Bhagavad-gita As It Is - Macmillan 1972 Edition -- Prabhupada Books (101 page)

Bg 14.12

TEXT 12

TEXT

lobhaḥ pravṛttir ārambhaḥ

karmaṇām aśamaḥ spṛhā

rajasy etāni jāyante

vivṛddhe bharatarṣabha

SYNONYMS

lobhaḥ-
greed;
pravṛttiḥ-
hankering;
ārambhaḥ-
endeavor;
karmaṇām-
of activities;
aśamaḥ-
uncontrollable;
spṛhā-
desire;
rajasi-
in the mode of passion;
etāni-
all this;
jāyante-
develop;
vivṛddhe-
when there is excess;
bharatarṣabha
-O chief of the descendants of Bharata.

TRANSLATION

O chief of the Bhāratas, when there is an increase in the mode of passion, the symptoms of great attachment, uncontrollable desire, hankering, and intense endeavor develop.

PURPORT

One in the mode of passion is never satisfied with the position he has already acquired; he hankers to increase his position. If he wants to construct a residential house, he tries his best to have a palatial house, as if he would be able to reside in that house eternally. And he develops a great hankering for sense gratification. There is no end to sense gratification. He always wants to remain with his family and in his house and to continue the process of sense gratification. There is no cessation of this. All these symptoms should be understood as characteristic of the mode of passion.

Bg 14.13

TEXT 13

TEXT

aprakāśo 'pravṛttiś ca

pramādo moha eva ca

tamasy etāni jāyante

vivṛddhe kuru-nandana

SYNONYMS

aprakāśaḥ-
darkness;
apravṛttiḥ-
inactivity;
ca-
and;
pramādaḥ-
madness;
mohaḥ-
illusion;
eva-
certainly;
ca-
also;
tamasi-
of the mode of ignorance;
etāni-
these;
jāyante-
are manifested;
vivṛddhe-
is developed;
kuru-nandana
-O son of Kuru.

TRANSLATION

O son of Kuru, when there is an increase in the mode of ignorance madness, illusion, inertia and darkness are manifested.

PURPORT

When there is no illumination, knowledge is absent. One in the mode of ignorance does not work by a regulative principle; he wants to act whimsically for no purpose. Even though he has the capacity to work, he makes no endeavor. This is called illusion. Although consciousness is going on, life is inactive. These are the symptoms of one in the mode of ignorance.

Bg 14.14

TEXT 14

TEXT

yadā sattve pravṛddhe tu

pralayaṁ yāti deha-bhṛt

tadottama-vidāṁ lokān

amalān pratipadyate

SYNONYMS

yadā-
when;
sattve-
mode of goodness;
pravṛddhe
-in development;
tu-
but;
pralayam-
dissolution;
yāti-
goes;
deha-bhṛt-
embodied;
tadā-
at that time;
uttama-vidām-
of the great sages;
lokān-
the planets;
amalān-
pure;
pratipadyate-
attains.

TRANSLATION

When one dies in the mode of goodness, he attains to the pure higher planets.

PURPORT

One in goodness attains higher planetary systems, like Brahmaloka or Janaloka, and there enjoys godly happiness. The word
amalān
is significant; it means free from the modes of passion and ignorance. There are impurities in the material world, but the mode of goodness is the purest form of existence in the material world. There are different kinds of planets for different kinds of living entities. Those who die in the mode of goodness are elevated to the planets where great sages and great devotees live.

Bg 14.15

TEXT 15

TEXT

rajasi pralayaṁ gatvā

karma-saṅgiṣu jāyate

tathā pralīnas tamasi

mūḍha-yoniṣu jāyate

SYNONYMS

rajasi-
in passion;
pralayam-
dissolution;
gatvā-
attaining;
karma-saṅgiṣu
-in the association of fruitive activities;
jāyate-
takes birth;
tathā-
thereafter;
pralīnaḥ-
being dissolved;
tamasi-
in ignorance;
mūḍha-
animal;
yoniṣu-
species;
jāyate-
take birth.

TRANSLATION

When one dies in the mode of passion, he takes birth among those engaged in fruitive activities; and when he dies in the mode of ignorance, he takes birth in the animal kingdom.

PURPORT

Some people have the impression that when the soul reaches the platform of human life, it never goes down again. This is incorrect. According to this verse, if one develops the mode of ignorance, after his death he is degraded to the animal form of life. From there one has to again elevate himself, by evolutionary process, to come again to the human form of life. Therefore, those who are actually serious about human life should take to the mode of goodness and in good association transcend the modes and become situated in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. This is the aim of human life. Otherwise, there is no guarantee that the human being will again attain to the human status.

Bg 14.16

TEXT 16

TEXT

karmaṇaḥ sukṛtasyāhuḥ

sāttvikaṁ nirmalaṁ phalam

rajasas tu phalaṁ duḥkham

ajñānaṁ tamasaḥ phalam

SYNONYMS

karmaṇaḥ-
of work;
sukṛtasya-
in the mode of goodness;
āhuḥ-
said;
sāttvikam-
mode of goodness;
nirmalam-
purified;
phalam-
result;
rajasaḥ
-of the mode of passion;
tu-
but;
phalam-
result;
duḥkham-
misery;
ajñānam
-nonsense;
tamasaḥ-
of the mode of ignorance;
phalam
-result.

TRANSLATION

By acting in the mode of goodness, one becomes purified. Works done in the mode of passion result in distress, and actions performed in the mode of ignorance result in foolishness.

PURPORT

By pious activities in the mode of goodness one is purified; therefore the sages, who are free from all illusion, are situated in happiness. Similarly, activities in the mode of passion are simply miserable. Any activity for material happiness is bound to be defeated. If, for example, one wants to have a skyscraper, so much human misery has to be undergone before a big skyscraper can be built. The financier has to take much trouble to earn a mass of wealth, and those who are slaving to construct the building have to render physical toil. The miseries are there. Thus
Bhagavad-gītā
says that in any activity performed under the spell of the mode of passion, there is definitely great misery. There may be a little so-called mental happiness-"I have this house or this money"-but this is not actual happiness. As far as the mode of ignorance is concerned, the performer is without knowledge, and therefore all his activities result in present misery, and afterwards he will go on toward animal life. Animal life is always miserable, although, under the spell of the illusory energy,
māyā
, the animals do not understand this. Slaughtering poor animals is also due to the mode of ignorance. The animal killers do not know that in the future the animal will have a body suitable to kill them. That is the law of nature. In human society, if one kills a man he has to be hanged. That is the law of the state. Because of ignorance, people do not perceive that there is a complete state controlled by the Supreme Lord. Every living creature is the son of the Supreme Lord, and He does not tolerate even an ant's being killed. One has to pay for it. So, indulgence in animal killing for the taste of the tongue is the grossest kind of ignorance. A human being has no need to kill animals because God has supplied so many nice things. If one indulges in meat-eating anyway, it is to be understood that he is acting in ignorance and is making his future very dark. Of all kinds of animal killing, the killing of cows is most vicious because the cow gives us all kinds of pleasure by supplying milk. Cow slaughter is an act of the grossest type of ignorance. In the Vedic literature the words
gobhiḥ prīṇita-matsaram
indicate that one who, being fully satisfied by milk, is desirous of killing the cow, is in the grossest ignorance. There is also a prayer in the Vedic literature that states:

namo brahmaṇya-devāya go-brāhmaṇa-hitāya ca
jagaddhitāya kṛṣṇāya govindāya namo namaḥ.

"My Lord, You are the well-wisher of the cows and the
brāhmaṇas,
and You are the well-wisher of the entire human society and world." The purport is that special mention is given in that prayer for the protection of the cows and the
brāhmaṇas. Brāhmaṇas
are the symbol of spiritual education, and cows are the symbol of the most valuable food; these two living creatures, the
brāhmaṇas
and the cows, must be given all protection-that is real advancement of civilization. In modern human society, spiritual knowledge is neglected, and cow killing is encouraged. It is to be understood, then, that human society is advancing in the wrong direction and is clearing the path to its own condemnation. A civilization which guides the citizens to become animals in their next lives is certainly not a human civilization. The present human civilization is, of course, grossly misled by the modes of passion and ignorance. It is a very dangerous age, and all nations should take care to provide the easiest process, Kṛṣṇa consciousness, to save humanity from the greatest danger.

Bg 14.17

TEXT 17

TEXT

sattvāt sañjāyate jñānaṁ

rajaso lobha eva ca

pramāda-mohau tamaso

bhavato 'jñānam eva ca

SYNONYMS

sattvāt-
from the mode of goodness;
sañjāyate-
develops;
jñānam-
knowledge;
rajasaḥ-
from the mode of passion;
lobhaḥ-
greed;
eva-
certainly;
ca-
also;
pramāda
-madness;
mohau-
illusion;
tamasaḥ-
from the mode of ignorance;
bhavataḥ-
develops;
ajñānam-
nonsense;
eva-
certainly;
ca-
also.

TRANSLATION

From the mode of goodness, real knowledge develops; from the mode of passion, grief develops; and from the mode of ignorance, foolishness, madness and illusion develop.

PURPORT

Since the present civilization is not very congenial to the living entities, Kṛṣṇa consciousness is recommended. Through Kṛṣṇa consciousness, society will develop the mode of goodness. When the mode of goodness is developed, people will see things as they are. In the mode of ignorance, people are just like animals and cannot see things clearly. In the mode of ignorance, for example, they do not see that by killing one animal they are taking a chance of being killed by the same animal in the next life. Because people have no education in actual knowledge, they become irresponsible. To stop this irresponsibility, education for developing the mode of goodness of the people in general must be there. When they are actually educated in the mode of goodness, they will become sober, in full knowledge of things as they are. Then people will be happy and prosperous. Even if the majority of the people aren't happy and prosperous, if a certain percentage of the population develops Kṛṣṇa consciousness and becomes situated in the mode of goodness, then there is the possibility for peace and prosperity all over the world. Otherwise, if the world is devoted to the modes of passion and ignorance, there can be no peace or prosperity. In the mode of passion, people become greedy, and their hankering for sense enjoyment has no limit. One can see that even if one has enough money and adequate arrangement for sense gratification, there is neither happiness nor peace of mind. That is not possible because one is situated in the mode of passion. If one wants happiness at all, his money will not help him; he has to elevate himself to the mode of goodness by practicing Kṛṣṇa consciousness. One engaged in the mode of passion is not only mentally unhappy, but his profession and occupation are also very troublesome. He has to devise so many plans and schemes to acquire enough money to maintain his status quo. This is all miserable. In the mode of ignorance, people become mad. Being distressed by their circumstances, they take shelter of intoxication, and thus they sink further into ignorance. Their future in life is very dark.

Bg 14.18

TEXT 18

TEXT

ūrdhvaṁ gacchanti sattva-sthā

madhye tiṣṭhanti rājasāḥ

jaghanya-guṇa-vṛtti-sthā

adho gacchanti tāmasāḥ

SYNONYMS

ūrdhvam
-upwards;
gacchanti
-goes;
sattva-sthāḥ-
one who is situated in the mode of goodness;
madhye-
in the middle;
tiṣṭhanti
-dwell;
rājasāḥ-
those who are situated in the mode of passion;
jaghanya-
abominable;
guṇa-
quality;
vṛtti-sthāḥ-
occupation;
adhaḥ-
down;
gacchanti-
go;
tāmasāḥ-
persons in the mode of ignorance.

TRANSLATION

Those situated in the mode of goodness gradually go upward to the higher planets; those in the mode of passion live on the earthly planets; and those in the mode of ignorance go down to the hellish worlds.