.” This material nature is the separated energy of the
Supreme Lord, and similarly the living entities are also the energy of the
Supreme Lord, but they are not separated. They are eternally related. So the
Lord, the living entity, material nature and time are all interrelated and are
all eternal. However, the other item, karma, is not eternal. The effects of
karma may be very old indeed. We are suffering or enjoying the results of our
activities from time immemorial, but we can change the results of our karma, or
our activity, and this change depends on the perfection of our knowledge. We are
engaged in various activities. Undoubtedly we do not know what sort of
activities we should adopt to gain relief from the actions and reactions of all
these activities, but this is also explained in the Bhagavad-gétä.
The position of ésvara is that of supreme consciousness. The jévas, or the
living entities, being parts and parcels of the Supreme Lord, are also
conscious. Both the living entity and material nature are explained as prakåti,
the energy of the Supreme Lord, but one of the two, the jéva, is conscious. The
other prakåti is not conscious. That is the difference. Therefore the
jéva-prakåti is called superior because the jéva has consciousness which is
similar to the Lord’s. The Lord’s is supreme consciousness, however, and one
should not claim that the jéva, the living entity, is also supremely conscious.
The living being cannot be supremely conscious at any stage of his perfection,
and the theory that he can be so is a misleading theory. Conscious he may be,
but he is not perfectly or supremely conscious.
The distinction between the jéva and the éçvara will be explained in the
Thirteenth Chapter of Bhagavad-gétä. The Lord is kñetra-jïaù, conscious, as is
the living being, but the living being is conscious of his particular body,
whereas the Lord is conscious of all bodies. Because He lives in the heart of
every living being, He is conscious of the psychic movements of the particular
jévas. We should not forget this. It is also explained that the Paramätmä, the
Supreme Personality of Godhead, is living in everyone’s heart as éçvara, as the
controller, and that He is giving directions for the living entity to act as he
desires. The living entity forgets what to do. First of all he makes a
determination to act in a certain way, and then he is entangled in the acts and
reactions of his own karma. After giving up one type of body, he enters another
type of body, as we put on and take off old clothes. As the soul thus migrates,
he suffers the actions and reactions of his past activities. These activities
can be changed when the living being is in the mode of goodness, in sanity, and
understands what sort of activities he should adopt. If he does so, then all the
actions and reactions of his past activities can be changed. Consequently, karma
is not eternal. Therefore we stated that of the five items (éçvara, jéva,
prakåti time and karma) four are eternal, whereas karma is not eternal.
The supreme conscious éçvara is similar to the living entity in this way: both
the consciousness of the Lord and that of the living entity are transcendental.
It is not that consciousness is generated by the association of matter. That is
a mistaken idea. The theory that consciousness develops under certain
circumstances of material combination is not accepted in the Bhagavad-gétä.
Consciousness may be pervertedly reflected by the covering of material
circumstances, just as light reflected through colored glass may appear to be a
certain color, but the consciousness of the Lord is not materially affected.
Lord Kåñëa says, “mayädhyakñeëa prakåtiù.” When He descends into the material
universe, His consciousness is not materially affected. If He were so affected,
He would be unfit to speak on transcendental matters as He does in the
Bhagavad-gétä. One cannot say anything about the transcendental world without
being free from materially contaminated consciousness. So the Lord is not
materially contaminated. Our consciousness, at the present moment, however, is
materially contaminated. The Bhagavad-gétä teaches that we have to purify this
materially contaminated consciousness. In pure consciousness, our actions will
be dovetailed to the will of éçvara, and that will make us happy. It is not that
we have to cease all activities. Rather, our activities are to be purified, and
purified activities are called bhakti. Activities in bhakti appear to be like
ordinary activities, but they are not contaminated. An ignorant person may see
that a devotee is acting or working like an ordinary man, but such a person with
a poor fund of knowledge does not know that the activities of the devotee or of
the Lord are not contaminated by impure consciousness or matter. They are
transcendental to the three modes of nature. We should know, however, that at
this point our consciousness is contaminated.
When we are materially contaminated, we are called conditioned. False
consciousness is exhibited under the impression that I am a product of material
nature. This is called false ego. One who is absorbed in the thought of bodily
conceptions cannot understand his situation. Bhagavad-gétä was spoken to
liberate one from the bodily conception of life, and Arjuna put himself in this
position in order to receive this information from the Lord. One must become
free from the bodily conception of life; that is the preliminary activity for
the transcendentalist. One who wants to become free, who wants to become
liberated, must first of all learn that he is not this material body. Mukti or
liberation means freedom from material consciousness. In the Çrémad-Bhägavatam
also the definition of liberation is given: Mukti means liberation from the
contaminated consciousness of this material world and situation in pure
consciousness. All the instructions of Bhagavad-gétä are intended to awaken this
pure consciousness, and therefore we find at the last stage of the Gétä’s
instructions that Kåñëa is asking Arjuna whether he is now in purified
consciousness. Purified consciousness means acting in accordance with the
instructions of the Lord. This is the whole sum and substance of purified
consciousness. Consciousness is already there because we are part and parcel of
the Lord, but for us there is the affinity of being affected by the inferior
modes. But the Lord, being the Supreme, is never affected. That is the
difference between the Supreme Lord and the conditioned souls.
What is this consciousness? This consciousness is “I am.” Then what am I? In
contaminated consciousness “I am” means “I am the lord of all I survey. I am the
enjoyer.” The world revolves because every living being thinks that he is the
lord and creator of the material world. Material consciousness has two psychic
divisions. One is that I am the creator, and the other is that I am the enjoyer.
But actually the Supreme Lord is both the creator and the enjoyer, and the
living entity, being part and parcel of the Supreme Lord, is neither the creator
nor the enjoyer, but a cooperator. He is the created and the enjoyed. For
instance, a part of a machine cooperates with the whole machine; a part of the
body cooperates with the whole body. The hands, feet, eyes, legs and so on are
all parts of the body, but they are not actually the enjoyers. The stomach is
the enjoyer. The legs move, the hands supply food, the teeth chew and all parts
of the body are engaged in satisfying the stomach because the stomach is the
principal factor that nourishes the body’s organization. Therefore everything is
given to the stomach. One nourishes the tree by watering its root, and one
nourishes the body by feeding the stomach, for if the body is to be kept in a
healthy state, then the parts of the body must cooperate to feed the stomach.
Similarly, the Supreme Lord is the enjoyer and the creator, and we, as
subordinate living beings, are meant to cooperate to satisfy Him. This
cooperation will actually help us, just as food taken by the stomach will help
all other parts of the body. If the fingers of the hand think that they should
take the food themselves instead of giving it to the stomach, then they will be
frustrated. The central figure of creation and of enjoyment is the Supreme Lord,
and the living entities are cooperators. By cooperation they enjoy. The relation
is also like that of the master and the servant. If the master is fully
satisfied, then the servant is satisfied. Similarly, the Supreme Lord should be
satisfied, although the tendency to become the creator and the tendency to enjoy
the material world are there also in the living entities because these
tendencies are there in the Supreme Lord who has created the manifested cosmic
world.
We shall find, therefore, in this Bhagavad-gétä that the complete whole is
comprised of the supreme controller, the controlled living entities, the cosmic
manifestation, eternal time, and karma, or activities, and all of these are
explained in this text. All of these taken completely form the complete whole,
and the complete whole is called the Supreme Absolute Truth. The complete whole
and the complete Absolute Truth are the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Çré
Kåñëa. All manifestations are due to His different energies. He is the complete
whole.
It is also explained in the Gétä that impersonal Brahman is also subordinate to
the complete. Brahman is more explicitly explained in the Brahma-sütra to be
like the rays of the sunshine. The impersonal Brahman is the shining rays of the
Supreme Personality of Godhead. Impersonal Brahman is incomplete realization of
the absolute whole, and so also is the conception of Paramätmä in the Twelfth
Chapter. There it shall be seen that the Supreme Personality of Godhead,
Puruñottama, is above both impersonal Brahman and the partial realization of
Paramätmä. The Supreme Personality of Godhead is called sac-cid-änanda-vigraha.
The Brahma-saàhitä begins in this way: éçvaraù paramaù kåñëaù
sac-cid-änanda-vigrahaù/ anädir ädir govindaù sarva-käraëa-käraëam. “Kåñëa is
the cause of all causes. He is the primal cause, and He is the very form of
eternal being, knowledge and bliss.” Impersonal Brahman realization is the
realization of His sat (being) feature. Paramätmä realization is the realization
of the cit (eternal knowledge) feature. But realization of the Personality of
Godhead, Kåñëa, is realization of all the transcendental features: sat, cit and
änanda (being, knowledge, bliss) in complete vigraha (form).
People with less intelligence consider the Supreme Truth to be impersonal, but
He is a transcendental person, and this is confirmed in all Vedic literatures.
Nityo nityänäm cetanaç cetanänäm. As we are all individual living beings and
have our individuality, the Supreme Absolute Truth is also, in the ultimate
issue, a person, and realization of the Personality of Godhead is realization of
all of the transcendental features. The complete whole is not formless. If He is
formless, or if He is less than any other thing, then He cannot be the complete
whole. The complete whole must have everything within our experience and beyond
our experience, otherwise it cannot be complete. The complete whole, Personality
of Godhead, has immense potencies.
How Kåñëa is acting in different potencies is also explained in Bhagavad-gétä.
This phenomenal world or material world in which we are placed is also complete
in itself because the twenty-four elements of which this material universe is a
temporary manifestation, according to Säìkhya philosophy, are completely
adjusted to produce complete resources which are necessary for the maintenance
and subsistence of this universe. There is nothing extraneous; nor is there
anything needed. This manifestation has its own time fixed by the energy of the
supreme whole, and when its time is complete, these temporary manifestations
will be annihilated by the complete arrangement of the complete. There is
complete facility for the small complete units, namely the living entities, to
realize the complete, and all sorts of incompleteness are experienced due to
incomplete knowledge of the complete. So Bhagavad-gétä contains the complete
knowledge of Vedic wisdom.
All Vedic knowledge is infallible, and Hindus accept Vedic knowledge to be
complete and infallible. For example, cow dung is the stool of an animal, and
according to småti or Vedic injunction, if one touches the stool of an animal he
has to take a bath to purify himself. But in the Vedic scriptures cow dung is
considered to be a purifying agent. One might consider this to be contradictory,
but it is accepted because it is Vedic injunction, and indeed by accepting this,
one will not commit a mistake; subsequently it has been proved by modern science
that cow dung contains all antiseptic properties. So Vedic knowledge is complete
because it is above all doubts and mistakes, and Bhagavad-gétä is the essence of
all Vedic knowledge.
Vedic knowledge is not a question of research. Our research work is imperfect
because we are researching things with imperfect senses. We have to accept
perfect knowledge which comes down, as is stated in Bhagavad-gétä, by the
paramparä disciplic succession. We have to receive knowledge from the proper
source in disciplic succession beginning with the supreme spiritual master, the
Lord Himself, and handed down to a succession of spiritual masters. Arjuna, the
student who took lessons from Lord Çré Kåñëa, accepts everything that He says
without contradicting Him. One is not allowed to accept one portion of
Bhagavad-gétä and not another. No. We must accept Bhagavad-gétä without
interpretation, without deletion and without our own whimsical participation in
the matter. The Gétä should be taken as the most perfect presentation of Vedic
knowledge. Vedic knowledge is received from transcendental sources, and the
first words were spoken by the Lord Himself. The words spoken by the Lord are
different from words spoken by a person of the mundane world who is infected
with four defects. A mundaner 1) is sure to commit mistakes, 2) is invariably
illusioned, 3) has the tendency to cheat others and 4) is limited by imperfect
senses. With these four imperfections, one cannot deliver perfect information of
all-pervading knowledge.
Vedic knowledge is not imparted by such defective living entities. It was
imparted unto the heart of Brahmä, the first created living being, and Brahmä in
his turn disseminated this knowledge to his sons and disciples, as he originally
received it from the Lord. The Lord is pürëam, all-perfect, and there is no
possibility of His becoming subjected to the laws of material nature. One should
therefore be intelligent enough to know that the Lord is the only proprietor of
everything in the universe and that He is the original creator, the creator of
Brahmä. In the Eleventh Chapter the Lord is addressed as prapitämaha because
Brahmä is addressed as pitämaha, the grandfather, and He is the creator of the
grandfather. So no one should claim to be the proprietor of anything; one should
accept only things which are set aside for him by the Lord as his quota for his
maintenance.
There are many examples given of how we are to utilize those things which are
set aside for us by the Lord. This is also explained in Bhagavad-gétä. In the
beginning, Arjuna decided that he should not fight in the Battle of Kurukñetra.
This was his own decision. Arjuna told the Lord that it was not possible for him
to enjoy the kingdom after killing his own kinsmen. This decision was based on
the body because he was thinking that the body was himself and that his bodily
relations or expansions were his brothers, nephews, brothers-in-law,
grandfathers and so on. He was thinking in this way to satisfy his bodily
demands. Bhagavad-gétä was spoken by the Lord just to change this view, and at
the end Arjuna decides to fight under the directions of the Lord when he says,
“kariñye vacanaà tava.” “I shall act according to Thy word.”
In this world man is not meant to toil like hogs. He must be intelligent to
realize the importance of human life and refuse to act like an ordinary animal.
A human being should realize the aim of his life, and this direction is given in
all Vedic literatures, and the essence is given in Bhagavad-gétä. Vedic
literature is meant for human beings, not for animals. Animals can kill other
living animals, and there is no question of sin on their part, but if a man
kills an animal for the satisfaction of his uncontrolled taste, he must be
responsible for breaking the laws of nature. In the Bhagavad-gétä it is clearly
explained that there are three kinds of activities according to the different
modes of nature: the activities of goodness, of passion and of ignorance.
Similarly, there are three kinds of eatables also: eatables in goodness, passion
and ignorance. All of this is clearly described, and if we properly utilize the
instructions of Bhagavad-gétä, then our whole life will become purified, and
ultimately we will be able to reach the destination which is beyond this
material sky.
That destination is called the sanätana sky, the eternal spiritual sky. In this
material world we find that everything is temporary. It comes into being, stays
for some time, produces some by-products, dwindles and then vanishes. That is
the law of the material world, whether we use as an example this body, or a
piece of fruit or anything. But beyond this temporary world there is another
world of which we have information. This world consists of another nature which
is sanätana, eternal. Jéva is also described as sanätana, eternal, and the Lord
is also described as sanätana in the Eleventh Chapter. We have an intimate
relationship with the Lord, and because we are all qualitatively one—the
sanätana-dhäma, or sky, the sanätana Supreme Personality and the sanätana living
entities—the whole purpose of Bhagavad-gétä is to revive our sanätana
occupation, or sanätana-dharma, which is the eternal occupation of the living
entity. We are temporarily engaged in different activities, but all of these
activities can be purified when we give up all these temporary activities and
take up the activities which are prescribed by the Supreme Lord. That is called
our pure life.
The Supreme Lord and His transcendental abode are both sanätana, as are the
living entities, and the combined association of the Supreme Lord and the living
entities in the sanätana abode is the perfection of human life. The Lord is very
kind to the living entities because they are His sons. Lord Kåñëa declares in
Bhagavad-gétä, “sarva-yoniñu…ahaà béja-pradaù pitä.” “I am the father of all.”
Of course there are all types of living entities according to their various
karmas, but here the Lord claims that He is the father of all of them. Therefore
the Lord descends to reclaim all of these fallen, conditioned souls to call them
back to the sanätana eternal sky so that the sanätana living entities may regain
their eternal sanätana positions in eternal association with the Lord. The Lord
comes Himself in different incarnations, or He sends His confidential servants
as sons or His associates or äcäryas to reclaim the conditioned souls.
Therefore, sanätana-dharma does not refer to any sectarian process of religion.
It is the eternal function of the eternal living entities in relationship with
the eternal Supreme Lord. Sanätana-dharma refers, as stated previously, to the
eternal occupation of the living entity. Rämänujäcärya has explained the word
sanätana as “that which has neither beginning nor end,” so when we speak of
sanätana-dharma, we must take it for granted on the authority of Çré
Rämänujäcärya that it has neither beginning nor end.
The English word “religion” is a little different from sanätana-dharma. Religion
conveys the idea of faith, and faith may change. One may have faith in a
particular process, and he may change this faith and adopt another, but
sanätana-dharma refers to that activity which cannot be changed. For instance,
liquidity cannot be taken from water, nor can heat be taken from fire.
Similarly, the eternal function of the eternal living entity cannot be taken
from the living entity. Sanätana-dharma is eternally integral with the living
entity. When we speak of sanätana-dharma, therefore, we must take it for granted
on the authority of Çré Rämänujäcärya that it has neither beginning nor end.
That which has neither end nor beginning must not be sectarian, for it cannot be
limited by any boundaries. Yet those belonging to some sectarian faith will
wrongly consider that sanätana-dharma is also sectarian, but if we go deeply
into the matter and consider it in the light of modern science, it is possible
for us to see that sanätana-dharma is the business of all the people of the
world—nay, of all the living entities of the universe.
Non-sanätana religious faith may have some beginning in the annals of human
history, but there is no beginning to the history of sanätana-dharma because it
remains eternally with the living entities. Insofar as the living entities are
concerned, the authoritative çästras state that the living entity has neither
birth nor death. In the Gétä it is stated that the living entity is never born,
and he never dies. He is eternal and indestructible, and he continues to live
after the destruction of his temporary material body. In reference to the
concept of sanätana-dharma, we must try to understand the concept of religion
from the Sanskrit root meaning of the word. Dharma refers to that which is
constantly existing with the particular object. We conclude that there is heat
and light along with the fire; without heat and light, there is no meaning to
the word fire. Similarly, we must discover the essential part of the living
being, that part which is his constant companion. That constant companion is his
eternal quality, and that eternal quality is his eternal religion.
When Sanätana Gosvämé asked Çré Caitanya Mahäprabhu about the svarüpa of every
living being, the Lord replied that the svarüpa or constitutional position of
the living being is the rendering of service to the Supreme Personality of
Godhead. If we analyze this statement of Lord Caitanya, we can easily see that
every living being is constantly engaged in rendering service to another living
being. A living being serves other living beings in two capacities. By doing so,
the living entity enjoys life. The lower animals serve human beings as servants
serve their master. A serves B master, B serves C master and C serves D master
and so on. Under these circumstances, we can see that one friend serves another
friend, the mother serves the son, the wife serves the husband, the husband
serves the wife and so on. If we go on searching in this spirit, it will be seen
that there is no exception in the society of living beings to the activity of
service. The politician presents his manifesto for the public to convince them
of his capacity for service. The voters therefore give the politician their
valuable votes, thinking that he will render valuable service to society. The
shopkeeper serves the customer, and the artisan serves the capitalist. The
capitalist serves the family, and the family serves the state in the terms of
the eternal capacity of the eternal living being. In this way we can see that no
living being is exempt from rendering service to other living beings, and
therefore we can safely conclude that service is the constant companion of the
living being and that the rendering of service is the eternal religion of the
living being.
Yet man professes to belong to a particular type of faith with reference to
particular time and circumstance and thus claims to be a Hindu, Muslim,
Christian, Buddhist or any other sect. Such designations are
non-sanätana-dharma. A Hindu may change his faith to become a Muslim, or a
Muslim may change his faith to become a Hindu, or a Christian may change his
faith and so on. But in all circumstances the change of religious faith does not
effect the eternal occupation of rendering service to others. The Hindu, Muslim
or Christian in all circumstances is servant of someone. Thus, to profess a
particular type of sect is not to profess one’s sanätana-dharma. The rendering
of service is sanätana-dharma.
Factually we are related to the Supreme Lord in service. The Supreme Lord is the
supreme enjoyer, and we living entities are His servitors. We are created for
His enjoyment, and if we participate in that eternal enjoyment with the Supreme
Personality of Godhead, we become happy. We cannot become happy otherwise. It is
not possible to be happy independantly, just as no one part of the body can be
happy without cooperating with the stomach. It is not possible for the living
entity to be happy without rendering transcendental loving service unto the
Supreme Lord.
In the Bhagavad-gétä, worship of different demigods or rendering service to them
is not approved. It is stated in the Seventh Chapter, twentieth verse:
kämais tais tair håta-jïänäù prapadyante ’nya-devatäù
taà taà niyamam ästhäya prakåtyä niyatäù svayä
“Those whose minds are distorted by material desires surrender unto demigods and
follow the particular rules and regulations of worship according to their own
natures.” (Bg. 7.20) Here it is plainly said that those who are directed by lust
worship the demigods and not the Supreme Lord Kåñëa. When we mention the name
Kåñëa, we do not refer to any sectarian name. Kåñëa means the highest pleasure,
and it is confirmed that the Supreme Lord is the reservoir or storehouse of all
pleasure. We are all hankering after pleasure. Änandamayo ’bhyäsät. (Vs. 1.1.12)
The living entities, like the Lord, are full of consciousness, and they are
after happiness. The Lord is perpetually happy, and if the living entities
associate with the Lord, cooperate with Him and take part in His association,
then they also become happy.
The Lord descends to this mortal world to show His pastimes in Våndävana, which
are full of happiness. When Lord Çré Kåñëa was in Våndävana, His activities with
His cowherd boy friends, with His damsel friends, with the inhabitants of
Våndävana and with the cows were all full of happiness. The total population of
Våndävana knew nothing but Kåñëa. But Lord Kåñëa even discouraged His father
Nanda Mahäräja from worshiping the demigod Indra because He wanted to establish
the fact that people need not worship any demigod. They need only worship the
Supreme Lord because their ultimate goal is to return to His abode.
The abode of Lord Çré Kåñëa is described in the Bhagavad-gétä, Fifteenth
Chapter, sixth verse:
na tad bhäsayate süryo na çaçäìko na pävakaù
yad gatvä na nivartante tad dhäma paramaà mama
“That abode of Mine is not illumined by the sun or moon, nor by electricity. And
anyone who reaches it never comes back to this material world.” (Bg. 15.6)
This verse gives a description of that eternal sky. Of course we have a material
conception of the sky, and we think of it in relationship to the sun, moon,
stars and so on, but in this verse the Lord states that in the eternal sky there
is no need for the sun nor for the moon nor fire of any kind because the
spiritual sky is already illuminated by the brahmajyoti, the rays emanating from
the Supreme Lord. We are trying with difficulty to reach other planets, but it
is not difficult to understand the abode of the Supreme Lord. This abode is
referred to as Goloka. In the Brahma-saàhitä it is beautifully described: Goloka
eva nivasaty akhilätma-bhütaù. The Lord resides eternally in His abode Goloka,
yet He can be approached from this world, and to this end the Lord comes to
manifest His real form, sac-cid-änanda-vigraha. When He manifests this form,
there is no need for our imagining what He looks like. To discourage such
imaginative speculation, He descends and exhibits Himself as He is, as
Çyämasundara. Unfortunately, the less intelligent deride Him because He comes as
one of us and plays with us as a human being. But because of this we should not
consider that the Lord is one of us. It is by His potency that He presents
Himself in His real form before us and displays His pastimes, which are
prototypes of those pastimes found in His abode.
In the effulgent rays of the spiritual sky there are innumerable planets
floating. The brahmajyoti emanates from the supreme abode, Kåñëaloka, and the
änandamaya-cinmaya planets, which are not material, float in those rays. The
Lord says, na tad bhäsayate süryo na çaçäìko na pävakaù yad gatvä na nivartante
tad dhäma paramaà mama. One who can approach that spiritual sky is not required
to descend again to the material sky. In the material sky, even if we approach
the highest planet (Brahmaloka), what to speak of the moon, we will find the
same conditions of life, namely birth, death, disease and old age. No planet in
the material universe is free from these four principles of material existence.
Therefore the Lord says in Bhagavad-gétä, äbrahma-bhuvanäl lokäù punar ävartino
’rjuna. The living entities are traveling from one planet to another, not by
mechanical arrangement but by a spiritual process. This is also mentioned: yänti
deva-vratä devän pitèn yänti pitå-vratäù. No mechanical arrangement is necessary
if we want interplanetary travel. The Gétä instructs: yänti deva-vratä devän.
The moon, the sun and higher planets are called svargaloka. There are three
different statuses of planets: higher, middle and lower planetary systems. The
earth belongs to the middle planetary system. Bhagavad-gétä informs us how to
travel to the higher planetary systems (devaloka) with a very simple formula:
yänti deva-vratä devän. One need only worship the particular demigod of that
particular planet and in that way go to the moon, the sun or any of the higher
planetary systems.
Yet Bhagavad-gétä does not advise us to go to any of the planets in this
material world because even if we go to Brahmaloka, the highest planet, through
some sort of mechanical contrivance by maybe traveling for forty thousand years
(and who would live that long?), we will still find the material inconveniences
of birth, death, disease and old age. But one who wants to approach the supreme
planet, Kåñëaloka, or any of the other planets within the spiritual sky, will
not meet with these material inconveniences. Amongst all of the planets in the
spiritual sky there is one supreme planet called Goloka Våndävana, which is the
original planet in the abode of the original Personality of Godhead Çré Kåñëa.
All of this information is given in Bhagavad-gétä, and we are given through its
instruction information how to leave the material world and begin a truly
blissful life in the spiritual sky.
In the Fifteenth Chapter of the Bhagavad-gétä, the real picture of the material
world is given. It is said there:
ürdhva-mülam adhaù-çäkham açvatthaà prähur avyayam
chandäàsi yasya parëäni yas taà veda sa veda-vit
“The Supreme Lord said: There is a banyan tree which has its roots upward and
its branches down, and the Vedic hymns are its leaves. One who knows this tree
is the knower of the Vedas.” (Bg. 15.1) Here the material world is described as
a tree whose roots are upwards and branches are below. We have experience of a
tree whose roots are upward: if one stands on the bank of a river or any
reservoir of water, he can see that the trees reflected in the water are upside
down. The branches go downward and the roots upward. Similarly, this material
world is a reflection of the spiritual world. The material world is but a shadow
of reality. In the shadow there is no reality or substantiality, but from the
shadow we can understand that there is substance and reality. In the desert
there is no water, but the mirage suggests that there is such a thing as water.
In the material world there is no water, there is no happiness, but the real
water of actual happiness is there in the spiritual world.
The Lord suggests that we attain the spiritual world in the following manner:
That padam avyayam or eternal kingdom can be reached by one who is nirmäna-moha.
What does this mean? We are after designations. Someone wants to become a son,
someone wants to become Lord, someone wants to become the president or a rich
man or a king or something else. As long as we are attached to these
designations, we are attached to the body because designations belong to the
body. But we are not these bodies, and realizing this is the first stage in
spiritual realization. We are associated with the three modes of material
nature, but we must become detached through devotional service to the Lord. If
we are not attached to devotional service to the Lord, then we cannot become
detached from the modes of material nature. Designations and attachments are due
to our lust and desire, our wanting to lord it over the material nature. As long
as we do not give up this propensity of lording it over material nature, there
is no possibility of returning to the kingdom of the Supreme, the
sanätana-dhäma. That eternal kingdom, which is never destroyed, can be
approached by one who is not bewildered by the attractions of false material
enjoyments, who is situated in the service of the Supreme Lord. One so situated
can easily approach that supreme abode.
Elsewhere in the Gétä it is stated:
avyakto ’kñara ity uktas tam ähuù paramäà gatim
yaà präpya na nivartante tad dhäma paramaà mama.
Avyakta means unmanifested. Not even all of the material world is manifested
before us. Our senses are so imperfect that we cannot even see all of the stars
within this material universe. In Vedic literature we can receive much
information about all the planets, and we can believe it or not believe it. All
of the important planets are described in Vedic literatures, especially
Çrémad-Bhägavatam, and the spiritual world, which is beyond this material sky,
is described as avyakta, unmanifested. One should desire and hanker after that
supreme kingdom, for when one attains that kingdom, he does not have to return
to this material world.
Next, one may raise the question of how one goes about approaching that abode of
the Supreme Lord. Information of this is given in the Eighth Chapter. It is said
there:
anta-käle ca mäm eva smaran muktvä kalevaram
yaù prayäti sa mad-bhävam yäti nästy atra saàçayaù
“Anyone who quits his body, at the end of life, remembering Me, attains
immediately to My nature; and there is no doubt of this.” (Bg. 8.5) One who
thinks of Kåñëa at the time of his death goes to Kåñëa. One must remember the
form of Kåñëa; if he quits his body thinking of this form, he approaches the
spiritual kingdom. Mad-bhävaà refers to the supreme nature of the Supreme Being.
The Supreme Being is sac-cid-änanda-vigraha—eternal, full of knowledge and
bliss. Our present body is not sac-cid-änanda. It is asat, not sat. It is not
eternal; it is perishable. It is not cit, full of knowledge, but it is full of
ignorance. We have no knowledge of the spiritual kingdom, nor do we even have
perfect knowledge of this material world where there are so many things unknown
to us. The body is also niränanda; instead of being full of bliss it is full of
misery. All of the miseries we experience in the material world arise from the
body, but one who leaves this body thinking of the Supreme Personality of
Godhead at once attains a sac-cid-änanda body, as is promised in this fifth
verse of the Eighth Chapter where Lord Kåñëa says, “He attains My nature.”
The process of quitting this body and getting another body in the material world
is also organized. A man dies after it has been decided what form of body he
will have in the next life. Higher authorities, not the living entity himself,
make this decision. According to our activities in this life, we either rise or
sink. This life is a preparation for the next life. If we can prepare,
therefore, in this life to get promotion to the kingdom of God, then surely,
after quitting this material body, we will attain a spiritual body just like the
Lord.
As explained before, there are different kinds of transcendentalists, the
brahmavädi, paramätmävädi and the devotee, and, as mentioned, in the brahmajyoti
(spiritual sky) there are innumerable spiritual planets. The number of these
planets is far, far greater than all of the planets of this material world. This
material world has been approximated as only one quarter of the creation. In
this material segment there are millions and billions of universes with
trillions of planets and suns, stars and moons. But this whole material creation
is only a fragment of the total creation. Most of the creation is in the
spiritual sky. One who desires to merge into the existence of the Supreme
Brahman is at once transferred to the brahmajyoti of the Supreme Lord and thus
attains the spiritual sky. The devotee, who wants to enjoy the association of
the Lord, enters into the Vaikuëöha planets, which are innumerable, and the
Supreme Lord by His plenary expansions as Näräyaëa with four hands and with
different names like Pradyumna, Aniruddha, Govinda, etc., associates with him
there. Therefore at the end of life the transcendentalists either think of the
brahmajyoti, the Paramätmä or the Supreme Personality of Godhead Çré Kåñëa. In
all cases they enter into the spiritual sky, but only the devotee, or he who is
in personal touch with the Supreme Lord, enters into the Vaikuëöha planets. The
Lord further adds that of this “there is no doubt.” This must be believed
firmly. We should not reject that which does not tally with our imagination; our
attitude should be that of Arjuna: “I believe everything that You have said.”
Therefore when the Lord says that at the time of death whoever thinks of Him as
Brahman or Paramätmä or as the Personality of Godhead certainly enters into the
spiritual sky, there is no doubt about it. There is no question of disbelieving
it.
The information on how to think of the Supreme Being at the time of death is
also given in the Gétä:
yaà yaà väpi smaran bhävaà tyajaty ante kalevaram
taà tam evaiti kaunteya sadä tad-bhäva-bhävitaù
“In whatever condition one quits his present body, in his next life he will
attain to that state of being without fail.” (Bg. 8.6) Material nature is a
display of one of the energies of the Supreme Lord. In the Viñëu Puräëa the
total energies of the Supreme Lord as Viñëu-çaktiù parä proktä, etc., are
delineated. The Supreme Lord has diverse and innumerable energies which are
beyond our conception; however, great learned sages or liberated souls have
studied these energies and have analyzed them into three parts. All of the
energies are of Viñëu-çakti, that is to say they are different potencies of Lord
Viñëu. That energy is parä, transcendental. Living entities also belong to the
superior energy, as has already been explained. The other energies, or material
energies, are in the mode of ignorance. At the time of death we can either
remain in the inferior energy of this material world, or we can transfer to the
energy of the spiritual world.
In life we are accustomed to thinking either of the material or the spiritual
energy. There are so many literatures which fill our thoughts with the material
energy—newspapers, novels, etc. Our thinking, which is now absorbed in these
literatures, must be transferred to the Vedic literatures. The great sages,
therefore, have written so many Vedic literatures such as the Puräëas, etc. The
Puräëas are not imaginative; they are historical records. In the
Caitanya-caritämåta there is the following verse:
The forgetful living entities or conditioned souls have forgotten their
relationship with the Supreme Lord, and they are engrossed in thinking of
material activities. Just to transfer their thinking power to the spiritual sky,
Kåñëa has given a great number of Vedic literatures. First He divided the Vedas
into four, then He explained them in the Puräëas, and for less capable people He
wrote the Mahäbhärata. In the Mahäbhärata there is given the Bhagavad-gétä. Then
all Vedic literature is summarized in the Vedänta-sütra, and for future guidance
He gave a natural commentation on the Vedänta-sutra, called Çrémad-Bhägavatam.
We must always engage our minds in reading these Vedic literatures. Just as
materialists engage their minds in reading newspapers, magazines and so many
materialistic literatures, we must transfer our reading to these literatures
which are given to us by Vyäsadeva; in that way it will be possible for us to
remember the Supreme Lord at the time of death. That is the only way suggested
by the Lord, and He guarantees the result: “There is no doubt.” (Bg. 8.7)
“Therefore, Arjuna, you should always think of Me, and at the same time you
should continue your prescribed duty and fight. With your mind and activities
always fixed on Me, and everything engaged in Me, you will attain to Me without
any doubt.”
He does not advise Arjuna to simply remember Him and give up his occupation. No,
the Lord never suggests anything impractical. In this material world, in order
to maintain the body one has to work. Human society is divided, according to
work, into four divisions of social order—brähmaëa, kñatriya, vaiçya, çüdra. The
brähmaëa class or intelligent class is working in one way, the kñatriya or
administrative class is working in another way, and the mercantile class and the
laborers are all tending to their specific duties. In the human society, whether
one is a laborer, merchant, warrior, administrator, or farmer, or even if one
belongs to the highest class and is a literary man, a scientist or a theologian,
he has to work in order to maintain his existence. The Lord therefore tells
Arjuna that he need not give up his occupation, but while he is engaged in his
occupation he should remember Kåñëa. If he doesn’t practice remembering Kåñëa
while he is struggling for existence, then it will not be possible for him to
remember Kåñëa at the time of death. Lord Caitanya also advises this. He says
that one should practice remembering the Lord by chanting the names of the Lord
always. The names of the Lord and the Lord are nondifferent. So Lord Kåñëa’s
instruction to Arjuna to “remember Me” and Lord Caitanya’s injunction to always
“chant the names of Lord Kåñëa” are the same instruction. There is no
difference, because Kåñëa and Kåñëa’s name are nondifferent. In the absolute
status there is no difference between reference and referent. Therefore we have
to practice remembering the Lord always, twenty-four hours a day, by chanting
His names and molding our life’s activities in such a way that we can remember
Him always.
How is this possible? The äcäryas give the following example. If a married woman
is attached to another man, or if a man has an attachment for a woman other than
his wife, then the attachment is to be considered very strong. One with such an
attachment is always thinking of the loved one. The wife who is thinking of her
lover is always thinking of meeting him, even while she is carrying out her
household chores. In fact, she carries out her household work even more
carefully so her husband will not suspect her attachment. Similarly, we should
always remember the supreme lover, Çré Kåñëa, and at the same time perform our
material duties very nicely. A strong sense of love is required here. If we have
a strong sense of love for the Supreme Lord, then we can discharge our duty and
at the same time remember Him. But we have to develop that sense of love.
Arjuna, for instance, was always thinking of Kåñëa; he was the constant
companion of Kåñëa, and at the same time he was a warrior. Kåñëa did not advise
him to give up fighting and go to the forest to meditate. When Lord Kåñëa
delineates the yoga system to Arjuna, Arjuna says that the practice of this
system is not possible for him.
arjuna uväca
yo ’yaà yogas tvayä proktaù sämyena madhusüdana
etasyähaà na paçyämi caïcalatvät sthitià sthiräm
“Arjuna said, O Madhusüdana, the system of yoga which you have summarized
appears impractical and unendurable to me, for the mind is restless and
unsteady.” (Bg. 6.33)
But the Lord says:
yoginäm api sarveñäà mad-gatenäntarätmanä
çraddhävän bhajate yo mäà sa me yuktatamo mataù
“Of all yogés, he who always abides in Me with great faith, worshiping Me in
transcendental loving service, is most intimately united with Me in yoga, and is
the highest of all.” (Bg. 6.47) So one who thinks of the Supreme Lord always is
the greatest yogé, the supermost jïäné, and the greatest devotee at the same
time. The Lord further tells Arjuna that as a kñatriya he cannot give up his
fighting, but if Arjuna fights remembering Kåñëa, then he will be able to
remember Him at the time of death. But one must be completely surrendered in the
transcendental loving service of the Lord.
We work not with our body, actually, but with our mind and intelligence. So if
the intelligence and the mind are always engaged in the thought of the Supreme
Lord, then naturally the senses are also engaged in His service. Superficially,
at least, the activities of the senses remain the same, but the consciousness is
changed. The Bhagavad-gétä teaches one how to absorb the mind and intelligence
in the thought of the Lord. Such absorption will enable one to transfer himself
to the kingdom of the Lord. If the mind is engaged in Kåñëa’s service, then the
senses are automatically engaged in His service. This is the art, and this is
also the secret of Bhagavad-gétä: total absorption in the thought of Çré Kåñëa.
Modern man has struggled very hard to reach the moon, but he has not tried very
hard to elevate himself spiritually. If one has fifty years of life ahead of
him, he should engage that brief time in cultivating this practice of
remembering the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This practice is the devotional
process of:
These nine processes, of which the easiest is çravaëaà, hearing Bhagavad-gétä
from the realized person, will turn one to the thought of the Supreme Being.
This will lead to niçcala, remembering the Supreme Lord, and will enable one,
upon leaving the body, to attain a spiritual body which is just fit for
association with the Supreme Lord.
The Lord further says:
“By practicing this remembering, without being deviated, thinking ever of the
Supreme Godhead, one is sure to achieve the planet of the Divine, the Supreme
Personality, O son of Kunté.” (Bg. 8.8)
This is not a very difficult process. However, one must learn it from an
experienced person, from one who is already in the practice. The mind is always
flying to this and that, but one must always practice concentrating the mind on
the form of the Supreme Lord Çré Kåñëa or on the sound of His name. The mind is
naturally restless, going hither and thither, but it can rest in the sound
vibration of Kåñëa. One must thus meditate on paramaà puruñaà, the Supreme
Person; and thus attain Him. The ways and the means for ultimate realization,
ultimate attainment, are stated in the Bhagavad-gétä, and the doors of this
knowledge are open for everyone. No one is barred out. All classes of men can
approach the Lord by thinking of Him, for hearing and thinking of Him is
possible for everyone.
The Lord further says:
“O son of Påthä, anyone who will take shelter in Me, whether a woman, or a
merchant, or one born in a low family, can yet approach the supreme destination.
How much greater then are the brähmaëas, the righteous, the devotees, and
saintly kings! In this miserable world, these are fixed in devotional service to
the Lord.” (Bg. 9.32–33)
Human beings even in the lower statuses of life (a merchant, a woman or a
laborer) can attain the Supreme. One does not need highly developed
intelligence. The point is that anyone who accepts the principle of bhakti-yoga
and accepts the Supreme Lord as the summum bonum of life, as the highest target,
the ultimate goal, can approach the Lord in the spiritual sky. If one adopts the
principles enunciated in Bhagavad-gétä, he can make his life perfect and make a
perfect solution to all the problems of life which arise out of the transient
nature of material existence. This is the sum and substance of the entire
Bhagavad-gétä.
In conclusion, Bhagavad-géta is a transcendental literature which one should
read very carefully. It is capable of saving one from all fear.
nehäbhikrama-näço ’sti pratyaväyo na vidyate
svalpam apy asya dharmasya träyate mahato bhayät
“In this endeavor there is no loss or diminution, and a little advancement on
this path can protect one from the most dangerous type of fear.” (Bg. 2.40) If
one reads Bhagavad-gétä sincerely and seriously, then all of the reactions of
his past misdeeds will not react upon him. In the last portion of Bhagavad-gétä,
Lord Çré Kåñëa proclaims:
“Give up all varieties of religiousness, and just surrender unto Me; and in
return I shall protect you from all sinful reactions. Therefore, you have
nothing to fear.” (Bg. 18.66) Thus the Lord takes all responsibility for one who
surrenders unto Him, and He indemnifies all the reactions of sin.
One cleanses himself daily by taking a bath in water, but one who takes his bath
only once in the sacred Ganges water of the Bhagavad-gétä cleanses away all the
dirt of material life. Because Bhagavad-gétä is spoken by the Supreme
Personality of Godhead, one need not read any other Vedic literature. One need
only attentively and regularly hear and read Bhagavad-gétä. In the present age,
mankind is so absorbed with mundane activities that it is not possible to read
all of the Vedic literatures. But this is not necessary. This one book,
Bhagavad-gétä, will suffice because it is the essence of all Vedic literatures
and because it is spoken by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. It is said that
one who drinks the water of the Ganges certainly gets salvation, but what to
speak of one who drinks the waters of Bhagavad-gétä? Gétä is the very nectar of
the Mahäbhärata spoken by Viñëu Himself, for Lord Kåñëa is the original Viñëu.
It is nectar emanating from the mouth of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and
the Ganges is said to be emanating from the lotus feet of the Lord. Of course
there is no difference between the mouth and the feet of the Supreme Lord, but
in our position we can appreciate that the Bhagavad-gétä is even more important
than the Ganges.
The Bhagavad-gétä is just like a cow, and Lord Kåñëa, who is a cowherd boy, is
milking this cow. The milk is the essence of the Vedas, and Arjuna is just like
a calf. The wise men, the great sages and pure devotees, are to drink the
nectarean milk of Bhagavad-gétä.
In this present day, man is very eager to have one scripture, one God, one
religion, and one occupation. So let there be one common scripture for the whole
world—Bhagavad-gétä. And let there be one God only for the whole world—Çré
Kåñëa. And one mantra only—Hare Kåñëa, Hare Kåñëa, Kåñëa Kåñëa, Hare Hare/ Hare
Räma, Hare Räma, Räma Räma, Hare Hare. And let there be one work only—the
service of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
THE DISCIPLIC SUCCESSION
Evaà paramparä-präptam imaà räjarñayo viduù. (Bhagavad-géta, 4.2) This
Bhagavad-gétä As It Is is received through this disciplic succession:
1) Kåñëa, 2) Brahmä, 3) Närada; 4) Vyäsa, 5) Madhva, 6) Padmanäbha, 7) Nåhari,
8) Mädhava, 9) Akñobhya, 10) Jayatértha, 11) Jïänasindhu, 12) Dayänidhi, 13)
Vidyänidhi, 14) Räjendra, 15) Jayadharma, 16) Puruñottama, 17) Brahmaëyatértha,
18) Vyäsatértha, 19) Lakñmépati, 20) Mädhavendra Puré, 21) Éçvara Puré,
(Nityänanda, Advaita), 22) Lord Caitanya, 23) Rüpa (Svarüpa, Sanätana), 24)
Raghunätha, Jéva, 25) Kåñëadäsa, 26) Narottama, 27) Viçvanätha, 28) (Baladeva)
Jagannätha, 29) Bhaktivinode, 30) Gaurakiçora, 31) Bhaktisiddhänta Sarasvaté,
32) His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupäda.
