Bhagavad-gita As It Is - Macmillan 1972 Edition -- Prabhupada Books (71 page)

Bg 9.16

TEXT 16

TEXT

ahaṁ kratur ahaṁ yajñaḥ

svadhāham aham auṣadham

mantro 'ham aham evājyam

aham agnir ahaṁ hutam

SYNONYMS

aham
-I;
kratuḥ
-ritual;
aham
-I;
yajñaḥ
-sacrifice;
svadhā
-oblation;
aham
-I ;
aham
-I;
auṣadham
-healing herb ;
mantraḥ
-transcendental chant;
aham
-I;
aham
-I;
eva
-certainly;
ajyam
-melted butter;
aham
-I;
agniḥ
-fire;
aham
-I;
hutam
-offering.

TRANSLATION

But it is I who am the ritual, I the sacrifice, the offering to the ancestors, the healing herb, the transcendental chant. I am the butter and the fire and the offering.

PURPORT

The sacrifice known as
jyotiṣṭoma
is
also Kṛṣṇa, and He is also the
mahā-yajña
The oblations offered to the Pitṛloka or the sacrifice performed to please the Pitṛloka, considered as a kind of drug in the form of clarified butter, is also Kṛṣṇa. The
mantras
chanted in this connection are also Kṛṣṇa. And many other commodities made with milk products for offering in the sacrifices are also Kṛṣṇa. The fire is also Kṛṣṇa because fire is one of the five material elements and is therefore claimed as the separated energy of Kṛṣṇa. In other words, the Vedic sacrifices recommended in the
karma-kāṇḍa
division of the
Vedas
are in total also Kṛṣṇa. Or, in other words, those who are engaged in rendering devotional service unto Kṛṣṇa are to be understood to have performed all the sacrifices recommended in the
Vedas.

Bg 9.17

TEXT 17

TEXT

pitāham asya jagato

mātā dhātā pitāmahaḥ

vedyaṁ pavitram oṁkāra

ṛk sāma yajur eva ca

SYNONYMS

pitā-
father;
aham-
I;
asya-
of this;
jagataḥ-
of the universe;
mātā-
mother;
dhātā-
supporter;
pitāmahaḥ-
grandfather;
vedyam-
what is to be known;
pavitram-
that which purifies;
omkāraḥ-
the syllable
om; ṛk-
the
Ṛg-veda; sāma-
the
Sāma-veda; yajuḥ-
the
Yajur-veda; eva-
certainly;
ca-
and.

TRANSLATION

I am the father of this universe, the mother, the support, and the grandsire. I am the object of knowledge, the purifier and the syllable om. I am also the Ṛk, the Sāma, and the Yajur [Vedas].

PURPORT

The entire cosmic manifestations, moving and nonmoving, are manifested by different activities of Kṛṣṇa's energy. In the material existence we create different relationships with different living entities who are nothing but Kṛṣṇa's marginal energy, but under the creation of
prakṛti
some of them appear as our father, mother, grandfather, creator, etc., but actually they are parts and parcels of Kṛṣṇa. As such, these living entities who appear to be our father, mother, etc., are nothing but Kṛṣṇa. In this verse the word
dhātā
means creator. Not only are our father and mother parts and parcels of Kṛṣṇa, but their creator, grandmother, and grandfather, etc., are also Kṛṣṇa. Actually any living entity, being part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa, is Kṛṣṇa. All the
Vedas,
therefore, aim only toward Kṛṣṇa. Whatever we want to know through the
Vedas
is
but a progressive step to understand Kṛṣṇa. That subject matter which helps us purify our constitutional position is especially Kṛṣṇa. Similarly, the living entity who is inquisitive to understand all Vedic principles is also part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa and as such is also Kṛṣṇa. In all the Vedic
mantras
the word
om
, called
praṇava,
is
a transcendental sound vibration and is also Kṛṣṇa. And because in all the hymns of the four
Vedas, Sāma, Yajur, Ṛg
and
Atharva
, the
praṇava
or
omkāra
is very prominent, it is understood to be Kṛṣṇa.

Bg 9.18

TEXT 18

TEXT

gatir bhartā prabhuḥ sākṣī

nivāsaḥ śaraṇaṁ suhṛt

prabhavaḥ pralayaḥ sthānaṁ

nidhānaṁ bījam avyayam

SYNONYMS

gatiḥ-
goal;
bhartā-
sustainer;
prabhuḥ-
Lord;
sākṣī-
witness;
nivāsaḥ-
abode;
śaraṇam-
refuge;
suhṛt-
most intimate friend;
prabhavaḥ
-creation;
pralayaḥ-
dissolution;
sthānam
-ground;
nidhānam
-resting place;
bījam-
seed;
avyayam
-imperishable.

TRANSLATION

I am the goal, the sustainer, the master, the witness, the abode, the refuge and the most dear friend. I am the creation and the annihilation, the basis of everything, the resting place and the eternal seed.

PURPORT

Gati
means the destination where we want to go. But the ultimate goal is Kṛṣṇa, although people do not know it. One who does not know Kṛṣṇa is misled, and his so-called progressive march is either partial or hallucinatory. There are many who make as their destination different demigods, and by rigid performance of the strict respective methods they reach different planets known as Candraloka, Sūryaloka, Indraloka, Maharloka, etc. But all such
lokas
or planets, being creations of Kṛṣṇa, are simultaneously Kṛṣṇa and not Kṛṣṇa. Actually such planets, being the manifestations of Kṛṣṇa's energy, are also Kṛṣṇa, but actually they only serve as a step forward for realization of Kṛṣṇa. To approach the different energies of Kṛṣṇa is to approach Kṛṣṇa indirectly. One should directly approach Kṛṣṇa, for that will save time and energy. For example, if there is a possibility of going to the top of a building by the help of an elevator, why should one go by the staircase, step by step? Everything is resting on Kṛṣṇa's energy; therefore without Kṛṣṇa's shelter nothing can exist. Kṛṣṇa is the supreme ruler because everything belongs to Him and everything exists on His energy. Kṛṣṇa, being situated in everyone's heart, is the supreme witness. The residences, countries or planets on which we live are also Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa is the ultimate goal of shelter, and as such one should take shelter of Kṛṣṇa either for protection or for annihilation of his distressed condition. And whenever we have to take protection, we should know that our protection must be a living force. Thus Kṛṣṇa is the supreme living entity. Since Kṛṣṇa is the source of our generation, or the supreme father, no one can be a better friend than Kṛṣṇa, nor can anyone be a better well-wisher. Kṛṣṇa is the original source of creation and the ultimate rest after annihilation. Kṛṣṇa is therefore the eternal cause of all causes.

Bg 9.19

TEXT 19

TEXT

tapāmy aham ahaṁ varṣaṁ

nigṛhṇāmy utsṛjāmi ca

amṛtaṁ caiva mṛtyuś ca

sad asac cāham arjuna

SYNONYMS

tapāmi-
give heat;
aham-
I;
aham-
I;
varṣam-
rain;
nigṛhṇāmi-
withold;
utsṛjāmi-
send forth;
ca-
and;
amṛtam-
immortality;
ca-
and;
eva-
certainly;
mṛtyuḥ-
death;
ca-
and;
sat-
being;
asat-
nonbeing;
ca-
and;
aham-
I;
arjuna
-O Arjuna.

TRANSLATION

O Arjuna, I control heat, the rain and the drought. I am immortality, and I am also death personified. Both being and nonbeing are in Me.

PURPORT

Kṛṣṇa, by His different energies, diffuses heat and light through the agency of electricity and the sun. During summer season it is Kṛṣṇa who checks rain from falling from the sky, and then, during the rainy season, He gives unceasing torrents of rain. The energy which sustains us by prolonging the duration of our life is Kṛṣṇa, and Kṛṣṇa meets us at the end as death. By analyzing all these different energies of Kṛṣṇa, one can acertain that for Kṛṣṇa there is no distinction between matter and spirit, or, in other words, He is both matter and spirit. In the advanced stage of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, one does not therefore make such distinctions. He sees Kṛṣṇa only in everything.

Since Kṛṣṇa is both matter and spirit, the gigantic universal form comprising all material manifestations is also Kṛṣṇa, and His pastimes in Vṛndāvana as two-handed Śyāmasundara, playing on a flute, are those of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Bg 9.20

TEXT 20

TEXT

trai-vidyā māṁ soma-pāḥ pūta-pāpā

yajñair iṣṭvā svar-gatiṁ prārthayante

te puṇyam āsādya surendra-lokam

aśnanti divyān divi deva-bhogān

SYNONYMS

trai-vidyāḥ-
the knowers of the three
Vedas; mām-
unto Me;
soma-pāḥ-
drinkers of
soma
juice;
pūta
-purified;
pāpāḥ
-sins;
yajñaiḥ
-with sacrifices;
iṣṭvā
-after worshiping;
svargatim-
passage to heaven;
prārthayante-
pray;
te-
they;
puṇyam
-virtue;
āsādya-
enjoying;
surendra-
of Indra;
lokam-
world;
aśnanti-
enjoy;
divyān-
celestial;
divi-
in heaven;
deva-bhogān-
pleasures of the gods.

TRANSLATION

Those who study the Vedas and drink the soma juice, seeking the heavenly planets, worship Me indirectly. They take birth on the planet of Indra, where they enjoy godly delights.

PURPORT

The word
trai-vidyāḥ
refers to the three
Vedas, Sāma, Yajur
and
Ṛg
. A
brāhmaṇa
who has studied these three
Vedas
is
called a
tri-vedī.
Anyone who is very much attached to knowledge derived from these three
Vedas
is
respected in society. Unfortunately, there are many great scholars of the
Vedas
who do not know the ultimate purport of studying them. Therefore Kṛṣṇa herein declares Himself to be the ultimate goal for the
tri-vedīs.
Actual
tri-vedīs
take shelter under the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa and engage in pure devotional service to satisfy the Lord. Devotional service begins with the chanting of the Hare Kṛṣṇa
mantra
and side by side trying to understand Kṛṣṇa in truth. Unfortunately those who are simply official students of the
Vedas
become more interested in offering sacrifices to the different demigods like Indra, Candra, etc. By such endeavor, the worshipers of different demigods are certainly purified of the contamination of the lower qualities of nature and are thereby elevated to the higher planetary system or heavenly planets known as Maharloka, Janaloka, Tapoloka, etc. Once situated on those higher planetary systems, one can satisfy his senses hundreds of thousands of times better than on this planet.

Bg 9.21

TEXT 21

TEXT

te taṁ bhuktvā svarga-lokaṁ viśālaṁ

kṣīṇe puṇye martya-lokaṁ viśanti

evaṁ trayī-dharmam anuprapannā

gatāgataṁ kāma-kāmā labhante

SYNONYMS

te
-they;
tam-
that;
bhuktvā-
enjoying;
svarga-lokam-
heaven;
viśālam-
vast;
kṣīṇe-
being exhausted;
puṇye
-merits;
martya-lokam-
mortal earth;
viśanti-
fall down;
evam
-thus;
trayī
-three
Vedas
;
dharmam-
doctrines;
anuprapannāḥ-
following;
gata-agatam
-death and birth;
kāma-kāmāḥ-
desiring sense enjoyments;
labhante-
attain.

TRANSLATION

When they have thus enjoyed heavenly sense pleasure, they return to this mortal planet again. Thus, through the Vedic principles, they achieve only flickering happiness.

PURPORT

One who is promoted to those higher planetary systems enjoys a longer duration of life and better facilities for sense enjoyment, yet one is not allowed to stay there forever. One is again sent back to this earthly planet upon finishing the resultant fruits of pious activities. He who has not attained perfection of knowledge, as indicated in the
Vedānta-sūtra (janmādy asya yataḥ),
or, in other words, he who fails to understand Kṛṣṇa, the cause of all causes, becomes baffled in achieving the ultimate goal of life and is thus subjected to the routine of being promoted to the higher planets and then again coming down, as if situated on a ferris wheel which sometimes goes up and sometimes comes down. The purport is that instead of being elevated to the spiritual world where there is no longer any possibility of coming down, one simply revolves in the cycle of birth and death on higher and lower planetary systems. One should better take to the spiritual world to enjoy eternal life full of bliss and knowledge and never return to this miserable material existence.

Bg 9.22

TEXT 22