Sanjaya said:
1. To him who was thus overcome with pity and who was despondent, with eyes full of tears and agitated, Madhusudana spoke these words.
The Blessed Lord said:
2. Whence is this perilous strait come upon thee, this dejection which is unworthy of you, disgraceful, and which will close the gates of heaven upon you, O Arjuna?
3. Yield not to impotence, O Arjuna, son of Pritha. It does not befit thee. Cast off this mean weakness of the heart! Stand up, O scorcher of foes!
Arjuna said:
4. How, O Madhusudana, shall I fight in battle with arrows against Bhishma and Drona, who are fit to be worshipped, O destroyer of enemies?
5. Better is it, indeed, in this world, to accept alms than to slay the most noble teachers. But if I kill them, even in this world, all my enjoyments of wealth and fulfilled desires will be stained with their blood.
6. I can hardly tell which will be better, that we should conquer them or that they should conquer us. Even the sons of Dhritarashtra, after slaying whom we do not wish to live, stand facing us.
7. My heart is overpowered by the taint of pity; my mind is confused as to duty. I ask Thee: Tell me decisively what is good for me! I am Thy disciple. Instruct me, who has taken refuge in Thee.
8. I do not see that it would remove this sorrow that burns up my senses, even if I should attain prosperous and unrivalled dominion on earth or lordship over the gods.
9. Having spoken thus to Hrishikesha, Arjuna, the destroyer of foes, said to Krishna: "I will not fight" and became silent.
10. To him who was despondent in the midst of the two armies, Krishna, as if smiling, O Bharata, spoke these words.
The Blessed Lord said:
11. Thou hast grieved for those that should not be grieved for, yet thou speakest words of wisdom. The wise grieve neither for the living nor the dead.
12. Nor at any time indeed was I not, nor thou, nor these rulers of men, nor verily shall we ever cease to be hereafter.
13. Just as in this body the soul passes into childhood, youth, and old age, so also does it pass into another body; the firm man does not grieve thereat.
14. The contacts of the sense with the objects, O son of Kunti, which cause heat and cold, pleasure and pain, have a beginning and an end. They are impermanent. Endure them bravely, O Arjuna.
15. The firm man whom, surely, these afflict not, O chief among men, to whom pleasure and pain are the same, is fit for attaining immortality.
16. The unreal hath no being; there is no non-being of the real. The truth about both has been seen by the knowers of the Truth.
17. Know That to be industructible, by Which all this is pervaded. None can cause the destruction of That, the Imperishable.
18. These bodies of the emboided Self, Which is eternal, indestructible and immeasurable, are said to have an end. Therefore fight, O Arjuna!
19. He who takes the Self to be the slayer and he who thinks it is slain, neither of them *knows*. It slays not, nor is it slain.
20. It is not born, nor does It ever die. After having been, It again ceases not to be. Unborn, eternal, changeless and ancient, It is not killed when the body is killed.
COMMENTARY:
1. "Madhusudana" = destroyer of Madhu, or Krishna.
4. "Bhishma and Drona" are grandfather and teacher, respectfully. Because of their deeds, they stand against the Pandus, who they love dearly. However, both live in accord to their true nature and so are virtuous men of excellent conduct.
".. fit to be worshipped .." in that both are progenitors and gurus.
6. "Even the sons of Dhritarashtra, after slaying whom we do not wish to live, stand facing us."
** Arjuna is saying that there are those among the opposing army who he does not want to kill, and there are those he does.
7. "Tell me decisively what is good for me! I am Thy disciple. Instruct me, who has taken refuge in Thee."
** How many of us have asked this same question?
9. "Hrishikesha" = Lord of Senses (Krishna).
10. "O Bharata" = Descendant of the Light of Wisdom; the ruling dynasty of ancient India. Sanjaya is speaking here to Dhritarashtra, the blind king, who he (Sanjaya) is relating the events of the battlefield, as they occur (through the use of Divine Vision).
11. "The Blessed Lord said: Thou hast grieved for those that should not be grieved for, yet thou speakest words of wisdom. The wise grieve neither for the living nor the dead."
** With these words, Krishna begins the Philosophy of the Gita.
In this first sentence, Krishna is reminding Arjuna of his wisdom, which are subsequently tainted by his grief. There is no grief for those who are eternal - as All That Lives Is.
The wise KNOW that there is no 'death'; or that death is only a separation of the Astral Body from the Physical Body. That death is nothing more than the disintegration of matter, and that the Five Elements-Panchabhuta, of which the body is composed, will return to the Source (which is Pure Consciousness-Cit).
Therefore, Krishna is admonishing Arjuna for forgeting the eternal nature of the soul, and so the changing nature of the body. Because of this momentary lapse of reason, Arjuna has begun to act as if the temporary relations with kinsmen, teachers, et all, were permanent.
Arjuna then, forgot that his relations in this world at this present time, are the result of past actions-Karma. Karmas, once exhausted, end all relationships, making way for new ones to crop up (either in this body or when a new body is taken).
This is Prarabdha Karma, or the 'Karma of Present Incarnation'.
12. "Nor at any time indeed was I not, nor thou, nor these rulers of men, nor verily shall we ever cease to be hereafter."
** This speaks on the immortality of the Soul, of Its imperishable nature, of the Atman-Self.
The Soul exists in three periods of time - past, present, and future - this hints at the mystery of living simultaneously . Finally, humans continue to exist even after the death of the physical body, because we are more than flesh.
13. "Just as in this body the soul passes into childhood, youth, and old age, so also does it pass into another body; the firm man does not grieve thereat."
** There is no interuption in the passing of childhood into youth, and from youth into old age, and from old age into the other realms of existence; death does not destroy the continuity of the ego.
Self is not effected by death, nor is it born at the beginning of a new life (a baby). The Self passes unchanged from childhood to youth to old age, just as it does from one life to another. This is why the wise-ones will not grieve.
14. "The contacts of the sense with the objects, O son of Kunti, which cause heat and cold, pleasure and pain, have a beginning and an end. They are impermanent. Endure them bravely, O Arjuna."
** Cold and heat are pleasant sometimes and not so in others; this is how the sense-contacts come and go. Because the senses are transitory - impermanent in nature - mere sensations that are carried by the nerves to the mind, the wise bear patiently with heat and cold (and the like). Choosing to maintain an even or balanced state of mind.
15. "The firm man whom, surely, these afflict not, O chief among men, to whom pleasure and pain are the same, is fit for attaining immortality."
** Dehadhyasa, or "Identification of the Self with the Body as the cause of pleasure and pain", is a mind in error. The more we are able to identify with the Self, with that which is immortal and all-pervading, the less we will be affected by the pairs of opposites-dvandvas (dychotomy).
This ability is called Titiksha-Power of Endurance, and is develop through will-power. Titiksha is one of the Shatsampat-Sixfold Virtues; or a condition of Right Knowledge. However, it is not Titiksha alone that brings about Moksha-Liberation; when coupled with Viveka-Discrimination and Vairagya-Detachment, Dispassion it becomes a three-way method of attainment and Immortality.
16. "The unreal hath no being; there is no non-being of the real. The truth about both has been seen by the knowers of the Truth."
** The changless Atman, the Self, exists always; this is the only solid reality.
This world of names and forms, of cultures and traditions, is ever changing; hence, it is unreal. The Rishi or Jivanmukta is fully aware of this: that Self always exists and that the physical world is like a mirage. Through the Jivanmukta's Jnanachakshus-Eye of Intuition, they directly cognize the Self. Which is why such souls reject the names and forms and so live off the underlying Essence - which is Asti-Bhati-Priya, or Sat-Cit-Ananda. Once done, the Jivanmukta becomes a Tattvadarshi-Knower of Truth, Essence.
17. "Know That to be industructible, by Which all this is pervaded. None can cause the destruction of That, the Imperishable."
** Para Prakriti-Supreme Nature of All Existence or Atman pervades all things. If, for example, a vase is broken, its Akasha-Ether still remains *.
Para Prakriti, or Atman, or Brahman, or God, is never diminished. Humans may be ruined by loss of wealth or health, but Para Prakriti is never lessened. It is inexhaustible and beyond being destroyed. It is always all-full and self-contained. It is the immutable Existence Absolute.
* This phenome is the Energy Body, and can be seen in Kirlian Photography.
19. "He who takes the Self to be the slayer and he who thinks it is slain, neither of them *knows*. It slays not, nor is it slain."
** Self-Atman-Para Prakriti is Akarta-non-doer. It is neither the object or subject; it is never the "I" or ego-ahamkara.
Para Prakriti exists in all periods of time (again, the mystery of simultaneousness).
20. "It is not born, nor does It ever die. After having been, It again ceases not to be. Unborn, eternal, changeless and ancient, It is not killed when the body is killed."
** Para Prakriti is not affected by Bhava-Vikaras (which are: birth, existence, growth, transformation, decline, death). It is Akhanda-Invisible, immortal, and all-pervading.
Be Whole!
Siddhananda Devi
tribes.tribe.net/adi_ayurveda
tribes.tribe.net/adi_bhagavad_gita
tribes.tribe.net/adi_tantra
tribes.tribe.net/hamsa_yoga
1. To him who was thus overcome with pity and who was despondent, with eyes full of tears and agitated, Madhusudana spoke these words.
The Blessed Lord said:
2. Whence is this perilous strait come upon thee, this dejection which is unworthy of you, disgraceful, and which will close the gates of heaven upon you, O Arjuna?
3. Yield not to impotence, O Arjuna, son of Pritha. It does not befit thee. Cast off this mean weakness of the heart! Stand up, O scorcher of foes!
Arjuna said:
4. How, O Madhusudana, shall I fight in battle with arrows against Bhishma and Drona, who are fit to be worshipped, O destroyer of enemies?
5. Better is it, indeed, in this world, to accept alms than to slay the most noble teachers. But if I kill them, even in this world, all my enjoyments of wealth and fulfilled desires will be stained with their blood.
6. I can hardly tell which will be better, that we should conquer them or that they should conquer us. Even the sons of Dhritarashtra, after slaying whom we do not wish to live, stand facing us.
7. My heart is overpowered by the taint of pity; my mind is confused as to duty. I ask Thee: Tell me decisively what is good for me! I am Thy disciple. Instruct me, who has taken refuge in Thee.
8. I do not see that it would remove this sorrow that burns up my senses, even if I should attain prosperous and unrivalled dominion on earth or lordship over the gods.
9. Having spoken thus to Hrishikesha, Arjuna, the destroyer of foes, said to Krishna: "I will not fight" and became silent.
10. To him who was despondent in the midst of the two armies, Krishna, as if smiling, O Bharata, spoke these words.
The Blessed Lord said:
11. Thou hast grieved for those that should not be grieved for, yet thou speakest words of wisdom. The wise grieve neither for the living nor the dead.
12. Nor at any time indeed was I not, nor thou, nor these rulers of men, nor verily shall we ever cease to be hereafter.
13. Just as in this body the soul passes into childhood, youth, and old age, so also does it pass into another body; the firm man does not grieve thereat.
14. The contacts of the sense with the objects, O son of Kunti, which cause heat and cold, pleasure and pain, have a beginning and an end. They are impermanent. Endure them bravely, O Arjuna.
15. The firm man whom, surely, these afflict not, O chief among men, to whom pleasure and pain are the same, is fit for attaining immortality.
16. The unreal hath no being; there is no non-being of the real. The truth about both has been seen by the knowers of the Truth.
17. Know That to be industructible, by Which all this is pervaded. None can cause the destruction of That, the Imperishable.
18. These bodies of the emboided Self, Which is eternal, indestructible and immeasurable, are said to have an end. Therefore fight, O Arjuna!
19. He who takes the Self to be the slayer and he who thinks it is slain, neither of them *knows*. It slays not, nor is it slain.
20. It is not born, nor does It ever die. After having been, It again ceases not to be. Unborn, eternal, changeless and ancient, It is not killed when the body is killed.
COMMENTARY:
1. "Madhusudana" = destroyer of Madhu, or Krishna.
4. "Bhishma and Drona" are grandfather and teacher, respectfully. Because of their deeds, they stand against the Pandus, who they love dearly. However, both live in accord to their true nature and so are virtuous men of excellent conduct.
".. fit to be worshipped .." in that both are progenitors and gurus.
6. "Even the sons of Dhritarashtra, after slaying whom we do not wish to live, stand facing us."
** Arjuna is saying that there are those among the opposing army who he does not want to kill, and there are those he does.
7. "Tell me decisively what is good for me! I am Thy disciple. Instruct me, who has taken refuge in Thee."
** How many of us have asked this same question?
9. "Hrishikesha" = Lord of Senses (Krishna).
10. "O Bharata" = Descendant of the Light of Wisdom; the ruling dynasty of ancient India. Sanjaya is speaking here to Dhritarashtra, the blind king, who he (Sanjaya) is relating the events of the battlefield, as they occur (through the use of Divine Vision).
11. "The Blessed Lord said: Thou hast grieved for those that should not be grieved for, yet thou speakest words of wisdom. The wise grieve neither for the living nor the dead."
** With these words, Krishna begins the Philosophy of the Gita.
In this first sentence, Krishna is reminding Arjuna of his wisdom, which are subsequently tainted by his grief. There is no grief for those who are eternal - as All That Lives Is.
The wise KNOW that there is no 'death'; or that death is only a separation of the Astral Body from the Physical Body. That death is nothing more than the disintegration of matter, and that the Five Elements-Panchabhuta, of which the body is composed, will return to the Source (which is Pure Consciousness-Cit).
Therefore, Krishna is admonishing Arjuna for forgeting the eternal nature of the soul, and so the changing nature of the body. Because of this momentary lapse of reason, Arjuna has begun to act as if the temporary relations with kinsmen, teachers, et all, were permanent.
Arjuna then, forgot that his relations in this world at this present time, are the result of past actions-Karma. Karmas, once exhausted, end all relationships, making way for new ones to crop up (either in this body or when a new body is taken).
This is Prarabdha Karma, or the 'Karma of Present Incarnation'.
12. "Nor at any time indeed was I not, nor thou, nor these rulers of men, nor verily shall we ever cease to be hereafter."
** This speaks on the immortality of the Soul, of Its imperishable nature, of the Atman-Self.
The Soul exists in three periods of time - past, present, and future - this hints at the mystery of living simultaneously . Finally, humans continue to exist even after the death of the physical body, because we are more than flesh.
13. "Just as in this body the soul passes into childhood, youth, and old age, so also does it pass into another body; the firm man does not grieve thereat."
** There is no interuption in the passing of childhood into youth, and from youth into old age, and from old age into the other realms of existence; death does not destroy the continuity of the ego.
Self is not effected by death, nor is it born at the beginning of a new life (a baby). The Self passes unchanged from childhood to youth to old age, just as it does from one life to another. This is why the wise-ones will not grieve.
14. "The contacts of the sense with the objects, O son of Kunti, which cause heat and cold, pleasure and pain, have a beginning and an end. They are impermanent. Endure them bravely, O Arjuna."
** Cold and heat are pleasant sometimes and not so in others; this is how the sense-contacts come and go. Because the senses are transitory - impermanent in nature - mere sensations that are carried by the nerves to the mind, the wise bear patiently with heat and cold (and the like). Choosing to maintain an even or balanced state of mind.
15. "The firm man whom, surely, these afflict not, O chief among men, to whom pleasure and pain are the same, is fit for attaining immortality."
** Dehadhyasa, or "Identification of the Self with the Body as the cause of pleasure and pain", is a mind in error. The more we are able to identify with the Self, with that which is immortal and all-pervading, the less we will be affected by the pairs of opposites-dvandvas (dychotomy).
This ability is called Titiksha-Power of Endurance, and is develop through will-power. Titiksha is one of the Shatsampat-Sixfold Virtues; or a condition of Right Knowledge. However, it is not Titiksha alone that brings about Moksha-Liberation; when coupled with Viveka-Discrimination and Vairagya-Detachment, Dispassion it becomes a three-way method of attainment and Immortality.
16. "The unreal hath no being; there is no non-being of the real. The truth about both has been seen by the knowers of the Truth."
** The changless Atman, the Self, exists always; this is the only solid reality.
This world of names and forms, of cultures and traditions, is ever changing; hence, it is unreal. The Rishi or Jivanmukta is fully aware of this: that Self always exists and that the physical world is like a mirage. Through the Jivanmukta's Jnanachakshus-Eye of Intuition, they directly cognize the Self. Which is why such souls reject the names and forms and so live off the underlying Essence - which is Asti-Bhati-Priya, or Sat-Cit-Ananda. Once done, the Jivanmukta becomes a Tattvadarshi-Knower of Truth, Essence.
17. "Know That to be industructible, by Which all this is pervaded. None can cause the destruction of That, the Imperishable."
** Para Prakriti-Supreme Nature of All Existence or Atman pervades all things. If, for example, a vase is broken, its Akasha-Ether still remains *.
Para Prakriti, or Atman, or Brahman, or God, is never diminished. Humans may be ruined by loss of wealth or health, but Para Prakriti is never lessened. It is inexhaustible and beyond being destroyed. It is always all-full and self-contained. It is the immutable Existence Absolute.
* This phenome is the Energy Body, and can be seen in Kirlian Photography.
19. "He who takes the Self to be the slayer and he who thinks it is slain, neither of them *knows*. It slays not, nor is it slain."
** Self-Atman-Para Prakriti is Akarta-non-doer. It is neither the object or subject; it is never the "I" or ego-ahamkara.
Para Prakriti exists in all periods of time (again, the mystery of simultaneousness).
20. "It is not born, nor does It ever die. After having been, It again ceases not to be. Unborn, eternal, changeless and ancient, It is not killed when the body is killed."
** Para Prakriti is not affected by Bhava-Vikaras (which are: birth, existence, growth, transformation, decline, death). It is Akhanda-Invisible, immortal, and all-pervading.
Be Whole!
Siddhananda Devi
tribes.tribe.net/adi_ayurveda
tribes.tribe.net/adi_bhagavad_gita
tribes.tribe.net/adi_tantra
tribes.tribe.net/hamsa_yoga
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Atlanta
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Re: 1 - 20 Sankhya Yoga
Fri, January 27, 2006 - 2:24 PM"18. These bodies of the emboided Self, Which is eternal, indestructible and immeasurable, are said to have an end. Therefore fight, O Arjuna!
19. He who takes the Self to be the slayer and he who thinks it is slain, neither of them *knows*. It slays not, nor is it slain. "
*** this is an incomplete snippet, but my question lies here - how does one tell reconcile dharma and ahimsa in such a situation? -
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Re: 1 - 20 Sankhya Yoga
Fri, January 27, 2006 - 3:44 PMThe supreme dharma is discussed in the 18th chapter of the Gita,
Bhagavad-gītā As It Is 18.66
sarva-dharmān parityajya
mām ekaḿ śaraṇaḿ vraja
ahaḿ tvāḿ sarva-pāpebhyo
mokṣayiṣyāmi mā śucaḥ
SYNONYMS
sarva-dharmān — all varieties of religion; parityajya — abandoning; mām — unto Me; ekam — only; śaraṇam — for surrender; vraja — go; aham — I; tvām — you; sarva — all; pāpebhyaḥ — from sinful reactions; mokṣayiṣyāmi — will deliver; mā — do not; śucaḥ — worry.
TRANSLATION
Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reactions. Do not fear.
PURPORT
The Lord has described various kinds of knowledge and processes of religion — knowledge of the Supreme Brahman, knowledge of the Supersoul, knowledge of the different types of orders and statuses of social life, knowledge of the renounced order of life, knowledge of nonattachment, sense and mind control, meditation, etc. He has described in so many ways different types of religion. Now, in summarizing Bhagavad-gītā, the Lord says that Arjuna should give up all the processes that have been explained to him; he should simply surrender to Kṛṣṇa. That surrender will save him from all kinds of sinful reactions, for the Lord personally promises to protect him.
In the Seventh Chapter it was said that only one who has become free from all sinful reactions can take to the worship of Lord Kṛṣṇa. Thus one may think that unless he is free from all sinful reactions he cannot take to the surrendering process. To such doubts it is here said that even if one is not free from all sinful reactions, simply by the process of surrendering to Śrī Kṛṣṇa he is automatically freed. There is no need of strenuous effort to free oneself from sinful reactions. One should unhesitatingly accept Kṛṣṇa as the supreme savior of all living entities. With faith and love, one should surrender unto Him.
The process of surrender to Kṛṣṇa is described in the Hari-bhakti-vilāsa (11.676):
ānukūlyasya sańkalpaḥ
prātikūlyasya varjanam
rakṣiṣyatīti viśvāso
goptṛtve varanaḿ tathā
ātma-nikṣepa-kārpaṇye
ṣaḍ-vidhā śaraṇāgatiḥ
According to the devotional process, one should simply accept such religious principles that will lead ultimately to the devotional service of the Lord. One may perform a particular occupational duty according to his position in the social order, but if by executing his duty one does not come to the point of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, all his activities are in vain. Anything that does not lead to the perfectional stage of Kṛṣṇa consciousness should be avoided. One should be confident that in all circumstances Kṛṣṇa will protect him from all difficulties. There is no need of thinking how one should keep the body and soul together. Kṛṣṇa will see to that. One should always think himself helpless and should consider Kṛṣṇa the only basis for his progress in life. As soon as one seriously engages himself in devotional service to the Lord in full Kṛṣṇa consciousness, at once he becomes freed from all contamination of material nature. There are different processes of religion and purificatory processes by cultivation of knowledge, meditation in the mystic yoga system, etc., but one who surrenders unto Kṛṣṇa does not have to execute so many methods. That simple surrender unto Kṛṣṇa will save him from unnecessarily wasting time. One can thus make all progress at once and be freed from all sinful reactions.
One should be attracted by the beautiful vision of Kṛṣṇa. His name is Kṛṣṇa because He is all-attractive. One who becomes attracted by the beautiful, all-powerful, omnipotent vision of Kṛṣṇa is fortunate. There are different kinds of transcendentalists — some of them are attached to the impersonal Brahman vision, some of them are attracted by the Supersoul feature, etc., but one who is attracted to the personal feature of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and, above all, one who is attracted by the Supreme Personality of Godhead as Kṛṣṇa Himself, is the most perfect transcendentalist. In other words, devotional service to Kṛṣṇa, in full consciousness, is the most confidential part of knowledge, and this is the essence of the whole Bhagavad-gītā. Karma-yogīs, empiric philosophers, mystics and devotees are all called transcendentalists, but one who is a pure devotee is the best of all. The particular words used here, mā śucaḥ, "Don't fear, don't hesitate, don't worry," are very significant. One may be perplexed as to how one can give up all kinds of religious forms and simply surrender unto Kṛṣṇa, but such worry is useless.
It was the desire of the Lord that Arjuna work as an instriment in His mission. Acting according to the Lord'd direct desire is always auspicious and beneficial for all. All who were killed by arjuna attained liberation for Muktipada (He who at whose feet lies liberation), Krishna, was present on the battlefield. What harm if you free a bird from its cage.
more about the dharma of the soul:
Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 1.2.6
sa vai puḿsāḿ paro dharmo
yato bhaktir adhokṣaje
ahaituky apratihatā
yayātmā suprasīdati
SYNONYMS
saḥ — that; vai — certainly; puḿsām — for mankind; paraḥ — sublime; dharmaḥ — occupation; yataḥ — by which; bhaktiḥ — devotional service; adhokṣaje — unto the Transcendence; ahaitukī — causeless; apratihatā — unbroken; yayā — by which; ātmā — the self; suprasīdati — completely satisfied.
TRANSLATION
The supreme occupation [dharma] for all humanity is that by which men can attain to loving devotional service unto the transcendent Lord. Such devotional service must be unmotivated and uninterrupted to completely satisfy the self.
PURPORT
In this statement, Śrī Sūta Gosvāmī answers the first question of the sages of Naimiṣāraṇya. The sages asked him to summarize the whole range of revealed scriptures and present the most essential part so that fallen people or the people in general might easily take it up. The Vedas prescribe two different types of occupation for the human being. One is called the pravṛtti-mārga, or the path of sense enjoyment, and the other is called the nivṛtti-mārga, or the path of renunciation. The path of enjoyment is inferior, and the path of sacrifice for the supreme cause is superior. The material existence of the living being is a diseased condition of actual life. Actual life is spiritual existence, or brahma-bhūta existence, where life is eternal, blissful and full of knowledge. Material existence is temporary, illusory and full of miseries. There is no happiness at all. There is just the futile attempt to get rid of the miseries, and temporary cessation of misery is falsely called happiness. Therefore, the path of progressive material enjoyment, which is temporary, miserable and illusory, is inferior. But devotional service to the Supreme Lord, which leads one to eternal, blissful and all-cognizant life, is called the superior quality of occupation. This is sometimes polluted when mixed with the inferior quality. For example, adoption of devotional service for material gain is certainly an obstruction to the progressive path of renunciation. Renunciation or abnegation for ultimate good is certainly a better occupation than enjoyment in the diseased condition of life. Such enjoyment only aggravates the symptoms of disease and increases its duration. Therefore devotional service to the Lord must be pure in quality, i.e., without the least desire for material enjoyment. One should, therefore, accept the superior quality of occupation in the form of the devotional service of the Lord without any tinge of unnecessary desire, fruitive action and philosophical speculation. This alone can lead one to perpetual solace in His service.
We have purposely denoted dharma as occupation because the root meaning of the word dharma is "that which sustains one's existence." A living being's sustenance of existence is to coordinate his activities with his eternal relation with the Supreme Lord Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa is the central pivot of living beings, and He is the all-attractive living entity or eternal form amongst all other living beings or eternal forms. Each and every living being has his eternal form in the spiritual existence, and Kṛṣṇa is the eternal attraction for all of them. Kṛṣṇa is the complete whole, and everything else is His part and parcel. The relation is one of the servant and the served. It is transcendental and is completely distinct from our experience in material existence. This relation of servant and the served is the most congenial form of intimacy. One can realize it as devotional service progresses. Everyone should engage himself in that transcendental loving service of the Lord, even in the present conditional state of material existence. That will gradually give one the clue to actual life and please him to complete satisfaction.
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Re: 1 - 20 Sankhya Yoga
Fri, January 27, 2006 - 3:46 PMnote about the 12th verse, The Lord's and the Jiva individuality is confirmed:
In the Vedas, in the Kaṭha Upaniṣad as well as in the Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad, it is said that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the maintainer of innumerable living entities, in terms of their different situations according to individual work and reaction of work. That Supreme Personality of Godhead is also, by His plenary portions, alive in the heart of every living entity. Only saintly persons who can see, within and without, the same Supreme Lord can actually attain to perfect and eternal peace.
nityo nityānāḿ cetanaś cetanānām
eko bahūnāḿ yo vidadhāti kāmān
tam ātma-sthaḿ ye 'nupaśyanti dhīrās
teṣāḿ śāntiḥ śāśvatī netareṣām
The same Vedic truth given to Arjuna is given to all persons in the world who pose themselves as very learned but factually have but a poor fund of knowledge. The Lord says clearly that He Himself, Arjuna and all the kings who are assembled on the battlefield are eternally individual beings and that the Lord is eternally the maintainer of the individual living entities both in their conditioned and in their liberated situations. The Supreme Personality of Godhead is the supreme individual person, and Arjuna, the Lord's eternal associate, and all the kings assembled there are individual eternal persons. It is not that they did not exist as individuals in the past, and it is not that they will not remain eternal persons. Their individuality existed in the past, and their individuality will continue in the future without interruption. Therefore, there is no cause for lamentation for anyone.
The Māyāvādī theory that after liberation the individual soul, separated by the covering of māyā, or illusion, will merge into the impersonal Brahman and lose its individual existence is not supported herein by Lord Kṛṣṇa, the supreme authority. Nor is the theory that we only think of individuality in the conditioned state supported herein. Kṛṣṇa clearly says herein that in the future also the individuality of the Lord and others, as it is confirmed in the Upaniṣads, will continue eternally. This statement of Kṛṣṇa's is authoritative because Kṛṣṇa cannot be subject to illusion. If individuality were not a fact, then Kṛṣṇa would not have stressed it so much — even for the future. The Māyāvādī may argue that the individuality spoken of by Kṛṣṇa is not spiritual, but material. Even accepting the argument that the individuality is material, then how can one distinguish Kṛṣṇa's individuality? Kṛṣṇa affirms His individuality in the past and confirms His individuality in the future also. He has confirmed His individuality in many ways, and impersonal Brahman has been declared to be subordinate to Him. Kṛṣṇa has maintained spiritual individuality all along; if He is accepted as an ordinary conditioned soul in individual consciousness, then His Bhagavad-gītā has no value as authoritative scripture. A common man with all the four defects of human frailty is unable to teach that which is worth hearing. The Gītā is above such literature. No mundane book compares with the Bhagavad-gītā. When one accepts Kṛṣṇa as an ordinary man, the Gītā loses all importance. The Māyāvādī argues that the plurality mentioned in this verse is conventional and that it refers to the body. But previous to this verse such a bodily conception is already condemned. After condemning the bodily conception of the living entities, how was it possible for Kṛṣṇa to place a conventional proposition on the body again? Therefore, individuality is maintained on spiritual grounds and is thus confirmed by great ācāryas like Śrī Rāmānuja and others. It is clearly mentioned in many places in the Gītā that this spiritual individuality is understood by those who are devotees of the Lord. Those who are envious of Kṛṣṇa as the Supreme Personality of Godhead have no bona fide access to the great literature. The nondevotee's approach to the teachings of the Gītā is something like that of a bee licking on a bottle of honey. One cannot have a taste of honey unless one opens the bottle. Similarly, the mysticism of the Bhagavad-gītā can be understood only by devotees, and no one else can taste it, as it is stated in the Fourth Chapter of the book. Nor can the Gītā be touched by persons who envy the very existence of the Lord. Therefore, the Māyāvādī explanation of the Gītā is a most misleading presentation of the whole truth. Lord Caitanya has forbidden us to read commentations made by the Māyāvādīs and warns that one who takes to such an understanding of the Māyāvādī philosophy loses all power to understand the real mystery of the Gītā. If individuality refers to the empirical universe, then there is no need of teaching by the Lord. The plurality of the individual soul and of the Lord is an eternal fact, and it is confirmed by the Vedas as above mentioned.
