Bhagavad-gita As It Is - Macmillan 1972 Edition -- Prabhupada Books (66 page)

Bg 8.25

TEXT 25

TEXT

dhūmo rātris tathā kṛṣṇaḥ

ṣaṇ-māsā dakṣiṇāyanam

tatra cāndramasaṁ jyotir

yogī prāpya nivartate

SYNONYMS

dhūmaḥ-
smoke;
rātriḥ
-night;
tathā-
also;
kṛṣṇaḥ
-the fortnight of the dark moon;
ṣaṭ-māsāḥ
-the six months;
dakṣiṇa-ayanam-
when the sun passes on the southern side;
tatra
-there;
cāndramasam-
the moon planet;
jyotiḥ-
light,
yogī
-the mystic;
prāpya-
achieves;
nivartate
-comes back.

TRANSLATION

The mystic who passes away from this world during the smoke, the night, the moonlight fortnight, or in the six months when the sun passes to the south, or who reaches the moon planet, again comes back.

PURPORT

In the Third Canto of
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam
we are informed that those who are expert in fruitive activities and sacrificial methods on earth attain to the moon at death. These elevated souls live on the moon for about 10,000 years (by demigod calculations) and enjoy life by drinking soma-rasa. They eventually return to earth. This means that on the moon there are higher classes of living beings, though they may not be perceived by the gross senses.

Bg 8.26

TEXT 26

TEXT

śukla-kṛṣṇe gatī hy ete

jagataḥ śāśvate mate

ekayā yāty anāvṛttim

anyayāvartate punaḥ

SYNONYMS

śukla-
light;
kṛṣṇe-
darkness;
gatī
-passing away;
hi-
certainly;
ete
-all these;
jagataḥ
-of the material world;
śāśvate
-the
Vedas
;
mate
-in the opinion;
ekayā
-by one;
yāti
-goes;
anāvṛttim
-no return;
anyayā
-by the other;
āvartate
-comes back;
punaḥ
-again.

TRANSLATION

According to the Vedas, there are two ways of passing from this world-one in light and one in darkness. When one passes in light, he does not come back; but when one passes in darkness, he returns.

PURPORT

The same description of departure and return is quoted by Ācārya Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa from the
Chandogya Upaniṣad.
In such a way, those who are fruitive laborers and philosophical speculators from time immemorial are constantly going and coming. Actually they do not attain ultimate salvation, for they do not surrender to Kṛṣṇa.

Bg 8.27

TEXT 27

TEXT

naite sṛtī pārtha jānan

yogī muhyati kaścana

tasmāt sarveṣu kāleṣu

yoga-yukto bhavārjuna

SYNONYMS

na-
never;
ete-
all these;
sṛtī
-different paths;
pārtha
-O son of Pṛthā;
jānan
-even if they know;
yogī
-the devotees of the Lord;
muhyati-
bewildered;
kaścana-
anyone;
tasmāt-
therefore;
sarveṣu
kāleṣu-
always;
yoga-yuktaḥ-
being engaged in Kṛṣṇa consciousness;
bhava-
just become;
arjuna
-O Arjuna.

TRANSLATION

The devotees who know these two paths, O Arjuna, are never bewildered. Therefore be always fixed in devotion.

PURPORT

Kṛṣṇa is here advising Arjuna that he should not be disturbed by the different paths the soul can take when leaving the material world. A devotee of the Supreme Lord should not worry whether he will depart either by arrangement or by accident. The devotee should be firmly established in Krṣṇa consciousness and chant Hare Kṛṣṇa. He should know that concern over either of these two paths is troublesome. The best way to be absorbed in Kṛṣṇa consciousness is to be always dovetailed in His service, and this will make one's path to the spiritual kingdom safe, certain, and direct. The word
yoga-yukta
is especially significant in this verse. One who is firm in
yoga
is constantly engaged in Kṛṣṇa consciousness in all his activities. Śrī Rūpa Gosvāmī advises that one should be unattached in the material world and that all affairs should be steeped in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. In this way one attains perfection. Therefore the devotee is not disturbed by these descriptions because he knows that his passage to the supreme abode is guaranteed by devotional service.

Bg 8.28

TEXT 28

TEXT

vedeṣu yajñeṣu tapaḥsu caiva

dāneṣu yat puṇya-phalaṁ pradiṣṭam

atyeti tat sarvam idaṁ viditvā

yogī paraṁ sthānam upaiti cādyam

SYNONYMS

vedeṣu-
in the study of the
Vedas; yajñeṣu-
in the performances of
yajña,
sacrifice;
tapaḥsu-
undergoing different types of austerities;
ca-
also;
eva-
certainly;
dāneṣu-
in giving charities;
yat-
that which;
puṇya-phalam-
the result of pious work;
pradiṣṭam
-directed;
atyeti
-surpasses;
tat
-all those;
sarvam idam-
all those described above;
viditvā-
knowing;
yogī
-the devotee;
param-
supreme;
sthānam-
abode;
upaiti-
achieved peace;
ca-
also;
ādyam-
original.

TRANSLATION

A person who accepts the path of devotional service is not bereft of the results derived from studying the Vedas, performing austere sacrifices, giving charity or pursuing philosophical and fruitive activities. At the end he reaches the supreme abode.

PURPORT

This verse is the summation of the Seventh and Eighth Chapters, particularly as the chapters deal with Kṛṣṇa consciousness and devotional service. One has to study the
Vedas
under the guidance of the spiritual master and undergo many austerities and penances while living under his care. A
brahmacārī
has to live in the home of the spiritual master just like a servant, and he must beg alms from door to door and bring them to the spiritual master. He takes food only under the master's order, and if the master neglects to call the student for food that day, the student fasts. These are some of the Vedic principles for observing
brahmacarya.

After the student studies the
Vedas
under the master for a period from five to twenty years, he may become a man of perfect character. Study of the
Vedas
is
not meant for the recreation of armchair speculators, but for the formation of character. After this training, the
brahmacārī
is allowed to enter into household life and marry. When he is a householder, he also has to perform many sacrifices and strive for further enlightenment. Then after retiring from household life, upon accepting the order of
vānaprastha,
he undergoes severe penances, such as living in forests, dressing with tree bark, not shaving, etc. By carrying out the orders of
brahmacārī,
householder,
vānaprastha
and finally
sannyāsa
, one becomes elevated to the perfectional stage of life. Some are then elevated to the heavenly kingdoms, and when they become even more advanced they are liberated in the spiritual sky, either in the impersonal
brahmajyoti
or in the Vaikuṇṭha planets or Kṛṣṇaloka. This is the path outlined by Vedic literatures.

The beauty of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, however, is that by one stroke, by engaging in devotional service, one can surpass all rituals of the different orders of life.

One should try to understand the Seventh and Eighth Chapters of the
Gītā
not by scholarship or mental speculation, but by hearing them in association with pure devotees. Chapters Six through Twelve are the essence of the
Gītā.
If one is fortunate to understand the
Gītā-
especially these middle six chapters-in the association of devotees, then his life at once becomes glorified beyond all penances, sacrifices, charities, speculations, etc. One should hear the
Gītā
from the devotee because at the beginning of the Fourth Chapter it is stated that the
Gīta
can only be perfectly understood by devotees. Hearing the
Gītā
from devotees, not from mental speculators, is called faith. Through association of devotees, one is placed in devotional service, and by this service Kṛṣṇa's activities, form, pastimes, name, etc., become clear, and all misgivings are dispelled. Then once doubts are removed, the study of the
Gītā
becomes extremely pleasurable, and one develops a taste and feeling for Kṛṣṇa consciousness. In the advanced stage, one falls completely in love with Kṛṣṇa, and that is the beginning of the highest perfectional stage of life which prepares the devotee's transferral to Kṛṣṇa's abode in the spiritual sky, Goloka Vṛndāvana, where the devotee enters into eternal happiness.

Thus end the Bhaktivedanta Purports to the Eighth Chapter of the
Śrīmad-Bhagavad-gītā
in the matter of Attaining the Supreme.

Bg 9: The Most Confidential Knowledge

9. The Most Confidential Knowledge

Bg 9.1

TEXT 1

TEXT

śrī-bhagavān uvāca

idaṁ tu te guhyatamaṁ

pravakṣyāmy anasūyave

jñānaṁ vijñāna-sahitaṁ

yaj jñātvā mokṣyase 'śubhāt

SYNONYMS

śrī bhagavan uvāca-
the Supreme Personality of Godhead said;
idam-
this;
tu-
but;
te-
unto you;
guhyatamam-
most confidential;
pravakṣyāmi-
I am speaking;
anasūyave-
to the nonenvious;
jñānam-
knowledge;
vijñāna-
realized knowledge;
sahitam-
with;
yat-
which;
jñātvā-
knowing;
mokṣyase-
be released;
aśubhāt-
from this miserable material existence.

TRANSLATION

The Supreme Lord said: My dear Arjuna, because you are never envious of Me, I shall impart to you this most secret wisdom, knowing which you shall be relieved of the miseries of material existence.

PURPORT

As a devotee hears more and more about the Supreme Lord, he becomes enlightened. This hearing process is recommended in the
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam:
"The messages of the Supreme Personality of Godhead are full of potencies, and these potencies can be realized if topics regarding the Supreme Godhead are discussed amongst devotees. This cannot be achieved by the association of mental speculators or academic scholars, for it is realized knowledge."

The devotees are constantly engaged in the Supreme Lord's service. The Lord understands the mentality and sincerity of a particular living entity who is engaged in Kṛṣṇa consciousness and gives him the intelligence to understand the science of Kṛṣṇa in the association of the devotees. Discussion of Kṛṣṇa is very potent, and if a fortunate person has such association and tries to assimilate the knowledge, then he will surely make advancement toward spiritual realization. Lord Kṛṣṇa, in order to encourage Arjuna to higher and higher elevation in His potent service, describes in this Ninth Chapter matters more confidential than any He has already disclosed.

The very beginning of
Bhagavad-gītā,
the First Chapter, is more or less an introduction to the rest of the book; and in the Second and Third Chapters, the spiritual knowledge described is called confidential. Topics discussed in the Seventh and Eighth Chapters are specifically related to devotional service, and because they bring enlightenment in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, they are called more confidential. But the matters which are described in the Ninth Chapter deal with unalloyed, pure devotion. Therefore this is called the most confidential. One who is situated in the most confidential knowledge of Kṛṣṇa is naturally transcendental; he therefore has no material pangs, although he is in the material world. In the
Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu
it is said that although one who has a sincere desire to render loving service to the Supreme Lord is situated in the conditional state of material existence, he is to be considered liberated. Similarly, we shall find in the
Bhagavad-gītā,
Tenth Chapter, that anyone who is engaged in that way is a liberated person.

Now this first verse has specific significance. Knowledge
(idaṁ jñānam)
refers to pure devotional service, which consists of nine different activities: hearing, chanting, remembering, serving, worshiping, praying, obeying, maintaining friendship and surrendering everything. By the practice of these nine elements of devotional service one is elevated to spiritual consciousness, Kṛṣṇa consciousness. At the time when one's heart is cleared of the material contamination, one can understand this science of Kṛṣṇa. Simply to understand that a living entity is not material is not sufficient. That may be the beginning of spiritual realization, but one should recognize the difference between activities of the body and spiritual activities by which one understands that he is not the body.

In the Seventh Chapter we have already discussed the opulent potency of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, His different energies, the inferior and superior natures, and all this material manifestation. Now in Chapters Nine and Ten the glories of the Lord will be delineated.