Bhagavad-gita As It Is - Macmillan 1972 Edition -- Prabhupada Books (65 page)

In the material universe not even Brahmā is free from the process of birth, old age, disease and death. Brahmā, however, is directly engaged in the service of the Supreme Lord in the management of this universe-therefore he at once attains liberation. Elevated
sannyāsīs
are promoted to Brahmā's particular planet, Brahmaloka, which is the highest planet in the material universe and which survives all the heavenly planets in the upper strata of the planetary system, but in due course Brahmā and all inhabitants of Brahmaloka are subject to death, according to the law of material nature.

Bg 8.18

TEXT 18

TEXT

avyaktād vyaktayaḥ sarvāḥ

prabhavanty ahar-āgame

rātry-āgame pralīyante

tatraivāvyakta-saṁjñake

SYNONYMS

avyaktāt-
from the unmanifest;
vyaktayaḥ-
living entities;
sarvāḥ-
all;
prabhavanti-
come into being;
ahaḥ-āgame-
at the beginning of the day;
rātri-āgame-
at the fall of night;
pralīyante-
are annihilated;
tatra-
there;
eva-
certainly;
avyakta-
the unmanifest;
saṁjñake-
called.

TRANSLATION

When Brahmā's day is manifest, this multitude of living entities comes into being, and at the arrival of Brahmā's night they are all annihilated.

PURPORT

The less intelligent
jīvas
try to remain within this material world and are accordingly elevated and degraded in the various planetary systems. During the daytime of Brahmā they exhibit their activities, and at the coming of Brahmā's night they are annihilated. In the day they receive various bodies for material activities, and at night these bodies perish. The
jīvas
(individual souls) remain compact in the body of Viṣṇu and again and again are manifest at the arrival of Brahmā's day. When Brahmā's life is finally finished, they are all annihilated and remain unmanifest for millions and millions of years. Finally, when Brahmā is born again in another millennium, they are again manifest. In this way the
jīvas
are captivated by the material world. However, those intelligent beings who take to Kṛṣṇa consciousness and chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Rāma in devotional service transfer themselves, even in this life, to the spiritual planet of Kṛṣṇa and become eternally blissful there, not being subject to such rebirths.

Bg 8.19

TEXT 19

TEXT

bhūta-grāmaḥ sa evāyaṁ

bhūtvā bhūtvā pralīyate

rātry-āgame 'vaśaḥ pārtha

prabhavaty ahar-āgame

SYNONYMS

bhūta-grāmaḥ-
the aggregate of all living entities;
saḥ-
they;
eva-
certainly;
ayam-
this;
bhūtvā bhūtvā-
taking birth;
pralīyate-
annihilate;
rātri-
night;
āgame-
on arrival;
avaśaḥ-
automatically;
pārtha
-O son of Pṛthā;
prabhavanti-
manifest;
ahaḥ-
during daytime;
āgame-
on arrival.

TRANSLATION

Again and again the day comes, and this host of beings is active; and again the night falls, O Pārtha, and they are helplessly dissolved.

Bg 8.20

TEXT 20

TEXT

paras tasmāt tu bhāvo 'nyo

'vyakto 'vyaktāt sanātanaḥ

yaḥ sa sarveṣu bhūteṣu

naśyatsu na vinaśyati

paraḥ-
transcendental;
tasmāt-
from that;
tu-
but;
bhāvaḥ-
nature;
anyaḥ-
another;
avyaktaḥ-
unmanifest;
avyaktāt-
from the unmanifest;
sanātanaḥ-
eternal
; yaḥ-
that;
saḥ-
which;
sarveṣu-
all;
bhūteṣu-
manifestation;
naśyatsu-
being annihilated;
na-
never;
vinaśyati-
annihilated.

TRANSLATION

Yet there is another nature, which is eternal and is transcendental to this manifested and unmanifested matter. It is supreme and is never annihilated. When all in this world is annihilated, that part remains as it is.

PURPORT

Kṛṣṇa's superior spiritual energy is transcendental and eternal. It is beyond all the changes of material nature, which is manifest and annihilated during the days and nights of Brahmā. Kṛṣṇa's superior energy is completely opposite in quality to material nature. Superior and inferior nature are explained in the Seventh Chapter.

Bg 8.21

TEXT 21

TEXT

avyakto 'kṣara ity uktas

tam āhuḥ paramāṁ gatim

yaṁ prāpya na nivartante

tad dhāma paramaṁ mama

SYNONYMS

avyaktaḥ-
unmanifested;
akṣaraḥ-
infallible;
iti-
thus;
uktaḥ-
said;
tam
-that which;
āhuḥ-
is known;
paramām-
ultimate;
gatim-
destination;
yam-
that which;
prāpya-
gaining;
na-
never;
nivartante-
comes back;
tat-dhāma-
that abode;
paramam-
supreme;
mama-
Mine.

TRANSLATION

That supreme abode is called unmanifested and infallible, and it is the supreme destination. When one goes there, he never comes back. That is My supreme abode.

PURPORT

The supreme abode of the Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, is described in the
Brahma-saṁhitā
as
cintāmaṇi-dhāma,
a place where all desires are fulfilled. The supreme abode of Lord Kṛṣṇa known as Goloka Vṛndāvana is full of palaces made of touchstone. There are also trees which are called "desire trees" that supply any type of eatable upon demand, and there are cows known as
surabhi
cows which supply a limitless supply of milk. In this abode, the Lord is served by hundreds of thousands of goddesses of fortune (Lakṣmīs), and He is called Govinda, the primal Lord and the cause of all causes. The Lord is accustomed to blow His flute
(venum kvanantam).
His transcendental form is the most attractive in all the worlds-His eyes are like the lotus petals and the color of His body like clouds. He is so attractive that His beauty excels that of thousands of cupids. He wears saffron cloth, a garland around His neck and a peacock feather in His hair. In the
Gītā
Lord Krṣṇa gives only a small hint of His personal abode (Goloka Vṛndāvana) which is the supermost planet in the spiritual kingdom. A vivid description is given in the
Brahma-saṁhitā.
Vedic literature states that there is nothing superior to the abode of the Supreme Godhead, and that that abode is the ultimate destination. When one attains to it, he never returns to the material world. Kṛṣṇa's supreme abode and Kṛṣṇa Himself are nondifferent, being of the same quality. On this earth, Vṛndāvana, ninety miles southeast of Delhi, is a replica of that supreme Goloka Vṛndāvana located in the spiritual sky. When Kṛṣṇa descended on this earth, He sported on that particular tract of land known as Vṛndāvana in the district of Mathurā, India.

Bg 8.22

TEXT 22

TEXT

puruṣaḥ sa paraḥ pārtha

bhaktyā labhyas tv ananyayā

yasyāntaḥ-sthāni bhūtāni

yena sarvam idaṁ tatam

SYNONYMS

puruṣaḥ-
the Supreme Personality;
saḥ-
He;
paraḥ
-the Supreme, than whom no one is greater;
pārtha-
O son of Pṛthā;
bhaktyā-
by devotional service;
labhyaḥ-
can be achieved;
tu-
but;
ananyayā-
unalloyed, undeviating devotion;
yasya-
His;
antaḥsthāni-
within;
bhūtāni-
all this material manifestation;
yena-
by whom;
sarvam-
all;
idam-
whatever we can see;
tatam-
distributed.

TRANSLATION

The Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is greater than all, is attainable by unalloyed devotion. Although He is present in His abode, He is all-pervading, and everything is situated within Him.

PURPORT

It is here clearly stated that the supreme destination from which there is no return is the abode of Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Person. The
Brahma-saṁhitā
describes this supreme abode as
ānanda-cinmaya-rasa,
a place where everything is full of spiritual bliss. Whatever variegatedness is manifest there is all of the quality of spiritual bliss-there is nothing material. All variegatedness is expanded as the spiritual expansion of the Supreme Godhead Himself, for the manifestation there is totally of the spiritual energy, as explained in Chapter Seven. As far as this material world is concerned, although the Lord is always in His supreme abode, He is nonetheless all-pervading by His material energy. So by His spiritual and material energies He is present everywhere-both in the material and in the spiritual universes.
Yasyāntaḥsthāni
means that everything is sustained by Him, whether it be spiritual or material energy.

It is clearly stated here that only by
bhakti,
or devotional service, can one enter into the Vaikuṇṭha (spiritual) planetary system. In all the Vaikuṇṭhas there is only one Supreme Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, who has expanded Himself into millions and millions of plenary expansions. These plenary expansions are four-armed, and they preside over the innumerable spiritual planets. They are known by a variety of names-Puruṣottama, Trivikrama, Keśava, Mādhava, Aniruddha, Hṛṣīkeśa, Saṅkarṣaṇa, Pradyumna, Śrīdhara, Vāsudeva, Dāmodara, Janārdana, Nārāyaṇa, Vāmana, Padmanābha, etc. These plenary expansions are likened unto the leaves of a tree, and the main tree is likened to Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa, dwelling in Goloka Vṛndāvana, His supreme abode, systematically conducts all affairs of both universes (material and spiritual) without a flaw by power of His all-pervasiveness.

Bg 8.23

TEXT 23

TEXT

yatra kāle tv anāvṛttim

āvṛttiṁ caiva yoginaḥ

prayātā yānti taṁ kālaṁ

vakṣyāmi bharatarṣabha

SYNONYMS

yatra-
in that;
kāle-
time;
tu-
but;
anāvṛttim-
no return;
āvṛttim-
return;
ca-
also;
eva-
certainly;
yoginaḥ-
of different kinds of mystics;
prayātāḥ-
one who goes;
yānti-
departs;
tam-
that;
kālam-
time;
vakṣyāmi
-describing;
bharatarṣabha
-O best of the Bhāratas.

TRANSLATION

O best of the Bhāratas, I shall now explain to you the different times at which, passing away from this world, one does or does not come back.

PURPORT

The unalloyed devotees of the Supreme Lord who are totally surrendered souls do not care when they leave their bodies or by what method. They leave everything in Kṛṣṇa's hands and so easily and happily return to Godhead. But those who are not unalloyed devotees and who depend instead on such methods of spiritual realization as
karma-yoga, jñāna-yoga, haṭha-yoga,
etc., must leave the body at a suitable time and thereby be assured whether or not they will return to the world of birth and death.

If the
yogī
is perfect, he can select the time and place for leaving this material world, but if he is not so perfect, then he has to leave at nature's will. The most suitable time to leave the body and not return is being explained by the Lord in these verses. According to Ācārya Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa, the Sanskrit word
kāla
used herein refers to the presiding deity of time.

Bg 8.24

TEXT 24

TEXT

agnir jyotir ahaḥ śuklaḥ

ṣaṇ-māsā uttarāyaṇam

tatra prayātā gacchanti

brahma brahma-vido janāḥ

SYNONYMS

agniḥ-
fire;
jyotiḥ-
light;
ahaḥ-
day;
śuklaḥ-
white;
ṣaṭ-māsāḥ-
six months;
uttarāyaṇam-
when the sun passes on the northern side;
tatra-
there;
prayātāḥ
-one who goes;
gacchanti-
passes away;
brahma-
the Absolute;
brahma-vidaḥ-
one who knows the Absolute;
janāḥ-
person.

TRANSLATION

Those who know the Supreme Brahman pass away from the world during the influence of the fiery god, in the light, at an auspicious moment, during the fortnight of the moon and the six months when the sun travels in the north.

PURPORT

When fire, light, day and moon are mentioned, it is to be understood that over all of them there are various presiding deities who make arrangements for the passage of the soul. At the time of death, the
jīva
sets forth on the path to a new life. If one leaves the body at the time designated above, either accidently or by arrangement, it is possible for him to attain the impersonal
brahmajyoti.
Mystics who are advanced in
yoga
practice can arrange the time and place to leave the body. Others have no control-if by accident they leave at an auspicious moment, then they will not return to the cycle of birth and death, but if not, then there is every possibility that they will have to return. However, for the pure devotee in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, there is no fear of returning, whether he leaves the body at an auspicious or inauspicious moment, by accident or arrangement.