Bhagavad-gita As It Is - Macmillan 1972 Edition -- Prabhupada Books (77 page)

The
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam
is
also full of such narration about the relationship between the Supreme Lord and His devotees; therefore the
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam
is
very dear to the devotees. In this narration there is nothing about material activities, sense gratification or liberation.
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam
is
the only narration in which the transcendental nature of the Supreme Lord and His devotees is fully described. Thus the realized souls in Kṛṣṇa consciousness take continual pleasure in hearing such transcendental literatures, just as a young boy and girl take pleasure in association.

Bg 10.10

TEXT 10

TEXT

teṣāṁ satata-yuktānāṁ

bhajatāṁ prīti-pūrvakam

dadāmi buddhi-yogaṁ taṁ

yena mām upayānti te

SYNONYMS

teṣām-
unto them;
satata-yuktānām-
always engaged;
bhajatām-
in devotional service;
prīti-pūrvakam-
in loving ecstasy;
dadāmi-
I give;
buddhi-yogam-
real intelligence;
tam-
that;
yena-
by which;
mām-
unto Me; upayānti-come;
te
-they.

TRANSLATION

To those who are constantly devoted and worship Me with love, I give the understanding by which they can come to Me.

PURPORT

In this verse the word
buddhi-yogam
is
very significant. We may remember that in the Second Chapter the Lord, instructing Arjuna, said that He had spoken to him of many things and that He would instruct him in the way of
buddhi-yoga.
Now
buddhi-yoga
is explained.
Buddhi-yogam
itself is action in Kṛṣṇa consciousness; that is the highest intelligence.
Buddhi
means intelligence, and
yogam
means mystic activities or mystic elevation. When one tries to go back home, back to Godhead, and takes fully to Kṛṣṇa consciousness in devotional service, his action is called
buddhi-yogam.
In other words,
buddhi-yogam
is
the process by which one gets out of the entanglement of this material world. The ultimate goal of progress is Kṛṣṇa. People do not know this; therefore the association of devotees and a bona fide spiritual master are important. One should know that the goal is Kṛṣṇa, and when the goal is assigned, then the path is slowly but progressively traversed, and the ultimate goal is achieved.

When a person knows the goal of life but is addicted to the fruits of activities, he is acting in
karma-yoga.
When he knows that the goal is Kṛṣṇa, but he takes pleasure in mental speculations to understand Kṛṣṇa, he is acting in
jñāna-yoga.
And when he knows the goal and seeks Kṛṣṇa completely in Kṛṣṇa consciousness and devotional service, he is acting in
bhakti-yoga,
or
buddhi-yoga,
which is the complete
yoga.
This complete
yoga
is
the highest perfectional stage of life.

A person may have a bona fide spiritual master and may be attached to a spiritual organization, but still, if he is not intelligent enough to make progress, then Kṛṣṇa from within gives him instructions so that he may ultimately come to Him without difficulty. The qualification is that a person always engage himself in Kṛṣṇa consciousness and with love and devotion render all kinds of services. He should perform some sort of work for Kṛṣṇa, and that work should be with love. If a devotee is intelligent enough, he will make progress on the path of self-realization. If one is sincere and devoted to the activities of devotional service, the Lord gives him a chance to make progress and ultimately attain to Him.

Bg 10.11

TEXT 11

TEXT

teṣām evānukampārtham

aham ajñāna-jaṁ tamaḥ

nāśayāmy ātma-bhāva-stho

jñāna-dīpena bhāsvatā

SYNONYMS

teṣām
-for them;
eva
-certainly;
anukampā-artham-
to show special mercy;
aham-
I;
ajñāna-jam-
due to ignorance;
tamaḥ-
darkness;
nāśayāmi-
dispel;
ātma-
within;
bhāvasthaḥ-
themselves;
jñāna-
of knowledge;
dīpena-
with the lamp;
bhāsvatā-
glowing.

TRANSLATION

Out of compassion for them, I, dwelling in their hearts, destroy with the shining lamp of knowledge the darkness born of ignorance.

PURPORT

When Lord Caitanya was in Benares promulgating the chanting of Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare, thousands of people were following Him. Prakāśānanda, a very influential and learned scholar in Benares at that time, derided Lord Caitanya for being a sentimentalist. Sometimes philosophers criticize the devotees because they think that most of the devotees are in the darkness of ignorance and are philosophically naive sentimentalists. Actually that is not the fact. There are very, very learned scholars who have put forward the philosophy of devotion, but even if a devotee does not take advantage of their literatures or of his spiritual master, if he is sincere in his devotional service he is helped by Kṛṣṇa Himself within his heart. So the sincere devotee engaged in Kṛṣṇa consciousness cannot be without knowledge. The only qualification is that one carry out devotional service in full Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

The modern philosophers think that without discriminating one cannot have pure knowledge. For them this answer is given by the Supreme Lord: those who are engaged in pure devotional service, even though they be without sufficient education and even without sufficient knowledge of the Vedic principles, are still helped by the Supreme God, as stated in this verse.

The Lord tells Arjuna that basically there is no possibility of understanding the Supreme Truth, the Absolute Truth, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, simply by speculating, for the Supreme Truth is so great that it is not possible to understand Him or to achieve Him simply by making a mental effort. Man can go on speculating for several millions of years, and if he is not devoted, if he is not a lover of the Supreme Truth, he will never understand Kṛṣṇa or the Supreme Truth. Only by devotional service is the Supreme Truth, Kṛṣṇa, pleased, and by His inconceivable energy He can reveal Himself to the heart of the pure devotee. The pure devotee always has Kṛṣṇa within his heart; therefore he is just like the sun that dissipates the darkness of ignorance. This is the special mercy rendered to the pure devotee by Kṛṣṇa.

Due to the contamination of material association, through many, many millions of births, one's heart is always covered with the dust of materialism, but when one engages in devotional service and constantly chants Hare Kṛṣṇa, the dust quickly clears, and one is elevated to the platform of pure knowledge. The ultimate goal of Viṣṇu can be attained only by this chant and by devotional service, and not by mental speculation or argument. The pure devotee does not have to worry about the necessities of life; he need not be anxious because when he removes the darkness from his heart, everything is provided automatically by the Supreme Lord, for He is pleased by the loving devotional service of the devotee. This is the essence of the
Gītā's
teachings. By studying
Bhagavad-gītā,
one can become a completely surrendered soul to the Supreme Lord and engage himself in pure devotional service. As the Lord takes charge, one becomes completely free from all kinds of materialistic endeavors.

Bg 10.12, Bg 10.13, Bg 10.12-13

TEXTS 12-13

TEXT

arjuna uvāca

paraṁ brahma paraṁ dhāma

pavitraṁ paramaṁ bhavān

puruṣaṁ śāśvataṁ divyam

ādi-devam ajaṁ vibhum

devarṣir nāradas tathā

asito devalo vyāsaḥ

svayaṁ caiva bravīṣi me

SYNONYMS

arjunaḥ uvāca
-Arjuna said;
param
-supreme;
brahma-
truth;
param
-supreme;
dhāma-
sustenance;
pavitram-
purest;
paramam
-supreme;
bhavān-
Yourself;
puruṣam
-personality;
śāśvatam
-original;
divyam-
transcendental;
ādi-devam-
original Lord;
ajam-
unborn;
vibhum-
greatest;
āhuḥ-
say;
tvām
-unto You;
ṛṣayaḥ
-sages;
sarve
-all;
devarṣiḥ-
the sage among the demigods;
nāradaḥ
-Nārada;
tathā
-also;
asitaḥ
-Asita;
devalaḥ-
Devala;
vyāsaḥ-
Vyāsa;
svayam
-personally;
ca
-also;
eva
-certainly;
bravīṣi-
explaining;
me
-unto me.

TRANSLATION

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 such as Nārada, Asita, Devala, and Vyāsa proclaim this of You, and now You Yourself are declaring it to me.

PURPORT

In these two verses the Supreme Lord gives a chance to the modern philosopher, for here it is clear that the Supreme is different from the individual soul. Arjuna, after hearing the essential four verses of
Bhagavad-gītā
in this chapter, became completely free from all doubts and accepted Kṛṣṇa as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He at once boldly declares, "You are Parambrahma, the Supreme Personality of Godhead." And previously Kṛṣṇa states that He is the originator of everything and everyone. Every demigod and every human being is dependant on Him. Men and demigods, out of ignorance, think that they are absolute and independant of the Supreme Lord Kṛṣṇa. That ignorance is removed perfectly by the discharge of devotional service. This is already explained in the previous verse by the Lord. Now by His grace, Arjuna is accepting Him as the Supreme Truth, in concordance with the Vedic injunction. It is not because Kṛṣṇa is an intimate friend of Arjuna that he is flattering Him by calling Him the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the Absolute Truth. Whatever Arjuna says in these two verses is confirmed by Vedic truth. Vedic injunctions affirm that only one who takes to devotional service to the Supreme Lord can understand Him, whereas others cannot. Each and every word of this verse spoken by Arjuna is confirmed by Vedic injunction.

In the
Kena Upaniṣad
it is stated that the Supreme Brahman is the rest for everything, and Kṛṣṇa has already explained that everything is resting on Him. The
Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad
confirms that the Supreme Lord, in whom everything is resting, can be realized only by those who engage constantly in thinking of Him. This constant thinking of Kṛṣṇa is
smaraṇam,
one of the methods of devotional service. It is only by devotional service to Kṛṣṇa that one can understand his position and get rid of this material body.

In the
Vedas
the Supreme Lord is accepted as the purest of the pure. One who understands that Kṛṣṇa is the purest of the pure can become purified from all sinful activities. One cannot be disinfected from sinful activities unless he surrenders unto the Supreme Lord. Arjuna's acceptance of Kṛṣṇa as the supreme pure complies with the injunctions of Vedic literature. This is also confirmed by great personalities, of whom Nārada is the chief.

Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and one should always meditate upon Him and enjoy one's transcendental relationship with Him. He is the supreme existence. He is free from bodily needs, birth and death. Not only does Arjuna confirm this, but all the Vedic literatures. the
Purāṇas
and histories. In all Vedic literatures Kṛṣṇa is thus described, and the Supreme Lord Himself also says in the Fourth Chapter, "Although I am unborn, I appear on this earth to establish religious principles." He is the supreme origin; He has no cause, for He is the cause of all causes, and everything is emanating from Him. This perfect knowledge can be had by the grace of the Supreme Lord.

Here Arjuna expresses himself through the grace of Kṛṣṇa. If we want to understand
Bhagavad-gītā,
we should accept the statements in these two verses. This is called the
paramparā
system, acceptance of the disciplic succession. Unless one is in the disciplic succession, he cannot understand
Bhagavad-gītā.
It is not possible by so-called academic education. Unfortunately those proud of their academic education, despite so much evidence in Vedic literatures, stick to their obstinate conviction that Kṛṣṇa is an ordinary person.

Bg 10.14

TEXT 14

TEXT

sarvam etad ṛtaṁ manye

yan māṁ vadasi keśava

na hi te bhagavan vyaktiṁ

vidur devā na dānavāḥ

SYNONYMS

sarvam-
all;
etat-
these;
ṛtam-
truths;
manye-
accept;
yat
-which;
mām-
unto me;
vadasi-
You tell;
keśava
-O Kṛṣṇa;
na-
never;
hi-
certainly;
te
-Your;
bhagavan
-O Personality of Godhead;
vyaktim-
revelation;
viduḥ-
can know;
devaḥ-
the demigods;
na-
nor;
dānavāḥ-
the demons.