Bhagavad-gita As It Is - Macmillan 1972 Edition -- Prabhupada Books (44 page)

eṣa u hy eva sādhu karma kārayati taṁ yamebhyo lokebhya unninīṣate
eṣa u evāsādhu karma kārayati yamadho ninīṣate.

ajño jantur anīso 'yam ātmanaḥ sukha-duḥkhayoḥ
īśvara-prerito gacchet svargaṁ vāśvabhram eva ca.

"The Lord engages the living entity in pious activities so he may be elevated. The Lord engages him in impious activities so he may go to hell. The living entity is completely dependant in his distress and happiness. By the will of the Supreme he can go to heaven or hell, as a cloud is driven by the air."

Therefore the embodied soul, by his immemorial desire to avoid Kṛṣṇa consciousness, causes his own bewilderment. Consequently, although he is constitutionally eternal, blissful and cognizant, due to the littleness of his existence he forgets his constitutional position of service to the Lord and is thus entrapped by nescience. And, under the spell of ignorance, the living entity claims that the Lord is responsible for his conditional existence. The
Vedānta-sūtras
also confirm this:

vaiṣamya-nairghṛṇye na sāpekṣatvāt tathā hi darśayati.

"The Lord neither hates nor likes anyone, though He appears to."

Bg 5.16

TEXT 16

TEXT

jñānena tu tad ajñānaṁ

yeṣāṁ nāśitam ātmanaḥ

teṣām āditya-vaj jñānaṁ

prakāśayati tat param

SYNONYMS

jñānena-
by knowledge;
tu-
but;
tat-
that;
ajñānam-
nescience;
yeṣām-
of those;
nāśitam-
is destroyed;
ātmanaḥ-
of the living entity;
teṣām-
of their;
ādityavat-
like the rising sun;
jñānam-
knowledge;
prakāśayati-
discloses;
tat param-
in Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

TRANSLATION

When, however, one is enlightened with the knowledge by which nescience is destroyed, then his knowledge reveals everything, as the sun lights up everything in the daytime.

PURPORT

Those who have forgotten Kṛṣṇa must certainly be bewildered, but those who are in Kṛṣṇa consciousness are not bewildered at all. It is stated in the
Bhagavad-gītā, "sarvaṁ jñāna-plavena," "jñānāgniḥ sarva-karmāṇi"
and "
na hi jñānena sadṛśam."
Knowledge is always highly esteemed. And what is that knowledge? Perfect knowledge is achieved when one surrenders unto Kṛṣṇa, as is said in the Seventh Chapter, 19th verse:
bahūnāṁ janmanām ante jñānavān māṁ prapadyate.
After passing through many, many births, when one perfect in knowledge surrenders unto Kṛṣṇa, or when one attains Kṛṣṇa consciousness, then everything is revealed to him, as the sun reveals everything in the daytime. The living entity is bewildered in so many ways. For instance, when he thinks himself God, unceremoniously, he actually falls into the last snare of nescience. If a living entity is God, then how can he become bewildered by nescience? Does God become bewildered by nescience? If so, then nescience, or Satan, is greater than God. Real knowledge can be obtained from a person who is in perfect Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Therefore, one has to seek out such a bona fide spiritual master and, under him, learn what Kṛṣṇa consciousness is. The spiritual master can drive away all nescience, as the sun drives away darkness. Even though a person may be in full knowledge that he is not this body but is transcendental to the body, he still may not be able to discriminate between the soul and the Supersoul. However, he can know everything well if he cares to take shelter of the perfect, bona fide Kṛṣṇa conscious spiritual master. One can know God and one's relationship with God only when one actually meets a representative of God. A representative of God never claims that he is God, although he is paid all the respect ordinarily paid to God because he has knowledge of God. One has to learn the distinction between God and the living entity. Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa therefore stated in the Second Chapter (2.12) that every living being is individual and that the Lord also is individual. They were all individuals in the past, they are individuals at present, and they will continue to be individuals in the future, even after liberation. At night we see everything as one in the darkness, but in day when the sun is up, we see everything in its real identity. Identity with individuality in spiritual life is real knowledge.

Bg 5.17

TEXT 17

TEXT

tad-buddhayas tad-ātmānas

tan-niṣṭhās tat-parāyaṇāḥ

gacchanty apunar-āvṛttiṁ

jñāna-nirdhūta-kalmaṣāḥ

SYNONYMS

tad-buddhayaḥ-
one whose intelligence is always in the Supreme;
tad-ātmānaḥ-
one whose mind is always in the Supreme;
tat-niṣṭhāḥ-
whose mind is only meant for the Supreme;
tat-parāyaṇāḥ-
who has completely taken shelter of Him;
gacchanti-
goes;
apunaḥ-āvṛttim-
liberation;
jñāna-
knowledge;
nirdhūta-
cleanses;
kalmaṣāḥ-
misgivings.

TRANSLATION

When one's intelligence, mind, faith and refuge are all fixed in the Supreme, then one becomes fully cleansed of misgivings through complete knowledge and thus proceeds straight on the path of liberation.

PURPORT

The Supreme Transcendental Truth is Lord Kṛṣṇa. The whole
Bhagavad-gītā
centers around the declaration of Kṛṣṇa as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. That is the version of all Vedic literature.
Paratattva
means the Supreme Reality, who is understood by the knowers of the Supreme as Brahman, Paramātmā and Bhagavān. Bhagavān, or the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is the last word in the Absolute. There is nothing more than that.TheLord says,
mattaḥ parataraṁ nānyat kiñcit asti dhanañjaya.
Impersonal Brahman is also supported by Kṛṣṇa:
brahmaṇo pratiṣṭhāham.
Therefore in all ways Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Reality. One whose mind, intelligence, faith and refuge are always in Kṛṣṇa, or, in other words, one who is fully in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, is undoubtedly washed clean of all misgivings and is in perfect knowledge in everything concerning transcendence. A Kṛṣṇa conscious person can thoroughly understand that there is duality (simultaneous identity and individuality) in Kṛṣṇa, and, equipped with such transcendental knowledge, one can make steady progress on the path of liberation.

Bg 5.18

TEXT 18

TEXT

vidyā-vinaya-sampanne

brāhmaṇe gavi hastini

śuni caiva śva-pāke ca

paṇḍitāḥ sama-darśinaḥ

SYNONYMS

vidyā-
education;
vinaya-
gentleness;
sampanne-
fully equipped;
brāhmaṇe-
in the
brāhmaṇa; gavi-
in the cow;
hastini-
in the elephant;
śuni-
in the dog;
ca-
and;
eva-
certainly;
śvapāke-
in the dog-eater (the outcaste);
ca-
respectively; paṇḍitāḥ-those who are so wise;
sama-darśinaḥ
-do see with equal vision.

TRANSLATION

The humble sage, by virtue of true knowledge, sees with equal vision a learned and gentle brāhmaṇa, a cow, an elephant, a dog and a dog-eater [outcaste] .

PURPORT

A Kṛṣṇa conscious person does not make any distinction between species or castes. The
brāhmaṇa
and the outcaste may be different from the social point of view, or a dog, a cow, or an elephant may be different from the point of view of species, but these differences of body are meaningless from the viewpoint of a learned transcendentalist. This is due to their relationship to the Supreme, for the Supreme Lord, by His plenary portion as Paramātmā, is present in everyone's heart. Such an understanding of the Supreme is real knowledge. As far as the bodies are concerned in different castes or different species of life, the Lord is equally kind to everyone because He treats every living being as a friend yet maintains Himself as Paramātmā regardless of the circumstances of the living entities. The Lord as Paramātmā is present both in the outcaste and in the
brāhmaṇa,
although the body of a
brāhmaṇa
and that of an outcaste are not the same. The bodies are material productions of different modes of material nature, but the soul and the Supersoul within the body are of the same spiritual quality. The similarity in the quality of the soul and the Supersoul, however, does not make them equal in quantity, for the individual soul is present only in that particular body, whereas the Paramātmā is present in each and every body. A Kṛṣṇa conscious person has full knowledge of this, and therefore he is truly learned and has equal vision. The similar characteristics of the soul and Supersoul are that they are both conscious, eternal and blissful. But the difference is that the individual soul is conscious within the limited jurisdiction of the body, whereas the Supersoul is conscious of all bodies. The Supersoul is present in all bodies without distinction.

Bg 5.19

TEXT 19

TEXT

ihaiva tair jitaḥ sargo

yeṣāṁ sāmye sthitaṁ manaḥ

nirdoṣaṁ hi samaṁ brahma

tasmād brahmaṇi te sthitāḥ

SYNONYMS

iha-
in this life;
eva-
certainly;
taiḥ-
by them;
jitaḥ-
conquered;
sargaḥ-
birth and death;
yeṣām-
of those;
sāmye-
in equanimity;
sthitam-
so situated;
manaḥ-
mind;
nirdoṣam-
flawless;
hi-
certainly;
samam-
in equanimity;
brahma-
the Supreme;
tasmāt-
therefore;
brahmaṇi-
in the Supreme;
te-
they;
sthitāḥ-
are situated.

TRANSLATION

Those whose minds are established in sameness and equanimity have already conquered the conditions of birth and death. They are flawless like Brahman, and thus they are already situated in Brahman.

PURPORT

Equanimity of mind, as mentioned above, is the sign of self-realization. Those who have actually attained to such a stage should be considered to have conquered material conditions, specifically birth and death. As long as one identifies with this body, he is considered a conditioned soul, but as soon as he is elevated to the stage of equanimity through realization of self, he is liberated from conditional life. In other words, he is no longer subject to take birth in the material world but can enter into the spiritual sky after his death. The Lord is flawless because He is without attraction or hatred. Similarly, when a living entity is without attraction or hatred, he also becomes flawless and eligible to enter into the spiritual sky. Such persons are to be considered already liberated, and their symptoms are described below.

Bg 5.20

TEXT 20

TEXT

na prahṛṣyet priyaṁ prāpya

nodvijet prāpya cāpriyam

sthira-buddhir asammūḍho

brahma-vid brahmaṇi sthitaḥ

SYNONYMS

na-
never;
prahṛṣyet-
rejoice;
priyam-
pleasant;
prāpya-
achieving;
na-
does not;
udvijet-
agitated;
prāpya-
obtaining;
ca-
also;
apriyam-
unpleasant;
sthira-buddhiḥ-
self-intelligent;
asammūḍhaḥ-
unbewildered;
brahmavit-
one who knows the Supreme perfectly;
brahmaṇi-
in the Transcendence;
sthitaḥ-
situated.

TRANSLATION

A person who neither rejoices upon achieving something pleasant nor laments upon obtaining something unpleasant, who is self-intelligent, unbewildered, and who knows the science of God, is to be understood as already situated in Transcendence.

PURPORT

The symptoms of the self-realized person are given herein. The first symptom is that he is not illusioned by the false identification of the body with his true self. He knows perfectly well that he is not this body, but is the fragmental port~on of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He is therefore not joyful in achieving something, nor does he lament in losing anything which is related to his body. This steadiness of mind is called
sthira-buddhi,
or self-intelligence. He is therefore never bewildered by mistaking the gross body for the soul, nor does he accept the body as permanent and disregard the existence of the soul. This knowledge elevates him to the station of knowing the complete science of the Absolute Truth, namely Brahman, Paramātmā and Bhagavān. He thus knows his constitutional position perfectly well, without falsely trying to become one with the Supreme in all respects. This is called Brahman realization, or self-realization. Such steady consciousness is called Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

Bg 5.21

TEXT 21

TEXT

bāhya-sparśeṣv asaktātmā

vindaty ātmani yat sukham

sa brahma-yoga-yuktātmā

sukham akṣayam aśnute

SYNONYMS

bāhya-sparśeṣu-
in external sense pleasure;
asakta-ātmā-
one who is not so attached;
vindati-
enjoys;
ātmani-
in the self;
yat-
that which;
sukham-
happiness;
saḥ-
that;
brahma-yoga-
concentrated in Brahman;
yukta-ātmā-
self-connected;
sukham-
happiness;
akṣayam-
unlimited;
aśnute-
enjoys.

TRANSLATION

Such a liberated person is not attracted to material sense pleasure or external objects but is always in trance, enjoying the pleasure within. In this way the self-realized person enjoys unlimited happiness, for he concentrates on the Supreme.