The Bhagavad-gita
is universally renowned as the jewel of India's spiritual
wisdom. Spoken by Lord Krishna, the Supreme Personality
of Godhead to His intimate disciple Arjuna, the Gita's
seven hundred concise verses provide a definitive guide
to the science of self realization. No other philosophical
or religious work reveals, in such a lucid and profound
way, the nature of consciousness, the self, the universe
and the Supreme.
His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada is
uniquely qualified to present this English translation
and commentary on Bhagavad-gita. He is the world's foremost
Vedic scholar and teacher, and he is also the current
representative of an unbroken chain of fully self-realized
spiritual masters begining with Lord Krishna Himself.
Thus, unlike other editions of the Gita, this one is presented
as it is--without the slightest taint of adulteration
or personal motivation. This edition is certain to stimulate
and enlighten with its ancient yet thoroughly timely message.
Introduction
om ajnana-timirandhasya jnananjana-salakaya
caksur unmilitam yena tasmai sri-gurave namah
sri-caitanya-mano-'bhistam sthapitam yena
bhu-tale
svayam rupah kada mahyam dadati sva-padantikam
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 Srila Rupa Gosvami Prabhupada, who has established
within this material world the mission to fulfill the desire
of Lord Caitanya, give me shelter under his lotus feet?
vande 'ham sri-guroh sri-yuta-pada-kamalam
sri-gurun vaisnavams ca
sri-rupam sagrajatam saha-gana-raghunathanvitam tam sa-jivam
sadvaitam savadhutam parijana-sahitam krsna-caitanya-devam
sri-radha-krsna-padan saha-gana-lalita-sri-visakhanvitams
ca
I offer my respectful obeisances unto the lotus feet of my
spiritual master and unto the feet of all Vaisnavas. I offer
my respectful obeisances unto the lotus feet of Srila Rupa
Gosvami along with his elder brother Sanatana Gosvami, as
well as Raghunatha Dasa and Raghunatha Bhatta, Gopala Bhatta,
and Srila Jiva Gosvami. I offer my respectful obeisances to
Lord Krsna Caitanya and Lord Nityananda along with Advaita
Acarya, Gadadhara, Srivasa, and other associates. I offer
my respectful obeisances to Srimati Radharani and Sri Krsna
along with Their associates, Sri Lalita and Visakha.
he krsna karuna-sindho dina-bandho jagat-pate
gopesa gopika-kanta radha-kanta namo 'stu te
O my dear Krsna, You are the friend of the distressed and
the source of creation. You are the master of the gopis and
the lover of Radharani. I offer my respectful obeisances unto
You.
I offer my respects to Radharani whose bodily complexion is
like molten gold and who is the Queen of Vrndavana. You are
the daughter of King Vrsabhanu, and You are very dear to Lord
Krsna.
vancha-kalpatarubhyas ca krpa-sindhubhya eva
ca
patitanam pavanebhyo vaisnavebhyo namo namah
I offer my respectful obeisances unto all the Vaisnava 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.
I offer my obeisances to Sri Krsna Caitanya, Prabhu Nityananda,
Sri Advaita, Gadadhara, Srivasa and all others in the line
of devotion.
hare krsna hare krsna, krsna krsna hare hare
hare rama hare rama, rama rama hare hare.
Bhagavad-gita is also known as Gitopanisad. It is the essence
of Vedic knowledge and one of the most important Upanisads
in Vedic literature. Of course there are many commentaries
in English on the Bhagavad-gita, 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-gita. Of course
in America there are so many editions of Bhagavad-gita 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-gita as it is.
The spirit of Bhagavad-gita is mentioned in Bhagavad-gita
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-gita should be taken or accepted
as it is directed by the speaker Himself. The speaker of Bhagavad-gita
is Lord Sri Krsna. He is mentioned on every page of Bhagavad-gita
as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Bhagavan. Of course
the word bhagavan sometimes refers to any powerful person
or any powerful demigod, and certainly here bhagavan designates
Lord Sri Krsna as a great personality, but at the same time
we should know that Lord Sri Krsna is the Supreme Personality
of Godhead, as is confirmed by all great acaryas (spiritual
masters) like Sankaracarya, Ramanujacarya, Madhvacarya, Nimbarka
Svami, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and many other authorities
of Vedic knowledge in India. The Lord Himself also establishes
Himself as the Supreme Personality of Godhead in the Bhagavad-gita,
and He is accepted as such in the Brahma-samhita and all the
Puranas, especially the Srimad-Bhagavatam, known as the Bhagavata
Purana (krsnas tu bhagavan svayam). Therefore we should take
Bhagavad-gita as it is directed by the Personality of Godhead
Himself. In the Fourth Chapter of the Gita the Lord says:
(3) sa evayam maya te 'dya yogah proktah puratanah
bhakto 'si me sakha ceti rahasyam hy etad uttamam
Here the Lord informs Arjuna that this system of yoga, the
Bhagavad-gita, was first spoken to the sun-god, and the sun-god
explained it to Manu, and Manu explained it to Iksvaku, 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 Kuruksetra.
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-gita is a treatise which is especially
meant for the devotee of the Lord. There are three classes
of transcendentalists, namely the jnani, the yogi 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 parampara (disciplic succession) because
the old succession was broken. It was the Lord's wish, therefore,
to establish another parampara 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-gita. So we see that Bhagavad-gita is instructed
to Arjuna especially because Arjuna was a devotee of the Lord,
a direct student of Krsna, and His intimate friend. Therefore
Bhagavad-gita 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. 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:
One may be a devotee in a passive state;
One may be a devotee in an active state;
One may be a devotee as a friend;
One may be a devotee as a parent;
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 svarupa. By the process
of devotional service, one can revive that svarupa, and that
stage is called svarupa-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-gita should be noted. His
manner of acceptance is given in the Tenth Chapter:
(14) sarvam etad rtam manye yan mam vadasi kesava
na hi te bhagavan vyaktim vidur deva na danavah
"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 Narada, Asita, Devala, and Vyasa
proclaim this of You, and now You Yourself are declaring it
to me. O Krsna, I totally accept as truth all that You have
told me. Neither the gods nor the demons, O Lord, know Thy
personality." (Bg. 10.12-14).
After hearing Bhagavad-gita from the Supreme Personality of
Godhead, Arjuna accepted Krsna as param brahma, the Supreme
Brahman. Every living being is Brahman, but the supreme living
being, or the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is the Supreme
Brahman. Param dhama means that He is the supreme rest or
abode of everything, pavitram means that He is pure, untainted
by material contamination, purusam means that He is the supreme
enjoyer, divyam, transcendental, adi-devam, the Supreme Personality
of Godhead; ajam, the unborn, and vibhum, the greatest, the
all-pervading.
Now one may think that because Krsna 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-gita, substantiates these praises in the
next verse when he says that Krsna is accepted as the Supreme
Personality of Godhead not only by himself but by authorities
like the sage Narada, Asita, Devala, Vyasadeva and so on.
These are great personalities who distribute the Vedic knowledge
as it is accepted by all acaryas. Therefore Arjuna tells Krsna
that he accepts whatever He says to be completely perfect.
Sarvam etad rtam 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 Sri Krsna without becoming
His devotee?
Therefore Bhagavad-gita should be taken up in a spirit of
devotion. One should not think that he is equal to Krsna,
nor should he think that Krsna is an ordinary personality
or even a very great personality. Lord Sri Krsna is the Supreme
Personality of Godhead, at least theoretically, according
to the statements of Bhagavad-gita or the statements of Arjuna,
the person who is trying to understand the Bhagavad-gita.
We should therefore at least theoretically accept Sri Krsna
as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and with that submissive
spirit we can understand the Bhagavad-gita. Unless one reads
the Bhagavad-gita in a submissive spirit, it is very difficult
to understand Bhagavad-gita because it is a great mystery.
Just what is the Bhagavad-gita? The purpose of Bhagavad-gita
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 Kuruksetra.
Arjuna surrendered unto Sri Krsna, and consequently this Bhagavad-gita
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-sutra this inquiry is called "brahma jijnasa."
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-gita. The sincere student
should also have a firm respect for the Supreme Personality
of Godhead. Such a student was Arjuna.
Lord Krsna 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-gita 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-gita, making His friend Arjuna His student.
Being an associate of Lord Krsna, Arjuna was above all ignorance,
but Arjuna was put into ignorance on the Battlefield of Kuruksetra
just to question Lord Krsna 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-gita 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, jivas. There is isvara, which means controller,
and there are jivas, 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-gita the subject matter deals with the isvara,
the supreme controller, and the jivas, the controlled living
entities. Prakrti (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-gita we must learn what God is, what the living entities
are, what prakrti is, what the cosmic manifestation is, how
it is controlled by time, and what the activities of the living
entities are.
Out of these five basic subject matters in Bhagavad-gita it
is established that the Supreme Godhead, or Krsna, or Brahman,
or supreme controller, or Paramatma--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-gita. Material nature is not independent. She is
acting under the directions of the Supreme Lord. As Lord Krsna
says, "Prakrti 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 jivas,
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, isvara, or
Bhagavan, Lord Sri Krsna, have all the qualities of the Supreme
Lord in minute quantity because we are minute isvaras, subordinate
isvaras. 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 Krsna. 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-gita.
What is material nature? This is also explained in Gita as
inferior prakrti, inferior nature. The living entity is explained
as the superior prakrti. Prakrti is always under control,
whether inferior or superior. Prakrti is female, and she is
controlled by the Lord just as the activities of a wife are
controlled by the husband. Prakrti 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 Gita, the living entities,
although parts and parcels of the Supreme Lord, are to be
considered prakrti. This is clearly mentioned in the Seventh
Chapter, Fifth Verse of Bhagavad-gita: "Apareyam itas
tv anyam." "This prakrti is My lower nature,"
"prakrtim viddhi me param jiva-bhutam maha-baho yayedam
dharyate jagat." And beyond this there is another prakrti:
jiva-bhutam, the living entity.
Prakrti 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.
Isvara (the Supreme Lord), jiva (the living entity), prakrti
(nature), eternal time and karma (activity) are all explained
in the Bhagavad-gita. Out of these five, the Lord, the living
entities, material nature and time are eternal. The manifestation
of prakrti 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-gita or according
to the philosophy of the Vaisnavas, 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 prakrti. But this cycle is working
eternally. Therefore prakrti is eternal; it is not false.
The Lord refers to this as "My prakrti." 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-gita.
The position of isvara is that of supreme consciousness. The
jivas, 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 prakrti, the energy of
the Supreme Lord, but one of the two, the jiva, is conscious.
The other prakrti is not conscious. That is the difference.
Therefore the jiva-prakrti is called superior because the
jiva has consciousness which is similar to the Lord's. The
Lord's is supreme consciousness, however, and one should not
claim that the jiva, 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 jiva and the isvara will be explained
in the Thirteenth Chapter of Bhagavad-gita. The Lord is ksetra-jna,
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
jivas. We should not forget this. It is also explained that
the Paramatma, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is living
in everyone's heart as isvara, 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 actions 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 (isvara, jiva, prakrti, time
and karma) four are eternal, whereas karma is not eternal.
The supreme conscious isvara 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-gita. 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 Krsna says, "mayadhyaksena prakrtih." 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-gita. 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-gita teaches that we have to purify this materially
contaminated consciousness. In pure consciousness, our actions
will be dovetailed to the will of isvara, 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-gita 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 Srimad-Bhagavatam 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-gita are intended to awaken
this pure consciousness, and therefore we find at the last
stage of the Gita's instructions that Krsna 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-gita 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, Sri Krsna. All manifestations
are due to His different energies. He is the complete whole.
It is also explained in the Gita that impersonal Brahman is
also subordinate to the complete. Brahman is more explicitly
explained in the Brahma-sutra 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 Paramatma
in the Twelfth Chapter. There it shall be seen that the Supreme
Personality of Godhead, Purusottama, is above both impersonal
Brahman and the partial realization of Paramatma. The Supreme
Personality of Godhead is called sac-cid-ananda-vigraha. The
Brahma-samhita begins in this way: isvarah paramah krsnah
sac-cid-ananda-vigrahah/anadir adir govindah sarva-karana-karanam.
"Krsna 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. Paramatma realization is the realization
of the cit (eternal knowledge) feature. But realization of
the Personality of Godhead, Krsna, is realization of all the
transcendental features: sat, cit and ananda (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 nityanam cetanas
cetananam. 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 Krsna is acting in different potencies is also explained
in Bhagavad-gita. 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 Sankhya 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-gita
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 smrti, 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-gita 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-gita, by the parampara (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 Sri Krsna, accepts everything that He says without
contradicting Him. One is not allowed to accept one portion
of Bhagavad-gita and not another. No. We must accept Bhagavad-gita
without interpretation, without deletion and without our own
whimsical participation in the matter. The Gita 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 the 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 Brahma, the first created
living being, and Brahma in his turn disseminated this knowledge
to his sons and disciples, as he originally received it from
the Lord. The Lord is purnam, 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 Brahma. In the Eleventh Chapter the Lord is addressed as
prapitamaha because Brahma is addressed as pitamaha, 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-gita. In the beginning, Arjuna decided
that he should not fight in the Battle of Kuruksetra. 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-gita 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, "karisye
vacanam 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-gita.
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-gita 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-gita, 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 sanatana 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 sanatana, eternal. Jiva
is also described as sanatana, eternal, and the Lord is also
described as sanatana in the Eleventh Chapter. We have an
intimate relationship with the Lord, and because we are all
qualitatively one--the sanatana-dhama, or sky, the sanatana
Supreme Personality and the sanatana living entities--the
whole purpose of Bhagavad-gita is to revive our sanatana occupation,
or sanatana-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 sanatana,
as are the living entities, and the combined association of
the Supreme Lord and the living entities in the sanatana abode
is the perfection of human life. The Lord is very kind to
the living entities because they are His sons. Lord Krsna
declares in Bhagavad-gita, "sarva-yonisu...aham bija-pradah
pita." "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
sanatana eternal sky so that the sanatana living entities
may regain their eternal sanatana 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 acaryas to reclaim the conditioned souls.
Therefore, sanatana-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.
Sanatana-dharma refers, as stated previously, to the eternal
occupation of the living entity. Ramanujacarya has explained
the word sanatana as "that which has neither beginning
nor end," so when we speak of sanatana-dharma, we must
take it for granted on the authority of Sri Ramanujacarya
that it has neither beginning nor end.
The English world "religion" is a little different
from sanatana-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 sanatana-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. Sanatana-dharma
is eternally integral with the living entity. When we speak
of sanatana-dharma, therefore, we must take it for granted
on the authority of Sri Ramanujacarya 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 sanatana-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 sanatana-dharma is the business
of all the people of the world--nay, of all the living entities
of the universe.
Non-sanatana religious faith may have some beginning in the
annals of human history, but there is no beginning to the
history of sanatana-dharma because it remains eternally with
the living entities. Insofar as the living entities are concerned,
the authoritative sastras state that the living entity has
neither birth nor death. In the Gita 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 sanatana-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 a 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 Sanatana Gosvami asked Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu about
the svarupa of every living being, the Lord replied that the
svarupa 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-sanatana-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 affect 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 sanatana-dharma. The rendering
of service is sanatana-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 independently,
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-gita, worship of different demigods or rendering
service to them is not approved. It is stated in the Seventh
Chapter, twentieth verse:
kamais tais tair hrta-jnanah prapadyante 'nya-devatah
tam tam niyamam asthaya prakrtya niyatah svaya
"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 Krsna.
When we mention the name Krsna, we do not refer to any sectarian
name. Krsna 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. Ananda-mayo
'bhyasat (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 Vrndavana, which are full of happiness. When Lord Sri Krsna
was in Vrndavana, His activities with His cowherd boyfriends,
with His damsel friends, with the inhabitants of Vrndavana
and with the cows were all full of happiness. The total population
of Vrndavana knew nothing but Krsna. But Lord Krsna even discouraged
His father Nanda Maharaja 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 Sri Krsna is described in the Bhagavad-gita,
Fifteenth Chapter, sixth verse:
na tad bhasayate suryo na sasanko na pavakah
yad gatva na nivartante tad dhama paramam 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-samhita it is beautifully
described: goloka eva nivasaty akhilatma-bhutah. 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-ananda-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 Syamasundara. 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, Krsnaloka, and the anandamaya-cinmaya planets, which
are not material, float in those rays. The Lord says, na tad
bhasayate suryo na sasanko na pavakah. yad gatva na nivartante
tad dhama paramam 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-gita, abrahma-bhuvanal lokah punar avartino
'rjuna. The living entities are traveling from one planet
to another, not by a mechanical arrangement but by a spiritual
process. This is also mentioned: yanti deva-vrata devan pitrn
yanti pitr-vratah. No mechanical arrangement is necessary
if we want interplanetary travel. The Gita instructs: yanti
deva-vrata devan. 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-gita informs us how
to travel to the higher planetary systems (Devaloka) with
a very simple formula: yanti deva-vrata devan. 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-gita 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, Krsnaloka, 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 Vrndavana,
which is the original planet in the abode of the original
Personality of Godhead Sri Krsna. All of this information
is given in Bhagavad-gita, 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-gita, the real picture
of the material world is given. It is said there:
urdhva-mulam adhah-sakham asvattham prahur avyayam
chandamsi yasya parnani yas tam 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 nirmana-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 sanatana-dhama.
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 Gita it is stated:
avyakto 'ksara ity uktas tam ahuh paramam gatim
yam prapya na nivartante tad dhama paramam 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 Srimad-Bhagavatam, 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-kale ca mam eva smaran muktva kalevaram
yah prayati sa mad-bhavam yati nasty atra samsayah
"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 Krsna at the time
of his death goes to Krsna. One must remember the form of
Krsna; if he quits his body thinking of this form, he approaches
the spiritual kingdom. Mad-bhavam refers to the supreme nature
of the Supreme Being. The Supreme Being is sac-cid-ananda-vigraha--eternal,
full of knowledge and bliss. Our present body is not sac-cid-ananda.
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 nirananda;
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-ananda body,
as is promised in the fifth verse of the Eight Chapter where
Lord Krsna 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 brahmavadi, paramatmavadi, 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
Vaikuntha planets, which are innumerable, and the Supreme
Lord by His plenary expansions as Narayana 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
Paramatma or the Supreme Personality of Godhead Sri Krsna.
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 Vaikuntha 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 Paramatma 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 Gita:
yam yam vapi smaran bhavam tyajaty ante kalevaram
tam tam evaiti kaunteya sada tad-bhava-bhavitah
"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 Visnu Purana the
total energies of the Supreme Lord as Visnu-saktih para prokta,
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
visnu-sakti, that is to say they are different potencies of
Lord Visnu. That energy is para, 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 Puranas, etc. The Puranas are not imaginative; they are
historical records. In the Caitanya-caritamrta 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, Krsna has given a great
number of Vedic literatures. First he divided the Vedas into
four, then he explained them in the Puranas, and for less
capable people he wrote the Mahabharata. In the Mahabharata
there is given the Bhagavad-gita. Then all Vedic literature
is summarized in the Vedanta-sutra, and for future guidance
he gave a natural commentation on the Vedanta-sutra, called
Srimad-Bhagavatam. 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 Vyasadeva; 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)
tasmat sarvesu kalesu mam anusmara yudhya ca
mayy arpita-mano-buddhir mam evaisyasy asamsayah
"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--brahmana, ksatriya, vaisya,
sudra. The brahmana class or intelligent class is working
in one way, the ksatriya 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 Krsna.
If he doesn't practice remembering Krsna while he is struggling
for existence, then it will not be possible for him to remember
Krsna 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 Krsna's instructions to Arjuna
to "remember Me" and Lord Caitanya's injunction
to always "chant the names of Lord Krsna" are the
same instruction. There is no difference, because Krsna and
Krsna'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 acaryas 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, Sri Krsna, 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 Krsna; he was the constant companion of Krsna,
and at the same time he was a warrior. Krsna did not advise
him to give up fighting and go to the forest to meditate.
When Lord Krsna delineates the yoga system to Arjuna, Arjuna
says that the practice of this system is not possible for
him.
arjuna uvaca
yo 'yam yogas tvaya proktah samyena madhusudana
etasyaham na pasyami cancalatvat sthitim sthiram
"Arjuna said, O Madhusudana, 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:
yoginam api sarvesam mad-gatenantaratmana
sraddhavan bhajate yo mam sa me yuktatamo matah
"Of all yogis, 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 yogi, the supermost jnani, and
the greatest devotee at the same time. The Lord further tells
Arjuna that as a ksatriya he cannot give up his fighting,
but if Arjuna fights remembering Krsna, 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-gita 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 Krsna's
service, then the senses are automatically engaged in His
service. This is the art, and this is also the secret of Bhagavad-gita:
total absorption in the thought of Sri Krsna.
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 sravanam, hearing
Bhagavad-gita from the realized person, will turn one to the
thought of the Supreme Being. This will lead to nisala, 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
Kunti." (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 Sri Krsna 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 Krsna. One must
thus meditate on paramam purusam, the Supreme Person, and
thus attain Him. The ways and the means for ultimate realization,
ultimate attainment, are stated in the Bhagavad-gita, 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:
mam hi partha vyapasritya ye 'pi syuh papa-yonayah
striyo vaisyas tatha sudras te 'pi yanti param gatim
kim punar brahmanah punya bhakta rajarsayas tatha
anityam asukham lokam imam prapya bhajasva mam
"O son of Prtha, 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 brahmanas, 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-gita,
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-gita.
In conclusion, Bhagavad-gita is a transcendental literature
which one should read very carefully. It is capable of saving
one from all fear.
nehabhikrama-naso 'sti pratyavayo na vidyate
svalpam apy asya dharmasya trayate mahato bhayat
"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-gita sincerely and seriously, then all of the reactions
of his past misdeeds will not react upon him. In the last
portion of Bhagavad-gita, Lord Sri Krsna proclaims:
sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam saranam vraja
aham tvam sarva-papebhyo moksayisyami ma sucah
"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-gita cleanses away all the dirt of material
life. Because Bhagavad-gita 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-gita.
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-gita, 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-gita? Gita is the very nectar of the Mahabharata
spoken by Visnu Himself, for Lord Krsna is the original Visnu.
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-gita is even more important
than the Ganges.
The Bhagavad-gita is just like a cow, and Lord Krsna, 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-gita.
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-gita. And
let there be one God only for the whole world--Sri Krsna.
And one mantra only--Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna,
Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. And
let there be one work only--the service of the Supreme Personality
of Godhead.
THE DISCIPLIC SUCCESSION
Evam parampara-praptam imam rajarsayo viduh (Bhagavad-gita,
4.2). This Bhagavad-gita As It Is is received through this
disciplic succession:
