Bhagavad-gita As It Is - Macmillan 1972 Edition -- Prabhupada Books (107 page)

According to the statement of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Kṛṣṇa, there are two classes of men. The
Vedas
give evidence of this, so there is no doubt about it. The living entities, who are struggling in this world with the mind and five senses, have their material bodies which are changing as long as the living entities are conditioned. One's body changes due to contact with matter; matter is changing, so the living entity appears to be changing. But in the spiritual world the body is not made of matter; therefore there is no change. In the material world the living entity undergoes six changes-birth, growth, duration, reproduction, then dwindling and vanishing. These are the changes of the material body. But in the spiritual world the body does not change; there is no old age, there is no birth, there is no death. There all exists in oneness. It is more clearly explained as
sarvāṇi bhūtāni:
any living entity who has come in contact with
matter, beginning from the first created being, Brahmā, down to a small ant, is changing its body; therefore they are all fallible. In the spiritual world, however, they are always liberated in oneness.

Bg 15.17

TEXT 17

TEXT

uttamaḥ puruṣas tv anyaḥ

paramātmety udāhṛtaḥ

yo loka-trayam āviśya

bibharty avyaya īśvaraḥ

SYNONYMS

uttamaḥ-
the best;
puruṣaḥ
-personality;
tu-
but;
anyaḥ-
another;
param
-the Supreme;
ātmā-
Self;
iti-
thus;
udāhṛtaḥ-
said;
yaḥ
-one who;
loka-
of the universe;
trayam-
the three divisions;
āviśya-
entering;
bibharti-
maintaining;
avyayaḥ-
inexhaustible;
īśvaraḥ-
the Lord.

TRANSLATION

Besides these two, there is the greatest living personality, the Lord Himself, who has entered into these worlds and is maintaining them.

PURPORT

This verse is very nicely expressed in the
Kaṭha Upaniṣad
and
Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad.
It is clearly stated there that above the innumerable living entities, some of whom are conditioned and some of whom are liberated, there is the Supreme Personality who is Paramātmā. The Upanisadic verse runs as follows:
nityo nityānāṁ cetanaś cetanānām.
The purport is that amongst all the living entities, both conditioned and liberated, there is one supreme living personality, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who maintains them and gives them all the facility of enjoyment according to different work. That Supreme Personality of Godhead is situated in everyone's heart as Paramātmā. A wise man who can understand Him is eligible to attain the perfect peace, not others.

It is incorrect to think of the Supreme Lord and the living entities as being on the same level or equal in all respects. There is always the question of superiority and inferiority in their personalities. This particular word
uttama
is very significant. No one can surpass the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Loke
is also significant because in the
Pauruṣa
, a Vedic literature, it is stated:
lokyate vedārtho 'nena.
This Supreme Lord in His localized aspect as Paramātmā explains the purpose of the
Vedas.
The following verse also appears in the
Vedas:

tāvad eṣa samprasādo 'smāc
charīrāt samutthāya paraṁ
jyoti-rūpaṁ sampadya svena
rūpeṇābhiniṣpadyate sa uttamaḥ puruṣaḥ

"The Supersoul coming out of the body enters the impersonal
brahmajyoti;
then in His form He remains in His spiritual identity. That Supreme is called the Supreme Personality." This means that the Supreme Personality is exhibiting and diffusing His spiritual effulgence, which is the ultimate illumination. That Supreme Personality also has a localized aspect as Paramātmā. By incarnating Himself as the son of Satyavatī and Parāśara, He explains the Vedic knowledge as Vyāsadeva.

Bg 15.18

TEXT 18

TEXT

yasmāt kṣaram atīto 'ham

akṣarād api cottamaḥ

ato 'smi loke vede ca

prathitaḥ puruṣottamaḥ

SYNONYMS

yasmāt
-because;
kṣaram-
the fallible;
atītaḥ-
transcendental;
aham-
I;
akṣarāt-
from the infallible;
api-
better than that;
ca-
and;
uttamaḥ-
the best;
ataḥ-
therefore;
asmi-
I am;
loke-
in the world;
vede-
in the Vedic literature;
ca-
and;
prathitaḥ-
celebrated;
puruṣottamaḥ-
as the Supreme Personality.

TRANSLATION

Because I am transcendental, beyond both the fallible and the infallible, and because I am the greatest, I am celebrated both in the world and in the Vedas as that Supreme Person.

PURPORT

No one can surpass the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa-neither the conditioned soul nor the liberated soul. He is, therefore, the greatest of personalities. Now it is clear here that the living entities and the Supreme Personality of Godhead are individuals. The difference is that the living entities, either in the conditioned state or in the liberated state, cannot surpass in quantity the inconceivable potencies of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Bg 15.19

TEXT 19

TEXT

yo mām evam asammūḍho

jānāti puruṣottamam

sa sarva-vid bhajati māṁ

sarva-bhāvena bhārata

SYNONYMS

yaḥ
-anyone;
mām-
unto Me;
evam
-certainly;
asammūḍhaḥ-
without a doubt;
jānāti
-knows;
puruṣottamam-
the Supreme Personality of Godhead;
saḥ-
he;
sarva-vit-
knower of everything;
bhajati-
renders devotional service;
mām
-unto Me;
sarva-bhāvena-
in all respects;
bhārata-
O son of Bharata.

TRANSLATION

Whoever knows Me as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, without doubting, is to be understood as the knower of everything, and he therefore engages himself in full devotional service, O son of Bharata

PURPORT

There are many philosophical speculations about the constitutional position of the living entities and the Supreme Absolute Truth. Now in this verse the Supreme Personality of Godhead clearly explains that anyone who knows Lord Kṛṣṇa as the Supreme Person is actually the knower of everything. The imperfect knower goes on simply speculating about the Absolute Truth, but the perfect knower, without wasting his valuable time, engages directly in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, the devotional service of the Supreme Lord. Throughout the whole of
Bhagavad-gītā,
this fact is being stressed at every step. And still there are so many stubborn commentators on
Bhagavad-gītā
who consider the Supreme Absolute Truth and the living entities to be one and the same.

Vedic knowledge is called
śruti
learning by aural reception. One should actually receive the Vedic message from authorities like Kṛṣṇa and His representatives. Here Kṛṣṇa distinguishes everything very nicely, and one should hear from this source. Simply to hear like the hogs is not sufficient; one must be able to understand from the authorities. It is not that one should simply speculate academically. One should submissively hear from
Bhagavad-gītā
that these living entities are always subordinate to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Anyone who is able to understand this, according to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, knows the purpose of the
Vedas;
no one else knows the purpose of the
Vedas.

The word
bhajate
is very significant. In many places the word
bhajate
is
expressed in relationship with the service of the Supreme Lord. If a person is engaged in full Kṛṣṇa consciousness in devotional service of the Lord, it is to be understood that he has understood all the Vedic knowledge. In the Vaiṣṇava
paramparā
it is said that if one is engaged in the devotional service of Kṛṣṇa, then there is no need for a spiritual process to understand the Supreme Absolute Truth. He has already come to the post because he is engaged in the devotional service of the Lord. He has ended all preliminary processes of understanding; similarly, if anyone, after speculating for hundreds of thousands of lives, does not come to the point that Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead and that one has to surrender there, all his speculation for so many years and lives is a useless waste of time.

Bg 15.20

TEXT 20

TEXT

iti guhyatamaṁ śāstram

idam uktaṁ mayānagha

etad buddhvā buddhimān syāt

kṛta-kṛtyaś ca bhārata

SYNONYMS

iti-
thus;
guhyatamam-
the most confidential;
śāstram-
revealed scriptures;
idam-
this;
uktam-
disclosed;
mayā-
by Me;
anagha
-O sinless one;
etat-
this;
buddhvā-
understanding;
buddhimān-
intelligent;
syāt-
one becomes;
kṛta-kṛtyaḥ-
the most perfect;
ca-
and;
bhārata-
O son of Bharata.

TRANSLATION

This is the most confidential part of the Vedic scriptures, O sinless one, and it is disclosed now by Me. Whoever understands this will become wise, and his endeavors will know perfection.

PURPORT

The Lord clearly explains here that this is the substance of all revealed scriptures. And one should understand this as it is given by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Thus one will become intelligent and perfect in transcendental knowledge. In other words, by understanding this philosophy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and engaging in His transcendental service, everyone can become freed from all contaminations of the modes of material nature. Devotional service is a process of spiritual understanding. Wherever devotional service exists, the material contamination cannot coexist. Devotional service to the Lord and the Lord Himself are one and the same because they are spiritual-the internal energy of the Supreme Lord. The Lord is said to be the sun, and ignorance is called darkness. Where the sun is present, there is no question of darkness. Therefore, whenever devotional service is present under the proper guidance of a bona fide spiritual master, there is no question of ignorance.

Everyone must take to this consciousness of Kṛṣṇa and engage in devotional service to become intelligent and purified. Unless one comes to this position of understanding Kṛṣṇa and engages in devotional service, however intelligent he may be in the estimation of some common man, he is not perfectly intelligent.

The word
anagha,
by which Arjuna is addressed, is significant.
Anagha,
O sinless one, means that unless one is free from all sinful reactions, it is very difficult to understand Kṛṣṇa. One has to become free from all contamination, all sinful activities; then he can understand. But devotional service is so pure and potent that once one is engaged in devotional service he automatically comes to the stage of sinlessness.

While performing devotional service in the association of pure devotees in full Kṛṣṇa consciousness, there are certain things which require to be vanquished altogether. The most important thing one has to surmount is weakness of the heart. The first falldown is caused by the desire to lord it over material nature. Thus one gives up the transcendental loving service of the Supreme Lord. The second weakness of the heart is that as one increases the propensity of lording it over material nature, he becomes attached to matter and the possession of matter. The problems of material existence are due to these weaknesses of the heart.

Thus end the Bhaktivedanta Purports to the Fifteenth Chapter of the
Śrīmad-Bhagavad-gītā
in the matter of Puruṣottama-yoga, the Yoga of the Supreme Person.

Bg 16: The Divine and Demoniac Natures

16. The Divine and Demoniac Natures

Bg 16.1, Bg 16.2, Bg 16.3, Bg 16.1-3

TEXTS 1-3

TEXT

śrī-bhagavān uvāca

abhayaṁ sattva-saṁśuddhir

jñāna-yoga-vyavasthitiḥ

dānaṁ damaś ca yajñaś ca

svādhyāyas tapa ārjavam

tyāgaḥ śāntir apaiśunam

dayā bhūteṣv aloluptvaṁ

mārdavaṁ hrīr acāpalam

adroho nāti-mānitā

bhavanti sampadaṁ daivīm

abhijātasya bhārata

SYNONYMS

śrī bhagavān uvāca-
the Supreme Personality of Godhead said;
abhayam
-fearlessness;
sattva-saṁśuddhiḥ-
purification of one's existence;
jñāna-
knowledge;
yoga-
of linking up;
vyavasthitiḥ-
the situation;
dānam-
charity;
damaḥ ca-
and controlling the mind;
yajñaḥ ca
-and performance of sacrifice;
svādhyāyaḥ-
study of Vedic literature;
tapaḥ-
austerity;
ārjavam
-simplicity;
ahiṁsā-
nonviolence;
satyam-
truthfulness;
akrodhaḥ-
freedom from anger;
tyāgaḥ-
renunciation;
śāntiḥ-
tranquility;
apaiśunam-
aversion to faultfinding;
dayā-
mercy;
bhūteṣu-
towards all living entities;
aloluptvam-
freedom from greed;
mārdavam-
gentleness;
hrīḥ-
modesty;
acāpalam-
determination;
tejaḥ-
vigor ;
kṣamā-
forgiveness;
dhṛtiḥ-
fortitude;
śaucam-
cleanliness;
adrohaḥ
-freedom from envy;
na
-not;
atimānitā-
expectation of honor;
bhavanti-
become;
sampadam-
qualities;
daivīm-
transcendental;
abhijātasya-
one who is born of;
bhārata-
O son of Bharata.