Bhagavad-gita As It Is - Macmillan 1972 Edition -- Prabhupada Books (78 page)

TRANSLATION

O Kṛṣṇa, I totally accept as truth all that You have told me. Neither the gods nor demons, O Lord, know Thy personality.

PURPORT

Arjuna herein confirms that persons of faithless and demonic nature cannot understand Kṛṣṇa. He is not even known by the demigods, so what to speak of the so-called scholars of this modern world? By the grace of the Supreme Lord, Arjuna has understood that the Supreme Truth is Kṛṣṇa and that He is the perfect one. One should therefore follow the path of Arjuna. He received the authority of
Bhagavad-gītā.
As described in the Fourth Chapter, the
paramparā
system of disciplic succession for the understanding of
Bhagavad-gītā
was lost, and therefore Kṛṣṇa reestablished that disciplic succession with Arjuna because He considered Arjuna His intimate friend and a great devotee. Therefore, as stated in our Introduction to
Gītopaniṣad, Bhagavad-gītā
should be understood in the
paramparā
system. When the
paramparā
system was lost, Arjuna was again selected to rejuvenate it. The acceptance of Arjuna of all that Kṛṣṇa says should be emulated; then we can understand the essence of
Bhagavad-gītā,
and then only can we understand that Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Bg 10.15

TEXT 15

TEXT

svayam evātmanātmānaṁ

vettha tvaṁ puruṣottama

bhūta-bhāvana bhūteśa

deva-deva jagat-pate

SYNONYMS

svayam
-personality;
eva-
certainly;
ātmanā-
by Yourself;
ātmānam-
Yourself;
vettha-
know;
tvam-
You;
puruṣottama
-O greatest of all persons;
bhūta-bhāvana
-O origin of everything;
bhūteśa
-O Lord of everything;
deva-deva
-O Lord of all demigods;
jagat-pate
-O Lord of the entire universe.

TRANSLATION

Indeed, You alone know Yourself by Your own potencies, O origin of all, Lord of all beings, God of gods, O Supreme Person, Lord of the universe!

PURPORT

The Supreme Lord Kṛṣṇa can be known by persons who are in a relationship with Him through the discharge of devotional service, like Arjuna and his successors. Persons of demonic or atheistic mentality cannot know Kṛṣṇa. Mental speculation that leads one away from the Supreme Lord is a serious sin, and one who does not know Kṛṣṇa should not try to comment on
Bhagavad-gītā. Bhagavad-gītā
is
the statement of Kṛṣṇa, and since it is the science of Kṛṣṇa, it should be understood from Kṛṣṇa as Arjuna understood it. It should not be received from atheistic persons.

The Supreme Truth is realized in three aspects: as impersonal Brahman, localized Paramātmā and at last as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. So at the last stage of understanding the Absolute Truth, one comes to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. A liberated man and even a common man may realize impersonal Brahman or localized Paramātmā, yet they may not understand God's personality from the verses of
Bhagavad-gītā,
which are being spoken by this person, Kṛṣṇa. Sometimes the impersonalists accept Kṛṣṇa as Bhagavan, or they accept His authority. Yet many liberated persons cannot understand Kṛṣṇa as Puruṣottama, the Supreme Person, the father of all living entities. Therefore Arjuna addresses Him as Puruṣottama. And if one comes to know Him as the father of all the living entities, still one may not know Him as the supreme controller; therefore He is addressed here as Bhūteśa, the supreme controller of everyone. And even if one knows Kṛṣṇa as the supreme controller of all living entities, still one may not know that He is the origin of all the demigods; therefore He is addressed herein as Devadeva, the worshipful God of all demigods. And even if one knows Him as the worshipful God of all demigods, one may not know that He is the supreme proprietor of everything; therefore He is addressed as Jagatpati. Thus the truth about Kṛṣṇa is established in this verse by the realization of Arjuna, and we should follow in the footsteps of Arjuna to understand Kṛṣṇa as He is.

Bg 10.16

TEXT 16

TEXT

vaktum arhasy aśeṣeṇa

divyā hy ātma-vibhūtayaḥ

yābhir vibhūtibhir lokān

imāṁs tvaṁ vyāpya tiṣṭhasi

SYNONYMS

vaktum-
to say;
arhasi-
deserve;
aśeṣeṇa-
in detail;
divyā-
divine;
hi-
certainly;
ātma-
Yourself;
vibhūtayaḥ-
opulences;
yābhiḥ-
by which;
vibhūtibhiḥ
-opulences;
lokān-
all the planets;
imān-
these;
tvam-
You;
vyāpya-
pervading;
tiṣṭhasi-
remain.

TRANSLATION

Please tell me in detail of Your divine powers by which You pervade all these worlds and abide in them.

PURPORT

In this verse it appears that Arjuna is already satisfied with his understanding of the Supreme Lord Kṛṣṇa. By Kṛṣṇa's grace, Arjuna has personal experience, intelligence and knowledge and whatever else a person may have through all these agencies, and he has understood Kṛṣṇa as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. For him there is no doubt, Yet he is asking Kṛṣṇa to explain His all-pervading nature so that in the future people will understand, especially the impersonalists, how He exists in His all-pervading aspect through His different energies. One should know that this is being asked by Arjuna on behalf of the common people.

Bg 10.17

TEXT 17

TEXT

kathaṁ vidyām ahaṁ yogiṁs

tvāṁ sadā paricintayan

keṣu keṣu ca bhāveṣu

cintyo 'si bhagavan mayā

SYNONYMS

katham-
how;
vidyām aham-
shall I know;
yogin
-O supreme mystic;
tvām-
You;
sadā-
always;
paricintayan-
thinking;
keṣu-
in which;
keṣu-
in which;
ca-
also;
bhāveṣu-
nature;
cintyaḥ asi-
You are remembered;
bhagavan
-O Supreme;
mayā-
by me.

TRANSLATION

How should I meditate on You? In what various forms are You to be contemplated, O Blessed Lord?

PURPORT

As it is stated in the previous chapter, the Supreme Personality of Godhead is covered by His
yoga-māyā.
Only surrendered souls and devotees can see Him. Now Arjuna is convinced that His friend, Kṛṣṇa, is the Supreme Godhead, but he wants to know the general process by which the all-pervading Lord can be understood by the common man. No common man, including the demons and atheists, can know Kṛṣṇa because He is guarded by His
yoga-māyā
energy. Again, these questions are asked by Arjuna for their benefit. The superior devotee is not only concerned for his own understanding, but for the understanding of all mankind. Out of his mercy, because he is a Vaiṣṇava, a devotee, Arjuna is opening the understanding for the common man as far as the all-pervasiveness of the Supreme is concerned. He addresses Kṛṣṇa specifically as
yogin
because Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the master of the
yoga-māyā
energy by which He is covered and uncovered to the common man. The common man who has no love for Kṛṣṇa cannot always think of Kṛṣṇa; therefore he has to think materially. Arjuna is considering the mode of thinking of the materialistic persons of this world. Because materialists cannot understand Kṛṣṇa spiritually, they are advised to concentrate the mind on physical things and try to see how Kṛṣṇa is manifested by physical representations.

Bg 10.18

TEXT 18

TEXT

vistareṇātmano yogaṁ

vibhūtiṁ ca janārdana

bhūyaḥ kathaya tṛptir hi

śṛṇvato nāsti me 'mṛtam

SYNONYMS

vistareṇa-
in description;
ātmanaḥ-
of Yourself;
yogam-
mystic power;
vibhūtim-
opulences;
ca-
also;
janārdana
-O killer of the atheists;
bhūyaḥ-
again;
kathaya-
describe;
tṛptiḥ-
satisfaction;
hi-
certainly;
śṛṇvataḥ-
hearing;
na asti-
there is no;
me-
my;
amṛtam-
nectar.

TRANSLATION

Tell me again in detail, O Janārdana [Kṛṣṇa], of Your mighty potencies and glories, for I never tire of hearing Your ambrosial words.

PURPORT

A similar statement was made to Sūta Gosvāmī by the
ṛṣis
of Naimiṣāraṇya, headed by Śaunaka. That statement is:

vayaṁ tu na vitṛpyāma uttama-śloka-vikrame
yac chṛṇvatāṁ rasa-jñānāṁ svādu svādu pade pade.

"One can never be satiated even though one continuously hears the transcendental pastimes of Kṛṣṇa, who is glorified by Vedic hymns. Those who have entered into a transcendental relationship with Kṛṣṇa relish in every step descriptions of the pastimes of the Lord." Thus Arjuna is interested to hear about Kṛṣṇa, specifically how He remains as the all-pervading Supreme Lord.

Now as far as
amṛtam
, nectar, is concerned, any narration or statement concerning Kṛṣṇa is just like nectar. And this nectar can be perceived by practical experience. Modern stories, fiction and histories are different from the transcendental pastimes of the Lord in that one will tire of hearing mundane stories, but one never tires of hearing about Kṛṣṇa. It is for this reason only that the history of the whole universe is replete with references to the pastimes of the incarnations of Godhead. For instance, the
Purāṇas
are histories of bygone ages that relate the pastimes of the various incarnations of the Lord. In this way the reading matter remains forever fresh, despite repeated readings.

Bg 10.19

TEXT 19

TEXT

śrī-bhagavān uvāca

hanta te kathayiṣyāmi

divyā hy ātma-vibhūtayaḥ

prādhānyataḥ kuru-śreṣṭha

nāsty anto vistarasya me

SYNONYMS

śrī bhagavān uvāca-
the Supreme Personality of Godhead said;
hanta-
yes;
te-
unto you;
kathayiṣyāmi-
I shall speak;
divyāḥ
-divine;
hi
-certainly;
ātma-vibhūtayaḥ-
personal opulences;
prādhānyataḥ-
principally;
kuruśreṣṭha-
O best of the Kurus;
na asti-
there is no;
antaḥ-
limit;
vistarasya-
to the extent;
me-
My.

TRANSLATION

The Blessed Lord said: Yes, I will tell you of My splendorous manifestations, but only of those which are prominent, O Arjuna, for My opulence is limitless.

PURPORT

It is not possible to comprehend the greatness of Kṛṣṇa and His opulences. The senses of the individual soul are imperfect and do not permit him to understand the totality of Kṛṣṇa's affairs. Still the devotees try to understand Kṛṣṇa, but not on the principle that they will be able to understand Kṛṣṇa fully at any specific time or in any state of life. Rather, the very topics of Kṛṣṇa are so relishable that they appear to them as nectar. Thus they enjoy them. In discussing Kṛṣṇa's opulences and His diverse energies, the pure devotees take transcendental pleasure. Therefore they want to hear and discuss them. Kṛṣṇa knows that living entities do not understand the extent of His opulences; He therefore agrees to state only the principal manifestations of His different energies. The word
prādhānyataḥ
(principal) is very important because we can understand only a few of the principal details of the Supreme Lord, for His features are unlimited. It is not possible to understand them all. And
vibhūti,
as used in this verse, refers to the opulences by which He controls the whole manifestation. In the
Amara-kośa
dictionary it is stated that
vibhūti
indicates an exceptional opulence.

The impersonalist or the pantheist cannot understand the exceptional opulences of the Supreme Lord nor the manifestations of His divine energy. Both in the material world and in the spiritual world His energies are distributed in every variety of manifestation. Now Kṛṣṇa is describing what can be directly perceived by the common man; thus part of His variegated energy is described in this way.

Bg 10.20

TEXT 20

TEXT

aham ātmā guḍākeśa

sarva-bhūtāśaya-sthitaḥ

aham ādiś ca madhyaṁ ca

bhūtānām anta eva ca

SYNONYMS

aham-
I;
ātmā-
soul;
guḍākeśa
-O Arjuna;
sarva-bhūta-
all living entities;
āśaya-sthitaḥ-
situated within;
aham
-I am;
ādiḥ-
origin;
ca
-also;
madhyam-
middle;
ca
-also;
bhūtānām-
all living entities;
antaḥ-
end;
eva-
certainly;
ca-
and.

TRANSLATION

I am the Self, O Guḍākeśa, seated in the hearts of all creatures. I am the beginning, the middle and the end of all beings.

PURPORT

In this verse Arjuna is addressed as Guḍākeśa, which means one who has conquered the darkness of sleep. For those who are sleeping in the darkness of ignorance, it is not possible to understand how the Supreme Godhead manifests Himself in the material and spiritual worlds. Thus this address by Kṛṣṇa to Arjuna is significant. Because Arjuna is above such darkness, the Personality of Godhead agrees to describe His various opulences.