Bhagavad-gita As It Is - Macmillan 1972 Edition -- Prabhupada Books (45 page)

PURPORT

Śrī Yāmunācārya, a great devotee in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, said:

yadāvadhi mama cetaḥ kṛṣṇa-padāravinde
nava-nava-rasa-dhāmanudyata rantum āsīt
tadāvadhi bata nārī-saṅgame smaryamāne
bhavati mukha-vikāraḥ suṣṭu niṣṭhīvanaṁ ca

"Since I have been engaged in the transcendental loving service of Kṛṣṇa, realizing ever-new pleasure in Him, whenever I think of sex pleasure, I spit at the thought, and my lips curl with distaste." A person in
brahma-yoga,
or Kṛṣṇa consciousness, is so absorbed in the loving service of the Lord that he loses his taste for material sense pleasure altogether. The highest pleasure in terms of matter is sex pleasure. The whole world is moving under its spell, and a materialist cannot work at all without this motivation. But a person engaged in Kṛṣṇa consciousness can work with greater vigor without sex pleasure, which he avoids. That is the test in spiritual realization. Spiritual realization and sex pleasure go ill together. A Kṛṣṇa conscious person is not attracted to any kind of sense pleasure due to his being a liberated soul.

Bg 5.22

TEXT 22

TEXT

ye hi saṁsparśa-jā bhogā

duḥkha-yonaya eva te

ādy-antavantaḥ kaunteya

na teṣu ramate budhaḥ

SYNONYMS

ye-
those;
hi-
certainly;
saṁsparśajāḥ-
by contact with the material senses;
bhogāḥ-
enjoyment;
duḥkha-
distress;
yonayaḥ-
sources of;
eva-
certainly;
te-
they are;
ādi-
in the beginning;
antavantaḥ-
subject to;
kaunteya-
O son of Kuntī;
na-
never;
teṣu-
in those;
ramate-
take delight;
budhaḥ-
the intelligent.

TRANSLATION

An intelligent person does not take part in the sources of misery, which are due to contact with the material senses. O son of Kuntī, such pleasures have a beginning and an end, and so the wise man does not delight in them.

PURPORT

Material sense pleasures are due to the contact of the material senses, which are all temporary because the body itself is temporary. A liberated soul is not interested in anything which is temporary. Knowing well the joys of transcendental pleasures, how can a liberated soul agree to enjoy false pleasure? In the
Padma Purāṇa
it is said:

ramante yogino 'nante satyānanda-cid-ātmani
iti rāma-padenāsau paraṁ brahmābhidhīyate

"The mystics derive unlimited transcendental pleasures from the Absolute Truth, and therefore the Supreme Absolute Truth, the Personality of Godhead, is also known as Rāma."

In the
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam
also it is said:

nāyaṁ deho deha-bhājāṁ nṛ-loke
kaṣṭān kāmān arhate viḍ-bhajāṁ ye
tapo divyaṁ putrakā yena sattvaṁ
śuddhyed yasmād brahma-saukhyaṁ tv anantam.

"My dear sons, there is no reason to labor very hard for sense pleasure while in this human form of life; such pleasures are available to the stool-eaters [hogs]. Rather, you should undergo penances in this life by which your existence will be purified, and, as a result, you will be able to enjoy unlimited transcendental bliss."
(Bhāg.
5.5.1)

Therefore, those who are true
yogīs
or learned transcendentalists are not attracted by sense pleasures, which are the causes of continuous material existence. The more one is addicted to material pleasures, the more he is entrapped by material miseries.

Bg 5.23

TEXT 23

TEXT

śaknotīhaiva yaḥ soḍhuṁ

prāk śarīra-vimokṣaṇāt

kāma-krodhodbhavaṁ vegaṁ

sa yuktaḥ sa sukhī naraḥ

SYNONYMS

śaknoti-
able to do;
iha eva-
in the present body;
yaḥ-
one who;
soḍhum-
to tolerate;
prāk-
before;
śarīra-
body;
vimokṣaṇāt-
giving up;
kāma-
desire;
krodha-
anger;
udbhavam-
generated from;
vegam-
urge;
saḥ-
he;
yuktaḥ-
in trance;
saḥ-
he;
sukhī-
happy;
naraḥ-
human being.

TRANSLATION

Before giving up this present body, if one is able to tolerate the urges of the material senses and check the force of desire and anger, he is a yogī and is happy in this world.

PURPORT

lf one wants to make steady progress on the path of self-realization, he must try to control the forces of the material senses. There are the forces of talk, forces of anger, forces of mind, forces of the stomach, forces of the genitals, and forces of the tongue. One who is able to control the forces of all these different senses, and the mind, is called
gosvāmī,
or
svāmī.
Such
gosvāmīs
live strictly controlled lives, and forego altogether the forces of the senses. Material desires, when unsatiated, generate anger, and thus the mind, eyes and chest become agitated. Therefore, one must practice to control them before one gives up this material body. One who can do this is understood to be self-realized and is thus happy in the state of self-realization. It is the duty of the transcendentalist to try strenuously to control desire and anger.

Bg 5.24

TEXT 24

TEXT

yo 'ntaḥ-sukho 'ntar-ārāmas

tathāntar-jyotir eva yaḥ

sa yogī brahma-nirvāṇaṁ

brahma-bhūto 'dhigacchati

SYNONYMS

yaḥ-
one who;
antaḥ-sukhaḥ-
happy from within;
antaḥ-ārāmah-
active within;
tathā-
as well as;
antaḥ-jyotiḥ-
aiming within;
eva-
certainly;
yaḥ-
anyone;
saḥ-
he;
yogī-
mystic;
brahma-nirvāṇam-
liberated in the Supreme;
brahma-bhūtaḥ-
self-realized;
adhigacchati-
attains.

TRANSLATION

One whose happiness is within, who is active within, who rejoices within and is illumined within, is actually the perfect mystic. He is liberated in the Supreme, and ultimately he attains the Supreme.

PURPORT

Unless one is able to relish happiness from within, how can one retire from the external engagements meant for deriving superficial happiness? A liberated person enjoys happiness by factual experience. He can, therefore, sit silently at any place and enjoy the activities of life from within. Such a liberated person no longer desires external material happiness. This state is called
brahma-bhūta,
attaining which one is assured of going back to Godhead, back to home.

Bg 5.25

TEXT 25

TEXT

labhante brahma-nirvāṇam

ṛṣayaḥ kṣīṇa-kalmaṣāḥ

chinna-dvaidhā yatātmānaḥ

sarva-bhūta-hite ratāḥ

SYNONYMS

labhante-
achieve;
brahma-nirvāṇam-
liberation in the Supreme;
ṛṣayaḥ-
those who are active within;
kṣīṇa-kalmaṣāḥ-
who are devoid of all sins;
chinna-
torn off;
dvaidhāḥ-
duality;
yata-ātmānaḥ-
engaged in self-realization;
sarva-bhūta-
in all living entities;
hite-
in welfare work;
ratāḥ-
engaged.

TRANSLATION

One who is beyond duality and doubt, whose mind is engaged within, who is always busy working for the welfare of all sentient beings, and who is free from all sins, achieves liberation in the Supreme.

PURPORT

Only a person who is fully in Kṛṣṇa consciousness can be said to be engaged in welfare work for all living entities. When a person is actually in the knowledge that Kṛṣṇa is the fountainhead of everything, then when he acts in that spirit he acts for everyone. The sufferings of humanity are due to forgetfulness of Kṛṣṇa as the supreme enjoyer, the supreme proprietor, and the supreme friend. Therefore, to act to revive this consciousness within the entire human society is the highest welfare work. One cannot be engaged in first-class welfare work without being liberated in the Supreme. A Kṛṣṇa conscious person has no doubt about the supremacy of Kṛṣṇa. He has no doubt because he is completely freed from all sins. This is the state of divine love.

A person engaged only in ministering to the physical welfare of human society cannot factually help anyone. Temporary relief of the external body and the mind is not satisfactory. The real cause of one's difficulties in the hard struggle for life may be found in one's forgetfulness of his relationship with the Supreme Lord. When a man is fully conscious of his relationship with Kṛṣṇa, he is actually a liberated soul, although he may be in the material tabernacle.

Bg 5.26

TEXT 26

TEXT

kāma-krodha-vimuktānāṁ

yatīnāṁ yata-cetasām

abhito brahma-nirvāṇaṁ

vartate viditātmanām

SYNONYMS

kāma-
desires;
krodha-
anger;
vimuktānām-
of those who are so liberated;
yatīnām-
of the saintly persons;
yata-cetasām-
of persons who have full control over the mind;
abhitaḥ-
assured in the near future;
brahma-nirvāṇam-
liberation in the Supreme;
vartate-
is there;
vidita-ātmanām-
of those who are self-realized.

TRANSLATION

Those who are free from anger and all material desires, who are selfrealized, self-disciplined and constantly endeavoring for perfection, are assured of liberation in the Supreme in the very near future.

PURPORT

Of the saintly persons who are constantly engaged in striving toward salvation, one who is in Kṛṣṇa consciousness is the best of all. The
Bhāgavatam
confirms this fact as follows:

yat-pāda-paṅkaja-palāśa-vilāsa-bhaktyā
karmāśayaṁ grathitam udgrathayanti santaḥ
tadvan na rikta-matayo yatayo 'pi ruddha-
srotogaṇās tam araṇaṁ bhaja vāsudevam.

"Just try to worship, in devotional service, Vāsudeva, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Even great sages are not able to control the forces of the senses as effectively as those who are engaged in transcendental bliss by serving the lotus feet of the Lord, uprooting the deep grown desire for fruitive activities."
(Bhāg.
4.22.39)

In the conditioned soul the desire to enjoy the fruitive results of work is so deep-rooted that it is very difficult even for the great sages to control such desires, despite great endeavors. A devotee of the Lord, constantly engaged in devotional service in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, perfect in self-realization, very quickly attains liberation in the Supreme. Owing to his complete knowledge in self-realization, he always remains in trance. To cite an analagous example of this:

darśana-dhyāna-saṁsparśair matsya-kūrma-vihaṅgamāḥ
svānya patyāni puṣṇanti tathāham api padmaja.

"By vision, by meditation and by touch only do the fish, the tortoise and the birds maintain their offspring. Similarly do I also, O Padmaja!"

The fish brings up its offspring simply by looking at them. The tortoise brings up its offspring simply by meditation. The eggs of the tortoise are laid on land, and the tortoise meditates on the eggs while in the water. Similarly, a devotee in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, although far away from the Lord's abode, can elevate himself to that abode simply by thinking of Him constantly-by engagement in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. He does not feel the pangs of material miseries; this state of life is called
brahma-nirvāṇa,
or the absence of material miseries due to being constantly immersed in the Supreme.

Bg 5.27, Bg 5.28, Bg 5.27-28

TEXTS 27-28

TEXT

sparśān kṛtvā bahir bāhyāṁś

cakṣuś caivāntare bhruvoḥ

prāṇāpānau samau kṛtvā

nāsābhyantara-cāriṇau

munir mokṣa-parāyaṇaḥ

vigatecchā-bhaya-krodho

yaḥ sadā mukta eva saḥ

SYNONYMS

sparśān-
external sense objects, such as sound, etc.;
kṛtvā-
doing so;
bahiḥ-
external;
bāhyān-
unnecessary;
cakṣuḥ-
eyes;
ca-
also;
eva-
certainly;
antare-
within;
bhruvoḥ-
of the eyebrows;
prāṇa-apānau-
up-and down-moving air;
samau-
in suspension;
kṛtvā-
doing so;
nāsā-abhyantara-
within the nostrils;
cāriṇau-
blowing;
yata-
controlled;
indriya-
senses;
manaḥ-
mind;
buddhih-
intelligence;
muniḥ-
the transcendentalist;
mokṣa
-liberation;
parāyaṇaḥ-
being so destined;
vigata-
discarded;
icchā-
wishes;
bhaya-
fear;
krodhaḥ-
anger;
yaḥ-
one who;
sadā-
always;
muktaḥ-
liberated;
eva-
certainly;
saḥ-
he is.

TRANSLATION

Shutting out all external sense objects, keeping the eyes and vision concentrated between the two eyebrows, suspending the inward and outward breaths within the nostrils-thus controlling the mind, senses and intelligence, the tranecendentalist becomes free from desire, fear and anger. One who is always in this state is certainly liberated.