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Bhagavad-gita As It Is
OTHER BOOKS by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada Srimad-Bhagavatam Teachings of Lord Caitanya Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead (2 volumes) Sri Igopanisad Easy Journey to Other Planets Krsna Consciousness: The Topmost Yoga System The Nectar of Devotion The Krsna Consciousness Movement is the Genuine Back to Godhead Magazine (Founder)
Vedic Way
Bhagavad-sita COMPLETE
EDITION
with original Sanskrit text, Roman transliteration, English equivalents translation and elaborate purports
His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada Founder-Acarya of the Intemational Society for Krishna Consciousness
Collier Books, New York Collier Macmillan Publishers, London
Copyright © 1972 by His Divine Grace
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Readers interested in the subject matter of this book are invited by the International Society for Krishna Consciousness to correspond with its Secretary. International Society for Krishna Consciousness 3764 Watseka Avenue Los Angeles, California 90034
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 72-79319 All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or
transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical,
including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission from the Publisher. First Collier Books Edition 1972 Third Printing 1973
Bhagavad-gita As It Is is also published in a hardcover edition by the Macmillan Company.
Macmillan Publishing Co., Inc.
Collier-Macmillan Canada Ltd. Printed in the United States of America
To
SRILA BALADEVA
VIDYABHUSANA
who presented so nicely the ““Govinda-bhasya” commentary
on
Vedanta philosophy
TABLE
OF
CONTENTS
Foreword
Ix
Preface
xl
Introduction
1
CHAPTER ONE
Observing the Armies on
the Battlefield of Kuruksetra
31
CHAPTER TWO Contents of the Gita Summarized
71
CHAPTER THREE
Karma-yoga
161
GHAPTER FOUR
Transcendental
Knowledge
213
CHAPTER FIVE
Karma-yoga-
Action in Krsna Consciousness
271
CHAPTER SIX
Sankhya-yoga
307
CHAPTER SEVEN
Knowledge of the Absolute CHAPTER EIGHT
Attaining the Supreme
361 409
CHAPTER NINE
The Most Confidential Knowledge
441
CHAPTER TEN The Opulence of the Absolute
491
CHAPTER ELEVEN The Universal Form
539
CHAPTER TWELVE Devotional Service
595
CHAPTER THIRTEEN Nature, the Enjoyer,
and Consciousness
619
CHAPTER FOURTEEN The Three Modes of Material Nature
663
CHAPTER FIFTEEN The Yoga of the Supreme Person
693
CHAPTER SIXTEEN The Divine and Demoniac
' 721
Natures
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN The Divisions of Faith
751
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN ConclusionThe Perfection of Renunciation
779
Appendixes Picture Index
853
References
863
Glossary
865
Sanskrit Pronunciation
Guide
881
Index of Sanskrit Verses
883
General
899
Index
Foreword The Bhagavad-gita is the best known and the most frequently translated of Vedic religious texts. Why it should be so appealing to the Western mind is an interesting question.It has drama, for its settingis a scene of two great armies, banners flying, drawn up opposite one another on the field, poised for battle. It has ambiguity, and the fact that Arjuna and his charioteer Krsna are carrying on their dialogue between the two armies suggests the
indecision of Arjuna about the basic question: should he enter battle against and kill those who are friends and kinsmen? It has mystery, as Krsna demonstrates to Arjuna His cosmic form. It has a properly complicated view of the ways of the religious life and treats of the paths of knowledge, works, discipline and faith and their inter-relationships, problems that have bothered adherents of other religions in other times and places. The devotion spoken of is a deliberate means of religious satisfaction, not a mere outpouring of poetic emotion. Next to the Bhagavata-purana, a long work from South India, the Gita is the text most frequently quoted
in the philosophical writings of the Gaudiya Vaisnava school, the school
represented by Swami Bhaktivedanta as the latest in a long succession of teachers. It can be said that this school of Vaisnavism was founded, or revived, by Sri Krgna-Caitanya Mahaprabhu (1486-1533) in Bengal, and
that it is currently the strongest single religious force in the eastern part of
the Indian subcontinent. The Gaudiya Vaisnava school, for whom
is Himself the Supreme
Krsna
God, and not merely an incarnation of another
deity, sees bhakti as an immediate and powerful religious force, consisting
of love between man and God. Its discipline consists of devoting all one’s
actions to the Deity, and one listens to the stories of Krsna from the sacred texts, one chants Krgna’s name, washes, bathes, and dresses the murti of Krsna, feeds Him and takes the remains of the food offered to Him, thus absorbing His grace; one does these things and many more, until one has
been changed:
the devotee
has become
Krsna, and sees the Lord face to face.
transformed into one close to
Swami Bhaktivedanta comments upon the Gitd from this point of view,
and
that is legitimate.
More
than
that, in this translation
the Western
reader has the unique opportunity of seeing how a Krsna devotee interprets his own texts. It is the Vedic exegetical tradition, justly famous, in action. This book is then a welcome addition from many points of view. It can serve as a valuable textbook for the college student. It allows us to listen to ix
x a skilled interpreter explicating a text which has profound religious meaning. It gives us insights into the original and highly convincing ideas of the Gaudiya Vaisnava school. In providing the Sanskrit in both Devanagari and transliteration, it offers the Sanskrit specialist the opportunity to reinterpret, or debate particular Sanskrit meanings—although I think there will be little disagreement about the quality of the Swami’s Sanskrit
scholarship.
And
finally, for the nonspecialist, there is readable
English and a devotional attitude which cannot help but move the sensitive reader. And there are the paintings, which, incredibly as it may seem to those familiar with contemporary Indian religious art, were done by American devotees. The
scholar,
the
student
of Gaudiya
Vaisnavism,
and the increasing
number of Western readers interested in classical Vedic thought have been done a service by Swami Bhaktivedanta. By bringing us a new and living interpretation of a text already known to many, he has increased our understanding manyfold; and arguments for understanding, in these days of estrangement, need not be made. Professor Edward C. Dimock, Jr.
Department of South Asian Languages and Civilization University of Chicago
Preface Originally I wrote Bhagavad-gita As It Is in the form in which it is presented now. When this book was first published, the original manuscript was, unfortunately, cut short to less than 400 pages, without illustrations and without explanations for most of the original verses of the Srimad Bhagavad-gité. In all of my other books—Srimad Bhagavatam, Sri Isopanisad, etc.—the system is that I give the original verse, its English transliteration,
word-for-word
Sanskrit-English
equivalents,
translations
and purports. This makes the book very authentic and scholarly and makes the meaning self-evident. I was not very happy, therefore, when I had to minimize my original manuscript. But later on, when the demand for Bhagavad-gita As It Is considerably increased, I was requested by many scholars and devotees to present the book in its original form, and Messrs. Macmillan and Co. agreed to publish the complete edition. Thus the present attempt is to offer the original manuscript of this great book of knowledge with full parampara explanation in order to establish the Krsna consciousness movement more soundly and progressively. Our Krsna consciousness movement is genuine, historically authorized,
natural and transcendental due to its being based on Bhagavad-gita As It Is. It is gradually becoming the most popular movement in the entire world, especially amongst the younger generation. It is becoming more and more interesting to the older generation also. Older gentlemen are becoming interested, so much so that the fathers and grandfathers of my disciples are encouraging us by becoming life members of our great society, the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. In Los Angeles many fathers and mothers used to come to see me to express their feelings of gratitude for my leading the Krsna consciousness movement throughout the entire world. Some of them said that it is greatly fortunate for the Americans that I have started the Krsna consciousness movement in America. But actually the original father of this movement is Lord Krsna
Himself, since it was started a very long time ago but is coming down to human society by disciplic succession. If I have any credit in this connection, it does not belong to me personally, but it is due to my eternal spiritual master,
jakacarya 108 Prabhupada.
His
Divine
Sri Srimad
Grace
Om
Visnupada
Bhaktisiddhanta
xu
Paramahamsa
Parivra-
Sarasvati Gosvami Maharaja
xu
Bhagavad-gita As It Is
If personally I have any credit in this matter, it is only that I have tried to present Bhagavad-gita as it is, without adulteration. Before my presentation of Bhagavad-gita As It Is, almost all the English editions of Bhagavadgita were introduced to fulfill someone’s personal ambition. But our attempt,
in presenting Bhagavad-gita As It Is, is to present the mission of
the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krsna. Our business is to present the will of Krsna, not that of any mundane speculator like the politician,
philosopher
or scientist, for they have very little knowledge
of Krsna,
despite all their other knowledge. When Krsna says, man-mana bhava madbhakto mad-yaji mam namaskuru, etc., we, unlike the so-called scholars, do not say that Krsna and His inner spirit are different. Krsna is absolute, and there is no difference between Krsna’s name, Krsna’s form, Krsna’s quality, Krsna’s pastimes, etc. This absolute position of Krsna is difficult to understand for any person who is not a devotee of Krsna in the param-
para (disciplic succession) system. Generally the so-called scholars, politi-
cians, philosophers, and svamis, without perfect knowledge of Krsna, try
to banish or kill Krsna when writing commentary on Bhagavad-gita. Such unauthorized commentary upon Bhagavad-gita is known as MayavadiBhasya, and Lord Caitanya has warned us about these unauthorized men. Lord Caitanya clearly says that anyone who tries to understand Bhagavadgita from the Mayavad: point of view will commit a great blunder. The result of such a blunder will be that the misguided student of Bhagavadgita will certainly be bewildered on the path of spiritual guidance and will not be able to go back home, back to Godhead. Our only purpose is to present this Bhagavad-gita As It Is in order to guide the conditioned student to the same purpose for which Krsna descends to this planet once in a day of Brahma, or every 8,600,000,000
years. This purpose is stated in Bhagavad-gita, and we have to accept it as it is; otherwise there is no point in trying to understand the Bhagavad-gita and its speaker, Lord Krsna. Lord Krsna first spoke Bhagavad-gita to the
sun-god some hundreds of millions of years ago. fact and thus understand the historical significance out misinterpretation, on the authority of Krsna. gita without any reference to the will of Krsna is
We have to accept this of Bhagavad-gita, withTo interpret Bhagavadthe greatest offense. In
order to save oneself from this offense, one has to understand the Lord as
the Supreme Personality of Godhead, as He was directly understood by Arjuna, Lord Krsna’s first disciple. Such understanding of Bhagavad-gita is really profitable and authorized for the welfare of human society in fulfilling the mission of life.
The Krsna consciousness movement is essential in human society, for it
offers the highest perfection of life. How this is so is explained fully in the
Preface
XL
Bhagavad-gita. Unfortunately, mundane wranglers have taken advantage of Bhagavad-gita to push forward their demonic propensities and mislead people regarding right understanding of the simple principles of life. Everyone should know how God or Krsna is great, and everyone should know
the factual position of the living entities. Everyone should know that a living entity is eternally a servant and that unless one serves Krsna one has to serve illusion in different varieties of the three modes of material nature,
and thus perpetually one has to wander within the cycle of birth and death; even the so-called liberated Mayavadi speculator has to undergo this process. This knowledge constitutes a great science, and each and every living being has to hear it for his own interest. People in general, especially in this age of Kali, are enamored by the external energy of Krsna, and they wrongly think that by advancement of material comforts every man will be happy. They have no knowledge that the
material
or external
nature
is very strong, for everyone
is strongly
bound by the stringent laws of material nature. A living entity is happily
the part and parcel of the Lord, and thus his natural function is to render
immediate service to the Lord. By the spell of illusion one tries to be happy by serving his personal sense gratification in different forms which will never make him happy. Instead of satisfying his own personal material senses, he has to satisfy the senses of the Lord. That is the highest perfection of life. The Lord wants this, and He demands it. One has to under-
stand this central ment is teaching not polluting the ested in deriving from
the
point of Bhagavad-gita. Our Krsna consciousness movethe whole world this central point, and because we are theme of Bhagavad-gita As It Is, anyone seriously interbenefit by studying the Bhagavad-gita must take help
Krsna consciousness
movement
for practical understanding
of
Bhagavad-gita under the direct guidance of the Lord. We hope, therefore, that people will derive the greatest benefit by studying Bhagavad-gita
As It Is as we have presented it here, and if even one man becomes a pure
devotee of the Lord we shall consider our attempt a success.
J
Say 100) NWN bel MY Ta 12 May 1971 Sydney, Australia
Bhagavad-gita As It Is
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The Opulence of the Absolute TEXT 1
ATTATTA |
WT UT AEM TY A WA TA: | quse strana qearty feaaezar 1 2 tl sri bhagavan uvaca bhitya eva maha-baho Smu me paramam vacah yat te’ham priyamanaya vaksyami hita-kamyaya $i bhagavan uvaca—the Supreme Personality of Godhead said; bhityah—again; eva—certainly; mahd-baho—O mighty-armed; srnu—just hear;
me—My;
paramam—supreme;
vacah—information;
yat—that which;
te—to you; aham—J; priyamanaya—thinking you dear to Me; vaksyami— say; hita-kamyaya—for your benefit. 491
492
Bhagavad-gita As It Is
[Ch. 10
TRANSLATION The Supreme Lord said: My dear friend, mighty-armed Arjuna, listen again to My supreme word, which I shall impart to you for your benefit and which will give you great joy. PURPORT The word paramam is explained thus by Parasara Muni: one who is full
in six opulences,
beauty
Godhead.
and
opulences. Krsna
who
has
Krsna
was
renunciation,
While
full strength,
is paramam, present
on
full fame,
Personality
this earth, He displayed
Therefore great sages like Paragara Muni
as the Supreme
wealth, knowledge,
or the Supreme
of
all six
have all accepted
Personality of Godhead. Now Krsna is instructing
Arjuna in more confidential knowledge of His opulences and His work. Previously, beginning with the Seventh Chapter, the Lord already explained His different energies and how they are acting. Now in this chapter He explains His specific opulences to Arjuna. In the previous chapter he has clearly explained His different energies to establish devotion in firm conviction. Again in this chapter He tells Arjuna about His manifestations and various opulences. The more one hears about the Supreme God, the more one becomes fixed in devotional service. One should always hear about the Lord in the
association
of devotees;
that
will enhance
one’s
devotional
service.
Dis-
courses in the society of devotees can take place only among those who
are really anxious to be in Krsna consciousness. Others cannot take part in
such discourses. The Lord clearly tells Arjuna that because he is very dear to Him, for his benefit such discourses are taking place. TEXT 2
aH (Zs ACU
:
S
AAT A ATT: | 8
wearlate Sarat aadiont AAT WAM na me viduh sura-ganah prabhavarn na maharsayah aham ddir hi devanarm maharsinam ca sarvasah
Text 2] na—never;
opulences;
The Opulence of the Absolute me—My;
na—never;
viduh—knows;
493
sura-ganadh—demigods; prabhavam—
maharsayah—great
sages;
aham—I
origin; hi—certainly; devanam—of the demigods; great sages; ca—also; sarvasah—in all respects.
am;
adih—the
maharsindm—of
the
TRANSLATION Neither the hosts of demigods nor the great sages know My origin, for, in every respect, I am the source of the demigods and the sages. PURPORT As stated in the Brahma-samhita,
Lord Krsna is the Supreme Lord. No
one is greater than Him; He is the cause of all causes. Here it is also stated by the Lord personally that He is the cause of all the demigods and sages. Even the demigods and great sages cannot understand Krsna; they can understand neither His name nor His personality, so what is the position of the so-called scholars of this tiny planet? No one can understand why this Supreme God comes to earth as an ordinary human being and executes such commonplace
and yet wonderful activities. One should know, then,
that scholarship is not the qualification necessary to understand Krsna. Even the demigods and the great sages have tried to understand Krsna by their mental speculation, and they have failed to do so. In the SrimadBhagavatam also it is clearly said that even the great demigods are not able to understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead. They can speculate to the limits of their imperfect senses and can reach the opposite conclusion of impersonalism, of something not manifested by the three qualities of material nature, or they can imagine something by mental speculation, but it is not possible to understand Krsna by such foolish speculation.
Here the Lord indirectly says that if anyone wants to know the Absolute Truth, “Here I am present as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. I am the Supreme.” One should know this. Although one cannot understand the inconceivable Lord who is personally present, He nonetheless exists. We can actually understand Krsna, who is eternal, full of bliss and knowledge,
simply by studying His words in Bhogavad-gita and Srimad-Bhagavatam. The impersonal Brahman can be conceived by persons who are already in the inferior energy of the Lord, but the Personality of Godhead cannot be conceived unless one is in the transcendental position. Because most men cannot understand Krsna in His actual situation, out
of His causeless mercy He descends to show favor to such speculators. Yet
494,
Bhagavad-gita As It Is
[Ch. 10.
despite the Supreme Lord’s uncommon activities, these speculators, due to contamination in the material energy, still think that the impersonal Brahman is the Supreme. Only the devotees who are fully surrendered unto the Supreme Lord can understand, by the grace of the Supreme Personality, that He is Krsna.
The
devotees
of the Lord
do not bother
about the impersonal Brahman conception of God; their faith and devotion bring them to surrender immediately unto the Supreme Lord, and out of the causeless mercy of Krsna, they can understand Krsna. No one else can
understand Him. So even great sages agree: What is atmd, what is the Supreme? It is He whom we have to worship. TEXT 3 x
+
A AAT FT AT SAAT | * S x HAAS! A AAG TAM WYTAT Ul 3 Ul yo mam ajam anddim ca vetti loka-mahesvaram asammidhah sa martyesu sarva-papaih pramucyate yah—any one; maém—unto Me; ajam—unborn; anadim—without beginning ; ca—also;
vetti-knows;
loka—the
planets;
mahesvaram—supreme
master;
asammidhah—without doubt; sah—he; martyesu—among those subject to death; sarva-paépaih—from all sinful reactions; pramucyate—is delivered. TRANSLATION He who knows Me as the unborn, as the beginningless, as the Supreme
Lord of all the worlds—he, undeluded among men, is freed from all sins,
PURPORT As stated in the Seventh Chapter, those who are trying to elevate themselves to the platform of spiritual realization are not ordinary men. They are superior to millions and millions of ordinary men who have no knowledge of spiritual realization, but out of those actually trying to understand their spiritual situation, one who can come to the understanding that Krsna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the proprietor of everything, the
Text 3]
The Opulence of the Absolute
495
unborn, is the most successful spiritually realized person. In that stage only, when one has fully understood Krsna’s supreme position, can one be free completely from all sinful reactions. Here the word ajam, meaning unborn, should not be confused with the
living entities, who are described in the Second Chapter as ajam. The Lord is different from the living entities who are taking birth and dying due to material attachment. The conditional souls are changing their bodies, but His body is not changeable. Even when He comes to this material world, He comes as the same unborn; therefore in the Fourth Chapter it is said that the Lord, by His internal potency, is not under the inferior material energy, but is always in the superior energy. He was existing before the creation, and He is different from His creation. All the demigods were created within this material world, but as far as Krsna is concerned, it is said that He is not created; therefore Krsna
is different even from
the great demigods like Brahma and Siva. And
because He is the creator of Brahmi, Siva and all the other demigods, He is
the Supreme Person of all planets. Sri Krsna is therefore different from everything that is created, and anyone who knows Him as such immediately becomes liberated from all sinful reaction. One must be liberated from all sinful activities to be in the knowledge of the Supreme Lord. Only by devotional service can He be known and not by any other means, as stated in Bhagavad-gita. One should not try to understand Krsna as a human being. As stated
previously, only a foolish person thinks Him to be a human being. This is again expressed here in a different way. A man who is not foolish, who is intelligent enough to understand the constitutional position of the Godhead, is always free from all sinful reactions. If Krsna is known
as the son of Devaki, then how can He be unborn?
That is also explained in Srimad-Bhdgavatam: When He appeared before Devaki and Vasudeva, He was not born as an ordinary child; He appeared in His original form, and then He transformed Himself into an ordinary child. Anything done under the direction of Krsna is transcendental. It cannot
be contaminated by the material reactions, which may be auspicious or inauspicious. The conception that there are things auspicious and inauspicious in the material world is more or less a mental concoction because there is nothing auspicious in the material world. Everything is inauspicious because the very material mask is inauspicious. We simply imagine it to be auspicious. Real auspiciousness depends on activities in Krsna con-
sciousness in full devotion and service. Therefore if we at all want our
496
Bhagavad-gita As It Is
activities to be auspicious,
[Ch. 10
then we should work under the directions of
the Supreme Lord. Such directions are given in authoritative scriptures such as Srimad-Bhagavatam and Bhagavad-gita, or from a bona fide spiritual master. Because the spiritual master is the representative of the Supreme
Lord, his direction is directly the direction of the Supreme Lord. The spiritual master, saintly persons and scriptures direct in the same way.
There is no contradiction in these three sources. All actions done under such direction are free from the reactions of pious or impious activities of this material world. The transcendental attitude of the devotee in the
performance of activities sannydsa. Anyone acting actually a sannydst and a dress of the sannyasi, or a
is actually that of renunciation, and this is called under the direction of the Supreme Lord is yogi, and not the man who has simply taken the pseudo-yogi. TEXTS
4-5
Sfaaiaaddle: qat ae TA Ta: |
TS TAS Wasa Aa AVATAT FI 8 II e
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AAT AAA THAN Ft TASTT? |
AafegT ATT alah AM TT TATA 114 II °
aN
buddhir jiidnam asammohah ksamd satyam damah samah sukham duhkham bhavo’bhavo bhayam cabhayam eva ca ahirsd samata tustis
tapo danam yaso’yasah
bhavanti bhava bhitanar
matta eva prthag-vidhah
buddhih—intelligence; jrignam—knowledge;asam-mohah—freedom from doubt; ksama—forgiveness; satyam—truthfulness; damah—control of the senses; §amah—control of the mind; sukham—happiness; duhkham— distress; bhavah—birth; cbhavah—death; bhayam—fear; ca—also; abhayam— without fear; eva—also;ca—and; ahirisd—nonviolence; samata—equilibrium; tustih— satisfaction; tapah—penance; ddnam—charity; yasah—fame; ayasah—in-
Texts 4-5] famy;
The Opulence of the Absolute
bhavanti—become;
bhavah—natures;
bhiitandm—of
497 living entities;
mattah—from Me; eva—certainly; prthak-vidhah—differently arranged. TRANSLATION
Intelligence, knowledge, freedom from doubt and delusion, forgiveness, truthfulness, self-control and calmness, pleasure and pain, birth, death, fear, fearlessness, nonviolence, equanimity, satisfaction, austerity, charity,
fame and infamy are created by Me alone. PURPORT
The different qualities of living entities, be they good or bad, are all created by Krsna, and they are described here. Intelligence refers to the power of analyzing things in proper perspective, and knowledge refers to understanding what is spirit and what is matter. Ordinary knowledge obtained by a university education pertains only to matter, and it is not accepted here as knowledge. Knowledge means knowing the distinction between spirit and matter. In modern education there is no knowledge about the spirit; they are simply taking care of the material elements and bodily needs. Therefore academic knowledge is not complete. Asammohah,
freedom from doubt and delusion, can be achieved when
one is not hesitant and when he understands the transcendental philosophy. Slowly but surely he becomes free from bewilderment. Nothing should be accepted blindly; everything should be accepted with care and with
caution. Ksama,
forgiveness, should be practiced, and one should excuse
the minor offenses of others. Satyam, truthfulness, means that facts should be presented as they are for the benefit of others. Facts should not be misrepresented. According to social conventions, it is said that one can speak the truth only when it is palatable to others. But that is not truthfulness. The truth should be spoken in a straight and forward way, so that others will understand actually what the facts are. If a man is a thief and if people are warned that he is a thief, that is truth. Although sometimes the truth is unpalatable, one should not refrain from speaking it. Truthfulness demands that the facts be presented as they are for the benefit of others. That is the definition of truth. Self-control means that the senses should not be used for unnecessary personal enjoyment. There is no prohibition against meeting the proper needs of the senses. but unnecessary sense enjoyment is detrimental for
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Bhagavad-gita As It Is
[Ch. 10
spiritual advancement. Therefore the senses should be restrained from unnecessary use. Similarly, the mind should not indulge in unnecessary thoughts; that is called Samah, or calmness. Nor should one spend one’s time pondering over earning money. That is a misuse of the thinking power. The mind should be used to understand the prime necessity of human beings, and that should be presented authoritatively. The power of thought should be developed in association with persons who are authorities in the scriptures, saintly persons and spiritual masters and those whose thinking is highly developed. Sukham, pleasure or happiness, should always be in that which is favorable for the cultivation of the spiritual knowledge of Krsna consciousness. And similarly, that which is painful or which causes distress is that which is unfavorable for the cultivation of Krsna conscious-
ness. Anything favorable for the development of Krsna consciousness should be accepted, and anything unfavorable should be rejected. Bhava, birth, should be understood to refer to the body. As far as the
soul is concerned, there is neither birth nor death; that we have discussed
in the beginning of Bhagavad-gitd. Birth and death apply to one’s embodiment in the material world. Fear is due to worrying about the future. A
person in Krsna consciousness
has no fear because by his activities he is
sure to go back to the spiritual sky, back home, back to Godhead. Therefore his future is very bright. Others, however, do not know what their future holds; they have no knowledge of what the next life holds. So they are therefore in canstant anxiety. If we want to get free from anxiety,
then the best course is to understand Krsna and be situated always in Krsna consciousness. In that way we will be free from all fear. In the
Srimad-Bhagavatam it is stated that fear is caused by our absorption in the illusory energy, but those who are free from the illusory energy, those who are confident that they are not the material body, that they are spiritual parts of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and are therefore engaged in the transcendental service of the Supreme Godhead, have nothing to fear. Their future is very bright. This fear is a condition of persons who are not in Krsna consciousness. Bhayam,
Krsna consciousness. Ahimsa,
nonviolence,
means
fearlessness, is only possible for one in
that
one
should
not
do
anything
which
will put others into misery or confusion. Material activities that are promised by so many Politicians, sociologists, philanthropists, etc., do not produce very good results because the politicians and philanthropists have no transcendental vision; they do not know what is actually beneficial for human society. Ahunsd means that people should be trained in such a way that the full utilization of the human body can be achieved. The human
Texts 4-5]
The Opulence of the Absolute
499
body is meant for spiritual realization, so any movement
or any commis-
sions which do not further that end commit violence on the human body. That which furthers the future spiritual happiness of the people in general is called nonviolence. Samata, equanimity, refers to freedom from attachment and aversion. To be very much attached or to be very much detached is not the best. This material world should be accepted without attachment or aversion. Similarly,
that
which
is favorable
should be accepted; that which
for prosecuting
is unfavorable
should
Krsna consciousness
be rejected. That is
called samatd, equanimity. A person in Krsna consciousness has nothing to
reject and nothing to accept unless it is useful in the prosecution of Krsna
consciousness. Tustih, satisfaction, means that one should not be eager to gather more and more material goods by unnecessary activity. One should be satisfied with whatever is obtained by the grace of the Supreme Lord; that is called satisfaction. Tapas means austerity or penance. There are many rules and definitions in the Vedas which apply here, like rising early in the morning and taking a bath. Sometimes it is very troublesome to rise early in the morning, but whatever voluntary trouble one may suffer in this way is called penance. Similarly, there are prescriptions for fasting on certain days of the month. One may not be inclined to practice such fasting, but because of his determination to make advancement in the science of Krsna
consciousness, he should accept such bodily troubles which are recommended. However, one should not fast unnecessarily or against Vedic injunctions. One should not fast for some political purpose; that is described in Bhagavad-gita as fasting in ignorance, and anything done in ignorance or passion does not lead to spiritual advancement. Everything done
in the mode
of goodness
does advance
one, however,
and fasting
done in terms of the Vedic injunctions enriches one in spiritual knowledge. As far as charity is concerned, one should give fifty percent of his earnings to some good cause. And what is a good cause? It is that which is
conducted in terms of Krsna consciousness. That is not only a good cause, but it is the best cause. Because Krsna is good, His cause is also good. Thus
charity should be given to a person who is engaged in Krsna consciousness. According to Vedic literature, it is enjoined that charity should be given to the brahmanas. This practice is still followed, although not very nicely in terms of the Vedic injunction. But still the injunction is that charity should be given to the brahmanas. Why? Because they are engaged in higher cultivation of spiritual knowledge. A brahmana is supposed to devote his whole
500
Bhagavad-gita As It Is
[Ch. 10
life to understanding Brahman. A brahma-jana is one who knows Brahman; he is called a brahmana. Thus charity is offered to the brahmanas because since they are always engaged in higher spiritual service, they have no time to earn their livelihood. In the Vedic literature, charity is also to be awarded to the renouncer of life, the sannydsi. The sannydsis beg from door to door, not for money but for missionary purposes. The system is that they go from door to door to awaken the householders from the slumber of ignorance. Because the householders are engaged in family affairs and have forgotten their actual purpose in life—awakening their Krsna consciousness—it is the business of the sannydsis to go as beggars to the householders and encourage them to be Krsna conscious. As it is said in the Vedas, one should awake and achieve what is due him in this human form
of life. This knowledge and method is distributed by the sannydsis; hence charity is to be given to the renouncer of life, to the brahmanas, and similar good causes, not to any whimsical cause. Yasah, fame, should be according to Lord Caitanya, who said that a man
is famous when he is known as a great devotee. That is real fame. If one
has become a great man in Krsna consciousness and it is known, then he is
truly famous. One who does not have such fame is infamous. All these qualities are manifest throughout the universe inhuman society and in the society of the demigods. There are many forms of humanity on other planets, and these qualities are there. Now, for one who wants to advance
in Krsna consciousness,
Krsna creates all these qualities, but the
person develops them himself from within. One who engages in the devotional service of the Supreme Lord develops all the good qualities, as arranged by the Supreme Lord. Of whatever we find, good or bad, the origin is Krsna. Nothing can manifest in this material world which is not in Krsna. That is knowledge;
although we know that things are differently situated, we should realize
that everything flows from Krsna.
TEXT 6
HET: AA TS AAT AAT |
WATT AAT SAT AT SUH TAT ASAT! UGH maharsayah sapta purve catvdro manavas tatha mad-bhava manasd jata yesam loka imah prajah
Text 7]
The Opulence of the Absolute
501
maharsayah—the great sages; sapta—seven; purve—before; catvarah—four; manavah—Manus; tathd—also; mat-bhdvah—born of Me; manasah—from the mind; jatah—born; yesam—of them; loke—the planets; imah—all this;
prajah—population.
TRANSLATION The seven great sages and before them the four other great sages and the Manus [progenitors of mankind] are born out of My mind, and all creatures in these planets descend from them. PURPORT The Lord is giving a genealogical synopsis of the universal population. Brahma is the original creature born out of the energy of the Supreme Lord known as Hiranyagarbha. And from Brahma all the seven great
sages, and before them four other great sages, named Sanaka, Sananda, Sanatana, and Sanatkumara, and the Manus, are manifest. All these
twenty-five great sages are known as the patriarchs of the living entities all over the universe. There are innumerable universes and innumerable
planets within each universe, and each planet is full of population of dif-
ferent varieties. All of them are born of these twenty-five patriarchs. Brahma underwent penance for one thousand years of the demigods be-
fore he realized by the grace of Krsna how to create. Then from Brahma, Sanaka, Sananda, Sanatana, and Sanatkum4ra came out, then Rudra, and
then the seven sages, and in this way all the brahmanas and ksatriyas are born out of the energy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Brahma is known as pitamaha, the grandfather, and Krsna is known as the prapita-
maha, the father of the grandfather. That is stated in the Eleventh Chapter of the Bhagavad-gita. (Bg. 11.39) TEXT 7
ah aaa: | wat fratx att a am at x
ashaeert MTT TTT AT AAT Ut tl etam vibhiitim yogarh ca mama yo vetti tattvatah so’vikalpena yogena yujyate ndatra samsayah
502
Bhagavad-gita As It Is
[Ch. 10
etam—all this; vibhittim—opulence; yogam ca—also mystic power; mama —of Mine; yah—anyone; vetti—knows; tattvatah—factually; sah—he; avikal-
pena—without
division; yogena—in devotional service; yujyate—engaged;
na—never; atra—here; sarmsayah—doubt.
TRANSLATION He who knows in truth this glory and power of Mine engages in unalloyed devotional service; of this there is no doubt. PURPORT The highest summit of spiritual perfection is knowledge of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Unless one is firmly convinced of the different opulences of the Supreme Lord, he cannot engage in devotional service. Generally people know that God is great, but they do not know in detail how God is great. Here are the details. If one knows factually how God is great, then naturally he becomes a surrendered soul and engages himself in the devotional service of the Lord. When one factually knows the opulences of the Supreme, there is no alternative but to surrender to Him. This factual knowledge can be known from the descriptions in SrimadBhdgavatam and Bhagavad-gita and similar literatures. In the administration of this universe there are many demigods distributed throughout the planetary system, and the chief of them are Brahma, Lord Siva and the four great Kumiras and other patriarchs. There are many forefathers of the population of the universe, and all of them are born of the Supreme Lord Krsna. The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krsna, is the original forefather of all forefathers.
These are some of the opulences of the Supreme Lord. When one is
firmly convinced of them, he accepts Krsna with great faith and without
any doubt, and he engages in devotional service. All this particular knowledge is required in order to increase one’s interest in the loving devotional service of the Lord. One should not neglect to understand fully how great Krsna is, for by knowing the greatness of Krsna one will be able to be fixed
in sincere devotional service.
TEXT 8
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